By Dr. Nicola Manca
It often happens that those who have been training for some time (maybe a few months) decide to take a flash course in order to fulfill their dream of becoming an instructor.
As long as in the world of gyms and sports in general, they will not work only and exclusively with the professionals who have studied for YEARS in the possibly UNIVERSITY area, real urban legends will be born that contrast with the simplest laws of physiology, nutrition and of training theory.
Unfortunately, it is often the "instructors" or pseudo ones who give birth to these legends.
Here is a small example of the biggest and most frequent mistakes you've probably already heard if fitness enthusiasts.
The muscular pains present the following day an intense training are due to lactic acid : perhaps the error that is heard more often, nothing more inaccurate. The disposal of lactic acid accumulated during exercise occurs in a much more limited period of time (between 20 minutes and 2-3 hours). This period varies from subject to subject and depends mainly on the degree of training and the type of refreshment (for example, an adequate cool-down causes a more rapid disappearance of the lactate from the body).
Muscle pains are actually due to myofibril microtraumas, an increase in blood and lymphatic activity, with consequent sensitization of the areas, and consequent post-contractile inflammatory processes.
Exercises for "low abdominals" : enough with this subdivision, your instructor does not have a human anatomy book, or in his two-day course of study he never used it. Change gym before you torment a back pain. The low abdominals DO NOT EXIST.
The abdominal rectum (muscle wrongly divided into upper and lower) is actually a single muscle that originates superiorly from the xiphoid process of the sternum and from 5-6-7 costal cartilage; inferiorly it is inserted on the symphysis pubis. Many of the exercises that should involve the "low abdominals" actually involve movements that often stimulate the ileo-psoas resulting, as well as being useless, often harmful. The Ileo-psoas is a muscle formed by the iliac muscle (with proximal origin on the lumbar vertebrae) and the large psoas (originates from the inner face of the iliac bone); the two heads converge inferiorly in a single insertion on the small trochanter of the femur. Its excessive shortening is the basis of hyper-lordosis situations. As previously analyzed the abdominal rectum DOES NOT INSERT ON THE LOWER LIMBS but on the pubic symphysis. To avoid involving the iliopsoas, in exercises from the supine position it is wrong and harmful to start with the lower limbs hugging the ground, but it is correct to maintain an angle of 30 ° or more.
So remember that it is impossible to involve only the upper part or the lower part of the abdominal rectum with a single exercise.
The only way to lose fat mass is to run, we don't need weights: first of all we must point out that the approach to running must be gradual , for a beginner or an obese person it would be better to start with a moderate intensity aerobic activity, which it is able to last for a long time. It often happens that people in the parks are seriously overweight, who with incredible physical effort try to run for as long as possible (almost always a few minutes). In these cases both the cardiocirculatory apparatus and the joints are subjected to excessive and harmful efforts. The optimal working range to lose fat mass is between 60-70% of the maximum heart rate, as the use as lipid energy source increases with the duration of the work and decreases as the intensity approaches the maximum oxygen consumption. It is clear that a brisk walk is generally sufficient to maintain this intensity for at least 20-30 minutes. Regarding weight training, it must not be absolutely demonized, instead it plays a fundamental role in increasing lean mass and consequently basal metabolism.
The instructor suggests a strong restriction of carbohydrates to reduce weight: remember that before starting a diet it is necessary to carry out both a thorough medical examination and specific analyzes. Only a specialized doctor is authorized to prescribe diets, an instructor, if qualified, is obliged to give you important advice for adequate eating habits and a correct lifestyle. However, this type of diet is called ketogenic because it increases the presence of ketone bodies (by-products of the incomplete lipid catabolism due to the absence of carbohydrates) in the plasma. His supporters claim that the dietary deficiency of carbohydrates causes the mobilization of fat to end energy. But let's analyze the negative aspects; a diet low in carbohydrates causes rapid depletion of glycogen stores with consequent negative repercussions on training and also reduces lean mass due to increased protein catabolism. The ketogenic diet is also potentially DANGEROUS, being able to cause acidosis, altering the electrolyte balance, increasing uric acid levels and plasma lipids, causing dehydration, in extreme cases it can even lead to coma from acidosis.
You have to try this card, it's miraculous, see how it worked with me: there are no miracle workouts, there are solid scientific foundations that must be applied to the specificity of each individual.
Are you tired of hearing these things? The solution is simple. The world of fitness is full of incompetent people, but also of instructors, qualified personal-trainers with whom not only will you not put your health at risk, but you will finally get real results.
Rely on competent people, you will get otherwise unattainable results.
