You finally signed up to go to the gym. You attend classes, use the machines, and lift some weights. But despite all the exercise you do, your body doesn’t change as you expect it to. As a matter of fact, when you had your body composition tested at one point, your body fat had increased and your muscle mass had decreased! Sound familiar?

Here’s the deal: It is possible that you have been subscribing to some myths that are so pervasive in the fitness world that most of us think they’re true. If you’re working hard and struggling to get the results you want, could one of these myths be derailing your progress?

Myth 1: SWEAT & SORENESS ARE SIGNS OF A GOOD WORKOUT

Although it can feel good to work up a sweat, and a bit of soreness can serve as a nice reminder that we did something physical, the truth is, neither sweat nor soreness is necessarily indicative of an effective workout. Those things may feel nice, emotionally, but they don’t always have a solid physiological carryover.

During exercise, both your heart rate and your body temperature rise; sweat is the natural, healthy response that aids in cooling down the body and helps to prevent overheating. That said, just because your body temperature rises doesn't mean you're making progress. Your body temperature could increase because of: the clothes you’re wearing; your genetic predisposition to sweating; how recently you've eaten; your hormones; whether you're nervous, anxious, or excited; or if the room is too warm.

Much the same, there could be reasons other than progress to explain why your muscles are sore after a workout, because if you recover properly from a workout (by eating protein to repair the muscles and getting sufficient sleep) you shouldn’t be hurting. Typically, being excessively sore is characteristic of one or more of these four things: doing a new exercise; you increased the weight, did more overall volume, or spent more time under tension; you spent too much time in the "lowering" portion of an exercise, which can create more strain on your muscle fibers, leading to muscle soreness; or you're likely not recovering well from your workouts.

Myth 2: MORE EXERCISE IS ALWAYS BETTER

We’re consistently taught that exercise is good, while not exercising is bad. But that isn’t always true. It is possible to overtrain, so as counterintuitive as it may seem, sometimes less is more! The key to getting the most out of your training is to get to an intensity that allows you to make progress without running you ragged, and make plenty of time for rest, relaxation, and socializing. In addition, when you get overly aggressive with exercise, it can crank up your appetite to the point that your food intake overpowers your training.

Myth 3: YOU CAN’T OUT-EXERCISE A BAD DIET

Beating yourself up in the gym in an attempt to compensate for the high calorie food you ate isn’t an effective response to a surplus of calories: Exercise should not be penance for the food you’ve eaten. Making a habit of overeating, believing that you can simply “work it off” later, won’t get you closer to your goals.

Myth 4: YOU SHOULD BURN MORE CALORIES THAN YOU CONSUME

The calorie equation is a myth. Your metabolism and hunger cues shift when you eat and move more or less. Remaining in a calorie deficit for a long period of time will result in a slower metabolism, feelings of fatigue, and eventual weight gain once you inevitably start eating more again. Don’t count calories at all — just eat when you’re hungry and relax about it. Nutritionists everywhere agree that a mindful, intuitive relationship with food and exercise will bring you the best health outcomes in the long-term.

However, if you are interested in fat loss, eat slightly less than you burn so your body taps into stored body fat for the extra calories. To stay in a deficit more easily, focus on eating lots of protein sources such as meat, fish, poultry, and eggs. Emphasize plant-based sources of carbohydrates as much as possible, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, beans, and plantains. Non-starchy veggies are also recommended!

If you are interested in gaining muscle mass, you’ll likely need to be in a caloric surplus, that is, you’ll need to eat more than you burn. Getting plenty of protein is also essential for building larger, more defined muscles. When possible, choose whole foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, and beans or legumes. Try an after-workout protein shake to help you reach your protein goals.

Myth 5: NO PAIN NO GAIN

You need to challenge your body out of its comfort zone in a way that allows you to come back strong the next time around. That’s how progress happens. Plus, the more exhausted you become, the less you’re able to remain consistent with your efforts, and the more likely you are to skip training sessions. So if you’re trying to get stronger or to change your body composition (or both), consider adding a little more rest in your workouts so that you’re able to perform every rep of every exercise with good technique and enough energy.

Myth 6: CERTAIN EXERCISES MAKE YOU BULKY WHILE OTHERS MAKE YOU LEAN

Attention all ladies: Lifting weights will not make you bulky! Lifting weights, will, however, help tone your body and help with weight loss because muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does. In short, adding muscle turns your body into a fat burning machine!

Likewise, lots of running will not guarantee you’ll get lean.: the association between running and leanness is so deeply ingrained in our collective psyche that the vast majority of people start running to get in better shape and to lose weight and body fat. There’s a problem here though – this association is based on faulty logic. Because steady state cardio primarily uses the aerobic energy system, there is no after burn, so you only burn calories during the actual activity. In order to continue to see progress and results, you have to do more and more of it, which becomes very time-consuming.

If true fat loss is your goal, you’re better off adjusting your diet and doing full-body strength training as opposed to doing hours of steady state cardio. You’ll probably get better results in less time.

Myth 7: DON’T EAT AFTER 6 PM

Even though many diets will try to sell you on this idea, the truth is that excess calories — no matter what time of the day — will lead to weight gain. So if you want to lose weight you need to consume or burn a deficit of calories. Your body metabolizes food the same way all throughout the day and food eaten after 6 p.m. does not automatically turn into stored fat.

The trainers at Success Studio are fitness myth buster professionals and are here to help you sift through the misconceptions and confusions that may be hindering your fitness goals! If you need advice, reach out by clicking the button below.