Making the decision to take control of your health and get into shape is never a bad call. Many people have turned to weight lifting and strength training to transform their bodies and feel amazing after successful workouts. Strength training and weight lifting can provide a full-body workout, build muscle, boost energy levels, and can even help with weight loss.

While there are many great reasons to begin strength training, there are unfortunately a few weight lifting myths out there that can hinder someone from considering weight lifting or strength training, or cause poor results and injury. Explore some of the most common myths about fitness and weight lifting that hold many people back from a transformative experience.

Myth #1: The Heavier the Weight the Better the Results

One of the most common myths about fitness and strength training is that heavier resistance weights bring the biggest, fastest results. This isn’t true and often leads to overuse injuries and unnecessary pain that can thwart future workouts. In fact, you should really be focusing on working your muscle groups to the “point of failure”, when you’ve become fatigued. A helpful weight lifting tip is to simply perform more sets of reps rather than adding more weight on. You should ideally only increase the weight once your workouts become too easy and you need an additional challenge.

Myth #2: Weight Lifting is Bad for the Bones 

Another common weight lifting myth is that strength training will cause damage to bones and joints. This is a myth that would logically cause people to feel that weight lifting should be avoided. The truth is actually the opposite. One study found that strength training is actually a great strategy for addressing knee pain due to the fact that the strength training exercises build muscle around the tension areas. With a consistent regime, strength training can actually strengthen bone density and alleviate joint pain. 

Myth #3: Strength Training Will Automatically Make You Too Bulky

A concern that keeps many from considering strength training is the fear of becoming too bulky. While being an understandable weight lifting myth, it’s not as easy to get huge and sculpted muscles without a conscious effort and a deliberate caloric surplus. Increasing muscle mass and getting a Hulkesque physique is a difficult task, especially for women who don’t generate as much testosterone as men. The act of lifting itself is not to blame for a bulky look, it’s also the deliberate efforts of someone wanting to bulk up consuming more protein and eating more foods than they typically would.

Myth #4: It Doesn’t Burn Enough Calories

Another weight lifting myth that sways people from entering the weight room is the concern that strength training does not burn as many calories as cardio. Many myths about fitness revolve around people having the misled goal to burn as many calories as quickly as possible. While it’s true that cardio will burn more calories in 30 minutes than weight lifting will, weight lifting burns fat for much longer after the end of the workouts. Weight lifting helps those looking to lose fat by quickening their metabolism throughout the day.

Myth #5: Muscle Eventually Turns to Fat

It’s safe to say that if you’re wanting to get healthier you’d be concerned about exercises that could lead to gaining weight later on. A weight lifting myth that’s been commonly spread is that if you stop lifting, some of the muscle gained will turn to fat. While suddenly quitting a strength training regime may result in muscle loss and some brief sagginess in muscle tissue, this doesn’t mean that the muscles turn to fat. Fat is an entirely different type of tissue caused by a caloric surplus. If you stop training and still maintain a healthy diet, there should be no reason to experience weight gain. 

See the Truth for Yourself by Strength Training at the Academy of Self Defense

While there are many myths about fitness and strength training out there, science will always indicate that strength training is an awesome way to build muscle, lose weight, and get in great shape. At Academy of Self Defense, we prove that these weight lifting myths are false and will give you weight lifting tips to help you enhance your wellness and embrace a healthier lifestyle. With a variety of classes and impressive facilities, nothing is holding you back from getting in the best shape of your life with a team of coaches that want to help you to succeed. Browse our class schedule today to learn more. Our Boot Camp and ASD Fit classes are the best classes for weight lifting tips!