Let's list and debunk some common bodybuilding myths...

[AAP]

I'll go first.

FLAT BENCH PRESS IS THE BEST EXERCISE.

The reason why this is believed is that while it does build mass at a faster rate, it is often misplaced mass. People think BigBench = BigChest. I can say that the flat bench press is the best exercise for FRONT DELTS that 90% of the people that come to gyms will ever do.

Incline and upper chest work is much more beneficial. While the upper chest is much slower and more stubborn to develop (mainly because waste all their energy on the flat bench press prior to working upper chest), once you do develop it, it gives you that Superman comic book hero chest look. The bad thing is that no matter how much improvement or growth people pack into their upper chests, they still continue to build the mid and lower chest with flat presses and that in turns distracts from the upper chest thickness. It is a game of catch up that will never be won.


What are some other GYM MYTHS.

(this board needs some decent thread topics anyway.)

 

[beastboy]

You need to do high reps to get abs to grow.....

 

[MrMuscle]

THE MORE THE BETTER SICKNESS

i got a couple of friends that are bit by this bug. they do 6 exercises for biceps, 5 for triceps, 6 for chest. when i ask them what the hell they are doing, they say "to get big you gotta train alot". they spend up to three hours in the gym at the time. but the fact is that your body can only handle breakdown of muscletissue to a certain point. if you do to much work on a certain musclegroup you will break down more musclecells than your body can build up again. so you will not grow at all. another thing is that you will drain your body of energy, and your bloodsuger will get so low that it will start burning muscle as fuel. not a good thing if you wanna get big.

 

[AAP]

Those are good ones too.

What about...

TRICEP KICKBACKS ARE GOOD FOR MASS.

 

[beastboy]

How about.......the Muscle Mags are the bible of bodybuilding......

 

[naturally anabolic]

One Word (hyphenated....) Cell-Tech

 

[MrMuscle]

TO GET RIPPED ABS YOU HAVE TO DO SIT UPS EVERYDAY

This is bullshit ofcourse. getting a ripped sixpack is more a diet and cardio question. and ofcourse genetics. some het a superb sixpack like Lee Priest for instance..some get a four pack like Coleman. doing abs more than once a week is a waste of time. if you do basic exercises like squat at deadlifts, your abs get all the work it needs. doing 1000 reps a day for abs (like i did) wont give you a sixpack. you will get a strong midsection allright, thats why martial artists and boxers do alot of ab work. but if you are a bodybuilder it is not the way to do it.

 

[havoc]

"Gay People Dont Workout"

Supersizeme is in the gym every day.

 

[MrMuscle]

YOUR DICK SHRINKS WHEN YOU LIFT WEIGHTS

thats not true, Havoc never had much an equipment to begin with.

 

[supersizeme]

"It's impossible to do a shitload of gear for 8 years and convince people on an internet chatboard that your ripped physique is still 100% natural."

Let's all thank havoc for this dispelling this one.

Seriously...

Deadlifts are bad for your lower back.

All my lower back has done is get stronger, along with thickening and growth just about everywhere else. I have a canal back there now. It is the one neglected lift in my gym. I am by no means huge, and this is the only lift I do that people seem to stare at and go, "shit that looks like it might be hard work."