There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Stay Teachable
Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell and I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I am the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to get to the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name there is a method to the madness. Before I get to today's show, I want to thank Jonathan and Lynn Gildan of the Gildan Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. Why don't you give them a shout and figure out what your home is worth? 386-451-2412. 386-451-2412.
Speaker 1:Paraphrasing here, but it is Socrates that said A wise man is one who admits he knows nothing. I think that is so powerful and I have always studied philosophy so powerful, and I have always studied philosophy. I find it to be extremely interesting and useful in all walks of life. And you know, I just find that to be so true. I think that for clients to have success with their trainer or at their gyms, they have to remain teachable. I think trainers need to remain teachable, I think teachers need to be teachable. I think we just all need to be teachable. And so I had this interesting thing occur and I've decided you know this is a good podcast this is something to kick around a little bit.
Speaker 1:But you know, as I've shared before I believe I like to do my cardio early in the morning, either run or walk or whatever, and I get out at oh dark 30. And you know you really have to in the summer months. It is so freaking hot that even when you get out at oh dark 30 and you know you really have to in the summer months, it is so freaking hot that even when you get out in the early, early wee morning, like 5 am or whatever, I am still absolutely drenched at the end. So I hate running in the dark. I always have and I try to improvise with running with some kind of a light. So I was using a headlamp, for I think I've talked about it before but headlamp put it on my hat, it's okay, I mean it does the trick. But man, it's like you know I sweat and the humidity is so bad. And I was talking about like how hot my head gets with the hat and the uh, you know headlamp on it, which you know it works. So it works, it would still work fine.
Speaker 1:But I was saying it to a client and I know that uh, two clients actually, but one of them I was talking to about it because they also run super early in the morning. They run at 5.00 AM on a different days during the week and you know I was talking to them and I know that they use these shoes on these lights on their shoes. So the other day I was talking to one and I was asking more about it. She's telling me all about these lights that go on the shoes, you know, clip onto the shoelaces and they beam out in front about six feet or whatever, similar to a headlamp, and she's telling me about it and I was, you know, curious because I'm talking about my style that I use with the headlamp, and she's telling me about them. They sounded great and then afterwards I texted and asked her the brand again because I wanted to make sure, as I was on Amazon, you know, looking, and she confirmed it was the one I was looking at. So I ordered them and then they came yesterday and I wore them this morning and they worked great and it made me think.
Speaker 1:It's like you know, I've been running, god you know for a really really long time. I mean, I think, like everybody in life, there's periods where I get out of it for a bit, you know whatever the hobby is, and then get back to it. But you know my 20s I ran some and then really ran all through my 30s and a lot of my 40s, so really really long time, right. And uh, you know, you can't you can teach a dog a new trick, you know. And I think it's just kind of cool that, like I don't know I don't want to say take pride, because that's the wrong word, but I'm happy that I'm teachable Like I don't care who gives me useful information that I can apply.
Speaker 1:Like you know, they're telling me about something that they use when they run to make their morning runs.
Speaker 1:You know more. Uh, you know safe, um, maybe more comfortable for them, but definitely more safe. And uh, you know I'm their trainer and I know a lot about running and everything. But it's like they're telling me, you know, they both talked about them. One gave me the specifics. I order them, you know, it just got me thinking. Then it was funny. I took a little picture with my shoes beaming today and I meant to post it and I will, and I'll send it to them and say, hey, your tip paid off, you know.
Speaker 1:But it just made me think how? You know, we've got to remain teachable, all of us and I've been doing this for a long time, over 30 years and the clients that are teachable, you know, no matter what they know, teachable like, it doesn't matter what their backgrounds are, as long as they're coming in and wanting to learn and trying to learn, asking good questions and then following the advice they're going to get the benefits. And the ones that think they know everything. I've shared it before, but it's like, okay, if you know so much, why are you here? Why are you here? You know, it's just a human tendency, I think you know it's not obviously, it's just not geared towards personal training or fitness training, it's everything.
Speaker 1:There are two types of people maybe out there, you know, and I'm sure there's something in between, but the people that like remain open and teachable. And then the people that don't. And I like to be teachable, I continue to learn all the time. I mean, I hate the strong word, I can't stand no dolls in any discipline because we don't know everything. I don't care who you are and, by the way, it's my perspective here it's not a profession thing.
