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Posted: 3/19/2015 4:54:24 PM EDT
Don't ask me why, but my gym is having a contest to submit the strangest training myth you've ever heard. Winner gets a free massage. I'm not sure if they are actually picking good answers or if they are randomly selecting a winner. Anyway, I thought the hive experts on ARF would have some good answers to this.
So, ARF gym rats: what strange training myths have you heard? |
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"i don't lift weights because I don't want to get too bulky"
"Squats will ruin your knees" "The Smith machine is better than using a barbell" "Curls are all you need for big arms" "Deadlifts are bad for your back" |
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Side crunches are good for slimming your love handles.
Crunches are good for spot reducing belly fat The anabolic window only lasts for 30 minutes Steroids are cheating This program/exercise will let you add muscle and lose fat at the same time |
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Bringing your knees in during squats will wreck them.
As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. |
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. View Quote That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. |
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Side crunches are good for slimming your love handles. Crunches are good for spot reducing belly fat The anabolic window only lasts for 30 minutes Steroids are cheating This program/exercise will let you add muscle and lose fat at the same time View Quote I hear the first ones a lot...crazy You CAN build muscle and lose fat. It's just slow and hard. |
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That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. and you have to put the numbers facing inward. |
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I hear the first ones a lot...crazy You CAN build muscle and lose fat. It's just slow and hard. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Side crunches are good for slimming your love handles. Crunches are good for spot reducing belly fat The anabolic window only lasts for 30 minutes Steroids are cheating This program/exercise will let you add muscle and lose fat at the same time I hear the first ones a lot...crazy You CAN build muscle and lose fat. It's just slow and hard. So so hard. |
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That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. |
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Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. You are able to use the stored energy in the bar with less total weight. |
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1. You've got it wrong about the speed differential on rotating objects. The closer to the center of rotation, the slower it is moving. Look at a record--the outer edge has to go further than the point at the center spindle, yet they go around in a circle at the same time. Thus the outer edge must be traveling faster.
2. You're not moving the weights in a circle--The bar path should be close to a straight line. 3. The weights themselves are not spinning. Oh they may rotate slightly on the bar, but they are not spinning. |
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Side crunches are good for slimming your love handles. Crunches are good for spot reducing belly fat The anabolic window only lasts for 30 minutes Steroids are cheating This program/exercise will let you add muscle and lose fat at the same time I hear the first ones a lot...crazy You CAN build muscle and lose fat. It's just slow and hard. So so hard. I've done it...the hardest part is really just sticking to a pretty much perfect diet, and accepting you aren't going to gain a bunch of muscle OR lose a bunch or fat over night. |
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That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. I don't spend much time in the gym, but I cannot think of a lift that causes the bar to rotate. Help me out. If this is some kind of lift where one end of the bar is fixed like a fulcrum, then your logic is backward. Outside moves faster. |
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1. You've got it wrong about the speed differential on rotating objects. The closer to the center of rotation, the slower it is moving. Look at a record--the outer edge has to go further than the point at the center spindle, yet they go around in a circle at the same time. Thus the outer edge must be traveling faster. 2. You're not moving the weights in a circle--The bar path should be close to a straight line. 3. The weights themselves are not spinning. Oh they may rotate slightly on the bar, but they are not spinning. View Quote You must be a Crossfitter. |
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You are able to use the stored energy in the bar with less total weight. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. You are able to use the stored energy in the bar with less total weight. How do you store energy in a bar? I plugged an old car battery to it. Didn't really notice a difference. |
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1. You've got it wrong about the speed differential on rotating objects. The closer to the center of rotation, the slower it is moving. Look at a record--the outer edge has to go further than the point at the center spindle, yet they go around in a circle at the same time. Thus the outer edge must be traveling faster. 2. You're not moving the weights in a circle--The bar path should be close to a straight line. 3. The weights themselves are not spinning. Oh they may rotate slightly on the bar, but they are not spinning. You must be a Crossfitter. I don't know a lot about physics, but if we're talking about lifts like the clean, the weights don't/shouldnt spin, just the bar itself. |
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Years ago some prevalent T Nation author wrote up an article on doing a left side right side training split. Basically one day you train the left side of your body and the next day you train the right side. Surprisingly this idea never caught on.
