Debunking Training Myths

Debunking the Myths of Training and Popular Ab Machines

By Melanie Clark, RYT, CPT, CSCS

Myth 1: I need to train my core every day

False: Your abdominal muscles are skeletal muscles and are intrinsically the same as all of your other skeletal muscles. Therefore, when they are worked, they need to be rested. Proper rest of muscles is essential in increasing your fitness. If you isolate and exhaust these muscles one day and do not rest them for at least a day or two, not only are they not capable of doing more work, they are not able to fully function as supporters of your spine. This is when you are most prone to an injury. Constant weak, tired core muscles can hinder the strength in the back. Rest and take at least a day or two between isolated workouts.

Myth 2: You can work your upper abs and lower abs

False: What most people refer to as their “lower abs” are actually the inferior (bottom) portion of your rectus abdominals. It is one continuous muscle which has upper and lower portions separated by tendons, but they are one muscle unit. Muscles operate on the all or nothing principle; if one part is working, the entire muscle is working. Sometimes you might feel it more in a certain area, but you cannot only contract part of the rectus muscle.

Myth 3: To tone, I should use lighter weights and high reps

False: This is a myth that is often perpetuated by magazines and infomercials, convincing us that we should use lighter weights and higher reps to tone our bodies. This is physically impossible. Toning muscle is building muscle, and can only be accomplished with heavier weights with fewer repetitions. There is also the belief that this approach somehow burns more fat and that women in particular should lift weights in this manner to avoid getting big and bulky. This type of strength training does not burn fat. Burning fat is achieved by creating a calorie deficit that allows the stored fat on your body to be converted into energy, i.e. expending more calories than you consume through food and drinks.

Using lighter weights for higher reps will help you increase muscular endurance, which often has a place in training programs (e.g. endurance athletes like long distance cyclists and runners) However, that lean, defined look comes from losing body fat and doing fewer repetitions (15 or less) with heavier weights.

Myth 4: I can reduce fat around the abs, thighs, etc. with specific exercises.

False: If you have ever done crunches to get six-pack abs or leg lifts to get smaller thighs, you have bought into the myth of spot reduction or spot training. There is no such thing; you can only spot train with strength training by focusing on strengthening certain muscle groups, building and developing those muscles, but by making them larger and stronger, not making them “smaller.”

One reason this myth is present is because it is aggressively perpetuated by infomercials, diets and magazines promising thin thighs, flat abs and other extreme results for very little time and effort. This myth suggests that doing specific exercises for specific body parts will help you lose body fat there. We do not get to pick and choose where we want to loose weight. How and where we lose fat depends on, among other things, genetics, hormones, and age. If you want to lose fat around the thighs or belly, you have to create a calorie deficit (through exercise and diet). Body fat has many useful functions, such as insulation, vitamin storage, and hormone storage to maintain hormone level. Excess body fat is stored or unused calories from food and drinks. To create a calorie deficit, you must eat and drink fewer calories than exerted though metabolism and activity. This is the ONLY way to loose excess body fat. Unfortunately, there is only one way to remove fat from specific desired areas, and its called Liposuction.

Exercise:

– Strength training to build lean muscle mass, which burns more calories, an extra 6-10 a day for every pound of muscle

– Cardiovascular exercise to burn unused calories. Remember the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn during your workouts. The calorie counters on many cardio machines do not know how much muscle you have on your body, ignore them or use them as a guide to compare to your previous workouts. Instead, go by your heart rate and level of perceived exertion.

Heart rate: 65% to 85% of maximum heart rate (how fast it can possibly beat per minute)

This can be calculated by using the Karvonen Formula:

206.9 – (0.67 x (age)) = A
A – (resting heart rate) = B

B x .65 (65% low end of heart rate zone) = C

and/or

B x .85 (85% high end) = D

C + 65 (resting heart rate) = E
D + 65 (rhr) = F
The target heart rate zone for this person would be E to F

Therefore, for a 34 year-old with a resting heart rate of 65 beats per minute:

206.9 – (0.67 x 34) = 184.12
184.92 – 65 (resting heart rate) = 119.12
119.12 x .65 (65% low end of heart rate zone) = 77.43

119.12 x .85 (85% high end) = 101.25

77.43 + 65 (resting heart rate) = 142.43
101.25 + 65 (rhr) = 166.25
The target heart rate zone for this person would be approximately 142 to 166 beats per minute.

