Women's Fitness Myths Debunked #3

Remember these from post #1 and post #2 on this topic?

"7 ways to tone your inner thighs... You won't be able to walk the day after, but your legs will look great!"

"waist trimming workout"

"7 best exercises to blast leg fat"

"4 exercises to lose your love handles"

"erase arm flab fast!"

"exercises to fix the arm pit pooch"

"3 day military diet. apparently you can lose up to 10 lbs in 3 days, with this special diet. take a four day break and do it again until you've achieved your goal... pinner checked it with her medic hub and he said its good to try."

"7 day cleanse= lose 10-17 lbs. This is an amazing 7 day meal plan/guide to lose pounds and totally cleanse your body"

"website run by 2 professional trainers and nutritionists..."

"best exercises to get rid of saddle bags"

"8 moves to perk up your boobs"

"get rid of muffin top"

"remove fat deposits from inner thigh, above the knee, and inner knee"

If any of the above pin quotes sound familiar to you, please do yourself a favor and go delete them from your boards and brain now. I'll wait...

These sound great, but all have hidden in them somewhere an exercise myth aimed at unsuspecting women. Let's kick some more exercise myth butt.

3) Professionals who assist with fitness and weight loss titles-- I've realized in the past year since I finished my doctorate, I didn't really learn the difference in many of the medical professionals and their credentials until I got to grad school. GRAD SCHOOL. What hope does Joette Schmoe normal woman that reads at an 8th grade level and may or may not have ever taken a college class have in navigating their way through the confusing realm of fitness and weight loss if they don't even know the right people to direct their questions to! 

     Here are the people to talk to if you're wanting to make a life change to your level of fitness and/or lose weight. 

     First there is MD (medical doctor). There is not, as far as I know, any kind of board certification in weight loss for an MD. Basically, if you're wanting a doctor to oversee your weight loss, pick one that is located in a medical weight loss clinic. They have the experience and know what they're doing, more than likely. If you want an MD to oversee your fitness goals, I'd pick one board certified in physical medicine and rehab or you might hear them called physiatrists. They might get annoyed seeing you in the clinic, because they mostly deal with people with disabilities. But they're training covers more fitness than any other MD. Please do not confuse MD with "medic." Medics are the people that work on the ambulance or on the battle field. They are great at stopping blood loss, stabilizing broken bones and keeping people alive until they can get to the hospital, but they do not know nearly as much as an MD-- possible difference in schooling is just 8 little years of college. 

     If you are a generally healthy person, the below mentioned professional trainer, if chosen as mentioned below, should be enough for you. If you're not that healthy to begin with, I would talk to a physical therapist. They are most qualified to oversee/begin fitness plans for people with poor health. Just be warned that insurance may or may not cover a visit to a physical therapist for a fitness reason and they can get pretty pricey fast. I would just be up front and ask them to get you started and maybe refer you to a trainer they know in town that they trust to follow through and monitor you and your health with your fitness plan. 

     Now, how about a personal trainer/fitness coach. There are SO many levels of trainers it's not even funny. You don't even have to graduate high school to be a certified trainer. Really. Just study for a test and pass it. Then a lot of trainers don't even have a certification. Heck, really anyone could call themselves a trainer if they can fool an administrator (who may or may not know any more than Joette Shchmoe about fitness) into thinking they know something about fitness. What I would look for: at least a bachelor's degree in some kind of science-- BBS, BS--, some sort of fitness certification (there are lots of different organizations that certify basic level trainers),  at least 1 year's verifiable experience with clients that have similar goals to you. I would go so far as to even ask for references or if you could speak with a former client. You'll probably tick them off requiring all of this, but being in the fitness realm, I've met some personal trainers that talk big, but don't know anything and more than likely hurt people. Dig hard on these people. And if you find a good one, keep them, tell EVERYONE how awesome they are and volunteer to be a reference. There are many stellar trainers out there too that deserve your praise! 

     You'll need one more person on your team: somebody to look at your food. You want an RD or registered dietician. These people have been to college for years to learn about how to manage food. I believe most have a Master's degree. A lot of people confuse the dietician with the nutritionist. Never get involved with a nutritionist. Yeah, maybe they know a lot, but what they know is completely self-taught. The word nutritionist is not a protected title, meaning anyone that has read the Atkin's or SouthBeach or whatever fad diet book can call themselves a nutritionist. I could bill myself as a nutritionist have taking 1 college class on the subject and I'd have way more formal education on the subject than many of the people calling themselves nutritionists out there. 

     To recap, your basic team is a personal trainer and dietician. If you need further assistance, you can add an MD or physical therapist.

     In case you're new here: Who in the world do I think I am?! My name is Bria, PT, DPT (Physical Therapist, Doctor of Physical Therapy.) Prior to the PT gig, I was one of those uncredentialed personal trainers with a science degree.