Things You Thought You Knew That You Really Didn't Know

The fitness industry is filled dogma, facts, trends and fads. For a layman to sort through all of the information out there is quite a process, especially since you can always count on people to take the easiest route. Here are some tips to help you wade through the knee-deep bullshit.

You thought that...saturated fat and cholesterol was bad for you. But, in reality, it's not. There is a ton of research out there showing that saturated fat and cholesterol really isn't the Devil. The addition of these things to the diet isn't whats bad, it's the oxidation of these substances that causes the problems. How can you prevent oxidation? Eat foods that are high in anti-oxidants (dark berries, green tea, artichokes and prunes). You can also prevent oxidation by eating an anti-inflammatory diet that is low in refined carbs and high in fat and protein.

You thought that...lifting big would make you hyoooge. We've all heard it before "every time I lift heavy weights I just get huge!"

Yes, there's a spelling error. It's not my fault.

No, no you don't. You don't have enough testosterone, you don't eat enough and you don't lift enough. I actively try to gain muscle size, and it's the hardest thing to do. Especially if you're eating cleanly and staying in the 3-5 rep range. You know what will make you bigger? Inhaling double-soy-mocha-lattes and bagels and then going to a BodyPump class where you do a shit-ton of reps with light weights. That's the recipe for hypertrophy. Lift heavy and eat clean and you'll be just fine.

You thought that...yoga was a great fat loss solution. Yoga is a lot of things, but it's not a good way to lose fat. Why? Pretty simple: you're basically sitting still. Sure, you're moving around and stuff, but it's within a pretty limited space. Does that sound to you like a way to lose weight? The things you need to lose weight is a way to increase external resistance (to build muscle), a way to increase your heart rate and a way to burn calories. The limited space within a yoga class doesn't allow for any of these. Yoga is a great way to increase flexibility but not to lose weight. Cut the shit; do something that's hard. The harder you work, the greater your results.

You thought that...I hated steady state cardio. Yes and no. Personally, I dislike steady state cardio. I suck at it, and it has little benefit to my goals. However, there are people who are good at it and who love it; they should keep doing it! The situation where I hate steady state cardio is for people who are using it for fat loss. It is simply not an effective means of fat loss. Your results will be far quicker and more significant if you start your fat loss journey with compound lifts and interval training.

You thought that...you had to be sore for it to have been a good workout.

Erroneous! When you work out, you create micro-damage to your muscles; your muscles remodel and growth occurs. When you're sore, it just means that the damage is more significant than other workouts. This usually happens when you start a new workout routine or try something you haven't done before. The only difference between this and not feeling sore is that this will probably prevent you from working out again for a few days. I'd much rather have you be able to work out 4 times in a week rather than once and then be sore for 5 days. One option allows you to work out more often and see better results, and the other option let's you tell your friends at the bar how sore your trainer made you.

I hope you all liked todays post! Anything you thought you knew that it turned out you didn't? Let me know in the comments section! Have a great day and go lift some heavy shit!