July 15, 2020 • 36 mins
Muscle confusion is another one of those terms that was created as a marketing play to redefine a basic concept in exercise physiology. That said, there is still some confusion surrounding "muscle confusion"; is it helpful for your muscles to be confused? What exactly does it mean? In this episode of Fitness Disrupted, Tom explains muscle confusion and the best way to challenge your muscles to adapt faster, to once again help you make the most out of the time you spend exercising.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of My Heart Radio.
I am Tom Holland, and this is Fitness Disrupted. Muscle confusion.
Any of you have confusion about muscle confusion. It's one
of those terms you've probably heard about, like so many
(00:23):
of the shows I do for Fitness Disrupted. Some of
you know what it is. Some of you have heard
of it and think you know what it is. And
many of you are saying, Okay, I think I know
what it is. I'm not sure, but I'm not sure
what to do about it. Am I doing it right?
And how do I maximize that term whatever it is
(00:44):
to get my results, to get the greatest results that
I'm looking for in my exercise program. Okay, And that's
what it's all about, right, We are trying to do
what and what is my goal for you? Is to
get you the greatest results in the shortest amount of
time with the least likelihood of injury. So that's my
main one of my main concerns in what I do
(01:05):
for a living. Now. Muscle confusion is nothing new. It's
not new. It's a term though that was made hugely
popular by what P ninety x P ninety x now
some of you may say, I don't even know what
P ninety X is. So P ninety X was a
hugely popular home DVD fitness and actually VHS. I think
(01:30):
Tony originally. So Tony Horton is the guy behind it,
the fitness guru who led the DVDs and came up
with the program, and Beach Bodies the company that got
behind it. And if I'm not mistaken, Tony had the
program before Beach Body had it out on VHS. And
I'm pretty sure it was repurposed way back when. I mean,
it's older than people think. Uh. And Tony Horton amazing
(01:53):
is about I think he's sixty one today, Uh, in
phenomenal shape. And this program sold millions and millions of copies.
And what I love when I when I talk about
P ninety X is at the time, I just picture Tony,
you know, talking to the investors because it went against
everything that you know you would think people would want,
(02:13):
not me, but especially investors. Right, Oh, I have it.
It's a ninety day program. It's a nine people go No,
I want results in weeks, not ninety days. It's not easy.
In other words, they're challenging moves their chin ups and
and some pretty intense moves. But it gave people something
to follow. It gave them a plan, and that's what
(02:35):
so many of you want. You tell me what to
do and I will do it right. And then you
want it to be fun and you want to see results.
And part of that, and this is where we will
bring it all back to, is about making it fun.
And when I give you the study, really interesting study,
it's gonna be, uh, the physiological versus the psychological. So
(02:58):
it's such an interesting study, uh that I'm gonna talk
about as far as muscle confusion goes. So P nine
d X made it hugely popular, muscle confusion. And if
you read kind of the the discussion about this online,
so many old school fitness guys, bodybuilder types, they get angry.
They're like, muscle confusion is nothing new, and they're right.
(03:19):
Muscle confusion is variation. Muscle confusion is variation. So that's
the simple term for it. But it's not so simple.
So people go, Okay, it's variation, So what does that mean?
You know, it's that question I get so frequently, as
I say, people ask me how often should I change
(03:39):
my routine around? How often that is one of the
top questions when it comes to your exercise program, and
it is a hugely important one. Let's take a quick
break when we come back and jump right into it.
Talk all about muscle confusion and how you can maximize
it not only for your physical results, but you're psychological
(04:03):
as well. Quick break, we'll be right back, all right.
So we're talking taking the confusion out of muscle confusion.
And it's an industry marketing term. As I said, it's
(04:23):
not new, variation is not new, but it's a great
It's it's sexy, right, just like the shows I did
on net carbs and super foods. Uh, those terms are
meant to sell products, right, and muscle confusion was just
part of the beauty and the allure and the sexiness
of P nine d X Muscle confusion. Okay, And I
(04:47):
did a workout routine that was trying to bank on
the success of P nine d X and it was
called Supreme ninety Day. So I've done a lot in
this fitness industry, as I've talked about, and this was
one of those things. So they were looking for, Uh,
there was as seen on TV. Company had trainers who
had come up with a workout routine to compete with
(05:09):
P N I d X. And it was shorter and
it was much cheaper, which is why it was an
as seen on TV product. I'm Gonna Play You. It
was a two. There was a bunch of different spots
and so what happened was I auditioned. Hundreds of people
auditioned for this, and I had a director who I
had worked with before, and he said, Tom, you gotta
try out audition for this. They've been looking forever and
(05:29):
it's a really hard thing. You fitness people out there
who are teaching, you know, getting in front of a
camera and hosting. This was eleven DVDs and we shot
them over three days in Miami. Was one of the
hardest things. It was the hardest thing I've done at
the time. But it's it's interesting because it's gonna play
into the whole muscle confusion thing. So this company was saying, Hey,
(05:50):
P ninety X super successful, Let's come out with a
similar product, maybe a little better in that it's shorter
and cheaper. Was there, um it was there kind of
secret sauce for it. But here this was a I'm
Gonna Play You About thirty seconds of one of the infomercials,
and yes it is me at the beginning here it
(06:11):
is hold onto your seats for the fitness breakthroughout the decade.
This is Supreme Day Elie in durance Athlee Tom Holland
has competed in eighteen Ironman Triad balongs and over fifteen marathons,
and now he's bringing you these amazing workouts designed to
get you in the best shape of your life in
just ninety days. Ordinary workouts loose steam because muscles plateau,
(06:34):
so you stop seeing results. Supreme ninty Day employs the
power of muscle confusion to keep your body challenged, so
no matter what your age, your fitness level, you will
get results. So there you have it and kind of
fun to listen to, right and hear how this company
was playing into that muscle confusion thing. And as I said,
(06:54):
there's incredible value to it. And I we'll talk about
the science and we'll talk about the study, But what
was the term plateau? Plateau? So that is one of
the major reasons for muscle confusion. To employ variation and
muscle confusion being that sexy term. Okay, that's what it's about.
(07:17):
How many people not only ask how frequently they should
change their routine. But then they'll say, Tom, I've been
exercising for three months. I've been doing this routine and
at the beginning I saw results and I got stronger
and I lost some weight. Uh. Maybe if they're doing cardio,
got faster, and they say now I'm plateauing, I'm not
(07:37):
seeing And and quite often the plateau, obviously is weight loss.
Is weight loss, And since that is a huge goal
of so many people, go how do we avoid that?
And why does it happen? And I've talked about this
in other shows. The body is a really smart machine.
The human body is amazing. It's one of the reasons
(07:59):
I of my job and I love studying about it.
And I'm going back to school again actually to study more.
I just I can't get enough. And the body adapts,
and that is one reason. So, as I talked about
in a previous show, two reasons, two reasons with the
muscle confusion and the plateau. Let's say you are running,
(08:21):
you're doing a workout, Well, your body gets more efficient
at it. What does that mean? You get better at it,
whether it's running, lifting weights, whatever that movement pattern is.
