Crushing Myths and Fear: The Transformative Power of Strength Training

Can your fears and misconceptions be the only thing standing between you and a stronger, healthier body? Join me, Rob Maxwell, on this journey to crush the 'FORT' - Fear of Resistance Training - and unveil the truth behind the myths that too often scare folks away from the weight room. Shedding light on the benefits and safety of strength training, I bust the myths that have long kept people on the sidelines. With evidence and expert insights, we tackle the falsehoods head-on, proving that a more robust and balanced physique can be achieved without risking injury or spending your entire day at the gym.

This conversation goes beyond just debunking myths; it's about inspiring a movement towards a healthier community. As we navigate through topics like the misunderstood concept of progressive overload and the baseless fear that women will 'bulk up' from lifting, I empower you with knowledge and encourage you to be an advocate for strength. Imagine the impact we can have if we all spread the word about the transformative power of strength training. By the end of our time together, you'll not only be ready to take on the weights with confidence, but you'll also be equipped to pass the torch of strength to everyone you know.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell, I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I'm the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to give you the science to talk about what really works and what doesn't work and, most importantly, importantly, why it works. Hence the name, the Method to the Madness. Let's get behind. Why certain things work and don't work.

Speaker 1: 0:33

I've always believed that if we talk about the whys, the hows aren't going to matter as much. I think people will do it, I think they'll understand it and I like to be the anti-hack guy. There's so many people out there trying to push different things and, sadly, people really jump on it because it seems easy. And look, the bottom line is, you know, as we've all heard before, that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. It probably is because getting into good physical condition, good mental condition, all of wellness, takes work and the work is always worth it.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Today I'm going to talk about FORT F-O-R-T. What the heck is that? Yes, the scientific community, which I do believe in, for sure, but came up with another acronym instead of just talking about what it is. Some of these things are so silly, but I'm going to explain it because it is a cool topic that I think is essential to getting everybody's butt in the gym to work out. Before I get to that, though, let me thank our wonderful sponsors, jonathan and Lynn Gilden of the Gilden Group Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service to home selling, and have the sales and the reviews to back it up. And I'll say another thing. They just jumped in and became our first sponsors of the MaxFit Games this year. They're always helping out. I mean. That says a lot about people's character, I think. So if you need a shout, give them a call. 386-451-2412.

Speaker 1: 2:22

All right, let's get to the topic of the day. 2412. All right, let's get to the topic of the day. Fort fear of resistance training.

Speaker 1: 2:36

Why couldn't they just say that? Why couldn't they just make a study? It's actually not even a study. It was more of a peer review of why people don't get to the gym, and we know they don't enough, because there are all kinds of different numbers out there regarding how many people are on a sustainable exercise program. I've seen one that says as low as 7%. I don't know if that's true. That is so unreal to think that less than 10% of the population work out is so unreal to think that less than 10% of the population work out. But I've also seen other studies that show that it's like maybe as high as 30%. So in any event, that's just not enough. I mean, so why aren't people working out?

Speaker 1: 3:18

And the American College of Sports Medicine, which is kind of the granddaddy of certification and licensing in the exercise world? So you know, if your trainers don't have that certification, I mean I would wonder why. It is important to get the best. In my opinion, and you know, they do their due diligence, like they are a very much a scientific community and their certification rates are less than 30%, which means that there's a high fail rate. You want that. You want people knowing their stuff. I mean there are way too many people out there giving advice on social media. They call themselves influencers and they really don't know what they're talking about. It's pseudoscience at best, like they have no idea. So you really want people to know what they're talking about.

Speaker 1: 4:12

That might be one of the reasons why people stay out of the gym. Interestingly enough, that wasn't listed in their six articles they came up with. That kind of surprises me, but maybe it's just because that's so like I don't know, hard to express. Maybe, like not enough people really were able to conceptualize that that is something that keeps them out of the gym. But, in any event, let's go over the six because I do think that they're legit, all right. One of them is it takes too much time. In any event, let's go over the six because I do think that they're legit, all right. One of them is it takes too much time. That's one of the reasons that keeps people from strength training. Well, that's just not true. I mean, you can work out in 25 minutes or so and have a really good strength training workout in 25 minutes. I mean, there's been times where I've smoked myself in 25 minutes, where I'm just done. So you absolutely can do it, and the majority of the programs that we do are in roughly that amount of strength training.

