Myths: Fitness
1. Fasted Cardio Burns More Fat Than Fed Cardio
The theory behind this is by being on an empty stomach, your body will have nothing else but fat to use to fuel itself. Also, the idea that being glycogen depleted (no carbs stored in muscle and liver) will maximize fat loss.
Overall, studies have shown there is no real difference in fat loss, whether you have eaten or not.
However to preserve muscle mass it is best to eat beforehand, as well as allowing yourself more energy to burn more calories.
This is probably the most common fallacy among women when it comes to the fitness and it is most definitely false.
The reason being is that women on average have much less testosterone than men (about one tenth).
It is essential that women must not fall into the myth that she would become the next Arnie if she uses weights.
Realistically women can build a very feminine body by lifting weights as well as increasing their metabolic rate, strengthen bones and joints.
For more on the difference between men and women see here.
3. It’s Better To Do High Reps, Rather Than Low Reps and Vice Versa.
Quite simply, all rep ranges have value!
What is important to note is tension and fatigue are the main contributors to what stimulates growth.
As you increase weight, your muscles will recruit more muscle fibers to help lift. Your body will continue to recruit more fibers up to about 80-85% of the total weight you can lift.
Even at lower weights, all muscle fibers will end up being recruited but they won’t have been recruited until the last few reps when fatigue is close.
It is recommended to perform at 80-85% weight to further ensure that you can perform 5-8 reps.
This will provide maximum muscle fiber recruitment from the very first rep, as well as the advantage of the volume of reps being used to reach fatigue.
HOWEVER, this only a generality and it is essential to use other rep ranges to maximize your strength and size gains overtime.
Below is a brief explanation of different rep ranges.
Lower reps – 1-5
This range trains the muscle to store more glycogen, allows the muscle to handle the biggest weight that activates all fibers, and helps develop overall strength to handle more weight and create more hypertrophy (muscle building).
Mid range reps – 6-12
This has many benefits from the high and low rep ranges with studies showing that this rep range is the best for causing the most hypertrophy.
This is because the rep range is low enough to keep muscles under heavy pressure and enough reps are performed to have them under tension with those heavy loads.
High reps – 15+
High repetitions cause glycogen depletion which causes the body to increase the amount of glycogen the muscle stores post workout. This will cause more protein synthesis and muscle growth.
4. Don’t Train When You’re Sore
Being sore usually signals that your muscles are recovering and growing. However Japanese research shows no change in range of motion, strength or muscle damage when training biceps whilst still sore.
Generally speaking you need 2 to 3 days before training the same muscle group again, and this is still true, regardless of whether you are sore or not.
5. You Must Train Heavy To Grow
When we say heavy, we mean that only a few reps are achievable (less than 8).
Research shows that low reps are best for building strength but medium (8-12) reps are best for stimulating growth.
Stimulating muscles in this rep range allows for growth hormone to be released, promoting growth.
Therefore depending on your goals it is ideal to use different rep ranges, however we advise finding a middle ground and mixing the rep range between exercises.
6. Stretch Before Training?
This is clearly true; however the type of stretching involved is perhaps not in line with popular beliefs.
Studies have shown that static stretching before workouts actually reduces strength, whereas dynamic stretching in fact increases strength.
Thus static stretching should be left until after training to increase flexibility and dynamic stretching done as part of your warm-up
7. Do Cardio Before Weight Training
This belief comes from the logic that cardio before will tire you out for your main focus, weight training. But there are also other benefits to cardio after weight training.
Japanese research has found two interesting results. The first is that fat loss is in fact higher when cardio is performed after weight training as opposed to before.
The second is that growth hormone levels are higher when weights are performed first. Growth hormone promotes muscle growth and also fat loss, resulting in cardio being best performed AFTER weight training.
For more see here.
8. You Can’t Gain Muscle & Lose Fat At The Same Time
You need a calorie surplus to gain muscle, and a deficit to lose fat, so they are clearly mutually exclusive right? Wrong.
Research from the University of Connecticut (Storrs) has shown that a high protein and low carbohydrate diet can in fact lead to both fat loss and muscle gain.
It is also incredibly important to ingest protein at the four most important times of the day: before and after bed, and before and after working out.
The use of supplements can also aid in this goal.
9. You Must Train To Failure
The reasoning behind this is that if you stop before failure, you merely perform what you could already do rather than attempt to go further.
Researchers at the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) believe that for strength, doing one set per exercise to failure is optimal.
However for growth taking most sets to failure is more effective. This may be due to the fact that growth hormone is much higher after workouts that involve lifting to failure.
10. You Can Work Abs Everyday As They Recover Faster Than Other Muscles
Not true. Muscle tissue responds to weight training to grow larger and stronger.
Just like any other muscle, you would never recover sufficiently in time and this would hamper your development as well as lead to overtraining.
11. You Need To Use Super High Reps To Increase Definition In Your Midsection
Again this is not true. Only training mixed with correct diet will help you see those abs.
12. Don’t Train Abs As They Get Enough Work With Squats, Presses and Deadlifts
Not true. This is similar to not working biceps or triceps because they work during back and chest.
13. Don't Train Abs With Weight As It Will Make Your Abs Big/Fat
Not True. Your abs are a very thin sheet of muscle and hard to enlarge. If your abs stick out away from the body it will appear that there is less fat in between the abdominals.
You should train your abs heavy, just like any other muscle.
