With spring break inching closer, many of us are trying to be, as the wise Fergie once said, “up in the gym just workin’ on our fitness.” But without a personal trainer, as is often the case with broke college students, it’s hard to know how to get the best results. That’s where the Clarion comes in, to act as your unofficial trainer and break down all the fitness myths floating around so you can say goodbye to wasted workouts and hello to a bikini in Cabo or a speedo in Miami.

The myth: carbs are bad

The truth: carbohydrates can be bad if they’re refined or devoid of nutrients and if you eat them before you go to sleep. But a healthy whole grain meal first thing in the morning and/or before you exercise is crucial—it’s how you get the energy for an intense workout.

The myth: you can use exercise to spot-reduce

The truth: no; you can’t target where you burn fat. You can firm specific areas with strength training but fat tends to come off all over. So crunches can give you a strong stomach, but just doing crunches isn’t going to shrink your stomach—muscle strength does make a difference, though. More muscle increases your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn more fat in general when you do cardio.

The myth: you can eat whatever you want as long as you exercise

The truth: you really can’t out-train a bad diet. Even if you are burning more calories than you’re eating, what you eat matters. One of the most important factors when you’re getting in shape is finding the perfect balance of fats, protein and carbs that will keep you energized. So eating Fat Shack for breakfast, lunch and dinner is not going to give you the results you want, even if you’re training like an Olympian.

The myth: cardio is for losing weight; weights are for gaining muscle

The truth: this one’s kind of accurate, but you’ll get the best results by doing a little of both. If your goal is to create and maintain muscle while keeping body fat to a minimum, you’ve got to balance both cardio and weight training. If you’re one of the few that wants muscle loss, stick to a strict regimen of cardio only; if you want to build your muscle on top of fat, spend all your time in the weight room.