Resistance Training Myths

History
Strength training has been around in one form or another at least since the days of Milo of Crotona. Milo was an accomplished Greek wrestler who lived in the sixth century B.C. He is best known as the creator of progressive resistance training. Milo reportedly began lifting a calf on his shoulders when it was young. He did this to build strength and endurance for the up coming Olympic games. The story goes that every day he went out in the field and picked up the calf, put it around his neck, and would walk around the field. By the time the Olympics began, Milo made a big entrance into the arena with a full-grown bull around his neck. In recent years people have began to lift weights for cosmetic benefit. Many people began to lift weights simply to add muscles or change the shape of their physique. Soon, fitness shows on TV and fitness magazones became part of a new definition of glamour. Today, training with weights is a well-accepted practice for all types of goals: increased athletic performance, positive self-concept, improved health, injury prevention and so forth. A weight room may now include people training for many different purposes, yet the exercises may be identical.

Benefits and Goals of Resistance Training
The benefits of a resistance-training program depend on the type and design of the program, specifically: Volume, intensity, frequency, exercises and other elements. For example, high loads with short recovery periods will increase local muscular endurance and may improve cardiovascular efficiency. A different combination may achieve a different result.
The most common benefits of resistance training are:
- Increased muscular strength
- Increased muscular endurance
- Increased lean body mass
- Efficient metabolic function
- Increased cardiovascular efficiency
- Increased self-concept and self-esteem
- Decreased body fat
- Decreased resting heart rate
- Decreased resting blood pressure
- Decreased tension
- Improved physical appearance

Myths about Resistance Training
Unfortunately, many myths have often been associated with resistance training. Although knowledgeable weight trainers understand these ideas have been misinterpreted, most of the ideas contain some element of truth that makes them seem believable. It is especially important that high school students be helped to understand how these beliefs can be misunderstood and misleading. They are based on a lack of knowledge of exercise physiology and scientific training principles. A description of the most common myths follows.

Myth 1: Persons can spot reduce.
Certain exercises can improve muscle tone, but those exercises cannot reduce fat in any specific area. Muscle and fat are different types of body tissue and the body cannot directly convert one to the other. Reduction in body fat occurs throughout the body. Aerobic exercise, on the other hand, will burn fat and may be used to complement a resistance-training program.

Myth 2: Consuming large amounts of protein or takin protein supplements will increase muscle size and strength.
Excess protein will not increase muscle growth, muscle mass or muscle strength. Approximately 15% to 20% of total calories should come from Protein-rich foods. High intensity workouts stimulate increase of muscle mass. And the energy for high intensity workouts is provided most effectively be foods high in complex carbohydrates. Thus, it is the combination of a resistance- training program and a diet that contains a high proportion of complex carbohydrates that leads to increased muscle mass and strength.

Myth 3: After I quit exercising, my muscle will turn to fat.
This is impossible since each (muscle and fat) are physiologically different and cannot be changed in composition. (Similarly, for example, muscle fiber cannot be changed into a liver cell or a skin cell.) In a somewhat typical example, a person engages in a resistance-training program (which may be coupled with a aerobic program) for a period of time. If the person stops training, the proportion of body fat may increase because of a combination of decreased physical activity (which burns calories) and maintenance of the same calories level in the diet. For this reason, changes (elimination or reductions) to the resistance training (or other exercise) program should be accompanied by a review of caloric intake.

Myth 4: Resistance training will cause females to have large muscles.
Because of the difference in hormonal levels (testosterone) between males and females, women and girls will not yield the same increases in muscle mass or absolute strength levels as men and boys. Even specific programs designed to increase the size of womenąs muscles have yielded low results. But, what about female bodybuilders? There may be several reasons for the muscle mass of female bodybuilders:

-Genetics--higher natural production of testosterone
-Extremely high volume and intensity of training
-Rigid control of diet for increased muscularity
-Use of banned substances

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