14 bodybuilding and fitness myths that are misleading

Bodybuilding is one of the most spectacular and beautiful sports. Not only its competitive part, but also the process of forming a relief body. Over time, this spectacularity and has generated around itself a lot of myths and misconceptions. It’s time to dispel them.

master of sports in bodybuilding, European champion in the category of classical bodybuilding 180+

There are a lot of myths and it is impossible to remember them all. Many of them have been passed from mouth to mouth for decades.

“You can inject yourself with special drugs, and everything will grow on its own”

This is a cruel misconception. In the absence of proper skills of proper work in the gym, no means will be effective. Health will be undermined, and the result will never be achieved.

“Girls who work out in the gym turn into men.”

This myth came from professional bodybuilding. In it, women use synthetic analogs of male hormones to achieve greater results. As a result, women’s bodies very quickly acquire secondary male sexual characteristics in the form of extensive hair loss, etc. However, this has nothing to do with regular gym sessions and working on your body.

“Training with heavy weights during adolescence stunts the body’s growth.”

founder of the Russian Bodybuilding Federation

This myth was born in Japan, when a settlement was discovered in the mountains, whose children worked hard in quarries and received extremely meager sustenance.

From this discovery, it was concluded that working with heavy weights slows down human growth. To date, however, there are a great many examples that prove otherwise. When young boys and girls, training strength and developing muscles, contributed to the increase in their height.

“Without pharmacological support, you can’t achieve anything.”

world champion in classical bodybuilding

The stage shows who uses drugs and who doesn’t. Athletes who resort to pharmacology are tougher and grayer. But many guys don’t use any drugs and win championships simply because they have created better proportions.

Most of the professional athletes who compete in major championships do not resort to pharmacology. Sometimes it is simply not possible in the context of a certain sport category like “Men’s Physique”, and sometimes athletes simply do not consider pharmacology to be necessary. After all, it is quite possible to achieve impressive results without its help.

“To have beautiful abs, you have to pump them.”

In reality, the relief of the abs is primarily the absence of subcutaneous fat. Therefore, it is rather not exercises, but a healthy diet and cardio that are essential in this matter.

“Cardio training burns muscle.”

With the right diet and exercise regimen, the girths of arms, legs, chest and more can indeed shrink. But the volume is reduced by burning fat. Not muscle mass.

“Everything will sag in old age.”

There are many examples of ageing athletes in great shape. The years take their toll, but only when the aging process is irreversible. In this case, it doesn’t matter whether a person was pumped up in the old days or not.

“Without heavy weights, you can’t achieve large volumes.”

In working on muscles, the basis is stress, which provokes subsequent growth. And the necessary level of stress can be achieved with small weights, if you plan the work process properly.

“All jocks are stupid.”

master of sports in bodybuilding

I will refute this myth with a personal example. I am a nuclear reactor design engineer by education, I graduated from Polytechnic State University. Yes, maybe there are negative examples of athletes somewhere, but there are also positive ones.

Many experts have higher education, both technical and humanitarian. Naturally, there are even more such people outside this article. There is no reason to link a person’s mental development with his physical performance. And consequently, there is no reason to believe this myth either.

“If you eat nothing at all, you will lose weight.”

This opinion is not wrong, but it is extremely harmful. Depriving yourself of food leads to multiple health problems, not at all to an athletic body. Deterioration of hair, nails, teeth and skin, weakness and exhaustion – this is what awaits the starving person instead of a beautiful, athletic body. You can only build a diet with a certain level of knowledge in this area, or enlist the help of a nutritionist.

“Big muscles equals big strength.”

There is a certain rationality to this. However, there is no direct correlation between muscle volume and strength. Powerlifting and bodybuilding are two completely different sports, one focused on improving strength performance and the other on muscle growth. And if this connection was as inevitable and strong as many people think, there would be no need to separate these two sports from each other.

“You can’t drink water during a workout.”

international bodybuilding competitor

I drink 1.5 to 2 liters per strength and cardio workout. I recommend drinking not just plain water, but with some electrolytes. You can use minerals or amino acids.

As you exercise, your body temperature rises and a very significant amount of water evaporates from your body. It starts to dehydrate. And so that in this situation the blood does not thicken, it is necessary to maintain a water-salt balance. In other words, drinking water during a workout is not only okay, it’s simply necessary to stay healthy.

“If you eat a lot, the muscles will grow faster.”

In bodybuilding, it is necessary to have a balanced diet, saturated with all components and composed by a competent specialist in accordance with the individual characteristics of the athlete. In addition, the regime of the day and training significantly affects sports performance. Therefore, just eating a lot is a very bad idea for an athlete.

Now empty rumors and misconceptions will have no place in your life. And without them, the idea of bodybuilding will sparkle with new colors. In fact, fitness and bodybuilding are much more interesting than popular rumor masks them.

Detailed comments of experts see in the video on “Championship”.

Source: MuscleRussia.