Random “Bear Dog” pic
These are what I believe to be the ten biggest myths when it comes to lifting. There are many more myths out there, like lifting weights will make you more confident, feel better, and look hot.
O wait, that’s not a myth. Anyways, here are my thoughts on these 10 myths.
Weight Lifting Makes Women Bulky
This has to be without a doubt the biggest baddest myth of them all. I have heard women say to me countless times, “I don’t lift weights because I don’t want to get big.”
I have never had a female client, who has busted their ass, end up bigger or bulkier then when they started out. On the contrary, they have always ended up feeling and looking better.
You know how you get big and bulky, by eating crap food. If you are looking to bulk up, then just keep doing what you’re doing because it apparently is working great. If your goal is to look great, then ladies pick up some heavy weights and get to work.
I promise you won’t bulk up.
It Takes Too Much Time to Strength Train
The rules of the universe can be cruel sometimes; like only giving us 24 hours to get stuff done or making the year only 365 days. If you’re a glass half full kind of guy then you can look on the bright side and think, “Hey, at least every 4 years we get 366 days”
The idea of not having enough time can be a reality for some people, but for the most part it’s a bunch of crap. An effective workout made up of mostly complex multi joint lifts can be accomplished in 30 minutes.
If you factor in 30 minutes for travel then that’s only 4% of your day spent on your health and benefit. The average person spends 3 hours a day on social media websites, so I think you can find some time for a 30 minute workout that will do more for your social skills then any social website could ever do.
You don’t find time, you make time.
You Need a Lot of Equipment
The one thing I love about working out is it can be done anywhere. There is this idea that more stuff equals better. But all the equipment in the world won’t get you results.
All you need is a bench, a set of dumbbells and good knowledge on how to use them effectively to get the results you want. In fact, I know plenty of people who have gotten great results by just using their own bodyweight.
The idea of needing lots of equipment is just an excuse for lazy people or people that can’t think outside the box enough to figure out how to get an effective workout with what they have.
Strength Training is Dangerous
Strength training can be dangerous and so can drinking too much water (it’s called drowning and it leads to death). There are a lot of dangerous things in this world, but somehow I find the strength to get up each morning and face the dangers that are waiting to assail me.
Strength training is actually extremely safe, if it is done correctly. That’s just the thing, a lot of people think they know how to train correctly but in reality they have no idea. A program that is designed to the individual and monitored by a knowledgeable strength coach is very safe.
The Right Way for Women to Strength Train is to use Light Weights for High Reps
I don’t know what it is with women being told that lifting heavy weights is equivalent to French kissing the Devil. I am here to tell you it’s not true and it’s down right ludicrous.
Light weights and high reps will get you no strength. What you will end up with is muscles that can do high reps of low weight. Who wants that?
I have never had a new client come in and say, “My goal is to be able to lift light objects for long durations of time.” If this did happen I would politely ask them to leave my facility.
Women get strong the same way men do. By lifting heavy weights for low to moderate reps. There is no way around it, if you want to get strong then you must lift heavy.
Light Weights and High Reps Tone Muscles.
I’ll start this off with, “Really, that’s how you get tone?”
If I were to ask you, “who looks toner, a sprinter or a marathon runner?”
I would hope you would say sprinter, for that is the correct answer. Sprinters train for strength and power, where marathon runners train for endurance.
The look of tone comes from a high level of neuromuscular activity. This is caused by muscles being ready to do work. You get this by lifting heavy weights. Heavy weights require a lot of muscle fiber recruitment. The more muscle fibers recruited the more weight can be lifted.
Tone comes from your body being ready to do work, or being ready to lift heavy weights. There is no way around it.
Machines are Safer Than Free Weights.
If I was new to the weight lifting scene and you were to ask what look safer, machine weights or free weights, I would say machines. With a better understanding you will find that free weights are, for the most part, safer to use and more beneficial for you.
Machines are designed to move in a single track motion. That is suitable for some but not for everyone. They can cause you to move in a motion that is not natural to your body. Also, you never have to control the weight in more then one plane of motion.
With free weights you can move the weight the way you were built to move and you are not fixed to one track. You also have to control the weight in many different planes of monition, which gives you better control and helps develop stability.
Both forms of lifting can be dangerous if done incorrectly, but free weights are more natural and allow you to train and move the way you were designed to move. No two body’s move exactly the same so how can machines adjust for that.
You Should Wear a Lifting Belt When Lifting Heavy
Mythical Blue Lobster, but its not, it’s real
Lifting belts, in my opinion, are over used. There is a place for belts, but they should not be used for every lift and they should not be used to make up for bad form.
I very rarely use a belt. I’ll strap the old cowhide around me only when I am going for a max lift or working within my 95% to 100% of my 1 rep max.
I never wear a belt thinking it will fix my form. The belt is there to help add support to the lower back. Too often you see novices strap up and see their form go to hell. Learn to use the belt properly before using it.
One last thing, you should be using your own core strength for stabilizing most of the time. Develop a strong core before using a belt.
No Pain No Gain
I hate being in pain. I like feeling good. Feeling like crap does not feel good and if you think feeling like crap equals feeling good then you are a masochist and should get some counseling.
The point of exercise is to feel and look better. If you are coming away from every workout completely exhausted and unable to walk right the next morning, then I would say that was a bad workout.
A good workout depends on your goal for the workout. If it is for conditioning then you should be breathing hard and feel tired afterwards, but it should not make you puke.
With power and strength you should leave a little sweaty and feeling refreshed not rundown.
Anyone can make a program that will make you tired and feeling like crap the next morning, but it takes skill and knowledge to design a program that will make you feel better while getting the results you want.
Weightlifting is Not Safe for Children
You know what else is not safe for children, sports and crappy snack foods.
I don’t know what the percentages are for children getting injured while working out, but I don’t care and you most likely don’t either since most opinions are based on emotion not facts. But I can safely say that the chances of injury occurring under the guidance of a trained strength coach are much lower then any major sport out there. The key being, that your kids be trained under the guidance of a trained professional.
If you let your kids train by themselves and not with a strength coach, then, yes, it can be dangerous.
Myths Busted
There are plenty more myths out there, but I feel these are the biggest. I hope this gave you some insight as to why they just aren’t true.
It’s Been Real
Josh Williams
