1. THE ANABOLIC WINDOW AFTER TRAINING: If you DON'T consume protein within 30 minutes after training, you're hindering your muscle gains.
2. HIGH GI CARBS TURN TO FAT - STICK TO THE WHOLEMEAL TYPE
The result? He lost 12 kilos!
3. LOW CARB DIETS ARE THE BEST FOR FAT LOSS
Getting the most out of your workouts is VITAL for optimal results. And what do you need to perform at your best?
CARBOHYDRATES.
Sure, your body can do without them, but why do that?
By sacrificing carbohydrates, your training intensity DECREASES (4).
Fact.
Fill your car up before going on a drive.
REMEMBER: It's all about OVERALL CALORIES. Also, think about our professor Twinkie mentioned in the last myth.
4. HIGH REPS BUILD DEFINITION
The only thing that builds definition is a CALORIE DEFICIT - less calories than your body burns every day.
The thought process behind this is that because you're performing MORE REPS - you're burning more calories.
Sure, you possibly will, but it all comes down to energy balance (which higher reps won't put a big enough dent into).
5. LOW REPS ARE THE BEST FOR BUILDING MUSCLE
One study (6) looked at HIGH REPS v LOW REPS in the context of quadricep training, and observed a 7% growth in the quadriceps for BOTH groups, using MRI, which is a very accurate way to measure muscle growth.
Yes, low reps are superior for strength, but muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) is still achieved with high reps!
6. DON'T EAT CARBS BEFORE BED - THEY'LL MAKE YOU FAT
At worst - the data we have today tells us there's no difference between your resting metabolic rate during the day, and your sleeping metabolic rate at night (8,9).
7. EATING SMALLER AND MORE FREQUENT MEALS IS THE BEST WAY TO INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM - YOU'LL LOSE MORE WEIGHT LIKE THIS
Aw please.
PLUS: There was zero difference in their appetite control, or in any of their hormones that promote hunger or the feeling of being full.
8. EATING EVERY 3 HOURS IS THE BEST WAY TO EAT FOR MUSCLE GROWTH
The length of protein synthesis after a meal packing protein, carbs and fat, is around THREE hours long (11) - with plasma leucine levels [the amino acid behind protein synthesis(12)] still elevated nearly three times above baseline.
So why would you bother eating every 3 hours, when the levels of the main amino acid behind muscle growth in your blood, still elevated?
Exactly. You wouldn't!
READ MORE ABOUT THIS and THE BEST WAY TO EAT MORE MUSCLE GROWTH on FIT'N'FLEXED HERE.
9. SATURATED FATS ARE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Recent research (13) has found "there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease.
10. RAW FOOD IS BETTER - ALL THE CELEBRITIES DO IT.
Let's look at eggs for example.
Research (14) tells us that only 50% of raw egg protein is absorbed. The same study also found that protein from cooked eggs is absorbed in a superior manner - at a rate of 91%.
Let's move onto one of the BEST vegetables out there: Broccoli.
One study (15) found that steamed broccoli is superior to RAW broccoli, with the steaming spurring on an increased level of cancer fighting compounds called glucosinolates!
READ MORE ABOUT RAW FOOD DIETS on FIT'N'FLEXED HERE.
11. DOING CARDIO ON AN EMPTY STOMACH IS BEST FOR FAT LOSS
Another popular myth that won't do you any good!
The theory here is that your body will have limited glycogen availability first thing in the morning, so it will be forced to turn to your fat stores for energy (in a process called lipolysis).
Sounds right - but there's no science to back it up!
Training in a fasted state DOUBLES your nitrogen losses (16), meaning you're burning up your hard earnt muscle mass.
Given how muscle mass keeps fat at bay, and promotes optimal body composition, you can see why it's not the brightest idea.
Another problem?
Food intake prior to cardio INCREASES the thermic effect of exercise (17). This means that a meal before hand will increase the fat-loss results from your workout.
Also, you can train harder after the intake of nutrients compared to none at all.
And yes,this EVEN goes for carbohydrates!
Many think that ingesting carbohydrates BEFORE cardio will leave you burning JUST the carbs, and zero fat.
But this just isn't true - as carbohydrates before or during training have been found to NOT impair fat loss (18).
12. YOU HAVE TO LOAD CREATINE FOR BEST RESULTS
13. CARBS IN YOUR POST WORKOUT SHAKE IS IMPORTANT FOR OPTIMAL MUSCLE GROWTH
It sounds like the perfect theory.
