Whether you’re new to the body-building scene or a seasoned veteran it’s doubtless that you’ve been offered advice on just about every aspect of body-building. Everyone seems to have an opinion on what is best, most effective, and proper. However, if you’ve been to a gym lately you’ve seen that although they “know” what is best, they don’t look anything near an Arnold or Ronnie. This article is going to try and dissect 15 of the most common body-building myths.
Myth 1: Creatine is a steroid: Steroids in baseball, a wave of steroid-phobia has swept across the country. Tell a lot of people you use creatine and they’ll get a serious look on their face and warn you about how dangerous it is. Totally disregarded is the fact that creatine is a naturally occurring substance, produced by their own bodies and found in meat. The simple fact is creatine is not a steroid.
Myth 2: One or two beers on Friday won’t do anything: The truth is that alcohol has an incredible impact on your body, especially its ability to build muscle. Consumption of alcohol lowers your testosterone (in men) and causes severe dehydration. If you’re going to be serious it’s best to just leave drinking behind. If that’s not possible then try to keep the drinks to a minimum and drink as much water as possible.
Myth 3: Instinctive Training is the Best: Instincts are great in many of places, the football field, the car, the bedroom… However, don’t bring using an instinctual approach to weightlifting will most likely cause less than optimum results. To achieve optimum results requires a strict diet and if good diets were instinctual, weight wouldn’t be the issue it is today. A scientific approach to bodybuilding will promote optimal gains.
Myth 4: Professional Bodybuilders know what is best: They have freakish builds with a combination of immense size and extreme vascularity. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this is more the by-product of gifted genetics and luck than the discovery of the Ultimate Workout Program. The truth is the workouts of the pros should be left to the pros. It would help instead to listen to the advice of people with actual credentials.
Myth 5: A ‘pump’ is the sign of a good workout: Everyone likes the feeling of a good post-workout pump. Your muscles feel bigger and look bigger (one of the reasons you started working out in the first place) but does this you just had a good workout? The answer is no, as a good pump is not necessarily indicative of an effective workout. To prove this to yourself, go pick up a weight you feel is light and curl it for 30 minutes. Feel that blood rushing to your biceps? Over pumping is just over training.
Myth 6: Do a thousand sit-ups a day for washboard abs: If you can’t see your abdominal muscles and you’ve been working on them then the problem is with your overall body fat percentage. It is just back tearing.
Myth 7: I can target an area to reduce fat: As much as many infomercials would like to have you believe there is no way to eliminate fat from one particular part of your body. To see those abs that you’ve working on you need to lower your overall body fat percentage. Try watching your diet more vigorously and doing some more cardio.
Myth 8: Certain exercises target certain parts of a muscle: The main determinant in the shape of a particular muscle is genetics. It isn’t possible to develop outstanding peaks on your biceps if your genetics won’t allow it. Next time you hear someone telling you to does a certain type of curl to develop a particular aspect of your arm follow these instructions. 1. Smile and nod. 2. Walk away.
Myth 9: My body-type isn’t meant for body-building, I can’t gain muscle: Regardless of your body-type it is still possible to gain muscle. To pack that muscle on your ectomorph frame requires a high caloric intake and dedicated lifting. If you have excess amount of nutrients available to build muscles and stress your muscles by lifting heavy you will build muscle.
Myth 10: I’m eating like a horse and lifting regularly, I’m still not gaining weight: You aren’t eating enough or over eating. Just eat close to your daily requirement. Put on a little fat, but keep your diet strict to minimize fat gain.
Myth 11: Doing too much Pec work will cause gym: This is pure and utter nonsense. Working out your Pecs will cause muscle growth. You aren’t going to be growing any feminine boobs from the bench press.
Myth 12: If it is in an article it must be true: The internet is a great thing because it allows people access a huge amount of information. However, the bane of the internet is inaccurate information. If you’ve been to any bodybuilding websites then you know I’m talking about, articles and message boards chock-full of inaccurate information.
Myth 13: Supplement labels tell the truth: “Wow, so if I take this I’ll be able to lift 20% more?” No. you won’t. If a supplement seems to be making outrageous claims then it probably is false.
Myth 14: Supplements are required: There are several things required in bodybuilding; a strong work ethic, dedication, and a will to push your body past its normal limits. However, supplements are not required. As proof, go check out some of the older bodybuilders. Supplements can be helpful in making gains but in the end the gains are made through hard work and not some chemical formula.
Myth 15: You must lift everyday to experience gains: Lifting everyday is not required for anyone. In fact, in many cases lifting everyday will cause overtraining. Overtraining will lead to an injury which will keep you from lifting at all. Go ahead, lift every day, I dare you. Seriously though, many people are successful lifting everyday and many are successful lifting 3 times a week. What works best for you might not work the best for someone else.
