5 Fitness Myths to Avoid in the New Year

Stepping over the threshold of one completed year into the next is an involuntary act for many; whether or not goals were met in the previous year, time pushes us through. ‘’It’s over, move on, get over the extra candle added to the birthday cake,’’ time seems to shout. Not all of our thoughts are so negative though; hope, anticipation, and a new burst of previously dormant motivation whirls us into a temporary state of excitement. This is the chance to set new goals and start over.

The most common goal people set out to achieve in the New Year is to hit the gym and eat healthier, but many people give up mere weeks into this heart-felt declaration. Their excuses resonate through the streets, ‘’I tried everything, it just isn’t working,’’ and, ‘’I can’t afford a personal trainer or nutritionist.’’ Finally, people fall into the ‘’acceptance stage,’’ stating that they love their bodies and current health just as it is, yet these same people find themselves back at the gym each January. Enough is enough. This year is the year to resuscitate those restituted fitness resolutions by avoiding these five commonly misleading fitness myths.

1) You need access to a Gym

This excuse may have cut it before YouTube and similar video harnessing websites with free content existed, but not these days. Sure, the gym might be necessary if you have no space at all, if you don’t want to invest in simple equipment such as weights or exercise mats, or if your level of fitness is at a point that you absolutely need a variety of large gym-suited machines. Otherwise, there are several free workout providers online, many of whom have YouTube channels (such as Fitness Blender, a personal favorite of mine). They offer hundreds of free workout videos from five minute routines to routines over an hour long. Their workouts are efficient and offer modifications for different levels of fitness. They do not focus on just one approach either; they offer cardio, lower and upper body strength training, yoga, Pilates, and both warm-up and cool down routines. Unlike some fitness videos and apps, Fitness Blender actually talks through each workout video, preventing incorrect posture and other workout-related injuries. They also offer cheap workout plans for different goals that can be viewed in either video format or printed to accompany you to the gym. The internet is a great source for anyone who is fit or wants to be fit, especially for beginners who do not require specific machines just to shed a few pounds.

2) Being fit takes too much time out of your day

The assumption that one must spend hours a day, seven days a week training, simply isn’t true. There are occasions when people will do that – but these people are bodybuilders, athletes, personal trainers, or celebrities under professional guidance. If you do not fit in to any of those categories, then you don’t need to spend that much time exercising. People just trying to lose a few pounds, tone up, or just be a little healthier only need to train 3–5 days a week. Each workout should target different muscle groups and taking 2–3 break days a week is essential for muscle recovery. I recommend Fitness Blender, again, to anyone looking for a steady, effective workout routine that doesn’t take a lot of time, because they offer weekly ‘’workouts for Busy People,’’ available both for sale and free. The workout plans are for five days, and hit the lower body twice, the upper body twice, and a day of a total body routine, all of which focus on strength training, as well as burning fat. The best part is that each routine only lasts about 30 minutes. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

3) Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!

Sources available to the public, such as Julian Michael’s workout DVDS, commercials, and fitness advertisements portray fit women and men drenched in sweat after an intense cardio workout. This has led people to think that cardio is the answer to that strong, toned, muscular, thin body. These advertisements fail to mention that those fit people seen jogging may only be doing so as a warm up, or that they only do isolated cardio once a week or less, depending on their goals. Cardio is great, don’t get me wrong, it helps build cardiovascular health and endurance, and fight off heart diseases, but it neither gives women that sexy bubble butt, nor men those defined abs and muscular arms. If someone does excessive cardio, the body will have no choice but to start breaking down muscle tissue in order to provide the body with enough energy to sustain itself. Over time, someone who does cardio everyday or on most days will start to lose muscle mass, giving that person a thin, fragile, even anorexic appearance. Cardio burns more calories per minute during the workout, but then slows down afterwards as the body tries to recover. Strength training burns fewer calories per minute during the workout, but actually burns more calories throughout the day. The more muscle mass the body has, the more calories the body will burn because muscle requires so much energy to fuel, maintain, recover, and grow. If you have a large amount of fat to lose, then a little more cardio in the beginning of your fitness journey may be necessary. Over time your body fat percentage will decreases to a healthy amount at which point your workout routine should focus on strength training.

4) Spot reduction

I know we all wish this were true: do two-hundred sit-ups a day and voila, washboard abs! Unfortunately our bodies are more complex than that, requiring more effort and time than our modern minds want to give it. The body stores fat where it wants – there doesn’t seem to be any clear cut answers to why, other than that genetics play a role. Following that same line of logic, it makes sense that the body also decides from where in the body fat is burned. That’s why doing abdominal workouts everyday will not culminate in a lean, beach-ready stomach. Technically, yes you will develop and strengthen your abdominal muscles over time with this approach, but if there is a layer of fat over the abdominal muscles then they will not be visible until that fat is gone.

5) Getting in shape is fast and easy, and then you’re set for life!

This is another example of wishful thinking when it comes to health and fitness. The beginning of every year brings an increase in gym memberships and the purchase of sports equipment. Over time, however, people become discouraged and just give up, thinking that they are genetically cursed. The belief that a few sessions at the gym are enough to obtain that dream body is just that: a belief. The hard truth is that getting in shape takes years. Once in shape you have to work just as hard exercising and dieting to maintain that fit body. Those fit people you see walking around? They didn’t get that they way in a matter of months, and they surely do not continue to look that way by sitting around eating junk food. They log in just as much gym time, and pay just as much attention to what they eat as they ever did.

The New Year is all about self-improvement, whether of the mind, body, or soul. The most common goal for people is to finally hit the gym and make that dream body a reality. Due to the amount of ambiguous information available, a lot of people make mistakes that hinder their results, and eventually these people give up. There are no short cuts or detours on the road to fitness, the commitment is time-consuming and hard, but when taken seriously the end results are worth every sacrifice.

Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette is currently a resident of Paris, France, where she lives with her husband. Together the two of them operate their small translation company, giving Jacqueline the opportunity to observe the French and their culture up close. She is an avid reader, writer, and student of foreign languages.

By Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette