10 Exercise Myths and Facts (Part 2) :

by female bodybuilders on 9:10 PM in Life style

👉 10 Exercise Myths and Facts (Part 1)

5. Running, or cardio is the way to lose fat.

No. Cardio exercise should be just one part of your workout routine. When adding cardiovascular exercise, you should look to perform intervals, whereby you work at and easy pace for a period of time, then put up the resistance or speed, and work hard for a shorter period of time. You often will have two to three times more rest period than work. The idea of interval training is you can train for less time, but burn more calories, as it ramps up your metabolism, puts a greater workload on your body, and will get you 'fitter' quicker than steady state cardio.

Too many people stick to the cardio machines, spending hours during the week on them. Yes you will burn calories, but you'll also burn muscle because of the long, slow intensity. This in turn robs you of body shape, and will slow your metabolism. In the business this is known as "skinny fat" - you may be slim but you'll have a high body fat % as you have minimal muscle.

4. Targeting specific muscle groups is the best way to lift.

How many times have you heard "Today I'm doing arms" or "Monday is chest and back!"? How you plan a resistance training program depends on several factors, but the above is pretty much set out for bodybuilders and can workout for long periods (often through enhancements), have a long training background, and consume a good number of calories.

This kind of training is not functional. It will not help to give you a generally strong body that will help in everyday tasks. You will see guys at the gym who follow this type of programme, with hunched over shoulders where their chest muscles are over tight from too much bench pressing, and other such muscle imbalances, which in time, will give postural problems.

You should look to perform exercises which use multiple muscles and combine the 5 body movements - Walk or lunge, squat or bend, push, pull, rotate.

3. You need supplements to get in shape

Supplements should be used only for what they're name implies: to "supplement" an already nutritious diet. Pills, powders, potions, will not give the results often portrayed by magazines and adverts, it will just burn a whole in your pocket.

What supplements do I consider worth using? A good multi-vitamin and an omega-3 supplement is about it. A protein powder is about the only other if you are working out strenuously, to help build or maintain lean muscle.

Natural wholesome food is what your body is designed to consume, and that is what will give you the best results - guaranteed.

2. Cutting calories down will help me lose weight

When you dramatically reduce calories, your bodies metabolism slows down. This is the engine to your body. Also, if you go too long without consuming a decent amount of calories, your body will start to release fat storing hormones called Lipoprotein lipases. These will float around your blood system, and next time you eat, they will grab the nutrients and store them as fat - your bodies last possible source of energy, as it thinks you are in starvation.

Eat little and often, every 3 hours and you'll keep your metabolism high. If you are going to cut calories in an attempt to lose weight, start by just 300 calories a day, possibly moving to 500 if you see no results are a week.

1. Crunches will get rid of your belly fat

One of the most over rated exercises for sure! In a very broad sense, getting rid of fat is a simple factor of expending more calories that you take in.

And doing a crunch, which moves the body through a minuscule range of motion, is not going to expend many calories. Plus you're not going to see any benefit from them if you have a layer of fat over the top. Eat Clean, lift weights, perform intervals and you'll start to get where you want to be!