Weight Training Myths Debunked
Don’t let a few things you may have heard about weight training keep you away from the gym. Look at these common weight training myths and the facts that debunk them so you can arm yourself with the knowledge and confidence to hit the weights head on:
Myth Reality
You’ll get huge unless you lift light weights. The only way your muscles will burst the seams of your dress
shirts is if you regularly lift extremely heavy weight repetitions,
and if you have a body type that will even allow for the
development of mega muscles.
You’re the only one in the gym baffled by the
equipment. No one is born knowing how to operate the assisted dip machine
or perform a decline chest fly! Weight training equipment can
baffle even the sharpest of minds.
Weight lifting is dangerous. If Dr. Ruth tried to hoist a 300-pound barbell overhead, that
would be dangerous. But if you use good technique and common sense,
you’re likely to stay injury free.
Thigh exercises will slim your thighs,
and ab exercises will
whittle your middle. You can’t melt the fat off any particular body part by
performing exercises that target that area. There simply is no such
thing as spot reducing.
Lifting weights won’t help you lose weight. Lifting weights is an essential part of a fat-loss program.
Developing muscle is the only way to boost your metabolism, which
can help you lose fat and keep it off.
Free weights are for muscleheads and machines
are forbeginners. The free-weight room of a gym isn’t a special club for
bodybuilders; novices are welcome there and should make a point of
learning to use dumbbells and barbells.
