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This article discusses the three biggest myths in the field of how to gain muscle mass, detraining, and fast twitch muscle exercises.
3 BIGGEST MYTHS REGARDING HOW TO GAIN MUSCLE SUMMARY
- High-weight, low-reps workout plans are equally effective for muscle gain as low-weight, high-rep workout plans.
- Taking time off from the gym does not result in complete muscle loss. Muscle memory allows previously trained lifters to regain muscle faster than those without training experience.
- Muscle fiber types can switch based on exercise modality.
The fitness community is a place of fitness myths about gaining muscle and losing fat. Some of the most recent debunked myths are:
- HIIT training is better for weight loss
- Doing more situps will result in more fat loss
- Muscle confusion shocks the muscle in growth
- Hardgainers can’t gain muscle
- You can only absorb 40 grams of protein, and
- Nutrient timing build muscle.
MYTH 1: USING HEAVY WEIGHT IS THE BEST FOR MUSCLE GAIN
Lift heavy and eating a ton of protein has always been a prerequisite for gaining muscle. All the great bodybuilders of the past that packed massive amounts of muscle, such as Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates, lifted heavy weights. The common practice of bodybuilders for increasing muscle mass was using heavier amounts of weight and lower rep ranges. Using heavier weights, lower rep is thought necessary for muscle hypertrophy. The use of heavy weight for building muscle was based on the premise that progressive overload, in which the muscle used heavier and heavier weights each workout, led to increased muscle growth. It was believed that high-rep workouts (i.e., 20-30 reps) were only good for improving cardiovascular fitness and should only be used by endurance athletes. Today, it’s well established that you can equally build muscle with heavy and light weights. (Lacio et al., 2021) Higher rep vs. low rep training can result in equal gains in muscle size. A literature review found that using high rep, low weight workouts was equally effective as a high weight, low rep workout for gaining muscle. (Carvalho et al., 2022) If strength gains are your focus, then high rep vs. low rep makes a difference. Heavier weights, lower reps are more favorable for strength gains. The one caveat is that light weight must be used at a high exertion level.(Fisher & Steele, 2017) This suggests that you do not have to train with heavy weights year round; you can alter with periods of lighter weight and make equal gains in muscle mass. A recent study found that when subjects added more weight or added reps, it resulted in similar gains in muscle mass. (Plotkin et al., 2022) So, the old gym myth, “Train heavy or go home,” can be laid to rest.MYTH 2: TAKING TIME OFF FROM THE GYM WILL RESULT IN COMPLETE MUSCLE LOSS
A long-held belief was that if you stop training, you lose all your muscle gains and start from scratch. Researchers now understand that there is indeed muscle memory. A fascinating study had subjects divided into two groups. One group trained continuously over 24 weeks, whereas the other group performed periodic resistance training, in which they trained for six weeks and had a 3-week detraining period (i.e., no training). This was repeated twice. At the end of the study, both groups had similar increases in strength and muscle size.[5] If you thoroughly analyze the study, the group that took off the 3 weeks had initial losses in strength and size, but this was regained rapidly when training resumed. The retraining group gained muscle twice as fast as the continuous group, so by the end of each 6-week retraining phase, the periodic group had caught up with the continuous group.(Ogasawara et al., 2013)
