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Fitness Myths

Posted By: Chris Proctor, NSCA-CPT on 02/21/2012

Fat can turn into muscle-Fat and muscle are 2 completely different tissues in our body. They can both be built, and lost, but are totally independent of one another.

Hard training=free pass on nutrition- Without nutritional modification, there can be no success in the gym. It doesn't matter how good your trainer is, if you can't modify poor nutrition, you cannot succeed.

Fat can be spot reduced- While it is possible to target a specific area of the body, we cannot control where our bodies burn fat from, especially while doing cardio. It will burn what is most readily available to be utilized as an energy source.

Fats make us fat- While there are fats which need to be avoided, the guilt of body fat lies with poor eating habits, not the dietary fat itself. Fats are a crucial part of the nutritional puzzle, and help us to fully absorb vitamins A,D,E, and K. Furthermore, drastic cuts to our fat intake can make us less healthy. If we drop below 10% of our total calories from fat, we see worsening of blood lipid profiles.

Carbs are bad- Carbohydrates are the body's primary source for energy, and are crucial for a good workout. If we deplete ourselves of healthy carbohydrates, we deplete ourselves of energy. In most cases, timing is more the issue than carb intake.

Heavy lifting is bad- Many people have an aversion to heavy lifting because they feel they will get hurt, or will get too big and bulky. This is of particular concern with women. The fact is that women do not have the hormonal balance to get big like a man does, so without some pharmaceutical aid, this is not a concern. In general, strength training can help to improve balance, and functional strength. Another big benefit is increased bone density, which can be an issue for the older populations.

More time in the gym means a better workout- "I went to the gym for 2 hours today". Sound familiar? At times, people may get a little overzealous about a new fitness program, and over do it. You should be able to get an effective session done in 45-60 minutes.

Take some of these tips and run with them. At FT Middleton, we provide the COMPLETE FITNESS SOLUTION..cardio, strength, and nutrition. With these 3 on your side, the sky is the limit! Come down and see us and let's start getting fit..TOGETHER!