Even more surprising that is the most absurd training idea I can think of beyond the spot reduction of fat with exercise. Edit: The idea that if you are not at or near an all time performance level you should just leave the gym. Example, your best 3RM on bench is 225, you plan on hitting a 3RM and hopefully do 230 or more. You do 205x3 and it isn't a max but you know you are probably only good for 215. Quit your workout and leave since you must not be in the optimal state of recovery and readiness. Complete bullshit, PRs are made up of the numerous workouts you did where you didn't set PRs but still put in the necessary work, not all the workouts you blew off. |
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How do you store energy in a bar? I plugged an old car battery to it. Didn't really notice a difference. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. You are able to use the stored energy in the bar with less total weight. How do you store energy in a bar? I plugged an old car battery to it. Didn't really notice a difference. Bar flex is something that olympic lifters account for, the spring in a bar is the stored energy. On two part lifts you lift as the bar flexes up. |
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How do you store energy in a bar? I plugged an old car battery to it. Didn't really notice a difference. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. Maybe so but the speed would have to counteract the increased torque on the bar. The bigger weights on the outside have a longer lever arm. You are able to use the stored energy in the bar with less total weight. How do you store energy in a bar? I plugged an old car battery to it. Didn't really notice a difference. Did you wrap the copper coils around it first? |
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I don't spend much time in the gym, but I cannot think of a lift that causes the bar to rotate. Help me out. If this is some kind of lift where one end of the bar is fixed like a fulcrum, then your logic is backward. Outside moves faster. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. I don't spend much time in the gym, but I cannot think of a lift that causes the bar to rotate. Help me out. If this is some kind of lift where one end of the bar is fixed like a fulcrum, then your logic is backward. Outside moves faster. Squats and deadlifts are essentially a rotational movement, although the plane and arc are interrupted. From a physics perspective the equation would be something like "(pi)R^2/(n*4(naturallog))" where R is the distance you move the bar and "n" is the length of your body divided minus the length of your femur. This is all assuming a low bar squat. For high bar the equation would be different. Also, the equation doesn't work for sumo deads. As pointed out above, it also doesn't take into account the stored energy in the bar or the natural rebound/bounce out of the hole. ETA: It's not length of body divided by femur...it's length of body minus length of femur. |
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and you have to put the numbers facing inward. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As far as odd, the one you goons talked about a year or so ago about putting the smaller plates on the inside of the bar will increase your lifts. That's not a myth. That's simple physics. Have you ever seen a stick move in a circle? The inner part is moving faster than the outer part to complete the circle. It's the same principle. You can move the lighter weight faster if it's closer to the central pivot point. You have to move the heavier weights with less speed. and you have to put the numbers facing inward. Also, crtical. Especially with those weights as you're moving even more of the weight to the outside of the rotational vector. You'll still get the effect with those hex plates that are identical on both sides, but it won't be as pronounced. I'm guessing with the iron plates versus the hex plates it probably adds 2%-5% to your total 1RM but that's just a guess off the top of my head. However, that certainly still adds up when you're talking 2%-5% of a 400lb dead or squat. |
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"If you're breaking a sweat you're burning fat, not building muscle" - really?
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Spot training to reduce fat.
