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Raphael Calzadilla
Fitness Pro
Biting my tongue has become second nature to me. Why? Because I hear endless questions like this: “If I purchase one of those ab machines I see on late-night infomercials, will that make my stomach flatter?” Or, “If I lift light weights and perform a lot of repetitions per set, will that get me a defined body like Madonna?”
Then there’s my personal favorite, “If I just eat a lot less, won’t I lose weight?” Please don’t misconstrue my tongue-biting comment. I absolutely love what I do for a living and am immensely passionate about it. However, one of the problems in our society is that we hear of certain concepts, products and methods and we simply assume that they’ll work.
It’s important to not only ask, “What is my goal? ” but also, “Will this work?” “Does it make sense?” “Is it safe?”
You don’t have to be a biochemist or an exercise physiologist to answer the questions. All it takes is a small amount of knowledge about the way the human body works. Sometimes it’s good to experiment with unorthodox methods, however, there are some things that are simply ineffective, yet people continue to believe they work.
Here is my top 10 list of fitness “facts” that, in reality, are FALSE:
1. Lifting lighter weights will make your muscles more defined and toned. FALSE!
Muscle responds to overload. If you lift heavier weight with sufficient intensity, you will create more microscopic tears in the muscle. When the muscle recuperates, it will become tighter and stronger.
However, your supplemental nutrition must support your workouts. Reduced body fat is what creates the “lean and tight” look, not high reps (15 plus reps). Reduced body fat is a result of efficient weight training, proper amounts of cardiovascular exercise and nutrition that places one in somewhat of a calorie deficit (less than maintenance). That’s how you get defined and toned!
2. A lot of cardio is the most efficient way to lose body fat. FALSE!
Excessive cardio will strip muscle and body fat. This is definitely not the most efficient method to lose body fat. Once you begin stripping muscle tissue, your body becomes less efficient at burning body fat. Muscle is metabolically active, which simply means it stimulates the metabolism.
For each pound of muscle you put on your body, you will burn up to 50 additional calories per day. If you strip muscle tissue, all you accomplish is sabotaging your efforts to efficiently reduce body fat. The PROPER amount of cardio to accomplish your goal is what’s necessary!
3. A woman will get muscles as big as guy if she lifts heavier weight. FALSE!
This myth never seems to die. A woman has approximately one-third of the testosterone of a man. Unless she is on anabolic steroids, growth hormone or other enhancing drugs, a woman will never achieve the muscular size of a man. However, she can get a degree of muscularity that makes her lean, toned and tight.
4. Calories are the only thing that counts when trying to lose body fat or gain lean muscle. FALSE!
Ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fats are also important. The key in losing body fat and getting lean is controlling and manipulating insulin levels. In simple terms, when we consume excessive calories or excessive amounts of high glycemic carbohydrates at one meal, the body’s blood sugar rises. When this happens, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin to lower the blood sugar levels.
One of the many drawbacks of this happening excessively is, along with putting you at risk for diabetes, the body also holds onto stored body fat! A balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats works most efficiently in losing fat and gaining lean tissue. However, this too becomes tricky, because each of us tends to respond best to certain dietary programs. You may experience great success with our GI plan, Heart Smart plan or any of our other meal plans. Some of our members have experienced good success with one program only to change programs and experience even greater success due to the ratio change!
5. Muscle weighs more than fat. FALSE!
If I place 1 pound of muscle on a scale and 1 pound of fat on a scale, they will both weigh 1 pound. The difference is in total volume! One pound of muscle may appear to be the size of a baseball; one pound of fat will be three times the size and look like a squiggly bowl of Jell-O.
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