R.A.C.E – Reaction Agility Competition Endurance/

Top 7 Fitness Myths

1. Lifting  heavy weights will make females get big and bulky.  FALSE!

-Muscle is what burns calories, therefore; women need to build muscle in order to burn more calories throughout the day.  Testosterone is a huge factor in building muscle, and us women do not produce enough to get us “bulky”.  So quit lifting those 5lb weights that you see in cheesy workout videos and dont be affraid to make your muscles work with some LLBS!  SIDE NOTE:  Men find strong women sexy.  If they don’t get rid of them.

2. Rewarding yourself with “treats” or “guilty pleasures” is ok because you worked out and it “cancels” each other out.  FALSE!

-The average human being burns about 300 calories during a workout (No this does not include crossfitters) .  Here are a few common foods/drinks that people “reward” themselves with because they worked out that day…

(Below are all approximations PER SERVING….and let’s be honest, you don’t stop after just one serving)

Chocolate Ice Cream:

Calories: 350

Fat: 24g (36% of your daily allowance)

Sat Fat: 15g (73%DA!!)-Remember if you have 2 scoops that’s 700 calories!

Pepperoni Pizza:

Calories: 440

Fat: 25g (39%DA)

Sat Fat: 9g (45%DA)=Yup, you know what that means…2 slices=880 cal, 3 slices=1320 calories! !!!!! WOWZERS

Alcohol:

Frozen Drink:

Calories: 525,

Fat: 17g,

Sat Fat: 14g- YIKES STRIPES! –trust me I haven’t had a frozen drink in years because of this!

Beer:

Calories: 150

Wine:

Calories: 85 with lots of sugar!

Maybe you will think twice about your frequent “nights on the town”, “football Saturday’s…Sunday’s…oh wait and Mondays” or “wine and cheese” night with the girls.  Let me be clear, I am not telling you not to eat pizza or have a beer during a football game but try and limit it to just ONE!-No need to get drunk and make bad decisions anyways;)

You tell me… is it worth it?

3. Doing crunches will burn fat off of your abs.  FALSE!

-If you want to see your abs or have a flatter belly then you must eat healthy and weight train/cardio.  You will only be able to see your abs if your body percentage of fat is low.  All the crunches in the world wont get you there.  Also remember, there is no such thing as “spot reduction”.  Yes, certain body parts can be hit harder than others but your body chooses to lose weight where it wants to no matter what part of your body you focus on.  So quit killing your neck doing hundreds of crunches and try incorporating your core in other ways like Overhead Squats, pull ups and all out sprints.

4. If you stop working out your muscles will turn to fat.  FALSE!

- Fat tissue and muscle tissue are not composed the same way.  If you stop working out your muscles will atrophy and if you gain weight or start to get “soft” that’s because you are eating the same way you did when you were exercising.

5. Higher reps and less weight is the most efficient way to get lean muscles.  FALSE!

-Gosh, I hope the women are listening to this one.  If you are doing what you call “high reps” which usually means 10 or 12 reps then that is considered part of the “hypertrophy phase” (aka. getting big).  Yes, if you do hundreds of reps of something (like punching a bag) then it is considered muscular endurance and that will help you stay lean but as far as weight training goes try increasing the weight and lowering the reps (4×6).  You will be surprised, trust the fitness expert, Lindsey Love Gallucci.

6. Targeting specific muscle groups is the best way to lift.  FALSE!

-This is a shout out to the men.  How many times have I heard “bench Mondays, bi’s and tri’s Tuesday, shoulder and back Wednesday”, etc…. you get the point).  I design my programs around movements not muscle groups.  This is also called functional training.  Why not hit a little bit of everything each workout.  Your body moves as a one piece so why not train it the same way.  Not to mention, this is the trick to looking like an athlete.  SIDE NOTE: You will be able to do “real life” things a lot better, like earn “brownie points” with your wife or girlfriend when you offer to carry the mulch, shovel the snow or move the furniture when she wants to rearrange the bedroomJ

7. The best way to lose fat is to consume very small amounts of calories. FALSE!

-If you eat too little of calories your body will go into starvation mode and it will hold on to anything consumed for dear life because it has been tricked that it may never eat again.  The trick is to burn more calories than you consume by eating small meals throughout the day.  PERIOD.

If there are any other myths that you think should rank on this list comment them below!