“Any number of steps is better than zero”: FPA President Dmitry Kalashnikov dispels popular myths about fitness and healthy lifestyle

Sometimes in matters of fitness and a healthy lifestyle it is difficult to figure out what is true and what is not. President of the Association of Fitness Professionals Dmitry Kalashnikov told the forum "Scientists against myths" that many supporters of a healthy lifestyle are mistaken.

The organizers of the lectureANTROPOGENESIS.RU"- posted record on his YouTube channel, and Lifehacker made a summary.

1. The main culprit of injury is the wrong technique

It would seem obvious that the correct technique for performing exercises is very important. Let's figure out what it is and why it was invented.

What is the delusion

In sports, everything is simple: the right approach is the one that will help you achieve the best result. For example, the best technique in jumping is the one that allows you to take the greatest height. In weightlifting, the one that will help lift the heaviest weight.

But fitness is different. Here the victory is not the main thing. Our main goal is improve health.

Then the question arises, what is bad technique in fitness and why is it harmful. She has two main characteristics:

1. Creates problems right during the exercise. If you are uncomfortable and uncomfortable, if you lose your balance, do not control your body and are afraid to fall, if something hurts, then the technique needs to be changed.
2. Causes overload of the musculoskeletal system. Muscles, joints, spine and ligaments suffer. In the future, this will lead to rapid wear, which means it can cause injury.

The first point is beyond doubt. The second is more difficult. What will happen in the future is the realm of predictions. And any predictions require scientifically proven confirmation.

For example, researchers can take two groups. The first will do exercises in one technique, the second - in a completely different way. If athletes from a certain group have more injuries, it means that the technique is really to blame. But for some reason, such studies have never been carried out. This means that all the requirements to perform the exercises only in this way, and not otherwise, are simply sucked from the finger.

If you show photos of weightlifters, in which one will have a straight back, and the other will bend it with a wheel, then almost everyone will say: the first one works correctly, and the second one does not. But it's not. Maybe they perform different exercises and each has its own purpose. Therefore, any technique that does not cause discomfort during the session can be correct.

There may or may not be a causal relationship between two events.

What is really

Research reveals the true causes of injury:

• chronic overload;
• inadequate recovery;
• stress;
• emotions;
• insufficient sleep;
• ignoring past traumas.

Still, technique is very important. If a person loses his balance, he is in pain or uncomfortable, he simply cannot, for example, straighten his back or straighten his knees, this is an alarm signal. So the load is too high. And if an injury occurs, it will not happen because of improper technique, but only because of exceeding the permissible load.

2. Need to walk 10,000 steps every day

Let's say right away: the benefits of daily walking are not a myth. This activity really has a great effect on the body. Only the number is in doubt.

What is the delusion

It has long been no secret that the number is came up with Japanese marketers to sell the pedometer. The genius of the marketing ploy is that it was not just a device for calculating the distance traveled, but a “pedometer-10,000”.

The figure was taken from the ceiling. But the device counted exactly this amount and only then reported on the fulfilled norm. After this pedometer entered the market, information appeared in all the media, where the main ones were exactly 10,000.

People love round beautiful numbers. And 10,000 looks just perfect. Therefore, the legend was very easy to promote and promote.

What is really

Walking and indeed one of the most accessible forms of physical activity. It can be done by a person with any level of training.

However, in relation to different effects on the human body, there is a dose-effect relationship. This rule is well known to doctors and applies to both useful things and harmful ones. It helps to calculate, for example, the effective dose of drugs and the safe volume of alcoholic beverages.

If the dose is too low, it gives little effect. We make it more - the effect is enhanced. It is possible to determine the optimal dosage when the effect is at its best. But if you increase it even more, the effect drops. And then it can turn into its opposite and even threaten the health and life of a person.

The same rule applies to physical activity. Few steps - there is little benefit. More is better. There is a daily load that will bring the maximum effect for health and physical development. If you increase it, the benefit will decrease. And then the load becomes excessive.

