Fitness myths

[88 Bronco]

Since we are at the beginning of March, it's safe to say a few New Year's resolutions have fallen to the wayside and are collecting dust like that treadmill that was purchased a few months ago. However, with the weather warming up, you still want that beach body. I will dispel several popular fitness myths that people keep believing and paying for.

 

Myth 1: You can target fat loss

No, you can't. The first place you store fat is the last place that loses fat. It's typically the abdomen region for men and the hips and buttocks for women, No matter how many sit-up, crunches, or hours you put on the ab roller, you are not going to be able to have visible abs or that sweet butt until you drop your body fat percentage. Here's a visually aid to show what I'm saying

 

 

As you can see, a low body fat percentage is crucial to that beach body you dream of. 

 

Myth 2: As long as I work out, I can eat whatever I want.

 

Well you can, but your results will be disappointing. Garbage in usually gets garbage out and the food you give your body is no different. Start thinking of what you eat as fuel. If you give you body the best fuel possible without too much or too little, you will get better performance.There are plenty of resources available to help you track your macro and micro nutrients as well as caloric intake. When you hit the grocery store, shop the outside aisles primarily. Last thing on this topic, a salad loses its nutritional advantage if you drown it in dressing and top it with cheese and processed meats.

 

Myth 3: If I lift weights I will get bulky.

 

Weight training can lead to packing on mass, but men and women have some limitations. First, women lack testosterone and can not get as massive as men. Female body builders that look manly are taking steroids. Men can naturally put on more mass than women, but that's still limited. Go look for the results of some natural body building competitions. However, if you eat to get bigger, you will. Look at the Olympic weight lifters, male and female. They are strong but not lean people. Lifting weights will help you build lean muscle mass, which will look better when you drop the body fat and muscle mass burns more calories when your sitting on the couch.

 

 

 

Myth 4: I can't afford a gym membership so I don't work out.

 

First we will address the person who is genuinely strapped for cash. Running is free, and are calisthenics. To the other people that are just making excuses, quit drinking soda, pack your lunch for work 4 days a week, and cook more meals at home and I bet you free up the assets. Call a few gyms in your area and see how much it actually costs. 

 

Myth 5: I have to starve myself to lose weight.

 

Let's think of it as losing body fat, not weight. Most the time you don't have to eat less, just eat better. The other day I packed a salad in my lunch that was about 400 calories and I couldn't eat it all. The point is to actually look at what you are eating and track what you eat.

 

Myth 6: Carbs are bad.

 

Carbohydrates are your body's primary fuel source. You have decided to increase your effort and decrease the fuel. I can't imagine why so many diets fail. The type of carbs you have matter. You want complex whole grain carbs. You also want to get enough of the healthy fats, such as omega-3. Yes, I know everyone know someone who lost a lot of weight on one of those fad diets, but did they keep it off? If you say yes then I offer this little study. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/twin-doctors-experiment-low-fat-low-sugar-diets-article-1.1597066

 

I know I could have stuck this under the workout topic, but I figured that some of this information might be helpful to someone who doesn't want to scroll through 100+ pages.

 

[Darth Biscuit]

The weight thing is big for me... idc what I weigh, bodyfat is the key.

 

[Jase]

Myth 3a: I only lift light weights because I want to get toned.

What you refer to as "tone" is muscle mass that isn't obscured by body fat. So lift heavy and lose fat, you half-assing dildo sleeve.

[88 Bronco]

Exactly Jase. I did try to avoid using phrasing like "toning up" for a reason. Toning up is nothing more than losing body fat. If you don't eat more calories than you burn, you will struggle to put on any muscle.

[natty]

Unfortunately my wife believes in virtually every fitness myth in existence.  She refuses to understand that female bodybuilders eat like horses.  

[88 Bronco]

Unfortunately my wife believes in virtually every fitness myth in existence.  She refuses to understand that female bodybuilders eat like horses.  

Maybe this will help

http://www.naturalbodybuilding.com/

[Darth Biscuit]

Unfortunately my wife believes in virtually every fitness myth in existence.  She refuses to understand that female bodybuilders eat like horses.  

 

Mine is the same... she's scared she'll get huge muscles despite the fact that I have repeatedly assured her that isn't going to happen.

 

I've been working out extremely hard for some time.  My goals have altered slightly... I moved from just going to the gym for release after work, to having serious fitness goals after I had shoulder surgery in late 2010... being out of the gym for 9 months during that period really opened my eyes to fitness.

 

Now that I'm in really the best shape of my life, I got into power lifting more and have definitely put on muscle, but would really like to lose 3-4% more bodyfat which with the way I eat and the amount of cardio I do really isn't going to happen.

 

So I'm kind of at a crossroads with my workouts to either continue on with the powerlifting, or back off of that some and focus more on cardio and body building work.  Not to mention that my diet needs a lot of work... although I've been doing much better on cutting out the junk and sodas and such.

[Cat]

Unfortunately my wife believes in virtually every fitness myth in existence.  She refuses to understand that female bodybuilders eat like horses.  

 

I'm starting to think it's just another excuse that girls use, to pretend it's complicated or they can't/shouldn't do it.

 

 

edit: Also it's not like it would happen overnight. You don't like that a muscle is as big as it is, then stop working it so much. My arms and shoulders got as big as I was comfortable with so I reduced, problem solved) and they weren't body builder huge just a bit bigger then i wanted. My xs shirts were very uncomfortable in my upper arm area.

[natty]

I'm starting to think it's just another excuse that girls use, to pretend it's complicated or they can't/shouldn't do it.

 

 

edit: Also it's not like it would happen overnight. You don't like that a muscle is as big as it is, then stop working it so much. My arms and shoulders got as big as I was comfortable with so I reduced, problem solved) and they weren't body builder huge just a bit bigger then i wanted. My xs shirts were very uncomfortable in my upper arm area.

 

I don't think it's an excuse, we both have plenty of problems with motivation.  The problem is every time I feel like I've convinced her to do compound exercises with heavy weights(mainly squats) she talks to the broscience brigade at her work and they think I just want her to have a nice ass.  Then she comes home and just does stomach crunches.  

[88 Bronco]

Squats will give her a nice ass. It will also strengthen a lot of other things. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_(exercise)

[Cat]

I don't think it's an excuse, we both have plenty of problems with motivation.  The problem is every time I feel like I've convinced her to do compound exercises with heavy weights(mainly squats) she talks to the broscience brigade at her work and they think I just want her to have a nice ass.  Then she comes home and just does stomach crunches.  

 

Yeah that would be crazy.

[Darth Biscuit]

Wow, yeah a guy wanting his woman (of vice versa) to look nice and be healthy, what a horrible concept...  lol

 

Squats are awesome, so are deadlifts and clean and jerks.  You could probably only do those three things and be fit as hell.

[natty]

The way she sees it, she already has a nice ass(and she's right) so that's not something she should 'waste time' on.  

[Darth Biscuit]

The way she sees it, she already has a nice ass(and she's right) so that's not something she should 'waste time' on.  

 

Tell her when she gets my age, she may regret that attitude...