3 fitness myths: “People think ideals are normal when they are abnormal”

Being fit doesn’t mean being thin
“People consider ideals normal that are just not normal”

Do you already feel it, the slight pressure that January creates in us? Even if we decide not to take on anything, at the turn of the year we are surrounded by numerous fitness advertisements and highly motivated joggers that do not leave us completely without a trace.

And so, year after year, new sports memberships are concluded, goals are first strived for and then set back in the sand. Because let’s be honest: neither the motivation nor the success of the New Year’s resolutions last really long. Why is that actually? One reason could be that we are striving for unrealistic things. Or that we measure our success against the wrong values. Nima Mashagh knows both mistakes from his everyday life. He is the owner of the personal training studio “Athletik Docks” in Hamburg and in his job he ensures that goals become results.

During our conversation, I notice above all how little I know about sport, even though I would have considered myself to be quite sporty – and how much he did. The studio builds its strategy on a scientific basis, all trainers have studied sports science or the like. In contrast to some other studios, I am told here if my ideas are unrealistic – and in which I underestimate myself in return. It quickly becomes clear to me: I have a lot of wrong assumptions in my head. That’s why I ask Nima if he can just clear up these common fitness myths for us. And they take a little pressure off of our New Year’s resolutions.

3 common fitness myths cleared up

The BMI does not necessarily say something about your fitness.

Like right now? For years we did the math and based ourselves on the BMI, just because we wanted to hear that we were in the normal range – and then lean back and relax. In fact, the value is a good bias, but it can be misleading. Because bodies don’t like to be pigeonholed: “That means: In theory, you can weigh little and be perfect according to the BMI. But if you have a high percentage of body fat, even though you’re thin, that’s not healthy,” Nima explains to me. This also works in the other direction:

You can also weigh a lot, too much according to the BMI, but have a good body fat percentage and simply have a lot of muscle mass. Then you are actually very healthy, but according to the BMI you are overweight.

Kilos do not determine the success of losing weight.

“When people start with us, most of the time they talk about the pounds they want to lose,” says Nima, waving his hand. He himself thinks weighing is overrated, especially because it would fluctuate depending on the cycle in women anyway. That is why he recommends standing on the scales under the same conditions only once a month – and even then paying much more attention to your body image than the number:

For example, if you are only slightly overweight, lose fat, but build muscle at the same time, the weight will remain the same – but the body has completely changed.

Ideals of beauty are not real.

I imagine my first visit to personal training a bit like going to the hairdresser: I come with a picture in my hand and expect to look the same afterwards. This is rarely the case with hairstyles, which is why I suspect a myth in fitness too. First of all, Nima reassures me: That is the point of the personal training, that you are looked after so closely and individually that you actually achieve your goals. You only have to be there – realistic. Here is Nima honest:

In the social media, ideals of beauty are propagated, a large part of which, in my opinion, are not real.

He observes the development of the last few years critically, because often behind 90-60-90 dimensions there is mainly cosmetic surgery – and filters. “People consider ideals to be normal that are just not normal,” concludes Nima. He would tell his customers that openly – and then work towards a goal that was not only beautiful but also healthy.

Thanks for the interview, Nima!

Guido