4 COMMON MUSCLE BUILDING MYTHS
Every second person we meet in the gym claims to be an “expert” trying to impose their “tried and tested” methods and knowledge about expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need. Unmindfully following such instructions may literally be detrimental to whatever you have already achieved and hinder further gains. In this article we will cover 4 very common muscle-building myths to get best out of our every workout.
Myth #1: With more muscles we’ll end up becoming less flexible and slow.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. Whatever movement we are able to perform, it is because of our muscles. Having strong, muscular and well defined legs will make us move, jump or run faster. With stronger muscles, we can apply more force to a particular action without injuring our bones or ligaments.
Myth #2: You must achieve maximum “pump” during the workout in order to gain muscles.
A “pump” is a feeling of having a bigger, tighter and stronger muscle after we train with weights. Though having a “good pump” at the end of the workout feels great, it should never be confused with a successful workout. The basic parameters of our progress are if we are able to lift more weight or perform more reps as compared to what we did in the previous week. Without such progress any “pump” is useless.
Myth #3: “Feel the burn” to gain muscles.
Here we need to know what causes that “burning” effect to understand this misconception. During weight training our worked out muscle tissues secrete lactic acid as metabolic waste which creates that burning sensation. Lactic acid does not promote muscle growth. On the contrary, it may slow us down for the next set. We can limit the production of lactic acid by restricting reps to 5-7 in a set with heavy weight instead of 10 reps or more with a lighter weight.
Myth #4: We must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises.
While performing an exercise in a proper form is always important, getting obsessed by it is not. Many instructors are ready to kill if there is even slightest deviation from the “perfect form”. Here we should understand that we are not robots. Trying to follow the perfect form may not only raise the possibility of injury but also limit the complete muscle stimulation. There’s no harm in letting our body move naturally to certain extent. For example, adding a very slight swing to the barbell and the back while performing the barbell curls. Our body is designed naturally in many different ways and always getting obsessed with those perfect forms may ultimately have negative effect on our body.
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