Myth Busting: Things People Get Wrong About Muscle Building

Building muscle is one of the most common reasons for people to hit the gym. It’s right up there with losing weight.

As the fitness industry has grown and expanded, a host of myths about the ‘right’ types of exercise to be doing to achieve certain goals have developed. We’re going to take a look at a few of them and explain what you should be doing instead. For extra guidance on your workout programme, hire an online personal trainer. 

Just exercising one muscle group at a time

Also known as a bro split, this means you have a leg day, back day, arms day and so on. It’s come from the world of professional bodybuilding. It’s great for bodybuilders, but if you’re trying to tone up and get fitter, it’s probably not the right approach to take.

As the guys over at Joe explain, pro bodybuilders can “get away with only training a muscle once per week”, but you probably need much greater frequency.

Cardio burns muscle

Yes, cardio workouts can mean that muscle tissue is burned for energy, but if you get your nutrition right this shouldn’t be a problem. Make sure you’re consuming 20-30g of protein ahead of a cardio session. Don’t use this as an excuse to skip what’s a very important part of staying fit and healthy.

Long sessions equal bigger muscles

We’ve talked before about how training more often doesn’t necessarily lead to increased fat loss. And similarly, training for longer doesn’t mean your muscles will grow more quickly.

In fact, overtraining can slow your recovery down and mean that you actually build less muscle than if you stuck to targeted 45-minute sessions.