Muscle Myths, Real Results

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to There is a Method to the Madness.
My name is Rob Maxwell and I'man exercise physiologist and
personal trainer.
I am the owner of Maxwell'sfitness programs and I've been
in business since 1994.
The purpose of this podcast isto get to the real deal of what
really works and mostimportantly why things work.

(00:21):
Hence the name, There is aMethod to the Madness.
Before I get to today's show, Iwant to thank Jonathan and Lynn
Gilden of the Gilden Group atRealty Pros.
They are committed to providingthe highest level of customer
service in home sales.
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worth?
386-451-2412.

(00:46):
Alright, everybody, let's getdown to some fitness talk here.
Whenever I'm working with peopleat the gym, good questions come
up and it's uh kind of uh greatprompts to get talking about
different things in fitness.
And um this morning one of myclients was asking me about

(01:07):
different parts of the muscle,and uh basically if a certain
exercise worked that musclegroup, in this case
specifically, it was thepectoralis major, but was asking
about uh, you know, if thisexercise worked all parts of it
because they felt it somewhereelse in the pec.

(01:28):
And it led to a good answer,which leads to a good topic
today, essentially like what wehave control over and what we
don't have control over.
So the short answer to hisquestion was that yes, the
exercise he was doing works theentire pectoralis major.

(01:52):
In this case, it was the uhmachine chest press.
And uh I explained to him theall or nothing rule, basically,
which means that once the fibersare initiated, they engage all
of the way.
And that is the case for all ofthe muscles across the pecs.
So basically, if you reachmuscular failure or get really,

(02:17):
really close, then you havebasically engaged every single
muscle fiber to the point ofexhaustion and the entire muscle
gets worked.
So in the bodybuilding world,and I guess you could say in
some of the toning world, therewas always this myth that goes
around that you need to workcertain parts of the muscle to

(02:42):
get the complete look of themuscle.
So, for example, like upper pecsversus lower pecs or outer
triceps versus inner triceps,things like that.
And although there are differentangles for sure, and I am a fan
of using multiple angles, mostlyjust because you want good

(03:04):
variety and you do want to shakethings up in your workout,
there's nothing wrong with that.
And there are definitelydifferent origin and insertion
points of the muscle.
So where the muscle originateson, that's the origin, and
that's o is on the non-movingbone.

(03:24):
So, like in the case of thepectoralis, it'll be the sternum
and the uh clavicle.
And then the insertion is goingto be on the moving bone, which
in this case is going to be thehumerus, the upper arm bone, in
the case of the pecs.
So different exercises willimpact different origin sites,

(03:46):
and based on their location,people might say, well, that's
more inner chest, outer chest,but it's really not true.
Like to work the pecs, you justneed a primary exercise such as
a fly, and then a compoundexercise such as a push-up, a
chest press, a bench press, adumbbell press, like multiple,

(04:08):
multiple exercises work.
So there's really not a lot oftruth to it.
Like I said, there's m minimaltruth just because the origin
and the insertion sites, butbasically there isn't an upper
chest.
Like it's the same muscle, it'sa pectoralis major.
There aren't different triceps.

(04:29):
There are different heads of thetricep, but there aren't
different triceps.
So it's it's just mostly nottrue.
Okay.
So, but that gets me thinkingabout like, so why then?
So why would we look at, say, inthis case, a male, let's just

(04:49):
say a bodybuilder on stage andyou're looking at their pecs and
you notice they have greatlydeveloped outer pecs, they have
large upper pecs.
So if you know how ArnoldSchwarzenegger looked in his
posing like he was known to havethese massive upper pecs, you
know, basically they could standup on themselves, basically.

(05:12):
Um, and then you might look atanother one and say, oh, well,
they've got this inner pec, orlook at the biceps, and you
might say, God, this guy's justgot a bigger peak in his bicep,
meaning it it poked up higher.
And you might say, oh, thisguy's got thicker biceps, so
like they're just thicker indiameter.

