January is the time for New Years resolutions and fresh beginnings. Goals are set for healthier lifestyles and better bodies. Trying to live healthier and look better can be very confusing. Working with over 3000 clients across Canada each year has enabled us to eliminate confusion and put some exercise myths to rest. We have had the opportunity to try different things with our clients to determine what is important and what is not important when getting the physique of your dreams. Our clients range from the elite athlete and fitness enthusiast to the clinically obese and those with eating disorders. What works for the elite athlete will work for the opposite end of the spectrum.

Myth 1:You must do cardio in the morning for best results

There is a ”perfect” time for everything but sometimes this just does not fall into your “perfect” schedule. The belief for doing cardio in the morning is that your body has been depleted during the night and will go into fat burning mode quicker. There is a greater chance that cardio will be done on a consistent basis if the time of the day suits your lifestyle and not the trainer's. We have found, with our numerous clients, that there really was no difference between the individual that did cardio in the morning and those that did cardio in the evening. Cardio is done to speed up your metabolism and, of course, get a healthier cardiovascular system. When doing cardio on a consistent basis, weight loss will not be affected whether it is done early, mid-day or late in the evening. The most important thing is to pick the time of the day that is best for you and just do it. Getting someone to do 80% of something is much better than zero!

Myth 2: You must run for best results

We believe that cardio should be done at 65% of your total heart rate. Running is very difficult for an individual that is out of shape and overweight. We believe when your target heart rate gets too high, a greater portion of muscle is lost over body fat. Muscle is the metabolic tissue, the more muscle that you have, the easier it is to lose weight and stay slimmer. It is important to keep your target heart rate lower to maintain your muscle. An easy way to determine that you are in an optimum fat loss mode while exercising is to check your ability to speak. You should be able to speak without effort and should be sweating only lightly. You should do the type of cardio that you enjoy, this way you will do it. Walking is a good cardiovascular exercise. We would recommend cardio vascular exercise to be a minimum of 30 minutes per session for best results.

Myth 3: Women who lift weights will become overly muscular and masculine

For those of us who love muscle on a woman, this would be a dream, but……. it just does not happen. You stand a greater of chance of winning the lottery twice than becoming overly muscular. A genetically gifted woman; gifted meaning having superior genetics and eating and training properly, can put on 5 – 6 lbs of muscle per year. This is ½ lb of muscle per month with hard work. Men have more testosterone than women, women producing about 1/25th the testosterone that a man does. Testosterone is one of the building blocks of developing muscle. Conditions must be right; food must be in excess and you must lift heavy to put on that ½ lb per month. You must train with the desire to put on muscle. For women wishing to stay toned and small, muscle is important. If the average person hired a world-class sprinter to train them to run, would they run as fast as their trainer? No! When comparing yourself to world-class athletes such as sprinters, bodybuilders, power lifters, football players etc, genetics plays a huge part in the finished product. Train hard without the fear of becoming too muscular.

Myth 4: Muscle weighs more than fat

How many times have you heard this one? Which weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of steel? !! A trick question! They both weigh the same, one ton. One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat. The confusion lies not in the weight of the product but in the density. Muscle is approximately nine times denser than fat so it takes up less room, meaning the more muscle you have the smaller and sleeker you will be.

Myth 5: You must not eat after 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening

Life would be very difficult for an individual who works night shifts if they couldn’t eat after 7:00! Everyone has a different schedule and time clock. It doesn’t matter if you eat late at night if the food you are consuming is not calorie laden. Excess calories and poor choices of food cause weight gain not the time of day that it is consumed. We have clients that will eat full meals at 11:00 at night and go to bed. For some, going to bed hungry will only cause them to rise during the night and look for something to satisfy their urge to eat, which usually is not something healthy. Even if it is late, we encourage our clients to eat their designated calories.

Myth 6: Low caloric intake and skipping meals will result in weight loss:

Starving yourself is not the way to lose weight. Most people think the best way to lose weight is by taking in little food and increasing their output. Your body’s metabolism will slow down to compensate for the lack of calories and store fat for the impending famine. Fueling your body five or six times per day will speed up your metabolism. Your body must work to digest the food you eat. Staying full helps to keep you satisfied and helps to prevent cheating. The meal you are choosing to miss in hopes of losing weight could be the thing that hinders your weight loss. Eating the proper food is the most important component in weight loss.

Myth 7: Your clothes are fitting different

There are too many inconsistencies with this theory. For example, a size 10 made by one manufacturer may not be the same size as another. Wearing jeans fresh from the hot dryer will fit differently than a pair you have worn all day. Eating and drinking causes a difference in how things fit as does our monthly cycle. Differences in how our clothing fit is really not a factual way to determine weight loss.

Myth 8: Don't use a scale

The scale is a tool used to help you succeed in reaching your weight loss or weight gain goals. It is a tool much like a mechanic would use wrenches to assist him in his job. The scale will show you if you are losing weight too slowly or too quickly or just not at all. It tells you that something must be changed either in your exercise or, most likely, in your nutritional program. No one likes to hit sticking points; the scale will assist in making quick, small changes to your diet. Your body weight is the same whether you are standing on or off the scale. It is just a number, not a measurement of success! The scale makes you or your trainer accountable for continued progress.

Myth 9: The scale is not dropping so you must be putting on muscle

As we said earlier, a gifted woman can put on ½ lb of muscle per month and a man approximately 1 lb per month. We feel most people can lose 2 lbs per week and feel healthy. If you are one of the fortunate women and put on ½ lb of muscle in four weeks (month) and lose 2 lbs per week, the scale would be down 7 ½ lbs. The scale must drop for body fat percentages to drop. Most people cannot put on muscle when in a deficit of calories.

Myth 10: Train lightly to tone

Muscle is very difficult to put on. You need to lift as heavy as possible to put on size. Weights should be used to put on size while cardio vascular exercise helps to burn body fat. Cardiovascular exercise and proper nutrition will give you the toned look you desire.

Myth 11: I can eat anything and not put on weight

We have run across numerous people trying to put on weight and this is the first thing that they tell us. Our answer to them is “Quality in equals Quality Out.” When trying to put on quality weight, one must have a well-designed nutritional program, not just as many calories as the fast food industry can throw at you. To get a high performance car to run, it requires high performance fuel. The human body is much more complex than a combustion engine. It requires high quality proteins and high quality carbohydrates to grow, not just empty calories.

Myth 12: Protein powder is only for bodybuilders and high-performance athletes

When asking the general public what, is the first thing that comes to mind in regards to protein powder? The usual response is "muscular athletes". Protein powder has many more important uses in our everyday, fast-paced life than just developing muscular athletes. There are so many reasons to use protein powder for a healthy lifestyle. The biological value of most powders is higher than any food that we can consume. Convenience of a powder is a benefit for any person with a hectic work schedule and minimal break time. It is quick, reasonably priced and is one of the best proteins you can put into your body. Taste is another benefit. There are many delicious flavors on the market. There are numerous health benefits for using a protein powder. A diabetic could use protein powder to maintain constant blood sugar levels while someone going through chemotherapy may lose their appetite and a quality powder would assist them in maintaining their weight, giving them the strength to go through their treatment. When looking at protein powder, we hope you look at it just as a quality source of food. Please read our article about the benefits of whey protein powders.

Yours in Strength,

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Donna Logue and Brian Logue

Donna@bodyby24-7.com