Do you even lift? Common Misconceptions Addressed V.1

You're in your second working set. You load up the squat rack and suddenly, the local trainer says, "hey, I saw you doing your sets. you should really think about just going down 45 degrees, to make it easier on your knees." Before you can respond, he takes off some weight and starts to show you the movement..."What the hell is this guy doing," you think to yourself...He has a definite dosage of BROSCIENCE.

Broscience as defined by Urban Dictionary: Word of mouth knowledge passed off as fact, generally spouted most by amateur trainers. They usually have no idea what is happening to their bodies and then share that same cluelessness with others who make the false assumption that their experience. But before we even head there, let's examine some common misconceptions that you may have heard before.

Myth: My metabolism is higher/lower/different than other people

No it's not. Excluding rare and serious metabolic conditions, which should be diagnosed by a doctor, people's metabolisms tend to be within 200-300 calories of each other. This is almost negligible when you consider daily calorie consumption.

Myth: Doing high reps of lighter weights will help me get toned

Firstly, being "toned" is not a valid concept. Muscle tone is the amount of tension a muscle maintains when it's at rest. What most people mean when they say "toned" is certain level of muscular definition. Being "toned" is simply a matter of having enough muscle mass and low enough body fat.

Additionally, working high repetitions of exercises at low weights will increase muscularendurance more than anything else. If your goal is strength, you should be working high weight for low repetitions. If you goal is size and definition, you should be working medium weights for medium repetitions. See What do different repetition ranges mean?.

Myth: Ab exercises can make you lose stomach fat

You can't target where you lose fat. This is called "spot reduction" and it doesn't exist. Your genes are responsible for where your body stores fat, and it's the same thing for losing fat. It's pretty much a "first on, last off" type situation, so if the first place get fat is your belly it's probably going to be the last place to lose it. Do the things mentioned above to lower your overall body-fat percentage and your belly fat will start to go away.

Myth: Eating too little puts you in Starvation Mode

Starvation mode is a myth that was popularized due to the Minnesota Starvation Experiment in which subjects were given 50% of their daily calorie intake for months. The result? Well, they lost weight until they had almost no weight left to lose and their bodies simply could not get the calories ANYWHERE. Concisely put: starvation mode happens when you are, quite literally, wasting away. Not when you have a simple caloric deficit. Your body will make up for it with fat stores. That's what they're for. Do not worry about starvation mode.

Myth: Women will get bulky if they lift heavy things

While some things are different for women than they are for men (where your body tends to store fat, how quickly you'll lose body fat, how quickly you'll add muscle, etc.) pretty much everything in this FAQ applies equally to women and men. How to lose body fat, how to add muscle, how to get fit, how to "tone up"...the principles are same for both women and men.

Some women are averse to heavy weights because they don't want to "bulk up" or "look like a dude". However, most women will never get as bulky as guys because they lack sufficient testosterone. The female professional athletes you see with "toned" arms are more indicative of what is possible without drugs.

Myth: Lifting weights is going to make me huge like a bodybuilder

Putting on muscle is not easy. It takes years of dedicated work. It is insulting to the people who do this on purpose to think you could get to the same level accidentally. Unless you're specifically training to "be huge" you're not going to accidentally get huge. And even if you find yourself getting bigger than you'd like, you can always stop working out to reverse these effects.

Myth: Lifting weights makes you inflexible

The ACSM finds that full range strength training improves flexibility. Additionally, topweightlifters, gymnasts, bodybuilders, and more regularly demonstrate advanced levels of flexibility while being exceedingly strong.

Strength training does not create inflexibility if done properly - an imbalanced program and lifting through abbreviated ranges of motion causes inflexibility.

Source redirected from Reddit.com