(05:33):
And you wonder, well, why isthat?
Or is it the exercises?
And the answer is no, that'smostly genetic.
So how are muscles shape, howthey shape is largely genetic.
You could take a person who justgenetically has pecs or biceps,

(05:58):
whatever muscle you want topick.
Let's just use the pecs thatlike really rise up high and
look like they have great upperpecs.
And they could do the sameexercise as the guy who doesn't.
And maybe their pecs are flatterin appearance, they're just

(06:18):
different.
Maybe both of them grow prettydecently, like they both have a
tendency towards hypertrophy,which is muscle size
enlargement, but maybe one justtends to have a slightly better
shape.
So, in a large part, that's justgenetic.
That's just how the musclesgrow.

(06:40):
And, you know, I've often kittedwith people when they say, well,
you know, how do we create, youknow, the greatest figure for
this?
And I'd say, well, you you gotto start with picking the right
parents because so much of it isgenetic when it comes to that.
How the muscles grow is largely,largely genetic.

(07:04):
And then another factor peopledon't take into consideration
often enough is the person'sleanness.
So if they just have shapelymuscles genetically and they
work out, so they already havethat going for them.
And if they're leaner than thenext person, you're going to see

(07:24):
the muscle definition greater.
You're going to see thedifference in the pecs.
You're going to see the outerpecs more because they're not
covered in body fat.
So that's the other issue.
You know, it's kind of funny.
Um, we we've heard it a lot,like in the industry, they'll
say, oh, well, you know, thatguy doesn't appear very big, and

(07:46):
then he takes his shirt off andhe looks big.
You know, you could say thatwith prize fighters, like middle
weights or lightweights, youknow.
And I'm like, well, they arebig, like they just don't have a
lot of body fat.
And so, you know, that's goingto account for just a lot of
mass in people when you see it.

(08:08):
And if they don't have that,then if they're wearing a baggy
t-shirt or whatever, or abaggier shirt, you know, because
most people, you know, just wantto be comfortable.
So if they're wearing that andthen they take it off and you
see these muscles, it's like, ohman, you know, I didn't know
that.
So basically, and I'm gonna getto the bigger picture here in a

(08:33):
second, but but basically whenit comes to how the muscles look
or what kind of shape themuscles take, it's largely,
largely physiology and thephysiology of genetics.
Like where are their origin andinsertion points?
Do they have long muscle belliescompared to short muscle

(08:55):
bellies, which is completelygenetic?
You your muscle bellies aretheir length no matter what.
And when you work out, they'regonna fill up bigger.
So a person that has largermuscle bellies and shorter
tendon insertions are going toappear to have larger muscles
than those that don't.

(09:16):
And then there is fast twitchversus slow twitch muscle fiber,
and that is that is almostcompletely genetic.
The only ones that aremodifiable are type 2a muscle
fibers, and then they can takeon the properties of what you're
doing.
So, for example, if you're doinga lot of weight training, then
they're going to become strongerand quicker.

(09:39):
If you're doing a lot ofendurance stuff, they're going
to act more in a slow twitchmanner.
But that's just the type 2a's.
For the most part, we're made upof type 1 and type 2 fibers, and
that is very, very, verygenetic.
So you can't change that.
And then you have body types.
You have your mesomorphs, yourectomorphs, and your endomorphs,

(10:04):
and that's genetic.
You can't change that.
So ectomorph is a very, veryskinny frame, very skinny, uh,
smaller bone structures.
Then you have mesomorphs, whichare in between and they tend to
be more muscular.
Think running backs in football,think linebackers, think
bodybuilders, and then you'regonna have your endomorphs who

(10:26):
tend to have thicker bonestructures and tend to carry
body weight, body fat, I shouldsay, easier.
So that is also genetic.
So the way we work out is notgoing to change that.
It's not going to give you thesegreat wing lat muscles that

(10:49):
flare out unless you alreadyhave those and they're simply
under or undeveloped.
Period.
So a pull down versus a pull upor an underhand pull down versus
an overhand pull down isn'tgoing to change that.
So when you say people say, oh,move your grip wider, you'll hit

(11:09):
your outer lats.
None of that is true.
That's just, you know, I mean,probably well-intended advice.
It's just incorrect.
Not knowing, you know, justignorance with that.
So the whole point of this is toreally try to get people to
focus on what is in theircontrol.

