Weight Gain Myths

The vast majority of myths about weight gain are mostly passed down from
"gym talk" and so-called experts who know nothing about the body's workings.
 
Myths that lead to wasted time, frustration and if are taken blindly as truth, can really set back your progress in the gym. Don't believe everything you hear in the gym when it comes to exercise and weight gain, do the research yourself.

Simple, basic principles apply to all weight and muscle gain such as progressive overload, variable frequency of reps and high intensity workouts. Lets take a look at some of the most common weight gain myths.

High repetitions burn fat while low repetitions build muscle.

Progressive overload is needed to make muscles bigger.
Meaning that you need to perform more reps than you did
for your last workout for that particular exercise.
If you perform the same amount of reps at each workout nothing
will change on you, also if the weight doesn’t changes on the bar nothing
will change on you. You need to become stronger.

Definition has two characteristics, muscle size and a low
incidence of body fat. To reduce body fat you will have to
reduce your calories; the high repetition exercise will burn
some calories, but wouldn't it be better to fast walk to burn these off? 
Better still; use the low reps to build muscle, which will
elevate your metabolism and burn more calories (less fat).

Vegetarians can’t build muscle.

Yes they can! Strength training with supplementation of
soy Protein Isolate has shown to increase solid bodyweight.
Studies have shown that athletic performance is not impaired
by following a meat free diet, and people strength training
and consuming only soy protein isolate as a protein source
were able to gain lean muscle mass.

Strength Training will make you look masculine.

If it is not you’re intention to bulk up from strength training
you won’t. Putting on muscle is a long hard slow process.
Your strength-training regime coupled with quality food will
determine how much you will bulk up. To bulk up you also require
more food. Women don't produce enough testosterone to allow
for muscular growth as large as men.

By working out you can eat what ever you want to.

Of course you can eat whatever you want, if you don't care
how you want to look. Working out does not give you an open license
to consume as many calories as you want. Although you will
burn more calories if you workout than someone who doesn't,
you still need to balance your energy intake with you energy
expenditure.

If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains.

Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your
training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks
in between strength training cycles it has the habit of refreshing you and
to heal those small niggling injuries.  By having longer layoffs
you do not actually lose muscle fibres, just volume
through not training, any size loss will be quickly re-gained.

By eating more protein I can build bigger muscles.

Building muscle mass involves two things, progressive overload
to stimulate muscles beyond their normal levels of resistance
and eating more calories than you can burn off. With all the
hype about high protein diets lately and because muscle is made
of protein, it’s easy to believe that protein is the best fuel
for building muscle, however muscles work on calories which
should predominately be derived from carbohydrates.

If I'm not sore after a workout, I didn't work out hard enough.

Post workout soreness is not an indication of how good the
exercise or strength training session was for you. The fitter
you are at a certain activity, the less soreness you will
experience after. As soon as you change an exercise, use a
heavier weight or do a few more reps you place extra stress
on that body part and this will cause soreness.

Resistance training doesn't burn fat.

Nothing could not be further from the truth. Muscle is a
metabolically active tissue and has a role in increasing
the metabolism. The faster metabolism we have the quicker
we can burn fat. Cardio exercise enables us to burn
calories whilst exercising but does little else for
fat loss afterwards.

Weight training enables us to burn calories whilst
exercising but also helps us to burn calories whilst
at rest. Weight training encourages muscle growth
and the more lean muscle mass we possess, the more
fat we burn though an increased and elevated metabolism.

No pain no gain.

This is one myth that hangs on and on. Pain is your body
signalling that something is wrong. If you feel real
pain during a workout, stop your workout and rest.
To develop muscle and increase endurance you may need
to have a slight level of discomfort, but that's not
actual pain.

Taking steroids will make me huge.

Not true, strength training and correct nutrition will
grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not
make you muscular.

Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater
recovery, while others help increase strength which
allows for greater stress to be put onto a muscle.
Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate
it nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen
with the use of some steroids is due to water
retention and is not actual muscle.

Strength training won’t work your heart.

Wrong!! Strength training with short rest periods will
increase your heartbeat well over a hundred beats
per minute. For example, performing a set of breathing
squats and you can be guaranteed that your heart will
be working overtime and that your entire cardiovascular
system will be given a great overall body workout.

