114 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
BODYBUILDING MYTHS
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extract from: "GOLDS GYM book of bodybuilding"
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At some point someone probably told you that working out with
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weights would make you muscle-bound or cause a woman to look like
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a man. Certainly, most good bodybuilders have been told that their
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muscles will turn to fat if they stop training.
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There are six main "muscle myths" that must be exposed. In each
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case we will discuss the myth and then reveal the truth underying
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it. This process should dispel any remaining doubts you might
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have about becoming a body-buiding.
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1. BODYBUILDNG TRAINING WILL MAKE YOU MUSCLE-BOUND. This is
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probably the most persistent muscle myth, and it suggests that
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working out with weights will make your body so tight and
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inflexible that you won't be able to scratch your own back or
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participate effectively in athletics.
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Actually, scientists began investigating weight training and
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bodybuilding more than 30 years ago. They quickly discovered that
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weight workouts actually improve body flexibility. Indeed, almost
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all bodybuilders are far more flexible than the average person.
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Those who aren't have invariably been injured while
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participating in some other sport. As an example, a shoulder
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separation incurred while playing football can easily limit
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shoulder flexibility and function.
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Speaking of football, superstar Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears
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has used progressive resistance weight training to build massive
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arms and shoulders. He can walk 50 yards on his hands, punishes
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anyone who tries to tackle him, and has never been seriously
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injured despite being near to the top of the NFL's "hit list" for
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several years. He's flexible and then some!
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2. ALL OF YOUR MUSCLES WILL TURN TO FAT ONCE YOU STOP WORKING
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OUT. It is physiologically impossible for muscle tissue to be
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converted to fat. What actually happens when you suspend your
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weight workouts is that your muscles gradually atrophy, or shrink
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in size and strength. This process takes about a year to run its
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course.
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Then why are some former bodybuilders fat today? The answer to
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this question is true for ALL of the numerous athletes in any
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sport who have become fat after retiring from competition. When
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you train virtually every day for several hours you regularly burn
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up relatively large quantities of calories. As a result, you can
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consume more food than you can if you are physically inactive.
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But when you suspend training you no longer burn up so many
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calories. So, if you continue to eat the same amount as when you
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were working out every day, you will accumulate a caloric excess
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and gradually gain body fat. The obvious solution to this problem
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is to decrease your caloric consumption to compensate for the
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calories you are no longer burning off in your workouts. If you
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follow this advice, you will never grow fat after you cease heavy
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training with weights.
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In actual practice, few bodybuilders ever stop training for very
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long. As they grow older they don't train as intensely as when
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they were competing, but they still hit the gym almost every day.
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Once you have iron fever, you're usually hooked for life.
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3. BODYBUILDING WILL MAKE A WOMAN LOOK LIKE A MAN. As noted in
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the foregoing section on men versus women, women don't secrete the
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same amounts of testosterone as do men. Therefore, they simply
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can't develop a man's muscle mass and quality. Additionally, a
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woman secretes large quantities of estrogen, which guarantees the
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integrity of her femininity. Unless she makes the disastrous
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mistake of taking male hormones, no woman will look masculine as a
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result of her bodybuilding training.
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4. BODYBILDING TRAINING CAN STUNT YOUR GROWTH. There are a
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somewhat disproportionate number of male and female competitive
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bodybuilders who are below the national average in height, leading
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some individuals to conclude that bodybuilding workouts can stunt
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one's growth. Taler athletes are usually naturally selected for
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other sports in what could be called a sort of "sports Darwinism."
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Having a more compact torso and short limbs allows the bodybuilder
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to attain the proper proportions needed to win a contest. As a
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result, bodybulding tends to naturally select short or medium-
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statured men and women.
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There are numerous tall bodybuilders, such as Lou Ferrigno
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(6'5") and Dr. Lynne Pirie (5'9"). Scientists have determined
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that any type of physical activity will tend to stimulate height
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increases rather than inhibit them. Proper diet can also result
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in height increase, and bodybuilders consistently follow health-
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promoting diets. Certainly, parents needn't worry that their sons
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and daughters will end up being short in stature simply because
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they decide to become bodybuilders.
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5. BODYBULDING TRAINING WILL WRECK YOUR BACK, KNEES, ELBOWS, AND
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OTHER JOINTS. Such spinal or joint injuries are much more common
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in other sports than in bodybuilding. As long as you follow the
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warm-up procedures we will outline, and maintain the correct
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biomechanical (body) positions for each exercise, you needn't fear
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damaging your joints through bodybuilding training.
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6. BODYBUILDING TRAINING CAN SLOW YOU DOWN. As with the myth
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about becoming muscle-bound, scientists proved more than 30 years
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ago that heavy weight training improves speed rather than
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detracting from it. Reaction time can't be improved through
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weight workouts, but a stronger muscle can contract faster and
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more strongly, thereby moving a limb more quickly. S print speed,
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for example, is a direct function of thigh and calf strength. In
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modern athletics, virtually all athletes include weight training
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in their overall conditioning regimes. They certainly wouldn't do
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this if heavy weight workouts inhibited their speed, because it
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could reduce their athletic ability.
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