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EXERCISE MYTHS

Women who do strength training will not eventually look like a bodybuilder with lots of big muscles. Women who actively lift heavy weights in the gym have to do a lot more than mere strength training. Women typically do not have enough testosterone in their bodies to build big, bodybuilder-type muscles.

Strapping light weights to your arms and legs or carrying them in your hands while walking or exercising offers little or no strength training benefits. This practice, in fact, may actually even slow you down so you get less benefit from your aerobic workout! Moreover, it does not add enough weight to provide any of the benefits of weight training. To build strength you need to be lifting heavier weights that you can only lift 8 to 12 times in repetition. Otherwise, the resistance is too light to build up the muscles you are exercising. Of course, it may always be wise to ask your physician or a professional trainer just how much weight you should be lifting in the first place.

Trouble-spot exercising or exercising one area of your body to try and remove fat deposits, like from your hips or stomach, is useless! Only diet and exercise reduces fat and where you lose the weight depends on your genes.

Exercising does not burn a lot of calories if you are exercising just to lose weight. Walking or running for an hour burns about 500 calories but sitting on the couch for the same amount of time burns about 50 calories, while working at a desk job burns around 100 calories per hour. This is why people get discouraged when exercising to lose weight, it seems too slow. However, dieters should exercise. The more you exercise, the better shape and health you may possibly end up attaining. The better conditioned your body is, the more fat your body will burn for energy.

Also, exercise, possibly no matter what kind it is, may help keep the extra weight off, which is always the toughest part of losing weight. After people lose weight, the best predictor of whether or not they will keep the weight off is whether or not they exercise regularly.

Fat or flab, too often, motivates us to exercise and this should not be the motivating factor when it comes to whether or not we get exercise. Exercise generally improves the quality of life and may even help relieve depression and anxiety. Furthermore, weight gain is not inevitable as you age! As you get older your body actually needs to consume less calories because of your bodys lower metabolic rate! So, if you do not eat less as you age you will likely gain weight!

Remember, too that a quick, high-intensity workout is not more beneficial than a longer, low intensity workout if you are trying to burn calories. Additionally, you are never too old to start some kind of exercise regimen, depending on your ability and health history as determined by your physician or a competent trainer. Having no time to exercise is no excuse! Do NOT make the time to exercise and you may have a lot more health problems because you did not take the time to exercise.

SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: NUTRITION ACTION HEALTHLETTER JAN. 2000

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