MYTH BUSTING - Round Two - Wellness Blog - Training for private ...

By Allyn Amelia Blind, M.S., NASM-CPT, FNS

Kudos to the health, wellness and fitness industry for providing us all with a never ending supply of thoughtful and informational material to help us become our healthiest. Thigh blasters, ab gadgets, super special potions, pills and 'articles' are at our fingertips to climb the ladder of fitness success! Right? Well, not so fast. This inundation of information, marketing and selling has watered down the fundamental steps to true health and wellness. So we find ourselves here again - MYTH BUSTING - Round Two. Round one got us started with some of the most oft heard fitness and nutrition myths; check it out here.

Let's break it down; Round Two brings us a new opportunity to learn the rights and wrongs of the fitness and nutrition world.

Fitness:?

1. Being skinny means being fit.

We all have friends that can seemingly eat anything, never exercise and remain small. Many people ENVY?those friends. Well, not so fast. Just because someone is small and/or skinny doesn't make them FIT. Maybe this is YOU. Many refer to this as being 'skinny fat'. Essentially someone can be skinny but hold dangerous levels of body fat. The best way to find out if you might be in this category is through a body fat test. Women should find themselves between 14% and 24%, with men between 5% and 17%. An ABC News report conducted a study on 'skinny fat' individuals and found that??Out of the 800 slim people that received an MRI to scan for visceral fat, 45 percent had excessive levels of internal fat with some as high as 60 percent, yet exteriorly they appeared slight.??Even if someone doesn't gain weight easily, good nutrition and fitness are essential to building a healthy body.?

2. High reps will 'tone' me and low reps will get me HUGE.

Any type of resistance training provides a stimulus to the muscle. Whether you're trying to gain mass or look 'lean and toned', a mix of low reps and high reps are important to include in your lifting program.?You should approach every resistance session with the objective to challenge that muscle group through varying weight and rep ranges. Becoming 'huge' or 'toning' up are more specifically dictated by your consistent training AND nutrition program. If you want to look tone, you'll be dropping fat (hence, showing your lean muscle). If you are trying to 'get huge', a caloric surplus will be necessary.?

3. Stretching before working out will help decrease the chance of injury.

Wait, what? I don't need to stretch? Not quite, flexibility is an important component of every fitness?program. However, it can be detrimental to perform static stretches before your workout. There is research that shows runners who static stretch before running actually have a higher rate of injury. A warm up with joint mobility and activating muscles will best prepare your body for your workout. You want to increase your range of motion effectively, before you stimulate your muscles. Save that stretching for AFTER your workout and get in a full cool down.?

Nutrition:

1. Carb loading will BEST prepare me for my workout.

While it is important to consume food before a workout (1-2 hours before), it is not necessary to 'load' up on carbs. With the exception of endurance athletes or long distance runners, your body does not need to store such vast amounts of carbs to help you perform at a high level throughout your workout. Go for a balanced meal that contains lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains. As always, keep portion sizes moderate.?

2. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better than frozen.

Not so fast! Frozen fruits and vegetables are picked and frozen at the peak of freshness. When you go to your freezer to pull out those frozen strawberries, they'll be found in that perfect state. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often TWO weeks old by the time they make it from the field to your shopping cart. Look for fresh options at local farmer's markets (shortest farm to table option), but also feel good about using those frozen fruits and veggies. Another benefit of going frozen is shelf life; it's painful to watch fresh produce go bad as you 'forget' to eat them.?

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3. Sugar causes diabetes.

The main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are consuming a diet high in calories, being inactive and being overweight. If you do not have diabetes, are in a healthy weight range and are active; sugar will not cause you to get diabetes. If you DO have diabetes, a diet high in carbohydrates and more specifically, sugar, is certainly not advised.?

Did you learn something new today? GOOD! The wonderful world of health, wellness and fitness is an exciting one. But, many pieces of information coming from countless 'sources' can be intimidating.

When in doubt... KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE TO SUCCEED)!?

Source: http://www.synergytrainingsolutions.com/wellness-blog/2012/9/24/myth-busting-round-two.html

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