Any intensive weightlifting routine that lasts for
20 minutes or more is a great workout for your heart
and the muscles involved.

I can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Wrong. Only a few gifted people with superb genetics
can increase muscle size while not putting on body fat.
But for the average hard gainer, they have to increase
their muscle mass to its maximum potential and then cut
down their body fat percentage to achieve the desired shape.

The Most Common Myths about Abs

 

Myth #1

Abdominal muscle is different from regular muscle.

Your abdominal muscles are just like every other muscle in your body. The abdominal is different only in location and unlike biceps or quads they don’t rest on a bony surface. So you should train them the same way you would train, say, your biceps or your chest. The basic laws of physiology apply to all your muscles, including your abs. This means that you have to do exercises in the correct plane of movement to effectively work the muscle.

Myth #2

You have to train your abs everyday.

The rules of weight training state that you should give your muscles at least, a day of rest to recover and this applies to your abs as well. Instead of working your back everyday, do them every other day or even just three times a week. They need a break just like the rest of your body. The trick is to train them hard.

Myth #3

Doing ab exercises gets rid of abdominal fat.

There is no such thing as spot reduction. People assume that if you have fat deposits on your abdominal, exercising the muscles underlying the fat will make it go away. But they assume wrong. You can’t get rid of the fat over a muscle by repeatedly exercising that body part. The only way to burn fat from your tummy is through prolonged exercise and a healthy, low calorie diet.

Myth #4

High repetitions are required to make gains.

As you’ve read earlier, abs are just like every other muscle in your body. That means, you should train your abs the same way as the rest of your muscle groups. To make strength gains with your abs, you have to overload your muscles.

Myth #5

Anyone can have a flat stomach.

For many people it’s not physiologically possible to achieve a flat stomach. In most of us the abdominal muscles are designed to be somewhat rounded, not flat. Age, genetics, gender all these factors decide the size, shape and appearance of you belly.

Myth #6

If you have a bad back, training the abs will worsen it.

Training your abs will strengthen you back. The opposing muscles in you body always assist each other. So if you have weak ab muscles, the load of the work falls on the back. So strengthen the abs and your back will become stronger as well.

Don’t waste time by falling victim to six main ab myths. Train intelligently in accordance with scientifically based training techniques and get super abs.

Lower Body Exercises For Beginning Bodybuilders

The lower body contains some of your biggest muscles which are capable of bearing significant weights. The temptation for beginners to go for broke by performing heavy squats should be resisted. To begin with you should concentrate on building the muscles safely by using machines that isolate muscle groups. The squat is an excellent compound exercise that trains numerous lower body muscles but it is one you should learn properly after spending three months strengthening the individual muscles that will be utilized later.

The muscles of the lower body can be divided into five groups:

 

1. Quads - this is the big muscle group consisting of four muscles at the front of the thigh. These are the primary muscles used when performing exercises such as squats, leg press, lunge and leg extension.

2. Hamstrings - these are the main muscles at the back of the thigh. These are the primary muscles used when performing leg curls.

3. Gluteals - these are the muscles that make up the buttocks.

4. Hip flexors - these are the small muscles at the front of the pelvis that allow you to raise your legs to the front.

5. Calves - these are the two muscles found in the lower leg.

For beginners these muscles should be exercised as follows:

1. Leg press - 1 set of 10-15 reps. This is a useful exercise for the quads but it also works the hamstrings and glutes to a lesser degree.

2. Leg extension - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. This is a useful exercise for adding definition to the quads.

3. Hamstring curl - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. This exercise isolates the hamstrings.

4. Standing calf raise - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. This exercise works the gastrocnemius muscle.

5. Seated calf raise - 3 sets of 10-15 reps. This exercise works the soleus muscle underneath the gastrocnemius muscle.

As with all exercises you need to take care in scheduling specific body parts. To begin with you should incorporate your lower body exercises into a program similar to the one suggested below:

Day 1: Biceps, Back, Abs

Day 2: Hamstrings, Shoulders, Abs

Day 3: Quads, Forearms, Calves

Day 4: Triceps, Chest, Abs

For the first couple of weeks complete one set but then add one set each week to a maximum of three. At the end of three months you will be ready to move on to more intensive intermediate level exercises.

Muscle Gain Visualization Tips

We now move into an area that is far too neglected by mainstream health and fitness professionals, the mind.  Most books or courses concentrate on the physical side of weight gain and completely neglect the mental side of things.

