9 Exercise Myths…and What Science Says About Staying in Shape

In All Health Watch, Featured Article, Fitness and Exercise, General Health, Weight Loss

There’s no doubt that exercise is good for your health.

It lowers your blood pressure, helps manage your weight, reduces your risk of cancer, diabetes, and falls. It wards off fatigue and is linked with a longer lifespan.

Most people are aware of all this. Still, misinformation about exercise is rampant.

Let’s take a look at nine common myths…

  1. Eventually, you’ll get too old to exercise. The truth is, you can increase strength and muscle mass even in advanced old age. Experts recommend older folks do balance training and muscle strengthening along with some form of aerobic exercise.[i]
  2. If you used to exercise, you retain the benefits long after you quit. Sadly, no. Exercise needs to be done consistently. Muscle withers away when you stop resistance training. And cardio fitness will quickly fade if you stop aerobic activity.[ii]
  3. Exercise will make you lose weight. Some people think they can eat whatever they want and stay thin as long as they’re active. It doesn’t work that way. To lose weight, you should combine workouts with a low-carb diet.[iii]
  4. Being on your feet doesn’t qualify as exercise. Not true. Using a standing desk at work is linked to lower body weight, increased calorie burn, better circulation, and greater work production.[iv] [v]
  5. A workout session needs to be long. Even tiny exercise “snacks” (just a minute or two) are healthful if you do them throughout the day. Make sure to do everyday activities such as climbing stairs with enough speed to make you slightly out of breath.[vi]
  6. Don’t exercise if you’re feeling under the weather. This is only true if you’re feeling serious pain, are exhausted, or running a fever. Otherwise, if you have the willpower to plow through a workout, you should be fine.
  7. Pregnant women should rest and not exert themselves. Moderate activity is actually beneficial for pregnant women. It reduces the risk of gestational diabetes and excessive weight gain. And it will do no harm to the fetus.
  8. You have to run several times a week or it’s pointless. Studies show that running or jogging even for as little as 50 minutes a week is linked to lower risk of death. Running more than that doesn’t significantly lessen the risk.[vii]
  9. You shouldn’t exercise if you have a chronic disease. You should always check with your doctor before embarking on a workout program…but usually people with everything from heart disease to cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will benefit from being physically active.

Editor’s Note: Independent Healing readers recently discovered the best way to get fast results from resistance exercise. To find out more, go HERE.

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[i]https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf

[ii]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10999420

[iii]https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/15/967#ref-7

[iv]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0828282X15016499?via%3Dihub

[v] https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/the-benefits-of-using-a-standing-desk

[vi]https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/18/1137#DC1

[vii]https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2019/09/25/bjsports-2018-100493