Column: Edge on Health
Workout myths
Kathleen McKiernan
Issue date: 2/10/10 Section: Editorial/Opinion
2/10/10 - It's that time of year again. With warmer weather approaching, it's that time when everyone starts feeling guilty about that extra slice of pizza they had at dinner last night.
Summer's around the corner and soon gyms will be filling up with people striving for that beach body. There will be a constant hum in the area from vibrating treadmills and extra loud grunts as people try to tone up those muscles. But before you start your beach body training, there are a few workout "techniques" to avoid.
Whether it is through the TV infomercial advertising the Shake Weight that will leave your biceps feeling strong, the Ab Lounger where you can work out and watch TV simultaneously, or the fitness magazine promoting insensible training programs from across the grocery isle, we can all be deceived by popular gimmicks. Before you grab your credit card to invest in the new tool promising six-second abs, here are a few myths to keep you on track with your workout. After all, spring break is only a little more than a month away.
Myth No. 1: Eat less, exercise more
Cutting calories and working out longer seems to be the appropriate way to lose a jean size, but this method can actually prevent you from gaining the spring break body you want. Eating less slows down metabolism. The body is trying to hold onto the limited energy reserves it has, including its fat, making it harder to burn off fat. Eating less causes you to have to eat even lesser because your metabolism is slowing down. On the other hand, although exercising more does increase your metabolism, the effects are counteracted by the fewer nutrients and energy the body is getting.
"The need to fuel your body is important," Leticia DaSilva Orozco said, the coordinator of fitness and wellness at the University of Rhode Island. "If you eat too little, your body will go into a starvation state. You want to eat enough to exercise. You burn more calories after exercising than if limiting food intake.,"
Summer's around the corner and soon gyms will be filling up with people striving for that beach body. There will be a constant hum in the area from vibrating treadmills and extra loud grunts as people try to tone up those muscles. But before you start your beach body training, there are a few workout "techniques" to avoid.
Whether it is through the TV infomercial advertising the Shake Weight that will leave your biceps feeling strong, the Ab Lounger where you can work out and watch TV simultaneously, or the fitness magazine promoting insensible training programs from across the grocery isle, we can all be deceived by popular gimmicks. Before you grab your credit card to invest in the new tool promising six-second abs, here are a few myths to keep you on track with your workout. After all, spring break is only a little more than a month away.
Myth No. 1: Eat less, exercise more
Cutting calories and working out longer seems to be the appropriate way to lose a jean size, but this method can actually prevent you from gaining the spring break body you want. Eating less slows down metabolism. The body is trying to hold onto the limited energy reserves it has, including its fat, making it harder to burn off fat. Eating less causes you to have to eat even lesser because your metabolism is slowing down. On the other hand, although exercising more does increase your metabolism, the effects are counteracted by the fewer nutrients and energy the body is getting.
"The need to fuel your body is important," Leticia DaSilva Orozco said, the coordinator of fitness and wellness at the University of Rhode Island. "If you eat too little, your body will go into a starvation state. You want to eat enough to exercise. You burn more calories after exercising than if limiting food intake.,"
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