Iron Dreams Q & A will be published each Tuesday in the Daily Iowegian. To submit a question or topic to Jamie and Shawna, send your emails to: askJamieandShawna@hotmail.com

Question: I’ve always heard that to lose weight that you shouldn’t eat after 7 p.m. Is that true? Cathy

Answer: Thanks for the question Cathy. That’s a great question because there are so many myths about health and fitness that it is easy to get confused.

Last week we started talking about 10 common myths that could mess up the chances of you making progress towards your goals.

The 10 myths are 1.Stop eating after 7 p.m. to lose fat. 2. Avoid sugar completely. 3. Starve yourself to lose fat. 4. Weight training will bulk women up. 5. Weight training will stunt kids growth. 6. You must train for 2 hours per day to make progress. 7. Avoid eating fat. 8. Eat no carbs to lose fat. 9. Lift everyday to get stronger and bigger. 10. Stretch before a workout to prevent injury.

We are ready to discuss myth 5. Weight training will stunt kids growth. Everyone needs to exercise to stay healthy. Kids are a little different though. Kids that are still growing do not need to “max out” ever. Instead do higher reps on all exercises. (10 reps minimum) but work hard for those 10 reps. Kids can work hard and get stronger every workout but that won’t stunt their growth, it will help them keep growing.

Myth 6. You must train for 2 hours per day to make progress. False! Progress means that you are better now compared to what you were yesterday. Do a short intense workout that was more productive then last workout (more weight lifted or at least one more rep lifted) and you’ve progressed. If that takes 1 set to accomplish that then you can be done for that day.

Myth 7. Avoid eating fats. False! Your body requires fat to live. There are good fats that help you and bad fats that hurt you. Good fats are many, sunflower oil, safflower oil, fishoil, flax oil, borage oil, olive oil etc. Eat several servings of good fats daily, preferably the last three meals of the day. Good fat eats bad fat!

Myth 8. Eat no carbs to lose fat. The correct formula is “low carbs not no carbs”. Carbs are energy and energy is good. Eat good complex carbs early in your day for energy and low to no carbs later in your day or you will store it.

Myth 9. Lift everyday to get stronger and bigger. False! Lifting breaks your muscle down and can only grow and get stronger if fed nutrients and rested. It’s a three step process lift, eat then rest!

Myth 10. Stretch before a workout to prevent injury. False! You must “warm up” a muscle or your body before a workout. A muscle contracts during a workout or athletic event so why would you reverse that process and stretch the muscle back out? A “warm” muscle will naturally stretch when subjected to a sudden stimulus. You warmup the muscle groups being worked by doing a few lighter sets before your max set. It has been proven that stretching before a workout or event decreases muscle power by 30 precent. I can’t afford 30 precent loss in power and neither can you. Save stretching for after the workout or event to help the recovery process begin.

Remember the basics work for everybody all the time.

All questions are welcome. Send to Iron Dreams 2, 1118 S. 17th, Centerville, IA 52544 or email askjamieandshawna@hotmail.com.