The thing is that the numbers of the greatest efficiency are very individual. For one, 10,000 steps is the norm, you can go more. And another enough five or six thousand. Or even one thousand, if a person is just starting regular training.

3. Drink 8 glasses of pure water daily

And again, let's pay attention: we really cannot live without water. But even here there are claims to the figure.

What is the delusion

The need to drink a certain water volume, and it is clean, also a trick of marketers. This is very convenient: first to inform that people constantly need to drink. Moreover, soup, tea, coffee, fruit drinks and other drinks and dishes in which there is liquid are supposedly not suitable.

And then bring to the market drinking water in small bottles. They are easy to take with you wherever you go. A person buys water and every time he takes a sip, he thinks: "I'm done, I take care of my health."

It becomes a habit. If he forgets to take a bottle with him, he will experience anxiety. And many unscrew the cap, take a sip or two, not because they are thirsty, but out of habit.

What is really

First, there is no need to drink only clean water. Anything that contains liquid counts, coffee and soup.

Secondly, the body itself perfectly regulates our need for water. The nervous system is responsible for this. If there is not enough water, it immediately turns on feeling of thirst. And it cannot be confused with a feeling of hunger, which is also believed by many.

In our body, there is enough fluid in the form of various compounds. And if we are left without water for an hour or two, nothing terrible will happen. The only negative effect is the feeling of thirst.

Dehydration can threaten, for example, athletes who run a marathon when it's hot outside. In this case, they lose not only liquid, but also important trace elements. But an ordinary person in his usual conditions has nothing to fear.

Therefore, you can take a sip or two from the bottle if it calms you. It's a matter of habit. But if you suddenly leave the house, forgetting to take water, nothing bad will happen.

4. Small meals help you lose weight

It is often said that fractional meals are a wonderful way to protect yourself from certain diseases. Or speed up your metabolism lose weight. Let's see where the truth is.

What is the delusion

Fractional nutrition does not force the body to spend more energy on digesting food. Yes, there is a so-called thermal effect - when the body not only receives energy from food, but also spends some part on its processing.

And fractional nutrition allegedly leads to an increase in energy costs. Apparently, it seemed to those who came up with this: if you eat twice, the body will spend more energy than in one meal. But it's not.

The amount of energy for digesting food does not depend on whether you ate one large portion or divided it into three small ones. Only the amount of food matters, not the number of her appointments.

As for the issues of metabolism, then if you are not a doctor, it is better not to go into this topic at all.

What is really

Yes, some people need to eat little and several times a day. There are diseases in which large portions can be harmful. But only a doctor can recommend switching to fractional nutrition when he makes an appropriate diagnosis.

And metabolism is never too fast or too slow. It can be either correct or wrong. If something is really wrong with him, then only doctors can decide how to fix everything. If you want to lose weight change diet, this is a really efficient way.

5. Muscle pain indicates that the workout was successful

There is a famous phrase in the song of the Scorpions: "No pain no gain", that is, "No pain - no progress." Many people think that in the process of training everything is exactly like this: if after training the muscles hurtmeans you did a good job.

What is the delusion

The cause of the pain is micro-tears in the muscle fibers. As studies have shown, not only muscles can suffer during exercise - the same loads cause microdamage to the nervous tissue. They are responsible for muscle pain. But microtrauma does not help strengthen muscles. On the contrary, the body needs to spend additional resources to recover from damage.

What is really

During training, another process occurs. The same load stimulates the synthesis of muscle proteins. Sports doctors and physiologists argue what exactly triggers muscle growth - the release of hormones or the accumulation of metabolites in the muscles. But they have already found out for sure: progress is not a consequence of muscle microtraumas, which pain tells us about. It is a parallel independent process.

The phrase "No pain no gain" really makes sense. But rather portable: do not give in to despondency, you just need to keep moving.