Exercise Myths
By: Kellie Jensen, Fitness Program Manager
Vance Air Force Base Health and Wellness Center
With the internet at your finger tips, fitness and exercise information is just a Google search away. However, not all of the information available is accurate information. Be careful to sort through what you read and hear. If you have questions, contact the Vance AFB Fitness Center and/or Health and Wellness Center to talk about what is fact and what is fiction.
1. Women who strength train will bulk up. Fiction. Many women who strength train are afraid they will become bulky with a large muscle mass. Women are not made the same way as men. They have less testosterone and are born with less muscle mass than men. Consequently, strength training will not make them bulky, but will help preserve their muscle and bone mass as they age. Strength training doesn’t just strengthen muscles. It strengthens tendons, ligaments and bones, as well.
2. Muscle turns into fat when you stop strength training. Fiction. Muscle and fat are two different types of tissues and cannot change from one to the other. The truth is that muscle tissue can shrink with little use. Because muscle burns a significant number of calories, reducing your muscle mass decreases the amount of calories your body burns at a resting state. Consequently, if you are taking in more calories than your body is burning, you might notice some extra fat in places it previously was not.
3. Doing sit ups spot reduces the fat on my tummy. Fiction. Unfortunately, it is impossible to spot reduce an area of fat on your body. Although you may be able to tone up an area of your body by doing an exercise, those muscles are still underneath a subcutaneous layer of fat. To lose fat, you must lose weight by creating a calorie deficit. Genes can play a part in the process by determining where your body loses fat first.
4. The only way to lose weight is to diet. Fiction. Researchers have assessed the effects of diet alone, exercise alone and a combination of diet and exercise on weight loss and prevention of weight gain. Although the dieters and dieters with exercise groups lost the most amount of weight at the one year mark, those that exercised only were able to maintain their weight loss at the two year mark. The other groups reported weight gain at the two year mark. Although exercise alone does not provide the greatest weight loss over time, it does appear that exercise prevents weight gain and results in modest levels of weight loss.
5. To get a good workout, it must be at a high-intensity. Fiction. Improvements in many health related benefits, such as lower blood pressure, better cholesterol levels, etc., can be derived from a lower intensity, longer duration workout. Higher intensity workouts will improve cardio respiratory fitness levels, such as increasing your run time or your VO2 Max. Low fit individuals may actually show improvements in cardio respiratory fitness levels with low intensity workouts. Determine your fitness goals to determine what intensity you will achieve the most benefits from.
Looking for more?
Visit some of these sites to read more about nationally available weight-loss and healthy lifestyle options.
Ready to E-Lose It? Contact one of these trainers who can help you to achieve your goals:
Name: Holly Gilbert Cynthia Gifford
Bus. Phone: (580) 548-5555 (580) 548-5555
Email: hollymay3@aol.com cynthia_gifford@gmail.com
Name: Regina Anguiano Jami Brownlee
Bus. Phone: (580) 548-5555 (580) 548-5555
Email: angui7_sbd@yahoo.com jamibrownlee@me.com
Name: Cecilia Holle
Bus. Phone: (580) 548-5555
Email: bodysolid@sbcglobal.net