The more you do it, your body learns, you become
more efficient. So what does more efficient mean When it
comes to weight loss. Efficiency means you are burning less calories.
(08:42):
You're better at it. That's why you get faster. One
of the reasons you get faster. So people will say, Tom,
you know, I've been running the same three mile loop
doing it for four months, six months, whatever, I'm not
losing the weight I used to go. Of course you're not.
Your body has gotten better. You're a more efficient runner.
And two things are happening. You are more efficient and
so you're burning fewer calories. And if you plateau, that
(09:04):
means you lost some weight. So you are also burning
fewer calories because you are lighter. So those two reasons
are reasons for adding variation, adding muscle confusion. But there
is science to it, and that's what this shows about.
You can't just confuse it all the time, and it
(09:25):
goes to your goals. That is what's so important. You know.
I always say, like when you work with a personal
trainer for the first time, if they train you hard
on day one, that is such a problem because when
people start an exercise routine, I need to know so
many things about you. If I'm working with you as
(09:45):
a client and that first session are questions, so that
applies to muscle confusion as well. And how much and
how you're going to vary your routine because it's about
your goals or fitness level, the frequency you're going to train.
Are we talking about strength training cardio, A mixture of
(10:07):
the two. Are your goals to build muscle to lose weight?
A combination of the two is a performance. We need
to know those things, okay, and that goes into how
you design the confusion in your muscle confusion. But back
to the person who is starting a fitness routine for
(10:31):
the first time, the less um advanced you are, the
more you want to stick with your program at the start.
So that's where we're gonna start with, right, So if
you're just starting a routine, if you're like just starting,
if if you're a client of mine and you've never
really strength trained in your life, I'm not going to
mix up your routine every single time, not like crazy
(10:57):
muscle confusion, because if I give you push ups on
day one and then give you something totally different the
second session, and you are never learning two things how
to do that movement correctly. So just form wise, and
then there's something called neural adaptations, because that's what we're
talking about is adaption. Your body adapting two the stressors
(11:22):
imposed upon it adaptations, so neural adaptations. This is what's
so interesting when it comes to strength training. When you
started a program for the first time and start doing moves,
we're talking strength training primarily for the first time. Your
increases in strength are due to neural adaptations. What does
(11:43):
that mean. It's a brain thing. You are improving the
synchronization of your motor unit firing and improving your ability
to recruit those muscle units. What does that mean. You're
getting better atlifting weights. You are teaching your brain to
connect to your muscles to lift more weights. So that
is one reason this is so interesting that so many
(12:05):
people stop their exercise routine right when they're gonna start
seeing results. So weeks into their routine, their brains are
connecting to their muscles. So the strength is not from
increased muscle hypertrophy. You're not building that lean muscle yet,
you're learning how to do it. So the changes in
your body are going to happen, but to not happening
(12:28):
at the beginning because you need those connections, so if
you alter it all the time, you're not making those
connections in the same way. So that's what I'm talking about.
That's why this is not just very simply me saying, hey,
here's exactly what you should do, and here's how many
times you should vary routine, and this is the number
of weeks. No, but that's where we start from, just
(12:50):
knowing that at the very beginning, especially if you're learning
a complex move, if you don't get good at that move,
you're not going to recruit the muscle fibers you want to.
And so let's say that your goal is to build
lean muscle to build strength, you don't want too much variation.
(13:13):
And that goes to the beginner. You don't want to
alter your routine all the time. Now, if you are
super advanced, yes you can, Yes you can. I am
at that point where I have been doing this for decades.
I am fifty one. I started doing this at fourteen,
and I've been really consistent every day since then, you know,
(13:37):
mixing it up. Of course, I've taken time off and
I've done so much variation, but we're talking decades. So
when I go into the gym, or if I'm working
at home. There is a lot of variation because I
need it both psychologically as well as physically. But I've
made those connections. As my point. I have done all
of those exercises so many times over. So if you're
(14:00):
just starting out a routine, I want four to six
weeks of building a base of strength. I want the basics.
I want, you know, push ups. When it comes to
body weight exercises, I want all those basics, squats and
lunges and push ups and planks. And then with strength training,
if you're using freeweights, I want the basics dumbbell, chess presses,
(14:22):
shoulder presses, biceps curls. If you're using machines, the same thing,
because we want to build that base of strength and
we want to make those neural connections. And one other
thing we want that is really important. I want you
to see results. I want you to see progression. So
(14:43):
that is another really important term here, progression. Okay, So
if you are let's just say body weight doing push ups,
I want you to get motivated because on day one
you did one, and on you know, you three months
in and we've done pushups two to three times a
(15:03):
week at our sessions. If you were a client of mine,
at the end of three months, you're up to thirty
push ups. Let's say that's super motivating to you and
you can quantify that. So that is another reason to
stick with the same exercises for a certain amount of time.
Now again I'm talking strength training and muscle building and strength,
(15:26):
and this is why we need to clarify goals. If
it's just weight loss, we can go out and walk,
we can go out and run. I can just get
you to burn calories, but I also want you to
build muscle. See how it gets tricky, And this is
why one of the huge benefits of trainers is giving
you that variation when you need it, but it's also
(15:50):
quantifying it for you, and it's giving you that mix
of cardio and strength because it's not just about burning colories.
I also want you to build the lean muscle because
increases your metabolism twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week. So we're talking about variation, we're talking about progression,
and we're talking about adaptation. And this goes to the
(16:14):
overload principle. The overload principle goes to what I started
the show talking about and it is exercise physiology one
oh one. You need to continue to challenge a muscle.
Here we go muscle confusion, to challenge a muscle, to
change that muscle, because the body adapts. So if you
start out doing bicep curls with ten pound weights and
(16:38):
a year from now you are still doing biceps curls
with ten pound weights, chances are you have really not
seen any adaptations in months. And this is why I
talk about frequently. I will go to gyms that I
worked at years ago, sometimes decades, and there are the
(16:59):
same people doing the same exercises and guess what, they
look exactly the same. And that's okay to some degree, right,
you go, well, they're doing something, they're strong, they've built strength.
You're absolutely right. But if you are going to the gym,
if you are working out consistently, I want you to
get the most results, and so maintenancece is perfectly fine.
(17:22):
And if you're strong and you're balanced and it's working
for you, awesome, But the adaptations have taken place. If
you're doing the exact same routine and you've been doing
it for years and you haven't changed anything, including the weight,
then you are short changing yourself, especially as we get older,
(17:43):
because we need to challenge the muscles. And that goes
to four basic ways again exercise physiology one oh one
that you manipulate your workout routine, the duration, how long
you work out, the intensity at what intensity you exercise,
the frequency, how many time is a week, and then
the mode. So the mode what exercises are you doing
(18:04):
or what type of workout are you're doing, and so
muscle confusion should include all of those things, but it's
primarily mode, right, So if you do something like P
nine d X or Supreme nine D day, it's you're
doing these exercises on day one or you know, workout
one and totally different routine on day two. So it's mode.
