Okay, I will admit it, I have recently fallen prey to wishful thinking. It can easily happen in the fitness world, though, so I can’t feel too bad about it. Has anyone else fallen prey to the idea that a certain exercise will give us “long lean muscles”? It’s a concept that we hear often lately (in group exercise classes, etc.), but is it a valid concept? Given what we know about our muscles (we all have short and long ones) the idea that our muscles will become “longer” or even “leaner” doesn’t hold any real weight…so don’t be fooled!

Most women tell me they would like to have more tone to their muscles, but not more bulk. Body builders aside, many women lift weights or do weight bearing exercise using their own body weight so that they can have a leaner look, not a bigger or more bulky one. Yet the idea that exercise alone can achieve this look, is not really accurate. Actually it is a combination of diet and exercise together that can give someone that lean look. So when we hear fitness instructors tell us that if we do this or that type of exercise we will have long lean muscles, we can enlighten them by explaining that we are not ever going to lengthen a muscle. I came across a great article that clearly explains why is is true. It is a must read if you want to understand not only how muscles play a role in how we look, but also how body type is important as well! E article can be found at Treeoffitness.com.