Speaker 1: 5:20

Strength training shouldn't be measured in how long. It shouldn't be like oh, I got in a 60-minute workout, that's a good workout. That's just not how we need to be characterizing it. We shouldn't be going to the gym to burn calories, not when we're strength training, I mean you're going to be disappointed. You're not going to burn a ton of calories. Strength training that shouldn't be the ideal at all. That should not matter at all. What matters is are you getting stronger, are you adding muscle? Are you improving your balance? That's what matters. Those are the metrics that matter, not how many calories you are burning and I do think that some people shy away a little bit because of that. But in 25 or 30 minutes you're going to do everything you need for strength. Are you only going to burn maybe 150 calories? Yes, but again, that is not the idea of strength training. If you're worried about calories, probably you need to worry far more about what you're putting into your body versus what you're putting into your body versus what you are putting out.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Strength training is about getting stronger, and it should. I mean, can you work out a little bit longer? Yeah, of course, but you can get all of the strength training you need. You can hit maximal results in about 30 minutes, two to three times a week. The research is clear on that. This has been studied by the NSCA, the American College of Sports Medicine, and other scientists. You can absolutely do all you need to do, whatever level you are. If you're trying to get stronger, in about a 30-minute session two to three times per week Because, again, strength training is measured in intensity Are you using more load, are you doing more reps has nothing to do with a time component other than the fact you've got to squeeze it into a certain amount of time.

Speaker 1: 7:21

Number two it's expensive. Well, two things on that, and they're both. No, it's not. The first is the obvious it doesn't have to be. I mean, you can work out at home, you can work out at cheaper gyms, you could work out with personal training if you choose to, but strength training does not have to be expensive at all. I mean, that's just not true. That one on the list kind of surprised me because I haven't heard that from people that I know or interact with too much and I do try to pay attention on the local beat on social media and I haven't really seen that come across too much. Haven't really seen that come across too much. But I guess in their polls that they found somewhere people were not complaining but stating that as an issue. So that's just not true. Secondly, on that, you know there is no wealth without health. So I would argue, like, even if you were paying maximum dollar to do what you need to do, is that really expensive? I mean, I don't think so. I mean, like, what's expensive are medical bills down the road and what's expensive is not enjoying your life. So, personally, that one to me is just a no brainer. That's just silly. In either way you look at it, it's just silly. That is not true. All right.

Speaker 1: 8:49

The third thing was that people feel like they need a gym. Well, I don't see that as a huge difference. As number two, Again, you don't. I mean, I work with a lot of people. Obviously, the majority of people I work with are here at my facility, because that just makes sense. I mean, they're coming for help, they're going to come to my facility. But when people are traveling, I give them remote workouts to do, where maybe they're just using dumbbells and bands and that's fine. Like, gyms are great because if it's a good gym it's going to have selectorized equipment which the machines can really isolate your muscles and really speed up the efficiency of your time use. I mean, when you have machines like that, it makes your workout go quicker, you're not spending some of your time setting up and all that. So it is great, but you don't need it again. You really need just some form of load, some form of resistance. What can come in the way shape and form of dumbbells or bands, or even your body weight. So that's just not true.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Number three is kind of silly as well, and I haven't seen that come across the local social media feed and all that, because that's really all I try to pay attention to. I mean, you know all of the national social media and all the famous influencers and all that. I mean that's just all kind of silly. So I try to pay attention to what people are saying locally. I haven't seen that come up. The too much time thing yes, I see that among the people that I know or my followers or whatever, yeah, that one, yes, and I just told you that's not true. But the other two, as far as it being expensive and as far as you need a gym, I haven't seen that come up a lot as far as a concern. Now the next one I have not safe for seniors or not safe in general.