"I gained XX pounds of lean muscle in (insert absurdly short amount of time)" "I don't lift because (insert lame excuse)" "If you only do machines you won't get hurt" |
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Spot training to reduce fat. "I gained XX pounds of lean muscle in (insert absurdly short amount of time)" "I don't lift because (insert lame excuse)" "If you only do machines you won't get hurt" View Quote That's a good one...but I would change it to "Training with machines is safer than free weights if you don't have a spotter". |
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Curling in the squat rack multiplies your available gains. That's true. Also, another good example of an exercise where the smaller weights should be on the inside. A curl is basically somewhere between a half and quarter circle. |
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Quoted: ....but....what they obviously mean is that for a given volume muscle weighs more than fat...which is true. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: The king of kings: "Muscle weighs more than fat." ....but....what they obviously mean is that for a given volume muscle weighs more than fat...which is true. Of course, but as stated in the reply above this, it should be that it is denser. A pound is a pound. ETA: it isn't always obvious that people mean that it is denser, it's been used in a literal sense plenty of times. It's not as big nowadays, but it used to be one of the big things people would say, without really understanding that it's denser. |
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Quoted: The correct verbiage should be "muscle is more dense than fat". View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: The king of kings: "Muscle weighs more than fat." The correct verbiage should be "muscle is more dense than fat". Just because I work out doesn't mean I'm dense. |
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Also, another good example of an exercise where the smaller weights should be on the inside. A curl is basically somewhere between a half and quarter circle. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Curling in the squat rack multiplies your available gains. That's true. Also, another good example of an exercise where the smaller weights should be on the inside. A curl is basically somewhere between a half and quarter circle. Only if you are twirling the EZ-curl like a baton. If you think of it in aviation terms...the curl motion is Pitch. Because the plates are centered on the same axis in relation to Pitch (pivot point = the elbow), the lateral distance between them doesn't affect that force vector. Now look at the "Roll" axis, that will be affected buy the plates lateral spacing...because that will lengthen the Roll's force vector. So your curl up is equal, the wobble between left and right arms might increase....so If you're looking for more work on stability, then I can see the point. |
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Hint: You guys are too serious for a "Training Myths" thread.
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Only if you are twirling the EZ-curl like a baton. If you think of it in aviation terms...the curl motion is Pitch. Because the plates are centered on the same axis in relation to Pitch (pivot point = the elbow), the lateral distance between them doesn't affect that force vector. Now look at the "Roll" axis, that will be affected buy the plates lateral spacing...because that will lengthen the Roll's force vector. So your curl up is equal, the wobble between left and right arms might increase....so If you're looking for more work on stability, then I can see the point. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Curling in the squat rack multiplies your available gains. That's true. Also, another good example of an exercise where the smaller weights should be on the inside. A curl is basically somewhere between a half and quarter circle. Only if you are twirling the EZ-curl like a baton. If you think of it in aviation terms...the curl motion is Pitch. Because the plates are centered on the same axis in relation to Pitch (pivot point = the elbow), the lateral distance between them doesn't affect that force vector. Now look at the "Roll" axis, that will be affected buy the plates lateral spacing...because that will lengthen the Roll's force vector. So your curl up is equal, the wobble between left and right arms might increase....so If you're looking for more work on stability, then I can see the point. Granted on an X/Y axis you are correct. You have to add in the Z axis and it should make more sense. To use the aviation analogy, it's not a plane but a helicopter. The pivot point is around the shaft that's already rotating so you need to counter balance. However, you bring up a good point. If you're looking to build strength, i.e., lift the most possible weight then you can space them in the traditional manner with largest plate on the inside. If you're looking for functional strength then it's advantageous to put the smaller weights on the inside. |
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"Low weight and high reps to tone up"
"squatting's bad for your knees" "Why are you wearing vibrams? That's so unsafe!" "Lifting belts should stay on for the entire session for optimal gains" "You need to do a 'Leg Day' to get strong legs" |
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Static stretches before cardio.
ETA-not the strangest, just another thing a lot of folks still do. |
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Per GD, squats give you "tree trunks" for legs, and hemorrhoids.
Sorry - I couldn't resist. |
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"Some of the Mr. Olympia contestants are all natural and just genetic freaks."
Not exactly training related, but I used to hear it in the gym all the time. I work out at home now, so I assume the myth still stands as I've seen it many times in GD. |
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"pro athlete X doesn't do steroids, they're not big enough."
"Nah bro, I don't do steroids, this is just my insulin." --> as he proceeds to slam a 2" needle into his glute. Oh, and RBL said shaft. HAH. |
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