Muscle and Fitness '09: Separating Fact and Fiction

I once wrote one of these a few years ago to help those that need it. I'm not sure what happened to that note but I'm back again to separate the facts from the popular fiction that has so many people struggling and clinging to drastic means to achieve their desired level of fitness.

I've been at this my present gym, LA Fitness, for whats going to be 4 years come spring. In that time, as well as the time before, I have seen countless people performing the wrong exercises, implementing the wrong form, believing the wrong things. So now I'm going to go through some of the false information/lies that you have been led to believe.



1. Sweat away those pounds!


NO! I'm sorry but despite what you would like to believe sweat is NOT a sign that you are losing fat. You can't jump into a garbage back and "melt" away those unwanted pounds. Fat does not melt down/liquify and leak out of your pours. The very thought of that is rather disgusting. Sweating is, and only is, a method to cool your body down when it begins to overheat. Lose to much water and you can do serious damage to your organs.



No sweating during your workout is not without its advantages. It is a good way to rid yourself of unwanted waterweight. Those, most cases women, that suffer from water retention can benefit from excessive sweating during workouts. However, for the majority of us that difference in weight we experience pre to post workout due to us sweating is and will be immediately replaced the moment we place that water/gaterade/powerade bottle to our lips.







2. Spot Reduction


Ask me about this about a year ago and I would have said HELL NO but from what I have been recently reading it turns out that there is some truth to this. Slight but still some. However if your problem area is your, for example, stomach area (which is the problem for most of us) you can't jump to the floor and bang out eleventy million crunches to get that coveted six-pack. Yes you will likely develop some strong abdominal muscles but unfortunately for you that will resie under a cloak of fat.



See the general rule is that to lose weight in any particular area your best best is to work your body completely. The more muscles you work the higher your metabolism. Higher your metabolism the more fat you'll burn off. More fat you burn off the more those sexy abs will start to show. See the body burns off fat evenly, head to toe, for the most part.



Now in the beginning I said there was slight truth to "Spot Reduction". Well here it goes. From what I have recently been reading it seems that working any particular area cause the body to draw, for energy, upon that fat in that target area at a slightly higher percentage then throughtout the rest of your body. What does this mean? Well it means that simply/only doing crunches daily, non-stop WILL NOT flatten out your stomach it is beneficial to hit target/key area during your workout routine.



3. Cardio vs Weight Training


I've been asked about this alot. Which is better to do if you want to get in shape, lose weight, gain lean muscle, etc. Well the fact is both are good and has an advantage over the other.


-Cardio (Cardiovascular Exercise) is primarily a means to better your fitness. Used to strengthen your heart, increase your stamina and vitality, as well as relieve stress. Cardio will also aid you in losing weight but it has its draw backs in that area.


-Weight Training is pretty straight forward in its uses. To build lean muscle, physical strength/power and explosiveness (mostly for athletic reasons). WT can also aid in losing weight.


Now which is better?


Well the truth is that on a scale the needle would swing towards the direction of weight training. Most women I've told did not like hearing that as it seem yall act like yall have an allergy to dumbbells and weight machines lol. But it works like this, while cardio will boost you metabolism higher then will straight weight training that boost is short lived. Minutes after you have completed your treadmill run, bike ride, step class, etc you metabo will return back to the same state/level that it was at prior to you beginning your cardio workout. In the area of weight training while your while your metabo does not reach the same "spike" as with cardio exercise, it will remain at that higher level then normal for longer period of time after your workout is complete. Reason being is that the muscles trained require more energy, burn more calories, to recover from the weight session.


Now this takes me straight into #4.





4. Lifting weights will make me bulky


Usually a comment heard from women. My response...."IF ONLY IT WERE SOOOOO SIMPLE". Lifting weights will not suddenly have you looking like Mr/Ms Olympia. It takes alot of work and specific weight training to add that kind of bulk to your physique. Fact is that lifting weights is not only the best way to get weight off but its the best way to keep it off. Think of your muscles like children. The more you have the more mouths, daily, you have to feed. Your metabolism will remain higher/faster to feed your body.





5. Carbs are the Devil. Avoid them at all costs!


ROTFLMBO!!!!! Listen, CARBS are your Friend. Yes I said it....YOUR FRIEND. But thats only if you know what carbs to eat at which times and in what amounts. Too many of these fad diets have people completely cutting carbs all together but doing so can have a very bad effect; fatigue, depression, and a breakdown of body protein for energy just as an example.

See you have 2 types of carbs; Fast Burning and Slow Burning. Fast buring would be those found in foods such as; white/wheat bread, potatoes, pastas, white rice etc. Slow burning; oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc.


Most people ingest large amounts of fast burning carbs throughout the day....WRONG! Fast buring carbs basically cause your insulin levels to spike triggering your body to store fat. Now its not necessarily wrong to eat fast burning carbs but the best time to do so is immediately post workout when your body is in heavy need of energy to replace your depleted Glycogen levels.


Your best bet: Throughout the day and pre-workout eat Slow Burning carbs as they have a lower glycemic load and will digest slower in your system helping to carry you from meal to meal. Immediate pst workout ingest a fast burning carb to re-energize your system.



6. Don't eat after 7:00PM



What is 7pm supposed to be magic hour? What if I'm a NY resident but fly to Cali on vacation? Does that mean that I now can't eat after 4pm? Does my stomach recognize the time change? LOL....foolishness. Listen 7pm is no magic time slot where all food needs be finished before the deadline. I can only imagine that this "rule" came about because peoples bed times were alot earlier then us night owls today.



What you should not do, however, is eat within 2, maybe 2 1/2 hours of the time in which you are going to sleep. Its not that your body will convert whatever food you ate into fat simply because you are sleep. This is something highly debated but as of yet there is no medical proof to support that idea. Now, as I understand when you sleep your body releases a hormone called GH (Growth Hormone) which basically serves to repair muscle cells, strengthen your immune system and also increase fat-burning. However eating foods before bed that can be converted into sugars (mainly carbs) inhibit the release of GH therefore robbing you of its effect.





Well these are the main myths that I have been presented with. I hope me writing this has helped someone in their desired to reach physical fitness goal for '09. And as always I'm willing for discussion or debate.