Having been a part of the fitness community for many years now, I’ve come across many different claims about how to properly work out and build muscle. Everyone seems to talk about fitness like they’re experts, but unfortunately, much of what’s being said just isn’t true or doesn’t tell the full story. In this post, I want to share some of the more common myths of the gym that simply aren’t grounded in facts.
I don’t blame you if, up until this point, you believed in some of these myths, because some of these also fooled me when I started working out. However, I want to clear up some of these misconceptions while you’re still hopefully in the early stages of your training so that you can more effectively and efficiently work towards your fitness goals from here on out.
Gyms are Intimidating
To start off, I’ve included this one for those of you whose biggest obstacle to going to the gym is the gym itself. A lot of people who want to get into working out are intimidated by the gym. They think it’ll be an environment in which they’re constantly scrutinized and judged by others. If you have these concerns, let me assure you that you don’t need to be scared of going to the gym. You don’t need to worry that everyone’s going to be constantly looking at you, because frankly, they’re all too busy checking themselves out to notice what anyone else is doing.
On a more serious note, though, most people at the gym, even the very muscular, scary-looking ones, are actually pretty friendly if you talk to them. The thing is, no matter where people are at now, everyone was a beginner at some point, so we can all relate to being new to the gym, and if anything, we want to use our experience to help others succeed as well.
Cardio Kills Gains
This is probably one of the most popular false claims I hear. Although doing cardio can potentially impact muscle growth, this is an extreme oversimplification that’s very misleading. Doing intense cardio before strength training may leave you tired and impact your ability to train at your full strength potential. Too much intense cardio in general may also interfere with muscle recovery after a workout, or potentially put you in a caloric deficit which would make it more difficult to build muscle.
However, cardio exercise itself doesn’t directly burn muscle, and as long as you have a proper diet and training routine, most recreational cardio won’t have a negative impact on your muscle growth, so it’s definitely beneficial to include in your workouts.
You’ll Bulk Up Too Quickly
There are many people who want to start working out but are somewhat hesitant fear that they’ll bulk up too quickly and begin to look like professional bodybuilders.
The truth is that bulking too quickly is something most people don’t need to be concerned about. When you’re just beginning to train consistently, you may notice some rapid, initial transformation (a phenomenon known as newbie gains); however, it’s nothing super drastic, and you don’t need to worry that this will continue to occur, because it won’t. Once you’re past this phase, putting on muscle becomes a very hard process that requires consistent dedication and a hard work ethic.
If the idea of looking like a bodybuilder scares you, then you can relax a little knowing that bodybuilders undergo extreme training and dieting regimens to get to where they are. Most people who don’t train for a living could never replicate and sustain what they do, so the possibility of accidentally achieving that physique against your will is pretty much nonexistent.
You Can Train to Get Lean
This myth is constantly being perpetuated within the fitness industry. Coaches and influencers are always promoting workouts that are supposed to help you gain lean muscle and look more toned. Here’s the thing: looking lean isn’t a result of building “lean muscle”. Muscles themselves can’t be lean or not lean, because they all have the same composition. How defined your muscles appear is simply a matter of how much body fat you have.
While working out will increase muscle volume and size, no amount or method of training will increase muscle definition. If you want to look more lean, you have to lose fat through maintaining a calorie deficit.
You Can Target Fat Loss
Speaking of losing fat, another misconception is that you can trim fat in specific parts of your body by exercising that part of your body. For example, doing bicep curls to lose fat in your arms or doing sit-ups to burn belly fat. Again, if you want to lose fat and look more toned, this is achieved not through your training but through your diet. On top of that, you can’t choose what part of your body you burn fat from; your body is naturally inclined to burn more fat from some areas than in others, and there’s no way around that.
However, it’s not like you can lose a significant amount of fat in one part of your body while retaining all your fat in other places. There might be some areas where visible muscle definition is more difficult to achieve, but as you continue to lose fat all parts of your body will become leaner to some degree.
The Goal Is to Maximize the Weight
It goes without saying that effective strength training involves challenging your muscles with weight. However, all too often, I see people in the gym clearly trying to lift more weight than they’re actually capable of.
Building muscle and strength isn’t just about how much weight you can pick up. Weights are necessary because they create resistance, but that resistance only translates to results when you apply it correctly. In reality, other crucial factors include how many reps you can do in a set, how many sets you do, whether you’re using proper form, and whether you’re fully engaging the target muscle.
If you use a weight that only allows you to do a couple reps for a set or two, you’re not going to train your muscles very effectively. Similarly, if you’re just heaving up weights by any means necessary so that you’re not using correct technique and not directing that tension to the intended muscle, your muscles won’t experience any growth. Instead, you’ll end up doing something called ego lifting, which you can learn more about in my post What is Ego Lifting and Why Should You Avoid It?.
If You Want to Bulk, Eat Whatever You Want
Technically, this is an option for people who really struggle to gain weight and need to do so by any means necessary. However, for most people, this won’t lead to good results. Yes, the goal of bulking is to put on weight, but this additional weight should mostly come from muscle, with as little fat added on as possible in the process.
If your “bulk” includes eating a lot of calorie-dense junk food and fast food, you’ll end up gaining far more fat than muscle in the process, and your physique will deteriorate. Instead, you should derive your caloric surplus from foods that are nutritious and high in protein.
In addition, you’ll want to ensure you’re keeping track of how much you eat so you maintain a controlled surplus. Otherwise, if you’re eating as much as you want all the time, even consuming only healthy foods can still lead to substantial fat gain. If you’re looking for more tips on how to properly bulk or cut, check out my article Bulking and Cutting Explained.
Separate Fact from Fiction
While it can be nice to get advice from others who share the same passion for fitness as you, you ultimately have to take the words of others with a grain of salt; don’t immediately believe everything you hear. If you have specific goals you want to achieve, it’s up to you to do your own research in order to separate fact from fiction and come up with your own plan of action.
