Erroneous Beliefs About Strength Training

„Pain grows as strength grows” is probably the most popular saying in the gym. Yes, pain during and after training is an integral part of strength training, so it has to be taken into account, but it is not that after every leg workout you can't function normally for the next week. Heavy workouts that lead to muscle soreness become a routine day by day, and you get used to them. However, after some time, with a longer training experience, the feeling of soreness after each workout decreases and is no longer like it was at the beginning of the adventure with weights. To properly perform strength training, you need to appropriately select the volume of training, which allows for proper muscle work, but does not lead to overtraining. An important element of strength training is also the so-called muscle pump, a phenomenon in which more and more blood circulates in the muscles. If a given muscle has a lot of blood in it, and its flow is increased, a person will feel a characteristic pain, which can be compared to the tearing of muscles – we then feel that our muscles want to tear from the inside. Additionally, if we use pre-workout supplements containing arginine or citrulline, which improve blood flow, we feel it even more strongly. Some people like the muscle pump, others don't. For people who train for strength, the muscle pump is more of a hindrance than a help, similar to people whose priority is motor preparation. A soccer player does not need such a muscle pump as a bodybuilder. It is just a visual aspect that improves the appearance of our muscles.

Strength training that involves long exercises and spending many hours in the gym is not an optimal solution. This training method does not accelerate results and does not increase their effectiveness. Too much training volume and using excessively heavy weights will not lead to better results. It cannot be said that more always means better, even in the case of strength training. The key is time. To achieve goals such as muscle hypertrophy or fat reduction, we need to follow a carefully planned training and nutrition plan. The results will become evident over time. Some individuals may have better predispositions, but it is important to remember that physical changes do not occur overnight. If we make mistakes in our diet or do not adhere to the training plan, it will prolong the time we need to reach our goal. It is important to gradually increase the training volume and not challenge ourselves too soon with large demands.

Many ladies worry that strength training may lead to excessive growth in their body. Fortunately, weightlifting does not have such impact. Many men need years to build a body that they can boast about. Compared to men, women have significantly fewer anabolic hormones in the endocrine system, so the muscle build-up in women cannot be the same as in men. Through strength training, every woman can shape her body much better than only through cardio training or fitness activities. Strength training shapes the body. Women should focus on crossfit trainings. Classic divisions in training where one trains a body part once a week are not suitable for women and do not allow for optimal results. Another advantage of weight training is that we can utilize it to enhance our metabolism and work on our strength balance, whose disturbances can lead to postural defects, shortening, or chronic pain, such as lower back pain. Strength training aids us in overcoming this problem.

Completely different from what you might think! Children who learn the right movement patterns from a young age and use exercises that utilize their own body weight are much more efficient, for example, in team games. This translates to more strength, and with well-planned training it also reduces the likelihood of poor posture. Children who train hard will have stronger bones and joints, so they are more resistant to injury or other injuries. Common misconception is that strength training in children causes their level of movement to decrease significantly, but this is not true. During the growth phase, children should not do heavy squats as this can decrease the space between the vertebrae and affect growth, but there is no scientific evidence that strength training stops growth. With a well-planned training, children can achieve a lot, so it's worth doing it for children as well. A qualified trainer should supervise the training and pay attention to details. It's also important to note that building muscle mass in children contributes to reducing the weight of fatty tissue and reducing the risk of obesity due to a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity. Strength training, as the name implies, primarily improves strength, but also coordination and endurance, as well as preventing injuries.

Certain individuals in the gym view a training program as an unprofitable investment. Such persons exercise intuitively and do not pay attention to adhering to rules. They do what they like, which leads to mistakes in training. If I could do what I like in my training, I would probably do squats in every training session. Unfortunately, such behavior would lead to significant power and visual disproportions. What can be done to prevent this? It is enough to create an appropriate training plan that enables the monitoring of progress. Thanks to this, training progress will be visible and the risk of injury will be significantly reduced. Good training planning is the key to success, it is worth considering warm-up, mobilization, activation, and auxiliary exercises. The training should be adapted to individual preferences, as only such an approach guarantees the best results.

A training pump is one of the outcomes of training. For some individuals, it may be a positive phenomenon (culturists), but it's not necessarily a good option for other groups of physically active individuals (footballers, volleyball players, triathletes). A muscle pump makes it difficult to control the trained muscle, and if it is too large, it can impair mobility. Anyone who has done intense shoulder training knows the feeling of not being able to reach their head with their hands while showering. Imagine a footballer who experiences something similar during a game. A muscle pump is not a necessity during training, so we shouldn't strive to obtain it at all costs. Let's be sensible.

It is not practicable to anticipate that the implementation of an Arnold Schwarzenegger training routine would yield identical outcomes. Unfortunately, the muscle shape is an aspect that we cannot significantly impact, as the muscle attachment points remain unaltered. The sole aspect that can be improved is the volume of a particular muscle, which directly influences its appearance. The training plans of famous bodybuilders are often incomplete, and their silhouettes are the result of commitment to training and proper nutrition. Training should always be customized individually, as it only then offers the best opportunities for development. If we train like our idol, we will not achieve the same results, as every person is unique.

The most widespread myths in the realm of bodybuilding and fitness continue to circulate in our surroundings. I earnestly hope that with the passage of time, shifts in our approach to training and nourishment will occur, and all deductions will be substantiated by scientific research, not subjective experiences. Let us maintain a sense of caution towards everything and refrain from believing that we can augment our muscle mass by 16 kilograms in just two weeks with the aid of supplement X or that we can shape our waist solely through three exercises.