The world of health and fitness is one that many do not fully understand. To make up for a lack of understanding, many people make assumptions which they accept as facts when heard repeatedly. There are many preconceived thoughts and ideas about the fitness industry and while some are accurate, there are some that are anything but the truth.
Myth 1: Women Who Weight Lift Get Bulky
A major reason why a large majority of women do not weight lift or are hesitant to weight lift is because they believe they’ll bulk up. Since the inception of resistance machines and free weights, the only image out there was bulky men lifting heavy weights to get bigger and stronger. This is why you’ll find many women opting to partake in more inviting methods of fitness such as cycling, yoga, and stepping classes.
The truth is that while weights can get you bulky, your results are completely dependant on your fitness routine. There are weight training regimens that focus on increasing muscle mass and others which focus on building toned, lean muscle. It all comes down to how heavy the weight is and the amount of reps and sets you perform to determine what your results are.
Myth 2: Hours of Cardio is the Only Way to Burn Fat
Cardiovascular training is a good way to burn fat, but it is not the only way. The amount of time spent running the track and on the treadmill to burn a desired amount of fat will leave you exhausted and seeing little results. A more effective way of burning fat is through High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. HIIT combines cardio and strength training to burn fat, build muscle, and boost your metabolism. The best part about it is that HIIT sessions rarely last longer than 30 minutes, but can have you burning calories up to 24 hours after the workout.
Myth 3: Ignored Muscles Turn into Fat
This is probably the most laughable of them of all, but also the most widely accepted. Let’s clear the air from now. Muscle physically cannot turn into fat; it is impossible. Muscle and fat are two separate tissues and while you can burn fat to build muscle, one cannot transform into the other.
The truth is that if you do not regularly use a muscle, it will decrease in size (also known as atrophy). What many people see as muscle turning into fat is actually them gaining weight from intaking the same amount of food as they did before they stopped exercising. Muscle inactivity combined with excess energy intake results in a reduction of muscle mass and an increase in body fat.
One fitness fact is that if you commit to a Jump Rope Gym training program, you will see results fast! We combine HIIT and jump rope training to create the highly effective HI-JRT Method of Fitness. Jump Rope Gym offers strength-building, ab-shredding fitness programs that are designed to help you achieve desired fitness goals in the shortest amount of time. Join the gym today and get the total body conditioning workout you’ve been longing for!