Bodybuilding Myths Exposed

Bodybuilding is something that almost everyone has a passive interest in – we all find the idea of improving our appearance and our physical appearance at least fairly interesting, and we all think we have a basic idea about how to go about it.

As such a lot of people won't hesitate to bandy around their false beliefs and information, and you only have to look on any bodybuilding forum to see just how much contradictory information is out there. At the same time even the science of bodybuilding doesn't hold any hard and fast answers and new discoveries and studies are constantly changing what we believe about bodybuilding. Below we will dispel some commonly held bodybuilding 'myths', but bear in mind that any of these might be subject to change if more studies are done.

Raw egg is bad for you

Raw egg is a favorite snack of many a bodybuilder, but to many others this seems like a very bad idea. The problem is that raw egg contains salmonella right? Wrong. In reality, today eggs in the West are less than 0.001% likely to have salmonella and those 0.001% are almost all battery eggs. If you eat free range eggs that have been tested for salmonella then you will be highly unlikely to get anything.

On top of this any people point out that raw egg can cause a 'biotin' deficiency if consumed in large quantities. This is technically true, but it again very rare and would only be the result of consuming lots of eggs. That said there are better ways to get your protein that are much tastier.

Bodybuilders are slow

Many people think bodybuilders are slow witted, but the reality is quite the opposite and in most cases bodybuilders have a very high drive to succeed that makes them very successful in other areas of life, and their intelligence is actually heightened as a result of bodybuilding.

Bodybuilding shrinks your penis

No – drugs shrink your penis. So if you bodybuild naturally, you will be fine. In fact if you train hard you will produce more testosterone which will result in larger testicles.

You should rest every other day

People have the right idea here but the execution is the problem. The important part is to rest each body part a sufficient amount. So you can train every day if you want – so long as you are training different muscle groups.

You can't get bigger without being on the right diet

It's very true that the right diet will help you get in shape. However if you don't change your diet at all and start exercising more, you will still start to see growth in your muscles.

Muscle turns to flab

Muscle does not turn to fat as fat cells and muscle cells are completely different. If you stop training you might gain weight through lack of exercise if you don't cut your diet, but that is all.

Protein shakes are bad for you

Many people who don't understand bodybuilding will assume that any supplement is bad for you. Protein shakes are normally made from whey which is a simple bi-product of the cheese making process. This means it exists in regular milk and as such it is in no way bad for you.

Bodybuilding stunts your growth

Impact sports stunt your growth to a very small degree and there is slight impact in bodybuilding. However this impact is worse in football, running, basketball and just about everything else – and you wouldn't stop doing any sports in order to grow tall. Furthermore bodybuilding causes the production of growth hormone which as the name suggests actually causes growth.

Bodybuilding is bad for your heart

Bodybuilding is only thought to be bad for your heart because it means your body is larger and your heart has to work harder to pump the blood. However it is much worse for your heart to be overweight, and if you are careful to train your heart as well by using CV (as good bodybuilders should know) then your heart will actually be healthier. Your heart is a muscle too; you just need to train it.

Bodybuilders should avoid fats and carbs

Bodybuilders should avoid excessive fats and carbs if they want to have a cut physique, but that doesn't mean they need to completely cut them out of their diet. Consuming some carbs is crucial to ensuring that you have energy with which to perform your workouts, while essential fats are important for being able to synthesise proteins for use in the body.

BY JUSTIN WILLIAMSON