Unbelievable bodybuilding Myths

There are many misconceptions about what it takes to build muscle, and exercise experts say that buying into them may be precisely what's preventing you from achieving your fitness goals.

According to Marques Garcia, MS, a certified clinical exercise physiologist and strength and conditioning specialist, one reason why many of these myths persist is that the sports science field is still relatively new.

We have just begun to understand the intricate connection between the physiological, psychological, and external anatomy of how muscles grow and respond to exercise and nutrition," he says.

Whether you've hit a plateau in your workout results, or you're just curious about how to build and maintain muscle, here are some of the more common myths that have been debunked by science research and experts alike.

According to certified personal trainer and CEO of Innovative Fitness Curtis Christopherson, it's true that muscles will start to shrink if you stop using them.

And if you continue consuming the same amount of calories as you did when weight lifting, those extra calories will likely be stored in the form of body fat since they're not being used as fuel.

Thus, it's not that muscle converts to fat, it's that you might lose muscle mass while simultaneously gaining fat if you don't adjust your diet.

Garcia also says that it's physically impossible for muscle tissue to turn into fat since the cells that make up these tissues have completely different structures.

However, other research has indicated that when you train might not have much of an impact on your ability to build muscle.

Christopherson says it's all about finding a regimen that you can consistently stick to, so if you have more energy earlier in the day, then work out in the morning.

When it comes to stretching before your workout, The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) reports that "static stretches" held in place — such as reaching for your toes — have not been proven to improve performance.

Instead, the ACSM recommends doing a dynamic warm-up that will elevate your heart-rate and encourage blood flow as well as a full range of motion, such as jogging or jumping jacks, followed by lunges, leg swings, and arm circles. These types of movements may enhance your overall performance while reducing your risk of injury, according to the ACSM.

Garcia advises pre-exercise static stretching for sports requiring flexibility, and dynamic stretching before weight lifting or any activities that require explosive exercise movements, such as jump squats, box jumps, and burpees. A 2018 study showed that performing dynamic stretches prior to exercising can help prepare your muscles for the activity.

If you put a pound of fat and a pound of muscle on the scale, they'd weigh the same — and Garcia says the same is true in your body.

However, muscle and fat don't have the same composition: Muscle is more compact, meaning it occupies less space in the body — which is why two people with the same weight can look very different, depending on their body composition, or percentage of fat versus muscle.

Research has shown testosterone plays a massive role in your capacity for muscle growth, and females don't produce nearly as much testosterone as males.

Seeing as testosterone levels are roughly 10 times higher in men than they are in women on average, it would be extremely difficult for a woman to appear "bulky," even with consistent strength training involving heavy weights.

The key to stimulating muscle growth, according to Christopherson, is simply keeping your muscles under tension for as long as possible — which you can do without heavy weights or access to the gym.

One small 2017 study showed that participants who performed bodyweight push-ups for eight weeks .