The biggest lie you’ve been told about getting abs is that you need to do thousands of crunches.
The Abs I Built in the Gym but Uncovered in the Kitchen
I was on a mission for a six-pack. Every single night, I would be on the floor, doing hundreds of crunches, leg raises, and planks until my core was on fire. I definitely had strong abs, but they were buried under a stubborn layer of fat. I complained to a friend who was a personal trainer. He told me, “You can’t out-train a bad diet. Your abs have been there the whole time.” He helped me focus on my nutrition to lower my body fat percentage. Lo and behold, my abs finally made an appearance.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about fat loss is that you need to do hours of cardio.
How I Ran Less and Lost More
My only strategy for losing fat was to spend hours plodding away on the treadmill. I was constantly tired, hungry, and my results were painfully slow. My friend, who was much leaner, was always in the weight room. He told me, “You’re burning calories for an hour. I’m building muscle that will burn calories for me 24/7.” I swapped my long, slow jogs for three days of heavy lifting and some short, high-intensity interval sessions. The fat came off faster than ever, and I finally got that lean, athletic look.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about building muscle is that you have to “eat big to get big,” leading to a dirty bulk.
The Bulk That Just Made Me Fat
I wanted to gain muscle, so I followed the classic “dirty bulk” advice. I saw it as a license to eat everything in sight—pizza, ice cream, you name it. Sure, my weight on the scale shot up and my lifts got stronger, but I also gained a thick layer of fat that hid any muscle I had built. The subsequent “cut” was miserable. A leaner friend told me his secret was a “lean bulk”—a small, controlled calorie surplus from clean foods. I tried it, and gained quality muscle without all the unwanted fat.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about fitness is that you need expensive supplements to see results.
The $100 Stack vs. The $10 Bag of Creatine
My bathroom cabinet looked like a supplement store. I had pre-workouts, post-workouts, BCAAs, fat-burners—the works. I was spending a fortune. My friend, who was twice as strong as me, only had a simple tub of protein powder and a bag of creatine monohydrate. He told me, “You’re buying into hype. 95% of your results will come from consistent training and a solid diet.” I ditched the fancy bottles, focused on the basics, and my wallet and my muscles were much better for it.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about getting stronger is that you have to train to failure on every set.
The Day I Got Stronger by Not Trying as Hard
My motto in the gym was “no pain, no gain.” I pushed every single set to absolute failure, grinding out ugly reps until I couldn’t move the weight. I was proud of my intensity, but I was always exhausted, sore, and my progress had completely stalled. A powerlifter at my gym told me my nervous system was fried. He instructed me to leave one or two good reps “in the tank” on every set. It felt wrong, but my recovery improved so much that I could handle more total work, and I started getting stronger again.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about getting a V-taper is that it’s all about your chest and arms.
The Mirror Muscles That Lied to Me
Like a lot of guys, my workouts revolved around the “mirror muscles”—bench press for my chest, curls for my biceps. I was getting stronger in those lifts, but I still had a narrow, straight frame. I complained to an older lifter who had that classic V-shape. He pointed out, “You’re building the details before the foundation. A wide back and broad shoulders are what create the illusion of a small waist.” I shifted my focus to pull-ups, rows, and overhead presses, and my entire physique transformed.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about weightlifting is that it will make you “bulky” in a bad way.
The “Bulk” That Just Made Me Look Athletic
I was hesitant to start lifting heavy because I had this image in my head of becoming a huge, muscle-bound bodybuilder. I just wanted to look lean and athletic, not “bulky.” A trainer finally convinced me to try a proper strength training program. The result was the exact opposite of what I feared. As I built muscle and lost fat, I didn’t get bulky; I got toned. My clothes fit better, my posture improved, and I built a lean, capable physique. The “bulk” I was afraid of was a total myth.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about your body type is that you’re a “hardgainer” who can’t build muscle.
The “Hardgainer” Who Was Just Undereating
For years, I told myself and everyone else that I was a “hardgainer.” I had a fast metabolism and just couldn’t put on muscle, no matter how much I worked out. It was a convenient excuse. I finally hired a coach who had me track my food intake for one week. The results were humbling. I wasn’t a hardgainer; I was just seriously undereating. I thought I was eating a lot, but I wasn’t even close to the calorie and protein requirements for muscle growth. I started eating enough, and magically, I started growing.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about getting in shape is that it requires spending hours in the gym every day.
The 45-Minute Workout That Beat the 2-Hour Marathon
I used to believe that to get in real shape, I needed to dedicate two hours a day to the gym. Since I didn’t have that kind of time, I just didn’t go. I felt stuck. Then I saw a friend from college who was in incredible shape. I asked him about his routine, expecting to hear about a grueling schedule. He told me he only works out for 45 minutes, four times a week. The key, he said, was intensity and focus. A short, intense workout is infinitely better than a long, unfocused one.
The biggest lie you’ve been told about rest days is that they’re for the weak.
How a Week Off Made Me Stronger
I was obsessed. I trained hard seven days a week, believing that rest days were a sign of weakness. But I felt constantly run down, my performance was suffering, and I developed a nagging shoulder injury. I was forced to take a full week off to recover. I was terrified I’d lose all my progress. To my complete surprise, when I came back to the gym, I felt incredible. I broke through my plateau and hit new personal records. I learned that muscle isn’t built in the gym; it’s built during recovery.