Whats going on ladies and gentleman! Hope you have been continuing to wake up everyday ready to strive and thrive. If you are new to this blog, I would love for new readers to catch up and be directed to my first, second, and third blog post. As a brief review, in my previous blog post we have talked about the benefits of engaging in physical activity, determining what are good and bad sources of information in regards to physical fitness, as well as the dark scary world of the internet and how to protect yourself. In this week’s blog post I am going to be identifying common accurate and inaccurate advice/misinformation about physical fitness. This blog post will just give you a brief overview of whether or not these common myths are true or false. If you want to learn more information about these myths please visit the World Health Organization!
Myth or Truth #1: Being physically active is expensive
ANSWER: MYTH
Becoming physically active can be done almost anywhere and does not always require the “expensive equipment.” Walking and jogging is the most practiced and most highly recommended form of physical activity…all while being FREE of cost! Secondly, just doing everyday things such as carry groceries, books, kids, and stairs (instead of elevator) are all good exercises you can can do in conjunction with walking. Commonly, we often have parks nearby our houses that are all suitable for engaging in these activities. The gym is not always needed if you want to start becoming physically active.
Myth or Truth #2: I am too busy, being physically active takes too much time
ANSWER: MYTH
According to the ACSM guidelines, it only talks 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical fitness five days per week to improve your physical health. Secondly, on some days you may have more time than others. The 30 minutes does not need to be split up per day, rather, it can be 10 minutes on one day, and 50 minutes on another. You can also do 20 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night after work. This time can be spent taking the stairs at work, parking your car further away at work so that you can engage in a walk/jog. If you are a student, walk or ride a bike to school. There is a multitude of things that you can do.
Myth or Truth #3: Children already have so much energy, and are always moving. They do not need to be taught more about physical activity.
ANSWER: MYTH
The ACSM guidelines still recommend that children from the ages 5-17 engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. The statement about children always moving is actually false. According to research in recent years,”Physical activity levels are decreasing among young people in countries around the world, especially in poor urban areas.” Due to the rise of technology we now find children devoting most of their time to TV, video games, and computer games. Prior to these technologies children were engaging outdoors and playing sports outside. As a result, we must shift this change and limit screen time with our children.
Myth or Truth #4: Physical Activity is meant for individuals in their prime years (20-30’s). I am too old for that
ANSWER: MYTH
Over years of research, it has been shown that engaging in regular physical activity has shown to improve motor function and quality of life in all ages. It is said for the older population, individuals older than 65, should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic PA or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise throughout the week. Being that the older population have the highest rate of contraction of noncommunicable disease (CVD, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension). Physical activity has been shown to help prevent all of the above listed. Secondly, it has also assisted in improving mental health and cognitive function.
Myth or Truth #5: In developing countries physical activity is not needed, they have bigger issues.
ANSWER: MYTH
In recent years lack of physical activity has been cited as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. 80% of deaths from NCD’S occur in low and middle income countries. It does not only apply to developing countries, rather, this is a global issue.
Myth of Truth #6: As a women, lifting weights will make women look too muscular
Answer: MYTH
Physiologically women do not have as much testosterone as men, so it is not easy for them to build muscles when lifting weights. As an alternative to “tone” for women, they should engage in physical activities that use less weight with higher repetitions. This will create a more aerobic workout for them, less actin-myosin cross bridges formed (growth in muscle fibers). Rather than bulking they will create more lean muscle.
Myth or Truth #7: Someone who is is skinny is always more fit than one who is bigger
ANSWER: MYTH
In order to be considered “fit” it means that you have a strong and healthy heart, lungs, muscles, bones, and joints. Just because an individual is skinnier does not mean that they can run a longer distance or do more pushups than someone who is bigger. Engaging in regular physical activity in conjunction with a nutritional diet helps people stay a health weight and prevent disease.
Myth or Truth #8: Lifting weights makes you slower and less flexibile
ANSWER: MYTH
This is false in that if you are engaging in proper technique while strength training, it will not decrease flexibility. This only occurs when you do not stretch after strength training. Secondly strength training increases the amount of muscles fibers within a muscle to utilized to give you a high power output. It does not decrease flexibility when performed correctly.
While I threw quite a lot at you readers today, it is evident that there is a lot of myths and misconceptions out there in the physical fitness world. As a result, like mentioned in blog post 2, continue to fact check your sources to ensure your getting the correct information. Some good sources of information for today’s topic can be found at Health Link British Columbia where you can also contact them about any questions at healthlinkbc@gov.bc.ca. Secondly, another source of information that was used to today was the World Health Organization. If you want to follow them on twitter to find constant updates about health, I highly recommend you follow their twitter feed @WHO. All in all, read about these myth’s today and don’t let them deter you from also engaging in physical activity!
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