Read these five myths and learn the actual facts about exercise. Enjoy!
Myth: The more you work out, the more in shape you will be.
Truth: Intensity is what matters, not the length of the workout. Less is more. In order to gain strength and muscle mass, it is key to expose your muscles to meaningful resistance and completely exhaust them. Your body needs to be challenged to make positive changes. The slow method of training employed at Pure Strength will trigger your body to respond by stimulating muscle response, and ultimately, make it stronger.
To achieve maximum results, one of the three pillars of ultimate health is rest. Rest is key to the building process. Your body needs time to recover. Too much exercise could reverse the effects of the workouts and you might end up feeling chronically fatigued and with a body in pain. This happens to people that over-train and as a result, the person usually ends up exercising even more in frustration over the lack of results.
If you want to truly change your body and stay healthy as you age, work hard and then back off and rest. Spend the next day doing things you love and watch what happens. Your body will thank you in the long and short run.
Myth: Cardio is the best way to burn fat.
Truth: Having muscle on your body burns fat and reshapes your body more effectively than cardio. One pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories a day while at rest—so if you gain 10 pounds of muscle, your resting metabolic rate (RMR) soars an extra 500 calories each day.
By the way, walking at a moderate pace for an hour every day is not “cardio”. This is steady state activity, not true exercise. This is good for you if you don’t overdo it. If you want to change your body, work your muscles intensely twice a week and cut down on walking or other low-impact activities.
Myth: You need to eat under 1,000 calories a day to lose weight.
Truth: Eating such limited amounts on a consistent basis can put your body into starvation mode. Calorie-restrictive diets effectively slow down your metabolism, causing you to hold onto fat. Instead, fuel your body with plenty of proteins and veggies and a moderate amount of whole grains. When you eat, you should feel about 80% full. This, combined with one to two twenty-minute high-intensity strength-training sessions per week, will add muscle, burn fat and change the shape of your body.
Myth: More repetitions = more results.
Truth: Less repetitions, performed at slow, controlled form means you are actually using your muscle, not momentum. Not only will you be using your time more effectively, but you will also put less strain on your joints, tendons and ligaments. Your body will thank you later.
Myth: Having your heart rate up comes from cardio, not strength training.
Truth: The cardiovascular system pumps blood through your circulatory system via the heart and associated vessels. If you want to get your cardiovascular system to work harder, it is imperative that you perform work that stimulates the most muscle involvement.
Your heart, as a muscle itself, gets challenged and adapts to needing to pump more blood to the circulatory system. What matters is that you are demanding more oxygen to your muscles.
The stronger your heart and all of the other muscles of your body are, the less hard you have to work to pump blood, hike, run, or perform simple tasks. If you keep your body strong as you age, you will feel younger and everything will be easier for you. The stronger you are, the easier all physical activity will be.
