There are certain fitness myths that just won’t die.
These ideas are passed from one unsuspecting person to the next, a little tidbit of misinformation that does more harm than good.
I’ve heard them all.
There’s the myth about ab crunches melting off belly fat. (Sorry folks, spot reduction doesn’t exist. You’ve got to burn the fat from your body as a whole.)
Then there’s the one that says the faster you do an exercise the better, even at the expense of form. (Ouch. This philosophy has caused many an injury. Never sacrifice form for speed.)
I’ve even heard one that says recovery days are not necessary. (Rest days are actually of vital importance to your recovery and weight loss.)
But of all the fitness myths out there, the one that gets under my skin the most is the belief that fat loss comes as a result of long, slow cardio sessions.
I’ve seen many people waste their time and effort on this one.
I mean sure, it will burn calories, eventually enough to make a difference. But you can achieve the same results in half that time through different training methods.
There are 2 other great options here, HIIT (which I’ve discussed most people do incorrectly) and load-bearing training.
In a simple case study, 8 people were subjected to 2 different training sessions. A 30 minute steady cardio session on the stationary bike, and 8 sets of 4 challenging barbell squats.
The average time taken to complete the squat sets was 22 minutes and the average calorie burn was 41 calories higher than the bike workout… in 8 minutes less time.
Now I’m not sure if you’re a busy human with plenty on your plate. But I daresay that saving 25 mins a week (3 sessions by 8 mins saved) could be useful and time well spent doing other things you enjoy.
If you’d like to learn more about our 21 day Health Intensive coming up, please reach out and let us take this journey with you!