Common myths about working out

Fitness enthusiast Yash Birla refutes common misconceptions when it comes to working out There's a magic bullet (quick fix) out there somewhere: When you find it, please let me know. This is just pure wishful thinking. It is like anything else in life, you have to work hard to receive the benefits and look fit. And before you decide to hit the gym and pump iron with full gusto, you need to be aware of some truths and disregard common myths doing the rounds. Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up Weight training enables one to stress existing muscles. This forces the muscle fibres to adapt by getting bigger and stronger in time. Aerobic exercise is generally meant to improve cardiovascular efficiency and improves the body's ability to uptake oxygen but does not help in building muscles as strength training does and hence does not raise basal metabolic rate and no 'after burn effect'. In the long run, weight training is more efficient than aerobics for burning up calories. High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut-up If you can perform more than 15 repetitions in general, it simply means the load is not sufficient to force the muscles to adapt. Higher repetitions will only help in giving a pump but for strength gains ideally 3-7 reps are best and for muscle gains 8-12 reps is ideal. The only way that high repetitions would make a muscle more cut-up is if, by doing a higher number of reps, your body as a whole was in negative energy balance, and you were burning more calories than you were ingesting. The truth is, heavy weights, lifted for 5-12 reps per set, can build rock-hard muscles. You just have to get the fat off them to see how hard they are. Training with weights causes your muscles to get tight and hinders flexibility and consequently athletic performance Weight training when done properly will in fact increase flexibility. People who have consistently followed a weight training programme have not only built a strong physique but also enhanced their flexibility and performance like Martina Navratilova (tennis), Evander Holyfield (boxing), Madonna, Melvin Anthony (bodybuilding) to name a few. If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat Muscle is made up of individual cells - living, breathing cells that undergo all kinds of complex metabolic processes. Fat cells are simply storage sites of lipids. If you stop working out and stop applying resistance to your muscles on a consistent basis, they will simply adapt to the new condition. In other words, they'll shrink. Women will get huge if they weight train Firstly, women do not produce high amounts of testosterone that is necessary to develop that degree of muscle mass, and secondly, most women do not possess the amount of strength to lift enough weights and furthermore eat enough to assimilate that much muscle mass. Taking steroids will make you huge Not true. Strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, but this is possible only if the muscle is stimulated in the first place and given the right nutrients in the right proportions. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it, nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle. If you're not working up a sweat, you're not working hard enough Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion. It is your body's way of cooling itself. It's possible to burn a significant number of calories without breaking a sweat. One needs exercises to work on lower abs to reduce a pot belly First, there is no such thing as lower abs. The six-pack you're going for is actually one long muscle, called the rectus abdominis, that extends from below your chest to your pelvis. To work your abs, you should do exercises to target all four muscles - the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominis. Secondly, doing crunches will not help you get a six-pack if you have a layer of fat over your abdominal area. In order to the see the muscles; you must reduce your body fat. Stretching before exercise reduces injury Before exercising vigorously, your muscles and joints should be warm and limber. However, light exercise does this more efficiently than deep stretching and is less likely to result in injury. Stretching before exercise may actually increase the risk of injury. In fact, it is better to stretch during and after completing your workout. Morning is the best time to work out There's no perfect time to workout. For most, a morning workout plan is the best because they're less likely to be distracted later on. As the day goes on, excuses tend to pile up and eventually workouts are skipped altogether. So pick a time when you have the most energy, need the stress release or have the best chance of making exercise a habit. The best time of day to exercise is whenever you'll actually do it. If working out in the evening replaces sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating junk food, do it.