Copyright 2006 Karen Sessions

Everywhere you look you will find exercise information. It can come in fitness magazines, the beauty salon, your co-workers, the Internet, and infomercials.

You will see snappy headlines such as, 'Lose 10 Pounds in a Week with No Exercise at All!', and 'Melt Pounds without Dieting.' These marketing ploys don't end. They will use any tactic to get you to buy their product.

Along with the vast amount of exercise information coming to us at every conceivable angle, there are many myths leaving the consumer thoroughly confused. In this article I will be discussing several exercise myths, giving you the facts and dispelling the fiction.

Myth #1: Exercising with weights will bulk you up. Fact: - Excess calories from protein, carbohydrates, and fat will bulk you up, not resistance training. Fat is bulky and inactive while muscle an active, lean and dense tissue. The more muscle you acquire, the more fat you will burn at rest and during activity.

Myth #2: Muscle weighs more than fat. Fact: - A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same, a pound. As previously stated, muscle is more dense, and takes up less space than fat. Adding muscle to your physique will create curves and make you appear smaller in the absence of excess fat.

Myth #3: If I stop weight training, my muscle will turn to fat. Fact: - Muscle cannot turn into fat any more than fat can turn into muscle. The two are not interchangeable. They are two completely different tissues. You can increase or decrease fat and muscle, but the two cannot change into the other, ever!

Myth #4: Crunches will make my abs visible. Fact: - Crunches will build the abdominal muscle, but your abs won't shine through until you remove the layer of fat covering them. When it comes to "ripped" abs, they are built with balanced nutrition, coupled with proper exercise.

Myth #5: Weighted crunches will make my midsection thick. Fact: - The abdominal muscle is a thin layer of muscle tissue, and not able to grow much in size like other body parts. Therefore, adding resistance to your abdominal training will just increase your midsection strength. It is the side bends and twists that can contribute to a thick waist.

Myth #6: Exercise burns fat. Fact: - Exercise burns calories, and eating correctly with added exercise can aid in fat burning. Weight loss is not a one-shot approach. There are many angles, and you have to tackle each of them in small to moderate amounts. Knowing the right food combinations can give you the advantage on fat burning.

Myth #7: Exercising with light weights and a lot of reps will get me defined. Fact: Training with light weights will build muscle endurance. If your goal is to get defined, you should also incorporate a healthy diet balanced in macronutrients and add some cardiovascular exercise.

Myth #8: I just want to tone up, not build muscle. Fact: When you weight train you build muscle. There is no 'toning' about it. As a woman, you have the ability to control the amount of muscle you add to your frame to a certain extent. Hormonally, women will not build a large degree of muscle mass. However, you can add more muscle size by increasing your protein intake and overall calories. For a woman to add a lot of muscle, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and sometimes steroids.

Conclusion to Exercise Myths

Now that we have dispelled exercise fact from fiction, you are better equipped to get in the shape you desire. Always strive for excellence and keep a positive attitude.