That's Fit

A gym is a great place to put in a solid workout, but it can sometimes be one of the worst places to get health and fitness advice. It's easy to assume that someone with a great physique must be an expert on health and fitness, but that may not necessarily be the case. Their advice, though well-intentioned, may not exactly be sound. Remember, not all great players make great coaches (ask Isiah Thomas). The approach to fitness these individuals take may work well for them, but for you they could potentially lead to disaster.

Fortunately, there are thousands of scientists who study the effects of proper diet and regular exercise. More to the point, they use their brain -- rather than their brawn -- to determine what foods are best for the body and what fitness moves produce the greatest results. In doing so, they dispel rumors, put an end to myths, and cancel out some very common fitness half-truths. This may not make the musclehead -- who swears by tri-setting every body part and following a diet of 12 chicken potpies a day -- all that pleased, but it will save you from over-training ... and wanting to puke.

Men's Health magazine recently tackled this very issue in their article 7 Muscle Myths - Fact vs. Fiction. In it, researchers take a look at some common gym misconceptions and, in efforts to clear up any confusion and prevent potential injury, present their own expert advice . I'll be highlighting one of these myths for the next seven days. Here's a look at Myth #1:

Myth #1

Lifting incredibly slowly builds incredibly big muscles.
Lifting super slowly produces superlong workouts-and that's it. University of Alabama researchers recently studied two groups of lifters doing a 29-minute workout. One group performed exercises using a 5-second up phase and a 10-second down phase, the other a more traditional approach of 1 second up and 1 second down. The faster group burned 71 percent more calories and lifted 250 percent more weight than the superslow lifters.

The real expert says: "The best increases in strength are achieved by doing the up phase as rapidly as possible," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the lead study author. "Lower the weight more slowly and under control." There's greater potential for growth during the lowering phase, and when you lower with control, there's less chance of injury.