(18:25):
And again the other three variables are in there, but
ideally you want to mix up all of those. And
that is another problem with people's routines is they find
something they like and they just do the same thing.
It's the sixty minute workout at the same intensity, at
the same frequency, and the same workout, right, So duration, intensity, frequency,
(18:50):
mode never change, and that's when you plateau, and that's
when you stop seeing results, and that's when you can
actually start to gain weight as you're older. Right, when
people say I'm doing the same thing, here's the frequent line.
Now that i'm you know, post fifty, my friends will
say something, doing the same thing, and I'm not seeing
the same results, And I say repeat that, say it again.
(19:10):
You're doing the same thing and you're not seeing the
results you saw at the beginning. Isn't that the definition
of insanity? So it is as easy as making that
comparison when it comes to your exercise routine. And this
is great news, all right. When we come back from
the final break, I'm gonna get to this great study
done by none other than again Brad Schonfeld, whom I
(19:33):
had on the show, and if you missed that show,
you have to listen to it. Just one of the
pre eminent guys, one of the diamond and the rough
when it comes to fitness. Because he was a trainer
back when I was a trainer in the city, and
then he went on to become a professor PhD, top
researcher into muscle building, strength training. And there's a New
(19:55):
York Times article that quoted him and talked about his
study into nothing other than muscle confusion. So quick break,
when we come back, we can talk about that and
then we canna give you the specifics again to how
to maximize muscle confusion for your goals. Last break, we'll
be right back, all right. So talking about muscle confusion,
(20:26):
great topic, perfect topic for fitness disrupted sexy sounds great.
I'm not really sure what it means for most people.
What is the science behind it? Well here's the science.
One one great study December of two thousand nineteen, super
recent again Brad Schonfeld one of the researchers involved with
(20:50):
the study, and the title is the effects of exercise
variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength, and motivation in Resistance
Trained Man. Okay, so we're talking about hypertrophy, you know,
muscle size, muscle thickness, maximal strength. So strength gains, size gains,
(21:11):
and this is what's going to be the really interesting
takeaway from this motivation. Okay, So this was in Plus one.
This is Brad shown Feld again, and the objective the
study was to compare what we're talking about traditional resistance
training program, same exercises, same reps to a resistance training
program where those change and are randomized on a session
(21:33):
by session basics so this is exactly muscle confusion. This
is just like doing a program like uh P nine
t X, and they're looking at the muscle adaptation as
well as motivation. All right, So what were the methods
twenty one resistance train men. So this is important, as
I talked about, when we look at these studies, these
are not beginners, so that that comes into play. Okay,
(21:56):
not a huge study twenty one people, but you know,
good study, good enough to start the discussion. And it
was an eight week study, so there was either the
group again fixed exercise selection, same exercises for eight weeks,
or exercises randomly varied using a computer app really interesting
for the times, right, But both groups did three sets
(22:18):
of six exercises and exercise four times a week, so
two times a week they were doing upper body, two
times doing lower body. What was the takeaway? Varying the
exercise selection had a positive effect on both muscular size
and strength for both groups. So there was no big difference.
There was no big difference. Here's the big difference though,
(22:40):
was the motivation. And we can't have this discussion without
talking about that. And I love that Dr Schoenfeld's study
talks about this and if you actually look at some
of the discussion online, holy cow, people are going nuts,
you know, talking about whatever, uh, trying to tear it down.
This is this is good stuff. This is really good stuff. Okay.
(23:01):
So a novel finding of this study, they say, was
that only the group that mixed up their routine significantly
increased motivation levels from pre to post study. The motivation
in the group that did the same routine declined. This
is the stuff that is so often overlooked when it
(23:23):
comes to exercise. If one group, uh, you know, motivation
is everything. Is what I'm trying to say, excessive moderation. Right,
if you are not doing it, if you're not enjoying it,
you're not gonna do it. And it's all about consistency.
So this is one of the major benefits of a
(23:44):
trainer who's really good at what they do, is that
they are giving you muscle confusion just enough to keep
you interested, but giving you the right exercises so you
can build those neural connections. And I could do a
whole show on this. This is why good trainers are
so hard to find, because back when I was doing it,
(24:07):
I need to keep you interested, but I can't give
you too much variation at the start, you're gonna get hurt.
You're not going to build the base of strength you
need to, you're not going to see the progression, and
you're not gonna make those neural connections. So yes, I've
always said this, and I can make your routine as
sexy and as difficult as possible. And that's what so
(24:27):
many fitness programs do. Let's make it as as crazy
these moves and as difficult. What's what's hard about making
you do a hundred of something nothing and so many
Instagram exercise Here, we're gonna do this different routine every day,
and that's great. So here's the thing. If you are
just looking to raise your heart rate and burn some calories,
(24:50):
then yes, you can mix up that routine and should frequently.
But when it comes to your overall building of strength
and what I call what proof in your body, because
it's not only about exercising frequently and enjoying it, but
if you're hurt, you can't do it either, right, So yes,
(25:10):
we have to do our homework. The pre hab versus rehab,
this is where all comes into play. This is why
it's such an art and a science. Combined. The fitness
strength training world, it is complicated, but we take the
science like this great study by Dr Schoenfeld, and we go, okay,
(25:34):
you're obviously going to build strength and size by lifting
heavy things. Now I have to say one final time
with this study, these guys are resistance trained men. In
other words, they knew what they were doing. They have
made those neural connections. As my point and I would argue,
would be so different if these were true beginners, and
(25:55):
the exercises and all of these program designs. This is
why even though we talk about and I will always
I mean, this show is all about the studies, but
we gotta look at the studies and the exercises that
are chosen, in the length of time, and the you know,
degree to which the subjects are trained or untrained. All
of these factors are important. So what's the takeaway When
(26:19):
you are just starting out, you need to build a
base of strength. To build a base of strength, you
need to stick with the same exercises for a certain
amount of time, and for me that's four to six
weeks generally speaking, how many times a week are you
working out? Again? Ideally for me, for most of you
(26:40):
out there, whose goals are to look better, feel better,
live longer, not be in pain, be a good way,
not the perfect weight, you know, maybe not have a
six pack or do an iron man or running all
those kind of You just want to be fit and
feel good and look as good as you can with
the minimum, you know, the not least amount of of
(27:00):
working out. But you want to maximize your time, of
course you do. Why do you want to waste time?
So for me, it's two to three times of a
full body routine. If you're exercising six days a week
strength training, then you can change it up. As soon
as I saw for this study that they were doing
four days a week, I knew that they were had
to split the routine into upper body and lower body
(27:22):
because you can't do you shouldn't do the same exercises
two days in a row. You need twenty four hours
to let the muscle what rebuild and repair and adapt.
