How NOT to Get Ripped at the Gym...

When a large enough group of people believe in something, that thing usually becomes the truth even when that is not the case at all. There are many fitness myths out there that a lot of people think is true. In my last article, I wrote about 14 simple things we can do to change our body for the better. Applying even just one or two of the concepts mentioned in my previous article will go a long way in making you fitter. In this article, we will be exposing all these fitness myths that are actually stopping you from attaining your goals!

Muscle will turn into fat. This extremely popular fitness myth goes two ways. If you're fat and you hit the gym, your fats will shape themselves to give you the physique of a Greek God. When you stop training, your muscles will then turn into fat. The actual truth is that muscle and fat are actually two different types of cells in our body. Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat. However, you can burn fat and build muscle. Someone who stops going to the gym will shrink in size as each muscle cell becomes thinner. They will only become fat if they eat the same amount of food, and the excess calories get converted to fat and are then stored in fat cells. (Muscle Turns into Fat)

Doing lots of crunches will give you a toned midsection. If you're working out, one thing that you will definitely want is a toned midsection, whether it be a ripped six-pack for guys or a flat stomach for girls. Yet again, this is another myth that is misunderstood. In our quest to achieve this, we will do a lot of crunches and sit-ups in hopes of burning away abdominal fat. You will find over time that you can never achieve your goals no matter how hard you try. Doing lots of crunches do not burn fat off your stomach. If anything, you might actually see a slight increase in your waistline due to the muscles growing underneath the fat.

Spot reduction. This is a broader version of the previous myth. General belief is that if you have fat arms, then do more arms exercise to tone the area and burn fat. Likewise, the same goes for other parts like the calves and of course, the stomach. In reality, there is no such thing as spot reduction. You cannot reduce fat from a certain target area, it has to be overall. Doing exercises will strengthen and build the muscles, but if you want fat loss, you would have to consider some cardiovascular activities instead.

Lifting weights will make girls big. This is one very common myth that almost all of my girl-friends believe in. This is not true because firstly, the physical makeup of women makes it almost impossible to be muscular. Guys have a lot more testosterone (male muscle building hormone) than girls, and even so, there are many guys who hit the gym yet do not even look remotely possible as having visited the gym before. Most of the muscular women out we see on television are the exceptional. These are the people who have specialised personal training, lots of supplments, and maybe even steroids to help them achieve this physique. Weight lifting actually has many benefits that can help in your weight loss routine, such as increased metabolism, bone mass and strength.

Eating fat makes you fat. A lot of people consume too little fat because they are afraid it will make them fat. Fat is actually very important in maintaing a balanced diet. It is excess calories that makes you fat. Anything that causes large amounts of insulin to be released into your blood makes you fat too, like donuts, ice cream and soda.

If I skip breakfast, I'll be thinner. This is one myth that was mentioned in my previous article, but I felt that it is so commonly misunderstood that it is worth another mention.Breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism and makes you energetic. Skipping breakfast will make you feel hungrier throughout the day, which will actually cause you to eat more!