'I'm a PT. Here are 3 of the biggest fitness myths stopping you from exercising.'

It was hard to narrow it down from seven million. Really hard. But when I sat down (also a myth, I cannot sit down for longer than two minutes) and sifted through the steaming pile of mystical stories we tell ourselves about fitness, I decided the most damaging myths were the ones that stopped us from exercising in the first place.

I hereby declare the three biggest myths in fitness:

MYTH #1: Exercise isn't for me.

I feel like this myth was born in the era of the 1970s when exercise was linked with going to a gym, and gyms were linked with uninspiring stenches and rusty equipment. 

With these olfactory and visual memories living rent-free in our heads for all these years, it’s no wonder we came to the conclusion that “exercise isn’t for me” and moved on with our lives. 

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There are two things to discuss here. 

Number one: Fitness facilities have come a loooooooong way since then. 

These days, most gyms are more and more beautifully and thoughtfully designed spaces with modern equipment offering lots of options that don’t look like they could decapitate you and/or give you a disease. 

Number two: Exercise doesn’t have to be in a gym. 

Image: Supplied

You can reap every single benefit of exercise anywhere, everywhere and all the time. 

Do it in your backyard. Balcony. The shitty bit of carpet in your one-bedroom rental (‘dis me). 

Step up, and down the curb a few times on your afternoon walk. Shoulder-press your cat. Find a dance studio. A walking group…

MYTH #2: I’m too old.

Say it with me: “Age isn’t a use-by date”.

I get this all the time, even from 30-somethings in my gym. My oldest member is 87 and he rocks. My mum comes to my gym, and she is 78. 

Here’s the thing. The exercise I give my mum isn’t necessarily the same exercise I give to a 20-year-old. Not that I’m saying it’s not possible, but what I’m saying is that there are variations of movement appropriate for every AGE and ability. 

Something that normally triggers the “I’m too old” comment from the not-so-old are injuries.

One of the most common things I hear is, "I have bad knees, I’m too old." 

Can I just say, 12-year-olds can have bad knees, too? 

Now that I’ve busted that myth in 10 words or less, I hate to sound like a broken record, but there are variations of movement for every age and ABILITY. 

Image: Supplied.

I have been exercising since I was single-digits-years-old and something that has kept me relatively injury-free and consistent is my ability to pivot into different forms of exercise as soon as a movement doesn’t feel good in my body anymore. 

For example, I used to instruct a group fitness class called BODY ATTACK (it sounds exactly like what it is…) but over the years, the impact just didn’t feel good anymore, so I replaced it with something else. 

NOTE: As a participant, I could absolutely take lower impact options, but as the instructor I needed to be able to demonstrate the higher impact too... ahem, there are variations of movement for every AGE and ABILITY. 

Attitude helps too. Rather than lamenting the things “I USED to be able to do”, I just think “Look at this NEW thing I can do”.

It is literally never too late, and you are never too broken, to reap the benefits of exercise.

MYTH #3: I don't have time.

Gone are the days where you wore hours in the gym like a badge of honour. Movement in your day can be broken up into any which way. 

Whether you have the ability to carve out 45 minutes before your day starts, steal 10-minute efforts throughout the day or whether you make movement part of your everyday tasks — it all counts! 

Image: Supplied.

To give you an official idea, the Australian Guidelines for Physical Activity suggest that we are “active on most, preferably all days, every week."

It also states: "Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (two and a half to five hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (an hour and a quarter to two and a half hours) of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week."

To put this in everyday terms, what these guidelines suggest at a minimum is wedging 20 minutes of movement per day at an intensity of seven (using the intensity scale of: one is on the sofa, five is normal walking, 10 is an all-out sprint).

What we can take commonly from the above three myths is that there is no one-size-fits-all in fitness. But there is fitness-for-all.

Got a burning question for Marie about exercise and fitness? Comment below.

Feature image: Supplied.