Many aspiring muscle builders are often misled in their quest for building muscle mass and an athletic physique. Reading false information or getting wrong advice from other people are some of the reasons. Without the right knowledge, you’re doomed to go in the wrong direction and this can also impede your muscle building efforts. Here am talking about several muscle building myths which can’t be further from the truth but yet some people do believe them.
Myth 1 – You need to go to the gym to build muscles
This is one of the most funny myths out there. Whoever says this has no clue what they are talking about. Muscle building can be done anywhere either at home or in the park. You don’t necessarily need weights or high-tech machines to build muscles. Bodyweight training can also be done. Push ups, pull ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges are exercises which don’t require any fancy machine and equipment. The most important thing is to perform resistance training which stimulates your muscle fibers. Some people have built great bodies without ever stepping in a gym.
Myth 2 – You need to do curls to get big arms
Curls are a great exercise to build mass in your biceps but they are not the key to big arms. Your biceps is a small muscle and only accounts to 1/3 of your arm muscles with 2/3 going to your triceps. So if you just focus on curls and don’t work your triceps enough, you won’t get big arms. But one important thing you need to know is arm exercises alone won’t build big guns. You need to increase your calorie intake as well from nutritious foods and gain weight. If you don’t gain weight, your arms won’t get any bigger. You can’t weigh 150 pounds and get 18 inch arms.
Some people believe the key to big guns is curls and will perform endless curls at the gym in every workout session. After they get a good pump, their arms look bigger due to blood flowing to their muscles but it’s only temporary. Later on, they will get back to their original state. A downside to doing curls in every workout is this can lead to overtraining and the latter will hinder muscle growth. Muscles grow when resting not when training.
The key to big arms is to eat lots of quality food, perform isolation exercises like bicep curls and tricep extension plus adding a good mix of heavy compound exercises in your workout sessions like bench press, rows, deadlifts, military press. This is the ultimate way to grow those eye-popping guns.
Myth 3 – You can’t build muscles without supplements
Whoever tells you that should be using supplements day in and day out without focusing on proper nutrition revolving around real foods. Supplements can definitely assist you in your muscle building goal as sometimes you can’t have a proper meal and supplements come in handy as a meal replacement or for post-workout nutrition. But they are not an absolute MUST for muscle building. If you get your nutrition right and eat high-protein foods like eggs, fish, chicken, beef, cheese, milk and so on, there is no reason why you can’t build muscles. Supplements are actually derived from food like milk and eggs. The key to building muscles is to get your protein and amino acids intake whether it’s from whole foods or supplements but the building blocks of your nutrition should rely on real foods most of the time. So don’t listen to this nonsense and eat your food.
There you have it. You should not believe everything that you read or hear. Do your own research or get advice and guidance from knowledgeable people.
About the author
Jean Lam is a health and fitness enthusiast and has a passion for body building, weight training, calisthenics as well as diet and nutrition.
