2008 Woodie Awards
Exercise experts pick top 10 fitness myths
Amy Bertrand ; St. Louis Post-Dispatch(MCT)
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: Life
Most fitness professionals have seen or heard it all. Miracle diets, perfect workouts, promises of flat abs in two minutes a day. Chris Hoover, fitness supervisor at the Jewish Community Center in St. Louis, says he constantly sees people acting on that misinformation.
"I don't know what it is," he says. "They see a big muscle guy come in with his muscle magazine, and he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so before you know it ... word of mouth, it's on someone's Web site, and suddenly everyone has this (wrong) information."
Jeremy Koerber, lead exercise specialist at BJC WellAware Center, agrees. "You've got this quasi-expert who has worked out for years, and maybe he did something and it worked, but maybe he just has the genetic potential. So these theories tend to get perpetuated, and they are nothing more than just gym talk."
For whatever reason, it seems there is a lot of misinformation out there about what it takes to get in a good workout. So with the help of Hoover and Koerber, we've devised a list of the top 10 fitness myths.
1. Sit-ups or crunches will burn fat off your abs
"I see a lot people come in here and say they want to lose their stomach," Koerber says. "I say, `Modify your diet and start working on a treadmill,' and they look at me like I'm crazy. You could have abs like Schwarzenegger, but if you have a layer of body fat over them, you will never see them." Don't get us wrong _ abdominal exercises are great for strengthening your abs and core, but they're not going to take the fat off.
2. There is an easy way to lose weight
Nothing could be further from the truth. Fines have been levied against diet pills that claim to have the quick fix. "There is no magic fix," says Koerber, who teaches a class called "infomercial myths" at BJC WellAware. "It's called work. (That person in that ad) didn't get that body in 20 minutes a day, three days a week. It's just not possible."
3. If you don't have time to get in the government's recommended 30 to 90 minutes a day, you shouldn't bother
"I don't know what it is," he says. "They see a big muscle guy come in with his muscle magazine, and he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so before you know it ... word of mouth, it's on someone's Web site, and suddenly everyone has this (wrong) information."
Jeremy Koerber, lead exercise specialist at BJC WellAware Center, agrees. "You've got this quasi-expert who has worked out for years, and maybe he did something and it worked, but maybe he just has the genetic potential. So these theories tend to get perpetuated, and they are nothing more than just gym talk."
For whatever reason, it seems there is a lot of misinformation out there about what it takes to get in a good workout. So with the help of Hoover and Koerber, we've devised a list of the top 10 fitness myths.
1. Sit-ups or crunches will burn fat off your abs
"I see a lot people come in here and say they want to lose their stomach," Koerber says. "I say, `Modify your diet and start working on a treadmill,' and they look at me like I'm crazy. You could have abs like Schwarzenegger, but if you have a layer of body fat over them, you will never see them." Don't get us wrong _ abdominal exercises are great for strengthening your abs and core, but they're not going to take the fat off.
2. There is an easy way to lose weight
Nothing could be further from the truth. Fines have been levied against diet pills that claim to have the quick fix. "There is no magic fix," says Koerber, who teaches a class called "infomercial myths" at BJC WellAware. "It's called work. (That person in that ad) didn't get that body in 20 minutes a day, three days a week. It's just not possible."
3. If you don't have time to get in the government's recommended 30 to 90 minutes a day, you shouldn't bother
Be the first to comment on this story