There Is A Method to the Madness

Muscle Myths, Real Results

• Rob Maxwell, M.A.

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SPEAKER_00:

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 Gilden of the Gilden 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. Alright, everybody, let's get down to some fitness talk here. Whenever I'm working with people at the gym, good questions come up and it's uh kind of uh great prompts to get talking about different things in fitness. And um this morning one of my clients was asking me about different parts of the muscle, and uh basically if a certain exercise worked that muscle group, in this case specifically, it was the pectoralis major, but was asking about uh, you know, if this exercise worked all parts of it because they felt it somewhere else in the pec. And it led to a good answer, which leads to a good topic today, essentially like what we have control over and what we don't have control over. So the short answer to his question was that yes, the exercise he was doing works the entire pectoralis major. In this case, it was the uh machine chest press. And uh I explained to him the all or nothing rule, basically, which means that once the fibers are initiated, they engage all of the way. And that is the case for all of the muscles across the pecs. So basically, if you reach muscular failure or get really, really close, then you have basically engaged every single muscle fiber to the point of exhaustion and the entire muscle gets worked. So in the bodybuilding world, and I guess you could say in some of the toning world, there was always this myth that goes around that you need to work certain parts of the muscle to get the complete look of the muscle. So, for example, like upper pecs versus lower pecs or outer triceps versus inner triceps, things like that. And although there are different angles for sure, and I am a fan of using multiple angles, mostly just because you want good variety and you do want to shake things up in your workout, there's nothing wrong with that. And there are definitely different origin and insertion points of the muscle. So where the muscle originates on, that's the origin, and that's o is on the non-moving bone. So, like in the case of the pectoralis, it'll be the sternum and the uh clavicle. And then the insertion is going to be on the moving bone, which in this case is going to be the humerus, the upper arm bone, in the case of the pecs. So different exercises will impact different origin sites, 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 just need a primary exercise such as a fly, and then a compound exercise such as a push-up, a chest press, a bench press, a dumbbell press, like multiple, multiple exercises work. So there's really not a lot of truth to it. Like I said, there's m minimal truth just because the origin and the insertion sites, but basically there isn't an upper chest. Like it's the same muscle, it's a pectoralis major. There aren't different triceps. There are different heads of the tricep, but there aren't different triceps. So it's it's just mostly not true. Okay. So, but that gets me thinking about like, so why then? So why would we look at, say, in this case, a male, let's just say a bodybuilder on stage and you're looking at their pecs and you notice they have greatly developed outer pecs, they have large upper pecs. So if you know how Arnold Schwarzenegger looked in his posing like he was known to have these massive upper pecs, you know, basically they could stand up on themselves, basically. Um, and then you might look at another one and say, oh, well, they've got this inner pec, or look at the biceps, and you might say, God, this guy's just got a bigger peak in his bicep, meaning it it poked up higher. And you might say, oh, this guy's got thicker biceps, so like they're just thicker in diameter. And you wonder, well, why is that? Or is it the exercises? And the answer is no, that's mostly genetic. So how are muscles shape, how they shape is largely genetic. You could take a person who just genetically has pecs or biceps, whatever muscle you want to pick. Let's just use the pecs that like really rise up high and look like they have great upper pecs. And they could do the same exercise as the guy who doesn't. And maybe their pecs are flatter in appearance, they're just different. Maybe both of them grow pretty decently, like they both have a tendency towards hypertrophy, which is muscle size enlargement, but maybe one just tends to have a slightly better shape. So, in a large part, that's just genetic. That's just how the muscles grow. And, you know, I've often kitted with people when they say, well, you know, how do we create, you know, the greatest figure for this? And I'd say, well, you you got to start with picking the right parents because so much of it is genetic when it comes to that. How the muscles grow is largely, largely genetic. And then another factor people don't take into consideration often enough is the person's leanness. So if they just have shapely muscles genetically and they work out, so they already have that going for them. And if they're leaner than the next person, you're going to see the muscle definition greater. You're going to see the difference in the pecs. You're going to see the outer pecs 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, that guy doesn't appear very big, and then he takes his shirt off and he looks big. You know, you could say that with prize fighters, like middle weights or lightweights, you know. And I'm like, well, they are big, like they just