(11:33):
Because we all just, you know,want to be better.
We want to become physicallyfit.
I really think everybody wantsto be physically fit, even the
people that shrug it off andmake, you know, self-deprecating
things like, oh no, I like beingoverweight, you know, they love
this bowling ball belly, youknow, things like that.

(11:55):
I just think sadly, a lot ofpeople have kind of given up on
the idea of improving theirfitness.
And uh, you know, they realizeit's going to take some work,
and maybe there's just somerationalization and
justification into not doing it.
But I do think everybody wantsto improve their fitness.
And fitness isn't really likethis thing that you arrive at,

(12:18):
like it's just you're continuingalong the journey of a healthy
lifestyle.
And so I want to like geteverybody to understand that
what you have control over isdoing the thing.
And doing the thing is going tobe enough.
Like, you know, if you've got itin your mind and you're a guy

(12:39):
that you need to look like acertain thing you've always
wanted to look like, okay,great.
You know, strive for it andeverything.
Just understand that there is agenetic component to all of
this.
And maybe you have it, maybe youdon't.
I don't know.
But like everybody can getstronger.
Everybody can increase theirmuscle mass to the point where

(13:01):
they're raising theirmetabolism.
Everybody can increase theiractivities of daily living or
ADLs.
Everybody can lose body fat ifthey need to.
Everybody can improve theirflexibility if they work at it.
Everybody can strengthen theirheart if they do cardio.
Everybody can improve theircirculatory system if they do

(13:21):
cardio.
So, like we can get better, andthat needs to be the focus, you
know.
We have, in my opinion, way toomuch comparison now.
I mean, we probably always have,but now it's just so obvious.
You know, you got social media,which people will go on and

(13:42):
they'll see these images andthey'll see people, and it's
like, dude, it is not realistic.
Like, so many people are showingyou the best versions of
themselves, the best one minuteof their day.
And you know, they're they'refiltering, they're doing all
this, or even if they're not,like, who cares?

(14:05):
Like, we don't need to compare.
And I know it's basically you wesay it, and then we all do it,
but from a fitness perspective,like, don't pay attention to
that too much.
I say it all the time.
I work in this industry and Iknow a lot of people, and I know

(14:30):
a lot of what you and me wouldcall fit people.
And I can promise you that whenyou're seeing all that you're
seeing, not everything is asclear as you think it is.
People have good days, peoplehave bad days.
So, and and now with AI, I mean,come on, you know, I see these

(14:52):
images sometimes, and it's justlike, that is so stupid.
Like, I'll see some of thesebodybuilders, and you know, I
guess because of my logarithm,you know, that stuff pops up a
lot.
And I'm like, come on, man,that's like a cartoon character.
I mean, you know, with with thedrugs and sports nowadays,
anyway, personally, I just thinka lot of the professional
bodybuilders look horribleanyway.

(15:14):
They just look like, you know,aliens.
It just looks like a freak show,you know, very different from
just the, in my opinion, thegreat bodies that we used to
see, you know, uh people fit,people healthy, people looking
normal, you know, just maybe agood normal, but normal.
I mean, and now it's just gotteneven crazier with AI making

(15:36):
images and stuff.
So, like I want to encourageeverybody to just focus on
themselves.
You know, there's this guy thathe's become famous on social
media.
He actually does a lot of good.
Um, he, you know, I don't know,he's I don't know, I can kind of
make fun of him sometimes, buthis name is Joey Swole, and

(15:59):
obviously that's his, you know,stage name.
And he always says, mind yourbusiness.
And basically, what he does ishe finds people being bad in
gyms, like videoing other peopleand making fun of them, things
like that.
So what he's doing is goodbecause he's pointing out how
people need to stop doing thatand and you know, mind their
business in gyms.

