Exercise

The word exercise can mean the following:

Common myths

Many common myths have arisen surrounding exercise, some of which have a basis in reality, and some which are completely false.

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• Spot reduction.

It is a common belief that training a particular body part will preferentially shed the fat on that part; for example, that doing sit-ups is the most direct way to reduce subcutaneous belly fat. This is false. Most of the energy derived from fat gets to the muscle through the bloodstream and reduces stored fat in the entire body. Fat is reduced in a pattern determined mostly by genetics. Sit-ups may improve the size and shape of core muscles and may reduce the unsightly appearance of belly fat, but the belly fat will often be the last fat removed from the body.

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• Only overweight people need a physical before beginning an exercise program.

Absolutely false. Only a physician can determine your ability to engage in an exercise program. Apparently healthy people can still have unknown medical conditions, such as a heart murmur, that can cause severe injury or death not only to themselves, but also to others that are dependent upon them, such as someone they are spotting.

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• Muscle tissue will turn into fat once a person stops exercising.

False. Fat tissue and muscle tissue are fundamentally different. However, the more common expression of this myth "muscle will turn to fat" has a grain of truth. Although a muscle cell will not become a fat cell, the material that makes up muscle can in fact turn to fat. The catabolism of muscle fibers releases protein, which can turn to glucose that can be burned as fuel, and excesses of which can be stored as fat. Moreover, the composition of a body part can change toward less muscle and more fat, so that a cross-section of the upper-arm for example, will have a greater area corresponding to fat and a smaller area corresponding to muscle.

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