don't have a lot of body fat. And so, you know, that's going to account for just a lot of mass in people when you see it. And if they don't have that, then if they're wearing a baggy t-shirt or whatever, or a baggier shirt, you know, because most people, you know, just want to be comfortable. So if they're wearing that and then they take it off and you see these muscles, it's like, oh man, you know, I didn't know that. So basically, and I'm gonna get to the bigger picture here in a second, but but basically when it comes to how the muscles look or what kind of shape the muscles take, it's largely, largely physiology and the physiology of genetics. Like where are their origin and insertion points? Do they have long muscle bellies compared to short muscle bellies, which is completely genetic? You your muscle bellies are their length no matter what. And when you work out, they're gonna fill up bigger. So a person that has larger muscle bellies and shorter tendon insertions are going to appear to have larger muscles than those that don't. And then there is fast twitch versus slow twitch muscle fiber, and that is that is almost completely genetic. The only ones that are modifiable are type 2a muscle fibers, and then they can take on the properties of what you're doing. So, for example, if you're doing a lot of weight training, then they're going to become stronger and quicker. If you're doing a lot of endurance stuff, they're going to act more in a slow twitch manner. But that's just the type 2a's. For the most part, we're made up of type 1 and type 2 fibers, and that is very, very, very genetic. So you can't change that. And then you have body types. You have your mesomorphs, your ectomorphs, and your endomorphs, and that's genetic. You can't change that. So ectomorph is a very, very skinny frame, very skinny, uh, smaller bone structures. Then you have mesomorphs, which are in between and they tend to be more muscular. Think running backs in football, think linebackers, think bodybuilders, and then you're gonna have your endomorphs who tend to have thicker bone structures and tend to carry body weight, body fat, I should say, easier. So that is also genetic. So the way we work out is not going to change that. It's not going to give you these great wing lat muscles that flare out unless you already have those and they're simply under or undeveloped. Period. So a pull down versus a pull up or an underhand pull down versus an overhand pull down isn't going to change that. So when you say people say, oh, move your grip wider, you'll hit 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, just ignorance with that. So the whole point of this is to really try to get people to focus on what is in their control. Because we all just, you know, want to be better. We want to become physically fit. I really think everybody wants to be physically fit, even the people that shrug it off and make, you know, self-deprecating things like, oh no, I like being overweight, you know, they love this bowling ball belly, you know, things like that. I just think sadly, a lot of people have kind of given up on the idea of improving their fitness. And uh, you know, they realize it's going to take some work, and maybe there's just some rationalization and justification into not doing it. But I do think everybody wants to improve their fitness. And fitness isn't really like this thing that you arrive at, like it's just you're continuing along the journey of a healthy lifestyle. And so I want to like get everybody to understand that what you have control over is doing the thing. And doing the thing is going to be enough. Like, you know, if you've got it in your mind and you're a guy that you need to look like a certain thing you've always wanted to look like, okay, great. You know, strive for it and everything. Just understand that there is a genetic component to all of this. And maybe you have it, maybe you don't. I don't know. But like everybody can get stronger. Everybody can increase their muscle mass to the point where they're raising their metabolism. Everybody can increase their activities of daily living or ADLs. Everybody can lose body fat if they need to. Everybody can improve their flexibility if they work at it. Everybody can strengthen their heart if they do cardio. Everybody can improve their circulatory system if they do cardio. So, like we can get better, and that needs to be the focus, you know. We have, in my opinion, way too much 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 they'll see these images and they'll see people, and it's like, dude, it is not realistic. Like, so many people are showing you the best versions of themselves, the best one minute of their day. And you know, they're they're filtering, they're doing all this, or even if they're not, like, who cares? Like, we don't need to compare. And I know it's basically you we say 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 I know a lot of people, and I know a lot of what you and me would call fit people. And I can promise you that when you're seeing all that you're seeing, not everything is as clear as you think it is. People have good days, people have bad days. So, and and now with AI, I mean, come on, you know, I see these images sometimes, and it's just like, that is so stupid. Like, I'll see some of these bodybuilders, 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 the drugs and sports nowadays, anyway, personally, I just think a lot of the professional bodybuilders look horrible anyway. They just look like, you know, aliens. It just looks like a freak