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Muscle Myths That Guys Buy Into When Adopting a Fitness Plan
If you are looking into getting in shape, you should know that men must often come face to face with muscle myths.
Before you begin to adopt a fitness plan, there are many things that you should take into consideration. Here are
some of the most prescient muscle myths that you should know before you begin to put together a fitness plan so
that you can sort out the good information from the bad.
Muscle Myth #1: Lift Slow and Watch Those Muscles Grow
This is one of those things you can see at just about any beach: big muscled men lifting enormous weights,
enormously slow. So does this mean that lifting very slowly will automatically help grow very large muscles? Not
exactly. The reason that so many people apparently make this type of connection is because lifting slowly usually
leads to a slower, and thus longer, work out. However, researchers at the University of Alabama have concluded that
the best way to lift, that is the best way to lift for maximum strength, is to do the up phase as fast as possible,
and then doing the lowering phase slowly and with control.
Muscle Myth #2: Fill Up On Protein to Grow Your Muscles
Is it true, as some muscle men claim, that eating lots of protein will grow your muscles? Protein is definitely
important if you plan on building up your muscles, but that doesn't mean that you have to drink protein shakes
three times a day. In general, dieticians recommend that you consume roughly one gram of protein per pound, but
only if you are really working your body hard. Any more protein than this and you are probably wasting money on
expensive protein shakes.
Muscle Myth #3: Always rest sore muscles
It is definitely true that you should never overexert your sore muscles, but like most things, there are some
exceptions. First, try to determine exactly how sore your muscles really are. If your muscle is sore to touch, this
is a definite sign that you need to take it easy and rest that muscle. However, for light sore muscles, you may
just benefit from what some trainers and doctors refer to as active rest. This means that you can do a little light
stretching and lifting, and that it can even help you ease some of that strain and pain.
Muscle Myth #4: Use a Swiss medicinal ball to build a stronger chest, shoulders and arms
Although a Swiss medicinal ball certainly won't hurt, it is not absolutely necessary in order to build up your
chest and shoulder muscles. In fact, a Swiss medicinal body is probably what you want to use if you need variety.
However, if you really want to build up your chest muscles and shoulders, you will need a sturdy surface like a
bench in order to do chest presses and shoulder presses.
Muscle Myth #5: You should use free weights to work out
This is one of the bigger myths about building muscle. Many people believe that free weights are the only way to go
when it comes to building muscles. However, do not discount what the machines can do for you. Some pieces of
equipment can isolate muscle areas in a way that lifting free weights could never do. Also, some free weight
exercises are not a good idea simply because they can be hard to do right if you are not experienced. Save the free
weights for when you become a more advanced weight lifter. Take advantage of the machines that can help you build
the muscles you need in order to become stronger and do more advanced free weight exercises.
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