MYTH BUSTING MAY: Lifting weights will make women bulk up.
Women don’t have as much testosterone as men, so it is not easy to bulk up their muscles by lifting weights unless they are trying to do so. But strength training, or lifting reasonable weights, is an important part of physical fitness.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: Exercise turns fat into muscle.
Exercise cannot turn fat into muscle because one type of cell cannot be turned into another. But exercise, particularly strength training, helps build muscle, which helps you burn more calories and lose fat.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: You have to work up a sweat when you are physically active for it to count.
Moving your body and raising your heart rate relative to your fitness level are the most important parts of physical activity. The main purpose of sweating is to cool your body down.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: Running on a treadmill is as effective as running outside.
The treadmill belt assists leg turnover, making it easier to run faster. So most runners find that their pace on the treadmill doesn’t correlate to their road pace.
Exercise machines beat free weights.
Free weights activate more muscles than machines and therefore are better for building muscle in the long-run.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: Lifting heavy weights bulks you up.
It’s true that lifting heavy will promote hypertrophy in muscles leading to a size increase. However, the idea that it leads to a “bulky” look is untrue.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: You should stretch before you work out.
Warming up for at least 5 minutes (sometimes longer) is crucial, because it gets your blood flowing to your muscles and lets your heart rate adjust. But most of the time, stretching is best done after the physical activity, when muscles are warmest to reduce lactic acid build up.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: No pain, no gain.
Exercise should never hurt, and it does not have to hurt to be effective. When we begin an exercise program, we may experience some muscle soreness, but that is quite different from pain.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: You shouldn’t work out on an empty stomach.
Doing aerobic exercise when fasting increases the use of stored fat as an energy supply.
MYTH BUSTING MAY: You can target your fat burn.
You can’t control which part of your body will lose fat when you are physically active. You will lose it from where you least ‘need’ the excess fat. Genetics does play a big part in controlling body composition and shape.