Exercise myths have been floating around for years, so we’ll be taking a few to task over the next month and see what they mean to your workout plans.

Exercise Myth #1: Cardio makes you fat!

We have to scratch our heads over this myth. The only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than you burn in a day. Since cardio burns calories, it actually helps you maintain your weight, plus it’s necessary for a healthy heart.

The problem can come when we lull ourselves into a false sense of exercise, like when we workout then we go and pig out. That never works. When how much we eat exceeds our daily allowance, we gain weight. If we wrongly think how much we are exercising makes up the difference, but it doesn’t, that’s where the trouble starts — and has possibly led to this myth.

As a rule of thumb, the average adult woman can have 2,000 calories per day. That’s 500 calories per meal (if you eat 3 times a day) and 500 calories for a snack (or a large latte). Since it’s very easy to eat more than 500 calories in one meal, this is where the real problem lives.

Americans have no idea how many calories they are consuming in an average meal. Portion sizes have grown over the years and completely busted the bank. For example, a Big Mac, fries and milkshake equals 1,310 calories!

Counting calories is an important tool, when it comes to weight loss; along with a weekly exercise plan. Just remember, every time you workout you burn calories. Some people look at burning calories as allowing them to eat more in a day. OR you can look at it as burning calories slowly burns off extra weight. The key is being aware of how many calories you are actually consuming a day, minus how man you are burning.

Aquabike can help you burn up to 800 calories in one 45-minute class!!! That’s a real life changing tool, especially when you take one class a week. It helps most people maintain their weight, when they are able to stick to consuming 2,000 calories/day. Under the same conditions, taking two Aquabike classes per week can burn up to 1,600 calories, and that’s when our clients begin to slowly lose weight — which is the healthy way to do it! That’s because they are eating the same amount of calories, but they are burning more… so they are actually consuming less than 2,000 calories a day, which is the point that weight loss begins!

Join an Aquabike class today and make every calorie count in your favor!