There is a lot of great fitness information out there today, in magazines, books, and especially online. But there’s also a lot of misleading information out there about fitness, including these three terms you should stop using…
There is no such thing as toning muscles
Many articles and advertisements speak of’muscle toning‘. You often see it in relation to women’s fitness, implying that it’s somehow different from other types of workouts. There are workouts for strength, power, size, cardio, aerobics, flexibility, and sport-specific workouts, and beginner, intermediate, and expert workouts for each of them. There is NO other type of training that achieves some vague notion called ‘toned up’.
Forget ‘Workouts for Women’ Too
Your second fitness term to eliminate is workouts for women. Men’s muscles and women’s muscles have the same composition and the same purposes. A man’s workout is a woman’s workout is a man’s workout, plain and simple. The difference in muscle size is chemical: Men’s testosterone levels are much higher than those found in a woman’s body, and that’s what makes the biggest difference.
Writers and marketers use the term ‘women’s workouts‘to play on the irrational fears some women have that lifting weights will make them big and bulky. Don’t let that same fear be instilled in you: go to the gym and lift weights all you want. You’ll be healthier, stronger, have more energy, and probably look much better, although your weight may increase because muscle is denser (heavier) than fat. If you’re a little worried that you might gain weight from lifting weights, stick with weight lifting workouts: heavier weights with fewer reps per set. That style of training focuses more on building muscle strength and less on building muscle size, whether for men or women.
The goal is NOT weight loss!
Probably the most destructive fitness term you should throw out is weight loss, yet it’s the number one Googled term for a few years. If you have a higher body fat percentage than you should for your body type and height, you want LOSS OF FATno weight loss…
If all you care about is losing weight and you measure it on the regular bathroom scale, you’re setting yourself up to fall victim to every weight loss scam that comes along and a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat, and your body is programmed to shed all unnecessary muscle and store energy as fat. As such, any rapid weight loss will mean that you’ve lost more muscle than fat, which isn’t your goal; in fact, it makes it even less healthy.
Also, your body has a fair amount of water, and water weighs about 62.5 pounds per cubic foot. Removing some of that water from your body will also reduce your weight, and your health along with it. In fact, not only the circulatory system and organs need that water, but dehydration as little as 3% also begins to affect your mental prowess…
When you think in terms of fat loss, you will focus on Healthy nutrition Y regular exercise – both of which can lead you to lose body fat, gain muscle, have more energy, and generally be much healthier. Keep that focus and stop using the term “weight loss” starting today. You will be that much closer to living your ideal fitness lifestyle!