There's a lot going on here when it comes to
muscle confusion. Alright, So frequency is a huge part of
muscle confusion. For most of you, Monday Wednesday Friday strength training,
(27:48):
full body strength training Monday Wednesday Friday, and then if
you want to work out Tuesday Thursday. That could be
your cardio days, or that's where you mix it up.
That's where it's you know, running or biking or swim
mean or pilates or yoga. If you're going to exercise
every day, and if you say, tom, I'm only doing
three days a week, well then and that's fine. Then
(28:10):
we want to combine the cardio and the strength, and
we want to do maybe some circuit training with some
cardio intervals thrown in. And listen to prior podcasts where
I give all these great circuit training workouts. But that's
why so much of this. You go, Okay, muscle confusion
sounds great, but what are your goals? How often are
(28:30):
you working out? I'm still doing push ups today. I
started doing them when I was thirteen. I do them frequently.
And I just read an article that said, you know,
you get so good at push ups you need to
drastically chick. No, that's a maintenance thing for me, and
I'm getting better and better at it. By the way,
that's a thing that is not talked about either when
(28:50):
it comes to muscle confusion. You can continue to get
better and better at the exercise. I would argue what
does that mean? You are recruiting more muscle fibers, you
are slowing down the repetition. You don't have to make
it really difficult to make it different by adding weight.
You can do other things, change the tempo, change the angles,
(29:15):
things like that. All right, So that is what we're
talking about here. And proper form is paramount. So if
you're changing a routine around too frequently, and you are
a beginner or starting out, or it's a new routine
for you, then you're not going to learn that proper form.
You're not going to make those connections. And that is
as we wrap this up. I used to do, you know,
(29:40):
more repetitions of things like abdominal exercises. The better you
get at doing the movement, the fewer repetitions you have
to do it Burns. I taught Matt Pilates for years
and I got really good at making those neural connections.
So you know what happens instead of having to do
fifty of an abdominal exercise, just a lot of repetitions
(30:02):
when you get better at it because you've done it
frequently enough, ten fifteen repetitions, it's all you it's all
you can do and That is why when I talk
about like the as many reps as possible, you know,
am wrap type things, it's the opposite of making those
(30:23):
neural connections. You are trying to turn those muscle connections
off so you can do as many reps as possible.
But I digress, and I did a whole show on that.
If you're interested in that, and there's a point if
you go, Okay, my my goal is to do as
many reps as possible, totally different. That's a competition. But
as far as muscle hypertrophy and things like that, that's different. Alright.
(30:45):
So muscle confusion is important for psychological as well as
physical reasons, and that is so important. So you need
to to mix up your routine. And this is where
I will leave you is out frequently, you know, when
I'm contributing to an article or talking about a you know,
a routine for someone. You need to mix it up.
(31:06):
You need to add variation, You need to add that
motivation component. As this study showed, you can get really
bored with doing the same thing over and over again
and you're not going to see the results you want.
They will stop, you will plateau, all right, So mix
it up, but earn the right to mix it up.
(31:28):
So do the basics, build that base of strength, work
on your weaknesses. Listen to that podcast I just did
if you haven't, because your weak link will hold you back,
and once you get injured because of that weak link,
you can't do what you want to do, and that
will severely hold you back. So muscle confusion is important
(31:49):
because our bodies are really smart machines and they stopped adapting,
both physiologically and psychologically to that routine. So you need
to mix it up. And if calories are your goal,
you can just get that heart rate up and burn
those calories away. But we want to build that leon muscle.
So that's why you want to stick with a program
(32:10):
for a certain amount of time, build that strength, see
their progression, and change it over time. There you have it,
muscle confusion. I hope that takes a little of the
confusion out, but never forget that your body is a
really smart machine and that's a phenomenal realization, and challenging
(32:32):
it in different ways, subtle, different ways will make a
huge difference. And I've said this before, We're gonna say
it again. If you are doing the same routine This
is an amazing example of the benefits and and how
it doesn't have to be complicated at all. If you
are doing the same ten exercises in a row, if
you just flip that order around, start with the last
(32:53):
one and work your way through, or just completely do
it in a random order, it will totally change the
work that you will be sore in a way that
will astound you because you are pretty fatiguing your muscles
in a different way for each exercise, So same exercises
done in a different order will add a muscle confusion
(33:15):
element that will just amaze you if you've never done
that before, if you've done the same routine in the
same order as so many people do, I'll see them
in the gym and I'll know exactly where they're going. Oh, yes,
they do try to press downs, and he's gonna go
do crunches, and then he's gonna go and again. That's
fine from a certain You've got your maintenance. You're doing
something to get it, but I want you to get
the most. It's like going to the to the to
(33:37):
the library at college and reading the same book over
and over, and you know you want to change it up.
You want to see different results and keep your body guessing,
especially as we get old. You want to be as
healthy as possible. Doesn't mean you have to go super intense.
Means you need to mix it up different things, keep
your body challenged and your brain. Well. Thank you as
(34:00):
well enough. I am Tom holland thank you so much.
I'm sweating. I'm you know, I stand when I do
these shows. I've got the standing desk. I love that.
When I was interviewing Dean car Nazis ultra marathon man, uh,
he said, are you standing because I am? Yes, And
that's another thing. By the way, move all day long,
(34:21):
another way that you can just make your your day
and body uh that much better. All right, So if
you have not rated the show, please do so. Please,
please please rate the show and thank you if you
have already subscribed to the show. Amazing. I have some
guests lined up that are just phenomenal. Female ultra athlete
(34:42):
coming up. Uh, two time cancer survivor who this is
a different person by the way, who climbed Everest. Just amazing.
I'm gonna bring you the best of the best. And
again my goal is what I said at the beginning
of the show, I want you to look your best,
feel your best, and live as long as possible and
enjoyed those years. So we're gonna look at all these
studies and then we're gonna distill it down because at
(35:03):
the end of the day, the motivation side of the
study we looked at. I don't care how great a
program is for you. It's like healthy foods. I can say.
I've said to people, like, drink this protein shake. I
guarantee you if you have this protein shake two times
a day every day for eight weeks, you're gonna see
phenomenal changes, and people go, I can't, it's disgusting. Same
thing with workout routines. You've got to find what you
(35:24):
enjoy and do it consistently. It matters not what you
know the the benefit of that exercises if you don't
do it frequently enough, and that's why muscle confusion is important.
But you gotta have that base of strength, alright. Tom
h Fit is my Instagram as well as my Twitter.
You can reach out to me through there and fitness
(35:46):
disrupted dot com website. You can check out more about
me and contact me through the site as well. Thank
you so much for listening. Have another reader mail Bag
show coming up real soon. You guys. Many people have
reached out to me with questions and comments and topics
and I include them all, include them all. So thank
you for that and thank you for listening. I love
(36:07):
what I do. Uh and by the way, micro Workout
Plan if you're interested in My newest book is out.
You can find it anywhere Amazon, and I'm just trying
to give you all the information you need to have
your best life. That is my goal. Thank you for listening.
