ME TARZAN! Posted Friday, August 23, 2013

dlmillerxtarzan@cox.net


LET'S TALK ABOUT EXERCISE MYTHS...

#1 - NO PAIN - NO GAIN!  WRONG! This is for athletes only.  The 99.999% of us can exercise without pain and we can gain strength, flexibility, endurance, have better balance, a stronger immune system, sleep better, have more energy and can enjoy a healthier and happier lifestyle.

#2 - People who workout with weights lose their flexibility; they become muscle bound.  WRONG!  Stretching before and after strength training prevents muscle tightness.  Do the exercise using the full range of motion.

#3 - Doing progressive resistance exercises can improve aerobic fitness.  WRONG!  Aerobics (stair climbing, jogging, cycling, rowing, skipping rope) requires using the large muscle groups of the body for a continuous period of time to raise the heart rate to a prescribed training rate for at least twelve minutes, and up to an hour each session.  Weight training is more for increasing muscle strength rather than endurance.

#4 - Use this "newest" exercise contraption for just a few minutes a day, for a short period of time and you will be amazed by the results.  WRONG!  You need to develop a regular exercise routine, working up to thirty minutes each time, for an extended period of time, to see results. It does not happen over night.

#5 - Go for the burn to strengthen and tone your muscles.  WRONG!  Many repetitions of an exercise, using light weights, only fatigues the muscles.  The burn is caused by a build up of lactic acid and other toxins in the muscle and lack of oxygen to the muscle.  If you do not progressively increase the resistance (add weight) and keep the repetitions in each set between six and fifteen, you muscles will not gain strength.

#6 - Women that work out with weights will get huge, bulging muscles.  WRONG!  Testosterone is needed for muscle bulk and women do not have enough testosterone. Women body builders, who have bulging muscles sometimes use muscle growth hormones, steroids, to achieve that muscular look.  They can also have increased body hair and a change in their voice.  Those steroids have proven t be injurious to those that use them...both male and female.

#7 - When we stop exercising with weights, our muscles turn to fat; and when we use weights our  fat turns to muscles.  WRONG!  Fat and muscles are two different tissues.  They will never turn into a different tissue.  When we lose weight and improve our muscle tone, we look like our fat has turned into muscle.

#8 - If your primary goal is to lose weight (FAT), jog at 60% TO 80% of your heart rate reserve.   WRONG!  Walking (between moderately and briskly) up to an hour at 50% to 60% of your heart rate reserve will burn 80% Fat and 20% Carbs.  You will put less stress on your feet, ankles, knees, and hips and there is much less chance of injury.

My next blog will post on Friday, August 30, 2013.  I have been posting for two months.  How are you doing?  Stay healthier!