5 Exercise and Training Myths!

In this blog post we are going to explain some of the fitness and training myths that are out there. Please let us know if you enjoyed reading this and if there is anything you would like us to talk about next time!

Strength training makes women “bulky”

If women can’t lift weights without getting bulky, how can you pick up groceries, move chairs, carry your child or do pretty much anything without getting ‘bulky’?

When you lift heavy weights, your muscles get stronger not necessarily bigger. Lifting heavy weights, eating healthily and the right foods will not cause you to get bigger. It will make you look ‘toned’ which is the look most women are after.

Unless you are planning on taking steroids, have insane genetics and dedicate multiple hours a day to training then you will never look bulky.

You can spot reduce fat

How can I get rid of my *Insert body part* fat? This is the single most common question asked by a lot of people. It is understandable that there are parts of everyone’s bodies that we would like to lose weight on.

As soon as there is someone trying to tell you that there is an easy way and that you can buy something to get that dream flat belly you have always wanted, without spending months and years working out and eating well… you should be concerned as they are lying.

You simply can not spot reduce fat. Your body will either lose, gain or maintain its fat levels in the body. Losing body fat takes time and is a gradual process that everyone can achieve with consistency and patience. The body never directly burns fat in one area if you train that one area consistently. When you lose weight, your body reduces these fat stores from all over. Some areas will even lose fat faster than others, but this wont necessarily be the body part you want to lose this fat on.

All you need to do is stick to a good diet and exercise!

Strength/weight training burns less calories and fat than cardio

In short, the number of calories you burn during any type of exercise depends on your body size and how intensely you exercise.

Although it has been found that cardio burns more calories in the same time as if you were weight training.. however… weight training has other important benefits than cardio by itself.

For example, weight training is more effective at building muscle and burns more calories at rest than some other tissues, including fat. The calorie burning benefits of weights aren’t just limited to when you are exercising. You keep burning calories for hours afterwards. When you figure out that on a monthly basis, it becomes clearer that regular commitment in weight training will increase your capacity to burn more calories and fat.

In conclusion, weight training may improve your metabolism over time, although these changes are not huge. As mentioned, weight training may be more effective than cardio due to the number of calories being burnt still after the workout! It is time to break away from thinking cardio will equal fat loss and training equals building muscle and weight gain. Whilst cardio can help fat loss goals, weight training is more effective and will also give you that more toned body shape!

Use light weights and high reps to ‘tone’

First of all, lets clear up this term ‘toned’. When people say this, what they are actually referring to is muscular definition and shape resulting in a firm body shape.

What really creates this look is an increase in muscle along with a lower body fat percentage. The only way to achieve this look is to engage in resistance training and being in a calorie deficit. For muscles to change and grow, effort needs to be placed on them. High reps and low weights promote little change in muscle and this style of training does not cause enough stress to the muscle. They will therefore have no reason to change from their current condition. Ensuring you lift heavier and heavier over time (this is called progressive overload) will make your muscles grow to create that ‘toned’ look.

As previously mentioned, enjoying a nutritionally dense diet, creating a deficit or training and lifting heavy, you will increase muscle size, lower your fat and create that leaner muscular body you want.

Training abs, will get you abs

Purely doing crunches, sit ups or any type of ab machine will not create abs. First of all, you need to focus on the types of foods you are eating and the calories you are consuming over the day. Some people including a lot of personal trainers overlook diet. This is the single most important tool that you need in order to develop your abs.

I know its cliché, but abs are made in the kitchen. No matter what you have heard or the latest fat loss pill there is on the market. You could train 6 days a week and have a poor diet and never see your abs.