“Busting
myths one truth at a time.” ;)
Myth Busted: When you’ve
taken a few weeks (or more) off from working out, you should come back with a
vengeance and work extra hard right away to make up for it.
Top 3 Reasons Why Women Should Lift Weights
Before you conclude, get your facts straight!
Myth
Busted: When you are sick with a cold or fever, it’s good to go workout and
sweat it off.
Myth
Busted: Running on a treadmill puts less stress on your knees than running on
asphalt or pavement.
Myth
Busted: Doing crunches or working on an "ab machine" will get rid of
belly fat.
Myth Busted:
Women and Strength
Training: "I'll bulk up."
Myth
Busted: Yoga can help with “all sorts of back pain”.
Myth
Busted: If you're not working up a sweat, you're not working hard enough.
Myth
Busted: As long as you feel “okay” when you're working out, you're probably not
overdoing it.
Myth
Busted: Machines are a safer way to exercise because you're doing it right
every time.
Myth
Busted: When it comes to working out, you've got to feel some pain if you're
going to gain any benefits.
Myth Busted: You
have to go hard, workout 6 days a week and give up all your favorite foods to
lose weight and keep it off.
Here’s a weight loss success story to motivate you! My client, Clarissa, lost 40lbs in 9 months. And she did this by taking the slow and steady approach
to weight loss. Not only is this method healthy and sustainable, but it really
allowed her to enjoy the balance in life and not feel too much deprivation. Read it here.
If you've been on a "break" from working out for more than a few
weeks, please don't just return to your workout with a vengeance.
Don't hit the workout hard and heavy on the first day, picking up exactly
where you left off without giving your body a chance to transition from your
"off" state back to your "on" state. Here’s why: Read more.
To lift or not to lift? If you’re still wondering if
weight-lifting is going to bulk you up or bring any harm to your body, perhaps the
top 3 reasons here could help you decide once and for all. Read it here.
Question
for Penny: I don't
think I want to ever do exercises like jumping (plyometrics), squats and
running up the stairs. I hear it will totally destroy the knees. So I don't
know why trainers would even recommend this?
It's
almost certain you'll have back problems at one point or another if you're not
doing anything relating to these 3 areas: cardiovascular exercise,
strengthening and STRETCHING!
When it
comes to lower back pain, it is usually what we do not do that cause the
problems. Often people attribute sore back to a specific "event" —
sure, while a particular movement might be "the straw that broke the
camel's back," however, the stage for the injury has in most cases, been
set long before the occurrence of the actual triggering event.
The
answer here really depends on how you feel. One way to figure it out is to do
the “Neck Check”. You “may” continue to exercise while you are sick if you
experience symptoms above the neck such as a runny nose, sinus irritation or a
scratchy throat.
On
the other hand if your symptoms are below the neck, such as in your chest, or
if you have a fever and muscle aches, then you are better to refrain from
exercise.
Running
is a great workout, but it can impact the knees -- and since it's the force of
your body weight on your joints that causes the stress, it's the same whether
you're on a treadmill or on asphalt.
The
best way to reduce knee impact is to vary your workout. If you mix running with
other cardio activities, like an elliptical machine, a stationary bike, or even
swimming, you will reduce impact on your knees so you'll be able to run for
many more years.
Also,
try to be light on your feet when you run. Don’t pound all your weight on the
surface when you land or your joints are really going to suffer. Practice
landing lightly and roll your feet forward. Yes, it may seem harder to do at
first, but you’ll adapt; having better form will be much easier on your knees,
keeping them safe and strong for a lifetime of quality mobility.
While
an abdominal workout might help strengthen the muscles around your midsection
and improve your posture, being able to "see" your abdominal muscles
has to do with your overall percentage of body fat. It doesn’t matter if you’ve
got a six-pack or a two-pack; if you don't lose the layer of belly fat, you
won’t be able to see the muscles hiding under there.
