You’ve heard the rumors. You hear the things that the media and others say about strength training and building muscle. Are any of them right? What should you listen to?
Many avoid lifting weights because they believe one or more of these myths to be true.
Don’t be fooled! Lean muscle is your gateway to success no matter what your goal is!
Let’s discuss 7 myths about strength training and building lean muscle that many use as excuses for why they avoid it. Which ones have you found yourself believing?
7 Myths About Strength Training and Building Lean Muscle
1. You will lose your flexibility when you strength train.
When you begin a strength training program it is important to ensure you are working your muscles through they’re complete range of motion. It is also imperative that you stretch well to maintain that range of motion.
The notion that strength training will automatically result in the loss of flexibility is untrue.
2. If you lift weights you will get “bulky”.
This myth is especially believed by women. They don’t want to “look like a guy”, so they avoid lifting weights and gaining lean muscle mass. The truth is, typically speaking, a woman cannot build muscle the same way a man can. The levels of testosterone are not available, naturally, for a woman to build muscle to the same capacity.
3. As a runner, strength training can make you slower.
Strength training will actually do the opposite for runners, swimmers, and other endurance athletes. Building lean muscle mass increases your ability to store glycogen which will allow you to perform better. This will also keep your skeletal muscle healthy to be a lifelong exerciser of 75 years old who has muscle that performs metabolical like a 25-year-old exerciser.
Lean muscle will also allow you to relieve your joints of the impact that is absorbed by the joints each time your foot hits the surface.
4. Adding muscle mass will make you “muscle bound”.
Again, being “muscle bound” speaks directly to the loss of range of motion. Maintaining and improving range of motion should always be a goal through any exercise program.
5. Lifting weight is only for young people.
The oldest M3 client lifting weight and doing so successfully is 92 years young. She is regularly seeing results and tells the others in her class that they are lucky that they are starting earlier than she did.
Strength training and building lean muscle are vital for everyone, at every age.
6. Muscle will just become “flab” as you age.
If you are consistent with your workouts and build a lifestyle around your health and wellness goals, you won’t stop lifting weights. You will maintain a routine that will maintain the lean muscle you have.
7. You get more out of your workouts if you fast beforehand.
A current fad right now is the ‘fasting workout’. There is nothing worse for a car than starting an engine on an empty tank. The same goes for your body. You can’t expect your muscles to work and to get stronger when there’s no gas in the tank.
It’s time to start training with confidence. Contact us today to see how one of our programs can help you reach your fullest potential through strength training.