Bodybuilding
Myths
By Ben Tatar
There
is a lot of false information in the muscle world. When you talk to so
many lifters you discover how lost they are in the information. I will
clear some of the confusion out with this article. Here are the six most
common bodybuilding myths.
Myth 1: The Answer is A New Supplement
The small things will make the difference between a hardcore lifter
and a gym rat. For example, people step into the gym and load the same
weight onto the bar every time. So, they are getting into their standard
routine, and as a result, they aren't getting bigger and stronger. So,
what do they do? They begin looking for the secret supplement.
Unfortunately, they discover the supplement doesn't work and they keep
training with the same weights and reading their same muscle and fitness
magazines and continue to tread water.
Here is a secret, trying a new supplement or switching up your routine
is not the only option. So put down the magazine and look for the 2.5lbs
plates in the gym! Add the 2.5s to the weight you are using and continue
to add 2.5s every week.
Once you hit a plateau, then periodize your workout and then perform this
process on another muscle group. I can tell you right now, from my experiences
and the experiences of others, if you continue to train with the exact
same weight for the exact same number of reps week after week, you will
not progress as quickly.
Myth 2: If the Pros Do It So Should I
In the bodybuilding world there is a lot of bull and with plenty of
advertisers ready to take our money. If a perfect body came in a bottle
we would all have one! Often times the pros aren't even writing those
articles, they are in fact written by ghost writers paid by the magazines.
So, many rookies want to do what the pros do.
However, even if they tried, they would just kill their bodies. Remember
a pros body isn't the same as a drug free lifter's body. If they are loaded
on testosterone then they will have faster recovery rates and have the
option of training longer. The drug free lifters will over train and get
hurt. So, remember leave the volume workouts to the pros.
Myth 3: There Is Only One Correct Way To Train
Don't worry about "What routine is the best." All of our
bodies respond differently. If you do the same workout repeatedly, you'll
make progress for a while, and then it will stop. It's always good to
be open to change and do what is working and change what is not. So many
lifters want the simple single answer!
Well, the secret is in the "ANDS" because there are many components
to training and things happening at once. As soon as you think you have
the answer, you have just put blinders on and missed the thousand other
aspects of training.
So, you need to have as many tools as possible in your repertoire and
know when to use them to create a better body or whatever your goal might
be. In other words, once we feed the body with new answers, more questions
will come up.
The key is how we respond to these new questions. And the questions will
be different for everyone and that is why everything we learn should be
applied to what we need/want at the time.
Myth 4: If I Just Keep Lifting Heavier and Heavier Year Round, I Will
Get Stronger
Some of us are on a journey and over the years add hundreds of pounds
to our lifts. Others go to the gym, train with heavy weights, low reps,
eat big and allow themselves plenty of time to recover between workouts,
and still don't reach their true potential. So what's the problem?
The problem is SELF DISCIPLINE. Being strong feels great and it's very
easy to want to step into the gym, get in an aggressive state of mind
and load the bar every workout. BUT, The body needs to recuperate.
If lifting heavier and heavier every week was the key to getting stronger,
then we would all be lifting thousands and thousands of pounds. UNFORTUNATELY
that's not reality. If this were in fact real, then sports science wouldn't
exist...
Don't worry there is hope! The answer is called PERIODIZATION. Here is
the definition of periodization: "A segmented program (generally
blocks of training developed within a specified number of training season
periods) with individual blocks oriented towards specific goals. For example
an early season block is generally allocated to aerobic training.
Many pros use the periodization approach to facilitate multiple peaks
during a single season of competition."
The important thing to remember about periodization is changing your routine.
Once you peak and hit a plateau it's vital to take some time off, train
easy and then start another progressive system. So we have to start easy,
build up, peak, take some easy weeks and repeat.
This is how it works. And besides this is the only exciting way to make
gains because without a system training is lost. A path without a system
doesn't lead anywhere, other than to injury and burn out.
Best advice- Check out the Critical
Bench program! Notice how the system starts out with mid reps
and gradually goes down to singles! Then the program changes and gets
more difficult every week! This is a very exciting program and when you
finish the Critical Bench program, it's useful to train easy for 2 months
or try another program along the side.
Then you can try another program and incorporate your critical bench techniques
into it! Critical Bench also gives you the best of Powerlifting and Bodybuilding,
instead of focusing on just one or the other. Once you perform this progressive
method and take control of your training, you will be motivated to train
harder, smarter, overcome previous barriers and your training gains will
take off.
Myth 5: If I Train Longer I Will Grow Faster
Do you remember when you first started training? Were you lifting
the same muscle groups 3 times a week? Did you also find that every training
day was a maxing day, until you found yourself getting weaker with a sharp
pain in your arm?
I remember, lifting everyday and getting weaker everyday. I couldn't figure
out what was wrong. I was in denial. I knew muscles needed rest, but not
to the extent that they truly require. Often times many younger people
don't know this because they will get stronger no matter what they do.
This happens because younger People are still growing. To sum it up:
The heavier we train the more rest our muscles will require. When you're
lifting in the gym it actually makes you weaker, it tires you out and
exhausts you. Once you stimulated the muscles, we don't want to tear them
down with more exercises, sets and reps. Instead, we need to get out,
eat and rest.
What makes us stronger is not when we train in the gym, but our body's
response to our hard work when we're not in the gym.
Summary
Just remember in most cases elite bodybuilders are probably the last
people you want to get advice from because they have fantastic genetics,
and may be supplementing their training with a lot of bodybuilding drugs.
If you're genetically average like 98% of us are, you're most likely going
to gain valuable training information from others just like yourself.
Stay focused, and hopefully you won't fall subject to the bodybuilding
myths discussed in this article.
