3 MYTHS ABOUT STRENGTH AND MUSCLE GROWTH

In this text we will break three very common myths related to training, get rid of them and you will see incredible progress

We are all victims of certain myths circulating in gyms. They are usually valid as an unwritten rule among practitioners and everyone blindly adheres to them, without stopping once and wondering if they make sense at all. For this reason, we have decided to re-examine these "unwritten rules", to erase them and to open the door to true progress, both in strength and in gaining muscle mass.

Myth # 1: "Growth requires diversity"

How many times have you been to the gym and seen exercisers go from device to device and do various isolation exercises trying to hit a muscle from as many different angles as possible, all for the reason of "confusing the muscle". Namely, this is one of the biggest and worst myths, which is that you have to constantly change your routine in order to confuse your muscles and thus stimulate them to grow.

To unravel this myth once and for all, suffice it to say that what a muscle really needs to grow is load and volume. The load naturally comes from the weight we exercise with, which puts our body under stress and forces the brain and nervous system to recognize the need to build muscle, so that the body can adequately cope with the load. Muscle growth is not achieved with a thousand and one isolation exercises, but only by working with heavy loads with a barbell. This does not mean that you have to put the maximum weight you can work with, but keep it close to your maximum, in addition to large weights, choose a set of complex exercises with a barbell (bench press, squats, deadlifts, etc.) and perform them regularly. Constantly changing programs and exercises does not allow your body to adapt to these exercises, which is ultimately not good, because the body wants to meet the requirements you have imposed on it, and not be confused.

Myth # 2: "In order for a muscle to grow, you need to do isolation skills"

Performing "small" exercises brings small results. Performing isolation exercises for the biceps and triceps, such as dumbbell flexion or latch push-ups, will not build upper body mass, as push-ups or barbell paddles would. The same goes for the lower body, where different leg exercises on the machines will not help build muscle mass nearly as much as squats and separation will.

If you do not intend to go to a professional bodybuilding competition in the near future, forget about isolation exercises. Focus first on building muscle mass, and only then on "sculpting" certain parts of the body. Also, if you can't do separation with a weight that is twice your weight, you can't do a squat with a load that is 1.5 times your weight, or lose at least 150kg on a bench press, then you have no reason to worry why your biceps don’t pop out and there’s no definition like say a tennis ball.

Myth # 3: "Volume, more is better"

More is better, sounds great in theory, except not in practice, at least when it comes to lifting weights. Excessive choice of exercises and too much volume limit the intensity of training, and thus limit your progress. Progress comes from understanding your needs in relation to the goal you have set for yourself, and creating a program that will meet those needs, not from a "circus" full of very high-volume exercises.

Of course, in order to grow the volume is necessary, but the volume must be accompanied by adequate intensity. Performing excessive repetitions, sets and small isolation exercises, takes you further and further away from the basic exercises that are the foundation for a strong body and without which you can disrupt your long-term progress.

THEORY IN PRACTICE

So that everything we wrote about above would not be a mere theory, here is one of the training programs that combines all of the above. This is not one of those "fancy" programs, but you can use it for years regardless of whether your goal is increased strength or hypertrophy. They will train you four days a week and rest three, with you determining the days when you train and when you rest, according to your free time, with the recommendation that you rest at least one day after two consecutive days of training. The program also lists the numbers of sets, repetitions and breaks between sets, which you can adjust to yourself and your needs.

TRAINING:

Day # 1:

Superset

Day # 2:

Superset

Day # 3:

Superset

Day # 4:

Superset

Source: Bodybuilding.com