It’s an exciting time in the body image world. While it’s always been acceptable for men to be muscular, it’s now a goal for women to have lots of lean muscle – yay progress!
But there are still quite a few myths floating around about muscle, and we’re going to bust them for you today.
- Lifting makes you bulky – this is obviously more of a concern for women…but it shouldn’t be! Lifting creates definition and increases your metabolism so you’re burning more even at rest. Shout out to Movimento member Liz for showcasing her awesome, strong, lean muscles in her arms and back!
The only way “bulking” happens is if you 1) eat and lift specifically for it or 2) if you don’t attend to your diet.
Most of what we talk about with bulking is a result of adding muscle but not losing the fat on top. If you pay attention to your overall health – including your diet – this isn’t a concern. - If you stop exercising, your muscle will turn to fat – this is a physiological impossibility.
If you stop exercising your muscle mass and metabolic rate will decrease, but because muscle and fat are two different tissues, one cannot turn into the other. That goes for turning fat to muscle too.
Inevitably, when you stop exercising muscle loss and fat gain occur, which is probably why this idea became popular. - A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat – a pound is a pound no matter what it’s made of!
BUT, a pound of muscle is far more dense, meaning it takes up way less space.
Well, there you have it! 3 of the common myths about muscle – busted!
