4 Lies Fitness Magazines Love to tell You
Relying on fitness magazines to tell you how to work out is like relying on car magazines to teach you how to drive a car – you will not learn how to do it without an instructor nor will you be able to look good just by reading magazines. From articles like “Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Days” to “You Must Try These Workouts,” it seems that fitness magazines are intentionally trying to become more and more ridiculous. Here are four of the biggest lies often featured in these publications.
The “Women Should Not Lift Weights” Lie
Women should not lift weights? Yeah? Why is that? This standpoint is not only senseless, and borderline offensive, but absolutely incorrect – people who advocate it have no idea how to get into shape and how much work you have to put into it. Finally, some women want a lean body and some muscles as well; And this is where things get tricky.
Most people think that weights make a woman’s body bulky and too big. But building such a body is quite hard, particularly for a woman, and it takes years and years. Therefore, working out in the gym thrice a week will not make you bulky no matter how many weights you lift. Ultimately, weights are desirable if you want certain results like a lean body, toned legs and tight arms that everyone will envy.
The “Ab Workout Will Make You Ripped” Lie
Abs are amazing at combining the most sought for image on the entire body – a great six-pack – with the most boring and mind-killing exercise of them all – sit-ups. They are just too tiring, senseless and dull, which is why most people leave them for the end of their training sessions. Ab workouts will never provide you a killer set of abs, no matter what fitness magazines tell you – nevertheless, something else will.
What you need to do is lose the belly fat and build solid core muscles. And that is all! No secrets, no lies, no misleading information. If you manage to lower your body fat percentage down to 15% for men or about 25% for women, your abs will come out to say hi. But, if you want them to be really shredded, these numbers have to go down to 7% and 15% for men and women, respectively. Moreover, if you build proper muscles around your abs, the six-pack you were going for will be much more impressive.
The “You Must Take Supplements” Lie
This is probably the single most serious problem with fitness magazines – they keep suggesting shortcuts, but you should realize that there are no alternative ways of reaching visible results, besides hard work. One of the most talked about shortcuts is the idea that supplements are irreplaceable and absolutely necessary. Yes, supplements will make a huge difference in your appearance, but they will not do all the work for you. And that is the only truth.
What supplements will do, however, is help you finish what you have started and accomplish whatever goals you have set for yourself – getting a toned body, losing weight, building muscles, etc. A proper combination of trustworthy supplements – and even simple things like caffeine – will make you more prepared for the gym and more relaxed after it. That is why you should introduce them into your regime.
The “You Do Not Need a Personal Trainer” Lie
A lot of fitness magazines will advise you not to hire a personal trainer, but choose a workout guide that will help you get maximum results. This, nevertheless, can work for some people, but not everyone – not all gym enthusiasts can get the most out of a simple guide and they could honestly use some real and practical help.
The reason for this propaganda is quite simple – a number of magazines sell guides and motivational videos, which is why it is in their best interest to make you spend money on that, instead on hiring a professional trainer. Moreover, with a new set of “helpful” tips appearing in every single issue, this is how fitness magazines keep their readership.
Other Popular Lies
Besides these, there are other lies you need to watch out for – fitness magazines will tell you that you can eat junk food and still look amazing, that you need a fancy and expensive diet, or that cardio is enough for regulating weight. These are all based on unchecked and unreliable data, so you need to start doubting this advice. Or just stop purchasing fitness magazines altogether!
About the Author
Samantha has a B.Sc. in nutrition, and has spent two years working as a personal trainer. Since then, she has embarked on a mission to conquer the blogospere. When not in the gym or on the track, you can find her on Twitter at or in a tea shop.