subject: Why Advice In Gyms About Your Own Bodybuilding Programs Is Wrong [print this page] In gyms all over the world, so many folks trying to build muscle are basically treading water week after week, which is a shame because its not their fault - its because theyre getting dreadful advice from so called experts who either dont have a clue what theyre talking about, or have a secret agenda when it comes to handing out advice.
Whatever any coach tells you about how to build muscle, always ask yourself if what he tells you will work for you - all that matters is if it works for you.
If there is a high turnover of members in your gym, it may well be because people are giving up in frustration. This is simply because what theyre doing is not working.
One piece of wrong advice given out constantly concerns training frequency - think about this for a second. They want you in their gym as often as possible for commercial reasons;
If you have to pay a fee each time you go to the gym, the more money they make the more times you visit, so they tell you that you need four workouts a week, sometimes more.
You need three workouts a week, tops - in fact Id say two is better - if you train more days then you rest, youll never build muscle - muscle grows at rest.
Even if you dont have to pay each time you visit the gym, the fact that youre there more often gives them more chances to sell you drinks, supplements or whatever.
Encouraging you to do four or more workouts a week makes the gym look fuller, which will encourage any new joiners to join up as well. If a potential new joiner sees a full gym, then he/she assumes the gym is successful.
Another type of wrong advice concerns the exercises youre encouraged to do;
One the one hand, you get instructors in commercial gyms who promote shaping and toning movements like the lateral raise, pec deck, tricep kickback and so on.
This could be because they dont know any better, or they may have been told to promote a certain exercise by the gym management because it involves using a new fancy piece of equipment.
But here is a more serious reason why some exercises are promoted over other exercises.
It is a fact that the best bodybuilding programs are designed around the major compound exercises like the squat and dead lift, and yet a lot of commercial gyms dont promote these movements.
The reason could be that in these exercises you can build up to handling a serious amount of weight. Then safety becomes an issue.
If you do a little shaping and toning exercise like the lateral raise with poor form it wont make that much difference. But if you pull a heavy dead lift with poor form theres a real chance of picking up a serious injury, and the commercial gym doesnt want the headache of that possibility.
For a start, they may not know how to do the exercise the right way in any case, or they dont want the hassle of having to be that hands on whilst their customers are training.
This is why you need to understand the right exercises to do, and the right way to train them - you cannot afford to rely on so called experts in your gym.
Then you have instructors who promote exercises that are just dangerous because theyre bad for your joints, for example pressing movements behind the neck, or the bent over row. These exercises can cause permanent damage, but are often promoted as safe to do.