Speaker 1: 11:12

I mean, again, it's the opposite of that. I mean, again, it's the opposite of that. I mean people that work out tend to stay far more injury-free than people that don't. I mean, I think in this day and age, pretty much more and more people are understanding that, and I would say that the majority of my clients are definitely Gen Xers and boomers and up. So more and more people in that demographic are working out because they get it, because doctors have figured out that if they want their patients to quit breaking bones and having bone density issues and falling and not enjoying their life and not having great activities of daily living, then they need to strength train. I mean that is. I have not. I train a few doctors and I know many doctors and I don't know any that don't tell their patients to do that. I mean my psychiatrist physician I have. I mean, psychiatry has very little to do with that, but he is telling his patients all the time too that they need to work out and strength train for their mind and body. So I don't know any physicians that don't advocate that anymore and a lot of times it's the physician that's in the direct relationship with the patient and they are going to have some of the greatest influence on their patients to do what they're going to do and I see them as steering them in the right direction of strength training.

Speaker 1: 12:45

So look, I can go on and on about this topic. I mean, it is not safe. If you do something stupid in the gym, sure you could hurt yourself. I would argue it would be better to take that risk than not going at all. I think not going at all is the biggest risk. But at the same time, doing something stupid in the gym is your choice. You don't have to do that. If it doesn't make sense to you, don't do that.

Speaker 1: 13:13

Another thing is I hear people say often and I understand it because it kind of makes sense to them, but I'm going to change your mind on that is if I go heavier I'm going to get hurt. Well, oftentimes it's the polar opposite of that, because as we go heavier we're actually slowing down the range of motion or slowing down the tempo. That's called the forced velocity curve. So basically, by pure physics alone, the heavier the load, the harder it is to move fast. Now we know when we do things explosively and fast is when we're more likely to pull a muscle or pull a tendon, when we're more likely to pull a muscle or pull a tendon. So actually, when we're going heavier, then we're actually slowing down, we're not going to get hurt. Now, that doesn't mean if there's a ton of weight loaded up on a bench press and you go lay down and you're not ready for that load and you unrack the bar, of course you can tear a rotator cuff or something. But look, that's just stupid. I mean, that is just lacking of all common sense and I don't think I know anybody that's going to do that. So that's not really going heavier. That got you hurt. That's being stupid. That got you hurt. I mean, why did you do that? That'd be like laying under a car and saying, hey, I think if I push up on this, I mean that just makes zero sense If you are properly overloading like this is where I hear it sometimes and it kind of is a pet peeve of mine Somebody might do say 15 repetitions at, say 10 pounds.

Speaker 1: 14:54

Let's just say 10 pounds, they do 15. You go up two and a half on each side, which is an increment that we like to use, 5% or 10%, and they're going to feel it being a little heavier. Well, of course I mean it's a total of five pounds heavier. They're going to feel it being heavier. They'll say well, I don't know. Should I go heavier? I don't want to get hurt. It's like, what are you talking about? Like you literally just did 15 reps at this load. We increased it slightly and now maybe you're going to land around 12 or 13.

Speaker 1: 15:23

I mean, does that make any conceivable sense that you're going to get hurt? Again? I get why people think that, because too often they listen to people and they don't question it when they go oh, going heavier gets you hurt. It's like no, no, it doesn't. That makes zero sense. That's proper overload and if you don't properly overload you're not going to get stronger.

Speaker 1: 15:45

So getting hurt in the gym is a choice. It's an absolute choice. I mean, if you do things explosively with poor form, sure you can get hurt. But why would you do that? I mean that's just kind of silly. I mean, if you don't know, you hire a trainer, get the form done. So more people are going to get hurt by using poor form and speed than anything else. But that's a choice. You don't have to have that happen. But again, I will still fight you and say I'd rather see you take the risk and pull muscles, even if you're dumb, than staying at home, which I think is even dumber I mean, nowadays the research is totally on that side that if you want good ADLs, if you want graceful living, if you want to not be injured, if you want to continue to play pickleball, tennis, golf, live your life how you want to live it, then strength training is the recipe. It's the polar opposite of that. I'm afraid to get hurt, all right.

