Troublesome Reporting

I found an article that bothers me.

The headline reads “Top Ten FitnessMyths”. Now that to me sounds like a helpful piece of reporting, and I read the article. I would like to say that it was full of solid information and useful suggestions. I would like to say that in reading the it I was inspired to make corrections to my own personal workout routines. I would like to say that Santa brought me a new pony. All are of equal validity.

Not going into the accuracy of the piece, I will leave that for another time. All it really did was create more excuses for people to avoid eating right and exercising. There was no references for the “facts” presented. When you click on the various links in the piece an ad pops up, big help there.

The sad part is that there were some valid OPINIONS in the article and a few I personally subscribe too. For example:

10. Crunches are the best way to get a six-pack

    Everyone, from the average civilian to elite level athletes, has been fooled by the same misconception. Doing crunches and sit-ups are not the best way to get a six-pack. Having a visible six-pack is almost entirely a function of body fat and minimally a function of abdominal development. We all know the rail-thin guys that have a shredded midsection. Contrast the overwhelming majority of powerlifters who have insanely strong core muscles but don’t sport a six-pack. Intuitively, we all know this, but when we start to feel saggy in the midsection, we go straight for the ab exercises. Contrary to popular belief, training a muscle group will not burn fat locally. This means that doing ab exercises won’t burn fat from your midsection. Save yourself the wasted time and probable back pain -- the best way to get a six-pack involves making better dietary choices and doing high-intensity interval training.

This is largely true. To show a “6-pack” men need to have around 9% body fat, women around 12%.

You also need to have your core muscles defined. Read here: you gotta work them!

To cap it off on this same page was an and for an article where the reporter lost an incredible amount of body fat by eating a “super berry”.

A myth is a myth.