3 Common Exercise Misconceptions
1. Warmups are unnecessary
You might have heard that stretching before exercising might be detrimental to performance. However, warming up before participating in any type of physical activity has been shown time and time again, to improve performance.
But what is the best type of warmup? Well, this depends on the kind of activity you are about to participate in. Evidence suggests that a period of aerobic exercise, followed by dynamic stretching (e.g. leg swings, arm circles), and finishing with activities like the ones you’re about to engage in, issues the best results. These activities should involve the parts of the body that will be used during the actual performance and should not be too fatiguing.(1)
2. No pain, no gain
This saying is extremely popular amongst gym-folk and I can almost guarantee you’ve heard this from a coach/trainer at some point. Muscle soreness after exercise can be a normal experience, but not always.
Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness, or DOMS, can develop 24-72 hours after exercise. This is caused by exercise-induced muscle damage that can occur with unaccustomed muscle loading (e.g. strength training or running). This generally occurs when participating in a new type of exercise or completing a familiar exercise at a higher intensity.(2)
Studies have shown that the benefits of exercise (e.g. increase strength and cardiovascular fitness) can occur without the symptoms experienced with DOMS. This is particularly important in populations with chronic diseases or injuries that simply cannot exercise at the level which produces DOMS, while still experiencing plenty of benefits.(3)
Therefore, no pain, lots of gain!
3. You can target fat loss
Many of you have probably felt like you’ve watched endless videos on YouTube that claim to help you lose belly fat or tried a million ab workouts with the hope you’ll lose your tummy fat. Unfortunately, these are much more likely to be marketing strategies as the evidence just does not support these claims.(4)
Body fat is simply lost when our energy intake (how much we consume) is less than our energy expenditure (how active we are). Fat is used as a source of energy in our body, not only just when we’re exercising, but doing everyday tasks. Both aerobic and strength training have been shown to aid with fat loss, with low-moderate intensity exercise producing the best “fat-burning” results.(5,6)
If you are seriously considering losing weight, studies have shown that exercising in conjunction with dieting produces the best outcomes when it comes to weight loss.(7) Finding a routine that is manageable in the long-term is the most important aspect for success, so please contact your Exercise Physiologist or Dietician if you need help finding what’s best for you!
Written by Sophie Anear, Accredited Exercise Physiologist at Marden myPhysioSA.
References:
1. Fradkin, Andrea J1; Zazryn, Tsharni R2; Smoliga, James M3. Effects of Warming-up on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(1):p 140-148, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0
- Zondi, P.C., Van Rensburg, D.J., Grant, C.C. and van Rensburg, A.J., 2015. Delayed onset muscle soreness: No pain, no gain? The truth behind this adage. South African Family Practice, 57(3), pp.29-33.
- Leach, S.L., 2000. Clinical exercise prescription: no pain, no gain?.
- Ramirez-Campillo, R., Andrade, D., Clemente, F., Afonso, J., Pérez-Castilla, A. and Gentil, P., 2021. A proposed model to test the hypothesis of exercise-induced localized fat reduction (spot reduction), including a systematic review with meta-analysis. Human Movement, 23(3), pp.1-14.
- Deyhle, M.R., Mermier, C. and Kravitz, L., 2014. The physiology of fat loss. IDEA Fit J, pp.37-44.
- Achten, J. and Jeukendrup, A.E., 2004. Optimizing fat oxidation through exercise and diet. Nutrition, 20(7-8), pp.716-727.
- Curioni, C.C. and Lourenço, P.M., 2005. Long-term weight loss after diet and exercise: a systematic review. International journal of obesity, 29(10), pp.1168-1174.
