Fitness Myths: Muscle turns into fat if you stop lifting
I've heard a lot of whoppers in the fitness community, but this is the one that I hear very often. People will see a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on a beach, looking fat and say "Eureka! I don't want that to happen to me!"
A couple of things here first:
- You are not Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Arnold is 72 years old
- He was involved in some serious "roids" back in his prime, he has admitted to this
- Paparazzi jerks intentionally seek out bad photos of celebrities like Arnold
I have heard friends of mine, who were barely dedicated to the gym life anyway, use this as an excuse to stop going. Now I realize that they probably didn't want to go anyway and I am not going to try to force anyone to be healthy if they don't want to be. However, their justification for cutting weights out of the life is crock of doo doo.
You often see the reverse in advertisements as well and this always makes me a bit upset. You cant change muscle into fat (or vice versa) any more than you can change a cow into a Volkswagen, they are totally different things!
So when you see Arnold looking a little less than Conan on the beach his muscle did not "turn into fat" he lost muscle mass over the years because maintaining a Mr Universe body is a full-time job and not one that you can generally maintain while acting and being governor of a state. Also, as you might be able to understand, when you get older, things like this are harder to accomplish.
I would prefer if he would step away from the Speedos though, he's looking great here!
Strength training is one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle and the more muscle you have, the more calories you are going to burn in a day, even if you don't work out. So the next time you hear someone say that they "don't want their muscle to turn into fat and are therefore not going to bulk up..." call them out on their B.S. because that is precisely what this statement is.
I am not a professional trainer nor a dietitian. I am merely recounting what I did in order to lose over 50 lbs and gain muscle mass while still living a fun life and I think it can work for other people as well
What really matters is health. You don't have to have the biggest muscles in the world to be the best. Rocky did beat that bigger Russian guy in the boxing match in that movie. Jackie Chan is not as big as Arnold but is a bad ass. Chuck Norris can walk on water and his arms are not as big as Hogan. Well, I love Hulk Hogan. I love Arnold. But I would not make it a goal in my life to be only really big or really skinny or really fat or really this or that. Instead, I should simply focus on making good choices in my life and take it one day at a time and each person is different. Each person has a different kind of body to some degree.
and that is a fantastic way to live. We don't all need to strive to look like a superstar, just live a bit healthy and get a bit of exercise in.... feel good about you.
Exactly
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Such a judgemental world...Of course, those passing judgement are all perfect so it's their right.
Wrong.
I remember back when we thought if you did a lot of situps that your beer gut would magically turn into a 6-pack.. ha!
yeah, those were the days. If a fatty does a bunch of situps I think it is a good thing because any exercise is better than nothing, also this will likely help to fend off other issues because a strong core, even if attached to a "spare tire" is a good thing for overall health.
I don't suggest that people trying to lose weight don't do situps, but this idea that some people cling to that fat will turn to muscle if you work it hard enough is just utter nonsense.