Fitness myths have been abundant since fitness was a "thing." For women in midlife dealing with hormone changes, some possible joint issues or conditions, and old thoughts and beliefs, they can really be the obstacle between feeling lousy and feeling amazing!  I bust 5 of the most common fitness myths - that are of concern for women flipping 50 in this episode.  “I’ve always been told weight training should be done three days a week” Twice a week is wise and three times a week for adults over 50 can be both over and under kill. Over kill in that you are not allowing the optimal recovery. Imagine yourself doing a Monday, Wednesday, Friday strength training schedule. Fitness happens between sessions not. Under kill in that if you know you’re doing it again… and this is also true of sets… which I’ll explain… you don’t really achieve the intensity or overload you need. Here’s a perfect example you may be relate to: I’ve trained fitness clients for 34 years. I began training and teaching on a college campus in what we call the Exercise Clinic that serves faculty, staff, and community members on the University campus. Sixty percent of those participants were over 50 and many of the others were heading that direction in the near future. When I began 3 sets of 10 was enough. What hasn’t changed is many older adults were students like me who learned this, kept teaching it and training their clients this way... and we’ve not   “The Best Time of Day to Exercise is whenever you’ll do it” Hormone balance may dictate that working with your hormones – exercising high intensity early and doing calming exercise later in the day supports you best. If you’re waking feeling hungover- without having had the fun… trying to exercise – or spending time feeling guilty about not exercise – can sabotage you. Exercise lightly and for short stints outdoors if possible. Restore and recharge your batteries before you can get stronger. The weight you have been struggling may fall off you when you put down some stress and truly rest. “Do I have to continue to increase the weight or get to a maintenance spot?” Reach a point of maintenance with the weight but then other variables have to change. Tempo.. Sequence… Variations … Single leg exercise.. when heavier sets aren’t possible Fitness myths sometimes cause a progam-hopping syndrome. You look for the next.best program for you now. It’s hard to have progression when you do that frequently. You make lateral moves but don’t climb up to the next step. “Protein needs increase with activity and decrease with age.” “High protein diets are for body builders and are hard on kidneys.” Protein increase is not “high protein” it’s simply higher than you’ve been taking in. Your need for protein changes. You don’t synthesize protein as well as you did 20 and 10 years ago. You can overcome that. By changing the amount, the type, and the timing of protein. You’re not doomed unless you keep doing what worked when you were 20 or 30. When your metabolism and body composition were governed more by hormones. Now that they’re (hormones) not doing the same kind of job has moved into the metabolism control spotlight. Timing afterwards – 60-120 minutes. Bump to 30 grams per three meals. The 20-30 gram range is not intuitive. You need more if you are sedentary and less if you are active. In regards to recovery or for slow-gainers, even more protein – 35-40 grams post exercise has been shown to boost lean muscle repair so that 70-year old men had results comparable to what happens in 20 year olds. “I exercise all the time, I’m doing more and working harder, and I can’t lose weight.” The myth in this statement is the More exercise = more weight loss. If you spike cortisol and flirt with adrenal fatigue, whether with long endurance exercise, high intensity exercise too frequently or both your efforts will backfire. In fact, you may gain weight and belly fat. Less exercise, like restorative yoga, or walking can actually help