Anyone who goes to the gym regularly has probably heard of some of the “rules” that are circulating among exercisers. Read here why you don’t have to stick to all the tips.
If you search for fitness rules on the Internet, you will find a wide variety of opinions on how you should structure your workout.
But some of these opinions have secretly crept into the training rules, although they could easily be deleted.
You can do without the following six alleged fitness rules.
1. You don’t always have to give 110 percent when training
If you give absolutely everything, progress will be visible more quickly. Many people think that – but that’s not necessarily true.
You should remember that not every training session has to be the hardest, and you don’t have to beat your personal best every time to get fitter and feel better.
In fact, it can actually be very dangerous to always give 110 percent – overtraining syndrome can result. Some days it’s more about getting some exercise at all – and that’s enough.
2. You don’t have to push yourself to the limit of pain during your workout
You should definitely ignore this rule. While it’s normal for your muscles to burn when you’re exercising, at a certain point you need to know the difference between sore muscles and actual pain, which is unhealthy.
Listen to how your body feels and stop training as soon as you notice that something is wrong or you are in pain. Sore muscles are not necessarily a sign of effective training.
By burning muscles, the body wants to tell you that it needs to regenerate before the next session.
3. Be sure to eat before training
There is no basis for the myth that you should never eat before going to the gym. On the contrary: Eating beforehand gives the body energy.
The key to success is not to skip meals, but to eat the right foods before your workout.
Experts advise not to eat anything heavy before training as such foods could cause digestive problems and bloating. Instead, you can use fresh fruit, whole grain products or rice.
4. Not every piece of fitness equipment is right for you
If you don’t know how to do exercises correctly on a fitness machine, then you should avoid this machine and ask a trainer first.
Otherwise, incorrect execution can lead to injuries. Nevertheless, there is generally nothing wrong with using fitness equipment.
In reality, they can be a great help for fitness beginners. Plus, most of them target specific muscle groups that are difficult to train with bodyweight training alone.
5. At this time you should consume proteins
It is true that after a workout you should replenish the glycogen reserves in your muscles.
However, the time window is significantly larger than many people think. Instead of the supposed rule of consuming proteins within an hour, it is sufficient to consume proteins within two to four hours after training.
6. Train more than one muscle group per day
“Today is my leg day.” A sentence you often hear in the gym. It’s bodybuilding logic that tells you to only train a certain muscle group per workout.
This is not necessarily wrong, because if you design your training plan this way, you can be sure that you have trained every muscle group effectively. Nevertheless, it is not a must to structure your training this way.
Full-body workouts that target multiple muscle groups within one session are just as effective.