The Most Misunderstood Myths in the Gym

Myth 2) High repetitions will burn more fat aka. The pink dumbbell theory

A scientifically proven fact is that intense weight training (lifting heavy weights during exercises that recruit multiple muscles simultaneously) helps to increase post-training epinephrine (the hormone known as adrenaline which increases metabolic rate, heart rate, respiratory rate, glycogenolysis and lipolysis - the burning of fat)

One of the most common mistakes I see in the gym is the aimless workout. People see one another doing exercises they've seen on tv, in a movie or in a magazine (or worse still some huge body builder) and then copy them without stopping to think about what they're actually doing. The most common exercise - the bicep curl. This exercise is like the poster-boy of resistance training. The bicep curl trains one group of muscles: the biceps. It is known as an isolation exercise.

An isolation exercise is characterised by the movement of one joint or one muscle group. They use lighter weights and generally move the weights over a shorter distance. Some examples of isolation exercises are bicep curls, tricep extensions, leg curls, leg extensions, lateral raises and pec flys.

You can achieve the same muscle contraction by a wide range of other exercises, the difference being that these exercises recruit several muscle groups simultaneously, not only do they get more done in a shorter time but they will dramatically increase the release of hormones in your body. These are known as compound exercises.

A compound exercise is characterised by the movement of two or more joints and involves more than one muscle group. Some examples of compound exercises are squats, bench press, lat pull down, seated row, Russian dead lifts, shoulder presses, lunges, pull ups and the clean and jerk.

Not only do compound exercises burn more fat while you're doing them, but they are much more effective in releasing the hormones that promote muscle growth and fat burning well after your workout is over.

Compound exercises should always be performed at the beginning of a workout (with the exception of pre-exhaustion training: an advanced approach that should be used sparingly) while isolation exercises should be trained towards the end of the workout, and then only when there is a specific need. In the case of the biceps; once the back has has been trained to exhaustion only then should the biceps be trained in isolation. There are exceptions to this concept but for 90% of the population it applies 99% of the time.

This post assumes that women in the weights room want to become more lean, toned and trim off fat. If you are trying to put on bulk, rehabilitate an injury, train for a specific sport/activity, get bigger biceps, triceps, calves or any other specific muscle, or are training for any other reason other than the ones mentioned here then may want to consider alternative approaches to training. This is intended to apply to the average gym-goer wanting to trim and tone. With this in mind: the vast majority of women in the gym should be doing exercises like bicep curls extremely sparingly, if at all.