Five Mythological Fables Concerning Exercise
Tomasz Jankowski
2026-03-22
5 min. read
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Anyone who visits the gym has had the chance to hear some untrue tales about training. Some of them make more sense, some less, and others are utterly nonsensical. I will present to you the mythical fables that I consider to be the most popular and frequently repeated. We will see who believes them and why they should stop immediately.
Knees extending beyond the toes during squatting
This myth, I am not sure why, has been repeated for many years. People who think this way have always tried to convince others that performing exercises with knees extending beyond the toes is the biggest sin that a person can commit in a gym. But that is not true. In reality, people often damage their natural movement patterns during the execution of squats, so that the knees do not go beyond the toes, which leads to incorrect execution of the exercise. The disposition to perform squats arises mainly from the biomechanics of the body. Bone proportions do have an impact on the way a squat is executed. In almost every athlete who trains Olympic weightlifting, which consists mainly of snatch and clean, the knees extend beyond the toe line during a full squat. So where did this myth come from? In a study conducted in 2003, the knee load was studied during the execution of a standard squat when the knee crosses the toe line and when the knee does not cross the toe line. It was discovered that the knee carries a greater load when it crosses the toe line, but another very important relationship was also discovered. The hips during a squat, in which the knee does not cross the toe line, take on 1070% (!) more work. It is clear that such an overload of the knees is not significant in comparison to the overload that occurs in the hips. People often forget that each type of squat requires a different setting of hips, knees, and ankles.
A woman engaging in strength training will not acquire a masculine appearance
This is complete nonsense. Women often avoid strength training because they believe it will make them look more masculine. Most often, the problem lies in the fact that such a woman saw a picture of a bodybuilder using doping substances somewhere and immediately thinks that this will happen after starting strength training. No, this is not true! The amount of muscle mass mainly depends on the amount of anabolic hormones a person has, mainly testosterone. Men produce about 10 times more testosterone than women, so if a woman does not use doping substances, her muscle mass will never be too large. It is physiologically impossible. Below is a table in which the difference in the rate of muscle mass gain in women and men is presented.
Every kilogram of muscle tissue burns roughly 12-20 calories a day
Although many individuals believe that every kilogram of muscle burns 50 calories per day, research indicates otherwise. It is evident that the more muscle mass a person has, the more calories they require to maintain their metabolic processes. Nevertheless, research shows that every kilogram of muscle tissue increases the calorie requirement by about 12-20 calories. This means that individuals with more muscle mass produce more energy during intense physical exertion. Therefore, building muscle is advantageous for those who want to maintain their weight or reduce excess weight.
"Simultaneous muscle mass gain and fat loss is not achievable"
This is not entirely correct! However, there are certain conditions that must be met. You must belong to one of the following groups: - Overweight or obese individuals with sedentary lifestyles who are starting training, - Individuals over 50 years of age who are just starting training, - People who are just starting training. To gain muscle mass, you need a caloric surplus, while reducing fat requires a negative caloric balance. But what does it look like in reality? If you belong to one of the above groups, there is a possibility that your body will utilize stored energy in the form of fat as fuel for muscle building. However, this does not mean that the body is capable of converting fat into muscle or vice versa. Research shows that individuals with a lot of fat and little muscle mass are more likely to simultaneously gain muscle mass and reduce fat. However, this does not mean that overweight is a prerequisite for this.
Wishing to increase muscle mass? It is necessary to perform a range of 8 to 12 repetitions
One may have heard of such concepts as metabolic stress, muscle destruction and mechanical muscle tension in the form of TUT (time under tension). These main factors are responsible for muscle growth or hypertrophy. Mechanical stress is the main driving force behind muscle growth, and muscle damage and metabolic tension are just its physiological effects. Therefore, lifting smaller weights (70%CM) to muscular development. This means that the number of sets, number of repetitions, and the weight used in these exercises influence the positions that affect the mass. It is important to design our training programs in such a way that we take into account heavy exercises in the range of 1-3 repetitions and lighter weights in the range of 10-15 repetitions. Our medium-term training plans should be designed in such a way that they take into account heavy lifting and light accumulation over the course of a year.
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