Joey Atlas

There are many bad myths in the realm of fitness…

Whether fueling faulty exercise programs or spreading nutritional nonsense, these misleading concepts are what keep many people from ever reaching any type of worthy, sustainable health and fitness goals.

Today I’m debunking five detrimental myths of fitness, to give you more clarity on what you should be doing and what you should be avoiding.

As you read these, if you can think of someone else who will benefit from knowing these myths, please use the share buttons at the bottom to get this article to them.

Here we go…

Fitness Myth #1 – If you’re not sore the day after a workout, it means you wasted your time.

A very common ideology with many gym-based trainers and hard-core fitness pros, this notion of soreness being the indicator of exercise effectiveness is outdated, misleading and inaccurate.

It may have some relevance with die-hard cross-trainers, bodybuilders and powerlifters, BUT for most people (the vast majority) beneficial results can be achieved without having to continuously strive for post-workout soreness and the risk of burnout and injury that comes with it.

Consistency with proper fitness training stimulus will result in progressive improvements of the body and health.

Sure there will be times when a good soreness is expected, such as when adding variations to a fitness program, or when starting a totally new attempt to get into shape. But, striving for constant muscle soreness is a faulty aim.

Fitness Myth #2 – You have to use muscle-confusion in order to keep making progress.

Muscle confusion is another ‘smoke and mirrors’ fitness marketing gimmick. How silly is the thought of ‘confusing your muscles’?

**You can’t confuse your muscles.** So there’s no need to think you have to constantly be changing up your fitness program and workouts in order to confuse your way to positive results.

Instead of confusion, think about clarity and consistency being the principles that guide your approach to proper fitness training for the improvements you desire.

Fitness Myth #3 – You have to eat small meals every 2 hours or you’ll go into starvation mode and store fat.

This is another one that comes from the realm “old trainer’s folklore”.

Have you ever seen photos of overweight hunger strikers? I haven’t either.

Yes, there are some people in the fitness world who’ve managed to “make this work”, but the truth is, it is not a realistic way for most people to live life.

It’s borderline dysfunctional.

And, the body is not designed to have to eat every 2 hours, or when there is a first sign of hunger. It is far more complex than that, and I say that in a positive way. And that comes from 30 years of experience.

If this myth was true, I would be back up to my heaviest weight, and my private clients would also be packing on the excess pounds with each passing month. But they’re not.

Fitness Myth #4 – You should do abs every day if you want a toned and flat stomach

The “abs” muscles are just like any other muscle group. So if you’re going to train them thoroughly, you don’t want to do that every day.

Two or three times per week is ideal, if you’re training them properly.

When I say properly, the video below shows an exact example of what I mean. This particular session is a mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced moves. So, there’s something in this Abs/Core training session for everyone:

[ I recorded this right after 2 hours of shooting professional grade video footage (Thank you, Awaken Media Productions) for the official launch of the SCULPTAFIT All-In-One Home-Gym, stay tuned for that.]

Sure if you are just doing some “maintenance moves” you can do those daily, but 20-25 minutes of a full abs and core session every day is overkill.

Give the abs their rest days, just like the other muscle groups.

Fitness Myth #5 – Getting the best fitness results is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. I cringe when I hear people say this.

The truth is, it’s 50/50 or 100/100… Both of those work. What I mean is – it’s all one in the same.

You eat right most of the time (high quality foods, appropriate quantity, etc), and you go about your fitness training in a consistent manner, and if you are doing both properly, then the positive results should be there.

The efforts applied to good nutrition and simple, realistic fitness training should be equal – again, as they should be seen as ‘all one thing’… a way of living life based on values, that fuel a certain mindset, which dictates our actions.

You follow me on that? Post below in the comment/reply box to let me know your thoughts…

There is more to these myths than what I could fit in the post above, so I will dive deeper in a future post.

Additionally, there are other twisted fitness myths beyond the five I’ve highlighted above, and likewise, I will also feature those in a future post as well.

Any questions, comments or thoughts? Please post below, you know I love hearing from you!