Gym Myths

[carlito is cool]

Here are some myths that people either have when it comes to training:

 

Spot Reduction (choosing an area to lose fat of)- Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern based on genetics, sex and age. Overall bodyfat must be last to lose fat of a particular area.

 

Higher reps burn fat/tone- Performing lighter weight with more repetitions (15-20 reps, 20-30 reps, or 20-50 reps) does not burn more fat or tone (simultaneous decrease of fat and increase muscle) better than a heaver weight with moderate repetitions (8-12 reps).

 

Getting a 6 pack - Cant be achieved through doing hundreds and hundreds of ab exercises. Everyone has a six pack but for it to be visible you must have a bodyfat of 8-10% for a male and 12-14% for a female. This can be acheived through CV exercise and a strict diet.

 

You can build muscle and lose fat- You can't do this at the same time. Quite simply to build muscle you need to be consuming more calories than your body needs. And to lose weight you need to be taking in less calories than your body needs.

 

Faster i run more fat i lose- If you sprint you body uses a different energy system to if you run at a moderate intensity. To achieve maximum fatloss you need to raise your heartrate between 55-65% that is the optimun time for losing weight. Heart rate any lower isn't intense enough and anything higher is to intense and fat isn't being used up as much.

[Paul]

Higher reps burn fat/tone- Performing lighter weight with more repetitions (15-20 reps, 20-30 reps, or 20-50 reps) does not burn more fat or tone (simultaneous decrease of fat and increase muscle) better than a heaver weight with moderate repetitions (8-12 reps).

 

 

Not according to all my gym instructors EVER and the people who taught me dance.

 

Getting a 6 pack - Cant be achieved through doing hundreds and hundreds of ab exercises. Everyone has a six pack but for it to be visible you must have a bodyfat of 8-10% for a male and 12-14% for a female. This can be acheived through CV exercise and a strict diet.

 

Actually this would depend on the person. Doing the ab work outs would increase the tone and deffinition of the '6 pack' and mean its more visible in someone with a higher body fat.

 

You can build muscle and lose fat- You can't do this at the same time. Quite simply to build muscle you need to be consuming more calories than your body needs. And to lose weight you need to be taking in less calories than your body needs.

 

Are you just making this up as you go along? Of COURSE you can lose fat while building muscle...jesus! And as you should know theres a difference between fat and weight anyway,

 

Faster i run more fat i lose- If you sprint you body uses a different energy system to if you run at a moderate intensity. To achieve maximum fatloss you need to raise your heartrate between 55-65% that is the optimun time for losing weight. Heart rate any lower isn't intense enough and anything higher is to intense and fat isn't being used up as much.

 

I have to admit I didnt know that.

[A.C.]

What's brought on all the gym talk anyway?

 

Feel the burrrrrrn!! :body

[Amy]

Pah the gym!

Hoodia is the way forward!

[carlito is cool]

Not according to all my gym instructors EVER and the people who taught me dance.

 

 

 

Actually this would depend on the person. Doing the ab work outs would increase the tone and deffinition of the '6 pack' and mean its more visible in someone with a higher body fat.

 

 

 

Are you just making this up as you go along? Of COURSE you can lose fat while building muscle...jesus! And as you should know theres a difference between fat and weight anyway,

 

 

 

I have to admit I didnt know that.

 

You cannot lose fat while building muscle darkstar. Do some reading up on this if you like but im telling you its a fact. For example say your an average sized male you daily calorie intake should be 2500. Thats to maintain your weight, in short to build muscle you would need to be taking in over your 2500 caloriesfor your muscles to grow they need those extra calorie to increase in size. As for losing fat your body needs to be in a caloric defecit which means you would need to be taking in under your 2500 calories, 2000 is reccommended, hence it is impossible to acheive both at the same time.

 

Thats why bodybuilders go through different stages 8 weeks building up i.e strength training, very high calorie diet, minimmum cardio during this time there bodyfat will increase however so will there muscle mass. After this time they will switch to a programme which is designed to shed bodyfat and give them a cut look. They will cut calories and stop making muscle gains during this period.

 

Trust me mate this is how it is if you don't believe me do some research.

