Resistance Training:
Facts & Myths
Before you begin your exercise program it is important that you clear your mind and put behind you many of the concepts and “myths” you hold to be true about exercise and getting into great shape.
Most of the following “myths” have been around for so many years they have developed universal acceptance. Often one of the biggest challenges is convincing people that what they held to be true is in fact completely false. Over the years I have compiled a list of the 10 most common myths when it comes to exercise:
1. Strength training will make women bulky and overly muscular
Many women are afraid that strength training will make them bulky and overly muscular and cling to the notion that strength training is only for men. This is untrue. In fact, strength training has enormous benefits for women. In a recent study, postmenopausal women who were sedentary were randomly assigned to do strength-training exercises twice a week or to do no additional exercise. After a year, the strength-trainers had greater bone density, muscle mass, muscle strength, balance and less body fat than the sedentary women.
Women naturally have less bone and muscle than men and therefore need to take care of what they’ve got. This is the reason why women are at greater risk of osteoporosis than men. Loss of muscle also puts women at greater risk of disability as they age.
And women do not have to worry about looking like a bodybuilder simply because women don’t have enough testosterone to create big, bulky muscles. In fact, to become a bodybuilder, a woman would have to inject exogenous hormones and dramatically change her training program to reflect this goal.
2. Certain exercises are great for “spot” reducing
One commonly held myth that permeates most of society is that if people exercise one area, it will cause fat to be removed from that area. In gyms around the country you will find countless people trying to lose any midsection fat they may have by performing hundreds upon thousands of repetitions on abdominal machines. The same can be said for hip and thigh devices- everyday scores of women are burning their way through multiple sets in a vain attempt to spot reduce body fat. However, spot reducing exercise is a myth.
Abdominal and hip exercises can strengthen and tone the muscles. But those muscles are underneath the “subcutaneous” layer of fat that gives the lovely appearance of flab. Losing fat pounds through proper nutrition and exercise will get rid of excess flab; however, where you lose the fat first depends on your genes. Some folks are simply more resistant to losing fat in certain areas then others. However, in most cases (especially with women) losing fat around the waist is easier than losing it at the hips. Keep in mind that if your goal is to lose fat in a particular area then your overall body fat must be reduced.
However, the concept of spot reduction does hold some promise- not through targeted exercise but rather through targeted supplementation. Renowned strength coach and exercise physiologist Charles Poliquin has developed a testing system known as Biosignature Modulation. This system looks at the amount of fat a person carries in specific sites of the body and correlates this to a site specific supplementation protocol. According to Charles, those individuals who have a high amount of body fat in the umbilical region (belly fat) are often found to suffer from chronically elevated cortisol levels. For these people, the supplement phosphatydylserine (found in green drinks) has been shown to reduce circulating cortisol, (as well as improve mood, immunity and alleviate depression). Fish oils are also recommended for regulating cortisol and the associated umbilical fat deposition. For those holding fat in the “love handle” region, fish oils as well as flax seeds are effective due to their ability to control blood sugar levels and insulin. This is a new area of research and is showing lots of promise. For more information please visit www.charlespoliquin.com.
3. Exercise burns lots of calories
People have the mistaken idea that exercise is a fabulous way to burn lots of calories; however the truth is that exercising usually does not burn a lot of calories.
Walking or running a mile burns about 100 calories- but sitting still for the same time burns about 50 or 60 calories, depending upon your metabolism. That doesn’t mean you should give up on exercise. The more you exercise, the more fit you’ll become and the more fit you are the more calories you will burn all the time.
People who exercise while on a “diet” also lose less lean body mass (muscle) than dieters who just cut calories. In addition, ongoing physical activity will help with the toughest problem of all: keeping fat off. Studies have shown that after people lose fat, the best predictor of maintaining the fat loss is whether they exercise regularly.
4. If you do not lose weight, there is no point to exercising.
While a desire to lose fat is what gets most people off the couch and into their walking shoes, the true motivation should come from a deeper desire.
The fact is that regular exercise improves the ability of insulin to enter cells, so it lowers the risk of diabetes; it also lowers the risk of heart disease by improving blood clotting mechanisms, lowering triglycerides, and raising HDL [‘good’] cholesterol.
Exercise alters not only your risk of disease, but also your quality of life. In several studies, exercise improved sleep in people with modest sleep dysfunction, that is, people who take a long time to fall sleep or who wake up frequently at night.
The psychological benefits of exercise are frequently overlooked, and a regular fitness program has been shown to relieve both depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that a single 30 minute exercise session will improve mood and feelings of well-being. Regular exercise is also excellent for relieving stress and may even raise levels of the “feel good” brain neurotransmitter serotonin.
