MILO BRYANT: Toss out glut of workout myths

So many myths and jumbled fact about fitness are floating around that somebody should write a book and call it "Fitness Myths! Fitness Facts!"

Hmmmmmm.

Anyway let's get the scoop.

Myth: A thousand crunches and sit-ups a day will get rid of belly fat.

Fact: They will help strengthen the core body muscles, but fat loss starts in the kitchen. Eat to lose overall body fat, and you just might begin to see muscles born of all those crunches and sit-ups.

Myth: If you're not sweating, you're not working hard.

Fact: Sweat is great.

But it's not an indicator of energy exertion.

Sweat is the body's way of cooling itself. I could stand outside on a hot day, not move a muscle and sweat buckets.

Myth: No pain. No gain.

Fact: All right, meathead: The 1980s are calling and they want their Olivia Newton-John "Let's Get Physical" tape back. If there's pain, stop.

Myth: (Imagine me using my best possible female voice) But I'll bulk up if I lift weights.

Fact: Women, unless you're sticking testosterone-filled needles in your butt, you don't have enough of the hormone in your body to look like Ahhnold.

Myth: I work out, so I can eat what I want.

Fact: C'mon now. Remember the easiest equation in fitness. Calories in > Calories out = weight gain.

Myth: More cardio is the best way to lose body fat.

Fact: It's a way to lose fat, but it's highly inefficient. Cardio - rather, excessive cardio - robs the body of muscle and fat. When we lose muscle mass, our body loses its fat-burning efficiency.

Myth: Muscle weighs more than fat.

Fact: Common sense here. Put a pound of muscle on a balance scale and a pound of fat on the other side. What do we get? Balance!

The difference is in the size. The muscle might look to be the size of a plum while the fat is the size of a cantaloupe.

Obviously, you want the muscle.

Myth: Water fitness programs are for injured or older folks.

Fact: Ever heard of Michael Phelps?

If I remember correctly he does a water fitness program. I seem to recall him being in world-class shape.

Myth: Gyms offer the best method of getting fit.

Fact: Looking outside my offce window right now, I see a road, grass, a playground and fields in the distance and there's this huge mountain overlooking the Colorado Front Range.

More days than not, those are my gym.

Myth: That guy in the paper actually knows what he's talking about.

Fact: Well, actually ... umm ... ahh ... that's a fact. Really, it is! Seriously!

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Milo Bryant has two National Strength and Conditioning Association certifications and he appears on KOAA's Comcast Channel 9 most Wednesdays at 4 p.m. You can contact him by e-mail at milo.bryant@gazette.com or read his blog at milobryant.blogspot.com