(16:20):
And, you know, so that's becomehis token line, mind your
business afterwards.
And uh, you know, I mean, he'sright, like mind your own
business.
What are you trying toaccomplish with your exercise
routine?
I in today's email, today'sFriday when I'm recording this,
probably launch it today.

(16:41):
In the email, I talked aboutresponses and adaptations.
And adaptations is defined assemi-permanent change, which
basically is what we want.
So when we strength train, weget stronger.
That's an adaptation.
How do we get stronger?
We increase the muscle mass andwe increase the tendon and we

(17:04):
increase all of the softtissues.
Like that's that's anadaptation.
It takes time, it happens overtime.
Change becomes semi-permanent.
It's semi-permanent because ifyou quit doing what you're
doing, they're going to gobackwards.
You're going to atrophy.
So that's why it'ssemi-permanent.
So that's an adaptation.
Another adaptation would be whatwe call left ventricular

(17:26):
hypertrophy.
So the left ventricle of theheart gets a little bit bigger.
That's an adaptation.
That takes time.
Now, as opposed to that, we haveresponses, and responses are
immediate.
They happen what at the at theimmediate time.
So, for example, a response inthe gym would be increased heart
rate when you're doing cardio orstrength training.

(17:48):
Increased perspiration rate, soyou start sweating.
That's a response.
But another response that Ifocused on today in the email is
how you feel.
Like my hormones improve.
I get more the positive hormonesflowing through my bloodstream,
I should say.
So my serotonin levels raise, myendorphins raise.

(18:10):
So that is a response toexercise.
So a large reason why I exerciseis for the response of feeling
better.
I also want the increasedadaptations of hypertrophy
because I do want my muscle massto stay as high as it can be

(18:30):
healthfully, because I know thatraises my metabolism and studies
show that it's good foreverything else.
I want to be stronger, I want myADLs good, I want a nice strong
heart.
Yes, all those are reasons Icontinue to exercise and train,
but also the responses offeeling better.

(18:51):
So I just think that ifeverybody focuses on what they
want, what are the adaptationsthey want to occur?
What is important for them?
And what responses?
I'm sure everybody wants to feelbetter.
So working out makes you feelbetter.
So focus on that and thencontrol what you can.

(19:14):
You can't necessarily controlthe speed it's going to occur
at.
Maybe you gain muscle veryslowly, maybe you gain it
quickly.
You're not going to have controlover that, really.
You can't control the shape ofyour muscles.
That's genetic.
You can't control, like, youreally can't control how lean

(19:34):
you can get.
I mean, there is a geneticcomponent to that.
Not everybody is meant to besuper lean.
It's not going to happen.
But you can be leaner.
We don't have control over justhow much RVO2 max raises, which
is the gold standard to kind ofmeasure your cardiorespiratory
fitness.

(19:55):
We that's genetic as well.
Matter of fact, we can onlychange.
It by 30 percent.
It VO2 max is very genetic, butwe can make it the best we can
be, and that's important becauseI guarantee this.
This is my promise if you makeyourself the best you can be as
far as your cardiorespiratoryfitness, your flexibility, and

(20:17):
your muscular fitness, you willbe far happier.
That is an absolute guarantee.
And the only thing you need todo that is focus on what you can
control, and that is doing thething.
And the thing is exercising anddoing the best you can to eat a
healthful diet.

(20:38):
All right.
Do the thing, let go of therest.
All right, thank you everybodyfor listening to today's show.
I really appreciate it.
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(21:24):
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(21:44):
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(22:10):
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