Fitness trends that experts hate

Fitness advice on social media can be full of misinformation and impossible promises.

No single exercise will give you a six-pack, and just because someone has a enormous following doesn’t mean they’re qualified to give exercise tips, said Dr. Amy Comander, director of the lifestyle medicine program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

If you’re setting a fitness goal this year, it’s wise to avoid any fitness plan that promises a quick and straightforward solution. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Focus on finding movements you enjoy and building regular habits, not the latest miracle workout.

I asked dozens of experts about the fitness trends that irritate them the most and what they recommend instead.

Skip the “75 Tough” challenge.

The viral “75 Tough” challenge took place last year. Its proponents said the key to mental and physical endurance was to follow a set of daily rules for 75 days: exercise twice for 45 minutes, follow a strict diet, drink a gallon of water and read at least 10 pages of nonfiction, including: other things.

While the idea of ​​transforming in 75 days may seem appealing, the challenge is “extremely unsustainable,” said Victoria Sekely, a Up-to-date Jersey physical therapist and founder of Train Shrewd Run Powerful, a running and strength training program. “This is probably the worst way to develop good habits.”

Exercising twice a day, especially if you’re fresh to exercise, “is a good way to injure yourself and create completely unrealistic expectations about exercise,” she added.

To build a hearty exercise habit, start simply and find an activity that you enjoy enough to practice regularly. If you have a specific fitness goal, consider hiring a trainer or personal trainer who can work with you to develop a personalized plan.

Don’t be fooled by targeted weight loss workouts.

Whether it’s a side plank for a flat stomach or Pilates for toned arms, TikTok and Instagram are full of videos claiming that there is one move or workout that will aid you lose weight in one area of ​​your body. (Long before the advent of social media, fitness magazines made many similar promises.)

However, caution should be exercised with people promoting “spot reduction,” or the idea that specific exercises will lead to targeted weight loss, said Rae Reichlin, founder of Ladies Who Lift in Chicago. While you can strengthen different muscle groups by exercising different parts of your body, you can’t target where you’ll lose weight.

Instead of looking for one move that can do it all, practice full-body strength training twice a week, advises Robyn LaLonde, head trainer and owner of Edge Athlete Lounge in Chicago. If you prefer to exercise at home, you can still build strength with little or no equipment.

Avoid “What I Eat in a Day” videos.

Many fitness influencers share detailed videos of meals and snacks, often including calorie counts and protein breakdowns.

While these posts may seem like harmless entertainment, they often promote diets that don’t suit everyone’s needs. “Each of us has a different height, different weight and different body structure,” said Dr. Comander.

In some cases, comparing your own diet to what you see on social media can contribute to eating disorders, says Meghann Featherstun, a sports dietitian in Kent, Ohio.

It’s also worth remembering that these posts may not even be correct. What someone shares may not be what they actually eat on a daily basis – especially if they make a living promoting sponsored products.

If you’re looking for tips on what to eat to support your fitness goals, you might be better off making an appointment with a dietitian or sports dietitian.

Don’t focus on whether your heart rate is in the second zone.

In recent years, everyone from influential runners to Andrew Huberman has claimed that low-intensity “zone two” training could be the secret to better fitness. Zone two refers to the second of five heart rate zones, which range from straightforward effort to maximum intensity.

Exercises in zone two will aid build endurance and aerobic capacity, and spending a lot of training time on this activity can have real benefits, especially for endurance athletes. But focusing on heart rate can also be counterproductive, said James McKirdy, founder and head trainer of McKirdy Training, a coaching service in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Many factors, including stress, weather and sleep patterns, can affect your heart rate, and the heart rate data on your smartwatch or fitness tracker may not always be correct.

Instead, Mr. McKirdy recommended paying attention to how arduous your workout is. If you’re focusing on building your endurance, many of your workouts should be relatively straightforward – try to keep a pace that you can carry on a conversation. “The most essential thing is the actual feeling and intensity,” McKirdy said.

Resist the urge to overshare your exercise stats.

If you operate a fitness tracker, it can be tempting to obsess over the data it gives you.

But while some statistics can be helpful, it’s far too straightforward to overdo it, says Kathryn Larson, a cardiologist in the Department of Sports Cardiology at Mayo Clinic. She said some of her patients are so focused on their devices that “at the end of the day they kind of lost focus on why exercise is even essential.”

This can be especially true if you share and compare your data on social media or apps like Strava. The truth is that these numbers don’t necessarily mean much without context, Dr. Sekely said.

Instead of letting your watch — or your online audience — shape how you feel after a workout, check in with yourself first.

“Don’t let data dictate your day,” Dr. Sekely said. If you feel good, that’s what counts, even if your stats aren’t what you expected.

Don’t treat a frigid bath like a miracle cure.

The social media buzz around frigid baths is nothing fresh, but it’s still gaining momentum. Evangelists claim that a post-workout bath can regulate the immune system, treat depression and anxiety, and speed recovery from exercise by fighting inflammation.

But while some studies suggested that swimming in frigid water can improve mood and well-being, much more research is needed, Dr. Comander said.

If you like frigid baths, be sure to take a bath, she added. (Recently, she even did it herself – only as part of her social activities.)

But do it because it feels good, not because you believe it is the key to a faster recovery.