I am Tom Holland. This is Fitness Disrupted, Believe in yourself.
(36:31):
Fitness Disrupted is a production of I Heart Radio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Welcome to Fitness Disrupted, a production of My Heart Radio.
I am Tom Holland, and this is Fitness Disrupted. Muscle confusion.
Any of you have confusion about muscle confusion. It's one
of those terms you've probably heard about, like so many
(00:23):
of the shows I do for Fitness Disrupted. Some of
you know what it is. Some of you have heard
of it and think you know what it is. And
many of you are saying, Okay, I think I know
what it is. I'm not sure, but I'm not sure
what to do about it. Am I doing it right?
And how do I maximize that term whatever it is
(00:44):
to get my results, to get the greatest results that
I'm looking for in my exercise program. Okay, And that's
what it's all about, right, We are trying to do
what and what is my goal for you? Is to
get you the greatest results in the shortest amount of
time with the least likelihood of injury. So that's my
main one of my main concerns in what I do
(01:05):
for a living. Now. Muscle confusion is nothing new. It's
not new. It's a term though that was made hugely
popular by what P ninety x P ninety x now
some of you may say, I don't even know what
P ninety X is. So P ninety X was a
hugely popular home DVD fitness and actually VHS. I think
(01:30):
Tony originally. So Tony Horton is the guy behind it,
the fitness guru who led the DVDs and came up
with the program, and Beach Bodies the company that got
behind it. And if I'm not mistaken, Tony had the
program before Beach Body had it out on VHS. And
I'm pretty sure it was repurposed way back when. I mean,
it's older than people think. Uh. And Tony Horton amazing
(01:53):
is about I think he's sixty one today, Uh, in
phenomenal shape. And this program sold millions and millions of copies.
And what I love when I when I talk about
P ninety X is at the time, I just picture Tony,
you know, talking to the investors because it went against
everything that you know you would think people would want,
(02:13):
not me, but especially investors. Right, Oh, I have it.
It's a ninety day program. It's a nine people go No,
I want results in weeks, not ninety days. It's not easy.
In other words, they're challenging moves their chin ups and
and some pretty intense moves. But it gave people something
to follow. It gave them a plan, and that's what
(02:35):
so many of you want. You tell me what to
do and I will do it right. And then you
want it to be fun and you want to see results.
And part of that, and this is where we will
bring it all back to, is about making it fun.
And when I give you the study, really interesting study,
it's gonna be, uh, the physiological versus the psychological. So
(02:58):
it's such an interesting study, uh that I'm gonna talk
about as far as muscle confusion goes. So P nine
d X made it hugely popular, muscle confusion. And if
you read kind of the the discussion about this online,
so many old school fitness guys, bodybuilder types, they get angry.
They're like, muscle confusion is nothing new, and they're right.
(03:19):
Muscle confusion is variation. Muscle confusion is variation. So that's
the simple term for it. But it's not so simple.
So people go, Okay, it's variation, So what does that mean?
You know, it's that question I get so frequently, as
I say, people ask me how often should I change
(03:39):
my routine around? How often that is one of the
top questions when it comes to your exercise program, and
it is a hugely important one. Let's take a quick
break when we come back and jump right into it.
Talk all about muscle confusion and how you can maximize
it not only for your physical results, but you're psychological
(04:03):
as well. Quick break, we'll be right back, all right.
So we're talking taking the confusion out of muscle confusion.
And it's an industry marketing term. As I said, it's
(04:23):
not new, variation is not new, but it's a great
It's it's sexy, right, just like the shows I did
on net carbs and super foods. Uh, those terms are
meant to sell products, right, and muscle confusion was just
part of the beauty and the allure and the sexiness
of P nine d X Muscle confusion. Okay, And I
(04:47):
did a workout routine that was trying to bank on
the success of P nine d X and it was
called Supreme ninety Day. So I've done a lot in
this fitness industry, as I've talked about, and this was
one of those things. So they were looking for, Uh,
there was as seen on TV. Company had trainers who
had come up with a workout routine to compete with
(05:09):
P N I d X. And it was shorter and
it was much cheaper, which is why it was an
as seen on TV product. I'm Gonna Play You. It
was a two. There was a bunch of different spots
and so what happened was I auditioned. Hundreds of people
auditioned for this, and I had a director who I
had worked with before, and he said, Tom, you gotta
try out audition for this. They've been looking forever and
(05:29):
it's a really hard thing. You fitness people out there
who are teaching, you know, getting in front of a
camera and hosting. This was eleven DVDs and we shot
them over three days in Miami. Was one of the
hardest things. It was the hardest thing I've done at
the time. But it's it's interesting because it's gonna play
into the whole muscle confusion thing. So this company was saying, Hey,
(05:50):
P ninety X super successful, Let's come out with a
similar product, maybe a little better in that it's shorter
and cheaper. Was there, um it was there kind of
secret sauce for it. But here this was a I'm
Gonna Play You About thirty seconds of one of the infomercials,
and yes it is me at the beginning here it
(06:11):
is hold onto your seats for the fitness breakthroughout the decade.
This is Supreme Day Elie in durance Athlee Tom Holland
has competed in eighteen Ironman Triad balongs and over fifteen marathons,
and now he's bringing you these amazing workouts designed to
get you in the best shape of your life in
just ninety days. Ordinary workouts loose steam because muscles plateau,
(06:34):
so you stop seeing results. Supreme ninty Day employs the
power of muscle confusion to keep your body challenged, so
no matter what your age, your fitness level, you will
get results. So there you have it and kind of
fun to listen to, right and hear how this company
was playing into that muscle confusion thing. And as I said,
(06:54):
there's incredible value to it. And I we'll talk about
the science and we'll talk about the study, But what
was the term plateau? Plateau? So that is one of
the major reasons for muscle confusion. To employ variation and
muscle confusion being that sexy term. Okay, that's what it's about.
(07:17):
How many people not only ask how frequently they should
change their routine. But then they'll say, Tom, I've been
exercising for three months. I've been doing this routine and
at the beginning I saw results and I got stronger
and I lost some weight. Uh. Maybe if they're doing cardio,
got faster, and they say now I'm plateauing, I'm not
(07:37):
seeing And and quite often the plateau, obviously is weight loss.
Is weight loss, And since that is a huge goal
of so many people, go how do we avoid that?
And why does it happen? And I've talked about this
in other shows. The body is a really smart machine.
The human body is amazing. It's one of the reasons
(07:59):
I of my job and I love studying about it.
And I'm going back to school again actually to study more.
I just I can't get enough. And the body adapts,
and that is one reason. So, as I talked about
in a previous show, two reasons, two reasons with the
muscle confusion and the plateau. Let's say you are running,
(08:21):
you're doing a workout, Well, your body gets more efficient
at it. What does that mean? You get better at it,
whether it's running, lifting weights, whatever that movement pattern is.
