As you recall from last month’s newsletter that there is a lot of great marketing ploys that are far from the truth – they are nothing but hype.
Did you know that only 3% of the population lives a healthy lifestyle. That’s 97% of people that are only “fooling themselves”!
To help you sort out facts from fiction I’ve included a number of popular myths.
Myth: You will bulk up with resistance training
Most guys may want this but many women shy away from doing resistance training because they don’t want to get big bulky muscles.
Bulking up is not easy work – no matter if you’re a male or female. Men have about 30 times the amount of muscle building hormone testosterone as women. And unless you’re doing steroids it just won’t happen. If a woman does look bulky, it is because they have excess body fat and have not been eating correctly when building muscle.
You cannot get “toned” without doing resistance training. Sure you can lose fat by focusing on just cardio workouts, but you’ll lose lean muscle mass and strength to boot. Muscle building factors include (1) Testosterone (2) Illegal Drugs and (3) Genetics. Remember that it’s your muscles and weight training that gives men the “V” body shape and the women the nice “hour-glass” figure.
Myth: You can get a six pack from crunches
Unfortunately you cannot get a chiseled midsection by just doing crunches. I’ve seen it time and time again where someone will spend way too much time on dong abdominal crunches or sit ups to work their stomach.
If you want to sculpt your midsection you first need to be active. Perform core and functional exercises and stay focused – quality or quantity. Tense your abs – squeezing the muscle on contraction – just like you would do for any other muscle of the body.
And, most important – EAT PROPERLY. This is a must. You have to lose body fat, not weight, in order to “see” your abs and this can only happen when you eat high quality foods. This will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you from gaining fat.
Myth: Chest Training will increase or decrease my boob size.
Boy, some of those things you women tend to believe….
Weight training cannot make your breast shrink or get larger. Breast tissue is made up of fat tissue. By burning fat you may decrease your breast size. You can also increase your a bra size by gaining fat. Remember, you cannot choose where your body will lose it’s fat.
A proper strength training program will help develop your chest muscles giving it a more appealing shape to your breasts and upper body.
Myth: My Low Back is sore …..I must have slept wrong
More than 31 million Americans have low back pain at any given time.
Back pain and sciatica doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that take weeks, months, or even years to develop.
Your body has to adapt to the weight going through your hips and pelvis and it’s your muscles that take the brunt of the abuse. Low back pain is mainly the result of a muscle imbalance.
By sitting all day your hip flexors get tight from being in a shortened position and your glutes become weak. These imbalances put your pelvis and spine into an abnormal position.
To offset this you must exercise to strengthen these areas. Squats, Lunges and Deadlifts (done properly) will help. In addition, because these muscles are contracted the majority of the time, you must stretch these muscles also. Hamstring and Hip Stretches should be done daily.
What puts fat-loss and fitness myths in our minds? It’s mainly the overkill of conflicting information alogn with the “quick-no-effort-needed” advertising that we are getting bombarded with.
One of my favorite sayings is “Use it or Lose it.” We are meant to move. There are no magic pills, no short-cuts, no special diets, machines or routines that will result in “getting into shape” Strive for an overall plan to increase your health, fitness, well-being and quality of life. Keep it simple, don’t over think and most importantly – have fun!
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