show, you know, very different from just the, in my opinion, the great bodies that we used to see, you know, uh people fit, people healthy, people looking normal, you know, just maybe a good normal, but normal. I mean, and now it's just gotten even crazier with AI making images and stuff. So, like I want to encourage everybody to just focus on themselves. You know, there's this guy that he'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, but his name is Joey Swole, and obviously that's his, you know, stage name. And he always says, mind your business. And basically, what he does is he finds people being bad in gyms, like videoing other people and making fun of them, things like that. So what he's doing is good because he's pointing out how people need to stop doing that and and you know, mind their business in gyms. And, you know, so that's become his token line, mind your business afterwards. And uh, you know, I mean, he's right, like mind your own business. What are you trying to accomplish with your exercise routine? I in today's email, today's Friday when I'm recording this, probably launch it today. In the email, I talked about responses and adaptations. And adaptations is defined as semi-permanent change, which basically is what we want. So when we strength train, we get stronger. That's an adaptation. How do we get stronger? We increase the muscle mass and we increase the tendon and we increase all of the soft tissues. Like that's that's an adaptation. It takes time, it happens over time. Change becomes semi-permanent. It's semi-permanent because if you quit doing what you're doing, they're going to go backwards. You're going to atrophy. So that's why it's semi-permanent. So that's an adaptation. Another adaptation would be what we call left ventricular hypertrophy. So the left ventricle of the heart gets a little bit bigger. That's an adaptation. That takes time. Now, as opposed to that, we have responses, and responses are immediate. They happen what at the at the immediate time. So, for example, a response in the gym would be increased heart rate when you're doing cardio or strength training. Increased perspiration rate, so you start sweating. That's a response. But another response that I focused on today in the email is how you feel. Like my hormones improve. I get more the positive hormones flowing through my bloodstream, I should say. So my serotonin levels raise, my endorphins raise. So that is a response to exercise. So a large reason why I exercise is for the response of feeling better. I also want the increased adaptations of hypertrophy because I do want my muscle mass to stay as high as it can be healthfully, because I know that raises my metabolism and studies show that it's good for everything else. I want to be stronger, I want my ADLs good, I want a nice strong heart. Yes, all those are reasons I continue to exercise and train, but also the responses of feeling better. So I just think that if everybody focuses on what they want, what are the adaptations they want to occur? What is important for them? And what responses? I'm sure everybody wants to feel better. So working out makes you feel better. So focus on that and then control what you can. You can't necessarily control the speed it's going to occur at. Maybe you gain muscle very slowly, maybe you gain it quickly. You're not going to have control over that, really. You can't control the shape of your muscles. That's genetic. You can't control, like, you really can't control how lean you can get. I mean, there is a genetic component to that. Not everybody is meant to be super lean. It's not going to happen. But you can be leaner. We don't have control over just how much RVO2 max raises, which is the gold standard to kind of measure your cardiorespiratory fitness. We that's genetic as well. Matter of fact, we can only change. It by 30 percent. It VO2 max is very genetic, but we can make it the best we can be, and that's important because I guarantee this. This is my promise if you make yourself the best you can be as far as your cardiorespiratory fitness, your flexibility, and your muscular fitness, you will be far happier. That is an absolute guarantee. And the only thing you need to do that is focus on what you can control, and that is doing the thing. And the thing is exercising and doing the best you can to eat a healthful diet. All right. Do the thing, let go of the rest. All right, thank you everybody for listening to today's show. I really appreciate it. I want to remind you to please hit automatic download. It really helps me and it helps the show. And now I'd like to thank Overhead Door of Daytona Beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product and the best service. I personally vouch for Jeff and Zach Hawk, the owners. They are great. They're going to get you exactly what you need. So if you have any garage door needs, give them a shout at 386-222-3165. And now I'm very excited to add another sponsor. Procharge Liquid Protein Enhancer has joined the team. And let me tell you, they are a great product. I pop one after a workout. Each container has 40 grams of protein, so that's two servings. I take 20 grams after I work out. What's really cool about them is it's portable. You can throw them in your suitcase. You don't have to worry about mixing powders and making a mess. At least that's an issue I've had with some of the protein powders through the years. And you know what? They taste really, really good. 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Rob Maxwell

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