What's the biggest fitness myth you wish you had exposed?

 1. You should land on your heels when you run.

Take off your shoes and jump up and down, landing on your heels instead of the balls of your feet. If you think it's painful, imagine doing it on one foot thousands of times, like you would when running a long distance.

Studies show that runners who land on their heels are twice as likely to be injured compared to runners who land on their balls, and that runners who land on their toes absorb shock better than runners. heel strikers. And if you think your thick-soled shoes will help, a study by the US Army showed no difference in injury rate when runners were given shoes based on the shape of their feet.

The way you run matters, not the shoes you run in.

Read more about the heel strike fallacy here.

2. You shouldn't let your shoulders drop below your elbows when doing a push-up.

This advice is a common refrain among yoga teachers, who warn that descending too low in a push-up or chaturanga pose will injure your shoulders.

I haven't found an explanation yet for how this injury occurs in this normal range of motion (you can probably get your elbows behind your shoulders when you're not doing a pushup). I also wonder how someone warning of this type of injury would recommend taking off the ground from a prone position, if doing a push-up would result in injury.

Read more about the push-up technique here.

3. Icing injuries help them heal.

There is no scientific evidence that icing reduces pain, swelling, or inflammation. And even if there was, why would you think your body's natural response to injury is wrong?

Even Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who coined the acronym RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) in 1978, recently retracted his earlier advice, saying that ice "may slow healing, rather than help."

Instead of freezing an injury, move your muscles around the injured area as much as possible without discomfort. Elevate the injury site above your heart and actively compress the injured area to remove waste products and restore circulation.