Busting Eight of the Most Toxic Fitness Myths

What follows are some of the most common, toxic myths in the health and fitness world that are being used to manipulate and control people.

At first, it might be hard to hear some of these. But once you see through these you can get on the path to sustainable, long-term changes in your health.

1. If it’s not hurting, you’re not doing it right

Pain is a signal from your body asking for something to change. It’s not a sign that you’re weak or need to push through. Most of the time if you push through, you’re telling your body to fuck off. And when you do that, your body will just make the pain signal louder until can’t ignore it and you’re forced to listen.

Also, it should be known that there is a difference between acute pain and chronic pain. Sometimes pain is a signal of tissue damage. Other times it can be a signal of fear or mistrust based on past experiences. Learning to work with your pain, respect it and find movements that feel good is important to any kind of pain-recovery strategy.

But pushing through and ignoring pain is almost never a good idea.

2. You have to always push your limits or you’ll never improve

No. You need to learn how to honor your edges and know when is the right time to challenge them. Some days, weeks or months it’s better to focus on movement quality, rest, nervous system care or just going into maintenance mode.

3. Getting stronger is just about building more muscle

That’s just a part of the equation. It’s also about learning how to regulate your emotions. It’s learning to unlearn unhelpful stories. It’s learning how to say no and honor your internal boundaries.

4. Stretching is the only way to get more flexible

Sometimes stretching is the way to get flexible, yes. But sometimes you have chronic tension because you’re stuck in a trauma response, or are dealing with high levels of stress.

Other times you might be tight because certain muscles are overworking and need more support from neighboring stabilizers.

5. Some people just have bad backs (hips, shoulders, whatever)

First of all, there are no real “bad” anythings. There are areas of our bodies that need healing and support. Secondly, a lot of the time what you think is the problem, a bad back for instance, could actually be a weak core or overly tight hip flexors.

6. “Six weeks to six-pack abs”

This is utter bullshit. Unless you are already at a very low percentage body fat and you just need to lose 3 lbs to see your abs, this is 99% of the time a lie. It’s used to prey on desperate people, usually men, thinking that abs will make them happy or get the partner they want.

Sorry dudes, abs are great. But it’s actually being grounded in yourself, knowing who you are, and being a caring, emotionally intelligent human that will help you attract the mate you want.

7. Get the splits in 4 weeks!

Okay, here’s another horrible one. It makes me sick to think that people honestly advertise this way and that it’s not illegal.

The only way you’re going to get the splits in 4 weeks is if some Soviet Union-type gymnast teacher rips your legs open and tears all the ligaments in your groin. No joke, I’ve heard from clients that this happened to them, sadly.

8. The Perfect Program

Sure, there are some things that generally help a lot of people. I give most of my clients breathing practices and TVA / deep core exercises. These things are generally good for most people.

But much of the time these generic, OSFA bullshit programs are an excuse by coaches to not put in the work to do a proper assessment and give you the right progressions for your body to meet you where you are. Lack of proper progressions is 90% of the time why people don’t make progress or injure themselves constantly.

Let’s move beyond the hype and start focusing on what actually works

Long-term change takes work. It’s not always super sexy and it doesn’t always look like the flashy things you see on Instagram (that even I post to get your attention).

But, if you’re willing to consistently prioritize nervous system care, work on the foundations, and really slow down, you can build a healthy, beautiful relationship with your body.

And through that, you can move with less pain and more freedom.

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