There is a lot of false information in the muscle world. When you talk to so many lifters you discover how lost they are in the information. I will clear some of the confusion out with this article. Here are the six most common bodybuilding myths.

Myth 1: The Answer is A New Supplement

The small things will make the difference between a hardcore lifter and a gym rat. For example, people step into the gym and load the same weight onto the bar every time. So, they are getting into their standard routine, and as a result, they aren't getting bigger and stronger. So, what do they do? They begin looking for the secret supplement. Unfortunately, they discover the supplement doesn't work and they keep training with the same weights and reading their same muscle and fitness magazines and continue to tread water.

Here is a secret, trying a new supplement or switching up your routine is not the only option. So put down the magazine and look for the 2.5lbs plates in the gym! Add the 2.5s to the weight you are using and continue to add 2.5s every week. Once you hit a plateau, then periodize your workout and then perform this process on another muscle group. I can tell you right now, from my experiences and the experiences of others, if you continue to train with the exact same weight for the exact same number of reps week after week, you will not progress as quickly.

Myth 2: If the Pros Do It So Should I

In the bodybuilding world there is a lot of bull and with plenty of advertisers ready to take our money. If a perfect body came in a bottle we would all have one! Often times the pros aren't even writing those articles, they are in fact written by ghost writers paid by the magazines. So, many rookies want to do what the pros do. However, even if they tried, they would just kill their bodies. Remember a pros body isn't the same as a drug free lifter's body. If they are loaded on testosterone then they will have faster recovery rates and have the option of training longer. The drug free lifters will over train and get hurt. So, remember leave the volume workouts to the pros.

Myth 3: There Is Only One Correct Way To Train

Don't worry about "What routine is the best." All of our bodies respond differently. If you do the same workout repeatedly, you'll make progress for a while, and then it will stop. It's always good to be open to change and do what is working and change what is not. So many lifters want the simple single answer! Well, the secret is in the "ANDS" because there are many components to training and things happening at once. As soon as you think you have the answer, you have just put blinders on and missed the thousand other aspects of training. So, you need to have as many tools as possible in your repertoire and know when to use them to create a better body or whatever your goal might be. In other words, once we feed the body with new answers, more questions will come up. The key is how we respond to these new questions. And the questions will be different for everyone and that is why everything we learn should be applied to what we need/want at the time.

Myth 4: If I Just Keep Lifting Heavier and Heavier Year Round, I Will Get Stronger

Some of us are on a journey and over the years add hundreds of pounds to our lifts. Others go to the gym, train with heavy weights, low reps, eat big and allow themselves plenty of time to recover between workouts, and still don't reach their true potential. So what's the problem?

The problem is SELF DISCIPLINE. Being strong feels great and it's very easy to want to step into the gym, get in an aggressive state of mind and load the bar every workout. BUT, The body needs to recuperate. If lifting heavier and heavier every week was the key to getting stronger, then we would all be lifting thousands and thousands of pounds. UNFORTUNATELY that's not reality. If this were in fact real, then sports science wouldn't exist...

Don't worry there is hope! The answer is called PERIODIZATION. Here is the definition of periodization: "A segmented program (generally blocks of training developed within a specified number of training season periods) with individual blocks oriented towards specific goals. For example an early season block is generally allocated to aerobic training. Many pros use the periodization approach to facilitate multiple peaks during a single season of competition."

The important thing to remember about periodization is changing your routine. Once you peak and hit a plateau it's vital to take some time off, train easy and then start another progressive system. So we have to start easy, build up, peak, take some easy weeks and repeat. This is how it works. And besides this is the only exciting way to make gains because without a system training is lost. A path without a system doesn't lead anywhere, other than to injury and burn out.

Best advice- Check out the Critical Bench program! Notice how the system starts out with mid reps and gradually goes down to singles! Then the program changes and gets more difficult every week! This is a very exciting program and when you finish the Critical Bench program, it's useful to train easy for 2 months or try another program along the side. Then you can try another program and incorporate your critical bench techniques into it! Critical Bench also gives you the best of Powerlifting and Bodybuilding, instead of focusing on just one or the other. Once you perform this progressive method and take control of your training, you will be motivated to train harder, smarter, overcome previous barriers and your training gains will take off.

Myth 5: If I Train Longer I Will Grow Faster

Do you remember when you first started training? Were you lifting the same muscle groups 3 times a week? Did you also find that every training day was a maxing day, until you found yourself getting weaker with a sharp pain in your arm? I remember, lifting everyday and getting weaker everyday. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was in denial. I knew muscles needed rest, but not to the extent that they truly require. Often times many younger people don't know this because they will get stronger no matter what they do. This happens because younger People are still growing. To sum it up:

What makes us stronger is not when we train in the gym, but our body's response to our hard work when we're not in the gym.

Summary

Just remember in most cases elite bodybuilders are probably the last people you want to get advice from because they have fantastic genetics, and may be supplementing their training with a lot of bodybuilding drugs. If you're genetically average like 98% of us are, you're most likely going to gain valuable training information from others just like yourself. Stay focused, and hopefully you won't fall subject to the bodybuilding myths discussed in this article.

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