Yes, ‘burning’ muscles do indicate that you are challenging your body and this is good for it to adapt and improve, but observing your body during exercise to the point that you feel you are working hard you can still achieve results.
Fitness Myth #2: Fat will turn into muscle when you exercise.
Prolonged good habits will lead to body composition changes whereby lean body mass increases and fat mass decreases, and you body begins to change shape.
‘Spot reduction’ is the targeted reduction of fatty tissue from specific parts of the body.
There are some controversial studies showing possible spot reduction, however the test protocols allowed the total body fat of subjects to decrease and not just from the targeted region.
To reduce total body fat, follow a moderate-high intensity progressive training program whilst eating a healthy diet and having a negative caloric deficit.
The body loses fat proportionately and varies from person to person depending on age, gender and genetics; and stubborn areas like the waist, hips, and thighs are the toughest to reduce since these areas are predominantly the first areas that fat is stored.
One of the major reasons spot reduction doesn’t work is that working muscles require fat to be broken down into glycerol and free fatty acids for it to be used as energy, and the triglycerides stored within muscle cells cannot directly be used as an energy source but first needs to be broken down; hence fat used during prolonged activity comes from all parts of the body and not just the muscles being worked the most.
Fitness Myth #4: The more your exercise, the better the results.
Elite athletes are able to exercise consistently for long-periods at high intensities because their bodies have adapted over time and follow strict nutritional guidelines, hence they are well accustomed to the activity and generally are able to recover faster.
Sweating is the body’s natural process of maintaining a constant internal temperature as evaporation of sweat from the skin has a cooling effect on the body.
To measure the intensity of exercise should rather be done by evaluating heart rates and not perspiration levels, and listening to your body’s response to exercise.
Your body adapts to specific conditions and improves the operating mechanisms with consistent training.
The body of an elite athlete adapts and becomes more efficient in keeping the core cooler by increased sweating during exercise, while losing minimal sodium.
It is thought to be an adaptation strategy since the female body generally has less body fluid and are more susceptible to dehydration.
The study offers some interesting insight, however other factors such as level of fitness, body size, hormone activity and others play a role.
Technique is vital as overdoing it can lead to injury so the key is to observe your instructor and listen to your body.
Of course, body builders will have increased strength abilities since the cross-sectional area of their muscles are far above the average individual.
Since the body needs energy to exercise, it will need to tap into alternative energy sources such as glycogen, fat and protein if exercising in a depleted state.
The body enters ‘survival mode’ and begins to convert protein from muscles into energy, consequently resulting in reduced muscle mass.
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