After 25 years in the fitness and bodybuilding community, I have had the opportunity to talk to thousands of people about their health and fitness concerns. So many are wrapped up in what I call, “myth-information”; false information that they believe to be fact.
This is the problem. We have so much information available to us, that the average person doesn’t know how to decipher it all. Infomercials are on every night promising, more often than not, some quick weight loss fix. Movie stars are writing diet books. Fitness magazines are full of articles by athletes telling the world what diet or exercise program works for them, but usually their methods are not meant for us. Even some self-taught personal trainers are teaching what they do, to their clients, instead of the science of exercise and nutrition!
Below, you’ll find what I think are some of the most common myths. Let’s put them to rest once and for all!
MYTH: “ If I do a lot of abdominal work, I’ll melt away the fat on my mid-section.”
TRUTH: There is no such thing as “spot reduction”. Body fat is stored in and comes off in a genetically pre-determined manner. By creating a calorie deficit through exercise and/or diet, the fat will come off. You have a higher likelihood of burning the fat off your abs by burning 300 calories on a treadmill, than by doing a few crunches.
MYTH: “If I run or bike, I don’t need to train my legs in the gym!”
TRUTH: If your goals are aesthetic, building your upper body through weight training but neglecting your legs, can result in a body that looks “out of proportion”. Although running and biking are great activities for developing muscular and cardio vascular endurance, these exercises do very little in terms of increasing girth measurements or re-shaping the lower body. The joints in the lower body need to go through a full range of motion, with enough load (8-12 reps per set) to stimulate muscular growth and strength. Some great exercises for increasing mass and improving shape in the legs are: the squat, leg presses, hack squats, leg curls, and dead lifts.
3) MYTH: “Protein builds muscle”
TRUTH: Not all by itself, it doesn’t. Although protein builds and repairs muscle tissue, weight training has to come first and you have to train with intensity and regularity to stimulate that growth. Intense training creates little microscopic tears in the muscle tissue, which is considered normal, positive stress. The body needs rest to promote growth and repair. Proper recovery through food, sleep, and a good solid scientific approach to weight training is the ideal combination to build muscle.
4) MYTH: “High protein diets are healthy.”
TRUTH: High protein diets are not usually considered healthy. Usually high protein diets are low in carbs, too. This causes dehydration, which causes poor nutrient absorption, slow thinking, and possible electrolyte imbalance, to name but a few side effects. High protein diets put unnecessary stress on the liver and kidneys, especially if you are not drinking, at least, 8-10 glasses of water a day. These diets can even pull calcium from the bones, setting us up for osteoporosis. However, the proper amount of protein (varies based on activity level, type of activity, goal, and body composition) strengthens the immune system, drives your body’s catabolism/anabolism (tear down/build up) cycle, and boosts the metabolism, too.
MYTH: “Aerobics is better for shaping up than weight training.”
TRUTH: Weight training can significantly increase your metabolism, which is the rate in which your body can burn fat. When you gain muscle, your body requires more energy to maintain that new muscle. Weight training also re-shapes your body. Even though aerobic exercise burns calories and helps you lose weight, your overall shape will remain the same. You become a smaller version of your former self with aerobic exercise. Combine the two for optimal results!
MYTH: “If women lift weights, they get “bulky”!”
TRUTH: First off, “bulky” means, “excessive amounts of body fat and lifting weights does not make anyone fatter. If a woman is concerned with getting too muscular, this is not an accidental event. The muscular athletes we see on TV and in the magazines have usually been training intensely for years! Most women do not have the necessary levels of testosterone to get large muscles like their male counterparts. Actually, more women should be concerned about not having enough muscle, rather than too much! Muscle is our metabolically active tissue! The more muscle you have the more calories you can burn, the stronger you are and the shapelier you look!
MYTH: “To lose fat, lower calories and do a lot of aerobic exercise!”
TRUTH: To build a lean, healthy body, you have to eat, weight train and do a sensible amount of aerobic exercise. Not enough food and too much aerobic exercise can create what is referred to as a “double deficit” (not enough energy in, too much energy out). Work with your body, not against it. People who force themselves to stick to a low calorie diet will lose weight but it will not be the right type of weight. Half of the weight lost may be valuable muscle tissue. The dieter will become weak, ill-tempered, hungry, crave sugar and eventually go off the “starvation diet”. He/she will gain the fat back, plus more. This whole “dieting style” slows metabolism and makes it harder to lose body fat.
MYTH: “Certain foods or food groups, make you fat”
TRUTH: Too much energy in and not enough energy out makes us store body fat (stored energy).
I have heard people say, “Carbs make me fat, “Fat makes me fat”, “Bread and pasta make me fat”. These are false statements. There are no foods or food groups that make us fat unless we ingest incredibly large amounts of the food or group. What it boils down to is this. 3,500 calories equals a pound of fat. If you eat an extra 500 calories per day, in seven days, you will gain a pound of fat. If you ingest and burn the same number of calories, your weight will remain the same. If you burn 500 calories more per day than you eat, you will lose a pound by the end of the week. It is better to increase activity than it is to reduce nourishment!
MYTH: “Eating right meals three “square meals” a day
TRUTH: Eating 4-6 times a day is a better way to eat! There are many reasons why we should favor this “frequent feeder” way of eating. Eating often, in small to moderate portions, accelerates metabolism. Food is more efficiently absorbed. You energy will increase and be more stable plus, you will be creating an environment that supports healthy fat loss and muscle gains.
MYTH: “The longer you exercise, the better.”
TRUTH: Long periods of exercise can not only be hard on your body but draining on your mind, too. Short purposeful, intense exercise sessions work best. We stimulate change in the gym and our body recovers and repairs at rest. However, there is a point of diminishing returns. Too much exercise coupled with a low nutrient diet can put the body into a “catabolic” state where tissue actually breaks down. The side effects include; potential injury, sore muscles for long periods of time, exhaustion, lack of motivation and poor results.
“FOOD IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST FORM OF SELF CARE AND MOVEMENT IS A GIFT!”
EXERCISE YOUR OPTIONS AND EDUCATE YOURSELF, TODAY!
TO SET UP AN APPOINTMENT FOR A PERSONALIZED EXERCISE AND DIETARY PROGRAM; CALL SANDRA BLACKIE AT (858) 273-4151. OR E-MAIL HER AT sandra@freedomoffitness.com VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: www.freedomoffitness.com.
