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Now, let’s get to it.
What is a myth?
Words are important, and how they are used is also important.
A myth is a story that one retells or learns which explores a great or complex truth. If these myths are historical, they are explained using the language of that particular period.
Today, the word seems to be synonymous with lies, falsehoods, untruths.
And now we have myths about myths about…
…myths?
A better word is misconception. Okay, so it is a mouthful. However, it is more accurate and this is the word I will use for this article.
Bodybuilding is a field that’s often flooded with a lot of conflicting advice.
While conflicting advice can sometimes have two right answers, very often the advice that is given is just plain wrong.
In this article, we’ll expose four of the most common muscle-building misconceptions.
“Myth” No.1 – Eat more if you want to build muscle
One common misconception is that if you’re skinny and want to gain muscle, you need to consume a lot of calories.
Unfortunately, this is more likely to get you fat than get you built.
Yes, if you want to gain muscle mass you do need to eat a few more calories than you’re burning. But you don’t need to consume 2,000 more calories than you’ve been eating in the past.
Particularly if you’re already overweight.
Eat more food, but don’t stuff your body with empty calories. It’s not healthy and won’t help get you where you want to go.
You need to learn about macronutrients. You will find that a calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie, in a manner of speaking.
You also need to learn how to work out your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
To work out out your TDEE…the link is located near the bottom of the page.
Yes, there are other calculators such as the one at FreeDieting.com. I just like this one…
“Myth” No. 2 – You should tense your abs when lifting weights
Another common misconception is that tensing up your abs when you’re lifting weights will help give your spine more support, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury.
This “myth” stems from a research study that was conducted, showing that people who had back pain tended to have lax abdominal muscles.
They concluded that by tensing up the abdominal muscles, back support was increased which reduced back pain.
This story spread among the bodybuilding community and has come to be accepted as fact today. Unfortunately, it is just plain wrong.
In reality, your body naturally knows what to do when it’s lifting heavy objects. Yes, you do need to tense up your abs – but your body does that automatically already.
If you tense up your abs even more manually, you can throw off the whole system and actually increase your chances of injury.
“Myth” No. 3 – The Trick Is to Eat a Lot of Protein
Yes, eating a lot of protein is crucial. However, just increasing the amount of protein you eat isn’t going to cut it.
In order to really make a difference in your muscles, you need to have the right kinds of proteins.
You also need to have the right combination of proteins; and you need to eat other foods that support that protein intake.
Yes, increasing protein is important – however it is not the magic pill.
“Myth” No. 4 – The Path to Losing Fat is Not Eating Fat
Finally, a lot of people who decide to start building muscles decide that they need to cut all fats out of their diet.
Unfortunately, this is actually harmful rather than helpful.
Your body needs fats in order to operate properly.
Yes, you should definitely get rid of trans fats and oily processed foods, however it is important to keep consuming healthy fats so your body has the resources it needs to work properly.
You can actually lose more fat by eating enough of the right kinds of fat than if you tried to cut out all fats from your diet.
There are some saturated fats, such as coconut oil and ghee that are actually good for you!
These are just four of the most common misconceptions that continue to persist in bodybuilding today.
Yes, there are many more…
If you want to know more, check out this free course (I am not an affiliate. I just think this guy does great courses).
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Sources:
The following source is, perhaps, not the source referred to in the second “myth”. However, it does appear to provide support against the misconceeption.
Coenen P, Campbell A, Kemp-Smith K, O’Sullivan P, Straker L. Abdominal bracing during lifting alters trunk muscle activity and body kinematics. Appl Ergon. 2017 Sep;63:91-98. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.04.009. Epub 2017 Apr 22. PMID: 28502411. [Accessed June 14, 2021].
This site contains affiliate links to products sold by selected self improvement partners. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.