I was recently texting back and forth with an online client about his newest program. This lifter was shifting from a hypertrophy phase (focused on gaining muscle) to a strength phase (focused on increasing weight lifted in the 3-8 rep range). He raised a few concerns about losing muscle when transitioning to heavier training, which made me realize that even seasoned lifters still fall for common muscle gaining myths.
So I put pen to paper and listed some of the fallacies that even people who have been lifting for years still believe. Let’s clear up the confusion so we can get back to getting huge.
You Shouldn’t Train Heavy During a Muscle Gaining Phase
This one is most specific to the conversation I had with my client. The way I explained it is that training for strength, hypertrophy, muscular endurance, etc. isn’t like turning on a light switch where the light is either on or off. Rather, it’s like a dimmer switch, where you fade gradually from one strength quality to another.
The way these strength qualities are explained in terms of rep ranges by many of the popular governing bodies and certification courses seems very black and white. For example:
- Power: 1-3 reps
- Strength: 3-8 reps
- Hypertrophy: 8-12 reps
- Endurance: 12+ reps
This is far too simplistic and factually incorrect. In fact, pretty much any rep range is going to have some degree of impact on all strength qualities but with a primary emphasis on one depending on how heavy the load is and how close the lifter goes to muscular failure. Heavy sets of 1-3 reps will primarily build maximal strength (falsely called “power” by the powers that be… get it?), but will still have a moderate effect on hypertrophy and minimal (but still some) effect on muscular endurance. On the other end of the spectrum, a set of 25 reps taken close to muscular failure will build plenty of endurance, have a decent hypertrophy effect and minimal (but maybe a little) impact on strength.
Lifting heavy – let’s say sets of 3-6 reps at 8 RPE or higher – can still be helpful in a muscle gaining phase because it’s going to increase the amount of weight you can lift in a hypertrophy rep range (i.e., 8-20 reps). If you put 30 pounds on your squat 5-rep max, it’s going to have some carryover to what you can squat for sets of 8-20. So if after a strength phase you can now squat 20-30 more pounds for a set of 8, or you turned your 8RM into a 12RM, your capacity to grow bigger legs just went way up.
You Need to Eat Tons of Protein
Protein is the building block of muscle. It’s super important. And delicious. But lots of lifters overdo it with protein consumption when they’re focusing on hypertrophy. Turns out there’s enough protein, and after that, you’re not helping the muscle gaining process. In fact, you’re just getting in the way of calories that could be put toward carbohydrates that would enhance muscle growth.
Research suggests that the upper limit for daily protein consumption is 3.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, which is an absolute shit ton. Most people wouldn’t poop for days if they tried to eat that much protein.
Luckily, it seems that about 1.0-1.5 grams per POUND (not kg) of bodyweight per day is the magic number for hypertrophy. In fact, as calories increase (because you need to eat MORE to gain muscle), protein as a percentage of calories needs to come down to make room for more carbs (which are inherently anabolic and provide energy for intense training) and fats (which are calorically dense and provide hormonal support for muscle growth).
So once you’re eating ENOUGH protein, don’t eat any more. Fill out the rest of your calories with lots of carbs and a moderate amount of fat.
You Should Always Train to Failure
Hard work is non-negotiable when it comes to getting big and strong. But how hard is hard enough? That’s the million-dollar question.
One thing is clear: you DON’T always have to train to failure. Leaving 1-3 reps in the tank seems to be just as beneficial for muscle growth as training to failure WITHOUT the rapid build-up of fatigue. That means longer periods of productive training without the need for a deload and, perhaps, less chance of injury.
Here’s an in-depth discussion I recently posted on the topic:
You Have to “Feel” Every Movement
There’s some argument to be had about the importance of the mind-muscle connection – that is, one’s ability to feel the target muscle group contract, stretch and burn as you perform an exercise.
On one hand, world-class bodybuilders are often really good at tapping into this phenomenon and tout its importance. Success leaves clues, after all. On the other hand, a muscle doesn’t just stop working because you’re not intensely focused on feeling it. If your elbow flexes and extends while holding a weight, your biceps is still working.
In my professional opinion, it’s not essential to feel a muscle working all the time to make it grow. Some exercises are more “feel” movements, especially single-joint movements that require lighter loads such as:
- Biceps curls
- Front raises and lateral raises
- Rear delt flyes
Then there are some exercises where the loads are appreciable, but it’s easy for other muscle groups to take over, so I think there’s some importance to feeling the right muscles do the work. These include:
- Rows of all kinds
- Triceps extensions
- Glute ham raises
- Hamstring curls
- Chest flyes
And then there are heavy-ass lifts where all that really matters is getting the weight from point A to point B with safe form. In this case, we’re less worried about fatiguing the target muscle group because our main source of progressive overload is weight on the bar in lower rep ranges:
- Squats
- Bench presses
- Deadlifts
- Overhead presses
So does the mind-muscle connection matter? Yes, I believe so, but not all the time. Your muscle gaining efforts won’t be lost entirely if you don’t always feel your muscles burning with the fire of a thousand suns.
You Always Have to Use a Full Range of Motion
Ever get sick of hearing “it depends?” I get sick of saying it sometimes, but it’s most often the case, including when it comes to using a full range of motion (ROM). Most of the time, performing an exercise through a full ROM improves your chances of gaining muscle.
A muscle that’s pre-stretched will contract harder and produce more force, which checks several important muscle gaining boxes. A full ROM also involves a more pronounced eccentric phase (lowering the weight, where a muscle stretches under load), which is crucial for hypertrophy.
However, there are certain instances where a slight reduction in ROM can be useful. For example, there are certain exercises where it’s difficult to fatigue the target muscle group with a light weight, but it’s also challenging to use a lot of weight with good technique. It may be warranted to overload a partial ROM with heavy weight to pre-exhaust the target muscle group, therefore making lighter weights more effective through a full ROM.
One of my favorite examples of this is the late great John Meadows classic Hang-and-Swing Rear Delt Destroyer. It is damn near impossible to do heavy rear delt flyes without compromising technique, but because the rear delts tag along with the rest of the upper back on heavy rows, pull-ups, deadlifts, etc., they can take a beating. So some heavy partials can pre-fatigue the rear delts enough to make lighter weights more effective through a full ROM.
Won’t Get Fooled Again
If you’ve been duped by one or more of these myths, don’t feel bad. Now you know better. Put that knowledge to good use by signing up for our 12-week Hypertrophy program, which you can get for 50% off by using the code LEVELUP50 at checkout.
