Fake news, conspiracy theories, social media bubbles: it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish facts from claims. Especially when it comes to your own health, this can be detrimental or even risky. Time to clear up four current fitness and food myths.
The more training, the better
Many fitness enthusiasts believe that more training also means more success. The opposite is the case: although regular, sustained exercise is necessary to trigger functional and aesthetic adaptations to the body, the muscle does not grow during training, but during the regeneration phase. The formation of new proteins in body cells continues for around 48 hours after the training session. For most exercisers, two to three training sessions per week are therefore enough. Optimal recovery breaks can be incorporated in between. Regeneration can be intensified with walks, a sauna or a balanced diet, for example. A break of 48 to 72 hours for the trained muscle group is optimal. The decisive factor is that a suprathreshold stimulus is set during training, i.e. the muscle has been pushed to its exhaustion limit. This prepares the muscle fibers for a new, heavier load.
Tip: A protein shake after a workout promotes muscle regeneration and supports the repair of the cell structure.
To lose weight, I have to do endurance sports.
In fact, an athlete burns the most calories during cardiovascular training. Nevertheless, accompanying strength training and an adapted diet are recommended for many reasons. Only targeted muscle training increases the body’s energy turnover, which prevents a yo-yo effect. The increased tension in the muscles tightens the figure, improves posture and leads to a significantly better body feeling. A combination of strength and endurance training is good for your health in the long term. A calorie-reduced, protein-rich diet should also be taken into account in any case so that body weight can be reduced without too many muscles being broken down at the same time.
Tip 1: Sports such as rowing or jogging are more effective than cycling or training on a cross trainer. Rowing and jogging can burn 10 kilocalories of energy per kilogram of body weight per hour and more because gravity has to be overcome more often and more muscles are involved.
Tip 2: Although more fat is used as energy with a lower training pulse rate, you burn more calories overall with higher loads. Interval and high-interval training units are an effective way to do this.
It is better not to eat anything in the evening.
It makes no sense to stop eating carbohydrates or even nothing at all in the evening in order to lose weight more effectively. The decisive factor is the aforementioned calorie balance – whether fewer or more calories were taken in through food than were burned. So if you eat too much throughout the day, you won’t suddenly lose weight without eating at night. In principle, you should always follow a dietary approach that can be sustained over the long term. So-called crash diets are not advisable. When consuming carbohydrates, attention should generally be paid to a low glycemic index, such as that found in wholemeal products. After exercise, the absorption capacity of glycogen from carbohydrates increases for around two hours. During this time, the risk of building up body fat is reduced. The last large meal of the day should be eaten no closer than two to three hours before going to bed.
Tip: Several medium-sized, balanced meals (5-6) per day keep blood sugar levels constant, reduce cravings and reduce fatigue. Another option would be to eat just two or three meals a day, so that the drop in insulin levels in between is better able to induce fat burning. But be careful with cravings, e.g. for sweets! Which method works better for you has to be tested individually.
Abdominal exercises burn fat on the stomach (and butt exercises on the butt).
There are no studies or other evidence that would prove localized fat burning through targeted muscle training. The fact is that the distribution of fat on the body is genetically determined and cannot be influenced without additional aids. Deposits on the stomach in men or on the buttocks and thighs in women are typical. It is therefore quite possible that the total body fat must be reduced considerably in order to tap into the “emergency reserves”. However, care must also be taken with regard to health. A body fat percentage that is too low can be dangerous, as fat also surrounds important organs, for example. In women, a percentage below ten percent can lead to hormonal imbalances, the absence of menstruation, bone loss and mood swings. Nevertheless, training the problem areas has its benefits: The skin is tightened and a trained muscle also looks more defined than an untrained one.
Tip: Choosing the right foods, diet and supplements can benefit body shape despite genetics. ONE’s Bodycode nutrition program can be used to target problem areas. More information
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Author
Name: Patrick Furrer
Occupation: Deputy Center Manager ONE Training Center Lucerne
Website: one-training.ch
Motto: “Strength. Honor. Tolerance. – Strong alone. Stronger together.”
The history of ONE begins in 1997 with the opening of the first TC Training Center in Sursee. In 2009, TC became a subsidiary of the Migros Cooperative Lucerne and the name changed shortly afterwards to ONE Training Center. Today, ONE is the leading fitness chain in Central Switzerland.
The hallmark of ONE Training Centers is unlimited “ONE to ONE” support. Our fitness instructors cater to your needs so that you can set your training goals correctly and achieve them safely. And if you want even more intensive support, you can book a personal training session.
From the very beginning, ONE has attached great importance to the professional training and development of its own employees. The ONE Academy was finally launched in 2016. The ONE Academy is our forward-looking training and development program for employees from all areas.
The goals are a uniform “ONE spirit”, the personal development of all employees and highly trained and motivated instructors who always advise and support you in line with the latest scientific training findings.
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