But
why can’t doing abdominal crunches help you lose that belly fat?
You
can’t pick and choose areas where you’d like to burn fat. So crunches aren't
going to target weight loss in that area. In order to burn fat, you should
create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and strength-training
elements. This will decrease your “overall body fat percentage,” including the
area around your midsection. As the layers start to melt away, your hard earned
abs will be able to reveal themselves.
You won't,
in large part because women have only a fraction of the "male"
hormone testosterone, which helps promote muscle tissue growth. As a result,
women build less muscle mass than men, and they do so at a slower pace. Also,
when you strength train, your body will need a bit more energy than usual, and
you may feel the need to eat a little more food.
Now,
here’s the thing: if you’re not eating the right kinds of foods and portions,
and simply eating to satisfy hunger, you could very well gain unwanted pounds
and mistake that look of weight gain with “bulking up because of strength
training,” but in fact it’s not the strength training that’s “bulking you up,”
but more so the not-so-clean foods you were eating or started to eat.
Keep this
in mind: a pound of muscle takes up about 18 percent less space than a pound of
fat, so as you burn fat and replace it with lean muscle tissue, you'll actually
look leaner, not bulkier.
The
truth is that yoga can help with back pain, but it's not equally good for all
types of back pain. If your back pain is muscle-related, then yes, the yoga stretches and
some of the positions can help. It can also help build a stronger core, which
for many people is the answer to lower back pain.
But
if your back problems are related to other problems such as a ruptured disc,
yoga is not likely to help. What's more, it could actually irritate the injury
and cause you more pain. Instead, talk to a trusted expert who can guide you
through strength exercises and stretches that are specific to your condition.
Sweating
is not necessarily an indicator of your rate of exertion. Sweating is your
body’s way of cooling itself. You could sit in a sauna and sweat. Or you could
stretch in a heated room and your body would sweat buckets. So you see,
obviously, it does not mean you’re sweating as a result of working hard and
burning up a ton of calories.
On
the other hand, it's also possible to burn a significant number of calories
without breaking too much sweat: Try taking a very long walk or doing some
light weight training.
One
of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when starting or returning to an
exercise program is doing too much too soon. The reason we do that is because
we feel “okay” while we are working out. You don't really feel the overdoing
it part until a day
or two later.
No
matter how good you feel when you return to an activity after an absence, you
should never try to immediately duplicate how much or how hard you worked in
the past. Even if you don't feel it at the moment, you'll feel it in
time. And when that happens, it could take you back out of the game again.
So
learn to take it slow, ease in one step at a time, warm up, go through your
moves, focus on your form, add a little more the next day, go a little further
than you did the last time every time you come back. Give your body a chance to
adapt so you can prevent injuries. Your body will thank you.
Although
it may seem as if an exercise machine automatically puts your body in the right
position and helps you do all the movements correctly, that's only true if the
machine is properly adjusted for your weight and height.
Unless
you have a qualified coach or trainer or someone (who knows what they’re doing)
figure out what is the right setting for you, you can make just as many
mistakes in form and function, and have just as high a risk of injury on a
machine as if you work out with free weights or do any other type of
non-machine workout.
Of
all the fitness rumors ever to have surfaced, experts agree that the "no
pain-no gain" holds the most potential for harm.
While
you should expect to have some degree of soreness a day or two after working out, that's very different
from feeling “pain” while you are working out.
A
fitness activity should not hurt while you are doing it, and if it does, then
either you are doing it wrong, or you already have an injury.
There’s
a difference between working hard feeling a “burn” and working through it feeling a “pain”. Feeling your heart pumping hard, body heating up, and muscles
burning are all the “gain” you should feel. The “pain” is not supposed to be
part of the equation.
If
you’re actually "working through the pain," if it hurts, stop, rest,
and see if the pain goes away. If it doesn't go away, or if it begins again or
increases after you start to work out, seek a credible professional for help.
Don’t deny what you feel and aggravate the pain.
