DAY 22 : TOP 4 FITNESS MYTHS THAT NEED TO DIE
Hey Re-inventors!
This is DAY 22 of the 30 DAYS of DOING THINGS THAT I WAS ‘GONNA’ DO SERIES
Let’s talk about the most popular fitness myths that I’ve seen everyone believing
HOW DO I KNOW THAT THESE ARE THE MOST POPULAR MYTHS?
Well, the answer to this question is simple, I have seen people talking about this and doing these things in the gym. Moreover, if you consume my content (for which I’ll be forever grateful), you’ll know that a lot of my time has been allocated to reading stuff about fitness so that I do not just believe random people saying random things.
Also I finally decide whether something is true or not, by firstly, confirming it from various trusted sources and secondly, by trying it out myself.
SO let’s get right into it:
1. You need to consume protein within 30 minutes of your workout
This myth is the one which MOST of the people believe and even I used to do it when I was starting out. I would literally come running from the gym and then remove all my clothes to take a bath as fast as possible so that I can then come out to cook my post-workout meal and eat it within 30 minutes. I used to set a timer as soon as I stepped out of the gym.
And over a period of time, I really do not think that this act of consuming a fast acting protein has added any value in achieving my goals.
I see people doing this all the time. I went to the gym with my friend and he did not do abs just because he had to get home as soon as possible to get his protein. He pushed me to complete my abs and stretching faster and even called up his mom to boil the eggs for him, while we were working out, so that he can immediately consume them after reaching home. I was like HOLY SHIT bro, it doesn’t matter!
You won’t lose your gains if you don’t consume protein within 30 minutes of working out and on that note, missing your abs and stretching to take your protein is not at all advisable. Go build that core bro!
2. Cardio is the best way to lose fat
I have done this time and time again. I should not have done it but I did not have any other option (Kind of). So around two years ago, I was really fat. I wanted to join the gym but then there were people saying that going to the gym will stunt your growth as a 16 year old and you should run and play sports if you want to stay fit. The first part was not true in my opinion but the second one was definitely true. Playing sports, running, hiking, cycling etc. are good to stay FIT but may not be the best way to lose fat/build muscle.
I did this for an year (I was not very consistent though) and then I got slimmer than I was before but there was no strength in me. I could not do even 1 push up , let alone any other exercise. Then the best thing happened.
Instead of joining the gym, I bought some weights and a bench and started exercising in my room. There was instant fat loss (by instant, I mean visible results in 3 months.
So the catch is that cardio helps you burn fat while you’re doing it and doing strength training helps you to burn fat, after the workout, even when you are sitting on your desk or watching TV .
So don’t be afraid to do strength training. It helps to build lean muscle mass which aids your fat loss process. Also, don’t do only strength training after reading this post. Both cardio and strength training has it’s own benefits and a good balance between the two is the best way to achieve your fitness goals
3. Doing a lot of crunches throughout the day will make your abs visible:
NO!!
That’s not true! You might have heard this : “Abs are made in the kitchen and not in the gym” a lot of times. Because it’s actually true and it makes sense right?
Everyone has abdominal muscles. Everyone likes to do crunches and leg lifts and doing crazy stuff by hanging on the bar and rotating your legs. But here’s the fact:
ABS = EXERCISE + DIET
You have to reduce your body fat to see those abs and the way to reduce body fat is to burn more calories than you consume, i.e being in a caloric deficit. You have abs and I have abs but to show them you need to remove all the baggage above them
Now, people also go the other way round. They stop doing abs and they just start shredding body fat but the thing is that you probably need a well defined mid section and the way to do that is through various ab exercises. By doing that you can develop the separation between your abdominal muscles which will make them look more defined.
Aesthetics apart, you need to have a strong core perform other exercises such as squats, deadlifts etc. properly and increase your overall strength.
4. If you fall off track once, you ruin all your progress:
This has happened with me and it is more of a mindset game. I used to think that all the fitness coaches on Instagram are extraordinary people with magical willpower to stay on their diet for a long period of time.
But that was not true. Clearly everyone has their cheat meals and everyone can get tempted by seeing foods they like. If you go to a buffet and you find your favorite dessert you can eat it in a small quantity and not feel guilty afterwards. It’s okay.
Thinking that you have now ruined your progress and being stressed is the worst thing you can do. Also, social media has really painted a wrong picture in our minds. If I ate my favorite dessert once in a month then it’s not that I don’t want a good physique “Bad enough”. It’s just that everyone needs to have their breaks because, as humans, we are not perfect.
Nobody got fat from eating a donut and similarly nobody got shredded by eating a salad. It’s not about how you fell off track, it’s about getting back on track as soon as possible and trying not to make that mistake again.
Let’s now get on with my day,
5:20 : Wake up
5:30 : Work
8:34 : Break
8:40 : Work
9:05 : Breakfast
9:15 : Play cards with Grandma
9:47 : Transfer files from phone to laptop
10:00 : Read about Mutual funds and index funds
11:50 to 12:00 : Take a bath
12:00 : Work
12:34 to 12:40 : Break
12:40 : Work
12:50 to 1:00 : Household Work
1:25 : Lunch
1:40 : Read
1:50 : Pick my sister from school
2:20 : Code
3:00 to 3:30 : Help Dad pack his stuff for travel
4:00 : Gym
5:00 : Back
5:15 : Watch ASKGARYVEE while eating snack
5:40 : Work
6:20 to 6:45 : Guests arrive
7:00 to 9:00: Work(not pure)
9:00 : Dinner
9:33 : Family time
10:00 : Sleep
On the face off it, I did less work today that actually matters and spent more time consuming content.
It included reading about index funds and mutual funds and reading new and watching content by Tony Robbins and Warren Buffet. I spent quite some time with my grandma as she left today and also helped my dad pack his stuff for his travel
Even in during the evening my sister was constantly disturbing me so I was not able to work with full focus and then there were guests at home and all these things did not let me work the way I wanted to.
But that’s okay and I’ll get more work done tomorrow morning because there is no one to disturb me tomorrow.
So this was DAY 22 and I hope that you stop believing the fitness myths and make more progress by shredding these off from your belief system.
Be Happy and keep Re-inventing yourself
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