Common Muscle Building Myths vs Facts
1. You only need to lift heavy to build muscle
A common myth within the bodybuilding community is that only lifting heavy weights will build muscle while lifting light weights help you "tone up." However, muscle can be built within any rep range as long as it is trained to failure or near it, where you have a couple of reps in reserve. Lifting heavy all the time does have its drawbacks, such as an increased risk of injury, being bad on the joints, and many others. If your goal is mainly to build muscle, doing sets of 10 reps and above is recommended. Lifting heavy is ok to do occasionally with your compound lifts and is recommended if you want to get stronger but at the end of the day if your main goal is just to build muscle focus on the higher rep ranges
2. You need to consume protein after your workout
Consuming protein as soon as you are done lifting weights is another bodybuilding myth. A common phrase would be, "if you didn't eat any protein as soon as you're done with your workout, it was a waste of time." Please don't get me wrong, eating protein is essential for building muscle; however, it doesn't need to be consumed right after your workout. Protein takes much time for the body to digest, so it won't be able to use it right after your workout. It would be better to eat a little protein before your workout but what matters is how much protein you are consuming each day to maximize building muscle.
3. You should stretch before lifting
Warming up before lifting is essential for decreasing the chances of being injured. However, many individuals do this incorrectly. It is important to first warm up the body by doing a little walking, biking, or any activity where they are moving. It doesn't have to be hard but should be at least five minutes. After getting the body warm, it is best to stretch while moving or dynamic stretching instead of holding a position or static stretching. You want to get loose but not stretch out too much since it can hinder performance. It is best to do static stretching after a workout to relieve any soreness that will come the following day.
4. Always shocking the muscle
Shocking the muscle is a popular term in the bodybuilding community. It refers to constantly surprising the muscle with different workout routines and different variations of exercises. This is a complete myth. Your muscle doesn't have a brain, and tricking it with various exercises won't work, but also it may hinder muscle progress. It is best to have a routine to stick with a routine for at least a couple of months. It is best to make every gym session harder than the last by adding more weight, reps, and sets or slowing down. This is known as progressive overloading. Making each session harder than the last one gives the body a reason to build more muscle
5. You need to train every single day to see progress
Training every single day is a common myth many individuals believe. It is good exercising, but anything can be harmful if done in too excess. Training every day can result in overtraining. This is horrible for making progress within the gym since it can lead to over-exhaustion, injuries, flu-like symptoms, and many others. However, what is more, important when making progress is training each muscle group twice per week, training near or near failure, and being consistent with your schedule. It is recommended to have rest days since it can allow the body to recover properly.
6. Soreness is a sign you are getting stronger
Getting that sore feeling after a workout is great since it feels like we did something. Soreness at the beginning of your fitness journey is completely normal and part of the process. However, as time goes on, the body will get used to lifting weights and adapt to the point where it doesn't get sore anymore. When people do not feel sore, it can be pretty unmotivating since they would feel as if they didn't do anything; however, this is just the body adapting to lifting weights. Soreness may be a good indicator that one has worked out but isn't the best. It is better to see if you have made improvements in strength and body composition (how you look).