Top Bodybuilding Myths

Bodybuilders are all meat heads – Sure bodybuilders concentrate on building up their muscles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they neglect their brains. In fact most bodybuilders are of the frame of mind that they should train their minds as much as they do their muscles, with many being focussed on self improvement in general. They apply the kind of drive and determination and faith in their ability to improve themselves that very few people exhibit. Furthermore, the successful bodybuilders actually need to be at least quite intelligent to succeed; as it requires a complex understanding of human biology, chemistry and dietetics to succeed. Do you know the role of nitric oxide in the body? Do you know why a muscle cell can’t divide by mitosis? Do you know what the roles of zinc and riboflavin are in the body? Do you know how a nerve sends a signal via a synapse? Chances are if you’re a bodybuilder you do, but otherwise you don’t. And many bodybuilders go on to write books on these subjects after they’ve finished competing. Look at Arnie, does he seem like a meat head? He’s the governor of California and an incredibly savvy businessman. Look at Stallone, he has an IQ of 160, collects art and writes most of his own scripts. Tell me he’s a meat head. Sure there are some bodybuilders who aren’t geniuses but there are in any sport, and I’d bet it’s more common in football. Those who say otherwise are probably just jealous and looking for something they can win on.

Bodybuilding requires no skill – This is another pet hate and I challenge anyone who believes this to be true to try and bench press even a light barbell. Chances are you’ll fall off the bench. You think that was hard? Try squatting. Technique in bodybuilding, like any sport, requires fine tuning the tiny supporting muscles in the arms and legs to balance the weights and creating muscle memories to go through movements with perfect form in an almost instinctual way. Until you’ve got that you’ll be all over the place, and you can’t be successful in bodybuilding if you don’t have the skill to support and control the weight. Want proof? A gorilla can rip a tree from a ground but it can’t bench press anywhere near the amount a top bodybuilder or powerlifter can. Why? Because it doesn’t have the technique or skill. And on top of that posing on stage is actually far more skilful than it looks.

Bodybuilding is bad for you – This is just a bizarre claim to me – that a sport focussed on improving fitness and strength could be bad for you. A lot of people claim that it’s putting stress on your joints or back, but this is no more the case than in any other sport and so long as you use good technique bodybuilding will actually strengthen your back and other structures. Other claim that bodybuilding is bad for your heart, well again only if you don’t do it right. Bodybuilding can be bad for your heart (in the same way that being obese can) if you don’t do any CV to strengthen it which any good bodybuilding should know. The only other way it’s bad for your heart is if you use steroids, which again you shouldn’t really be doing anyway…

Anyone can succeed in bodybuilding – Again this is patently untrue and the reason most people believe it is because they either think it doesn’t require skill (discussed in part one), or because they think it’s just a matter of steroids. In fact, to be a top bodybuilder you need a lot of natural skill for the sport (read that as genetics). You can be successful without the right genes sure, but to win Mr Olympia you’re going to need to be high in testosterone and prone to building muscle even before you begin. Ectomorphs don’t win Mr Olympia and most people simply don’t have the genes to achieve that kind of physique.

More importantly most people don’t have the determination or the commitment. These people say that anyone could achieve a bodybuilder’s physique but then why haven’t they held down a gym membership for more than week? They’re simply too mentally weak, and the chances of finding someone who has both the drive and the genetics is very rare. And as for the steroids excuse? Well even if you do use steroids it’s no magic bullet and you’ll still have to put in all of that work and with all of that determination.

Bodybuilding is all about genetics – Bodybuilding is probably about 50% genetics and 50% determination. A naturally weedy guy isn’t going to win My Olympia through determination alone (I’m sorry he just won’t) but he might rank in the top ten. And that’s the way it is in every sport. Lance Armstrong has tremendous physical advantages over his opponents due to both genes and recent medical operations, does anyone complain that cycling is all about genetics? Do you think the fat kid you know is going to make it as the next Beckham?

You can achieve a bodybuilder’s physique in under three years – I recently heard a radio presenter make the claim that he could look like Arnie in three years and it really got my goat. Bodybuilding takes years to get good at. Just as long as any other sport and probably longer, it takes this time not only for your body to become accustomed to the training, but for you to learn everything there is to know about the science behind it, and for you to grow to the right proportions at all. Adding two inches in a year is an amazing achievement if you can do it, so it’s going to take a while to get your biceps up to eighteen...

After you finish training, it’ll all turn to flab – This is physically impossible as fat and muscle are completely different things. After you stop training you’ll keep the muscle until it deteriorates through damage or you burn it for energy. Simple as. Likewise you can’t turn fat into muscle so you need to lose weight before you begin.

Bodybuilders are ‘obsessed’ and/or insecure – Bodybuilding is not the male equivalent of anorexia as many psychologists claim for one reason: most bodybuilders I know are very happy with the way they look. Wouldn’t you be? Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, does he strike you as someone who’s insecure? Didn’t think so…

Bodybuilders have small dicks – Again it’s just not true. Sure maybe it is in some cases, but all guys engage in behaviour that could be considered over compensation. I’ll tell you what bodybuilders do have – high testosterone leading to a longer, harder erection and increased sex drive. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!