Myths
that can undercut your training
Don't
eat another meal or perform another exercise until you find out if you've
been following one or more of these body building myths! Remember to
consult your doctor before starting any diet and training plan.
Almost every sport can say they have their share of tall tales and half-truths
that get passed down through the generations until they're eventually
regarded as fact. Bodybuilding is no exception. In fact, the pursuit
of building muscle and losing fat has resulted in literally hundreds
of bits of bad advice floating around the gyms of America.
Compiled below are five common musclebuilding myths and the truth behind
each of them.
By training to build muscle, even while dieting for definition, you
can keep the muscle you worked so hard for and burn more calories in
the process.
Myth #1: You need to perform high reps with a light weight for definition
while dieting because low reps with a heavy weight build mass.
Truth: Yes, performing more reps and sets with a lighter weight
might burn off more calories if done for long periods of time; however,
doing this while dieting with the hopes of adding more definition to
your physique could leave you with a smaller version of your current
body. Because having more muscle on your physique means burning more
calories, it's more desirable to attempt to maintain as much muscle
as you can while dieting.
This is not always possible if you don't provide enough stimuli for
your muscles to grow by lowering your weights and performing more reps.
One very effective way to go about holding onto more muscle is to continue
to keep your weights as heavy as you safely can, while performing a
moderate range of reps.
By training to build muscle, even while dieting for definition, you
can keep the muscle you worked so hard for and burn more calories in
the process. Save the calorie-burning cardio for the treadmill!
Protein builds muscle and consuming one gram per pound of bodyweight
each day is a good bet for growth.
Myth #2: The body can only absorb 30 grams of protein in each meal.
Truth: In reality, there is no conclusive evidence of the maximum
amount of protein each person is able to utilize from each meal. There
are many factors that determine how much protein the body is able to
use at a time. These can include the health, age and weight of the athlete,
recent workouts, recent meals, and a host of other physiological factors.
As a result, without any solid evidence to the contrary, there is no
magic number for the amount of protein you can or can't use from each
meal. What we do know, however, is that protein builds muscle and consuming
one gram per pound of bodyweight each day is a good bet for meeting
your musclebuilding needs.
Myth #3: To build a great physique, you have to spend hours and hours
in the gym each day.
Truth: Training every day for hours on end can actually be quite
counterproductive to your musclebuilding goals. The old saying “more
is better” is actually not true in this case. The main reason for
this is that under stressful conditions, such as prolonged weight training,
the body can break down proteins (from muscle) and burn them as energy.
The longer the workout, the more protein that can be broken down.
What is also interesting is that overtraining, may also impair the immune
system, preventing it from functioning at peak efficiency. This can
allow colds and viruses to get a foothold and slow down your progress
in the gym. To avoid this pitfall, it's best to limit your intense training
sessions to about an hour or less and to no more than five days each
week.
"Doing hundreds of crunches will not help you reduce the
fat from just your abs. Overall bodyfat must be reduced to lose fat
in any particular area of the body."
Myth #4: Performing crunches or other abdominal exercises
will trim unwanted fat from your waist.
Truth: This myth is commonly referred to as “spot reduction.”
Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to lose fat from only one area
of your body. Overall bodyfat must be reduced to lose fat in any particular
area of the body. One way to accomplish this would be to combine a sound
calorie-reduced diet and regular exercise plan.
"If
you are looking to cut fat from your diet, reduce the fat you eat in
the form of saturated and trans fats and add more healthy polyunsaturated
fats like flax or fish oils to your diet."
Myth #5: All fat is bad fat.
Truth: While this is a myth that is slowly going the way of the
dinosaur, there are still many athletes out there who believe the best
nutritional strategy for building lean muscle and/or losing fat involves
cutting out every last ounce of fat from their diets. Following this
strategy, however, is a surefire way to end up disappointed at the results.
This is because fat in the form of polyunsaturated fats is a very important
factor in building muscle. Polyunsaturated fats are required in your
diet because they include two highly important essential fatty acids
– linolenic (omega-3) and linoleic (omega-6).
If you are looking to cut fat from your diet, reduce the fat you eat
in the form of saturated and trans fats. Avoid deep-fried foods, cookies,
donuts, margarine, and greasy fast foods. To add more healthy polyunsaturated
fats to your diet, eat fish a few times each week or try adding some
flaxseed oil to your protein shakes.
While there are many more body building myths being passed along in
the gym, you now can be armed with the knowledge presented above to
help improve your gains!
Remember to consult your doctor before starting
any diet and/or exercise plan.
Tom
Venuto is the guru of achieving definition.