Carbohydrates in your post-workout shake, will signal an insulin release that will drive the amino acids into your myocytes (muscle cells).
BUT - this just isn't the case!
Research (20) examined nine men after training, to see if carbohydrates paired with protein compared to just protein alone further induced muscle protein synthesis.
And what did they find?
The carbohydrate was found to NOT be "additive" to the rates of muscle protein synthesis, or muscle protein breakdown.
Futhermore, others claim that a carbohydrate supplement in their post-workout shake can be used for glycogen replenishment - but the truth to this is non existent.
Research has shown carbohydrates after strength training increased muscle glycogen by a measly 16% more, as opposed to....wait for it.....a glass of water! (21).
Glycogen can very easily be replenished with a carbohydrate meal at a convenient time after training - there's no need to rush into a rapidly absorbing carbohydrate supplement - unless you are an endurace athlete.
Our next workout is most likely 24 hours away, meaning there's ample opportunity to top up our glycogen stores.
14. NOT EATING FOR SEVERAL HOURS FORCES YOUR BODY INTO STARVATION MODE - MEANING YOU'LL STORE YOUR NEXT BATCH OF FOOD AS FAT!
Not a chance!
Fasting actually INCREASES your metabolic rate.
One study reported a 3.6% INCREASE in resting metabolic rate after fasting for 48 hours (22).
Think of the caveman - there was never a fat one! They were going DAYS without food.
15. DON'T EAT MORE THAN 30g OF PROTEIN IN ONE SITTING - YOUR BODY CAN'T ABSORB ANYMORE THAN THAT!
Believe it or not - people still harp on about this one like its gospel.
But it just isn't true.
Data shows that the body can handle much more than this - with subjects easily consuming an average of 80-100g of protein in 4 hours (23).
Also, there's no maximum known amount of protein that can be absorbed in one sitting.
Spread the truth about these myths!
FURTHER READING: THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSCLE GROWTH MYTH
Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!
REFERENCES
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(2) Koopman R, Manders RJ, Zorenc AH, Hul GB, Kuipers H, Keizer HA, Van Loon LJ. A single session of resistance exercise enhances insulin sensitivity for at least 24 hours in healthy men. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2005 May;94(1-2):180-7. Epub 2005 Mar 11.
(3) Park M. "Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds." CNN News. 2010 Nov 8.
(4) Miller SL, Wolfe RR. Physical exercise as a modulator of adaptation to low and high carbohydrate and low and high fat intakes. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Apr;53 Suppl 1:S112-9.
(5) Fatouros IG et al. Intensity of resistance exercise determines adipokine and resting energy expenditure responses in overweight elderly individuals. Diabetes Care. 2009 Dec;32(12):2161-7. doi: 10.2337/dc08-1994. Epub 2009 Sep 3.
(6) Nicholas A. Burd, Cameron J. Mitchell, Tyler A. Churchward-Venne, Stuart M. Phillips. "Bigger weights may not beget bigger muscles: evidence from acute muscle protein synthetic responses after resistance exercise." Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2012.
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(8) Seale JL, Conway JM. Relationship between overnight energy expenditure and BMR measured in a room-sized calorimeter. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;53(2):107-11.
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(17) Lee YS, Ha MS, and Lee YJ. The effects of various intensities and durations of exercise with and without glucose in milk ingestion on postexercise oxygen consumption. J Sports Med Physical Fitness 39: 341–347, 1999.
(18) Febbraio MA, Chiu A, Angus DJ, Arkinstall MJ, and Hawley JA. Effects of carbohydrate ingestion before and during exercise on glucose kinetics and performance. J Appl Physiol 89: 2220–2226, 2000.
(19) Pearson DR, Hamby DG, Russel W, Harris T: Long-term effects of creatine monohydrate on strength and power. J Strength Cond Res 13: 187–192, 1999
(20) Staples AW, et al. Carbohydrate does not augment exercise-induced protein acretion versus protein alone. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Jul;43(7):1154-61.
(21) Pascoe DD et al. Glycogen resynthesis in skeletal mscule following resistive exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993 Mar;25(3):349-54.
(22) Mansell PI, Fellows IW, Macdonald IA. Enhanced thermogenic response to epinephrine after 48-h starvation in humans. Am J Physiol. 1990 Jan;258(1 Pt 2):R87-93.
(23) Soeters MR, et al. Intermittent fasting does not affect whole-body glucose, lipid, or protein metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr. (2009)
Author
Dayne Hudson