What bothers me most about the fitness industry is that we’ve been socially conditioned to accept a certain “method” to get in shape.  For example, women will do endless amounts of “cardio” in an attempt to lose weight and men will sit on a bench and do curls for an hour so they can look good in a t-shirt.  When this method fails, and it usually does, people lose motivation and faith in exercise.  I take great offence to this because I’m a firm believer that exercise, functional exercise that is, is the greatest thing since sliced bread!  The problem is, it just has to be applied properly in order for it to be effective.  In order to do that, we must first cleanse our minds of the decades of brainwashing the fitness industry has laid upon us.  What I’ve laid out below are some of the most common exercise myths that have infected our popular culture today.  Read. Digest. Apply.

1.  Women who lift weights will get big and bulky - If only I had a nickel for every time I heard this one.  Women have less testosterone than men which is the primary hormone responsible for building lean muscle tissue.  Women also have proportionately less muscle mass in their upper body compared to men which limits their ability to “bulk up” in this area.  Without the aid of performance enhancing drugs, it is virtually impossible for a woman to develop muscle mass the way a man would.  Further, strength training is one of the most effective ways to maintain and increase bone density and elevate fat metabolism.  Spend a little less time on the elliptical machine and start lifitng some weights to build a stronger and healthier body.

2.  Lifting light weights is better for toning - What the heck is toning?  First of all, there is no such thing as “toning.”  What peopple are referring to is muscle definition which is a result of reduced body fat.  In order to achieve this lean and defined look, one must practise good nutrition combined with high intensity strength training and conditioning.  Simply put, if you want a nice looking physique, you have to work hard and eat right.  It makes absolutely no sense to lift a weight for 10 reps when you know you could have done 15 and actually expect to get benefit from it.  A muscle will only develop and take shape if you give it a reason to do so.  The results you achieve, regardless of your goals, are in direct proportion to the intensity with which you train.  Stop toning and START TRAINING!

3.  Use machines before you progress to free weights - Let’s set the record straight, universal machines were invented to make exercise simpler and more convenient- NOT MORE EFFECTIVE!  We can also thank the bodybuilding world for its heavy influence of “isolation” training that advocates the use of multiple machines for every muscle group.  The reality is universal machines do nothing to prepare the body for functional movement or free weights.  Machines confine the body to a fixed plane of motion, provide little to no joint and core stabilization, and usually reinforce movement patterns not applicable to sport or daily life.  The truth is, elite levels of fitness can be attained primarily through the use of functional movements such as squats, lunges, push-ups, chin-ups and various presses that can all be intensified with the addition of free weights such as barbells and dumbells.  Release yourself from the shackles of machines and move freely to maximize your results.

4.  Deadlifts are bad for your back - I don’t know who came up with this one but if this statement is supposedly true then we should all never bend down to pick anything up again.  The deadlift may be one of the most beneficial exercises that NOBODY does.  It teaches you how to correctly use your LEGS to lift an object from the ground (a fundamental movement for most human beings).  It strengthens your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and ENTIRE back not to mention the tremendous grip strength you will also acquire.  Deadlifts aren’t bad for your back, bad deadlifting is bad for your back.  Start with light weight, develop proper technique and build full body strength that will take your fitness to new heights.

5.  Crunches are the best way to get a six pack - Don’t get me started on the crunch.  First of all, everybody should know by now that six packs are made in the kitchen not in the gym.  Clean up your diet and increase your training intensity if you want to reduce you body fat and develop a chiseled physique.  Secondly, the crunch is an inferior method of building core strength.  Use jacknives, woodchops, and mountain climbers to build a rock solid core.  End of discussion.

6.  Muscle weighs more than fat - The difference between muscle and fat is not in their weight but in their DENSITY.  Density refers to the amount of volume per unit of mass an object has.  In lamens terms, it means how much space an object takes up relative to its weight.  For example, one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat therefore it is considered to have more density.  This has many implications for those of you who are preoccupied with the scale.  Losing weight will definitely make you look smaller but if you can increase your lean muscle mass AND reduce your body fat, you will look leaner at a higher bodyweight.  For example, a person wh weights 150lbs and has 10% body fat will look smaller than someone who weighs 150 lbs and has 18% body fat.  When trying to get back into shape, your goal shouldn’t simply be to lose weight but also to improve body composition by increasing lean muscle mass.  Remember ladies and gentlemen, muscle will always and forever be the kingpin in the game of fitness.

7.  Lifting weights will stunt children’s growth - This is untrue for may reasons:

• Children (ages 9-16) experience greater impact on their bones and joints in the sports they play (i.e. basketball, football, soccer, hockey) than they would in the weightroom.
• Children (ages 9-16) aren’t strong enough to load their bodies with resistance great enough to stunt their growth.
• Studies have shown that a moderate and supervised strength training program for children can be beneficial for strengthening bones and joints as well as aid in injury prevention.

The benefits of a functional strength training program for children far outweigh any perceived cost and extend far beyond the weightroom.  The positive effects of staying healthy and fit will transfer into virtually every aspect of their lives as they grow up.

8.  It’s not good to workout 2 days in a row - Although it is important to recover from workouts, there is no hard and fast rule that restricts one from exercising 2 days in a row.  Ironically, the greatest amount of muscle soreness is experienced 48 hours after intense exercise.  This would suggest that it may in fact be better to exercise 2 days in a row and then take a day off.  How often you work out ultimately depends on your current fitness level, your training intensity, and overall recovery practises (i.e. nutrition, sleep, stretching).  The fitter you become, the harder you can train and the faster you can recover.  Listen to your body, train hard and train smart.

9.  Spot reduction - This directly applies to #5 as people seem to think that by isolating a specific muscle group they will burn fat directly from that area.  Your body will burn fat from ALL areas if you work at an appropriate intensity.  An inner/outer thigh machine won’t burn fat off your thighs any faster than a bicep curl.  I don’t want to sound like a broken record but work hard, eat right and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

10.  The “Fat Burning Zone” -  This could be the greatest tragedy in the fitness industry do date.  The fat burning zone is essentially low intensity exercise.  The last thing we need to do is encourage people to exercise slowly and comfortably (we all know what kind of results that produces).  What people don’t realise is that we are burning fat all of the time through our aerobic energy system.  As long as we’re breathing oxygen (which is quite often)  we are burning fat.  So when we are sitting on the couch watching TV, while we’re sleeping, while we’re sitting at our desk all day at work we are using fat as our primary energy source.  All this really means is the lion’s share of the calories we are burning are coming from fat.  The problem is,  the overall intensity is too low to have any significant effect on your overall fitness level.  If you are trying to maximize how much fat you burn in a workout, the goal shoul not be to work in a specific “zone”, but to maximize your OVERALL caloric output.  Through this, a smaller percentage of your calories burned will come from fat but you will burn more fat overall.  For a greater understanding of how important intensity is to your overall success check out NO MORE CARDIO.

I’ve only scratched the surface with the many myths that continue to plague this industry.  It’s time to wake up and defy our social conditioning.  The truth is here, it’s up to you to use it to achieve success.

Yours in health,

Isaac Payne, DRIVE Fitness Co-Founder and Head Strength and Conditioning Specialist