Some of Weight Lifting Myths vs Facts

When it comes to weightlifting, there are a lot of myths out there that discourage, not only women but some men from weight training. However, weight training has a lot of benefits and thus far, I have seen nothing but great results personally – your average jane who trains heavy.

So let’s debunk some of these myths, shall we?  

Myth: If you stop weight training muscles will convert to fat.

Muscles and Fat can never turn into each other, why? They are two different kinds of tissues. Muscle is denser than fat, and will actually make you look slimmer.  Here’s a picture of how 5lbs (2.5kgs) of muscle look vs. fat. In simpler terms, muscle takes less space than fat and it’s like comparing sand with water.

However, not training for certain period of time could cause the muscle to shrink back to its normal state pre-training, if A) there was lack of exercise for a long time, B) lack of proper nutrition and protein. However, due to muscle memory, regaining muscle is easier. 

Myth: Ab cruches are the best exercises to lose fat from the stomach.  

That's a big no no. Abs are just another muscle group in your body. What you often want to get rid of is the fat layer in top of it. You can do 200 crunches in a day, and you will still see no results. Why? Stomach fat is all about diet, diet, diet - and no I don't mean go low-carb and starve yourself. You may have a really strong core below that layer of fat, but if you don't eat whole foods, lots of veggies, lean protein and fruits, but opt for sugary drinks, fried foods - you won't see your abs. In general to get that body you want it's 70% diet, 20% exercise, 10% sleep. Yup. Also there is no such thing as "spot reduction." Your body is a machine, you can't exclude one part of it and expect it to work to its full potential.

Myth: Weight training makes you gain weight so you look bigger. 

Yes, weight training does makes you gain weight, but at the same time it reduces your overall body fat percentage and not by a miracle where it converts from fat to muscle. Muscles are an active tissue in the body and require energy (calories) to keep functioning. Gaining muscle raises your metabolic rate by 15% and for every pound of muscle (0.5kgs), you burn an extra 35-50 calorie a day, while fat burns 5 calories for every pound. In simpler terms, muscles help burn fat 24/7.

Personally, I have been weight training for almost 2 years now, and have done cardio only once a week (45-minutes only). I weigh exactly the same as I did last year, being 52kgs, but the difference is that I lost almost 8kgs of fat and gained 5kgs of muscle in return, with a drop of 13% of body fat (last I checked few months ago.) In other words, I weigh the exact same, but look completely different.

Myth: Weight training makes you stiff and lose flexibility.

The opposite is true. If you train and use the full range of motion (ROM) of an exercise it will help you maintain and adjust your flexibility. However, if you don't use the ROM of exercise properly, it will indeed affect your flexibility. Plus, sedentary lifestyle affects your flexibility and makes you stiff, affecting your exercise. Make sure you stretch everyday!

I am a living example of bad-not-flexible-shoulders. While doing the Press exercise, also known as the military press (for shoulders), I used to lean back and push the weight up, which caused the front side of my shoulders (delt) to be overtrained compared to my back delts (which look quite horrible!) Now I am slowly fixing the issue with my trainer, as pushing 20kgs above my head is quite horrible only because of the lack of flexibility. That's why form is more important in weight training than actual weight lifted. 

 *rubs hands together* my favorite Myth....

Myth: Weight training will make women bulky.

Women just cannot turn bulky because of the level of testosterone in their bodies. As it's known, one of the functions of the testosterone hormone is to build muscles, and both men and women have it. But here's the catch, a man typically has about 300 -1,200 ng/d of testosterone while a female around 30 - 95 ng/dL. So unless you take steroids is when you'll look like this: 

What you see above is all supplements, steroids, and unnatural way of building muscle...and it ain't pretty. I suggest people spend sometime to look how natural weight lifters look like. (trying to avoid any offensive photos!) To make it simpler, it takes a lot of hard work for a woman to gain muscle mass. Even in general, maintaining your muscle is hard work, requires proper eating habits, weight training, and it's not something that will grow out of air.

I surely don't look like the woman above, nor will I ever, if I keep eating properly, train hard, rest, and not take such supplements that make any person look....unnatural. 

Also, another thing I have to mention is that there are different schools of weight training, bodybuilders, powerlifters, olympic lifters, weight lifters...etc, and all have different kind of physiques, training routines and diet regimes.

I am not sure where I fit just yet, a little of all.

There are a lot more myths regarding weight training (especially for women). Hence do let me know what else you have heard, unsure of, and want to know more about. I will answer your questions.

Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999Fitess