When it comes to building muscles, there are plenty of tips and tricks out there that will help you achieve your goals of becoming shredded and the envy of the room, but there's more to it than just the basics of working out. There is a lot of misinformation that goes around, and a lot of it is unchecked.
This is a problem in the fitness community because, although there are a lot of highly qualified, highly intelligent members with credentials in nutrition and body mechanics, there are even more than just listen to what their friend at the gym spouts.
Here are 7 facts about building muscle that will blow you away, and hopefully help crush some nonsense rumors.
1. Cardio Doesn't Kill Gains
How many times have you heard some bro at the gym mention that he doesn't run because he'll lose mass? Probably too many times to count. The truth is that cardio does not kill gains and it's foolish to think so. Cardio helps balance the body's ability to handle both aerobic and anaerobic exercise if you lift and run. Cardio is important and shouldn't be ignored, what kills gains is poor nutrition, not running.
2. Supplements Should Be Used to Make Up for Nutritional Deficiencies, Not Replace Them
Using protein powder, amino acids, mass gainers, etc. to replace eating is a terrible idea, and it is not healthy, but too many people think this way.
Take a look at the supplements at https://www.wilsonsupplements.com/, and you can see that many are not intended to be nutrition replacements. Things like pre-workout are great compliments to an already good diet, but you shouldn't go and replace eating food with protein or creatine. Find a good balance.
3. You Probably Aren't Getting Enough Rest
You might think that you are killing it in the gym by going every single day, but in reality, you're just holding yourself back. You need to give your body proper rest, which is in the form of having days off and getting the proper amount of sleep each night. Rest is an integral part of getting stronger and bigger, so you need to get good sleep, not just the right amount, and know when to ease off or take a few days of break from the gym.
4. Your Body Requires about 1 Gram of Protein for Each Kilogram of Body Weight
There's a lot of myths going around that you need 1g of protein per 1lb of body weight, but it's actually closer to 1g of protein per 1kg. If the average man is 170lbs, that's 170g of protein, which is not really that feasible from food alone and could be harmful to the kidneys through obscene amounts of protein powder. It's about 1.5kg, which means it's less than a 1:1 ratio, which is actually helpful to remember.
5. Playing Multiple Sports Can Reduce Injury Risk
There's a common problem in sports that persists across all borders of fitness, which is that people are hyperfocused on specializing their training for one activity or sport, that it is actually causing more injuries. Kids who play multiple sports have been shown to get injured less because they use more muscle groups. This applies to fitness as well, as someone who focused solely on powerlifting but neglects cardio and other forms of movement won't have strengthened those other muscle groups. Try to add some variety.
6. Soreness Isn't Always a Sign of Progress
Just like needing rest, you also need to know when to pause your workouts. Soreness is often a good sign, but it could be indicative of an impending sprain or injury. It's not always the sign from your body that you are really pushing it, it could be a sign that pushing it is going to lead to you going too far, so read your body's signs and know what the difference is between soreness and injury.
7. Changing Your Routine Can Help Combat Plateau
Lastly, you need to change up your routine too. Plateauing is common, and the solution is to drop weight, refocus, fix form, and consider how to support your routine with new exercises. This is a good way to prevent overtraining, injury and getting stuck in a rut. Consider changing the routine to help your body adapt instead of stagnating.
There are a lot of well-known truths and facts surrounding muscle building and fitness, but there is also a worrisome level of misinformation as well. Use these 7 facts that will help you avoid the nonsense and focus on the useful knowledge instead.
