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5 MUSCLE MYTHS
Myth 1: Lifting slowly equals big muscles.
Reality Check: Lifting slowly just adds more time to your work out.
What the smart people say:
University of Alabama researchers recently studied two groups of lifters doing a 29-minute workout. One group performed exercises using a 5-second up phase and a 10-second down phase, the other a more traditional approach of 1 second up and 1 second down. The faster group burned 71 percent more calories and lifted 250 percent more weight than the super slow lifters. "The best increases in strength are achieved by doing the up phase as rapidly as possible," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the lead study author.
Myth 2: More protein equals building more muscle.
Reality Check: Hey, shake boy, you don't need that much protein.
What the guy with all the letters after his name says:
John Ivy, Ph.D., coauthor of Nutrient Timing says protein promotes the muscle-building process, called protein synthesis, "but you don't need exorbitant amounts to do this," If you're working out hard, consuming more than 0.9 to 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight is a waste. Excess protein breaks down into amino acids and nitrogen, which are either excreted or converted into carbohydrates and stored.
Myth 3: NEVER exercise a sore muscle.
Reality Check: Nice try, exercise can actually help that sore muscle.
What the Doc says:
"If your muscle is sore to the touch or the soreness limits your range of motion, it's best that you give the muscle at least another day of rest," says Alan Mikesky, Ph.D., director of the human performance and biomechanics laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. In less severe instances, an "active rest" involving light aerobic activity and stretching, and even light lifting, can help alleviate some of the soreness. "Light activity stimulates blood flow through the muscles, which removes waste products to help in the repair process," says David Docherty, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of Victoria in Canada. The real expert says: If you're not sore to the touch and you have your full range of motion, go to the gym. Start with 10 minutes of cycling, then exercise the achy muscle by performing no more than three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions using a weight that's no heavier than 30 percent of your one-rep maximum, says Docherty.
Myth 4: Stretching before your work out prevents injuries.
Reality Check: I know this is blowing your mind, but the key here is warming up, not stretching.
Tell them Doc!
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed more than 350 studies and articles examining the relationship between stretching and injuries and concluded that stretching during a warm up has little effect on injury prevention. "Stretching and warming up have just gone together for decades. It's simply what's done, and it hasn't been approached through rigorous science." Warming up is what prevents injury, by slowly increasing your blood flow and giving your muscles a chance to prepare for the upcoming activity. To this end, Dr. Gilchrist suggests a thorough warm up, as well as conditioning for your particular sport.
Myth 5: Leg extensions are safer for your knees than squats.
Reality Check: Its all about the joint. (I'm not making this up!)
The study:
A recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that "open-chain" exercises— those in which a single joint is activated, such as the leg extension—are potentially more dangerous than closed-chain moves—those that engage multiple joints, such as the squat and the leg press. The study found that leg extensions activate your quadriceps muscles slightly independently of each other, and just a 5-millisecond difference in activation causes uneven compression between the patella (kneecap) and thighbone, says Anki Stensdotter, the lead study author.
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