This myth is easy to debunk on paper, but still hard to sell to some coaches and athletes. The lack of flexibility is not an outcome of developing large muscles, explains the Georgia Tech Sports Medicine and Performance Newsletter. Large muscle size may imply inflexibility, but there is no known correlation. Reduced flexibility can result from lack of muscle activity or chronic use of poor lifting and stretching methods. Using the term 'muscle-bound' is inappropriate for those who practice sound weight training techniques and proper stretching exercises.
Strength training helps reduce body fat and increase lean weight.
It results in significant increases in strength, no change or maybe even a decrease in lower body dimensions, and a very small increase in upper extremity size. Children are participating in resistance training every time they go outside and play a game, even if the game is not a sport. If they are running, throwing, pulling, lifting, or doing any kind of exercise against resistance, they have already begun their program. The Georgia Tech Sports Medicine and Performance Newsletter is a monthly publication of the Homer Rice Center for Sports Performance at the Georgia Institute of Technology.