Exercise and Fitness Quiz: Test Your IQ
Muscle weighs more than fat.
A pound is a pound regardless of whether the pound is fat or muscle.
The truth about muscle is that it's denser than fat and takes up a smaller amount of space in the body. In fact, scientists estimate that 1 pound of muscle occupies about 22% less space than 1 pound of fat!
Maintaining physical fitness requires major lifestyle changes.
Fitness can be achieved through small changes in what you eat and your level of activity. It's really that simple. Remember that you can start out slowly; work your way up to a higher level of activity, and implement more dietary changes over time.
Patience is essential. Don't try to do too much too soon, and don't quit before you have a chance to experience the rewards of improved fitness and a healthy diet!
"No pain, no gain" is a workout myth.
"No pain, no gain" is a workout myth because while some muscle aches and pains are normal when beginning a new fitness routine, many types of pain are bad for you.
According to Jeffrey Berg, an orthopedic surgeon and team physician for the Washington Redskins, "There are other aches and pains, such as joint pain, bone pain, muscle strains, and ligament or tendon strains, which are bad, and you should back off of because they'll get worse if you ignore them." He adds, "Always ease into an exercise plan to avoid injury. The recommendation is if you're healthy and you know it, you can start exercising, but err on the side of being too slow than too fast to avoid injury."
Weight loss should be the most important goal of fitness and exercise.
It's a fact that weight loss is the main reason people exercise at all, but losing weight is certainly not the only benefit of exercising and should therefore not be the main goal.
If you're starting a fitness program, don't make weight loss your only goal! Strive to feel better or to have more energy. You'll get more out of your program if you notice the small payoffs that exercise provides in a very short amount of time.
You should warm up before exercising.
Each workout should begin with a warm-up. A warm-up should include 5 to 10 minutes of exercise such as walking, slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles, and/or trunk rotations. Warming up is important to help prevent injury. It also helps to maximize benefits from exercise.
The more you sweat during a workout, the more fat the body is burning.
"This is false," says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. "The amount you sweat is indicative of your body's ability to maintain its normal body temperature. You sweat when your body starts to store heat so you can experience cooling via evaporation of that sweat. So it doesn't correlate to how much energy, or calories, is being expended."
A desirable level of fitness can be achieved through at least _______ workouts per week.
Frequency, duration, intensity, and what kinds of exercises you do should be determined by what you are trying to accomplish. Your goals, your present fitness level, age, health, skills, interests, and convenience are among the factors you should consider. Still, you can reach your fitness goals in as little as three workouts per week!
