Fitness Fallacies - Mistakes We Make

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

17 Jan 2007 09:22 AM

When it comes to working out, there are a number of questions we need the answers for and no, I'm not talking about what fat-burning supplements to add to your diet or what magical miracle pill works this week to help you achieve your weight loss or fitness goals. No, the questions you need to ask are what are my goals, will this help me achieve my goals and is it safe?

One of my goals here at the fitness blog is to bring you information on how to achieve your goals, help inspire you to meet them and most of all, to keep it safe. So here are some fitness fallacies that you need to keep in mind with regard to setting up your personal fitness program of choice.

• Lifting light weights will give you cut and definition - lifting light weights will help you build strength and endurance, but it's not going to make you look like Mr. Universe. If you're going for the cut and well defined look you need to lift heavy weights with to create overload in the muscles. You may also create a more defined look by reducing your overall body fat.
• Cardio is all you need to lose body fat - While you need to perform cardiovascular exercise to help you burn excess calories, you need to also perform weight training to help maintain your muscle mass - remember, muscles burn far more calories than fat so you need to perform a combination of activities - massive amounts of cardio without weight training or muscle building activities can strip your muscles as well as your body fat
• Power Lifting can build muscle mass faster than anything else - The average person builds about five pounds of muscle per year on a steady, regular weight training program and power lifting is not going to increase that muscle building any faster
• Eat less and you'll lose fat - okay, you need to remember something about your body, it is biologically programmed to store fat and to hang onto it in case of famine or other natural disaster, so when you reduce what you eat, it's going to increase the fat percentages and hang onto it as long as possible because it wants to survive - reducing the calories consumed is not going to cause you to lose weight, only a combination of calories in versus calories burned is going to help you do that
• Calories are the important factor in any weight loss program - absolutely not, because the types of calories are equally important whether they come from carbs, fats or protein. You need to control your body's insulin levels and keep them balanced
• Women will get huge ugly muscles if they lift heavy weights - No. No. No. Testosterone is one of the key building blocks in huge muscles - women simply don't have the same amounts of testosterone in their bodies to do that. Weight training will give you a hard, lean body and it will help you shed unwanted pounds
• Diets high in protein and low in carbohydrates are the best way to build muscle - Again, this is a fallacy because your body needs protein, carbohydrates and even fat to build muscle and while it's true a person in heavy duty weight training will consume more protein, that is because they have a larger muscle mass to feed

Worried you have been following some other fitness fallacy? Send me your questions to Dear Heather and I'll find the answers for you.

Basic Training: 30 minutes treadmill, 3 sets of 10 crunches, 2 sets of 10 lunges

Related Articles:

Kid Fitness: Myths about Overweight Children

Family Fitness: Get Back Up

Fitness Myths

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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