The more you do it, your body learns, you become
more efficient. So what does more efficient mean When it
comes to weight loss. Efficiency means you are burning less calories.
(08:42):
You're better at it. That's why you get faster. One
of the reasons you get faster. So people will say, Tom,
you know, I've been running the same three mile loop
doing it for four months, six months, whatever, I'm not
losing the weight I used to go. Of course you're not.
Your body has gotten better. You're a more efficient runner.
And two things are happening. You are more efficient and
so you're burning fewer calories. And if you plateau, that
(09:04):
means you lost some weight. So you are also burning
fewer calories because you are lighter. So those two reasons
are reasons for adding variation, adding muscle confusion. But there
is science to it, and that's what this shows about.
You can't just confuse it all the time, and it
(09:25):
goes to your goals. That is what's so important. You know.
I always say, like when you work with a personal
trainer for the first time, if they train you hard
on day one, that is such a problem because when
people start an exercise routine, I need to know so
many things about you. If I'm working with you as
(09:45):
a client and that first session are questions, so that
applies to muscle confusion as well. And how much and
how you're going to vary your routine because it's about
your goals or fitness level, the frequency you're going to train.
Are we talking about strength training cardio, A mixture of
(10:07):
the two. Are your goals to build muscle to lose weight?
A combination of the two is a performance. We need
to know those things, okay, and that goes into how
you design the confusion in your muscle confusion. But back
to the person who is starting a fitness routine for
(10:31):
the first time, the less um advanced you are, the
more you want to stick with your program at the start.
So that's where we're gonna start with, right, So if
you're just starting a routine, if you're like just starting,
if if you're a client of mine and you've never
really strength trained in your life, I'm not going to
mix up your routine every single time, not like crazy
(10:57):
muscle confusion, because if I give you push ups on
day one and then give you something totally different the
second session, and you are never learning two things how
to do that movement correctly. So just form wise, and
then there's something called neural adaptations, because that's what we're
talking about is adaption. Your body adapting two the stressors
(11:22):
imposed upon it adaptations, so neural adaptations. This is what's
so interesting when it comes to strength training. When you
started a program for the first time and start doing moves,
we're talking strength training primarily for the first time. Your
increases in strength are due to neural adaptations. What does
(11:43):
that mean. It's a brain thing. You are improving the
synchronization of your motor unit firing and improving your ability
to recruit those muscle units. What does that mean. You're
getting better atlifting weights. You are teaching your brain to
connect to your muscles to lift more weights. So that
is one reason this is so interesting that so many
(12:05):
people stop their exercise routine right when they're gonna start
seeing results. So weeks into their routine, their brains are
connecting to their muscles. So the strength is not from
increased muscle hypertrophy. You're not building that lean muscle yet,
you're learning how to do it. So the changes in
your body are going to happen, but to not happening
(12:28):
at the beginning because you need those connections, so if
you alter it all the time, you're not making those
connections in the same way. So that's what I'm talking about.
That's why this is not just very simply me saying, hey,
here's exactly what you should do, and here's how many
times you should vary routine, and this is the number
of weeks. No, but that's where we start from, just
(12:50):
knowing that at the very beginning, especially if you're learning
a complex move, if you don't get good at that move,
you're not going to recruit the muscle fibers you want to.
And so let's say that your goal is to build
lean muscle to build strength, you don't want too much variation.
(13:13):
And that goes to the beginner. You don't want to
alter your routine all the time. Now, if you are
super advanced, yes you can, Yes you can. I am
at that point where I have been doing this for decades.
I am fifty one. I started doing this at fourteen,
and I've been really consistent every day since then, you know,
(13:37):
mixing it up. Of course, I've taken time off and
I've done so much variation, but we're talking decades. So
when I go into the gym, or if I'm working
at home. There is a lot of variation because I
need it both psychologically as well as physically. But I've
made those connections. As my point. I have done all
of those exercises so many times over. So if you're
(14:00):
just starting out a routine, I want four to six
weeks of building a base of strength. I want the basics.
I want, you know, push ups. When it comes to
body weight exercises, I want all those basics, squats and
lunges and push ups and planks. And then with strength training,
if you're using freeweights, I want the basics dumbbell, chess presses,
(14:22):
shoulder presses, biceps curls. If you're using machines, the same thing,
because we want to build that base of strength and
we want to make those neural connections. And one other
thing we want that is really important. I want you
to see results. I want you to see progression. So
(14:43):
that is another really important term here, progression. Okay, So
if you are let's just say body weight doing push ups,
I want you to get motivated because on day one
you did one, and on you know, you three months
in and we've done pushups two to three times a
(15:03):
week at our sessions. If you were a client of mine,
at the end of three months, you're up to thirty
push ups. Let's say that's super motivating to you and
you can quantify that. So that is another reason to
stick with the same exercises for a certain amount of time.
Now again I'm talking strength training and muscle building and strength,
(15:26):
and this is why we need to clarify goals. If
it's just weight loss, we can go out and walk,
we can go out and run. I can just get
you to burn calories, but I also want you to
build muscle. See how it gets tricky, And this is
why one of the huge benefits of trainers is giving
you that variation when you need it, but it's also
(15:50):
quantifying it for you, and it's giving you that mix
of cardio and strength because it's not just about burning colories.
I also want you to build the lean muscle because
increases your metabolism twenty four hours a day, seven days
a week. So we're talking about variation, we're talking about progression,
and we're talking about adaptation. And this goes to the
(16:14):
overload principle. The overload principle goes to what I started
the show talking about and it is exercise physiology one
oh one. You need to continue to challenge a muscle.
Here we go muscle confusion, to challenge a muscle, to
change that muscle, because the body adapts. So if you
start out doing bicep curls with ten pound weights and
(16:38):
a year from now you are still doing biceps curls
with ten pound weights, chances are you have really not
seen any adaptations in months. And this is why I
talk about frequently. I will go to gyms that I
worked at years ago, sometimes decades, and there are the
(16:59):
same people doing the same exercises and guess what, they
look exactly the same. And that's okay to some degree, right,
you go, well, they're doing something, they're strong, they've built strength.
You're absolutely right. But if you are going to the gym,
if you are working out consistently, I want you to
get the most results, and so maintenancece is perfectly fine.
(17:22):
And if you're strong and you're balanced and it's working
for you, awesome, But the adaptations have taken place. If
you're doing the exact same routine and you've been doing
it for years and you haven't changed anything, including the weight,
then you are short changing yourself, especially as we get older,
(17:43):
because we need to challenge the muscles. And that goes
to four basic ways again exercise physiology one oh one
that you manipulate your workout routine, the duration, how long
you work out, the intensity at what intensity you exercise,
the frequency, how many time is a week, and then
the mode. So the mode what exercises are you doing
(18:04):
or what type of workout are you're doing, and so
muscle confusion should include all of those things, but it's
primarily mode, right, So if you do something like P
nine d X or Supreme nine D day, it's you're
doing these exercises on day one or you know, workout
one and totally different routine on day two. So it's mode.
