True or False?.. 10 Gym Myths

April Fools Day may have passed, but that still doesn't seem to stop people passing on joke information in the gym and even in fitness literature!

So... Welcome to "True or False" the gym version. I'll give you a quick clue - the answer to each section is "False". That's right, we're busting gym myths here people! here's 10...

1) "I don't want to lift heavy weights as I'll get bulky" - FALSE
Particularly if you're female, lifting heavy weights will not automatically make you "bulky". In fact, the impact that heavy lifting can have on your heart rate mean that it's a great method for improving cardio strength and burning body fat. Try two "heavy lifts" (5 rep max) as a superset and see what I mean. Watch your heart go nuts!

2) "I don't need to lift weights cos.." (who cares what the rest of the sentence is) - FALSE
EVERYONE should perform resistance work. Usual justification for not lifting weights include, "I don't want to get any bigger." "I'm already toned/in good shape" etc. Aside from vanity purposes, resistance work can improve posture, bone density, motor programing, joint stability and lessen the chance of injury. Pretty useful all round.

3) (Probably from the mouth of a footballer/soccer player if you're American) "I'm better being small and light - I'm built for speed!" - FALSE
Dwayne Chambers, Michael Johnson, Linford Christie... some of the fastest men to have ever lived. look at them... Skinny does not equal quick! Enough said! NEXT!

4) "I need to do cardio to lose some fat, then I'll build muscle after" - FALSE
Wrong for many reasons. Steady duration cardio is the slowest way to burn body fat; resistance work will improve your metabolic rate and allow you to burn more calories all day, every day. Why not incorporate resistance work as part of your training and speed up your metabolism, improve your cardio abilities and maintain a strong physique all at the same time? Weight loss through cardio alone will leave you looking skinny-fat. Bad look!

5) "This sweat suit is brilliant for helping me lose weight" - FALSE
You're dehydrated, not thinner! Some sports require athletes to make a particular weight (boxing, MMA etc) these athletes will use sweat suits in order to make a certain weight for a short period of time. Once they step off the scales they'll immediately consume fluids after achieving their desired weight and quickly gain an easy 14lbs or more. Worse still, a 2% drop in hydration can lead to 10% drop in performance - imagine what this sweat suit is doing to the quality of your workout! Worse STILL, poor hydration is often a root cause of a slowed metabolism and increased eating/calorie intake. So that sweat suit has made your training worse, your metabolism slower and made you eat more - nice one!

6) "I'm too heavy to do pull ups" - FALSE
You're to weak to do pull ups!

7) "My legs have always been pretty big, so I don't need to work on them" - FALSE
Legs are an integral part of all exercise regimes. Whether you're trying to cut some body fat, improve strength or just work on your general fitness levels, a stronger lower body and some resistance work on your legs will help ALL of these goals.

8) "I'm pretty fit, I can run 'X' distance" - FALSE
Fitness is relative. What you mean is, you're good at long distance running - a very specific skill. Intervene your long distance running with some higher intensity intervals or resistance work and you're likely to feel like a gym "newby" again. It's very difficult to have a "rounded fitness" where you're good at everything. And, as @TommyFatFingers likes to say: "You can only sit on one horse!" BUT... it's important to add variety to your training. Don't just do what you're good at. In fact, find what you're worst at and do that the most. Don't take the comfortable/familiar option. Don't be a one trick pony

9) "I'm lucky I can eat what I want - I have a fast metabolism" - FALSE
The second part may be correct, but this doesn't mean you can "eat whatever you want". Heavily processed, heavily saturated and non-"clean" foods are limiting your potential. Potential for exercise output, energy levels and gains experienced from exercising. You may appear "in good shape" but you're not all that you can be. Don't buy a Ferrari, fill it with olive oil and be happy that it still drives

10) "The longer I train the better" - FALSE
LOADS of people seem to feel that a long session = a good one. Not true! I've heard many times young boys boasting in the gym "I've been in here 2 .5 hours bruv!" Well done! Up the intensity, lessen the chit-chat, rest time (when not focusing on low rep/strength work) and reap the benefits. Sessions lasting over 70 minutes or so will seriously compromise your results. It's widely accepted that after an hour of intense exercise muscle catabolism begins - bad! Muscle growth slows and as a result metabolism slows too - lose, lose.

There are lots of myths and false information that you hear branded around gyms. Worse still, there can be a lot published online and on the shelves in highstreet stores. It can be difficult to filter out the nonsense from the science. But remember just that; exercising is a science so if someone gives you information and can't explain the science behind it then research it further. Be wary, common sense doesn't always apply when exercise and diet is concerned. It's not always easy to spot a false information... sorry!

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Do it the same... but different...

So often I speak to people and hear things such as,

"I know my routine"

And they have no interest in listening to new ideas, suggestions and advice.

I always say "No one knows everything, so listen!" I will HAPPILY listen to advice from others on the one condition: they can tell me "WHY?".

WHY should I do it your way? WHY is it better? WHY will I benefit?

So it frustrates me to even hear people describe their program as a "routine" !!!!

A gym program should not be routine, variety is key when it comes to making gains and bettering yourself.

