FitSugar reader JessicaSmithTV wanted to know: are all those claims about creating longer and leaner muscles through exercise true? She asked an expert and posted the answer in our Fit Community.
You've probably heard it numerous times before - a workout that promises to give you longer, leaner muscles (we've often heard this said about PIlates or ballet-based training methods) . . . so can this really be true? Can a muscle truly become longer and/or leaner?
I asked "The Exercise Doctor" Michele Olson - PhD, creator of the Perfect Legs, Glutes, & Abs DVD, and professor at Auburn University Montgomery - to answer this for us. She has studied various forms of exercise extensively and published research on Pilates.
"Muscles are already comprised of 'fat-free' (aka lean) tissue, so any amount of muscle is, by definition, lean. You can't have 'leaner' muscles," says Olson. "If you were to add more muscles from resistance training, you could increase the amount of lean muscle you have and, therefore, have more lean muscle." But most of these methods (such as Pilates or ballet-/barre-style exercises) use relatively light to moderate resistance, which is not enough to create a significant increase in the amount of lean muscle mass you have.
Read on to learn more about if you can make your muscles long and lean.
From the Fit Community: Can You Really Make Your Muscles Longer and Leaner?
Fit Community
Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:23:17 GMT
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