Think Before You Slim: 6 Common Fitness Misconceptions for Girls (Top 2)
A large number of girls have incorrect ideas about fitness and weight loss, which negatively impacts slimming results. (Photo / Screenshots from IG@babebani, below)
Editor / Amanda
These days, in addition to pursuing thinness, many girls also want to have a firm curve body shape, so more and more people are starting to pay attention to fitness and exercise. However, some common misconceptions and myths online can mislead people, such as running will make legs thicker, women exercising heavy weights will become very bulky and unsightly, which has discouraged many girls from continuing their fitness journey. Let's take a look at the following 6 common fitness misconceptions and see if you've been misled!
1. Running will make legs thicker
Many people have the misconception that 'running will thicken legs'. When you finish running, your legs will be swollen, which makes your muscles appear bulky, leading to the illusion that your legs have become thicker. However, once the swelling subsides after rest, it will be absorbed.
2. Women lifting heavy weights will become like 'Big Barbie'
Many women are scared of strength training, thinking that doing heavy weights will result in bulky muscles, resembling 'Big Barbie'. However, muscles don't develop easily; they require a lot of training, regular diet, and rest. Especially for women, due to lower levels of testosterone, building large muscles is difficult. As the internet says, 'Don't exercise like Lin Daiyu, but workout like Schwarzenegger' – you won't become bulky, you'll just become slimmer. So girls, feel free to exercise!
3. People with abs have stronger abdominal muscles
In fact, everyone has some degree of abdominal muscles, they are just not visible. The visibility of abdominal muscles depends on body fat percentage. The lower the body fat percentage, the more visible the abdominal muscles will be. Conversely, if you don't have visible abdominal muscles, it doesn't necessarily mean that your abdominal strength is weaker.
4. You need to exercise for more than 40 minutes to lose weight
Some people have heard that you need to exercise for more than 40 minutes to effectively lose weight, but the reality is that if you understand the formula for weight loss, it's not that complicated. As long as the total energy consumed is greater than the total energy consumed, you will lose weight, regardless of the type of exercise or the duration, as long as there is movement, there will be energy consumption, and the amount of sweat doesn't directly relate to the amount of energy consumed. Therefore, anaerobic exercise can also help with weight loss, and HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is the most effective for weight loss.
5. You need to drink protein powder to build muscle
If your diet includes sufficient protein intake, you don't need to drink protein powder to supplement. In addition to chicken, other sources of high-quality protein include fish, soybeans, eggs, duck eggs, or milk.
6. Muscle soreness indicates effective training
Some beginners to fitness often mistakenly believe that the more muscle soreness you feel the next day after training, the better the results. In reality, muscle soreness can be caused by many reasons, not necessarily indicating that your training is effective. For example, it might be due to incorrect form, overtraining, or a decline in your training level.