So you may not want to rip up your gym program and start over. That's fine, but why not experiment with variations. Add a few twists and tweaks to your usual exercises, their format, tempo and technique. Then, sit back and admire your gains.

Some ideas...

GRIP

Varying your grip is one of the most under-rated ways of boosting your gains. Probably the best example is when working an exercise for your back. The back is such a vast area it's important to try and hit as many areas as possible. This is made easier by varying your grip; try narrow and wide variation, over-hand and under-hand variations and feel the difference.

It's not just back, consider your grip width on things such as bench press and for push ups or dips; even your feet distance for squats.

BALANCE

Adding an element of balance to an exercise can really test you and make the exercise much more challenging, targeted and rewarding.

By using tools such as a Bosu and emphasising balance you not only have more to think about and improve balance, but you negate the use of momentum and as a result, isolate the target muscle or muscle groups - win, win!

REPETITIONS

If you become familiar with how 10, 12, or 15 repetitions feel then it's time to shock your system!

If you always work to a format of 3 sets of 10. Or a pyramid of 12, 10, 8, why not focus a month on high repetitions. Really throw in something different. Nothing less than 12 reps, starting each exercise with 2 sets of 20 repetitions (eg: 20, 20, 15, 12). You'd be surprised how you can spot your shortcomings and also build a much more rounded "strength" while gaining some firm and quality mass.

SUPER-SET

Another shock tactic that a lot of people steer clear of is a "super-set". Simply carrying out two exercises back-to-back with no rest. Stop letting your body rest so much, push it to the limit,fill your muscles with blood, make your heart pump and work continuously for a longer period. Try it, you'll feel ace!

RUN THE RACK

Now.. writing this paragraph I'm not sure if "run the rack" is a phrase I heard somewhere or half made up myself!?!... Either way, I like it!

Basic idea, start an exercise (maybe your final exercise as a "finisher") on a really low weight, carry out no more than 15 repetitions. Finish your set, take a few second, move to a heavier weight. Work your way up the rack finishing on a heavy weight with just 4-6 reps.

For example, last week I did this with shrugs; with hardly any rest I got a serious sweat on doing this (number in bracket = repetitions): 16kg (15), 20kg (15), 24kg (12), 28kg (12), 32kg (12), 36kg (10), 40kg (10), 44kg(5), 44k (5).

Result: 4-5 minutes, 96 repetitions, 288kg shifted, filled, warm traps and forearms!

SINGLE LIMB

Personally, I think that when gaining strength there are a few essential things to maintain. Mobility, form and muscular balance. For the third reason, I think it's important to try and work single limbs at a time during each session.

Why not add some variety to your sessions in this way?.. Single arm dumbell chest press (a favourite of mine), single arm shoulder press, one-leg squat or leg press, one-hand seated row. Pretty much every exercise has an option for this.

These methods will test your co-ordination, core stability if you maintain good form, cardio fitness as you'll work for a much longer time and will also highlight any muscular imbalance or dominant side that you have.

CHANGE THE ORDER

There is NO reason that you need to do the same exercises in the same order. In FACT - it's counter productive for progress!Try changing the order in which you do your exercises at least every few weeks. Also, change the day that you do each program.

Your body likes routine and patter and knowing what demands you'll place on it. Simply changing the order in which you perform exercises can greatly increase the stress on your muscles and encourage growth. try it - you'll be pleasantly surprised!

TIMED/INTERVALS

Instead of working to repetitions, why not ignore the counting and work to a time limit? E.g: Reps in 30 seconds, then rest 30 seconds and repeat. One such method, tabata, was discussed in an earlier post and is a favourite of mine; something I try in some form at least once a week. It's a different way of working, places different demands on the body and requires a completely different mind-frame.

COMBO EXERCISES

Mix two exercises together. It's simple, again places new demands on your body, often tests coordination and speeds up a session. Lunges with a shoulder press, straight leg deadlift with calf raises (and a shrug if you like?), squats and lunges alternate, chest press and flys alternate... the possibilities are endless!

PRE/POST-EXHAUST

If you enjoy making yourself feel weaker or perhaps enjoy a "pumped" feeling try pre-exhaust work. A basic and rewarding one is 60 seconds of dumbbell bicep curls with a light weight. Then straight on to a heavier preacher curl or cable bicep curl. The muscles feel full and both look and feel awesome. You can do this with ANY exercise and it's a good way of filling the muscles with blood before asking them to jump into action, encourage hypertrophy and also add new demands to your training.

Post-exhaust is the opposite. A "drop-set" if you like. Carry out an exercise, thenimmediately either drop the weight by around 50% or start another exercise wit a very light weight and aim for as many repeitions as possible. Same kind of feeling but play around and see which works for you.

CONCLUSION

I think a lot of people really overlook the benefits of adding variation to their workout. DON'T just do what you always do, think about how you can change it, improve it and increase it's complexity or difficulty. Try it a few times, get used to the technique and see if you get any gains from it.

Just a little tweak or few can go a long way - Variety is key! After all: "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got!"

Don't forget you can follow me on: www.twitter.com/MichaelD_PT