Bodybuilding Myths

Whether you are totally new to bodybuilding or a self-proclaimed pro, there might be bodybuilding myths out there that are ruining your chances of maximizing your workouts, and in some cases, even causing you harm. If you are open-minded enough to challenge some of your beliefs about bodybuilding, you can set better set yourself up for success.

There are lots of people who go to the gym, do some halfhearted workouts a few times per week, and then give up when they don’t see results. They don’t know the right way to maximize results and they observe people who know just as little as they do. Never forget that bodybuilding is based on science. While some topics out there might change over time, solid scientific concepts don’t go away. If anything, they are merely expounded on in the future.

This is how you should look at bodybuilding. In addition to what you read here, find out further information about what is true in bodybuilding based on science, not based on questionable companies trying to sell you a product or on other guys who claim they know what to do. Only once you understand the science behind bodybuilding can you recognize bodybuilding myths when they come up.

With that said, here are some bodybuilding myths you have probably heard countless times. For one, you might think that if you do more repetitions with lighter weights, you will get better results than doing fewer repetitions and more weight. This is the opposite view you should take. The science behind weightlifting says that the muscle won’t be triggered to grow without a proper stimulus, so if you don’t shock the muscle into growth, it won’t get bigger. This happens when you lift fewer reps of more weight, not the other way around.

Another myth is that you should just work out one part of the body every day if you want results. The two problems with this are that you will feel off and look imbalanced if you don’t work out your whole body equally, and that you always need to give your body at least a day off between workouts so your muscles can recover. When you work out, you’re actually injuring your muscles. This isn’t a bad thing, though, because they’re doing their job. Once you’ve used your muscles and they’re sore, they simply are rebuilt stronger because your body recognizes that you need muscle.

Finally, of all the bodybuilding myths, this might be the most harmful: you shouldn’t worry about getting enough sleep. In reality, sleep is one of the most important parts of a successful bodybuilding session, as well as your overall health. If you don’t get adequate sleep, your body doesn’t have the chance to actually rebuild your muscles, because sleep is the only time when your body does this. As a result, you will be just injuring yourself over time.

Hopefully you internalize these bodybuilding myths, and learn how to avoid other bodybuilding myths in the future.