Fitness Myths Clients Believe Blog Banner
Walk into any gym and you’ll overhear it. Could be someone telling their mate that crunches will burn belly fat, or that a woman doesn’t want to lift weights because they don’t want to get bulky. These myths spread quickly, usually because they’re simple, catchy and sound convincing. Social media has turbocharged the problem. Influencers with no personal training qualifications post confident advice, often based on their own experience, and before long it’s repeated as fact. Add in outdated ideas from old PE lessons and the fitness magazines of the 90s and it’s no wonder clients arrive with strong beliefs that aren’t supported by science.
Our job as personal trainers is not just to programme workouts but also to educate. A client might come to us genuinely worried about “ruining their knees with squats” or feeling guilty for eating pasta after 6pm. If we brush these concerns aside, we risk losing trust. But if we take the time to explain what the research actually says, in language they can relate to, we give them clarity, and that clarity often leads to better buy-in and better results.
So let’s look at ten of the most common myths, where they come from, and how we as coaches can talk clients through the facts.
For example, crunches help you lose belly fat
Most clients have heard that doing endless crunches will “melt away” their stomach fat. The logic feels obvious. If your abs burn, surely you’re burning the fat there too? But as you and I know, fat loss doesn’t work like that. Energy is drawn from fat stores across the body, not the muscle being exercised.
Studies on abdominal training have shown no difference in belly fat levels between people who trained abs and those who didn’t, when diet and overall activity were the same.
The message to clients is simple: “We’ll train your whole body and manage nutrition. Then your waistline will follow as overall body fat comes down.”
Some great research to read includes:
Many of us were brought up with PE teachers lining us up for toe-touches before football or netball. That routine stuck, and clients often feel they’re protecting themselves with a static stretch before lifting or running. The evidence, though, says otherwise. Static stretching alone doesn’t reduce injury risk.
What does work is a warm-up that raises temperature, rehearses movement patterns and gradually introduces load. Think dynamic drills, mobility work and skill-specific preparation.
For clients, the shift is reframing: “Stretching isn’t bad, but on its own it won’t keep you injury-free. Let’s warm up in a way that actually prepares your body for what’s coming.”
Here some interesting research around this topic:
Few myths are as ingrained as this one. Everyone knows someone whose “knees went” from squatting, or so the story goes. But the research isn’t that clear cut. With proper technique and appropriate depth, squats are not only safe, they’re a powerful way to strengthen the muscles and connective tissues around the knee.
When a client voices this worry, it’s a chance to demonstrate. Start with bodyweight squats, focus on alignment and range, and show them how stable and strong it feels. Over time, as load is built progressively, the knee joint often becomes more resilient, not less.
If you’ve heard this myth before, have a read of these great studies:
It’s a conversation most trainers have had. You have a female client who wants to “tone up” but fears heavy weights will make her look like a bodybuilder. Social media feeds this belief with dramatic before-and-afters taken out of context.
The truth is that muscle gain is a gradual process requiring sustained surplus, heavy training and often deliberate hypertrophy protocols. Most women will see improved strength, bone density, confidence and body shape long before any dramatic muscle mass appears.
The way to handle this myth is with reassurance and results: “We’ll train for strength and shape but not bulk. You’ll feel the difference long before you see it.”
If you’re training female clients and they are resistant to resistance training, read these:
It’s one of the oldest “hacks” in fitness. Do your cardio before breakfast and you’ll torch fat faster. And yes, in a fasted state, the body does rely more on fat during the session. But when you zoom out over weeks and months, there’s no difference in total fat loss compared to fed training if calories are controlled.
The real question is, which approach feels better and fits the client’s life? If they prefer training before breakfast, fine. If not, eating first is equally effective. Our job is to help them see the bigger picture, which is adherence and energy balance win out over gimmicks.
Have clients starving themselves before training? Read these:
“I must have had a great session. I was drenched!” Clients often link sweat to effort and results. But sweat is about cooling, not calories. Some people naturally sweat more than others and the exercise environment plays a huge role.
What matters is the work done including progressive overload, appropriate volume and recovery. Trainers can reframe this with a smile: “Sweat is just your body’s air-con. Let’s judge progress by strength, endurance and how you feel, not how soggy your T-shirt is.”
If you’re clients love to be dripping after training, read these:
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can make clients feel like they’ve “earned” their workout. The flip side? If they don’t ache, they worry they didn’t do enough.
Science tells us soreness mostly signals novelty, that is, doing something the body isn’t used to. It’s not a reliable marker of adaptation. Progress is better measured by strength increases, improved movement and consistency.
When a client complains they’re not sore, the conversation is: “That’s actually good. Your body is adapting. You don’t need pain to make gains.”
Read this if you have a client that’s a bit of a masochist:
The old bodybuilding magazines were full of this advice. You have to eat small meals all day to “keep the furnace stoked”. It’s a belief many clients still hold.
But meta-analyses show meal frequency has little impact on daily energy expenditure or fat loss, provided calories and protein are matched.
For clients, the takeaway is personal preference. Some do well on three square meals, others like snacks. Our role is to help them find a pattern that supports adherence and recovery.
Are you training a compulsive grazer? Here’s some reads that will help:
“Eat carbs at night and they’ll turn to fat.” It sounds logical if you think in 24-hour cycles. But the body doesn’t reset at midnight. What matters is total daily intake. In fact, some research even suggests that evening carbs can support satiety and sleep, which in turn may aid fat loss.
When a client repeats this myth, we can reassure them: “What counts is your whole day’s nutrition. Having pasta at dinner isn’t the enemy, it can actually help you recover and rest.”
Carbophobic clients? Here’s your research:
Clients often look at transformation photos and assume fat has literally turned into muscle. It’s easy to see why the idea sticks. But physiologically, fat and muscle are separate tissues. You can lose fat while gaining muscle, but one doesn’t “convert” into the other.
This is where education matters: “We’ll help you reduce fat through diet and activity, and build muscle through training. Both can happen at the same time, especially for beginners. But they’re two different processes.”
Beef up your knowledge with these great studies:
Myths will never disappear. They’re sticky, easy to share and often more appealing than the truth. But as fitness professionals, we’re in a unique position to challenge them. Not with lectures or jargon, but with clear explanations, relatable metaphors and, most importantly, results that speak for themselves.
Every time we take a myth and replace it with fact, we do more than educate. We help clients trust the process, commit to the programme and see that evidence-based training really does deliver.
Most people who step into the fitness world have already been bombarded with misinformation. In fact, surveys suggest around 70% of gym-goers still believe common fitness myths like “spot reduction works” or “lifting makes women bulky.” That’s why our entry-level courses at TRAINFITNESS don’t just prepare you for a new career, they also give you the knowledge to separate fact from fiction. Whether you’re looking to become a personal trainer, gym instructor, yoga or Pilates teacher, exercise to music leader or childrens fitness instructor, every course is CIMSPA recognised and built to give you a rock-solid foundation in exercise science, coaching, and client support. Perfect if you want to start your professional journey in fitness or if you’re simply ready to understand the truth behind the myths that hold so many people back.
View all our courses where you can become a fitness professional here.
Here’s How to Do It Without Blowing Everything Up Every January, the same thought creeps…
Changing careers used to feel like a dramatic plot twist. These days, it often looks…
A new systematic review has landed in the low back pain world and it shines…
When One Programme Produces Ten Different Outcomes Most coaches have seen this play out. Two…
Most people start their study journey for a personal trainer qualification, yoga course, Pilates training…
Every coach remembers those tidy diagrams in training manuals. Blocks, waves, undulations, hypertrophy phases, strength…