Welcome to The BarBend Newsletter! Here’s what we have in store for you today:

• Debunking three myths about bodybuilding

• The key differences between pull-ups and chin-ups

• Expert advice on building muscle after 40

Bodybuilding

All Mistakes Are Avoidable`

It’s like the old joke: Three bodybuilders walk into a bar. Or maybe it’s, “How many bodybuilders does it take to screw in a light bulb?”

Whatever the setup, BarBend is looking at three of the top minds in hypertrophy as they go over the biggest myths they see in bodybuilding:

• More time under tension (TUT) always means more muscle growth.

• Exercise novelty is necessary for muscle growth.

• More sets always equal more muscle growth.

Dr. Mike Israetel, Eric Janicki, and Jared Feather each bring a lifetime of experience to the table, so you know they’re not just blowing smoke up your backside. Plus, we back up their claims with our own research.

Stop believing these fantasies about muscle growth and learn the truth about what actually works.

Exercise Selection

Pull-Ups vs. Chin-Ups

Chin-ups and pull-ups are two flavors of essentially the same thing: grabbing a bar positioned somewhere above your head and raising yourself up. But what would the internet be without a good bit of equivocation? Worthless, that’s what.

Figuring out the difference between pull-ups and chin-ups can help you on your journey to upper-body symmetry and development, so grab a gravedigger’s shovel and let’s get to work on the importance of each.

The most obvious difference is the positioning of your hands: The chin-up is supine, and the pull-up grip is prone. Always forget which is which? Just remember, if your hand is turned to scratch your chin, you’re doing a chin-up; if you can’t, it’s a pull-up.

The biggest change with a chin-up grip is that it puts more pressure on your biceps, but EMG testing actually reveals a host of other contractile differences in the muscles of your upper body.

Figure out when you need to chin and when you need to pull so that the next time you step up to a low-hanging bar, you’re ready.

Training

Aged Gains

Building muscle after 40, despite what you might have heard, is not like spotting a Sasquatch in the wild. Dr. Eric Helms, a career natural bodybuilder, is living proof that it is possible to achieve (and build upon) middle-aged gains. In this interview, Dr. Helms details his entire journey through the sport of bodybuilding and medicine.

First, he wants you to understand that not a ton changes when you hit 40: muscle still gets built the old-fashioned way with hard work in the gym and effective cooking in the kitchen. If things aren’t as easy as before, then that’s not even a bad thing, is it?

There is no reason to give up on your muscle-building goals just because 40 is in the rearview mirror. Let Dr. Helms guide you through the wilds of the great land of hypertrophy.

Big Lifts

Caine Is Raising

2020 Olympian (and current Garage Gym Reviews staff writer) Caine Wilkes (@thedragonwilkes) had himself a weekend at the USAW Masters Nationals, hitting all six lifts to win the Men’s +109kg super-heavyweight division!

Quick Hits

📺 Watch This: Dan Bell’s legendary all-time raw powerlifting total has officially been bested, and in doing so, South African Colton Engelbrecht has become the first person to ever total 1,200kg.

🏋️ Lift This: Most of you reading this probably perform seated cable rows on back day. But do you do them correctly? Read this refresher on how to nail this surprisingly tricky gym staple.

💪 Shake This: Over at Garage Gym Reviews, Coop reviews one of the most popular fitness gadgets of the past decade… and subsequently wonders what is wrong with the world.

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