Speaker 1: 16:46

Next myth it elevates your resting blood pressure. Now, this is nothing new. We've been battling this one for 20 years. But now again, the medical community is completely on our side on this. Strength training does not raise your resting blood pressure. If anything, it lowers it. Now, acutely, at the time.

Speaker 1: 17:09

Will strength training raise your blood pressure? Acutely, meaning at the time? Of course it's supposed to. That's like saying, well, it will raise your heart rate. Well, getting on the bike raise your heart rate. Of course it's going to do that. There have been studies that have shown that people's blood pressure people that have normal blood pressures of, say, 120 over 80 have had their systolic blood pressure rise to over 300 on the systolic millimeters of mercury on a leg press machine when taking the failure. Yes, of course, and then within a short time period back to normal.

Speaker 1: 17:47

So, yes, it's going to raise and there could be concerns if you have hypertension as far as raising it above that. If you have hypertension raising it above it at the time. Two things on that. Number one, that doesn't mean it's not going to come down, it's not raising your resting blood pressure. Number two hopefully you are on blood pressure medication to actually not let it get over certain levels that your doctor doesn't want. And finally, strength training is a great way to actually lower in general your resting blood pressure because you're raising your metabolism by working out, your exercising, which is hopefully helping you to get your body composition in order, because that is related to blood pressure. Your weight, all right. So no, it does not raise your resting blood pressure. And if you are concerned about that because you have hypertension, talk to your physician. I'm sure they will tell you that it is perfectly safe to do. And maybe when you should work out, when you shouldn't, when it's elevated, what exercises aren't going to raise it as much, how to breathe properly.

Speaker 1: 19:08

I mean, there are just so many ways around that I have I wouldn't say 50% of my clients, but maybe 30 to 40% over the years have had some form of hypertension being on some form of blood pressure medication. I mean, you know, it's obvious, when people are going to get in shape, I mean they're going to have the characteristics of somebody who isn't in shape, and sometimes not always, because sometimes hypertension is found in people that are in great physical condition otherwise, so not always, but oftentimes hypertension is a condition of somebody being out of condition. In any event, I have never, ever, ever seen any issues with people working out when they have elevated blood pressures and, if anything, I've seen many, many people's blood pressure improve from working out. All right, so that is a fact. Bank it here.

Speaker 1: 19:59

Finally, my pet peeve bulky. People are afraid of getting bulky. Talking to you ladies, it's mostly you are afraid of getting bulky by working out. Bulky in quotes. I'm glad the ACSM mentioned that in their studies too. They didn't just, like you know, try to scientific it down by saying, uh, you know, uh, we're afraid of, uh, hypertrophy and hyperplasia. I mean, no, no, they said it like people say it, I'm afraid of getting bulkier. Look, that's not a product of working out the way that you think that it is.

Speaker 1: 20:40

Here are the three or four things. I added the fourth. Here are the three things that the ACSM talks about how people will get bulkier if they work out, which for half of the population, majority, and I know I'm generalizing here, but you know, bear with me because you know the points I'm making are solid. You know majority, 50% male want that, but you know some women don't. So what leads to it? Number one genetics. Like, you have to have the genetics to add bulkier muscles. I've talked about that before. You have to have the muscle belly lengths, you have to have the testosterone levels, you have to be more fast, twitch muscle fiber, so, and you also have to be a mesomorph. So there are things that go into bulkier muscles and genetics is huge. You have to have that.

Speaker 1: 21:33

All right, but don't get too preoccupied with that because too often times people like forget about number two here you have to have a caloric surplus. So it's funny when people claim that they're dieting and they say they're gaining muscle by working out two to three times a week on a strength training program, I'm like, okay, well, you're adding muscle, so you have to have a caloric surplus. In other words, we can't add muscle without a caloric surplus If you're working out and you're eating. I'm just going to say two, even though I don't mean too much. But if you're working out and eating too much, you're going to gain more muscle than fat. If you're not working out and eating too much in quotes you're going to gain more fat than muscle. The bottom line is you have to be in a caloric surplus to gain either.

