Ensure Your Work Out is Helping You and Not Hurting You

Sunday, August 08, 2010 by: Anthony Gucciardi
Tags: working out, benefits, health news

(NewsTarget) Working out should be something that is both fun and beneficial. The body responds almost immediately to proper training, but it also responds to improper training. Improper training can lead to aches and pain down the road, or even muscles tears. Are you working out the right way?

Misconception #1: The Longer, The Better

Contrary to what you have heard from old school bodybuilders, a longer workout does not lead to better muscular gains. In fact, a longer workout can be detrimental to your muscular gains. After a period of roughly 45 minutes, your body has been found to go into a catabolic state. In this state, the body feeds off of the muscles for energy. This is the complete opposite of what you want the body to do. That does not mean that you cannot workout for an hour here and there, but it does mean that hours of weight training on a daily basis are going to crush your goals.

The reason that many bodybuilders were able to train for up to four hours a day is quite simple: they were taking anabolic steroids. That does not mean that every single bodybuilder was taking them, but anabolic steroids allow for extremely long workouts with little rest periods. Anabolic steroids, of course, come with a host of damaging side effects and should not be taken.

Misconception #2: If You Work The Same Muscle Every day, It Will Grow

Every muscle group needs a minimum of two or three days rest time. While the exact number of days is up for debate, the principal idea remains the same. It is not beneficial to work the same muscle group twice within a 2-3 days period. Many people at the gym bench press every day. The bench press targets the chest, triceps, and front deltoids (shoulder). Bench pressing every day will tear these muscles up, as the muscles do not get enough rest in-between workouts. This leads to muscle tears, sprains, and muscle bruising.

A proper workout regimentation separates the muscle groups into their own specific days, with a proper amount of rest. Here is an example below (The days of the week are only examples, and it does not matter on which day you start):

Monday: Chest and Triceps
Tuesday: Back and Biceps
Wednesday: Legs and Shoulders
Thursday: Rest

You would then repeat this routine after the rest day. In this example, you would start chest and triceps up again on a Friday and continue onward. It is also okay to take a rest of two days or split up the workouts throughout the week.

Misconception #3: Cardio Has To Be Torturous

Cardio does not have to be a chore. Similar to the first misconception, many people believe that long-distance running is the best way to lose weight and improve overall health. New research has found that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is actually much more beneficial and takes dramatically less time. This form of cardiovascular exercise involves switching from a period of low intensity activity into a highly intense period of activity. An example of high intensity interval training is on a treadmill:

Walking at 2 miles per hour for 1 minute.
Running at 10 miles per hour for 1 minute.
Repeat around 8 times.

Research has found that when repeated around 8 times, the benefits are truly reaped. Of course starting out you will want to adjust this routine for your fitness level. Beginners should walk for a bit longer, and run at a slower speed. High Intensity Interval Training is a great weight loss tool and saves you hours of time per week when replacing traditional cardio.

Sources:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/aja3.htm
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/arc...
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/samplewor...
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_10...

About the author

Anthony Gucciardi is a health activist and wellness researcher, whose goal is centered around educating the general public as to how they may obtain optimum health. He has authored countless articles highlighting the benefits of natural health, as well as exposing the pharmaceutical industry. Anthony is the creator of Natural Society (http://www.NaturalSociety.com), a natural health website. Anthony has been accurately interpreting national and international events for years within his numerous political articles. Anthony's articles have been seen by millions around the world, and hosted on multiple top news websites.