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OrthoRehab - Edina Physical Therapists

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There is a lot of bad advice going around in the health and wellness community, and while most of it is unintentional, this advice can serve to be detrimental to your health if you follow it. A physical therapist is a great resource to lean on for scientifically-backed health advice, which is why we want to put our knowledge to the test and dispel some common fitness myths that we hear every once in a while. Below, we explain why some common fitness beliefs are actually myths.

Fitness Fact And Fiction

Here’s a look at some fitness advice that we’ve heard during our time working with clients, and some reasons as to why you shouldn’t take it at face value:

  1. No Pain, No Gain– We understand why this mantra is oftentimes used among high school football coaches, but it’s bad advice. Pushing your body hard can help build muscle strength and conditioning, but physical therapy or exercise should never be painful. Pain is a sign that something is wrong, be it a strain, a muscle tear or something similar. It’s fine to be winded and sore after a hard workout, but if you’re in pain, it’s time to rethink your efforts and take care of your body.
  2. Longer Workouts Are Better– Longer workouts are not necessarily better, and pushing your body too hard can increase your risk of an overuse injury. A 10-minute interval running routine may be much more effective at increasing your sprint speed and your conditioning than a 30-minute jog around the neighborhood. Don’t just assume that a longer workout is always better than shorter workouts, especially if a shorter routine ends up being more challenging.
  3. Morning/Evening Workouts Are Better– A morning workout doesn’t have any significant benefits over an evening workout, and vice versa. The best time to go for a workout is when you can regularly fit it into your personal schedule. If you can develop a regular rhythm and routinely carve out a specific time for exercise a few times a week, it’s more likely that this fitness routine will become a habit and stick long-term. Find a workout time that fits well into your schedule.
  4. I Can Eat What I Want As Long As I Work Out– Exercise cannot completely erase the effects of a bad diet. It’s very important that you try to make positive changes in other areas of your life alongside fitness improvements in order to become healthier overall. Get regular exercise, eat plenty of healthy foods packed with vitamins and nutrients, strive to get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep each night and kick the bad habits like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Don’t assume that you can just cancel out all those bad food choices with a little exercise.
  5. Rest Days Are For The Lazy– Finally, we’ve helped a number of athletes overcome overstress injuries who have pushed their body too hard during training or athletics. They work on their craft every day, and some of them feel like they can never take a day off because their fitness will suffer. In fact, the opposite is often true. Taking a day off or rotating your workouts so that different areas can have a recovery day can actually make it easier for your body to reap the benefits of exercise. Recovery days aren’t lazy, they are necessary for your body to repair muscle tissue and become stronger after an intense workout.

Let us help you achieve your fitness goals and approach exercise in the right way. For more information, or to connect with a physical therapist for help with a specific issue, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.

Dr. Andy Masis, PT
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