Don’t hold your breath (especially while you’re exercising!) this week we will tell you the truth about some of the biggest workout myths.

1. Exercise must be strenuous

FALSE. If you’re just getting started, any movement is good for you.

2. You shouldn’t perform resistance training until you get down to your ideal body weight.

FALSE. Weight training helps to promote fat loss. Muscle mass increases your metabolic rate, which directly aids in the burning of fat as fuel. Thus, weight training is one of the most important activities that you can do to help to lose body fat.

3. You must train for hours on end to achieve a great physique.

FALSE. It’s not the quantity that matters, but the quality. Sixty to ninety minutes of intense training, 3-4 days per week, is all that’s required to develop a great physique. Don’t forget, without proper nutrition, no level of training will make you look great.

4. Women should train with light weights so they won’t bulk up.

FALSE. The only way to achieve great muscle tone is to train to muscular failure. If you want to tone up, not bulk up, utilize a high repetition scheme. However, the weight used must be heavy enough so that the last few repetitions are difficult to complete.

5. If you stop training with weights, the muscle that you have will turn to fat.

FALSE. Muscle and fat are two separate and distinct properties. Since muscle increases metabolic rate and allows the body to burn more calories, weight training affords you with the ability to consume more calories. If calories are not reduced when training is discontinued, you will ultimately gain weight and give the illusion of having your muscle turn into fat.

6. You can lose fat from specific parts of your body by exercising those spots.
FALSE. There’s no such thing as “spot reduction.” When you exercise, you use energy produced by burning fat in all parts of your body.

7. The more you sweat during exercise, the more fat you lose.

FALSE. The harder you work out, the more calories you’ll burn within a given period and thus the more fat you stand to lose. But, how much you sweat does not necessarily reflect how hard you’re working. And because the lost weight is almost entirely water; the pounds will return when you replenish your fluids.

8. Strength training won’t help you get thinner, since it burns few calories and adds pounds of muscle.

FALSE. Strength training is an essential part of a weight-loss program that includes both aerobic exercise and a moderately low-calorie diet. A recent study found that women who ate a moderately restrictive diet and did either strength training or aerobic exercise lost more weight than those who only dieted. But, those who split their workout time between strength training and aerobic exercise lost the most weight of all.

*This post was originally published on Mikayla’s website, MikaylaCustance.com. For more visit www.mikaylacustance.com.