As a Newington Connecticut personal trainer, with 10 years of experience, I have come across a lot of myths. Over and over again, while doing a consultation, I will hear the same questions and concerns from clients. More often than not, these concerns tend to be pure fiction but society has accepted as fact. Below are some of the biggest Gym and Fitness Myths that I have come across, and what the truth really is!
- “Muscle weighs more than fat” – This is my favorite one! People love throwing around this common falsehood. It sounds nice to think that the reason you are gaining weight is because it is all muscle and it weighs more; unfortunately, this is not true. Muscle does not weigh more than fat! A pound, is a pound, is a pound…. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat BOTH weigh a pound! The difference here is that muscle is a lot tighter, denser, a lot more compact, and creates a thermogenic effect (meaning it burns calories!). This is why, when a Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer is measuring results, it is imperative to use multiple modalities. It has been my experience, as one of the top Newington Connecticut personal trainers, to use four different ways to gauge results:
- The scale – while the scale doesn’t lie, it doesn’t tell the whole picture; the scale will tell overall weight loss or weight gain.
- Measurements – This will help quantify the numbers we are seeing on the scale. If after a few weeks, the number on the scale hasn’t changed much, but you are down a few inches, we know you have lost some fat and gained some muscle because, as discussed, muscle will take up less space.
- Bodyfat percentage – This will tell any Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer EXACTLY how much of each tissue you are gaining and/or losing.
- Look and feel – There is a lot relativity in this, and it will be different for each client, but more than anything, I –your Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer– want to know that you are feeling and looking better than when you started.
- “You can turn fat into muscle or vice versa”– It would be great if this was the case, but unfortunately, it is impossible. Fat and muscle are two completely different tissues and ione tissue cannot turn into another. Alchemists have been trying to turn coal into diamonds for centuries, and it just doesn’t work!
What can be done is what is called a body composition change. Any Newington Connecticut Personal Trainer will tell you that what this entails is burning fat and gaining muscle at the same time!
- “Lifting weights will make me bulky “– This is another common misconception about lifting weights. Everyone thinks that if they lift a 20-pound dumbbell, they will automatically turn into a big bulky body builder… not going to happen!
For females, you do not have the testosterone levels to produce such extensive muscle gains, and for males, you do not produce enough testosterone to yield those kind of gains. This is why the majority of professional bodybuilders use steroids.
Also, bodybuilding is considered a sport because of the amount of effort and hours/day of work they need to put in to get those kinds of results. The average weight loss client does not have to worry about that! And as discussed before, muscle is a lot more compact than fat and burns more calories naturally. So, building muscle will usually do the opposite of making you look bulky; it actually give you a slim toned look! All of our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainers know this and can explain it in greater detail if you like.
- “Cardio is the only way to lose weight “– While cardio is great for cardiovascular health, and is great for burning calories at the time of action, all of the most recent studies show that building muscle (weight training) is more efficient, effective, and sustainable for fat loss. Our Newington Connecticut Personal Trainers know that cardio will burn calories during activity but once the activity has concluded so has the calorie burn. Resistance training will burn more calories in the 24 hours after the activity has concluded as well as build muscle which naturally burns calories throughout the day.
- “Lifting weights will make me tight (i.e., inflexible)” – This one can be true but shouldn’t be. To make the statement accurate, you would have to say “improper weight training” will make me tight. In reality, weight training with a full range of motion can, and will, help promote flexibility, and our Newington Connecticut personal trainers know this and train with this in mind.
Have you ever seen a muscle-bound professional body builder get on stage and perform a full split? It happens quite frequently because they work on their flexibility and lift in a full range of motion. It is only when the novice lifter tries to lift too much weight, and therefore, does not perform reps, that inefficient and tight movement patterns get developed. When proper dynamic warm-ups, mobility training, and stretching is added to a routine, flexibility should not ever be an issue.
Always feel free to consult any of our Newington Connecticut personal trainers, for any of your fitness and nutrition questions and needs!
