Probably every sport or activity has it's share of useless advice and half-truths that get freely passed on to newcomers, but when it comes to weight training, there is likely more time wasting and even dangerous mythology than any other activity out there!

The fact is, there is literally tons of free advice given out in gyms that if taken for absolute fact, can not only set back your progress, but possibly injure you as well. This sort of thing can lead to frustration and make you think it's a waste of time to exercise at all and make you want to quit altogether. But before you fall victim to these "myths", lets take a look at some of the falsehoods to avoid so you can train rationally.

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MYTH # 1 "BIG MUSCLES SLOW YOU DOWN"

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Muscles are responsible for every movement your body can make. From the blink of an eyelid to getting up and mowing the lawn, it is muscles that provide movement. This "muscles slow you down" myth comes from the days when the term "muscle bound" was used to describe weightlifters and bodybuilders.

However, in any given sport or activity, people are finding that a stronger body makes them perform better. Simply put, if you want to swing a bat faster you need more power. If you want to pull yourself up a rope faster you need more power. That power comes from your muscles.

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MYTH # 2 "MUSCLE ONLY TURNS TO FAT LATER"

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Muscle tissue and fat tissue are completely different from one another. It is impossible for one to turn into the other. Here is where this myth comes from.

Muscle is metabolically active tissue meaning it requires lots of energy to maintain it. A pound of muscle burns around 60 calories per day. If you add ten pounds of muscle to your body, it will need an extra 600 calories daily to maintain the extra mass, this will make you eat more, but, if you stop training, that extra muscle will begin to shrink and you will not need the extra calories you've gotten used to eating anymore and sure enough, if you keep eating like you were when you were training minis the extra muscle, you'll end up with extra fat on you.

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MYTH # 3