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Exercise Myths For Women - Busted!
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 Most women would give an arm and a leg to have a finely chiselled and fit body. In our attempt to lose weight and achieve our ideal bodies, we give up foods that we love, munch away on carrot and celery sticks all day, and even wear our treadmill down running on it every chance we get. But, is that enough to achieve our fitness goals?
There are many forms and types of exercises that can help women become fit and thin. However, a lot of myths surround them. For instance, one of the most common exercise myths for women is that they should not do weight lifting because they will end up looking bulky and muscular like men. That's nothing but a big fat myth! To know the truth about this myth and others, read on.
- Myth #1: Weight training makes women manly
As mentioned previously, this is by far the biggest myth when it comes to exercises for women. Men produce a hormone called testosterone due to which they build those huge and swollen muscles. But since a woman's body hardly produces any amount of testosterone, she simply cannot get muscles the size of a man no matter how hard she tries.
All those women, who body build professionally, can build such muscles only because they take steroids and hormonal injections. Not only does weight training NOT make women bulky, but it helps to lose weight efficiently.
- Myth #2: Strength training makes women's breasts smaller
The argument here is that since women's breasts are made up mainly of fatty tissue, weight training reduces the breast size because it lowers the amount of fat in the breast. However, it doesn't quite work like that.
Agreed, weight training will make you lose fat in the breast area also, but subsequently it also helps to build muscle in that area. The muscle so built replaces the fat lost and gives your breasts a lean and firmer look. It is only if you lose a lot of fat from your breasts (for example through very heavy cardio exercises), without building muscle, that the size will shrink.
- Myth #3: Only crunches can help to rid women of their paunch
This again is a huge myth but sadly women think it is the truth. Doing crunches cannot help you to achieve washboard abs if crunches is all you do. You need to have a systematic workout routine that includes cardio exercises and weight training. With such an exercise routine you will achieve fat loss all over your body.
Doing crunches will then help to tighten the muscles around your abdomen, thus giving you a flat stomach. But if you only concentrate on crunches without cardio and weights, you will not get the results you're looking for.
- Myth #4: You have to begin every workout with stretching
So not true. Although this is the common belief and not just for women but also for men, experts suggest that stretching before weight training can actually do more harm than good. Muscles get elongated and destabilized after stretching so are not prepared to handle the pressure that weight training puts on them. Injuries are often the result of this.
Instead, it is always best to end your workout with stretching. To warm-up before your workout, try walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes instead.
- Myth #5: Women should not work out during their period
There is no medical reason why women should not work out during their period. In fact, studies suggest that a lot of discomfort and pain associated with your monthly period can disappear if you exercise regularly. Having said that, you are the best judge of whether or not your body can handle a workout during your period. If you feel overly tired, nauseous, or faint then it is best to give your body a rest for a couple of days.
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Ruchi Agarwal
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