Weight Lifting Myths

THE SKINNY ON WEIGHT LIFTING

I hope today's blog will get you thinking differently about why you should be lifting weights over cardio, yoga, and boot camps. 

Sure, Yoga is great for stress, back injuries, and flexibility, but you will not lose fat!

Boot Camps might help you lose weight, but soon you will plateau, and not see the results you deserve  for the amount of work you put in.

Lastly, cardio. Of course you will lose weight, but you will also lose muscle. Doing long amounts of cardio, your body will tap into your muscle source and burn your muscle for fuel rather than fat. This is why most runners are so lean and thin. Running is also very strenuous on your joints and knees.

Now, I am NOT saying DO NOT do Yoga, or Boot Camps, or STOP Running. I am just simply trying to open your mind to understand how weight lifting can help you lose FAT, and tone up, and feel better about your body, and help you reach your fitness goals faster.

• lifting weights will help you lose weight!!
• build lean muscle!!
• look tighter!!
• fell better!!

MYTHS:

The biggest misconception about strength training is females think they will become bulky and big.

Sure, when you think of weight lifters you think of body builders, or crossfit competitors... Big & Bulky?

1. Body Builders & Crossfit competitors live there lives to build muscle. They are not your average person.
2. Most of them use performance enhancing drugs to get bigger muscles.
3. These people have been lifting for years 4-5 hours a day in the gym.

Yes, when you lift weights, you build muscle. Yes, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn. Yes,  the more calories you burn the less you weigh!  Now, you might say "If I lift weights my muscle will get bigger and I will appear bigger and bulky"- THIS IS A MYTH!!!

 TRUE OR FALSE?

-Muscle weighs more then fat.

FALSE: What weighs more: 10 lbs of steel or 10 lbs of feathers?

well, they both weigh the same. 10 lbs is 10 lbs, Muscle however is more dense than fat, so fat occupies more space in your body then muscle. For example, if you were to take 10 lbs of fat and roll into a ball it would be the size of a bowling ball vs 10 lbs of muscle would be the size of a baseball. Also, fat is soft where muscle is firm. 

-Scales are a good way to measure fat loss.

FALSE: Actually, scales or the worst indicators of fat loss. It will tell you that you lost weight, but  if you lost 10 lbs of fat and gained 10 lbs of muscle you would weigh the same. However, your favorite jeans will tell the difference. So do yourself a favor, put the scale in your garage & start measuring yourself once a month with a measuring tape. Measure your neck, bust, bicep, waist, hips, & thigh instead of weighing yourself EVERYDAY and freaking out over 0.6 lbs.

-Cardio & Boot Camps build muscle.

FALSE: Running and boot camps do not build muscle. You will lose weight, and you might see a little change in your muscle appearance but, you will plateau and you will not see the weight loss you feel deserved from all the hard work. 

-Females should lift heavier weights at a lower repetition vs lighter weight at higher repetition.

TRUE: lifting lighter weights at a higher repetition you are not using your muscles to there fullest potential. 

Your are not having them work hard enough to see a significant result. Lifting Heavy weights at lower repetition you will fatigue the muscle quickly and build lean muscle faster, and burn more calories. You should lift as heavy as possible for 10-12 reps. Once you cant do that increase your weight (this can take a few weeks) YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY and remember to always consume lean protein up to 90 minutes after your work outs for muscle recovery. 

So you might be thinking "how is it that males get  big and bulky from lifting, but females will not?"
Well, its because females do NOT have enough male hormone- testosterone to get big and bulky muscles. Its impossible even if you tried to get big and bulky. So lift heavy and do fewer reps!

Over all you should have a balance between weight lifting, cardio and a healthy diet to maximize your results!!

 Feel free to email me kelclawrence@gmail.com

<3 Kesley