Over the past 5 years, while working as a personal trainer, I've
discovered a lot of muscle building hype floating around the
internet.
Here are some of the most common myths that will effect your
muscle building goals. Next to the myth, I've revealed the truth
so you can learn how to do it right.
1. You need to drastically cut your calories to lose weight and
build muscle.
False. You need to actually eat more food, it just has to be
better food and smaller portions. The goal is to increase
metabolism and this can be done by eating a smaller meal every 3
hours.
If you reduce calories by too much, your metabolism will
actually slow down, causing you to hold onto stored fat. That is
why diets DO NOT WORK!!!
My clients eat more food and still keep losing body fat. Eating
often keeps metabolism running smooth and it helps keep
nutrients on tap for your body to utilize in the repair of
muscle.
Not only that, building muscle without enough calories is
impossible. It takes calories (energy) to build muscle.
2. Aerobic exercise should be done every day.
False. Over-training can be done by doing too much cardio as
well as too much weight training. Doing anything everyday will
have a negative impact on your muscle building results.
When do you rest? Imagine yourself going to your job and working
7 days a week, 365 days a year. How long until you go crazy?
Keep cardio to 2-3 sessions per week. Any more than that and you
negatively impact your muscle building and your recovery time
between workouts.
3. The longer the aerobic session the better.
False. It's not the duration, it's the intensity level of what
you are doing. Again, more is not better. Doing something better
is better. So instead of doing long, drawn-out cardio sessions,
make them short (no more than 30 minutes) and intense (work
harder!) This will bring about better muscle building results.
4. You need to spend hours a day, many days a week weight
training to see results.
False. This is the quickest way not to see results. The process
of building muscle is fairly easy. You just lift weights to
stimulate muscle growth and then you allow that muscle to
recuperate before you train it again and then you try to lift a
bit more the next workout.
Keep workouts under an hour and try not to weight train more
than 4-5 days a week. Adopt the "more is NOT better philosophy"
to all you do.
5. Ab stimulators and energizers will give you a great set of
Abs.
False. Abs, just like any other muscle group, need to be worked
with resistance training in order for them to develop. Not to
mention you need to do cardio to help burn off fat around the
midsection and focus on proper nutrition to make sure you keep
the fat off.
Abs are developed through overload and these electric
stimulators do not overload the muscle. Ab stimulators create
involuntary contractions. This may help the therapeutic effect
on abdominal muscles but not the muscle building process. These
will do nothing for the abs, plain and simple. They will work
your wallet more than the abs.
6. You need to work a muscle more than once a week.
False. If done well and intensely, a muscle will not need to be
worked more than once a week. In fact, you may get less results
if you train a muscle group directly more than once a week.
Muscles need rest and recovery time in order to grow and get
stronger. If you are training them all the time, they will not
get the needed rest. It's like trying to get a good tan when you
are always sunburned.
These are a few of the top myths I've found floating around the
internet. These myths have a negative impact on your muscle
building goals, so avoid them at all costs!
About the author:
Shawn Lebrun is a fitness trainer and bodybuilder that offers a
muscle building program that shows you how to get the most
muscle and definition possible in the least amount of time:
Powerfu
l muscle building and fat loss program
