Four Common Muscle Building Myths

There is so much information out there when it comes to bodybuilding, it’s easy to get a bit confused. It’s important to do some research because sometimes information is wrong. Today we are going to go over 4 common muscle building myths.

Myth #1 – Eat more to gain more muscle.

A dangerous myth is that if you are already skinny and want to gain muscle, you need to eat more calories. Unfortunately, this advice is much more likely to have you gaining around the middle rather than gain ing muscle.

It is true that if you want to gain muscle mass you need to eat more calories then you are burning, but you don’t need to consume a bunch more then you were before. Eat more quality foods, but don’t over-feed yourself in the name of building strength! A bad diet is not going to help you get ahead.

Myth #2 – Keep your abs tense while strength training.

This is something I had always believed to be true. The myth is that if you keep your abs engaged your spine is supported so there is less of a chance of an injury. This myth came from a study that showed that people who had back pain tended to have weak ab muscles. They figured that by tensing your ab muscles your back would be supported and it would reduce back pain.

This study spread wildly through the bodybuilding community and is accepted as common knowledge today, unfortunately it is just plain wrong.

Interestingly enough, your body naturally knows what to do when you are lifting heavy objects. While you still need to tense you abs, your body will do it automatically. If you try and tense them even more, you can end up throwing off the whole system and end up increasing your chances of injury.

Myth #3 – Eat a lot of protein and gain a lot of muscle.

While eating protein is very important, it isn’t the only thing it takes to gain more muscle.

If you really want to make a difference in your muscles, you need to have the right kind of proteins. You need to make sure you have the right combination of proteins and you need to eat foods that supports the protein intake.

Protein is not a magic pill.

Myth #4 – Eating fats will help you lose fat.

Sometimes when people decide they want to start building muscle mass they decide to cut all fats out of their diet. This is actually much more harmful then it is helpful. Your body needs fat to function properly.

While you should get rid of trans fats and oily foods, it’s important to keep consuming healthy fats so your body has the nutrients it needs to function properly. You can actually lose fat when you are eating enough of the right kinds of fat.

And there you have it, 4 common muscle building myths! Have you heard any of these before?