Lifting Myth Nr.3

3. You can 'shape' your muscles with certain exercises.

In my dreams I can do lunges to make my butt even rounder, you know like the one you see in fitness magazines. I can do crunches to get that real symmetrical six-pack. 

But unfortunately, that's just not how it works. There is no such thing as a 'shaping exercises'. The only thing you can do is to make your muscles bigger or smaller , but your genetics will determine their shape. Said that, you can still do a little with your physique to compensate your weak areas.

If you feel like your legs aren't big or trained enough , you should focus on your legs with the good old heavy weight training, which include free-standing squats and lunges. If you are a guy and unhappy that you don't have that square chest, you can make your upper part, lower part or middle part bigger with proven mass-builders like the dumbbells and the bench press, and of course weighted dips.

What I often hear when it comes to female weight lifting, is that some think that certain forms of strength training will get you those dancer-like muscles, long and lean, while other will make you bulky and look like a wrestler. 

That's just not true, whether you do Pilates, Yoga or weight lifting to strengthen and build your muscles, their shape will come out the same. The only difference is that weight lifting will grow your muscles faster than Yoga or Pilates. If you want to work on your flexibility and get a real intense sweating well then I recommend to keep on doing Yoga and Pilates. 

After all, we know now that shaping our muscles with certain exercises is impossible, but sculpting describes best what is actually possible. If you want that thin, athletic 'beach body' look , then you have to build your muscles and reduces your body fat percentage.

That said, the only thing that matters is that you can work out your muscles in a way to achieve a full development, but in the end, the overall shape of your muscles is going to be determined by your genetics.

Sincerely, your Lifting Fairy