Benjamin Price—better known as Coach Benny—sits down with Tatler to debunk the most common fitness myths and share the biggest mistakes that people make when working out at home
Coach Benny is a certified personal trainer and martial arts coach with more than a decade in the fitness industry. He also happens to be the CEO and founder of Joompa, a fit-tech app launched in 2017 with a mission to make fitness in Malaysia more accessible by connecting people to personal trainers. Currently, Joompa offers online coaching sessions, personalised to the needs and goals of each client.
He reveals, in his own words, the myths about home fitness that may be stopping you from achieving an effective and sustainable workout routine that gives you the results you want.
See also: Julie Woon Finds Her 'Fit' During The Covid-19 Pandemic
Myth #1: Weight loss is all about cardio
Firstly, a more accurate and helpful term to use is ‘fat loss’ because if you’re referring only to weight, you cannot be sure if you’re losing fat or muscle tissue.
And when it comes to fat loss, the hard reality is that exercise is generally quite overrated.
There are so many potential factors that can affect an individual’s ability to lose fat through intense cardio and exercise, such as joint strength and hormones. If you take out these factors out of the equation, the hard reality is that it comes down to your diet.
See also: 4 Full Body Exercises You Can Do At Home By Pilates Instructor Siu Lim
Myth #2: Strict eating plans are essential
Eating plans are definitely a good starting point but as coaches, we generally steer clear of eating plans because it’s not sustainable in the long term. People can become too dependent on them and get easily lost. For example, if they go on holiday, their eating plan goes out the window.
Instead, we try to teach people about the basics in nutrition so they can judge their meals and start the process of clean and healthy eating for themselves.
Related: 6 Habits Supported By Science For Better Health
Myth #3: The gym is the only place for gains
My answer to this question comes in two parts: equipment and motivation.
A massive part of exercise mechanics is how to make something small weigh as much as possible. People don’t realise that there are so many variations when it comes to joint position and intention, to make their resistance bands or 10kg dumbbells so much more challenging and effective.
If we really do need bigger weights for our clients, we often adapt with things we can find in their home. I would say it’s definitely been fun scanning different rooms in their house through the phone screen and trying to figure out how much things weigh!
