by Riccardo Zambon | Doctor of Sport and Physical Performance Science
The web is an exceptional means of searching for information in real time but be careful not to misinterpret certain information or numerous “rumours” without any proof that can be found circulating on the web.
Let’s clarify and dispel some false myths about physical activity, that you might have heard but which has never had a scientific foundation.
I can’t exercise if I suffer from back pain.
Let’s look at it the other way around: I suffer from back pain because I don’t exercise. Our body structure is designed to move. If our body lacks movement, problems begin and one of the first is certainly back pain. When the muscular structures supporting the spine fail, the spine suffers. If you suffer from back pain, the advice is to start exercising immediately, strengthening the crucial core area (abdomen, deep structures of the abdomen and lumbar muscles) with muscle control exercises and followed by a professional.
Weight training makes women bigger and less feminine.
If it were enough to train three hours a week with a few small weights to conspicuously increase muscle mass, then you would not see body builders practising 3-4 hours a day in the gym. Weight training is just as important for the health of men as it is for women. For women, unfortunately or fortunately, building a very muscular body requires twice as many sacrifices in the gym as it does for a man, precisely because of a number of genetic factors typical of the female sex, one of which is the secretion of testosterone, which is about 20 times lower. So don’t worry, lifting 10 kg with your arms will by no means make you masculine.
If I skip meals after training, I lose weight faster.
This is one of the most common mistakes made by those who want to have immediate results in terms of weight loss. After a training session, the body needs to reintroduce the fuels used (fats and carbohydrates) and rebuild the muscles damaged by the exercise (proteins): skipping meals after exercise will be like sending a ‘famine’ signal to the body, which will react by burning fat, but also by eliminating muscle tissue. As a result you will lose strength and lose weight towards the skeletal, rather than the beautiful and toned.
Published by: Editor on 13/072023
