The myths that surround the sport of body building very rarely change. Seldom will a myth disappear, though it may go through countless alterations, revolutions and the occasional tweak here and there as time goes by.

Body building myths, whilst being quite humorous to the educated, can be responsible for endless hours of misery, self-persecution and confusion to those who simply absorb what they are being told by self-appointed “guru’s” who should know better given the fact many of them have had 20 plus year to learn the ins and outs of their chosen art. Instead they meander through their body building life, simply reciting tired old “training principles” derived by a similar “expert” decades ago.

Running my own natural body building discussion forum on the hugely populated and respected uk-muscle.com website, I am privy to the odd myth being thrown my way. Here are the ones I encounter most, both on-line, over the phone and indeed at countless competitons each and every year.

Myth 1.

- The best indicator of a good workout, is how sore you are the next day!

This is a great myth and it simply will never, ever die. Quite simply, soreness (Delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS) is quite simply an unfortunate effect of training, not your ultimate goal. The old “squat till you puke” attitude of the self-appointed “hardcore” fraternity, does little to further enhance anabolism. In fact, puking is possibly one of the most catabolic proccess the body can perform. There has never been any research linking soreness to strength or muscle mass gains, put simply, it’s a myth. Athletes who incorporate weight training into their training plan for the year may train with weights 5-7 days weekly, yet will rarely experience severe DOMS but still possess often fantastic physiques. Far better than the lard buckets who puff and pant around the gym telling you how hardcore they are whilst sweating like pigs in their numerous layers of clothing. Extreme soreness is usually evident after the consistent use of supposed “intensity” techniques such as forced reps, negatives etc….these make you sore. So what?. Soreness just means that you cannot hit that muscle group again until the soreness has dissipated and all that means is that you are missing out on additional load, additional volume, frequency and potential gains in strength and mass.

Myth 2.

- Lifting light weights for high reps will shape and tone your muscles!

Crikey, I still hear gym instructors telling new clients this one. Why is it that people still assume that pumping away on little, fancy exercise machines for sets of 20-30 reps whilst expending no energy at all will do anything for their physique?

This comes for the “aerobic crowd”, who assume that hours of sculpting and shaping and toning will give them a magical physique, yet lifting nasty big weights will only make you ponderous, bulky and unable to run. So why is it that they all look like pre-pubescent teenage boys and guys who shift some serious iron actually look like grown men?.

If your body is covered in a layer of fat, you could do every new fangled “shaping and toning” exercise or program known to man and you won’t get anywhere. You can only change the “shape” of your physique by building muscle mass and you only do that by lifting weights and getting stronger. Combine an effective weight-training regime with a good dietary plan and your body will become sculpted and toned. Ditch the yoga and stepper.

Myth 3

- Women should focus on aerobic activity because weight-training will give them a “manly” appearance.

This myth only exists because the general public associate weight-training for women with the blown up, ‘roided out freak shows parading around as female body builders in the IFBB or NABBA. Wrong!. These women get so big because they use copious amounts of anabolic steroids, it has very little to do with a sound weight-training program. Put it simply, if you are a woman lifting weights and using male hormones, you’ll end up looking like a man. If you don’t use male hormones, you have the opportunity to build an attractive, feminine, muscular and healthy-looking physique. Check out any natural or drug-free female body builders competing in the NPA or BNBF in this country. Girls like Kirsty Kent, Vicky McCann, Cheryl Myers, Rachel Hayes, Sharon Clare etc…I could go on. All these girls possess a muscular physique, yet retain every ounce of their femininity.

Catch me exposing other myths on Jason Rickaby’s natural training forum, found on uk-muscle.com.

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