There is a lot of information on the web about nutrition and training for athletes, but it is often contradictory. Check out 5 myths about nutrition and exercise. You've probably come across a lot of conflicting information about nutrition and training. For this reason, it is quite difficult to separate truth from fiction. Today we're going to share 5 myths about nutrition and exercise.
Myth # 1: Muscle Growth Is Possible With Protein Supplements
One of the most common nutritional myths. Many athletes believe that they only need to consume a certain amount of protein to grow muscle, since everything cannot be processed by the body. Let's finally put all the dots on the "and". The body has huge reserves for the consumption of amino acid compounds.
When your body digests all the protein, it is not a fact that it will be fully utilized to synthesize new skeletal muscle tissues. For these purposes, only a small part of all the proteins that you consume is spent. You must remember that protein is also used by other tissues and different processes.
A scientifically proven fact is that 15 grams of essential amino acid compounds are used for the synthesis of muscle tissue, of which 3.2 grams is leucine. Let's say you consumed 27 grams of protein containing 12 percent leucine. This suggests that you have managed to achieve maximum anabolism. Simply put, there are no exact numbers that determine the required one-time protein intake.
Myth # 2: Fasting Cardio Stimulates Fat Burning
No less common misconception in comparison with the previous one. It should be admitted that this myth is more than a dozen years old. Previously, scientists assumed that when exposed to cardio training on an empty stomach, more fatty acids enter the bloodstream, after which they will be used for energy. Also during this period of time in the body there is a deficiency of carbohydrates, which also contributes to the burning of fat.
However, recent studies show that fat will be burned just as efficiently after a meal. In addition, it was found that with a high content of glycogen in the muscles, the lipolysis process can proceed even faster in comparison with the moment when the reserves of this substance are exhausted. In addition, at a high concentration of glycogen in tissues, thermogenic processes are enhanced.
Most athletes believe that after the depletion of glycogen reserves under the influence of cardio, it will be fats, not carbohydrates, that will be burned. However, this does not matter at all throughout the day. If you use aerobic exercise after a meal, you will be able to retain more muscle.
Myth # 3: Strength training will turn a girl into a masculine creature
All girls are afraid of this and for this reason they ignore strength training, paying attention to cardio. However, you are wrong, and in order to prove it, you need to turn to scientific facts. The female body in comparison with the male contains about ten less testosterone.
In addition, it was found that the weight of men exceeds that of women by about 20 kilograms, while their fat mass is less than five kilograms. Girls, don't be afraid to use strength training to get sexier and more desirable.
Myth # 4: You need to eat every two hours
There are advocates of eating every two hours, and there are quite a few of them. A lot of articles say that you need to eat as often as possible. However, scientists have proven that the digestion process takes about three hours on average. This fact only suggests that with proper nutrition, containing the required amount of nutrients, the rate of synthesis of protein compounds increases. If you take additional food on this segment, then it will not bring any benefit.
Let's also say that when a mixed set of amino acid compounds is consumed, protein in the body is produced within two hours, while all essential amines are oxidized for about six hours. This suggests that eating every two hours is not effective and can only inhibit protein synthesis. The best option is to eat every four or five hours.
Myth # 5: You should do a lot of repetitions
Unfortunately, most people like to listen to other people's advice, and do not want to experiment on their own. However, this is the only way to achieve the truth in any issue. When you hear that you are advised to do a certain number of repetitions, then just do not listen to this person. When doing 2 to 20 repetitions, each of them will be useful to achieve a specific goal. Let's talk about this in a little more detail:
- With a low number of repetitions, from 1 to 5, the muscles contract more actively, which leads to the creation of large reserves of glycogen. This allows you to carry a greater load, thereby activating the muscle tissue more strongly. As you know, this is the main step towards hypertrophy.
- Average repetitions range from 6 to 12. This is the most optimal rep limit as it allows you to take advantage of both the low and high ranges. To accelerate hypertrophy, you need to use exactly 6 to 12 reps.
- More than 15 repetitions is a large number. At the same time, glycogen stores are depleted to the maximum, which causes a response from the body, and your glycogen stores will increase. In addition to the large amount of energy source for the muscles, it is also beneficial because more fluid accumulates in the tissues. The consequence of this is the acceleration of the assimilation of somatotropin tissue cells and all nutrients.
Choose the rep range that suits your goals. Remember that there is no better or worse number of repetitions. In any case, you will get some benefit. The main thing is that it corresponds to the tasks set.
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