‘What’s the biggest fitness myth that just won’t die?’ – 21 fibs that will never help you get beach body beautiful

Whether you’re a super motivated gym bunny or a sedentary slob, you will have been pounded with fitness myths throughout your life, especially if you’re a regular on the socials. However, a lot of what you’ve seen and heard is, to put it mildly, a load of old cobblers. Over on the r/AskReddit forum, user i-hold-your-purse asked:

What’s the biggest fitness myth that just won’t die?

And the answers will change the way you think about both your health and the fitness industry.

1.

‘Targeted fat loss. People still think it’s a real thing.’
–PatienceDifferent607

2.

‘That stuff like walking doesn’t count. Anything that burns calories counts Kyle.’
–CoonTang3975

3.

‘That seasoning your chicken destroys your progress. All it destroys is the will to live.’
–Fyrrys

4.

‘Eating fat makes you fat.’
–milkbazoom

5.

‘Weight lifting will make a women bulky – couldn’t be further from the truth.’
–Misknowmer

6.

‘I’m a group fitness instructor for active older adults. You are not going to lose weight just by exercising. Exercise is important for your circulation and mobility but you can work out all day long and not lose weight unless you change your eating habits. I used to teach 11 fitness classes a week and I was the heaviest I’d ever been in my life until I started keeping track of my calories. I didn’t realize how much I was eating every day until I actually SAW the numbers. I lost 50 pounds last year counting calories, giving up some of my classes and doing my own workouts.’
–CampClear

7.

‘A more recent one is needing like 300g of protein per day. I’ve talked to numerous ppl doing that while entirely avoiding carbs. It’s miserable and unhelpful.’
–ares21

8.

”No pain, no gain’. You need to challenge, not hurt, yourself. DOMS is normal but injuries just keep you out of the gym.’
–Heavy_Direction1547

9.

‘A misplaced decimal point in 1870 overestimated the iron content in spinach by a factor of ten, and Popeye was still dining out on it over a century later.’
–TaughtLeash

10.

‘Being fat is a moral failing or makes you less worthy as a person.’
–Beneficial-Focus3702

11.

‘That other people in your gym are constantly looking at you and judging you, your weight, your form, your attire, and your hair. This myth is the indirect cause of huge amounts of un-fitness, by scaring people away.

Reality is that nobody got time for all that exhausting shit when there’s work to do, or walls to stare blankly at (my personal fave gym activity).’
–Far_Dragonfruit_1829