Myth 5: I can take pills to make my belly fat disappear

False: Some ads for pills attempt to base weight gain in the abdominal region to a scientific explanation of stress that “sounds” correct. When a person is under stress, adrenaline and cortisol are released for “fight or flight” mechanism. The energy required in order to fight or flight is taken from other systems, e.g. immune, metabolism, and they slow down. This is why people often get sick or gain when under chronic stress.

…“diet and exercise programs reduce tummy bulge by controlling the cortisol increase generated by diet-related stress and anxiety that can lead to stubborn belly fat retention…”

This ad takes advantage of people’s under-education regarding chemical responses in the body and claims that this pill will reduce cortisol, resulting in weight loss. As we mentioned previously, they are other causes of gaining body fat in the abdominal region, other than stress, including genetics and hormones. Also bloating of gas or water, and inflammatory foods can also increase the size of the belly. Also, this ad assumes that you are under stress and anxiety because of your dieting failures.

Myth 6: I can get a six-pack by purchasing one of those machines on TV… because they promise to.

Gimmicks and Gadgets:

False: There are probably more gadgets for the abs than any other part of the body. Most people store fat in the abdominal area, so even if you are just a little over weight, it will tend to show in the abdominal region. Companies and marketing executives are well aware of this. They know that people are self-conscious of this area, and take advantage of it by trying to make a profit from it. They promise results that are impossible (quick fixes, little effort); even what they claim their gadget is doing is false.

Ab rocket®

“…5 minutes a day…supports neck and back… which does not allow them to be used and therefore, not getting stronger).

If the range of motion in this machine starts past 25°, it works the hip flexors, not the abdominals

Claims it massages your back while you work out, how does that help your workouts? Yet it is only $14.95. Believe it or not, you will get a much better workout out using the floor or a stability ball.

The Bean®

“Perfect abs with no back pain…five minutes a day”

Claims it’s more stable, but it’s the instability that will work your core more effectively. It costs about, $50, twice the cost of a physio-ball or stability ball…which will work better because it is less stable.

AB-DOer Xtreme®

“The AB-DOer Xtreme is a complete waistline trimming system…reduces your obliques”…what?

…“In just minutes a day…”

“You want to give yourself rock hard abs, but you don’t want to embark on using a tough, painful, inefficient and ineffective workout machine that’ll leave you feeling sore and tired – but frustrated and with no results. You want something that works and delivers the body you want!”

This is promising to give you the body you want. The body you want takes restricting your caloric intake with a healthy diet, strength training the entire body, and cardiovascular exercise.

Price: $99.99

I tried this machine…I felt it was an ineffective tool, my abs weren’t DO-ing anything!!!

Some of these ads really question your intelligence.

Red exerciser abs chair®

“Improve your core muscle strength and overall body fitness with the revolutionary Red Exerciser seated workout machine”

“…give you an invigorating workout that helps you increase muscle mass while helping you lose weight…”

I actually tried this in a store…I could not believe how ineffective it was, I did not feel anything significant and there is not way that this could be an effective weight loss tool. Science will support me here. By the way…it costs $99.99!

Smart Abs System®

“Smart Abs System is designed to flatten your abs. Get smart with the Smart Abs System. It’s designed to flatten your abs with a smart design!”

“Are you starving yourself with crash diets or spending hours in the gym struggling to get those abs trim? Now its time to get smart with the Smart Abs System. It’s designed to burn fat and flatten your abs in the easiest, smartest way possible, guaranteed.”

Crunches will not burn fat, or flatten your abdominal regions; only creating a calorie deficit through diet and exercise will burn or use stored body fat.

“With the Smart Abs System you’ll lose ten pounds and two inches in just two weeks.” One pound of body fat is 3,500 stored calories. Therefore, you would have to burn a total of 35,000 calories to burn 10lbs of fat. If you cut and/or burn an extra 500 calories a day, every day, through diet and exercise, it will take approximately 70 days or 10 weeks to loose 10 lbs.

“You’ll flatten your stomach, sculpt your waistline, and eliminate love handles in weeks, not months. No more hurting your knees or straining your back with ordinary exercises. If you can rock in a chair, then you can do Smart Abs.”

It costs $79.95!!

Save your money, healthy foods tend to be a bit more expensive than junk food.

Sorry, but these are all falsities or lies in order to make a profit. Would these products be useful to use in addition to your total body workout programs? Of course, but they are not effective alone, and scientific research well support my claims regarding this. However, these products are guaranteed, so when you find that the machine does not work, you can get your money back…but they are relying on you not to take the time and effort to do so.