Popular opinions about sports that you shouldn’t unquestioningly believe

There are many popular misconceptions about sports on the Internet, which many people willingly believe. Such myths flow from one blog to another, multiply, become “expert” opinions and become indistinguishable from the truth. Together with fitness trainer and nutritionist Andrei Semeshov, we examine which of the common opinions should be questioned.

Running worsens the condition of the knees

Many people who wanted to join sports started with running. It would seem to be a completely harmless activity, which can be done by anyone, even a person far from fitness. Indeed, with its help you can prolong the life of joints, lose excess weight, develop endurance. However, this result is achieved only if you train correctly.

Running itself is not harmful to the knees, notes the trainer. But errors can negatively affect the joints. The most common include the following.

Improperly selected equipment. Shoes on thin, unstable or stiff soles are not suitable for running. Moccasins and shoes are better to put away and give preference to soft sneakers made of breathable material – mesh or textile.

Foot placement. Coach warns that running, landing on the heel, as if “poking” it into the asphalt, is very dangerous. You can cause irreparable damage to yourself. To avoid this, you should land on the full foot or on the front part of it, distributing your weight evenly.

Choosing a track for jogging. The condition of the knees is also affected by the surface on which you exercise. For the best effect, you should choose special rubberized tracks or elastic ground – asphalt is best avoided.

The more and more often you train, the better the result

In fact, the question of the number of trainings is individual. It is important to take into account the principle of proportionality and adequacy of loads. It is not necessary to exercise every day until your muscles ache. It is better to choose the most comfortable mode for you, no matter whether it is three or seven sessions a week.

Andrei: In one case it will be 60 minutes of training, and in the other case it will be 25 minutes. You can improve your health and well-being both according to the first scheme and the second. You can also do harm if you don’t listen to your body.

Weightlifting slows growth, basketball speeds it up

It probably seems to many people that if a person lifts weights, he becomes shorter, and if he is always striving upwards, towards the ring, he stretches out. In fact, growth depends on many factors. And the history of world sport knows a lot of short basketball players who became outstanding in their field. That is, enrolling in a basketball section is not enough to become tall.

However, certain sports can have a positive effect on overall health. For example, says the expert, swimming helps improve back health and stimulates the treatment of scoliosis. Table tennis and badminton relieve eye strain. And in general, if you do the exercises with feeling, with purpose, and with a balance, sports will bring pleasure, and therefore have a positive effect on your health.