Fitness Myth: You Have to Spend Hours in the Gym

Hey team, we’ve come together as a team to debunk the most popular fitness myths. Stay tuned and read along to see which ones are tricking you!

Myth 1:

You have to spend hours in the gym to see results.

We’ve heard it all before – “I killed myself for 2 gruelling hours in the gym today”. This does not seem like the best way to spend two hours and I love being in the gym!

So let’s set the record straight on this one once and for all.  There is a lot of contradictory information out there about how much time you need to put into your exercise to see results. The main thing that we need to look at is what our goals are. For the vast majority of the population, the goals are pretty similar. Lose weight, build some muscle, maintain a healthy physique, feel better in our clothes.

Since one of the main barriers to exercise is lack of time, it seems counter-productive to think that hours in the gym is the optimal path to get results.  According to Stephen Ball, associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri “some is better than none. More is better than some. Too much is difficult to get”.  To support this theory, a recent study from the Mayo Clinic claims that 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise 5 times a week is enough to ward off many metabolic problems. Combine this with approximately two hours/week of strength training and you will also be on the right path to build some muscle.

Long, drawn out sessions in the gym can be mentally, as well as physically exhausting. They can put extra pressure on your joints, can impact your time management and can negatively influence your daily activities. Too much exercise can lead to injuries and exhaustion. It can also cause lasting physical harm. For example, your adrenal gland, pumping out hormones as you pound the pavement or pump the iron, can only produce so much cortisol at a time.

For more information on the effects of over producing cortisol, visit Premier Health’s article.

The bottom line here is that movement and exercise is imperative for physical and mental wellbeing. But you can have too much of a good thing so it is important to be efficient and educated. Lay out your goals and if you are unclear how to reach them, have a fitness professional give you some guidance. We happen to know a few awesome ones!