Are These Common Myths Ruining Your Workout?
Half-truths and myths abound in the fitness world, and some may be stopping you from getting the best workout. While some myths are harmless, others can cause injury or frustration and ruin your workout routine. To stay on a healthy, more enjoyable and safer fitness track, read on to discover the lowdown on three of the most popular exercise myths.
Myth #1: Lifting weights will make women bulky.
For most women, it is physiologically impossible to for women to “bulk up” like men by lifting weights alone. The hormone testosterone is what causes bulky muscles, and women do not have enough naturally to develop Schwarzenegger-like bulges. The truth is that muscle is more dense than fat, and strength training actually makes women leaner, not bulkier. So ladies, grab your GRIPAD® weightlifting gloves and hit the gym!
Myth #2: You need to work every muscle individually to see results.
The body contains more than 600 muscles, and it is unnecessary and impossible to work them all separately. You will see results faster if you perform compound moves, like lunges, push-ups, squats or digs. Single-joint exercises, like leg extensions or biceps curls, burn less calories than these multi-joint movements. As an added bonus, multi-joint moves more closely mimic movements you are likely to perform in everyday life, reducing the odds that you will pull a muscle, and cause undue strain to bones, ligaments, and tendons.
Myth #3: More repetitions equal maximum definition.
Repetition increases endurance, but doing lots of light-weight reps won’t give you increased definition. The only way to gain power, strength and size is to take your muscles to fatigue by lifting a challenging amount of weight. If you can do 12 reps easily, boost your weight by five percent until you achieve momentary fatigue.
Have you fallen for a common exercise myth? What is the craziest workout rumor you have heard? Let us know in the comments section below!
