Being a woman in the world of fitness is relatively recent. Perhaps this is why some of the greatest sports myths are related to women’s athletic performance.
It was mainly from the 1980s, when the actress, activist, writer, model and businesswoman Jane Fonda released her famous exercise videos, that most women started practicing physical exercise . Fonda’s videos encouraged women to train at home, practicing a more aerobic workout. That is, they included activities that worked large muscle groups over an extended and rhythmic period of time, such as dancing, running or walking over long distances. Great emphasis was also placed on localized gymnastics , influencing and directing more and more women to group classes in gyms and similar spaces.
Although 3 decades have passed and giant steps have been taken towards greater emancipation of women, some myths of women’s sport prevail. The idea remains that group classes and weightless exercises are more targeted at women and strength training is reserved for men.
The top 5 myths of women’s sport
It is very interesting to analyze the social stigmas still associated with this theme. Although more and more women practice physical exercise , there are still many prejudices and myths in women’s sport that need to be clarified. Shall we analyze them together?
1. The gym is a space reserved for perfect women and muscular men
“I’m ashamed to train in a gym, surrounded by perfect bodies.” This is one of the first thoughts that many of us have when we consider training in a gym . There is no doubt that we are very influenced by what we see on the Internet, especially on social networks. In fact, we just need to search for “women in fitness” to see, in the results, women who are muscular and with perfect bodies. But the truth is that, in most gyms, 90% of women have absolutely ordinary and “normal” bodies.
The stigma that women should not mix with men at the ginásio and that they should stay away from “their territory” is still very present: weight zone ”. The idea of going to train alone for this area is still a huge taboo for many women. The presence of a personal trainer has a key role in overcoming all these fears and stigmas.
2. To lose weight, the most effective is aerobic training
This is, in my opinion as a professional in the field, one of the biggest sports myths . All those hours spent on the treadmill, in the hope of losing weight, are wasted time in your life. The training cardiovascular is important, but in moderate doses and always combined with a training strength / functional . This one is excellent for loss of fat mass , making us lose calories up to 24 hours after its execution, thanks to the so-called EPOC ( Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption ).
3. Weight training makes the female body too muscular
Girls, this is a myth giant! Bodybuilding / functional training is good for all of us, from 0 to 100 years old! For us women, it is extremely difficult to grow muscle. We can, and should, do bodybuilding / functional training as it has many benefits for our muscle and osteoarticular health . It prepares our body for everything and, as we have seen, it is an excellent ally for weight loss . Paulo Gentil states that, when associated with a change in eating habits, the effect of weight training is two times higher than aerobic activities for weight loss.
4. Intensive training takes care of your food
Training is not enough to achieve results! In addition to training, it is really important to check if you are taking care of your diet. One of the biggest sports myths is to think that, by training more, you don’t need to follow a strict diet plan.
And training? Are you really doing the exercises that are right for you? Ask a sports professional for help and you will certainly see results more quickly. Registering the entire process photographically is an excellent tool to measure your progress and also to motivate yourself.
5. To lose belly you have to do a lot of sit-ups
Here is another great sport myth ! The belly is not miraculously lost doing sit-ups. Our body works as a whole, so we have to do exercises that involve the whole body. One of the best training methods to lose belly is HIIT – High Intensity Interval Workouts.
Demystifying these and other prejudices and myths about women’s sport is very important to help you improve performance of your training. Visit the Oito blog.One and follow some of the best sports tips.