Monday, September 2, 2013

Debunking Muscle Building Myths

By Russ Hollywood


Today we shall be solving some of the myths surrounding how to build muscle safely and effectively. There are many common misconceptions when it comes to weight training and supplementation, so today we'll get to the bottom of the top five.

While you may scoff at hearing questions such a "Should women lift weights?" or "Are supplements bad for you?", the truth is many people are confused on subjects which can be answered quite easily, they just don't have anybody who is prepared to sit them down and explain things to them.

Whether your goal is to gain significant muscular size or simply to lose some unwanted weight, you will find it a very confusing journey if you succumb to the many myths which are in popular culture. When you begin basing your training and diet around scientific fact rather than the theories displayed in magazines and gossip columns, you'll notice far more success. []

1) Should females do resistance training?

Do not buy into the old stereotypes of guys lifting dumbbells and girls running on treadmills. The old myth that ladies will develop big, bulky muscles if the lift weights is pure nonsense. The problem is most people in gyms still believe this to be true. If you are trying to shed unwanted pounds and get leaner, you should include resistance training within your regular workout routine.

2) How important are supplements?

Another hotly contested area, the importance of supplement is greatly overplayed in the media. Particularly in fitness magazines, who make a great deal of their income by recommending certain brands and products to readers. The key word, of course, is 'supplement'. It's there to help you reach your goal, not to replace food. You should never get to the stage where you feel like you are living out of tubs and packets, unless you are in space working within a NASA crew!

3) How many times per week should you workout?

Everybody is different so there are two different answers to this question. If you are just starting out in the gym you are able to experience great results if you tailor your training correctly. Try to stick to the basic moves, we call them compound exercises, and train your full body in each session. You'll get great results with 2-3 days per week on the weights. After a few months of training, however, your body will adapt and you'll need to shake things up. This is the stage where you should implement a split routine, training 3-4 times per week and hitting just one or two muscle groups in each workout.

4) Is your diet important?

Your diet is the most important factor in your overall success. Without paying attention to what you eat, you will not be able to see many of the hard earned results you are obtaining from the gym. Many people make the mistake of ignoring their diet completely, but the truth is you can't succeed without it.

5) How do you know your calorie intake is correct?

When it comes to calories there are two common mistakes made. Either you are eating too many or too few. Most people who eat too few are doing so because they want to lose weight, but they don't realize that they are forcing their body into starvation mode. Basically, it is hanging onto every gram of fat it can in order to feed itself because it's not getting enough nutrition. A good system for those who want to build muscle is to multiply your goal body weight (in pounds) by 15. Those who want to tone up should multiply by 12 and those looking to drop weight quickly and effectively should multiply by 10. This will give a good ball park figure to aim for each day with regards to each individual goal.

At one stage or another, everybody who uses the gym hears one of the myths discussed today. Now you know the facts, leaning how to build muscle becomes an altogether more straightforward affair.




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