Will women develop large, masculine muscles from regular weight training?
Women can develop their muscles, but not to nearly the extent of men, primarily because the female body does not produce a sufficient amount of testosterone, the male sex hormone that promotes the increase muscle size characteristic of males. Varying levels of testosterone production from one person to another may be a major reason why some people can develop their muscles more easily and to a greater extent than others.
Can fat be most effectively burned from a specific area of the body (butt, midsection, hips...etc.) by repeatedly and vigorously exercising it?
The term given to this misconception is "spot reducing." First, to burn fat requires calorie expenditure to be greater than calorie intake. Thus, although vigorous exercises can increase calorie expenditure, if it is not greater than calorie consumption, there will be no fat reduction. Second, common "spot reducing" exercises, like sit-ups burn very few calories because they usually exercise on small, isolated areas of the body. One hundred sit-ups does not burn a lot of calories (probably less than 50). For one pound of fat to be burned, approximately 3,500 calories must be expended over and above that which is consumed. Additionally, and most importantly, when fat is burned, it is burned from the entire body and not just from one area, but in proportions dictated by genetic makeup and other metabolic factors.
If I stop weight training, will the muscle that I have built turn to fat?
Muscle will lose tone and get smaller, because there is no need for stimulus for the body to maintain the extra muscle. However, fat and muscle are two totally different entities and cannot be interconverted. When regular exercise is discontinued, fewer calories will be burned during the day. If calorie intake remains the same, bodyfat will increase. When it may look like muscles are turning to fat after cessation of training, they are really being replaced by fat.
Will weight training improve my cardiorespiratory endurance?
To impove cardiorespiratory endurance, exercise must be of low enough intensity that it can be done continuously for at least 20 minutes and should greatly increase the body's consumption of oxygen. Weight training is too intense a form of exercise to be performed continuously. Typically, an exercise is performed for 15 to 45 seconds followed by 1-2 minute rest intervals, and then repeated. Additionally, although heart rate and breathing is greatly increased during a weight training workout, oxygen consumption is not. In short, weight training is too intense and intermittent to stimulate improvement in cardiorespiratory endurance.
"No pain, no gain" - Should I workout with heavy weights and maximal effort every workout?
Most workouts shoud require use of heavy weight and near maximal effort, however, lighter workouts should be interspersed to promote recovery from the max workouts. Exercisers will benefit from both heavy and lighter sessions, because the larger and stronger the muscle gets, the more recovery it needs between heavy workouts. Therefore, heavy and lighter workouts are alternated for optimal recovery.