5. You cannot be fit with fat
There is a misconception that all people with higher than average body fat percentages are sedentary, unfit and at high risk of disease. Healthy bodies can come in all shapes and sizes. What is important is activity. Motivating all of those unfit people — fat or thin — to increase physical activity could make a difference in lowering risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Yet doctors rarely test a patient’s fitness as part of a checkup.
Fitness is an important predictor of mortality, and it is inexcusable not to evaluate it as part of a person’s health risk.
6. No pain, no gain.
Many people still believe that in order to receive any benefit from exercise they have to work at a very high intensity level.
However, moderate-intensity exercise lowers the risk of dying just as much as high-intensity exercise. The trick is making sure that the exercise is at least the equivalent to walking at a pace of three to four miles an hour.
Running or jogging is, by definition, high-intensity. But walking, raking leaves, and mowing lawns may be either moderate- or low-intensity.
When your goal is to change the composition of your body it is important to vary the intensity of your strength training and cardio workouts. Your BODiZONE personal trainer will periodize your training program which will produce far better results than using a workout with the same level of intensity all the time.
7. If you cannot exercise regularly, why bother?
It takes ten to 12 weeks of regular exercise to become what is commonly known as “fit” — that is, to improve your performance on a general endurance or v02 max test. But your health can improve after that first brisk walk or run.
For example, take a 50-year-old man who is somewhat overweight and typically has moderately elevated blood sugar, triglycerides, or blood pressure. After only one exercise session of moderate intensity- like 30 to 40 minutes of brisk walking- those numbers will be reduced.
And improvements happen not just while you exercise. If you exercise at five o’clock in the afternoon, the improvement will be there the next morning.
That may be why postal carriers (or others who are active at work) have a lower risk of heart disease than postal clerks (or others who are sedentary at work). There is not much difference in their fitness levels, but the carriers have lower blood sugar, triglycerides, and blood pressure.
All people should try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most- or preferably- all days of the week. But if you can’t, don’t let that stop you from taking a short walk around the block or even around the local mall because even a small amount of exercise has benefits.
8. If you did not exercise when you were younger, it would be dangerous to start when you are older.
Many people think they’re too old to start an exercise program. Oftentimes they think it’s unsafe because they have heart disease or diabetes or because they’re too out of shape to start.
The truth is you are never too old to start. In one study, participants were frail nursing-home residents whose ages ranged from 72 to 98. After just ten weeks, strength training improved their muscle strength, ability to climb stairs, and walking speed.
The same goes for people with chronic diseases. People with arthritis often say they cannot exercise- but some of the greatest examples of exercise benefits are found in people with arthritis. This is because exercise reduces pain and increases range of motion, strength, and mobility.
That doesn’t mean that anyone can plunge into a bout of vigorous exercise, regardless of health history. Your BODiZONE personal trainer will conduct a thorough fitness analysis to determine the correct starting level for you.
9. Aerobics is best for “body shaping” and fat loss.
This is a myth that permeates the entire fitness community and is a common belief especially amongst women. The commonly held misconception about fat loss is that weights are just for building huge muscles and aerobics are for burning fat. The truth is that weight training is by far the best exercise for long term fat loss and strength gain. While different types of aerobic training in the form of running, jogging etc are all great, they should be done as an adjunct to a properly designed resistance training program. This in combination with a good stretching program will produce life long lasting changes to body composition.
10. Weight gain is inevitable as you age.
Most people get fatter as they get older... but they don’t have to. It is a matter of reduced physical activity levels and lower metabolic rate caused by a loss of lean body mass (muscle).
This lifelong loss of lean body mass reduces our basal metabolic rate as we age. The change is very subtle that begins between ages 20 and 30. As the percentage of body fat gradually increases, it produces an ever-decreasing calorie requirement. That’s because fat cells burn fewer calories than muscle cells. And a lower metabolic rate means that unless you eat less, you’ll gain weight over time. However, exercise can mount a two-pronged attack on middle-age spread and muscle loss. Any activity makes you burn more calories (so you’re less likely to wind up with an excess). And strength training can offset the loss of muscle mass.
Beginning at age 40 in women and at 60 in men, we lose six to eight percent of our muscle per decade. However, after only two months of strength training, women recover a decade of loss and men recover two decades.
That’s with three weekly personal training sessions that take about 40-50 minutes each, including warm-up, rest periods, and stretching. The actual time required to perform the exercises that increase muscle mass is very insignificant compared to the return you will receive on your investment.