Broscience and bodybuilding love each other. One of the reasons for this strong union is the fact that many muscle warriors rely on anabolic steroids to build their muscles. Once the mass is acquired, they start to make up theories which the noobs buy without blinking. In other words, the drugs catalyze broscience.
Today, I present you a list of bodybuilding claims straight from the Encyclopedia of Broscience.
1.Deadlifting heavy builds big muscles
Deadlifting will make you thicker, but you are not going to become exceptionally big.
In the video below, Gregor Winter from AllThingsGym.com deadlifts 200kg at 80kg BW. While he is pretty strong, he ain’t massive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJJtwtwFUhs
I’ve never done a 200kg deadlift, but I got pretty close to it – 197.5kg at 77kg BW. I looked even skinnier than this guy when I did it.
In brief, the deadlift definitely adds some thickness to your back, but you won’t turn into a mass monster or “grow like a weed” from it.
2.To get big, you have to eat big.
Regardless of how much you eat, you will never overcome your natural limitations.
Food alone will not build muscle. You cannot force-feed your muscles into growth. The permabulkers from StartingStrength.com have been trying to accomplish this for almost a decade, and so far, their efforts have not been rewarded.
Ask yourself this: if the dudes doing Starting Strength or other popular programs for natties are getting as massive as promised, where are the progress pics? Why don’t the books come with before and after photos? Because there are none that make sense from a marketing standpoint. Yes, many people who eat as recommended by Rippetoe gain weight, but most of it is simply fat and water.
It’s true that professional bodybuilders eat “big” all the time, but they are also taking tons of drugs which allow them to gain muscle mass beyond the natural potential while remaining fairly lean. If a natty tries to replicate the same regimen without the drugs, the end results are lard gains of the highest magnitude.
3.The muscle mass of powerlifters is of higher quality
I can tell you right now that you will not look different if you switch from low reps (five or less) to higher reps. Thinking that high reps will build some sort of “nonfunctional bodybuilding muscle” shows only one thing – you are a victim of the low rep propaganda, comrade.
4.Low bar squats are the best because they allow you to lift more weight.
The low bar squat is hip dominant. As a result, you get a 15-20% boost in comparison to your Olympic squat. However, this is relevant only in a powerlifting competition and does not offer any benefits for the recreational lifter.
5.Starvation diets will slow down your metabolism to the point where you gain weight from a few apples a day.
Most fatsos underestimate the amount of food they eat. When you put those guys on a diet they tend to behave like you are torturing them and start throwing weird theories in your face.
Starvation is not good for your body. That’s a fact. I get it. However, a few weeks of low-calorie dieting will not slow down your metabolism to the point where you can’t eat a few extra apples without gaining fat.
For more on this topic, you can read my post on Layne Norton’s metabolic slowdown concept.
6.Unless you are squatting and deadlifting, you are not really training.
You can train very effectively without doing either of those exercises. The squat propaganda was good when it first started, but it reached epidemic proportions. Too much of a good thing turns into what? Poison.
If your training goals are not helped by squats and deads, you don’t have to do them. It’s that simple. There are many other ways to torture yourself. Don’t worry.
7.Daily pumping will produce exceptional muscle growth.
The video below is supposed to provide the “best fucking info ever on making arms grow“. In the clip, Rich Piana is giving an advice on arm training. According to him, if you do super high rep skull crushers and hammer curls before you go to bed, your arms will explode. This is broscience at its finest.
The only thing that you will acquire is elbow fatigue hurting your recovery for the training days when you are more likely to do something that makes sense.
But what did you expect? After all, you are getting advice from Rich Piana on arm training. His arms are bigger than my legs. I get it. However, he is also on tons of drugs, and it’s more than obvious that his arms are full of implants and/or PMMA. Their shape is not even close to being natural.
His arms are bigger than my legs. I get it. However, he is also on tons of drugs, and it’s more than obvious that his arms are full of implants and/or PMMA. Their shape is not even close to being natural.
8.Squats make your entire body grow.
Oh, brother….
Squats build your legs, hips, abs and back, but not much else. You know why? Because those are the muscles that work hard when you squat. I am sorry, but there are other muscle groups too.
And since you are probably thinking about it – the answer is no. Squats don’t make your body produce unreal amounts of testosterone.
9.If you skip your protein shake, your muscles will evaporate.
Articles ordered by supplement companies are the reason why people are afraid to skip a meal after training. I’ve been blessed enough to witness some pretty epic post workout paranoia.
One guy at the gym literally starting screaming at the woman at the protein bar – he wanted a protein shake as fast as possible because he had just finished his superset for arms. The guy was indeed big but had a very well developed growth hormone gut too.
Don’t be afraid to skip a meal. You are not going to lose muscle mass. Think for a second. If it was that easy to “go catobolic“, how did humans survive for so long?
10.Protein powders have an advantage over solid food.
Protein powders are derived from real food. Therefore, they cannot be more effective than food themselves. More than likely, you think that they are special because of the labels on the bottles which usually show Photoshopped images of bodybuilders on steroids. Protein powders have an advantage over solid food only when you can’t chew.
11.You should “build strength” before engaging in “hypertrophy training”.
This is a classic principle found in the permabulker’s handbook. Weak fatsos like to repeat it to every beginner asking for advice on how to build muscle mass. The truth is that hypertrophy and strength training are linked together. You can’t train one without training the other to some degree.
You don’t have to satisfy some arbitrary strength requirements to earn your right to do high volume routines. You can start right away while also focusing on getting stronger. High reps are not the devil.
When it comes to long term progress, high and low rep training will take you to similar levels. Sure, low reps will make your CNS more efficient at max effort attempts, but so what? Who’s stronger? The guy that squats 310lbs for 2 reps or the guy squatting 275lbs for 8 reps? The strength levels of both individuals are very similar.
Stay tuned for part 2, part 3, part 4 and maybe even more. Broscience never ends when it comes to lifting. I wonder why that is.
