EXERCISE MYTHS
- THE "SPOT TONING" MYTH - Spot toning just doesn't work. I have actually tried this method myself, with no results. I was trying to lose some weight in my stomach while not wanting to lose any in my thighs. My stomach was the problem area, so I thought I could just focus on that area of my body alone. I became frusterated after not seeing any results. I did some research and found out that you cannot "spot tone" due to the fact that you will not raise your metabolism enough to burn the belly fat your trying to get rid of. You need to focus on your "whole" body as opposed to certain areas of your body so that you raise your metabolism and then you will find that the belly fat will start to dissapte, as will the fat all over your body.
- THE "EAT NOW, CRUNCH LATER" MYTH - If you are on a low-fat diet, then it will be beneficial to do ab crunches. However, if you have the attitude that you can eat what ever you want during the day and then in the evening you feel you can work off the food by doing a couple hundred crunches, I have some news for you. If your fat intake is high, you can do a thousand crunches and you will not see good results. It is actually possible that your stomach will get bigger because you are building fat on top of your muscles. Your diet is the most important aspect of weight loss.
- THE "QUANTITY OVER QUALITY" MYTH - Jennie does 400 crunches every day, but she just want's to get it over with, so she flies through it without paying attention to her technique etc. Lisa only does 100 crunches every day, but unlike Jennie, she doesn't rush and she pays close attention to her technique. Who do you think will see better results in the long run? If you answered Lisa, you would be correct. It is best to break up your crunches up into sets of 4 (25 crunches per set). Make sure to rest between 60-120 seconds per set to allow your body to recover.
- THE "SIX PACK" MYTH - Ahh, the coveted "six pack". Wouldn't we all love to have a nice set of abs to show off. Some people just don't realize that your diet is just as (if not more) important to having a great set of abs than all the ab work you put in at the gym. Really, what's the point of having nice abs if you have a layer of fat covering them? Start with losing the fat by eating a healthy diet and then you can concentrate on sculpting your abs.
