Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one’s musculature for aesthetic purposes, but there many things which are misunderstood related to bodybuilding even in today’s world where there is no lack of knowledge and experiences. The misbelieves lead to wrong direction even in terms of training as well as nutrition.
So here are 10 myths related to bodybuilding with clarifications.
Myth#1: Spot reduction
Truth: There is no such thing as “spot reduction”. When you exercise, you use the energy produced by burning fat in all parts of your body – not just around the muscles that are doing most of the work. In fact, your genes may dictate where that fat disappears from, say, your face or arms before your belly, even if you do endless abdominal exercises. However, working in a specific region like the belly can have a benefit: Strengthening the muscles can make you look thinner by helping you hold in your gut
Myth#2: Steroids make you huge
Truth: Not true, strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, while others help increase strength which allows for greater stress to be put onto a muscle. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle.
Myth#3: Gain muscle and lose fat at the same time
Truth: Only a few gifted people with superb genetics and on steroids can increase muscle size while not putting on body fat. But for the average hard gainer, they have to increase their muscle mass to its maximum potential and then cut down their body fat percentage to achieve the desired shape.
In conclusion, simple basic principles that apply to all weight and muscle gain such as progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high-intensity workouts are the way to go.
Myth#4: Building muscles reduces flexibility.
Truth: If you strength train without moving your joints through their full range of motion, you can indeed lose flexibility. But strength training can actually improve flexibility if you do move your joints fully. Stretch after a muscle-building workout to help keep yourself limber (stretch before as well as after an aerobic workout).
Myth#5: Strength training tends to give women a bulky, masculine physique.
Truth: It’s very difficult for most women to build large muscles. That’s because women have relatively low levels of the hormone testosterone, which influences muscle growth. Both men and women can build firmer rather than bulkier muscles by working against lighter resistance more than 25 times rather than heavier resistance fewer times.
Myth#6: Strength training won’t help you get thinner, since it burns few calories and adds pounds of muscle.
Truth: Strength training, using either weights, machines, or elastic bands, can substantially increase the number of calories you burn. A typical session, in which you rest briefly after each muscle building manoeuvre, uses up calories at least as fast as walking does. Circuit training, in which you move quickly from one strengthening manoeuvre to the next, burns calories faster than walking does. And your body continues to burn calories for hours after either type of strength training. More importantly, the muscle you build consumes calories more rapidly, even when you’re not exercising.
Myth#7: The more you sweat during exercise, the more fat you lose
Truth: The harder you workout, the more calories you’ll burn within a given period and thus the more fat you stand to lose. But how much you sweat does not necessarily reflect how hard you’re working. Some people tend to sweat profusely due to heavy body weight, poor conditioning, or heredity. And everyone sweats more in hot, dry weather or dense clothing than in cool, humid weather or porous clothing. (You may feel as if you’re sweating more in humid weather, but that’s because moist air slows the evaporation of sweat.) Exercising in extremely hot weather or in a plastic “weight loss” suit will indeed make you sweat heavily and lose weight immediately. But that lost weight is almost entirely water; the pounds will return when you replenish your fluids by drinking after the workout. Further, you could develop heat exhaustion if you push yourself too hard in extreme heat or in plastic clothes. Which prevents sweat from evaporating and, in turn, cooling you off.
Myth#8: Low Reps Are For Size & High Reps Are For Cutting
Truth: Your muscles do not have much personality …amp;quot; they are either growing, shrinking or staying the same.
If you want your muscle to grow then gradually force your muscles to do more work and outperform your last workout’s performance. If you are content with the size of your muscles right now then this is easy, just keep doing what you are doing. And to make the muscle smaller, this is even easier simply do not train it.
You cannot pick certain exercises to get a muscle ‘cut’ or make a muscle ‘huge’ – this theory holds no water. Muscle ‘cuts’ are a reflection of two criteria on the body: pure muscle size and low levels of body fat (in the single digits). So if you want to build massive muscles get ready to apply the fundamental principle of progressive overload. And if you wish to get ‘cut’ and ‘ripped’ be prepared to drop your body fat levels into the single digits.
Myth#9: Vegetarians can’t build muscle
Truth: Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase solid bodyweight. Studies have shown that athletic performance is not impaired by following a meat-free diet, and people strength training and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source were able to gain lean muscle mass.
Myth#10: By working out you can eat whatever you want to
Truth: Of course you can eat whatever you want if you don’t care how you want to look. Working out does not give you an open license to consume as many calories as you want. Although you will burn more calories if you workout than someone who doesn’t, you still need to balance your energy intake with your energy expenditure.
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