The Land of Make Believe Since the time of the dinosaurs, man has conjured up thoughts and ideas to convince himself that he is all knowing and all powerful! As years go by, we convince ourselves more and more how indestructible we are and how we seem to just know it all. Well, Im sure that myths and misconceptions dont just fall from the sky like giant meteors and wipe out sane ideas to the point of extinction, but maybe thats exactly what does happen! Its no surprise that ideas change and stories mutate as it passes through the mouth of its teller. Exercise, not unlike any subject that has graced the pages of magazines far and wide, is no different. It never ceases to amaze me how crazy the concepts and approaches are to how we undertake our exercise that I sometimes wish a meteor would come flying out of the sky and hit ME directly in the head! Below are a few crazy ideas and myths that some caveman might have conceived in his daily workout regimen. Its time for these ideas to go the way of the DODO. Fat makes you fat: NO, it does not! Calories make you fat! If you ingest ONE calorie more into your body than your body needs to maintain its current bodyweight, you will slowly and steadily begin to gain weight. Now, thats not to say that fat calories dont add weight, they do. You get more than twice the calorie intake and the portion of food by adding fat to your diet. So, skip the strip steak and go for a piece of chicken. Youll get a nicer portion of chicken and not add the extra meat to your seat. Carbs make you fat: No, THEY DONT! Who told you that? The guy next to you that was eating 50 Hershey bars' Sure, carbohydrates do elevate blood sugar which, when unused, has a possibility of becoming stored bodyfat. However, this is only if your sugar stores are maxing out. Carbs are the flint that spikes the fire to burn fat. You eliminate carbs from your diet, than you might as well try to scrape that stick on your bum to get a fire started! The odds are about the same that you will create any type of fire! To get big, you gotta lift big: Who told you that, Joey Do-Duh-Do' Listen, just because the biggest guy in the gym lifts heavy weights does not mean that the answer lies within that spectrum. Everyone has a unique fibril makeup in their body (strength fibers and endurance fibers). Some people just have a greater volume of strength fibers versus endurance fibers and they grow easier! I could take an hour to debate this subject. Trust me, if increasing your muscular size is your goal, heavy weights are not always the answer!! These are only a few of the crazy thoughts in our world! Take the advice from an expert and if it sounds crazy to you, then it must be! Just remember that the expert you go to just MIGHT be a caveman! |
