Top Fitness Myths De-bunked: Part 1 - Pauline Nordin
MYTH #1. Being heavier on a scale = being fatter (meaning those already muscular and get obsessed with the scale)TRUTH: When you start training with weights with the goal to burn fat, it normal to actually gain weight initially. Weight training stimulates the body to build lean muscle which is essentail for an effective metabolic rate and muscle per se contains a lot of water. Weight training is also a state of inflammation, inflammation is a well known cause of water retention. As you jump on the scale you will see this as weight gain and freak out since you think its added fat. Don’t worry, after a few weeks your body gets the idea andwill start to melt fat and your newly acquired muscles will make you look leaner. Its also common to weigh more while your clothes fit looser. Muscle is more dense and takes up less space than body fat. This is why a “smaller” but more muscular person usually weighs more than someone who uses bigger sizes and weighs less.
MYTH #2: You can’t build muscle with veggiesTRUTH: To build muscle you need three consisten elements: stimulus from exercise, calories and nutrients to supportthe rebuilding muscle tissue and recovery. Vegetables are filled with slow digesting carbs, minerals and vitamins. They are less calorie rich versions of grains. If you eat enough calories and suffcient protein with all essential amino acids that make up complete bio-available proteins, you will gain muscle.
To build muscle and get fat is easy, just eat a lot of food and train. Over eating is anabolic in itself and that’s why stuffing your face all day will be good for muscle. However, that will also lead to unwanted fat gain. By eating vegetables as your source of carbs you will be able to stay leaner, feel full and be healthy while you’re building your muscles. The only time this is not a myth is when you fail to meet your calorie requirements and hence cannot afford to build any muscle mas at all. You also cannot eat vegetables only since they don’t give you complete protein unless you combine them in different combinations with legumes, nuts and grains.
MYTH #3: You have to eat fruit to be healthyTRUTH: Vegetables have a lot more minerals and vitamins as well as anti-cancer properties than fruit have. The difference between the food groups is the calorie content. Vegetables have little in general and fruits have a lot more. Fruit’s sugar content is higher in fructose than vegetables and the reason that’s not 100% fantastic, is that fructose is stored in the liver and not in muscle. A high intake of fruit usually means you won’t eat as many servings of vegetables, but since the calorie content is higher in fruit you might just eat too much of it and hence your fat loss progress comes to a halt. I know people who eat pounds of grapes and apples every night thinking its ok and won’t make them gain weight. Let me asure you they always fail in their attempt.
MYTH #4: Women have to train differently than men. Women tone, men build.TRUTH: Muscle is gained by stimulating the muscle fibers to grow larger by overloading them with resistance training. As a woman you will need to train hard to build muscle since we have only a tiny amount of the muscle building hormone testosterone which men have plenty of. A woman’s body releases more growth hormone from weight training instead. Growth hormone has been shown to increae most with higher reps (around 10 per set) and shorter periods of rest between sets, however, this is all just “theory”. Check out the women who train really heavy and do single sets: I bet they have muscle. Now if you only do single rep sets you will limit your muscle building capacity since muscle also responds to time under tension. The typical rep range for muscle growth is 8 – 12 reps. The point here is to exert your self and to continuously add more weight during those sets. Always focus on getting stronger is true for both women and men.
MYTH #5 : If you take a break, your muscle will turn to fatTRUTH: Muscle is created by being exposed to things that make the body say “Hey wow, unless I get stronger and plump myself up, I will get killed!” Your training is such a thing. When you stop training you will change the environment for the muscles. Suddenly the need for them to hang out ready for battle will cease. Why keep something you don’t need? The result is your muscle atrophies and with that you burnfewer calories each day, but most likely your appetite will stay the same and you suddenly find yourself eating more calories than your body needs to maintain its weight. Muscle per se cannot change into fat and fat cannot change into muscle, but with a slower metabolic rate you will accumulate more fat as yor muscle size shrinks.
