Hey Pandas, What Is The Worst Fitness Advice You’ve Ever Gotten?

We want to know: What is the worst fitness advice you've ever gotten? There's so much bad advice out there, let's help each other figure out what has and hasn't worked for us!

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"Drink less water".
I have several conditions that basically make my body think it needs to store as much water as possible. I'm a human equivalent of a sponge.

I did the body composition analysis thing at a gym once and the trainer looked at it and went like: "dunno, maybe you should drink less water?".

He was being serious. He was being dead serious.

Luckily I know better than to follow such rubbish advice.

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Final score:

4points

43 S

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Natasha W 2 years ago

WOW! That really is a bad recommendation from a trainer. Glad you know your own body well enough!

0points

“Just eat less, exercise more! It’s so easy, the weight just slid off!”
Ok, let me rephrase that for you
“Have an eating disorder”

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Final score:

3points

Happi doggi (all pronouns)

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Natasha W 2 years ago

Also - people who are able to do this don't really understand people who cannot. Eating disorders, metabolic disorders, age, injury, access to food, time, sleep habits. I have no idea when "losing weight" became so easy for everyone.

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The worst fitness advice I got was to "just go running." You're ignoring the pain I'm already in, my fitness goals, and my current body. The trainer was also ignoring that I don't like to run. You can find fitness in a million ways, but it will only be fitness for you if you like it and have consistency with it.

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Final score:

1point

Natasha W

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"Just run more often, you'll start to enjoy it more"
Enjoy what? The endless pain? The burning lungs? Feeling like I am about to unalive? Enjoy the 'fitness benefits' that I clearly don't seem to be getting? SERIOUSLY, ENJOY WHAT??!?!

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Final score:

1point

RandomPanda (She/Her)

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Natasha W 2 years ago

So much of this. If you hate it, it will never benefit you! Because you'll never stick to it and never keep to it. So many people ignore the idea that they need to actually enjoy their fitness.

1point

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Exercise more! Walk, run, ride a bike. Those are easy. Yeah, I can't walk for 10 minutes without pain and falling, let alone running. Biking jars the spine and CIPN (chemo Induced Peripheral Neuropathy) makes it painful to pedal. Swimming I can do, but I don't have a pool & can't afford a membership anywhere. Some days I barely make it out of bed. I have spinal stenosis and a lot of other stuff. I think I know better what I can handle

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Final score:

1point

Brenda

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"eat more."
Weeeeellll excuse me princess! i'm sorry that i have a metabolism able to out speed the flash!

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Final score:

0points

ᔑᓵᒷ 𝙹⎓ ᓭ!¡ᔑ↸ᒷᓭ

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Natasha W 2 years ago

I think sometimes we're so into restriction we forget that if we eat a lot of what works for our body, it can be better than eating less of things that don't work for us. Food is so personal and needs so much trial and error sometimes.

1point

"Calorie count is all that matters--not what the calories are from." Because 600 empty Krispy Kreme calories are totally going to get me through a 12-hour shift just as well as 600 calories of whole grains, lean protein and veggies with no sugar crash. I definitely won't be hungry again in 2 hours. Or eventually be hospitalized for malnutrition. Ok, Belinda.

Belinda and I agreed to disagree.

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Final score:

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Occam's Chainsaw

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somebody told me to just jog more. in the middle of a pandemic. while living in a suburb where kidnappings are common.

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Gavin Frazier

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¨Cardio with your sister doesn count¨ It definitely counts. Dont listen to these haters.

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Willis Fit

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#10

"No pain, no gain!" Turned out I was jogging around with a stress fracture in my foot and it was getting worse with every step. Only went to the doctor when the swelling started to concern me.

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Remi (He/Him)

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MoJo1979 2 years ago

Exercise shouldn't be causing pain, this is the worst thing anyone can say. It teaches you to ignore actual issues, like shin splints that can end up turning in to a full break.

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#11

My friend's ex-boyfriend told her she should try being 'a little' bulimic. "Not like a crazy amount but just enough to keep yourself thin." Suffice it to say the only weight she lost was 170 pounds when she dumped his ass.

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Final score:

0points