FITNESS WORLD MYTHS
Hi, for today’s blog I thought I would clear up some of the myths that exist around training and fitness. These are only a select few questions and I would be delighted to answer any specific questions that you might have. Simply use the form on the first page of my website and send it to me.
Q: What is the best time of day to do cardio?
A: Personally, I go along with the opinion of some experts, who advocate performing cardio as soon as you awake, on an empty stomach. However, I think that what is even more important is to do cardio whenever you feel to do cardio. Of course, if you plan to do run outdoors when it’s extremely hot, you should take the following precautions:
• Ensure that you already have a fairly high level of overall fitness.
• Hydrate properly before and after the activity. For every pound lost, 16 ounces of fluid must be replaced.
• Wear light-coloured clothes.
• Don’t take salt tablets, unless prescribed by your doctor.
Taking these precautions will help you avoid unpleasant, heat-related disorders such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Q. I am a woman; if I started lifting weights, will I look like my husband/boyfriend?
A. Absolutely not. Women should embrace weight training and not worry about appearing too masculine. Women just don’t have enough testosterone to develop the muscularity associated with men. Nine out of ten times, women who appear very masculine also have deep voices and bad cases of acne, which is a fairly good indication of steroid abuse.
Q. I am a man, what are the best exercises for putting on muscle fast?
A. You can put on overall muscle mass fairly quickly, if you stick to compound movements like the free squat, clean and press, dead lift and bench press. These exercises recruit several muscle groups during their execution; this also enables you to handle heavier poundage and under these conditions your body is more likely to release a considerable amount of growth hormone into your bloodstream that will help with overall growth. So there is some truth to the saying, “If you want big biceps, you have to squat.”
Q. Do you believe in taking vitamins and other supplements?
A. Absolutely! Your body will experience a free-radical build-up, even when you exercise. Free radicals can be very harmful to the body, and some vitamins and supplements contain anti-oxidants which have the ability to help expel free radicals from the body.
Q. Should I stop eating red meat?
A. There is no conclusive scientific evidence that red meat is any more harmful than chicken. As a matter of fact, most centenarians when interviewed said they ate all popular foods, such as steak, chicken and fish, in moderation. I believe that when it comes to meat selection, the operative word is moderation. It may be wise to consider choosing two days in the week and making them your “fish days,” as opposed to the other days, which could be your “steak and chicken days.” In the health and fitness industry, always get the proper advice before embarking on your fitness quest. Keep training.
So, there is a select few questions that I hope you found interesting. I would welcome any feedback on my blog content and if you have any subjects that you would like to see covered then please let me know.
Eamonn Greene
Personal Trainer, Stockport