I have worked with some folks lately that have made statements to the effect of “I always heard that …” and then fill in the blank with some little nugget of information related to working out and/or dieting. Which makes me ponder, where do all these little pieces of information come from. After thinking about it for a while, I realize that there is a ton of talk and most likely literature out there filling peoples minds with tidbits of information. When I open our local paper on Wednesdays I always chuckle at the “exercises” so called trainers are demonstrating as ways to “fight the bulge” or “tighten those areas”. The trainer in me screams out … “NO – you can’t just randomly tell people to do those exercises, they need to make sure they are paying attention to this variable and that variable”. But then I take my chill pill, realize that if it gets people out there and moving, then it must be some good. But I digress.
To me there is science and/or fact in the training world and then everything else. With that said, I also KNOW that everyone is different. So “I always heard that …” statements really are ambiguous as everyone responds slightly differently to various strategies. The following list is a set of things that I think get floated around gyms that can lead to confusion. Hopefully the following provides some clarification so you can be more confident when you say, “I always know that”!
1. Amounts of cardio, types of cardio, and intensities of cardio should be varied and definitely vary from person to person. But there is one thing that I can say after years of being in this field is a universal. Cardio should be done after weights! If your goal is to burn fat, gain muscle, tone, etc. … Even if it is to bulk up – cardio should always come after weights. I will not go into a diatribe about the science behind this. But just know that your body needs to use the stuff most available at the beginning of your workouts to get the most out of your weights. After that, the cardio will use the “stuff” that you want it to use to complete your cardio!
2. Rep ranges are not universal. There are common ranges that are used to accomplish certain goals when working with weights – lower for strength, moderate from muscle building, and slightly higher for maintenance and “toning”. But everyone responds to rep ranges a little differently depending on the composition of their muscle fibers. As such everyone should experiment and rotate rep ranges.
3. No one set of diet rules applies to everyone but there are some things that do. Basically, what I mean is that not everyone should be eating the same macronutrient profile and same sorts of foods. However there are definitely themes that should be part of every diet. Get plenty of protein (at least .8 grams per pound of body weight), eat plenty of green and leafy vegetables, avoid foods with high concentrations of sugars and/or “bad” fats … butters, syrups, candies, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, fried foods, etc. and of course eat smaller more periodic meals – at least 5 per day vs. the traditional 3.
4. Body types have a huge influence on what sort of training you will respond to. There are three types of bodies – I call them short and stocky, long and lean, and combination of the two. (Others would call them ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs). The reality is that a lot of people have combinations of these body types. For instance I am longer and leaner but also have elements of the in between type as well as short and stocky. Which I might mention is such a blessing (the tone here is sarcasm) as I have the worst elements of each. I am long and don’t gain muscle very easy but at the same time I can gain fat easily as I tend not to have a high metabolism. What this really get’s at is frames and muscle fibers. Depending on what sort of frame you have and what sort of muscle fiber types you have – this will impact what sort of training your body best responds to. So saying that one sort of training is the way to go just doesn’t work, as we are all so unique!
There is a lot more to discuss when it comes to science vs. gym mythology that floats around there and the thousands of different variables that people read about related to fitness and training. For now though, I will leave you with at least a partial list of what I think everyone should say, “I always know that …”.
Andy
