In this article I want to debunk some of the most basic myths that have been around since the beginning of the modern health movement.
People have been using some of these myths as an excuse to not exercise or eat right. The same people who probably came up with this stuff are now using them to instill fear into the heart of others, in an attempt to stop them from living a healthy lifestyle. Let us begin:
Table of Contents
1) The “I don’t want to get too big” excuse
“I don’t workout because I don’t want to look like those bodybuilder guys!”
Even if you work out 7 times a week and eat like a lion, you will still not even come close to a bodybuilding look. Bodybuilding athletes put in years of painful training, pushing their bodies to their limit and make personal sacrifices in their lives in order to look like that.
Not to mention the use of anabolic drugs that need money, doctor’s supervision and specialized knowledge.
It is a whole lifestyle with specific nutritional and exercise rules.
So put down the bag of chips, stop using this excuse, get off your couch and exercise.
2) The “I don’t like too much muscle” excuse (female version)
This applies more specifically to females and it sounds something like this:
“I am a woman and I don’t lift weights because I will look like those bodybuilding girls!”
Those bodybuilding girls follow the same lifestyle mentioned above and they have made certain choices by using hormonal compounds (aka anabolic steroids) to help them achieve that physique.
So, unless you plan on going on an anabolic steroids protocol (which is not only expensive but also needs medical supervision, as I mentioned earlier), lifting weights will not make you look like a bodybuilder!
3) The steroids excuse
“I don’t take any type of steroids. All those amino acids and protein powders can kill you.”
First of all, protein supplements are not steroids. Their goal is to supplement your existing nutrition with specific micro or macronutrients (e.g. protein) in order to support your exercise goals.
If your nutrition is in check and you can get all your nutrients from food (provided that your gut health is also optimal in order to use those nutrients), you do not need any type of supplementation.
However, and using protein as an example, adding extra protein to your diet can help you get there faster, provided that:
- The supplement used is high quality and from a good source (i.e. not soy),
- It is made in a supervised facility (i.e. GMP),
- Your body can make use of those nutrients,
- You are using the right dose,
- You take it at the right time.
4) The ‘doctors don’t recommend supplements’ excuse
“Supplements are evil. My doctor said so.”
Your doctor makes a good living by doing 2 things: providing medical advice and prescribing medicine to you (OK, sometimes they actually help people too).
While the contribution of doctors in the modern health world is undeniable, the pharmaceutical industry is still a business and its goal is to make money. So if keeping you unhealthy and sick makes them more money, then guess what? They will stick to their game plan!
So of course, the pharmaceutical industry competes with the supplement industry.
That does not mean that the supplement industry is innocent BUT, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves on what is wrong and what is right.
For example, taking antibiotics on a constant basis will make your immune system weak and susceptible to disease.
On the other side of the coin, taking supplements ONLY without having a healthy nutritional plan will not make you healthy!
So supplements, just like drugs, need to be taken with certain guidelines in mind (dosage, timing, cycling etc). And while your doctor is the person you need to see for drugs and medicine, there are professional experts who can guide you with supplements in order to optimize your health and protect you from side-effects that are mostly related to overuse!
There are a lot of reasons why you should be taking supplements such as:
- Lack of time to prepare meals,
- Lack of cooking knowledge,
- Hectic lifestyle,
- Specific nutrient deficiency which can be environmental or genetic,
- Bad food quality and more.
All of the above have made supplements a necessity in almost every kind of lifestyle. So in that light, supplements have been a godsend to anyone looking to optimize their nutrition protocol and subsequently their health.
5) The ‘fitness will kill you’ excuse
“I don’t work out because I have read that all those fitness fanatics die young.”
Seriously, who makes up this shit?
And OK, in all fairness, there have been a few victims in sports and bodybuilding that have died of some kind of organ failure due to substance abuse.
HOWEVER:
The percentage of fatalities in sports are close to 0 (1-2%) when compared to deaths coming from obesity, diabetes and other organ failures caused by bad nutrition and lack of exercise (almost 50% of death annually is attributed to obesity and diabetes alone in the US).
This is because the media uses fear tactics and therefore can cause you to avoid exercise and instead have you eating junk food while sitting on your couch all day. That’s how the media works.
If we had a counter showing human fatalities per second from obesity and diabetes on the right side of our television screen, I think that more people would be motivated to put down those cheese puffs and start exercising.
Unfortunately, the food and pharmaceutical industries would be losing money if we were all that smart and wanted to be healthy. Are you getting the message yet?
6) The “I look good! I don’t need to exercise!” excuse
Looks can be deceiving sometimes. There is a misconception about how when someone looks good, they are healthy. That is not always the truth.
Let me explain. Some people, be it fitness models, models or bodybuilders, people who make money out of their physique, have to make sacrifices in order to stay in that shape. For instance, models may use diuretics to remove water out of their bodies to make them look ripped. So they will endanger their health to stay on the top of the list of their chosen profession and make money.
How is that different from the average American’s choices to skip vacations and work for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week? It’s just another choice. (I am using Americans here as they are famous for their hardcore and yet unhealthy work commitment and culture)
Going back to the excuse, looking good does not equal being healthy or feeling healthy. Depression is one of those examples that can be well hidden behind amazing looks. Feeling good is one way to assess physical health. Another way, is through getting properly tested by taking a blood test.
Even in the case of depression, exercise and proper nutrition can help by optimizing the levels of endorphins released in your body. Endorphins make you feel good. When you feel and look good, now that’s being healthy!
Working out and eating right is an investment for your health that will give you back results 10 fold. So if your looks are good, eating and exercising you will help keep looking good for years to come!
7) The ‘it’s all so hard and complicated’ excuse
“But exercising is so hard and dieting is so complicated! I refuse to have this type of stress in my life!”
We will always have some kind of pain as long as we live. Call me crazy but I think that when we come face to face with 2 evils, we tend to choose the one with the least amount of damage which will create the least amount of pain. Right?
Every day you need to ask yourself: “Do I want the pain from exercise and diet or do I want to suffer the pain of being unhealthy?”
And while the first pain appears to be less than the one coming from the latter, you tend to choose the second one! But you never know this until it’s too late.
So make a better choice tomorrow morning! Choose to face the pain of exercise and dieting in order to remove the pain of being unhealthy and spending money on doctors. It is the same doctors who will actually tell you that if you ate and worked out right, you wouldn’t be at their office in the first place!
Yes, exercise and dieting can be hard so make them more fun!
Start with the basics of nutrition and exercise and you will see that they are not as hard as you thought. What are the basics you ask? That is something I will share with you in an upcoming article so make sure you subscribe to this website!
8) The ‘Hacks in the fitness industry’ excuse
“There is so much information out there. Who do I believe? Where do I start from? Most coaches are hacks! That’s why I refuse to train or use supplements.”
Yes, that is the lamest excuse ever. While I do understand that abundance of information can cause one to feel overwhelmed and trapped, I do not understand why people tend to ignore the basics when it comes down to solving basic problems.
And yes, there are coaches out there who are hacks. Online coaches who have never worked out a day in their lives getting paid for passing along the advice of others.
So of course the failure rates of such online programs are low. Plus, it is not only the coaches. The clients also share part of the responsibility. You shouldn’t be calling coaches hacks when you, the client, failed to follow instructions because you wanted to do it your way or because you were too lazy in the first place.
There you have it, these are 8 myths and excuses of people who don’t exercise. So stop making these 8 excuses and take care of your body! Have you heard any of these before? Or perhaps you have heard something even worse than these 7? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
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by Nick Sigma
CWC, EH, E-YRT200
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