Common Training Myths
Cardio Makes you fat/Just do more Cardio!
I put both sides of this argument on here because both of them are
debatable. As you have been told by just about everyone, cardiovascular
exercise is something just about everyone participating in exercise does in
their daily routine, with the exception of some bodybuilders and athletes,
which will tell you that cardio makes you fat. Usually, you’ll see a good ratio
of guys in the gym that “lift” that never do cardio. Turns out, if you have
seen them run recently, they probably looked like an autistic kid trying to
charge a flock of geese.
So you’ve done
your daily running for the past 4 weeks and you haven’t lost any weight. What
gives? Two words: Calorie deficit (Although, water retention is a possibility).
I know I have already explained this, but just because you had that Krispy
Kreme donut earlier in the day and tried upping your cardio time doesn’t mean
it’s going to burn it all off. People find it a proper excuse to eat like shit
or compensate in calories more if they decide to increase their running
distance. That is where you’ll hear the phrase “Just do more cardio!” these
days (If you run moderately and manage your calorie deficit, good for you). A
horrible diet will not be made up by running an extra mile in the gym. Additionally,
running too much can lead to overtraining and, in addition, you can develop bad
joints if you do that. I can guarantee
you all that eating out will not keep your caloric intake accurate. It’s quite
obvious that exercise in conjunction with a deficit is the way to go (Redman et al., 2007). You might be thinking at this point “What’s your take on cardio?”
I’ll address that later.
As a woman, lifting weights will make me look bulky and manly
This is targeted more towards the women that run all the time. I
get it: You don’t want to look like the female bodybuilders ‘roided up
on-stage. That’s where the misconception comes in: She’s on drugs. Ask
yourself: Have you ever seen a natural fit female with a muscular physique? I’m
pretty sure she didn’t look manly in any way. I also guarantee she had a
rockin’ body (Assuming she isn’t on the supermodel diet i.e. under 600 calories
a day). Stop doing the excessive cardio and start balancing yourself between
weight training, metabolic work (High intensity circuits), and steady state
cardio.
You also may be
thinking that when you stop weight training, all that muscle will turn into
fat. This is another one of those “I don’t know what the answer to this
question is so I’m gonna pull one out of my ass” answers comes in. You can lose
muscle, in the case that you’re still in a calorie deficit and completely cut
out exercise at one point (Or you lack sufficient protein intake), but muscle
and fat do not turn from one to another. There are cells of half fat and half
muscle, but there is never a conversion of muscle to fat. Or fat to muscle. If
you’re in an appropriate calorie deficit, you’ll lose fat. If you are
maintaining a weight training regiment while in this calorie deficit, your
muscle loss will be minimal (And in cases of much fatter people, you most
likely will gain muscle while in a deficit, as human fat is a great preserver
of muscle believe it or not).
Aside from being
stronger and toned (Which people who only run tend to lack a little) and
defined (10 lb dumbbells to tone is the most pointless thing you’re probably
doing if you are “lifting”), it also
increases bone density(Friedlander, Genant,
Sadowsky, Byl, & Glüer, 1995). If
you’re a noob on weights anyway, guy or not, I’ll have a section later which
explains how to successfully weight train (Don’t expect the guys to not check
you out doing Squats, ladies).
High Reps, Low Weight vs. Low Reps, High Weight
This is a commonly debated topic, especially for those who are
trying to lose fat while attempting to retain muscle. Lucky for all of you, as
long as you’re not being a pansy ass in the gym taking half an hour to do three
sets of two exercises, I can guarantee it is irrelevant if you do either, as
one study will show (Jackson, Hickey,
& RAOUL F REISER, 2007),
the cyclists in this study had different implementation of resistance exercise,
and, unsurprisingly, all of them had a similar increase in strength gains.
My personal
opinion on the subject? I recommend doing both, but that will be explained more
in-depth later in the exercise section. For now, when going to the gym for a
barbell squat, don’t be afraid to squat with them high reps (Or low reps for
that matter. Hell, just keep it diverse).
Exercise is the cornerstone for fat loss
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *awkward stare* HAHAHAHAHAHA! I just had to put
some emphasis into that to get you a little riled up (And look like a caps lock
douchebag at the same time). People these days believe that exercise is the way
to lose fat (Or weight, depending on who we’re talking to). While I do believe
there are people that can mainly focus on exercise and not change any eating
habits to lose fat, they are likely to fall under one of the following
categories: 1. they are an intuitive eater and habitually understand portion
control 2. They have a screaming metabolism or 3. They are somewhat obese.
If you are new to
the fat loss world, then sure you could eat less crap and workout more and
you’ll most likely see acceptable weight loss in the matter of months, however,
this is due to calorie deficit (And decreased energy density in the foods you
consume). I’ve already explained this concept. If you don’t want to accept it,
go ahead! If you want to attain that sexy body and live a little longer, then
yes, you want exercise and the caloric deficit.