Until next time,
Pauline Nordin
MYTH #1. Being heavier on a scale = being fatter (meaning those already muscular and get obsessed with the scale)
TRUTH: When you start training with weights with the goal to burn fat, it normal to actually gain weight initially. Weight training stimulates the body to build lean muscle which is essentail for an effective metabolic rate and muscle per se contains a lot of water. Weight training is also a state of inflammation, inflammation is a well known cause of water retention. As you jump on the scale you will see this as weight gain and freak out since you think its added fat. Don’t worry, after a few weeks your body gets the idea andwill start to melt fat and your newly acquired muscles will make you look leaner. Its also common to weigh more while your clothes fit looser. Muscle is more dense and takes up less space than body fat. This is why a “smaller” but more muscular person usually weighs more than someone who uses bigger sizes and weighs less.
MYTH #2: You can’t build muscle with veggies
TRUTH: To build muscle you need three consisten elements: stimulus from exercise, calories and nutrients to supportthe rebuilding muscle tissue and recovery. Vegetables are filled with slow digesting carbs, minerals and vitamins. They are less calorie rich versions of grains. If you eat enough calories and suffcient protein with all essential amino acids that make up complete bio-available proteins, you will gain muscle.
To build muscle and get fat is easy, just eat a lot of food and train. Over eating is anabolic in itself and that’s why stuffing your face all day will be good for muscle. However, that will also lead to unwanted fat gain. By eating vegetables as your source of carbs you will be able to stay leaner, feel full and be healthy while you’re building your muscles. The only time this is not a myth is when you fail to meet your calorie requirements and hence cannot afford to build any muscle mas at all. You also cannot eat vegetables only since they don’t give you complete protein unless you combine them in different combinations with legumes, nuts and grains.
MYTH #3: You have to eat fruit to be healthy
TRUTH: Vegetables have a lot more minerals and vitamins as well as anti-cancer properties than fruit have. The difference between the food groups is the calorie content. Vegetables have little in general and fruits have a lot more. Fruit’s sugar content is higher in fructose than vegetables and the reason that’s not 100% fantastic, is that fructose is stored in the liver and not in muscle. A high intake of fruit usually means you won’t eat as many servings of vegetables, but since the calorie content is higher in fruit you might just eat too much of it and hence your fat loss progress comes to a halt. I know people who eat pounds of grapes and apples every night thinking its ok and won’t make them gain weight. Let me asure you they always fail in their attempt.
MYTH #4: Women have to train differently than men. Women tone, men build.
TRUTH: Muscle is gained by stimulating the muscle fibers to grow larger by overloading them with resistance training. As a woman you will need to train hard to build muscle since we have only a tiny amount of the muscle building hormone testosterone which men have plenty of. A woman’s body releases more growth hormone from weight training instead. Growth hormone has been shown to increae most with higher reps (around 10 per set) and shorter periods of rest between sets, however, this is all just “theory”. Check out the women who train really heavy and do single sets: I bet they have muscle. Now if you only do single rep sets you will limit your muscle building capacity since muscle also responds to time under tension. The typical rep range for muscle growth is 8 – 12 reps. The point here is to exert your self and to continuously add more weight during those sets. Always focus on getting stronger is true for both women and men.
MYTH #5 : If you take a break, your muscle will turn to fat
TRUTH: Muscle is created by being exposed to things that make the body say “Hey wow, unless I get stronger and plump myself up, I will get killed!” Your training is such a thing. When you stop training you will change the environment for the muscles. Suddenly the need for them to hang out ready for battle will cease. Why keep something you don’t need? The result is your muscle atrophies and with that you burnfewer calories each day, but most likely your appetite will stay the same and you suddenly find yourself eating more calories than your body needs to maintain its weight. Muscle per se cannot change into fat and fat cannot change into muscle, but with a slower metabolic rate you will accumulate more fat as yor muscle size shrinks.
Until next time,
Pauline Nordin