Speaker 1: 22:25

So it's funny when people say well, you know, I'm going to the gym, I'm only eating 1200 calories a day because I'm restricting my calories to lose weight and I'm still getting bulky. I'm thinking that's insane. I mean, how on earth are you adding muscle when there's not a caloric surplus? So I don't know if that's just an excuse to like not work out because some people don't want to do it. I don't know, but it's's simply illogical and not accurate. So you have to have a surplus to get bulky.

Speaker 1: 22:55

And number three there has to be a certain level of testosterone. So the ladies don't have to worry about it nearly as much as the men. Women have testosterone, and testosterone for women, just like men, is very critical. There's no question about it. But you have to have a certain amount to actually gain more muscle mass. Now that brings me to the part I added Maybe drugs. I mean, if women or men are taking steroids, there is a greater chance of getting bulkier, of course, because now you have just fixed the testosterone quote problem, unquote. So, yeah, but that's a choice, right? I mean, obviously, if they're taking it, then that's what they want.

Speaker 1: 23:40

And then, finally, I'll add in to the caveat to like, there are all these acute program variables as far as, like, how we gain or maximize one of the adaptations, and the adaptations are I'll repeat them again are strength, endurance, hypertrophy and power. So hypertrophy is, quote bulk. That's one of the adaptations of working out. That's one of the things people want. I would argue it's what we all want, because when we add a little bit of muscle mass and again, that's going to come down to our genetics, how much we actually add that's only helping our health and it's only making women or men look more toned, because they're actually showing the muscles underneath the skin.

Speaker 1: 24:20

So, in any event, though, hypertrophy being one of the adaptations in the acute program variables, what we know, then, is bodybuilders are going to train their workouts for that, to maximize it by adding volume. Volume means more, so there's going to be a lot more time spent with volume to add muscle, meaning more reps, more set and more load, but more all of it and probably more days per week. So volume is the number one variable for hypertrophy. So if you're working out two to three days a week on a standard strength training program, that's not a volume workout. Again, I'm not going to push back or I am going to push back on that. That's not enough. It absolutely is enough to get stronger and reach your goals.

Speaker 1: 25:12

What I'm saying is, if you're working out two to three days a week and maximizing your program like that and your workouts are 30 minutes and they're focused on strength, you don't have to worry about the bulk. You don't have to worry about it anyway. I'm just throwing it out there that there are certain ways people train to gain muscle mass maximally, like they want to be bigger, and that's not one of them. The adding, the volume is number one. And what the bodybuilders do, not the weight. Like you're like oh, I'm adding weight, I'm going to add muscle, I'm going to get too big because we're getting stronger, we're using more load. That's not true. That's not the variable. The variable is volume. Or oh man, I'm doing all these high reps and my muscles feel so swollen afterwards. That's still not the variable. The variable is volume. So, for example, volume would be let's say, you're doing three sets in total for your pectoralis major chest You're doing a chest press, you're doing a fly and you're doing a seated dip. That works your chest muscles. Those are the three exercises here at the gym we use a lot, right? So that's working your chest. That's three sets. Okay. So bodybuilder is going to do like 12 sets for each muscle group. That's higher volume. But again, I'm not saying you have to get stronger, I'm saying that would be a volume recipe. All right.

Speaker 1: 26:41

So hopefully I've told you enough to get your butt to the gym and get rid of this silly fear of RT or fort. Get your butt to the gym and look, people share this. I mean, I'm preaching to the choir. Everybody that listens to this podcast, I would argue everybody maybe 99% know me, know the show. They're in the fitness.

Speaker 1: 27:04

Well, we want to get people who aren't in the gym I can't reach everybody, I don't know who your friends are Will you please send this out to people. Just text them, like I text it to many people. Share it on your social media, download it, share it. Get those people you actually care about to the gym because I promise you, giving them the gift of strength training is one of the gifts you can ever give anybody, but only you can share it. I don't know who your friends are. Share it with them, all right. Speaking of sharing, I'm going to share with you the absolute best in garage doors, overhead Door of Daytona Beach, owned by Jeff and Zach Hawk. They are just the best, there's just no way around it. And they're also sponsoring our events. People are so kind out there, give them a shout, check out their business.