Strength Training Myths

      There are many myths and fallacies surrounding the world of weight training. Many people are put off from lifting weights because of the circulation of these myths. Here, we’ll set the record straight and debunk these myths and hopefully answer any questions you might have about the impact of weight training.

If you stop working out, your muscles will turn to fat

        When you think about it logically, this is a rather silly statement. When have you ever heard of one substance magically turning into a completely different substance? Muscle and fat are in no way similar and it’s impossible for muscle to magically transform itself into fat. If you don’t’ maintain your weight training your muscles will decrease in size. When you stop working out it just means that your body isn’t as efficient as burning calories as it was before, making it easier for you to put back on any pounds you may have lost.

Hundreds of Sit-Ups will give you a rippled stomach

        Doing loads of sit ups will absolutely not give you a ripped stomach unless you can loose any unwanted fat that may be hiding your abs. The sit-ups alone will not achieve this result. Spot training your stomach to loose fat is impossible and the rate at which you loose fat, and the regions that you loose it quickest all depends upon genetics. Some people just aren’t meant to have washboard abs.

Weight loss and strength training do not mix

        This is absolutely not true. In fact, weight training actually promotes weight loss and aids the process. The more muscle mass one possesses, the higher their metabolism will be. A high functioning metabolism means you’ll burn more calories both when exercising and at rest. Cardiovascular training is seen as the best way to loose body fat in the short term, however if you want to keep it off, incorporating strength training into your exercise program is a must!

Women who lift weights will really bulk up

        Physiologically, this is impossible. Testosterone is the substance responsible for building huge muscles and women just don’t have enough testosterone to make that happen. Muscle is denser than fat and women who lift weights will only produced much more toned and shapelier muscles. Unless you take some kind of testosterone-laden substance to accompany your weight training, you can be assured that you won’t develop huge Arnold like muscles. The botom line is that you need to do weight training to see results. Fear not girls, go and lift!