(18:25):
And again the other three variables are in there, but
ideally you want to mix up all of those. And
that is another problem with people's routines is they find
something they like and they just do the same thing.
It's the sixty minute workout at the same intensity, at
the same frequency, and the same workout, right, So duration, intensity, frequency,
(18:50):
mode never change, and that's when you plateau, and that's
when you stop seeing results, and that's when you can
actually start to gain weight as you're older. Right, when
people say I'm doing the same thing, here's the frequent line.
Now that i'm you know, post fifty, my friends will
say something, doing the same thing, and I'm not seeing
the same results, And I say repeat that, say it again.
(19:10):
You're doing the same thing and you're not seeing the
results you saw at the beginning. Isn't that the definition
of insanity? So it is as easy as making that
comparison when it comes to your exercise routine. And this
is great news, all right. When we come back from
the final break, I'm gonna get to this great study
done by none other than again Brad Schonfeld, whom I
(19:33):
had on the show, and if you missed that show,
you have to listen to it. Just one of the
pre eminent guys, one of the diamond and the rough
when it comes to fitness. Because he was a trainer
back when I was a trainer in the city, and
then he went on to become a professor PhD, top
researcher into muscle building, strength training. And there's a New
(19:55):
York Times article that quoted him and talked about his
study into nothing other than muscle confusion. So quick break,
when we come back, we can talk about that and
then we canna give you the specifics again to how
to maximize muscle confusion for your goals. Last break, we'll
be right back, all right. So talking about muscle confusion,
(20:26):
great topic, perfect topic for fitness disrupted sexy sounds great.
I'm not really sure what it means for most people.
What is the science behind it? Well here's the science.
One one great study December of two thousand nineteen, super
recent again Brad Schonfeld one of the researchers involved with
(20:50):
the study, and the title is the effects of exercise
variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength, and motivation in Resistance
Trained Man. Okay, so we're talking about hypertrophy, you know,
muscle size, muscle thickness, maximal strength. So strength gains, size gains,
(21:11):
and this is what's going to be the really interesting
takeaway from this motivation. Okay, So this was in Plus one.
This is Brad shown Feld again, and the objective the
study was to compare what we're talking about traditional resistance
training program, same exercises, same reps to a resistance training
program where those change and are randomized on a session
(21:33):
by session basics so this is exactly muscle confusion. This
is just like doing a program like uh P nine
t X, and they're looking at the muscle adaptation as
well as motivation. All right, So what were the methods
twenty one resistance train men. So this is important, as
I talked about, when we look at these studies, these
are not beginners, so that that comes into play. Okay,
(21:56):
not a huge study twenty one people, but you know,
good study, good enough to start the discussion. And it
was an eight week study, so there was either the
group again fixed exercise selection, same exercises for eight weeks,
or exercises randomly varied using a computer app really interesting
for the times, right, But both groups did three sets
(22:18):
of six exercises and exercise four times a week, so
two times a week they were doing upper body, two
times doing lower body. What was the takeaway? Varying the
exercise selection had a positive effect on both muscular size
and strength for both groups. So there was no big difference.
There was no big difference. Here's the big difference though,
(22:40):
was the motivation. And we can't have this discussion without
talking about that. And I love that Dr Schoenfeld's study
talks about this and if you actually look at some
of the discussion online, holy cow, people are going nuts,
you know, talking about whatever, uh, trying to tear it down.
This is this is good stuff. This is really good stuff. Okay.
(23:01):
So a novel finding of this study, they say, was
that only the group that mixed up their routine significantly
increased motivation levels from pre to post study. The motivation
in the group that did the same routine declined. This
is the stuff that is so often overlooked when it
(23:23):
comes to exercise. If one group, uh, you know, motivation
is everything. Is what I'm trying to say, excessive moderation. Right,
if you are not doing it, if you're not enjoying it,
you're not gonna do it. And it's all about consistency.
So this is one of the major benefits of a
(23:44):
trainer who's really good at what they do, is that
they are giving you muscle confusion just enough to keep
you interested, but giving you the right exercises so you
can build those neural connections. And I could do a
whole show on this. This is why good trainers are
so hard to find, because back when I was doing it,
(24:07):
I need to keep you interested, but I can't give
you too much variation at the start, you're gonna get hurt.
You're not going to build the base of strength you
need to, you're not going to see the progression, and
you're not gonna make those neural connections. So yes, I've
always said this, and I can make your routine as
sexy and as difficult as possible. And that's what so
(24:27):
many fitness programs do. Let's make it as as crazy
these moves and as difficult. What's what's hard about making
you do a hundred of something nothing and so many
Instagram exercise Here, we're gonna do this different routine every day,
and that's great. So here's the thing. If you are
just looking to raise your heart rate and burn some calories,
(24:50):
then yes, you can mix up that routine and should frequently.
But when it comes to your overall building of strength
and what I call what proof in your body, because
it's not only about exercising frequently and enjoying it, but
if you're hurt, you can't do it either, right, So yes,
(25:10):
we have to do our homework. The pre hab versus rehab,
this is where all comes into play. This is why
it's such an art and a science. Combined. The fitness
strength training world, it is complicated, but we take the
science like this great study by Dr Schoenfeld, and we go, okay,
(25:34):
you're obviously going to build strength and size by lifting
heavy things. Now I have to say one final time
with this study, these guys are resistance trained men. In
other words, they knew what they were doing. They have
made those neural connections. As my point and I would argue,
would be so different if these were true beginners, and
(25:55):
the exercises and all of these program designs. This is
why even though we talk about and I will always
I mean, this show is all about the studies, but
we gotta look at the studies and the exercises that
are chosen, in the length of time, and the you know,
degree to which the subjects are trained or untrained. All
of these factors are important. So what's the takeaway When
(26:19):
you are just starting out, you need to build a
base of strength. To build a base of strength, you
need to stick with the same exercises for a certain
amount of time, and for me that's four to six
weeks generally speaking, how many times a week are you
working out? Again? Ideally for me, for most of you
(26:40):
out there, whose goals are to look better, feel better,
live longer, not be in pain, be a good way,
not the perfect weight, you know, maybe not have a
six pack or do an iron man or running all
those kind of You just want to be fit and
feel good and look as good as you can with
the minimum, you know, the not least amount of of
(27:00):
working out. But you want to maximize your time, of
course you do. Why do you want to waste time?
So for me, it's two to three times of a
full body routine. If you're exercising six days a week
strength training, then you can change it up. As soon
as I saw for this study that they were doing
four days a week, I knew that they were had
to split the routine into upper body and lower body
(27:22):
because you can't do you shouldn't do the same exercises
two days in a row. You need twenty four hours
to let the muscle what rebuild and repair and adapt.
There's a lot going on here when it comes to
muscle confusion. Alright, So frequency is a huge part of
muscle confusion. For most of you, Monday Wednesday Friday strength training,
(27:48):
full body strength training Monday Wednesday Friday, and then if
you want to work out Tuesday Thursday. That could be
your cardio days, or that's where you mix it up.
