Skip the ‘75 hard’ challenge

The viral challenge “75 Hard” took hold last year. The key to mental and physical toughness, its proponents claimed, was following a set of daily rules for 75 days: Work out twice for 45 minutes, maintain a strict diet, drink a gallon (3.7 litres) of water and read at least 10 pages of nonfiction, among other things.

While the idea of transforming yourself in 75 days might sound appealing, the challenge is “extremely unsustainable,” said Victoria Sekely, a physical therapist in New Jersey and founder of Train Smart Run Strong, a running and strength coaching programme. “It is quite possibly the worst way to set good habits.”

Exercising twice a day, especially if you are new to working out, “is a good way to injure yourself and to create completely unrealistic expectations around exercise,” she added.

To build a healthy exercise habit, start simply and find an activity you enjoy enough to practice consistently. If you have a specific fitness goal, consider hiring a coach or personal trainer who can work with you to develop an individualised plan.

Don’t be fooled by targeted weight loss workouts

Whether it’s a side plank for a flat stomach or Pilates for toned arms, TikTok and Instagram are brimming with videos that claim there is one move or workout that will help you lose weight in one area of your body. (Long before social media, fitness magazines made many similar promises.)

But you should be wary of anyone promoting “spot reduction,” or the idea that certain exercises will lead to targeted weight loss, said Rae Reichlin, founder of Ladies Who Lift in Chicago. While you can strengthen different muscle groups by working different parts of your body, you cannot target where you lose weight.

Instead of hunting for one move that can do it all, practice a full-body strength training routine twice a week, said Robyn LaLonde, head coach and owner of Edge Athlete Lounge in Chicago. If you prefer to work out at home, you can still build strength with little or no equipment.

Steer clear of ‘what I eat in a day’ videos

Many fitness influencers share detailed videos of their meals and snacks, often including calorie counts and protein breakdowns.

While these posts might seem like harmless entertainment, they often promote diets that don’t fit everyone’s needs. “All of us have different heights, different weights, different body compositions,” Comander said.

And in some cases, comparing your own diet to what you see on social media might encourage disordered eating, said Meghann Featherstun, a sports dietitian in Kent, Ohio.

It’s also worth remembering that those posts may not even be accurate. What someone shares may not be what they really eat on a day-to-day basis – particularly if they make a living promoting sponsored products.

If you are looking for guidance on what to eat to support your fitness goals, you will be better off making an appointment with a nutritionist or a sports dietitian.

Don’t fixate on whether your heart rate is in zone two

In recent years, everyone from running influencers to neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has claimed that low-intensity “zone two” training might be the secret to better fitness. Zone two refers to the second of five heart rate zones, which range from a relaxed effort to your maximum intensity.

Exercising in zone two will help build endurance and develop your aerobic capacity, and there can be real benefits of spending a lot of training time at this effort, particularly for endurance athletes. But it can also be counterproductive to fixate on your heart rate, said James McKirdy, founder and head coach of McKirdy Training, a coaching service in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Many factors, including stress, weather and sleep patterns can affect your heart rate, and your heart-rate data on a smartwatch or fitness tracker may not always be accurate.

Instead, McKirdy recommended paying attention to how hard your workout actually feels. If you are focused on building your endurance, many of your workouts should be relatively easy – aim for a pace where you could hold a conversation. “What matters most is actual feeling and intensity,” McKirdy said.

Resist the urge to overshare your workout stats

If you use a fitness tracker, it can be tempting to obsess over the data it gives you.

But while some stats can be helpful, it’s far too easy to go overboard, said Kathryn Larson, a cardiologist at the Sports Cardiology Clinic at the Mayo Clinic. She said that some of her patients are so fixated on their devices that “at the end of the day, they’ve kind of lost focus on why the exercise is important in the first place”.

That can be particularly true if you share – and compare – your data on social media or apps like Strava. The truth is those numbers don’t necessarily mean much without context, Sekely said.

Instead of letting your watch – or an online audience – shape your sense of how you feel after a workout, check in with yourself first.

“Don’t let the data dictate your day,” Sekely said. If you felt good, that’s what counts, even if your stats aren’t quite what you expected.

Don’t treat a cold plunge like a miracle cure

The social media hype about cold plunges is nothing new, but it’s still going strong. Evangelists claim that a post-workout dip can regulate your immune system, cure depression and anxiety and speed up recovery from exercise by combating inflammation.

But while some studies have suggested that cold-water swimming may improve mood and wellbeing, much more research is needed, Comander said.

If you enjoy cold plunges, by all means, take a dip, she added. (She even did it herself recently – purely as a social activity.)

But do it because it feels good, not because you believe it is the key to faster recovery.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Written by: Talya Minsberg

Photographs by: Anya Broido

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