Training Truths (In my opinion)
Ensure you do your stretching every day
Yes, tough guys, I am particularly talking to you, as we all know
most of the women tend to be better at their stretching (And yoga. I lack such
flexibility). Regardless if you’re running or if you’re weight lifting, you
need to stretch (A little before, more so afterwards). However, if you don’t
want to, go ahead, but don’t get mad at me when you’re in a wheel chair or on
crutches 10 years down the road. If anyone is judging you for stretching (Which
I don’t see why they would) and they exercise, just see what happens to them
when they get older.
Prevent yourself from overtraining
This also goes hand-in-hand with the whole eating way too little
and exercising too much, but if you’re in an appropriate calorie deficit, then
you should have no problem training 3-5 days a week (Depending on duration).
What determines if you’re overtraining? If you’re training 2 ½ hours a day, 6
days a week (Assuming most of this training isn’t walking or lifting food to
your mouth), then yes, you should really consider toning it down a little bit.
If you have a heavy labor job, and you exercise more than an hour a day 4-5
times a week, then you’re probably going to over train yourself. If you run 30
miles a week and lift 4 times a week, I’d recommend toning the running down.
Now, in the
situation that you are preparing for a marathon or something like that and you
need to know how to supplement your macros appropriately? I’ll elaborate on
that later. For now though, I will say take at least one day off from any type
of training a week (You can take a brisk walk or stretch, just no training).
Combine both weight training with cardiovascular exercise for
double the success
You could only do some cardio. Or you could only do some running,
but if you really want the best of both worlds, then it’s only logical to
combine both into your weekly regment. There is a vast amount of studies that
show the benefits of using both in a regiment, such as improvements in fasting
blood glucose, enhanced bone density (Especially helpful when you get older and
could potentially develop arthritis if you don’t), improved VO2 max, improved
cognitive ability, reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, and the
list goes on (Friedlander et al.,
1995; Hillman, Erickson,
& Kramer, 2008; Maiorana et al., 2001; Pollock et al., 2000; Sigal et al., 2007).
Switch up your regiment once in a while (And increase your weight a
little)
People usually say
that they will reach plateaus, and while I don’t disagree, there are a couple
of reasons they don’t realize to why they have done so (Although there are some
people that have been dieting extensively that need a maintenance diet for some
time to get them back on track. New dieters, however, is a simple fix): 1. They
need to lower their calories more 2. They need to increase their training a
little bit. OR, as part of a subcategory to #2, the biggest thing is increasing
weight or intensity of the exercise AND changing up your workout.
Be honest with
yourself when you go to the gym. I don’t want you blowing one of the discs in
your back from putting too much weight on your deadlift (Or maybe your form
just sucks), but at the same time I want you to push yourself, so that by the
end of your workout you feel tired but aware enough to tell yourself “I really
kicked ass today”.
Switching up your
regiment also not only changes emphasis on certain muscle groups, but it will
keep it from getting boring. If you’re in the gym though doing dips and you
feel that three sets of ten is too easy, you throw on a weighted vest or
something similar and assess how well you handle the increased resistance.
Alternatively, if you get tired of dips, you change it to something like
dumbbell tricep extensions. There’s always an alternative for one exercise or
another. If you really want some interesting training variation though, check
out the section on periodization I will have on later in Chapter 15.
It’s more about the form, not about the reps
I went to a Crossfit competition yesterday, and they were competing
in two things: Thrusters (They’re like a Front Squat combined with a Push
Press) and Pull-ups. What I saw made me want to smack the shit out of the coach
of the gym.
When it comes to
any exercise, there is always a proper form to the exercise, if it’s pushups,
pull-ups, and the biggest one I always see most people lacking proper form on,
squats (Surprisingly even bodyweight squats).
So what were these
guys doing wrong? With their thrusters? Not much. With their pull-ups? You
would assume they’re not bringing their chin up to the bar or were coming
halfway down. Neither actually. Technically, there was nothing wrong about
their form. Do you remember those kids in your school that could do the worm?
It’s essentially what it sounds like: A wiggling of the whole body. Instead,
they were all wiggling on the pull-up bar, with proper form. They were using
their legs to drive themselves upwards while disregarding the strain they’re
putting on their rotary cuffs and their shoulders. They can have fun with those
injuries in their near future…
Another one I find
people lack form in is the pushup (Or Bench press, depending on the person).
They essentially look like they’re humping air with a three inch movement
between the top and bottom. Then the bench pressers tend to come halfway down
and put all stress on the wrong muscle group.
The biggest one I
see, by far though, is people who lack a full squat. You need to hear it time
and time again: 90 degrees and parallel to the floor is proper squatting
stance. I always see guys (And girls) doing half-assed reps, then getting out
from under the bar, thinking they just beat their 1 rep max. Ha… you’re funny.
Why am I harping
so much on form? What’s so important about it? I’ll keep it simple: 1. if you
lack proper form, you’re much more prone to injury 2. You are most likely not
putting nearly as much stress (Or any at all) on the muscle group intended. 3.
You’re not getting anywhere increasing your strength with high reps, bad form.
4. You are trying to show off your reps to your buddies.
I will only be
explaining proper form for a few exercises in this book, but for now, I will
refer you to the Appendix A at the end of the book that gives you
recommendations on who or what websites will provide you with this information.
Copyright 2013 Anthony J Wathen
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