BODYBUILDING MYTHS
\n ———————–
\n extract from: “GOLDS GYM book of bodybuilding”<\/p>\n
At some point someone probably told you that working out with
\nweights would make you muscle-bound or cause a woman to look like
\na man. Certainly, most good bodybuilders have been told that their
\nmuscles will turn to fat if they stop training.<\/p>\n
There are six main “muscle myths” that must be exposed. In each
\ncase we will discuss the myth and then reveal the truth underying
\nit. This process should dispel any remaining doubts you might
\nhave about becoming a body-buiding.<\/p>\n
1. BODYBUILDNG TRAINING WILL MAKE YOU MUSCLE-BOUND. This is
\nprobably the most persistent muscle myth, and it suggests that
\nworking out with weights will make your body so tight and
\ninflexible that you won’t be able to scratch your own back or
\nparticipate effectively in athletics.<\/p>\n
Actually, scientists began investigating weight training and
\nbodybuilding more than 30 years ago. They quickly discovered that
\nweight workouts actually improve body flexibility. Indeed, almost
\nall bodybuilders are far more flexible than the average person.
\nThose who aren’t have invariably been injured while
\nparticipating in some other sport. As an example, a shoulder
\nseparation incurred while playing football can easily limit
\nshoulder flexibility and function.<\/p>\n
Speaking of football, superstar Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears
\nhas used progressive resistance weight training to build massive
\narms and shoulders. He can walk 50 yards on his hands, punishes
\nanyone who tries to tackle him, and has never been seriously
\ninjured despite being near to the top of the NFL’s “hit list” for
\nseveral years. He’s flexible and then some!<\/p>\n
2. ALL OF YOUR MUSCLES WILL TURN TO FAT ONCE YOU STOP WORKING
\nOUT. It is physiologically impossible for muscle tissue to be
\nconverted to fat. What actually happens when you suspend your
\nweight workouts is that your muscles gradually atrophy, or shrink
\nin size and strength. This process takes about a year to run its
\ncourse.<\/p>\n
Then why are some former bodybuilders fat today? The answer to
\nthis question is true for ALL of the numerous athletes in any
\nsport who have become fat after retiring from competition. When
\nyou train virtually every day for several hours you regularly burn
\nup relatively large quantities of calories. As a result, you can
\nconsume more food than you can if you are physically inactive.
\nBut when you suspend training you no longer burn up so many
\ncalories. So, if you continue to eat the same amount as when you
\nwere working out every day, you will accumulate a caloric excess
\nand gradually gain body fat. The obvious solution to this problem
\nis to decrease your caloric consumption to compensate for the
\ncalories you are no longer burning off in your workouts. If you
\nfollow this advice, you will never grow fat after you cease heavy
\ntraining with weights.<\/p>\n
In actual practice, few bodybuilders ever stop training for very
\nlong. As they grow older they don’t train as intensely as when
\nthey were competing, but they still hit the gym almost every day.
\nOnce you have iron fever, you’re usually hooked for life.<\/p>\n
3. BODYBUILDING WILL MAKE A WOMAN LOOK LIKE A MAN. As noted in
\nthe foregoing section on men versus women, women don’t secrete the
\nsame amounts of testosterone as do men. Therefore, they simply
\ncan’t develop a man’s muscle mass and quality. Additionally, a
\nwoman secretes large quantities of estrogen, which guarantees the
\nintegrity of her femininity. Unless she makes the disastrous
\nmistake of taking male hormones, no woman will look masculine as a
\nresult of her bodybuilding training.<\/p>\n
4. BODYBILDING TRAINING CAN STUNT YOUR GROWTH. There are a
\nsomewhat disproportionate number of male and female competitive
\nbodybuilders who are below the national average in height, leading
\nsome individuals to conclude that bodybuilding workouts can stunt
\none’s growth. Taler athletes are usually naturally selected for
\nother sports in what could be called a sort of “sports Darwinism.”
\nHaving a more compact torso and short limbs allows the bodybuilder
\nto attain the proper proportions needed to win a contest. As a
\nresult, bodybulding tends to naturally select short or medium-
\nstatured men and women.<\/p>\n
There are numerous tall bodybuilders, such as Lou Ferrigno
\n(6’5″) and Dr. Lynne Pirie (5’9″). Scientists have determined
\nthat any type of physical activity will tend to stimulate height
\nincreases rather than inhibit them. Proper diet can also result
\nin height increase, and bodybuilders consistently follow health-
\npromoting diets. Certainly, parents needn’t worry that their sons
\nand daughters will end up being short in stature simply because
\nthey decide to become bodybuilders.<\/p>\n
5. BODYBULDING TRAINING WILL WRECK YOUR BACK, KNEES, ELBOWS, AND
\nOTHER JOINTS. Such spinal or joint injuries are much more common
\nin other sports than in bodybuilding. As long as you follow the
\nwarm-up procedures we will outline, and maintain the correct
\nbiomechanical (body) positions for each exercise, you needn’t fear
\ndamaging your joints through bodybuilding training.<\/p>\n
6. BODYBUILDING TRAINING CAN SLOW YOU DOWN. As with the myth
\nabout becoming muscle-bound, scientists proved more than 30 years
\nago that heavy weight training improves speed rather than
\ndetracting from it. Reaction time can’t be improved through
\nweight workouts, but a stronger muscle can contract faster and
\nmore strongly, thereby moving a limb more quickly. S print speed,
\nfor example, is a direct function of thigh and calf strength. In
\nmodern athletics, virtually all athletes include weight training
\nin their overall conditioning regimes. They certainly wouldn’t do
\nthis if heavy weight workouts inhibited their speed, because it
\ncould reduce their athletic ability. <\/p>\n