Speaker 1:You know, it's like I remember when I was teaching personal trainers to be personal trainers. You know that, younger, some are younger, some are just, you know, coming back to school and wanting to learn a different trade, but majority of them were younger, like in their 20s and whatnot. But you know they'd always say, well, you know who's most difficult, like the ones that already have a medical background, like physicians. And I'm like, no, honestly, it's not that. It's every profession, every type of person's not an industry. I mean I've had many physicians through the years. I have a few right now and I've always had some. You know, like, going back, I've had orthopedics, psychiatrists, general practitioners, skin, I mean you name it everything. And so it's not that I mean I've never had an issue with one of them.
Speaker 1:You know telling me, oh, I know the body better than you. I mean that's never happened. I mean it's not a profession, it is a personality type, it's an ego thing. You know it's an ego thing. You know, and the people that claim to know the most typically know the least. I don't know if you've ever picked up on that. Like ego and confidence are not the same thing. They are very, very different. Confidence is you can keep your mouth shut, you can ask for advice and, you know, maybe you don't agree with the advice and you can go hmm, okay, well, you know, thank you and move on, where ego is always trying to prove something to somebody, you know, and so I just want to bring that up so we can kind of throw that around a little bit and talk about how we can make this better in our physical journey, because this is about health and fitness my podcast.
Speaker 1:You know, how can we take this information and make it help us? You know, are you like that? You know which one are you? Are you, are you teachable or do you know everything? And if you think you know everything, or even if you think you know a ton, I'd say, open your mind a little bit. I mean, we can all joke around about social media.
Speaker 1:I was going to say sociology. Don't know why we can joke around about social media, but it is so true. It's like I saw a meme the other day that went from you know, everybody thinking they're like you know, experts on vaccines and COVID. You know, now become experts on the Middle East. You know, it's just so true. You know like people are going to give their opinions on.
Speaker 1:You know what's really going on and you know they break it down and there's this long post that looks so expert on you know this subject matter and it's always the same people. You know could take those posts and go back five years ago, during covid, whatever, whatever side you were on. You know the same people, somebody you know getting into like vaccine defense and they're like, and they're they're not physicians, like those weren't the people posting. You know what I mean. It's like not. I mean, I have a lot of friends who are physicians and I didn't see one of them entering the debate on. You know, on Facebook. You know that basically the physicians I know that I've gone to or were clients were like don't be an idiot, just get your vaccine. You know, whatever it was like, you know, not anything like post-wise, you know, but it was everybody on both sides. You know one, oh, why you shouldn't, and they're given all their reason and their data. And then why you should, and they're given their reason, their reasons and their data and they again were not physicians at all.
Speaker 1:You know, going on, it's just this is what people do and you know, when it comes to fitness, people do the same thing. There are people that just you know are going to not listen to anybody and they're always going to be out there throwing stones at people and you know, crushing people's arguments and you know like somebody might put something on there about what they're doing fitness wise and they're going to yuck on somebody's yum. You know there's always going to be somebody that says, oh, you should be doing this, you know you should be doing that. You know my friend is following this diet and he goes to this place and you know there's just always going to be that. You know, and I just want to encourage everybody out there, a couple of things, a couple couple of things here that are really the main point I want to get across here.
Speaker 1:So you know, if and our clients are really really good like and we screen people for that reason you know I've been doing this a long time and I'm busy and I don't need the aggravation, so we screen people. Number one we don't have spots open. When they open up, we let people know on the waiting list they come in, but we don't just let them in. We screen it's. You know clients will joke now about it, but I think they're glad we do that. But I screen them. I'll talk to them. I'll first have a phone conversation. Then, if we have a phone conversation and it goes well, you know they come in.
Speaker 1:We have another in-person consultation and one of the things I'm looking for availability is critical. But another thing I'm looking for is are they teachable, are they coachable or are they a know-it-all? And we did have a referral come in, I don't know, a few months ago and it was from somebody I like a lot and everything. It's just they kind of got through the phone conversation, okay, very reachable, as far as their schedule was good, and they seemed you know, okay and everything, and they're probably fine people, right, but it wasn't going to be a match. They come in and it's like well, yeah, no, I've done that, oh no, I've done this. Or you know, I really think I should be focusing on this and I'm looking at them going okay, you just called an expert, like seriously, and you know that we're like full. So we politely turned him down. Maybe they didn't see this polite but said hey, can't work in right now, so you got to be teachable, Like you're asking for expert opinion. Everything can be kicked around a little bit.
