- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
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- 512
There’s a ton of myths out there regarding weight training. I thought I’d share a few of the more common ones that I have heard over the years.
Live at the gym: You do not need to spend half your life in the gym to see results. Make sure you take 1 or 2 rest days a week to prevent over-training. Also, many experts say that anything over 90 mins at the gym actually starts to adversely affect muscle gains, so aim your workouts to be around the 1 hour mark.
Muscle turns into fat or fat into muscle: This one I have heard way too many times. Muscle and fat are two entirely different things. There are two main reasons this myth never seems to go away:
-Muscle into fat: Sometimes, when a bodybuilder stops training, he continues to eat the same amount of food and starts to eat more junk food since his diet was more restrictive during training. Because of this he becomes fat.
-Fat into muscle:This one comes mainly from bulking / cutting routines. A guy “bulks” up and often puts on a bit of fat in the process. He then “cuts” and loses body fat prior to competition (or close to swimsuit season). I’ve seen some pretty wicked transformations from guys that do this over the course of a few months. But all he is doing is lowering his body fat to add more definition to his muscles. Not that I’m necessarily recommending guys do this, but this is where the myth stems from.
Weight lifting makes women bulky: This is another one I hear all the time. Women simply do not have the same body composition that men do. In order for her to put on any noticeable mass, she’ll have to do things that aren’t natural (eg. Take testosterone). Girls are often terrified of weight training because of this myth, and it’s a shame because weight training is very effective in helping a person lose weight and look great.
High rep counts “sculpt” your muscles: If you’re looking to gain muscle, aim for 6-15 reps. There’s a time and place for higher reps. For instance, boxers often do explosive, high rep, low weight workouts to help them achieve certain fighting-related results they are looking for. But this will not help you put on size.
Crunches will expose that six pack: Working out your core is important, but alas, it will not get you those shredded, washboard abdominals. You need to lower your overall body fat to expose those abs: proper nutrition and exercise, my friend.
Weight lifting is bad for your joints: Research has shown the opposite to be true. So long as you have proper form and are not doing anything you shouldn't be doing in the first place (like jerking the weight around), there is nothing to worry about.
Isolating muscle groups will yield better results: The “old school” method and ideology on body building was often all about isolating and working out every tiny muscle group, such as your biceps. Over the years they learned you can get the same, if not better, results doing more compound-type exercises that workout several muscle groups at a time. Pull ups, deadlifts, and squats are some examples. Not that I am advocating not doing any isolation, just make sure you don’t have several different exercise for each individual muscle. Otherwise you’ll be at the gym for hours on end.
Weight lifting belts prevent back injury: There’s a lot of research stating there is nothing to corroborate this belief, though a lot of guys swear by it. I’ve trained with belts, and personally, I never found it beneficial for me. I guess this one chalks down to personal preference though. If you think it works for you, great. The same goes for the use of hand straps.
1 Rep Max: This style of training comes from power lifters, since they need to know what the maximum amount of weight they lift is. I never understood why body builders or guys looking to put on a few pounds trained with “1 rep max” though. It’s a really good way to hurt yourself, particularly if you’re a beginner. You can get great results in the 6-15 rep range. Again, if you like training that way, all the power to you, but if you’re a beginner, my advice is stay away.
If you’re not sore the next day, you didn’t work out hard enough: This one is more psychological than anything else. Of course if you get DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) you feel like you worked out good and hard. But you won’t always get it and it definitely does not mean you are not making progress.
No sex / masturbation for maximum results: This myth is more common in competitive athletes. Basically, the theory is if you don’t have any orgasms (sex or masturbation) you’ll compete more fiercely. I’ve heard competitive body builders say the same. Regardless of the fact research has shown your testosterone levels are actually higher shortly after having sex, meaning sex actually increases performance. But again, personal preference here.
“My routine is the best”: A lot of guys out there claim to have the best routine known to man. At the end of the day, most of these will probably work quite well. Warning: Never get suckered into something new that sounds weird though. “I can get you looking like Dwayne Johnson by training 10 mins a day with my new workout DVD’s.” If it sounds too good to be true…
You need to go to the gym to be fit: I’m not sure where this idea (particularly in North America) came from. Apparently you cannot be fit or healthy if you don’t go to a gym. The gym is not for everyone. You can take up a lot of hobbies and sports that will also get you into shape.
