Bodybuilding is the new talk of the town these days. With the increased health consciousness, people are now hitting the gym as hard as they can. However, here are a few things you need to know before you join the gym.
#1 Spot Reduction
It is only natural to assume that focus only on one area of the body is bound to reduce fat around it, but in reality that is not the case. Fat is deposited over the whole body and can only be reduced by trying to burn it out on the whole. No doubt stimulating the same muscle groups builds muscle, but it doesn’t burn the fat over it. Overall body-weight exercises coupled with weight training gives you the best result.
#2 The more you sweat, the more fat you burn!
Yes! You read that right! Sweat has nothing to do with fat burn. Sweat is just the body’s way of keeping us cool during strenuous high temperatures or during any exhaustive work. So if you are sweating in buckets at the gym and thinking you would burn the fat, think again!
#3 Eating less and exercise more!
If you think eating less and working out like crazy will slim that waistline, you are absolutely wrong. Eating right, along with the right exercise, will get you the desired result. To lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit, that is, eat around 200–300 calories less than you normally eat. That’s it! But don’t expect that you would lose weight by not eating anything at all. After the workout, the body requires a lot of protein and energy to repair the broken muscle tissues.
#4 Age Factor
There is no age factor when it comes to building muscle. You can still build muscle if you are 40 and above but it tends to become a tad harder due to the reduced level of muscle building hormones. As when we age, our testosterone levels are not that high. Nevertheless, gaining muscle is still achievable, so don’t let age rule you out of having a fit body.
#5 Women shouldn’t lift!
This myth is absolutely FALSE! For a long time, women have always been very speculative when it comes to lifting weights, fearing “colossal” gains in muscle. In reality, that is not true. Women have very low testosterone levels and therefore muscle growth for women cannot be as visually perceived as men. Strength training for women actually benefits them and makes them more defined. So to all those ladies out there, Stop thinking, and start lifting!
So that’s it, folks! Health is wealth. Start aiming for a healthy lifestyle this year.
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