 

As for higher reps = toning that is nothing more than a myth 99% in the fitness industry agree definition is acheived through a strict diet and a moderate to high level of cardio. My ex girlfriend always made me laugh saying she wouldn't do heavyweights because she didn't want to get big and muscular :lol alot of people don't understand to acheive a good body it really is 50% training and 50% diet.

[Paul]

You cannot lose fat while building muscle darkstar. Do some reading up on this if you like but im telling you its a fact.

 

To build muscle you use calories, the calories you have stored as fat are burnt like this. By performing resistance training you burn up the stored calories to build muscle.

 

And if you cant then how come while at teh gym Ive put on muscle and lost body fat? :P

[carlito is cool]

To build muscle you use calories, the calories you have stored as fat are burnt like this. By performing resistance training you burn up the stored calories to build muscle.

 

And if you cant then how come while at teh gym Ive put on muscle and lost body fat? :P

 

the scales are buggered :lol

 

Your right you are burning of your stored calories while training however you need excess calories to grow. Gaining muscle mass inevitably leads to small bodyfat gains if it is being done correctly.

 

Do you use a bodyfat monitor? I'd stay away from those things they are unreliable as hell. And if you are using it make sure you use it before you start training and at the same time every time you use it.

[Paul]

:lol git

 

Yeah my weight has only gone down slightly compared to my Body fat. And yes I know that you can only lose so much fat before you get to the stage where you need to increase your calorific intake......but i was making the point that you CAn lost fat while putting on muscle. :P

[carlito is cool]

:lol git

 

Yeah my weight has only gone down slightly compared to my Body fat. And yes I know that you can only lose so much fat before you get to the stage where you need to increase your calorific intake......but i was making the point that you CAn lost fat while putting on muscle. :P

 

As a beginner at the gym it hasbeen known to happen very rarely though.

 

How have you lost weight and gained muscle? Muscle weighs heavier than fat? To gain muscle you need to gain weight simple as that. I could easily understand you looking more muscular due to a drop in bodyfat and even being stronger i mean im stronger now at 75kg than i was at 90kg thats understandable.

 

But losing weight and gaining muscle ive never heard of it :?

[A.C.]

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2160/ababber20004hb.png

 

The ladies will be "all up ons..."

 

 

 

 

 

I'd better mention that this is from Homestarrunner.com - I didn't make it up!

Edited November 16, 2005 by A.C.

[carlito is cool]

:lol

[Paul]

But losing weight and gaining muscle ive never heard of it :?

 

Its becouse Ive dropped a LOT of fat and put on muscle, I know that muscle weighs more I just havent put on enough muscle to take place of all the fat.

 

Im a porker. :P

[carlito is cool]

Its becouse Ive dropped a LOT of fat and put on muscle, I know that muscle weighs more I just havent put on enough muscle to take place of all the fat.

 

Im a porker. :P

 

ive got ya. Whats your weight i you dont mind me asking? Sounds like you are in a similar position to what i was. after suffering a broken angle i balloned fom 85kg to 100 kg in just over 6 months this was around last xmas. Since then ive dropped all the weight and some more and am currently looking the best i ever have at 75kg. How often do you train?

[PHIZZLE]

I remember Booker T was on TRL before and he said it doen't really matter what your diet is its all about your work out

[carlito is cool]

I remember Booker T was on TRL before and he said it doen't really matter what your diet is its all about your work out

 

:eek

 

Your diet is crucial, in fact its just as if not more importannt than your actual training.

 

without a proper diet you can't build muscles. You could train all day every day but without the right food intake your not gonna see any improvements.

 

If you want to get lean you can't do that by eating loads and loads high fat foods so yes of course your diet matters.

 

Booker was talking rubbish.

[Paul]

I normally train every morning before work and maybe once at the weekend too. However with having been off for a week i hadnt trained this week. Oops.

 

I started at 99 kilograms and have gone down to 96 while putting on muscle and loseing some of my waist.

[PHIZZLE]

Since when do people weigh themselves in kgs

[Paul]

Since 99kg sounded less than 218 pounds. :P

 

I need to more weight then get it back in muscle.

