Truths about Exercise

Many of you have been trying to make exercise a habit. Most of you have already succeeded in that goal. No matter how you look at it, I'm proud of you for making fitness a part of your life. A consistent exercise routine offers so many benefits to your mind and your body, many of which you are probably already beginning to experience. We all have our own ideas about exercise: what "counts" as a workout, how much we need to do, and how it benefits us. But some of those ideas you have heard are flat out wrong (or misguided). If you're exercising and not seeing the results you had hoped for, it could be that you're missing out on some truths about exercise.

8 Cold, Hard Truths about Exercise Working out will always feel hard - Exercise is work. It elevates your heart rate, makes you somewhat breathless, and causes your muscles to burn. It's tiring—sometimes exhausting. Yes, exercise does get easier with time, but it will never be "easy." Beyond getting your body moving, exercise has to challenge you. You have to work past your comfort zone in order to train your heart, lungs, and muscles to get stronger and fitter. Here’s one hard truth: You have to work harder as you get fitter.

Not every movement or activity counts as exercise - Not all movement is "exercise." The two are very, very different. For any activity to count as true exercise, it has to meet certain parameters, like lasting at least 10 continuous minutes, it has to elevate your heart rate to an aerobic level, and more. If you count the "activities" or body movements you do each day as workouts, then you are only shortchanging yourself.

One workout may not undo a sedentary lifestyle - Working out really matters for your health and longevity, but research tells us that simply exercising—whether 10, 30, or even 60+ minutes a day—may not be enough to offset the effects of an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Just because you exercise doesn't mean it's OK to be a couch potato the other 23 hours of the day. More movement is good—that's how you achieve the benefits of an active lifestyle. You're not burning as many calories as you think - "Burn up to 800 calories an hour!" How often do you see phrases like that advertised on workout DVDs, group classes, and other fitness products? The truth is, most of these numbers are seriously inflated, and the average person won't burn a fraction of that claim. A better way to gauge what you're really burning is by wearing your own heart rate monitor. Exercise won't allow you to eat whatever you want - A walk around the block doesn't earn you a brownie. That yoga class doesn’t mean it's OK to indulge in an ice cream sundae this weekend. How often do you "reward" yourself for working out by undoing most of your efforts with one or more dietary splurges? Remember, exercise really doesn't burn as many calories as people assume it does, so a single workout—even a rigorous one—won't come close to offsetting just ONE big splurge. If weight loss is your goal, you have to keep these splurges in check; otherwise, you'll be fighting a losing battle and never really get ahead in the calorie equation.

Exercise alone won't change your body - This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions. Most people believe that simply by exercising more, harder, or with some "magical" combination, they'll get rock hard abs, chiseled arms, and toned legs. WRONG. Exercise will not change your body much at all unless you are also cutting calories. To really change your physique, you have to do both: watch your diet, consumer fewer calories than you burn, and exercise with a combination of cardio and strength training. Same goes for dieting. Cutting calories will result in some weight loss, but your body will not necessarily look more cut or toned if exercise isn't also part of your plan. You have to do it forever - A lot of people don't like to exercise, but they manage to stick with it in order to lose weight. Once they reach that goal, it becomes easier to slack off and then lose the habit entirely. But whether your goal is to lose weight, look better, improve your health, or just plain feel good, you're only going to reach—and maintain—that result by continuing to exercise after you reach that goal. The benefits of exercise are quickly lost. You actually lose your strength and endurance far faster than it took to build. You can lose muscle strength in just a couple of weeks off from pumping iron, and cardiovascular endurance? It starts diminishing when you rest just 2 days! This is why it's important to find a routine that you enjoy and can stick with for the long haul. Routine is the exercise enemy - I love routine as much as the next person, but the gym is not the place for it. For the best results, you have to change up your workouts often. This is good because it can help prevent boredom so you'll stick with it, but also prevent plateaus in your progress. Don't let your workouts become stale, and don't let your muscles get too conditioned to doing the same old thing for months on end. That's why lifelong exercisers are always reaching for new goals and trying new things. Not only is it fun, but it challenges their bodies in new ways so they always stay fit—and have fun doing it. Send me an email @ kinectionfitness@gmail.com and tell me what you think about these truths. Do you have any exercise truths to add to this list?