That's where it's you know, running or biking or swim
mean or pilates or yoga. If you're going to exercise
every day, and if you say, tom, I'm only doing
three days a week, well then and that's fine. Then
(28:10):
we want to combine the cardio and the strength, and
we want to do maybe some circuit training with some
cardio intervals thrown in. And listen to prior podcasts where
I give all these great circuit training workouts. But that's
why so much of this. You go, Okay, muscle confusion
sounds great, but what are your goals? How often are
(28:30):
you working out? I'm still doing push ups today. I
started doing them when I was thirteen. I do them frequently.
And I just read an article that said, you know,
you get so good at push ups you need to
drastically chick. No, that's a maintenance thing for me, and
I'm getting better and better at it. By the way,
that's a thing that is not talked about either when
(28:50):
it comes to muscle confusion. You can continue to get
better and better at the exercise. I would argue what
does that mean? You are recruiting more muscle fibers, you
are slowing down the repetition. You don't have to make
it really difficult to make it different by adding weight.
You can do other things, change the tempo, change the angles,
(29:15):
things like that. All right, So that is what we're
talking about here. And proper form is paramount. So if
you're changing a routine around too frequently, and you are
a beginner or starting out, or it's a new routine
for you, then you're not going to learn that proper form.
You're not going to make those connections. And that is
as we wrap this up. I used to do, you know,
(29:40):
more repetitions of things like abdominal exercises. The better you
get at doing the movement, the fewer repetitions you have
to do it Burns. I taught Matt Pilates for years
and I got really good at making those neural connections.
So you know what happens instead of having to do
fifty of an abdominal exercise, just a lot of repetitions
(30:02):
when you get better at it because you've done it
frequently enough, ten fifteen repetitions, it's all you it's all
you can do and That is why when I talk
about like the as many reps as possible, you know,
am wrap type things, it's the opposite of making those
(30:23):
neural connections. You are trying to turn those muscle connections
off so you can do as many reps as possible.
But I digress, and I did a whole show on that.
If you're interested in that, and there's a point if
you go, Okay, my my goal is to do as
many reps as possible, totally different. That's a competition. But
as far as muscle hypertrophy and things like that, that's different. Alright.
(30:45):
So muscle confusion is important for psychological as well as
physical reasons, and that is so important. So you need
to to mix up your routine. And this is where
I will leave you is out frequently, you know, when
I'm contributing to an article or talking about a you know,
a routine for someone. You need to mix it up.
(31:06):
You need to add variation, You need to add that
motivation component. As this study showed, you can get really
bored with doing the same thing over and over again
and you're not going to see the results you want.
They will stop, you will plateau, all right, So mix
it up, but earn the right to mix it up.
(31:28):
So do the basics, build that base of strength, work
on your weaknesses. Listen to that podcast I just did
if you haven't, because your weak link will hold you back,
and once you get injured because of that weak link,
you can't do what you want to do, and that
will severely hold you back. So muscle confusion is important
(31:49):
because our bodies are really smart machines and they stopped adapting,
both physiologically and psychologically to that routine. So you need
to mix it up. And if calories are your goal,
you can just get that heart rate up and burn
those calories away. But we want to build that leon muscle.
So that's why you want to stick with a program
(32:10):
for a certain amount of time, build that strength, see
their progression, and change it over time. There you have it,
muscle confusion. I hope that takes a little of the
confusion out, but never forget that your body is a
really smart machine and that's a phenomenal realization, and challenging
(32:32):
it in different ways, subtle, different ways will make a
huge difference. And I've said this before, We're gonna say
it again. If you are doing the same routine This
is an amazing example of the benefits and and how
it doesn't have to be complicated at all. If you
are doing the same ten exercises in a row, if
you just flip that order around, start with the last
(32:53):
one and work your way through, or just completely do
it in a random order, it will totally change the
work that you will be sore in a way that
will astound you because you are pretty fatiguing your muscles
in a different way for each exercise, So same exercises
done in a different order will add a muscle confusion
(33:15):
element that will just amaze you if you've never done
that before, if you've done the same routine in the
same order as so many people do, I'll see them
in the gym and I'll know exactly where they're going. Oh, yes,
they do try to press downs, and he's gonna go
do crunches, and then he's gonna go and again. That's
fine from a certain You've got your maintenance. You're doing
something to get it, but I want you to get
the most. It's like going to the to the to
(33:37):
the library at college and reading the same book over
and over, and you know you want to change it up.
You want to see different results and keep your body guessing,
especially as we get old. You want to be as
healthy as possible. Doesn't mean you have to go super intense.
Means you need to mix it up different things, keep
your body challenged and your brain. Well. Thank you as
(34:00):
well enough. I am Tom holland thank you so much.
I'm sweating. I'm you know, I stand when I do
these shows. I've got the standing desk. I love that.
When I was interviewing Dean car Nazis ultra marathon man, uh,
he said, are you standing because I am? Yes, And
that's another thing. By the way, move all day long,
(34:21):
another way that you can just make your your day
and body uh that much better. All right, So if
you have not rated the show, please do so. Please,
please please rate the show and thank you if you
have already subscribed to the show. Amazing. I have some
guests lined up that are just phenomenal. Female ultra athlete
(34:42):
coming up. Uh, two time cancer survivor who this is
a different person by the way, who climbed Everest. Just amazing.
I'm gonna bring you the best of the best. And
again my goal is what I said at the beginning
of the show, I want you to look your best,
feel your best, and live as long as possible and
enjoyed those years. So we're gonna look at all these
studies and then we're gonna distill it down because at
(35:03):
the end of the day, the motivation side of the
study we looked at. I don't care how great a
program is for you. It's like healthy foods. I can say.
I've said to people, like, drink this protein shake. I
guarantee you if you have this protein shake two times
a day every day for eight weeks, you're gonna see
phenomenal changes, and people go, I can't, it's disgusting. Same
thing with workout routines. You've got to find what you
(35:24):
enjoy and do it consistently. It matters not what you
know the the benefit of that exercises if you don't
do it frequently enough, and that's why muscle confusion is important.
But you gotta have that base of strength, alright. Tom
h Fit is my Instagram as well as my Twitter.
You can reach out to me through there and fitness
(35:46):
disrupted dot com website. You can check out more about
me and contact me through the site as well. Thank
you so much for listening. Have another reader mail Bag
show coming up real soon. You guys. Many people have
reached out to me with questions and comments and topics
and I include them all, include them all. So thank
you for that and thank you for listening. I love
(36:07):
what I do. Uh and by the way, micro Workout
Plan if you're interested in My newest book is out.
You can find it anywhere Amazon, and I'm just trying
to give you all the information you need to have
your best life. That is my goal. Thank you for listening.
I am Tom Holland. This is Fitness Disrupted, Believe in yourself.
(36:31):
Fitness Disrupted is a production of I Heart Radio. For
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com