Misconceptions About Strength Training That Are Actually Harmful
Everyone has common misconceptions about lifting weights and strength training overall. Both men and women believe certain myths that either stops them from getting enough gains or hinder them from actually doing strength training. So, let’s shed a light on these misconceptions and see why you shouldn’t believe them.
Strength training is for guys only
It’s actually weird that this idea still prevails in most people. A lot of people believe this simply because they assume strength training makes you bigger and more muscular. But here’s one for the ladies, strength training can actually help you tone your body!
Even if you lift weights, you won’t bulk up instantly. In fact, it will actually help you burn fat in certain areas first. Plus, because of the lack of testosterone in women, you don’t need to worry about being as big as a guy at all.
If you want to burn a lot of calories, do cardio
Another common misconception is that cardio will be more effective at burning calories than lifting weights. Actually, you do burn even more calories when lifting compared to steady-state cardio (running in a treadmill or using a stationary bike), especially if you do compound lifts.
Of course, we shouldn’t downplay the benefits of cardio since it is still the superior form of exercise when it comes to burning calories. But it is important not to neglect strength training as well since it helps you burn fat while also build and preserve muscle.
Muscle turns to fat if you stop lifting
Yet another very common misconception about strength training is that it will be hard to regain muscle once you stop lifting. Because of the media, a lot of people think that if you stop lifting, you’ll get fat. This is a total misunderstanding and is not true AT ALL. Think about it this way, you eat a lot to fuel your body during workouts.
That means you burn a lot of calories while you lift and so you get to maintain your weight. But if you stop lifting and you eat a lot, you don’t really have a way to burn all those extra calories away and that is simply why you get fat. So the key here, is controlling your diet!
Lighter weights + higher reps = toned muscles
Lift heavy with low reps to gain mass and strength, lift light with highers reps to tone the muscle. The former is completely right, the latter is a big misconception. There’s not even any scientific literature that completely proves this to be the effect of lifting lighter weights for more reps.
The best way to tone your muscles is simply to get rid of the fat around it. And that means going on a caloric deficit. A caloric deficit is basically eating 200-300 calories less than you recommended daily intake.