By Vic Magary, Author of The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure, Personal Trainer and Former U.S. Army Soldier

I could write an entire book on the subject of “fitness myths”

I’ll spare you the 200 page book though, and boil it down to the 5 biggest myths when it comes to getting in shape.   Here they are…

5. Looking fit is the same as being fit.

Oh how I love it when the former high school football jock walks into my gym for the first time. He’s ten years or so removed from his varsity jacket, but he still looks to be in decent shape. Hell, he still tries to maintain himself by going to the gym three days a week and he IS in better shape than your average Joe.

But his fitness magazine workout built muscles hide the truth about his level of fitness. They give him an unmistakable machismo and I can’t help but satisfy this urge to serve him some humble pie.

So I feed him a simple 4 minute workout of Tabata squats. There is no added weight mind you – just his body. His face flushes, his legs tremble, but he makes it to the end. And then he curls into the fetal position over in the corner.

Being “fit” should be able to give a person a relatively high level of performance across a broad spectrum of physical attributes including strength, coordination, flexibility, balance and endurance. You can look like a swimwear model and still get humbled and exposed by having to move heavy appliances.

Don’t let that happen to you.

4. Targeting specific muscle groups is the best way to work out.

How many times have people said to you “Today I’m doing bi’s and tri’s” or “Tuesday is my chest workout day”? How you should plan a resistance training program depends on several factors, but the fitness goal you have in mind is the most important one that we’ll concern ourselves with here.

Why are you doing this strength workout? Instead of designing programs around muscles, I prefer to design them around movements.

The real world is never going to give you a task that focuses only on your “bi’s”. It is important to treat the body as the one piece that it is and exercise accordingly. The staples of any workout should include full body movements like presses, power cleans and deadlifts.

Or at least any program whose aim is to get you looking good AS WELL as being in shape!

3. You need supplements to get in good shape.

Supplements should only be used for what their name implies: to “supplement” an already healthy diet. Pills, powders, potions, and drink mixes are not the miracle workers they are advertised to be.

Most supplements have little use, and the few that are helpful should be applied only after solid nutrition is in place. What supplements do I recommend?

A multi-vitamin is never going to get bad mouthed by me. An omega-3 supplement if you are unable to get it from your diet first (and few of us can) is acceptible. And maybe, and I said maybe, a protein powder if you not able to get the required amount of protein in your diet.

Keep the Horny Goat Weed to yourself.

2. Long slow running is the best way to lose fat

I so wish this myth would pass the way of the dinosaur.

But I still hear people saying how they’re running 5 miles a day in order to lose weight. I tell them that if they really want to run and lose weight they should sprint their ass off until they are dizzy and then walk until their stability returns. Then repeat this cycle until they feel like they can’t go on..

The reality about long slow cardio training of any type whatsoever – whether it’s pounding the pavement or watching the wheels go ’round on the eliptical is inefficient to put it kindly and a waste of time if you want to be more direct. And for all of you gerbils rocking the treadmills, don’t get me started on the “fat burning zone” of the digital read out.

Just like your prom date saying that you’re her first time, they are liars – don’t believe what it says.

1. Crunches will get rid of belly fat.

Oh man, this one is right up there with long slow cardio as far as getting my blood boiling goes. In a very broad sense, getting rid of fat is simply burning more calories than you take in.

And doing a crunch, which manuvers the body through a short range of motion, is not going to use many calories.

Jumpstarting your metabolism with some solid strength or bodyweight workouts is going to go a hell of a lot farther in deflating your spare tire than racking up your crunch total.

I’ll even go this far to say you can get a 6 pack without doing a single crunch.

Any more myths I need to put to rest?

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