That's all I have for now. Feel free to add any weight training myths you have heard of.
-John
Live at the gym: You do not need to spend half your life in the gym to see results. Make sure you take 1 or 2 rest days a week to prevent over-training. Also, many experts say that anything over 90 mins at the gym actually starts to adversely affect muscle gains, so aim your workouts to be around the 1 hour mark.
Muscle turns into fat or fat into muscle: This one I have heard way too many times. Muscle and fat are two entirely different things. There are two main reasons this myth never seems to go away:
-Muscle into fat: Sometimes, when a bodybuilder stops training, he continues to eat the same amount of food and starts to eat more junk food since his diet was more restrictive during training. Because of this he becomes fat.
-Fat into muscle:This one comes mainly from bulking / cutting routines. A guy “bulks” up and often puts on a bit of fat in the process. He then “cuts” and loses body fat prior to competition (or close to swimsuit season). I’ve seen some pretty wicked transformations from guys that do this over the course of a few months. But all he is doing is lowering his body fat to add more definition to his muscles. Not that I’m necessarily recommending guys do this, but this is where the myth stems from.
Weight lifting makes women bulky: This is another one I hear all the time. Women simply do not have the same body composition that men do. In order for her to put on any noticeable mass, she’ll have to do things that aren’t natural (eg. Take testosterone). Girls are often terrified of weight training because of this myth, and it’s a shame because weight training is very effective in helping a person lose weight and look great.
High rep counts “sculpt” your muscles: If you’re looking to gain muscle, aim for 6-15 reps. There’s a time and place for higher reps. For instance, boxers often do explosive, high rep, low weight workouts to help them achieve certain fighting-related results they are looking for. But this will not help you put on size.
Crunches will expose that six pack: Working out your core is important, but alas, it will not get you those shredded, washboard abdominals. You need to lower your overall body fat to expose those abs: proper nutrition and exercise, my friend.
Weight lifting is bad for your joints: Research has shown the opposite to be true. So long as you have proper form and are not doing anything you shouldn't be doing in the first place (like jerking the weight around), there is nothing to worry about.
Isolating muscle groups will yield better results: The “old school” method and ideology on body building was often all about isolating and working out every tiny muscle group, such as your biceps. Over the years they learned you can get the same, if not better, results doing more compound-type exercises that workout several muscle groups at a time. Pull ups, deadlifts, and squats are some examples. Not that I am advocating not doing any isolation, just make sure you don’t have several different exercise for each individual muscle. Otherwise you’ll be at the gym for hours on end.
Weight lifting belts prevent back injury: There’s a lot of research stating there is nothing to corroborate this belief, though a lot of guys swear by it. I’ve trained with belts, and personally, I never found it beneficial for me. I guess this one chalks down to personal preference though. If you think it works for you, great. The same goes for the use of hand straps.
1 Rep Max: This style of training comes from power lifters, since they need to know what the maximum amount of weight they lift is. I never understood why body builders or guys looking to put on a few pounds trained with “1 rep max” though. It’s a really good way to hurt yourself, particularly if you’re a beginner. You can get great results in the 6-15 rep range. Again, if you like training that way, all the power to you, but if you’re a beginner, my advice is stay away.
If you’re not sore the next day, you didn’t work out hard enough: This one is more psychological than anything else. Of course if you get DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) you feel like you worked out good and hard. But you won’t always get it and it definitely does not mean you are not making progress.
No sex / masturbation for maximum results: This myth is more common in competitive athletes. Basically, the theory is if you don’t have any orgasms (sex or masturbation) you’ll compete more fiercely. I’ve heard competitive body builders say the same. Regardless of the fact research has shown your testosterone levels are actually higher shortly after having sex, meaning sex actually increases performance. But again, personal preference here.
“My routine is the best”: A lot of guys out there claim to have the best routine known to man. At the end of the day, most of these will probably work quite well. Warning: Never get suckered into something new that sounds weird though. “I can get you looking like Dwayne Johnson by training 10 mins a day with my new workout DVD’s.” If it sounds too good to be true…
You need to go to the gym to be fit: I’m not sure where this idea (particularly in North America) came from. Apparently you cannot be fit or healthy if you don’t go to a gym. The gym is not for everyone. You can take up a lot of hobbies and sports that will also get you into shape.
That's all I have for now. Feel free to add any weight training myths you have heard of.
-John
