Summer inspires activity. Outdoor living and swimsuits work hand-in-hand to inspire more exercise.

    That being said, you can still make excuses for not exercising enough. Or–just as bad–you might exercise in ways that undermine your health.

    That’s why we put this article together. Let’s dispel the myths about exercise. When you’re done reading this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to exercise for best results…making sure any misperceptions don’t get in your way.

Myth #1: I Can’t Exercise Because I’m Sick

    Exercise continues to prove itself as one of the best forms of medicine out there. Certainly when your body is ill, you need rest. You need to reduce stress so your body can do the hard work of healing.

But often enough, bringing in some strategic exercise can make all of the difference. Here are some examples:

• With diabetes, exercise helps increase insulin sensitivity.¹

• You should apply caution when it comes to exercising intensively, but regular activity strengthens the heart and the entire cardiovascular system.

• With asthma, exercise can strengthen your lungs and reduce inflammation that causes reduced air flow in the bronchioles. Research shows that exercise may improve adults’ control over asthma symptoms.²

• When it comes to digestion, simply walking more may help counter both constipation and loose bowels.^{3 4}

• Even with cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends exercise as a tool to help minimize the side effects of treatment, helping with nausea and fatigue.⁵ Some research demonstrates exercise may go a step further by enhancing the effects of cancer therapy in slowing tumor growth.⁶

Myth #2: I Can’t Exercise Because I’m In Pain

    Pain is your body’s way of communicating with you. And certainly, sometimes that pain can tell you something’s wrong and may require therapy and rest–not more action.

    But in many cases, pain should not get in the way of getting exercise. In fact, exercise itself may help reduce the pain!

    Take arthritis, for example. A 2011 review of studies published in the World Journal of Orthopedics showed exercise reduced the osteoarthritic knee pain.

How does this work?

• Exercise may loosen stiff joints. As you move, blood circulates to the joints bringing in nourishment and taking away metabolites that may contribute to inflammation and stiffness.

• Walking, biking and weight-training may all contribute to increasing the output of synovial fluid, cushioning your joints even better.⁷

• The more muscle you have, the less strain on your joints. Your muscles act like an exoskeleton scaffold, taking weight off your joints, holding your joints in place, buffering and facilitating movement.⁸

• Finally several studies indicate exercise may trigger the body’s own anti-inflammatory pain killers such as cytokines.⁹

Myth #3: The Harder You Exercise, The Better

    This is true to a certain extent. Nothing beats an intense workout for building cardiovascular health, muscles, bone density, immunity and more.

    But there’s a catch.

    Too much of a good thing can turn bad. If you don’t allow your body time to recover from workouts, you can cause more harm than good.    

    Excessively vigorous exercise can weaken your immune system, damage your heart and destroy your joints.^{10 11 12}

   And when it comes to building strong bones, usually helped by exercise – new research shows over-exercising may do just the opposite!

    Canadian researchers decided to monitor Olympic rowers for two specific proteins: Osteoprotegerin, a protein that stops mineral loss. And sclerostin, a protein that inhibits new bone formation.

    Researchers found that when the rowers trained intensively, their osteoprotegerin levels went down. And their sclerostin levels increased in correspondence with the highest intensity training. Significantly, this is also when researchers observed the highest levels of inflammation in the body.¹³

    How much exercise is too much?

    That’s hard to determine universally. But most of the documented damage done by exercise has been with professional athletes or endurance sport enthusiasts like triathletes, those who push themselves to the max.

    The key point to bear in mind is this. While your body needs activity, it also needs rest. This is particularly true as we get older and our body’s internal repair mechanisms aren’t as productive.

    Exercise makes you stronger because it tells your body to build muscle, repair tissues, and add cardio capacity. But if you don’t give it the time to renew itself, you won’t enjoy all its benefits.

    Try to become more in tune with your body to assess how much wear and tear you’re feeling. Make sure you get enough sleep. And if you’re a die-hard exerciser, make sure you schedule a couple rest days each week as well.

Myth #4: Exercise Is All About Discipline

    There’s no arguing that exercise requires some discipline. There’s no comparison between snoozing in a hammock and running a mile or walking for 30 minutes.

    But it shouldn’t be all about gritting your teeth. In fact, if you find you’re using will power alone to get moving, you may be sabotaging your workout routine over the long run.

    Simply put, when you don’t enjoy exercising, you’re less likely to do it.

    In contrast, when you get some form of satisfaction from your workout, you’ll do it more often. The challenge should be less in getting through your workout and more in finding a repeatable workout (or two or three!) that you look forward to.

    These days there’s an activity for everyone…whether it’s beating up a bag in a kickboxing class…or doing yoga with baby goats climbing all over you (yes, it’s true!) …or working in your garden…or playing soccer with your kids…or exploring the hills on your bike…

    You can experiment by looking around and trying a few new things. Find something that you take pleasure in doing. It’s that simple.

    And keep finding new things you enjoy so you can mix up your activities. Part of making exercise enjoyable is making it interesting.

Myth #5: I Don’t Have Enough Time To Exercise

    Perhaps the greatest excuse for not exercising is that you don’t have the time to do it. Well, research from the last few years blows that myth out of the water!

    It turns out, just by alternating high intensity bouts of activity with short rest periods over as little as 7 minutes to half an hour, you can get better exercise gains than if you jogged for an hour. An example of this is doing eight 50-meter sprints with short rests in between.

    High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been shown to yield better endurance levels, better cardiovascular results and even does a better job at helping manage blood sugar levels than the old form of working out.¹⁴ One 2017 study published in the scientific journal, Cell Metabolism, indicates it may even help reverse aging at the cellular level.¹⁵

    And as a special bonus, these HIIT workouts work overtime! For close to two hours after you do a high intensity interval training workout, your body still burns up calories at a higher rate.

    The American College Of Sports Medicine highly recommends HIIT workouts, noting that they can be tailored for any person and for any activity.

    However, ACSM has indicated a word of caution with this form of exercise. If you’ve been inactive for a while, work closely with a professional trainer and start carefully. Because these forms of activity are high intensity, you may increase your risk of getting injured. And if you’ve had heart issues previously, you may be at greater risk for heart failure or a heart attack. The key to incorporating this safely is to tailor thechallenge to you fitness level then adjust the activity as you level16.