There’s a lot of bs out there when it comes to training when building muscle is the goal.
Let’s dissect 5 of the biggest myths you need to stop believing if you’re to get the most out of your time in the gym.
Myth no.1 You should train every day
Training frequency is a highly debated topic and for good reason.
There’s justification for training at higher frequencies and justification for training at lower frequencies. That being said, training frequency will be most influenced by your training experience.
For example, let’s say you’re new to the gym. Training most days can be beneficial because you need to practice lifting to get good at it so the stimulus you’re providing the body is good enough to translate into new muscle.
Now, let’s say you’re an experienced lifter and able to lift with immense accuracy and intent as you’re well aware of the load you can lift on most exercises. In this case, training too often could of detriment to your progress.
Regardless, if you’re totally new to the gym or pretty well versed, training every single day is never a good idea.
Your frequency will depend on your training experience and need to vary based on the phase you’re in.
The above being said the minimum anyone should be training for results is 3 x per week, 4 ideally.
Myth no.2 You need to change your training split every week to shock the muscle
The information overload we’re constantly swimming in can be of detriment when trying to stay focused towards a goal – it’s easy to get distracted.
Jumping from one training split to another and changing this exercise for that on a week to week basis can really hurt your progress.
What we must remember here is that training is a skill.
Completing an exercise requires skill.
And, to get good at a skill we must practice.
So, if we’re changing the split or exercises within it every week the chances of us getting good at them will be minimal.
It’s wise to follow the same training split for at least 6 weeks, as a bare minimum.
However, training splits can be ran for a year and progress can still be made provided you’re using exercises that suit your individual structure, you’re improving the accuracy your execution and you’re progressively overloading your lifts.
Myth no.3 You should only do compound exercises if you want to get more muscular
Compound exercises are going to reap the most reward in terms of muscle gain, without a doubt.
They’re most bang for buck and need to be the focal point of your workouts.
However, isolation exercises still have their place and can largely enhance the effectiveness of compound exercises.
For example, if you have a hard time connecting with your quads in a squat variation exercise you could do a leg extension beforehand.
This will help you to improve your ability to recruit your quads in the squat which will enhance the quality of the stimulation.
As well, if your workouts consist of solely compound exercises, because they’re often loaded more greatly than isolation exercises, your nervous system would be trashed.
So, include some isolation work to help you improve your ability to connect on your compounds
Myth no.4 You always need to train to failure
Talking of a trashed nervous system, let’s talk about training to failure…
You may have heard the saying ‘the last few reps are the ones that make the muscle grow’
If this is the case, surely we need to train to failure?
Yes, but not all the time.
Failure needs to be wisely programmed throughout a workout.
While some bodybuilders such as Dorian Yates have been big advocates of training to failure, we have to remember that most of us aren’t Dorian Yates.
Dorian Yates, 6 x Mr Olympia
You likely don’t have the ability to dial into sets like Dorian.
Plus, you don’t get paid to eat, sleep and train.
Instead you likely lead a demanding life with long working hours, a family to feed, socials to attend, the list goes on.
So, if you’re taking every set to failure in conjunction with the above you will trash your nervous system.
A trashed nervous system = an unresponsive body
A good rule of thumb is doing 3 sets of an exercise and taking just the last set to failure.
Myth no.5 Strength isn’t important
If you want to get bigger you need to get stronger, it’s as simple as that.
Getting a pump with lighter loads and higher reps may feel great but if you want to add noticeable size, you’re going to need to challenge yourself with greater load.
Now, before you go rushing to add weight to the bar, it is imperative that you’re executing your lifts with accuracy first.
Are you actually using the muscle’s you’re trying to train? You need to be before adding more weight.
And as you shoot to add more load, make sure your execution stays tight or you won’t actually be progressively overloading the muscle!
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