Myth-busting: the Exercise Edition
The age of “Dr Google” and self-diagnosis has resulted in people being able to access some great (and a lot more not-so-great) medical advice for a variety of health and wellbeing concerns. But a common area where fact can turn into fiction quickly is exercise. Personal opinions, viral trends, training horror stories and the always debatable tips from die-hard gym junkies and influencers has made getting the right advice online very difficult. Below are some misconceptions regarding exercise that our Dietitian Cassandra has dealt with.
MYTH 1: Muscle will turn into fat and vice-versa
Muscle and fat are completely different tissues with stark variances in function and therefore are not interchangeable. Unfortunately when the term “use it or lose it” gets thrown around, it is easy to accept the notion that skeletal muscle will morph from firm to flabby. Rather, ceasing exercise only allows for the reduction in muscle fibre size to conserve energy as the person’s daily activities don’t require as much muscle mass. Considering muscle mass utilises 13cal/kg/day to maintain (more than fat mass), those who exercise regularly tend to adjust their caloric intake to meet energy needs compared with those who don’t exercise. However, the reverse applies too. Muscle mass loss that occurs overtime when ceasing exercise means that the body requires significantly less calories to function. Therefore, an individual can gain fat during this transition if they don’t adjust their food intake to compensate for the reduced exercise load. The differences are also evident aesthetically. In isolation, 1kg of muscle weighs the same as 1kg of fat. However, muscle mass (1.06g/ml) is more dense than fat mass (0.9g/ml) thus, muscle is heavier by volume. Considering this dissimilarity, muscle will occupy less space under the skin and in between organs which can contribute to an individual looking leaner with increased muscle mass. Now who doesn’t want to look leaner?
TIP: Use various modes of measurement tools to monitor your muscle and fat mass changes over time. Whilst the scales indicate weight change, it cannot detect your body composition or the ratio of fat: muscle mass. Some viable options include: DEXA Scan (Gold Standard), skinfolds, bioscan, tape measure.
MYTH 2: Lifting weights makes you ‘too big’
This myth buster is for you ladies. Many women avoid lifting weights due to the fear of getting ‘bulky’. Whilst some females are capable of gaining an appreciable amount of muscle mass, it does not mean that one resistance training session will result in the figures on the scale sky rocketing. In fact, muscle growth is a complex and gradual process that requires regular training to see any strength and size effects. With regards to strength, lifting lighter weights with higher repetitions and lifting heavier weights with lower repetitions will result in the same training effect. However, since the weight amount affects the type of muscle fibre recruited, lifting heavier weights will develop explosive strength and lifting lighter weights will develop strength endurance. As for size, an important androgen hormone called testosterone plays a key role in regulating muscle mass. Specifically, the damaging of muscle fibres in response to resistance training activates testosterone to mediate changes in protein synthesis and ultimately repair and grow those fibres. Whilst it is clear that testosterone directly affects muscle growth, females don’t synthesize comparable amounts to males, and therefore will not see significant results without supplementing with synthetic hormone. Reassured ladies, lifting weights in the gym will not get you ‘too big’.
TIP: The benefits from any form of resistance training are almost endless. Some include improved muscular strength and tone, weight management, prevention or control of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, back pain, depression and obesity. Examples of resistance training include; free weights (i.e. dumbbells or barbells), weight machines, medicine balls, resistance bands, and even your own body weight.
MYTH 3: ‘muscle confusion’ is the best way to increase muscle size
There are several definitions for the concept of muscle confusion but in general, it denotes changing a workout routine regularly enough to prevent plateau from occurring and to continue muscle growth. However, the confusion arises when a lack of parameters have been identified for successful adoption of this training method. Many use this technique by altering the type, repetitions or sequence of an exercise. For example, you may currently train your chest with incline press, decline press and flat bench press for 4 weeks at 8 repetitions per exercise. At the end of the four weeks, you change it up by introducing bench or cable flies for 10 repetitions per exercise. Whilst the aim is to ‘shock’ the muscles into adapting to new stressors, is it significant enough to see a positive training effect? At an attempt to answer this question, other definitions emphasize increasing the volume load consistently and progressively. This concept, also known as progressive overload, has been around since WWII for the purpose of rehabilitating soldiers. It is defined as the gradual increase of stress placed on the body to stimulate muscle hypertrophy via increases in volume, intensity, frequency and time. The benefit of this method is that it allows for the central nervous system (CNS) to become more efficient at refining movement patterns, recruiting muscle fibres for heavier loads, and developing strength adaptations once an appreciable level of skill is reached. Therefore, this neurological learning is important for new trainees starting exercise as it allows for the CNS to learn the most efficient way of lifting weights before strength development can occur. Simply, if you squat three times per week, you will become a better squatter in a month compared to squatting twice per month.
TIP: Decipher where you stand on the training continuum; beginner to advanced. Beginners should employ a progressive systematic approach, whilst advanced trainees can incorporate more variety to their training. Remember to consider the effect of overtraining which can result in a decline in performance and a higher risk of illness and injury. Combat this by incorporating periodization (systematic cyclic structuring of a program) into your training program to gradually and safely attain muscular strength and growth.
Happy training!
