By Brooke Clark Certified Life Coach and Certified Personal Trainer
Bodybuilding Myths Fats are bad For years we heard eating fat will make you fat . But now we know not all fats are the same . Healthy fats like omega-3 and unsaturated fats will help you keep body fat off and make you feel better overall . Good fats are good for your heart , cholesterol and blood pressure . They also make you feel fuller after you eat , causing you to snack less throughout the day . Bad fats like trans fats in dairy and vegetable oil are bad for your heart , cholesterol and blood pressure . It ’ s best to avoid these fats and focus on eating the good fats like omega- 3 ’ s and unsaturated fats in nuts and olive oil . Muscle turns into fat Muscle cannot turn into fat and fat cannot be turned into muscle . We have a saying at FITNOW , you cannot turn a dog into a cat and you cannot turn muscle into fat . Fat cells are different from muscle tissue . When you eat more than you need , your body increases the size of your fat cells and stores the extra food as body fat . Whereas , if you train hard enough , your muscles will increase the size of your muscle cells . Weight training and a proper diet shrink fat cells and build muscle cells . There ’ s a rep range to build muscle We ’ ve all heard there ’ s a muscle growth rep range , somewhere between 6-12 . However , this is not true . Higher reps and lower reps can both build muscle . It depends on how much effort you ’ re putting into each set . Varying rep ranges will not hinder muscle gain but actually stimulate muscle growth . Obviously , you ’ ll be able to lift heavier while doing lower reps but if you ’ re training intensely enough , you ’ re going to cause hypertrophy with any rep range . Switch it up , try high reps and low reps periodically to challenge yourself during your training sessions . With all of the myths circling the health and fitness industry , I hope this clears up a few misconceptions . Falling for fiction and misinformation sucks and can hinder your progress . Eat your fats , train hard and utilize periodization to get the most out of your fitness journey !