Written by Matt Onyszko (RMT and Personal Trainer)

We all played the game 2 truths and 1 lie right!?!? Well here are 2 lies and 1 truth about common misconceptions that deal with weight training.
Lifting heavy will bulk you up…
LIE: Contrary to what many people think, lifting heavy or training for strength will NOT create an increase in BULK. Lifting heavy weights or training for strength is actually a training method people use to create more motor unit recruitment. This means to activate a nerve cell and the corresponding muscles fibres that nerve will integrate. It is a means of creating a more efficient pattern for a movement, and actually will not create muscle growth or bulk the individual. The current gold standard in muscle growth is the “stimulating rep model”. This is the idea that the last 5 reps before failure create most anabolic affect on muscle tissue. So as long as you’re not going to failure or close to failure, lifting heavy weights will not “bulk” you up. In true strength training methodology, you should be always saving a couple reps in the tank. As soon as you start to build a poor pattern of movement, one that does not promote a clean, efficient pattern, you are teaching your central nervous system to be less efficient and therefore weaker…not stronger.
Muscle Soreness is a great indicator of muscle growth…
LIE: While muscle soreness can be indicator that you are in fact stressing muscle tissue, it is not a a good predictor of actual muscle growth and adaptation. Inevitably when you start a new workout regiment, or introduce a new stress onto your body you may feel some soreness….however this is a byproduct of damaged tissue, calcium influx and inflammation, not muscle growth. Quite the opposite can be true, if you are always feeling sore post workouts, this can negatively affect your ability to train at a higher frequency or to create enough stimulus during your workouts to adequately stimulate growth.
You can get stronger without building muscle, but you can’t build muscle without seeing some strength gain…
TRUTH: Strength itself is primarily an expression of neurological efficiency. The more efficient your body is at performing a task, the easier that task becomes. A perfect example of this is an Olympic Lifter vs a Body Builder. While the body builder will get stronger as they put on more muscle mass, an Olympic lifter, half their size will usually be able to out perform the body builder in most complex exercises like an olympic lift (ie-clean and press)….this is because of the neurological efficiency the olympic lifter has created, though years of repetition and skills training.
There’s a lot of confusing info out there about weight training, but it’s important to know the facts. Focus on good form, smart training, and don’t fall for the common myths.
Keep learning and keep moving!