Visualization can play an important part in gaining weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Gaining weight can be difficult for many people who don’t use their minds to help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming", you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight gain tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like. This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a more muscular person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to gain weight. I can't stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals. You have to let go of your past failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.
 
If you can visualize your body at its perfect proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing that you can gain weight, and to visualize yourself with your perfect proportions is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body as being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The sub-conscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates the muscles of the body (The muscles are controlled by the sub-conscious) and body-fat composition on the body.

Try to visualize your body as lean and as muscular as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in gaining weight.

 

                
Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one's inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Perform two sessions, one in the afternoon (Primary) and the other before going to sleep (Secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn't time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to 2 hours of deep sleep and upon waking you will feel revitalized and full of energy. Believe me instead of worrying about time constraints; you will be looking forward to the next session.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won't be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose.  Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds. 

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed. 

Having reaching this calm relaxed state, start your visualizations.  Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as muscular and toned as possible.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a muscular, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your new muscular body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

 Remember set a goal for your ideal weight
    
 You must want to gain weight
    
 Visualize yourself at your ideal weight

 Use positive images at every opportunity

Practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you’ll be on your way to become more fulfilled, happier and muscular.

Strength Training Strategies that Actually Work

Over the years there has been a surge of different strength training techniques that have come onto the market and just faded away. Here we discuss the training strategies to gain the maximum amount of muscle in the shortest time possible that have stood up to the test of time.

Most of these strength-training strategies have been around for years but are not followed by many training systems these days. Lets look at a few below that actually work.

 

1. Training Frequency

The two main components of strength training are the intensity of the exercise and the recovery after the exercise. Infrequent, short, high intensity weight training sessions, followed by the required amount of time to recover and become stronger is what is needed to increase functional muscle size in the shortest period of time.

The latest research has repeatedly shown that muscles over-compensate (become stronger) up to a week after the previous workout, provided that the muscles are trained to failure.

Remember it's not the training volume but the intensity and recuperation that are important when it comes to gains in strength and muscle.

 

2. Exercises Per Session

Tests under strict gym conditions have revealed that you've only got a limited amount of (readily available) energy to use for a weight training session. Blood tests on individuals have also revealed that blood sugar levels (available energy) drop dramatically after 20 to 30 minutes of high intensity training.

As you only have a short period of time to train before our blood sugar level drops, "Exercise Selection" is crucial. You have to use Multi-Joint or Compound movements, as these offer the most training stimulus for the available amount of time. In other words, we can train many muscles simultaneously and thus use our energy more efficiently.

Performing three to four exercises with high intensity during a session are what most people are capable of. All the main structures of the body are worked hard during this time. Working on these big compound movements has a knock-on effect throughout the whole body; there is no need for specialization techniques or isolation movements.

The fact is, the whole body is worked hard, rest and recuperation is allowed to take place and at the next exercise session we push out a few more reps than before with the same weight, then we have gotten stronger i.e. more muscle.

3. Number of Sets per Exercise

After performing one complete set a compound exercise to total failure, it should be just about impossible to generate the same force and intensity for another complete set of the same exercise.

If you're able to generate the same force and intensity for this second set then it'll be pretty obvious that not enough effort has been put into the first set. Thus you'll have to raise the intensity level you put out for the first set.

If you give the first set 100% effort and work the exercise hard to total failure (eg. you cannot move the bar after the last rep) then there will be not more requirement for further muscle stimulation on that specific exercise.

If you think that volume training (multiple sets) is more effective then you're wrong! The latest research shows that single set training is as beneficial as multiple set training. Training one set will decrease the chances of over-training. It will also allow you to save more energy for other exercises required during the workout.

4. Number of Repetitions per Set

The development of muscle and strength is interrelated, it always has been. Strength training Sessions produce increases in strength that is equal to increases in functional muscle. (You’ll become stronger and grow muscle).

Cycling intensity through changes in repetitions and weight throughout a ten-week program is an effective way to maintain progression and avoid training plateaus (slumps in strength).

Repetitions can be cycled, the higher repetition range will stimulate the slow twitch muscle fibres and promote endurance. Moving further down the scale, the lower repetition range will activate the fast twitch muscle fibres and increase strength and muscle size.