Part of my job as a trainer involves talking to people. Intake consultations with new gym members, answering questions or making small talk with people that stop by the trainers’ office, and, of course, conversations with my clients (Anna, my business partner and former client, likes to say I use conversation to distract people from realizing the horrible things I’m doing to them during a workout.). Over the years, I’ve found myself hearing, and refuting or clarifying some of the same misconceptions about fitness again and again.
1. Muscle tone is different from muscle mass. I hear this sentence all the time from people, “I don’t really want to build my muscles, I just want to tone them.” The popular definition of “muscle tone” refers to the ability to see the outlines of your muscles under your skin. There are only two ways to achieve “muscle tone.” You have to reduce your overall body fat and build muscle mass. You have to build it to tone it.
2. Women develop bulky muscles from working out too much. When a woman tells me this, I ask what she means. 98% of the time, she’ll tell me that her legs get big when she works out too much. Most women will spend their time working out doing cardio – running, cycling, using the elliptical machine or Stairmaster. These are all activities that will strengthen the legs. But unless you’re also doing strength training for the upper body, eventually your body will begin to appear out of proportion. Usually, it’s all a matter of perspective. Once we spend time building the muscles in the upper body, the legs suddenly don’t seem so bulky anymore.
3. Certain exercises/activities can create longer, leaner muscles. Damn you, Gwyneth Paltrow and your proselytization of Pilates in the ‘90’s. Devotees of this exercise advocated the creation of “longer, leaner muscles” from Pilates that one couldn’t achieve from traditional strength training. If you ever want to get under my skin, tell me you just want longer, leaner muscles (You can also talk about “flexing” your muscles. But that’s a totally different pet peeve.). Once and for all, you cannot make muscles longer. A muscle runs from joint to joint. Your biceps will always run from your shoulder to your elbow. No more, no less. Of course Gwyneth Paltrow has long, lean muscles. She’s 5’9” and eats mainly grains and soup. She also has osteopenia, the precursor to osteoporosis. Hmm. Those dumbbells don’t look so bad now, do they?
4. Carrots (and lettuce, apples, etc.) aren’t carbohydrates. A lot of the time, when I ask a new client about his/her diet, I hear, “I don’t eat carbohydrates.” “What did you have for lunch?” I’ll ask. “Umm, salad with chicken,” he’ll say. Fruits, vegetable, beans, bread, sugar, cupcakes – all carbohydrates. The difference between fruits and vegetables (complex carbs), and cupcakes and sugar (simple carbs) is a matter of how quickly the body converts the carbohydrates to sugar. A good article explaining the difference and how these carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels, weight, etc. can be found at http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/focus/nutrition/facts/lifestylemanagement/carbohydrates.htm
5. It’s all about being healthy. Aaaand, about how you look. I never disregard the vanity factor of fitness. Why should I? And why should you be ashamed for wanting to like how you look? Let’s face it, when you feel good about how you look, you’re more likely to take better care of yourself. Exercise and eating healthfully don’t seem like such a burden when they put you into a smaller pair of jeans. Sometimes when you put vanity first, being healthy follows right behind.
6. Fitness is easy. No, it’s not. And anyone who tells you differently is lying. It’s time consuming and not always fun. Then again, doing laundry is also time consuming and not always fun, and yet you don’t walk around in dirty clothes, do you? Fitness is hard, uncomfortable work. I know, I know – there’s always someone running on the treadmill or in the Spinning class who makes it look so easy. I guarantee you he spent many, many hours, weeks, months, or even years sweating and grimacing through the discomfort to get to that point where it looks easy. Hang in there. Congratulate yourself when you do well, and don’t beat yourself up too much when you fall off the wagon. Fitness is a process. You have your entire life to get it right.
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