[MrFill]

Since 99kg sounded less than 218 pounds. :P

 

I need to more weight then get it back in muscle.

I prefer saying that I weigh over 240lbs than I do saying that I weigh about 110kg. The kilogram weight just sounds so wimpy. :D

[ahsatan]

Since when do people weigh themselves in kgs

 

I do, I weigh myself on the work scales used to weigh boxes and they only show kgs. :)

[PHIZZLE]

Since 99kg sounded less than 218 pounds. :P

 

I need to more weight then get it back in muscle.

 

 

haha I thought thats what it was

 

Legend :xyx

[carlito is cool]

I normally train every morning before work and maybe once at the weekend too. However with having been off for a week i hadnt trained this week. Oops.

 

I started at 99 kilograms and have gone down to 96 while putting on muscle and loseing some of my waist.

 

You eating before your workout? I hear alot of people telling me there doing there cardio 1st thing in the morning without eating 'because it burns more fat' they may aswell slice there muscles of with a knife.

 

Whats your programme look like?

[Paul]

heh, I tend to have 2 slices of toast with marg or a bowl of porridge.

As far as workout I do between 15-20 mins of assorted cardio (varies every day), 5 mins balance while doing small dumbells, then 10-20 mins weight training.

 

Then 20 mins of sauna. :D

[carlito is cool]

heh, I tend to have 2 slices of toast with marg or a bowl of porridge.

As far as workout I do between 15-20 mins of assorted cardio (varies every day), 5 mins balance while doing small dumbells, then 10-20 mins weight training.

 

Then 20 mins of sauna. :D

 

Sounds alright, just an idea though if your trying to lose fat try doing your weights first and cardio after. This way all/most of your glycogen stores will be burnt up so when you start your cardio you will be ready to start burning fat straight away. You see the body needs to burn the stored glycogen before it starts using up fat. If you go straight into cardio it takes around 20 mins of moderate/high intensity cardio before you start burning actual fat.

 

:thumbsup

[Gemsi]

Hey, I weigh myself in kg's it's an easier weight to work with IMO.

I also measure my height with cm's. It's a lot easier than this whole st/lbs and ft/in thing.

 

Sounds alright, just an idea though if your trying to lose fat try doing your weights first and cardio after. This way all/most of your glycogen stores will be burnt up so when you start your cardio you will be ready to start burning fat straight away. You see the body needs to burn the stored glycogen before it starts using up fat. If you go straight into cardio it takes around 20 mins of moderate/high intensity cardio before you start burning actual fat.

 

I may be wrong on this, and forgive me if i am, but if you go straight on the weights, even if you have done stretches first, your not gonna be warm enough, and doesn't that cause more damage to your joints?

 

If you do a 5 minute session set at a speed just a bit faster than your normal walking speed on the cardio first, then your gonna warm up your joints, and cause less damage. Never mind having this whole new body with less fat and stuff, if you hit the weights without doing any cardio at all your gonna be risking damaging your joints.

 

My day at the gym goes:

 

5 mins of cardio 3 on tread mill , 2 on cross trainer. The treadmill just faster than my walking speed, cross trainer set on level one.

 

stretches making sure all muscles feel ok, and arn't tight or anything. Then a few sit ups on the yoga ball thing, to make sure I'm thouroughly supple.

 

Hit the weights, the weights I always have on a weight that provides the most resistance for me, making it so I'm capable of lifting the 15 times, without to much of a struggle.

 

I then do 10-20 minutes cardio, but still on a speed i feel comfortable with, not running, or even jogging, just a brisk walk. To make things harder, i increase the incline on the treadmill rather than the speed and the level on the cross trainer keeping at the same speed. This makes your body have to work harder, but you don't get as breathless, and don't tire as quickly.

 

I then hit the cool down mode on the treadmill. Then hit the aromatherapy room, dry sauna, showers, cafeteria:)

 

Did you know that A cup of coffee is supposed to be good before you start training, although can't quite remember why:S

 

 

I'm 35% fat i think, am trying to get down to 25% while building up muscle to replace it.

 

Hopefully when i finish, my size 10's will fit me, but I'll be the same weight wise.