Speaker 1:I had a client years and years ago and she was an eye doctor and still is, but she was a client back then. She's great, I like her. She was teachable, you know. She used to like to talk and discuss things, not in a disrespectful way, just.
Speaker 1:I remember us talking about, like, the caloric deficit, like this just stands out with me like having a hard time understanding, you know, like, let's say, if you are eating try to use her example eating 2000 calories a day, but you cut back a couple hundred. You know, shouldn't you always lose weight? It was something like that and I said, well, no, because maybe that 1800 is still too much. We don't know the metabolism, and I mean so many might have a really low metabolism. So it's not just cutting back 100 to 200 to 300 calories from where they are, you know and again, a smart person not I'm not, you know, it's just you know bringing up a pretty solid point it's cutting back from where they need to cut back from, and I remember it wasn't an argument, it was just you know, need to cut back from. And I remember it wasn't an argument, it was just, you know, well, help me understand that type of thing. And then you know, I don't know, I don't take offense to that Like I remember we're at my old, old, old facility and we just I stopped working out because you know, those are those kind of like important things, and, um, I stopped and I was trying to explain it to her and I did, oh, okay, so, like that's cool, like I, like that.
Speaker 1:You know, let's talk about what you don't understand. You know, that's, that's fine. It's when people are telling you what they should do. Oh, I really think I should only work my upper body because I run Like well, yeah, but you know, when you run, you're using slow, twitch muscle fibers and we want to, you know, strengthen our joints so we can continue the run. Yeah, yeah, but I don't want them bigger. It's like okay, like what are you doing? Like you're not, you're not teachable, what, what are you doing? So, like that's the first thing, like if you're and again, this isn't to clients, it's so funny I mean people will come in they'll say, hey, I think you were talking about me. It's like, look, 50 people come in the gym. This it's not you, it's really not, and it's not anybody like Really not. And it's not anybody like.
Speaker 1:Again, I screen people. We don't have people that are rude and disrespectful and aren't unteachable. I mean, of course there's levels with everything, but no, this is like in general and I see to learn myself. I love when I have clients when they're in the gym or whatever, but typically is when I see him, he's in the gym and they teach me something like about you know, local government, cause I have a Volusia County County council member who's running for Senate. Love to learn stuff from him. I mean, I don't take the workout time and make him go on a speech now, but he'll tell me something they're working on or whatever. Love that stuff. Or you know airport management with another client, or different things in medicine, like how are insurance changing for people. You know with the physicians like I keep an open mind. Or how to put lights on your shoes to light up the road instead of wearing a ridiculous hat lamp, right? So I mean I like that, you know, and I truly believe what Socrates said. You know, a wise man is one who admits he knows nothing. We have to remain teachable.
Speaker 1:So the other part of this is when you are out there perusing on your social media sites or maybe with your friends in tech streams or however that works for you. Just be careful. Like, usually the loudest people in the room say the very least, right? I think we all know that people that are loud and obnoxious and talk too much and have opinions about everything I mean they're usually the clueless people of the group, right? So just don't fall for that. Like there's a lot of sayings now on social media about like it's a very loud minority and that's very, very true. Like we can get a really kind of a negative feel for how society is if all we did was read the comments of people on social media. But it's just a very loud, typically clueless minority, right? I mean, we have to learn how to get the information we want, who we should be getting it from, and be very, very coachable. So I just wanted to pass that along because I thought it was cool.
Speaker 1:So, um, from my you know wonderful clients, marie and Patty out there, thank you so much for introducing me to the shoe lights. You have taught this old dog a new trick. Taught this old dog a new trick. Thank you for listening to today's program. I ask you to please follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and please select automatic download, because that really helps the show. Now I want to thank Overhead Door of Daytona Beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product. They have the best service. I personally vouch for Jeff and Zach Hawk, the owners. They are great people with a great company. If you have any garage door needs, please give them a shout at 386-222-3165.
