Woman will get big, bulky muscles if they lift weights
This is the most common myth within the fitness industry. The basic physiology of a female prevents women from developing muscle bulk. This is largely due to a smaller cross-sectional muscle fibre size in women than in men, and lower levels of testosterone and other growth hormones.
Yes, there are exceptions, but these are few and far between and normally involve extremely high amounts of advanced training methods beyond the time constraint of the ‘normal’ gym user…and in the case of many female (and male) body builders, may involve the use of steroids.
Actually, no! Your muscles get bigger and stronger when you have stopped training and are in the recuperation stage after the work out. It is vitally important to have a sufficient recovery period after a work out to ensure that your muscles have the time to adapt to the overload and stresses that they were subjected to during the work out. It is during this adaptation period that your muscles will grow bigger and stronger, ready for the next overload and stress from the next work out that follows.
If you do not take adequate rest periods between work outs, your muscles will not have enough time to grow bigger and stronger before being subjected to overload and stress at your next work out. You will plateau in your fitness and strength progression and maybe even drop below levels already achieved. Your muscles will become over-trained causing you fatigue and possible injury. It’s the super-compensation process!
Again, not so! It’s quality that counts here not quantity. It’s not how many sets you can achieve, it’s the intensity at which you work that gives the results. Rather than carrying out 3 sets with 15-20 reps, do one set, slowly and controlled with a high weight. If you can push more than 10 reps, the weight is not heavy enough! By carrying out slower and more controlled weight resistance exercises with more load the better your work out will be and the quicker you will see the results that you want!
If only this were true! The best and most efficient way to burn fat is to carry out high intensity exercise combined with a healthy, nutritious diet. The confusion comes from the fact that we do in fact burn a higher percentage of fat at a low exercise intensity BUT we burn more calories if we exercise at a higher intensity and therefore burn more fat. We burn up to 16 times more calories fast running than we do slow walking. It’s the calories burned that counts and remember – fit people burn fat faster! It’s a confusing one but definitely a fitness myth.
This is a good one to turn out to be a myth! Taking part in a high intensity weight training session is an excellent way to work the heart and lungs. Your body requires lots of energy to carry out weight training exercises and that means that the heart and lungs have to work very hard to ensure that the blood can carry all the energy needed to the muscles that are working. Try carrying out a set of slow squats and lunges or completing a set on your favourite weights machine. Feel how your heart rate increases!
I wish! Unfortunately, the saying ‘you are what you eat’ applies here. If you try to make up for an unhealthy diet through exercise there is a great chance you will end up tired, feeling weak and you could injure yourself. You could also feel unmotivated and frustrated with the results that you are seeing as they will not be ones you desire! A healthy and balanced diet should go hand in hand with your exercise program to ensure that your body has all the protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and fluids that it needs to maintain and build a strong you! (A good nights sleep won’t go amiss either!!)
I don’t think so! Sitting in a sauna after a good workout is fabulous for relieving muscle tension and helping you to relax. However, the heat within the sauna depletes the body of water and if this is not replenished you can become dehydrated. The only weight it is possible to lose from sitting in a sauna is from loss of water from the body, and a lack of sufficient water in your body can be extremely dangerous to your health. Make sure you drink lots of water before and after you use a sauna to ensure it is a healthy and enjoyable experience!