5 Muscle Building Demystified | Bodybuilding

By BradMartinson
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As a bodybuilder yourself, you have doubtless heard some of these myths before at some point.

1.12 Rep rule

The typical weight training program features twelve reps, the conventional wisdom is that this somehow the best number of reps for gaining muscle. In reality, following this rule does not provide your muscles enough tension to grow as well as they potentially could.

Heavier weights provide the maximum gains in strength and muscle mass. Longer tension means more muscle growth. This is because it promotes the strengthening of the muscle fibers (which also increases endurance).

Eight to twelve reps does not give you the tension levels that can be achieved by less reps with heavier weights, or the longer tension that comes from light weights with more reps. To create all types of muscle growth, change up your routine - both in terms of repetitions and the weights you use.

2. Three Set rule

While three sets is perfectly fine, it is also not a magic number for weight training. The number of sets to do should have more to do with what you hope to accomplish, and not an old rule which may or may not work for you. Just keep in mind that the more reps you do in a set, the fewer sets. The converse is also true; the total number of reps should remain equal.

3. Three to four exercises per group

The truth is this is a waste of time. Combined with twelve reps of three sets, the total number of reps amount to 144. If your doing this much reps for a muscle group your not doing enough. Instead of doing too many varieties of exercises, try doing 30 to 50 reps. That can be anywhere from 2 sets of 15 reps or 5 sets of 10 reps.

4. My knees, my toes

It is a gym folklore that you "should not let your knees go past your toes." Truth is that leaning forward a little too much is more likely a cause of injury. In 2003, Memphis University researchers confirmed that knee stress was almost thirty percent higher when the knees are allowed to move beyond the toes during a squat.

The strain is merely shifted from the knees to the lower back, which can cause worse injuries than can having ones knees pass the toes.

Keep the position of your torso at the forefront, and your knees a little farther back. Keep your torso as straight as possible when lunging or squatting. This will mean less stress for your lower back and hips. To stay upright, before squatting, press your shoulder blades together (and keep them there). Try to keep your forearms at a 90 degree angle to the floor when you squat.

5.Lift weights, draw abs

The truth is the muscles work in groups to stabilize the spine, and the most important muscle group change depending on the type of exercise. The transverse abdominis is not always the most important muscle group. Actually, for most exercise, the body automatically activates the muscle group that are needed most for support of the spine. So if you focus only on the transverse abdominis, it can recruit wrong muscles and limit the right muscles. This increases the chance of injury, and reduces the weight that can be lifted.

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