1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbon here. If you think that getting stronger means 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: slinging around a bunch of iron at the local gym, 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: I think again. And if you think building muscle is 5 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: only for buff guys and tight tank tops, that think 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: again again. Building muscle is for everyone at just about 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: every stage of life. It's a critical part of staying healthy. 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: And you don't need to pump iron to do it. 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:35,879 Speaker 1: You don't need bulging veins, you don't even need to 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: know the difference between a trapezius and a deltoid. Today, 11 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: let's talk about the science of building muscle, also known 12 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: as muscle hypertrophy. For the article of this episode is 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: based on how Stuff Works. Spoke with doctor Brad Schoenfeld, 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: the graduate director of the Human Performance and Fitness Program 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: at Lehman College. He said, it's not only about growing muscle, 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: it's losing If you don't resistance train, whereby you're looking 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: to build muscle, it's really a static choice because you 18 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: end up losing muscle. Resistance training is just working your 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: muscles against some kind of resistance. That resistance can come 20 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: in the form of weight, stretchy bands commonly called resistance 21 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: bans or exercise bands, or even your own body weight. 22 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: If you're doing a push up, you're using your body 23 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: weight to force certain muscles to work, and that counts. 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: Schellenfeld said, after about the age of thirty five, the 25 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: average person who's not lifting weights is going to lose 26 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: roughly a half percent of their muscle mass per year, 27 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: and that percentage starts to accelerate when you get into 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: your late fifties early sixties, and then it's exponential after that. 29 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: Being physically active, which by definition means building and maintaining 30 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: healthy muscles, does a lot for US humans, including improving 31 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: mental health, lowering the risk of stroke, improving cognitive function 32 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: and sleep, increasing joint flexibility and improving balance, thereby reducing 33 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: the risk of falls and the elderly. Stronger muscles help 34 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: strengthen bones and control blood sugar and cholesterol levels too. 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: Muscle hypertrophy is a much research subject because while any 36 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: exercise is better than none, how to go about building 37 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: muscle most efficiently and safely has long been a matter 38 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: of myth and debate. There are a number of factors 39 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: to consider in building a workout, including not just the 40 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: actual level of resistance that is, the weight placed on 41 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: a barbell or the amount of tension in a resistance band. 42 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: You also have to consider the number of repetitions of 43 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: a particular movement in a set and the number of 44 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: those sets done in a session, plus how that movement 45 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: and those sets fit together with other exercises to form 46 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: a balanced program. Schollenfeld said, I think there are misperceptions 47 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,079 Speaker 1: about what actually builds. A lot of times people think 48 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: they have to lift heavy weights to build muscle. There's 49 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: actually a lot of good research showing that muscle growth 50 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: can be developed over a wide array of repetition ranges. 51 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: A debate that's rumbled on for years is about whether 52 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: a lot of resistance and a low number of repetitions 53 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: is better or less resistance and a lot of repetitions. 54 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: The old notion that a lot of us grew up 55 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: with is that big weights build big, strong muscles no 56 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: matter how few times you lift them, whereas smaller weights 57 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: and more reps build lean, toned muscles. What's more important 58 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: than any of the raw numbers you're dealing with is 59 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: paying attention to what your body is telling you during 60 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: the workout. You can get equally full muscles without pushing 61 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: eye bulging amounts of weight. As long as you do 62 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: enough reps that the final ones are challenging to complete, 63 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: you'll start slowing down and eventually your muscles will just 64 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: refuse to do another rep. Important note here you should 65 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: always stop a set while you can still maintain the 66 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: proper posture and movement for the exercise that you're doing. 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: You risk injury if you continue past that point. One 68 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: benefit of using less weight is that it's easier to 69 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: realize when you're approaching your limit. In the end, the 70 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: goal is to literally, on a cellular level, build more muscle. 71 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: Oh When muscles are exercised enough, cellular level damage occurs, 72 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: triggering a process in which proteins are dispatched to repair 73 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: or replace the damaged cells. That process builds on existing structures, 74 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 1: and over time a bigger muscle is born, which, yes, 75 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: can help you look better in a favorite shirt, or 76 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: keep your blood sugar in check, or just get down 77 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: the stairs without taking a tumble. The National Institute on 78 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 1: Aging suggests a strength building exercise session two or more 79 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: days a week without working the same muscle group two 80 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: days in a row. If you don't have a set 81 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: of weights or gym membership, you can start with one 82 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: thing you're guaranteed to have sitting around at home, your 83 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: own body. Body Weight exercises are ones that use the 84 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: resistance of your own weight to work your muscles, things 85 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: like squats, lunges, and toe stands. Schowenfeld said using weights 86 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: is one of the best ways to do it. The 87 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: way that you're going to ultimately over time build muscle 88 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: is by consistently challenging your body, But you can just 89 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,679 Speaker 1: do push ups and other body weight exercises that will 90 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: at least early on have positive effects on strength and 91 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: muscle growth. Over time, it gets harder to challenge your muscles, 92 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: but there's ways if you're inventive, that you can just 93 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: use body weight or resistance bans. There are lots and 94 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: lots of guides online for getting started. Taking a few 95 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: classes or talking with a licensed personal trainer can also 96 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: help you make sure that your form is on point 97 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: and not likely to lead to accidental injury. And of course, 98 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: building muscle goes hand in hand with good nutrition. Trends 99 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: are really pushing high protein diets these days, but carbohydrates 100 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: and fat are also important for maintaining your hard earned muscles, 101 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: keeping your energy up, and keeping your brain and other 102 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: organs functioning. A varied diet with lots of colorful vegetables, 103 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: whole grains, and leaner proteins is a good starting place, 104 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: and a dietitian or other medical professional can help you 105 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: home in on goals from there. Everybody's body is different, 106 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: which is part of why it's so hard to nail 107 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: down a single most efficient diet and exercise regimen. It 108 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: can take trial and error to find a routine that 109 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: works for you physically and keeps you entertained. But the 110 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: overall message on muscle hypertrophy is clear, and it's not 111 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: something reserved for gym rats and wanna be schwarzeneggers. Building 112 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: muscle is crucial to good health and aging well for 113 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: all of us. Today's episode is based on the article 114 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: the Science and Smarts behind Hypertrophy and Getting Ripped on 115 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: how Stuffworks dot Com, written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff 116 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot 117 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: Com and is produced by Tyler Plang. Four more podcasts 118 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio visit the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts, or wherever 119 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.