FITNESS
•Centr Team
5 muscle-building myths that are killing your gains
When you’re lifting weights in the gym, it’s not just sweat and grunts flying around – there are a whole lot of myths, too.
So, should you listen to the guy with abs and 500k followers? We’re here to bust the most common myths, so you know what to load up with and what to ignore when you set your goal to Build Muscle.
Myth 1: Rest is for the weak
If you want to build muscle, rest is essential. “We all get caught up on smashing ourselves in the gym,” says Luke, “but muscle growth only happens when we rest and get enough sleep.”
If you’re sacrificing a good night’s rest to fit in another heavy gym session, be warned: research indicates that inadequate sleep doesn’t just prevent muscle gain, it is actually associated with loss of muscle mass.
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Dan and Luke give their muscles a breather to let the process of repair and growth begin.
Myth 2: You need to lift every day
When it comes to gains, less can be more. You don’t have to spend every waking minute pumping iron. If you’re challenging your muscles and following the principles of progressive overload, 3-5 lifting days a week is sufficient to gain or maintain muscle.
If your schedule is tight but you still want to max your gains, Luke recommends fitting one push, one pull and one lower-body training session into your week to hit all the muscle groups.
Whatever your experience level or time availability, your Centr Planner or Power training schedule has you covered.
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Busy building muscle or just plain busy? Our muscle-building hacks for busy people will help you sprout muscles out of nowhere.
Myth 3: You need supplements to build muscle
All the pills and powders in the world won’t overpower a patchy training routine, poor nutrition or lack of sleep. “Supplements are only about 5 percent of the equation,” Luke explains. “It’s all about dialing in the basics and sticking to the program to get results.”
In other words: get your training and nutrition right, then once you’ve locked those elements down, supplements like creatine may help give you an extra edge. Head to our guide to find out more.
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Maxing your muscle gains isn’t just about nailing your nutrition and training, but also managing your stress levels, getting quality sleep and keeping alcohol intake minimal.
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Myth 4: Cardio kills muscle gains
Don’t let this myth give you a heart attack! The truth is, you can do cardio when training to build muscle – done right, cardio can actually improve your lifts (not just your health).
It’s best to prioritize explosive cardio such as HIRT or plyo. These styles fire up your fast-twitch muscles, which will support the powerful bursts of energy you need to draw on when lifting heavy weights. These short and sharp sessions are also easier for your body to recover from than extended forms or cardio like long jogs or hours of cycling.
Just remember to save your cardio sessions for non-lifting days, or for a quick finisher after lifting – because you want to bring maximum intensity to your strength training to achieve the best results.
Chris swears by a little cardio with the kids (and functional training) to stay agile when building muscle.
Myth 5: Building muscle happens quickly
A muscle-building journey is measured in months and years, not days or weeks.
If you’re new to lifting weights, you’ll likely go through a ‘newbie gains’ period where you stack on muscle rapidly. Once your body adapts to this new style of training, the rate of growth will slow.
So where newcomers to lifting can gain anywhere from 2–4lbs (1–2kg) a month in lean muscle mass, these numbers won’t last forever. As you become more experienced, gains will level off and settle at around 1–2lbs (0.5–1kg) of lean muscle mass per month. Most women will experience muscle gains on the lower end of both ranges.
Just keep in mind that hitting those kind of numbers depends on both diligent effort and your genetics. Maxing your muscle gains isn’t just about nailing your nutrition and training, but also managing your stress levels, getting quality sleep and keeping alcohol intake minimal.
Remember that two people can follow the same program and diet and experience vastly different results.
The most important thing you can do on your muscle building journey is be consistent. Keep progressing your weights and trust the process.
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