While many Americans battle obesity and their effects such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, there are many choosing to prevent those conditions by exercising regularly.

"The Centers for Disease Control recently estimated that only 20% of us get the recommended amount of daily exercise," Dr. Brett Osborn, told us. The physician is the author of Get Serious, A Neurosurgeon's Guide to Optimal Health and Fitness.

"Given our diet and lifestyles, it's no wonder that some of our first-world diseases have reached epidemic proportions."

"Let's be clear: This is your health," the expert said candidly. "There is nothing more important. If you don't have good health, you will eventually die, preventing you from doing everything else, from spending time with your loved ones to enjoying your money."

If you're going to exercise - which Osborn applauds - he warns that you will do more harm than good if you've bought into some of the myths and "conventional wisdom" that is, in fact, simply wrong.

Osborn, an avid bodybuilder, shatters some of those misconceptions:

More exercise is always better. Everyone wants more muscle and less fat, Conventional wisdom says that hours and hours of exercise will achieve those results. That's completely wrong, Osborn says. "Overkill is not only unnecessary, it can be counterproductive. You'll get the best results with a strength-training regimen, tailored to meet your needs, which can be accomplished in three to four hours per week," Osborn revealed.

Cardio is better than lifting. For all you chronic dieters and cardio enthusiasts out there trying to shed fat, the right strength-training program can boost your metabolism and help burn off more fat. "By increasing lean muscle mass, you will increase your basal metabolic rate, BMR," Obborn said "Activated, contracting muscles are the body's furnace. Excessive cardio and dieting can eat muscle tissue away, compromising this furnace."

Look out for more fitness fibs in Part Two of our interview tomorrow.