                       BODYBUILDING MYTHS 
                     -----------------------
         extract from: "GOLDS GYM book of bodybuilding"

At some point someone probably told you that working out with 
weights would make you muscle-bound or cause a woman to look like 
a man. Certainly, most good bodybuilders have been told that their 
muscles will turn to fat if they stop training.

There are six main "muscle myths" that must be exposed.  In each 
case we will discuss the myth and then reveal the truth underying 
it.  This process should dispel any remaining doubts you might 
have about becoming a body-buiding.

1.  BODYBUILDNG TRAINING WILL MAKE YOU MUSCLE-BOUND.  This is 
probably the most persistent muscle myth, and it suggests that 
working out with weights will make your body so tight and 
inflexible that you won't be able to scratch your own back or 
participate effectively in athletics.

Actually, scientists began investigating weight training and 
bodybuilding more than 30 years ago. They quickly discovered that 
weight workouts actually improve body flexibility.  Indeed, almost 
all bodybuilders  are far more flexible than the average person.  
Those who aren't have invariably been injured while 
participating in some other sport.  As an example, a shoulder 
separation incurred while playing football can easily limit 
shoulder flexibility and function.

Speaking of football, superstar Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears 
has used progressive resistance weight training to build massive 
arms and shoulders.  He can walk 50 yards on his hands, punishes 
anyone who tries to tackle him, and has never been seriously 
injured despite being near to the top of the NFL's "hit list" for 
several years.  He's flexible and then some!

2.  ALL OF YOUR MUSCLES WILL TURN TO FAT ONCE YOU STOP WORKING 
OUT.  It is physiologically impossible for muscle tissue to be 
converted to fat.  What actually happens when you suspend your 
weight workouts is that your muscles gradually atrophy, or shrink 
in size and strength.  This process takes about a year to run its 
course.

Then why are some former bodybuilders fat today?  The answer to 
this question is true for  ALL of the numerous athletes in any 
sport who have become fat after retiring from competition.  When 
you train virtually every day for several hours you regularly burn 
up relatively large quantities of calories.  As a result, you can 
consume more food than you can if you are physically inactive.  
But when you  suspend training you no longer burn up so many 
calories.  So, if you continue to eat the same amount as when you 
were working out every day, you will accumulate a caloric excess 
and gradually gain body fat.  The obvious solution to this problem 
is to decrease your caloric consumption to compensate for the 
calories you are no longer burning off in your workouts.  If you 
follow this advice, you will never grow fat after you cease heavy 
training with weights.

In actual practice, few bodybuilders ever stop training for very 
long.  As they grow older they don't train as intensely as when 
they were competing, but they still hit the gym almost every day.  
Once you have iron fever, you're usually hooked for life.

3.  BODYBUILDING WILL MAKE A WOMAN LOOK LIKE A MAN.  As noted in 
the foregoing section on men versus women, women don't secrete the 
same amounts of testosterone as do men.  Therefore, they simply 
can't develop a man's muscle mass and quality.  Additionally, a 
woman secretes large quantities of estrogen, which guarantees the 
integrity of her femininity.  Unless she makes the disastrous 
mistake of taking male hormones, no woman will look masculine as a 
result of her bodybuilding training.

4.  BODYBILDING TRAINING CAN STUNT YOUR GROWTH.  There are a 
somewhat disproportionate number of male and female competitive 
bodybuilders who are below the national average in height, leading 
some individuals to conclude that bodybuilding workouts can stunt 
one's growth.  Taler athletes are usually naturally selected for 
other sports in what could be called a sort of "sports Darwinism."  
Having a more compact torso and short limbs allows the bodybuilder 
to attain the proper proportions needed to win a contest.  As a 
result, bodybulding tends to naturally select short or medium-
statured men and women.

There are numerous tall bodybuilders, such as  Lou Ferrigno 
(6'5") and Dr. Lynne Pirie (5'9").   Scientists have determined 
that any type of physical activity will tend to stimulate height 
increases rather than inhibit them.  Proper diet can also result 
in height increase, and bodybuilders consistently follow health-
promoting diets.  Certainly, parents needn't worry that their sons 
and daughters will end up being short in stature simply because 
they decide to become bodybuilders.

5.  BODYBULDING TRAINING WILL WRECK YOUR BACK, KNEES, ELBOWS, AND 
OTHER JOINTS.  Such spinal or joint injuries are much more common 
in other sports than in bodybuilding.  As long as you follow the 
warm-up procedures we will outline, and maintain the correct 
biomechanical (body) positions for each exercise, you needn't fear 
damaging your joints through bodybuilding training.

6.  BODYBUILDING TRAINING CAN SLOW YOU DOWN.  As with the myth 
about becoming muscle-bound, scientists proved more than 30 years 
ago that heavy weight training improves speed rather than 
detracting from it.  Reaction time can't be improved through 
weight workouts, but a stronger muscle can contract faster and 
more strongly, thereby moving a limb more quickly.  S print speed, 
for example, is a direct function of thigh and calf strength.  In 
modern athletics, virtually all athletes include weight training 
in their overall conditioning regimes.  They certainly wouldn't do 
this if heavy weight workouts inhibited their speed, because it 
could reduce their athletic ability.
 
                               

