If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I’ve been on a bit of a rant lately when it comes to how fitness influencers show up on the Internet.

The truth is that A LOT of them are NOT the “truth.” Altered realities created by filters and body modification apps litter our phone screens more often than we know. I believe this is the culmination of what the Internet has done to our minds as it relates to our obsession with the perfect life accompanied by the perfect physique.

Newsflash. No one is perfect.

And I can prove that to you when I do away with the “Paris” filter and expose all the pores on my REAL face.

I digress.

I’m here to unload eight completely bullshit headlines to come out of the fitness industry (the same one that is also feeding you the fake people).

One. Lifting will make you bulky.

Lifting will NOT make you bulky. Lifting heavy WILL promote muscle growth, but this has absolutely nothing to do with bulkiness. Most of what society defines as “bulky” is actually fat accumulation. Lifting weights burns fat. It also increases bone density and improves physical coordination.

If you’re interested more on this topic, I wrote an entire blog on how lifting weights won’t make you bulky here.

Two. Workouts don’t count if you aren't sweaty or exhausted after the workout.

Sweat and exhaustion are not indicators of workout success. Hard stop.

There are MANY practices that require me to work (both my body and my mind) that do not require severe sweat and exhaustion.

Plus, this is all relative to the person. Seriously. I know people who sweat taking out the trash. I, on the other hand, am not much of a sweater. If I were gauging my workouts on sweat, I’d literally be “failing” every single day.

Three. Soreness means workouts are working.

Soreness is not the best indicator of the effectiveness of a workout.

Is it an indicator? Sure.

Is it the indicator? No.

Somewhere along the way, many trainers adopted this “no pain, no gain” mentality (bundled very closely into hustle culture). One of the areas where I think this is so prevalent is in the yoga world where yoga’s intention is a far cry from competing to sweat the most and be the sorest and do the most classes in a week. But, here we are.

DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, occurs most often when you start a new exercise routine or push your limits. Naturally, you’re more likely to get sore. But as you keep working out, your body adapts. You may feel less and less sore with each workout, but that doesn’t mean you’re not working out hard enough or that you’re missing out on fitness gains from those workouts.

You can actually prevent DOMS with these actions:

Stay hydrated
Warmup
Cool down
Take it slowly

Again, the goal of every workout should not be (and physically could not be) to feel as sore as humanly possible the next day.

Four. You should be following a meal plan to see progress.

Blanket meal plans are handed out so freely these days (along with a myriad of “best foods” advice) that it’s altogether impossible to know what is best for you. It is my firm belief that trainers should not be giving out blanket meal plans. Ever. We all have different bodies, metabolisms, hormone configurations, etc.

If you want to become more intentional about your food habits, then I recommend learning what it means for YOU to eat intuitively (learn more about why diets don’t work here).

I also want to note that counting calories is NOT the epicenter of health and wellness. It’s a rather misconstrued data point that is easy to focus on. I wrote a blog here about the five reasons why your fitness journey is about more than counting calories here.

Five. You can target fat loss.

This is also known as spot reduction, and it’s just bad science. Your body burns fat based on overall fitness. It has NOTHING to do with targeting a specific area of the body to see results.

You see results because of consistency. Period.

In an article I reviewed for VeryWell Fit, Paige Waehner writes, “The body doesn't only draw energy from the cells in the area you're working. It gets energy from the body as a whole. So, while targeting specific body areas during exercise can be effective to build muscle and shape those areas, it won't necessarily help you lose fat in that specific area.”

Alex Koch, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, echoes a similar sentiment in a piece for INSIDER: "The consensus opinion about spot reduction, which is the commonly used term for regional fat loss, is that it is impossible. This has been a consensus opinion for 50-plus years in the exercise-science community, but manufacturers of exercise equipment still promote this belief (i.e. buy our ab-blaster to sculpt a six-pack)."

Don’t buy it.

Six. You should workout fasted.

I want to highlight the word “should” here. You absolutely CAN workout fasted. If that’s your thing and it works for you, great. But you are not going to experience more gains (specifically fat loss gains) because you are fasted.

If you like to workout in the morning before breakfast, again, great, but I hear this all too often from trainers as some sort of quick fix, and my argument is that fasted workouts can actually be less effective due to the fact that you do not have energy in your body to reach your full potential.

Seven. If you want abs, you should do ab exercises daily.

No. No. No.

First of all, we’ve already covered that spot reduction is a MAJOR myth.

Second of all, abs aren’t everything (contrary to whatever person decided they were, marketed them, and then got everyone to buy into the hype). I blame Abercombie & Fitch.

Third of all, abs are not made by ab exercises. The core is used for EVERYTHING that we do. Every exercise you perform utilizes your core strength (and supports in increasing your core strength and stability). I RARELY do ab exercises because I do so much strength training. Doing a set of abs at the end of your gym routine will not mysteriously expose those muscles.

Fourth of all, some peoples ab muscles expose themselves more than others. I know people with weak cores (because they do not strength train) and yet they have chiseled abdominals. The definition of those muscles is purely aesthetic. It says NOTHING about core health.

Eight. Walking isn't exercise.

Walking IS exercise. It’s one of the best exercises out there. It helps build stamina and makes your heart healthier. You can do it anywhere with anyone, and science has proven over and over again that the key to heart health is movement without any sort of disclaimer on what is happening during that movement.

What are some other myths that you’d like debunked?!

Feel free to throw anything in the comments below.

8 Things That Are Complete Bullshit in the Fitness Industry (and Why)