Pete Wright
Welcome back to Build for Health, where we pull back the curtain on what it takes to build a strong, healthy body and a fitness routine that sticks. I’m Pete Wright, and I’m here with Srdjan Injac, coach, trainer, and proprietor of ELEV8 Fitness in Hillsboro, Oregon. Srdjan, we’re talking about myth busting today.
Srdjan Injac
I love it.
Pete Wright
Do you? Is this kind of your favorite thing? Because I know that when you’re alone late at night and you just don’t know what to do and you don’t have anything heavy to lift, you look at the internet and think, I bet I could go pick a fight with somebody.
Srdjan Injac
Oh yeah, I’ve picked fights with quite a few guys.
Pete Wright
Oh, yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Not on purpose. I just challenge them. I ask questions and they don’t like it, so they call me names and stuff like that.
Pete Wright
They call you names.
Srdjan Injac
And then some of them will actually erase the whole post, because other people can see it. They don’t like when I ask questions and give my opinion and then the other people actually see it.
Pete Wright
They don’t like being able to trace it back.
Srdjan Injac
So they read it and then they start liking my post more than their own comments, and then they’re just done talking and they delete it.
Pete Wright
That’s what you gotta do. Well, that’s what we’re going to take on today — some of these kinds of questions. Maybe they’re a little basic for guys like me. Maybe they’re just things we keep in our heads, things we say when we’re starting to get sweaty in the gym and we want to feel like we’re doing good work. So we’re going to bust through some of these myths that we’ve addressed in part on the show before. Today we’re going to address them more fully. And I think I’d like to start with a category of myths that I look at as things that keep people out of the gym.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah.
Pete Wright
What are the things you carry around in your head — the baggage in your little red emotional wagon that you’re dragging behind you — that keep you from going to the gym? And the first one is: lifting will make me too bulky.
Srdjan Injac
Oh, I wish that was true.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I wish that were true. After twenty-plus years of lifting, man, I should be barely fitting through these doors.
Pete Wright
Yeah, how do you even get out through the doors? Your car always sits too low on one side.
Srdjan Injac
I keep ramming my shoulder into the doors, cutting the corners too short. I don’t realize how wide my shoulders are — yeah, I wish that was true.
Pete Wright
So it’s not true, but why is it not true?
Srdjan Injac
No, it’s not. Because it takes more than just lifting heavy weights for muscle growth. It’s nutrition as well — you can’t just come in and lift and not pay attention to recovery and other things.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And also you have to lift enough in order to tear the muscle.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So people sometimes don’t even work out as often as they should. They don’t lift as heavy as they probably should. So lifting heavy is just going to help you gain strength.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And if you gain a little size with that, great, perfect. But there’s so much more that goes into gaining size than just going to the gym and lifting.
Pete Wright
Yeah, so this is what keeps people out. I hear this a lot, particularly from women who don’t want to bulk up and so they stay out of the gym. Maybe they do a lot of cardio instead. Is that a fair parallel?
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, mainly women. I get that same thing. All the women that come in for consultations — the last two I had were both females, and they said, “Well, I just don’t want to get too bulky. I don’t want to look like you.” And I’m like, you’re not going to look like me.
Pete Wright
“I don’t want to look like you.” How dare you? You should be so lucky.
Srdjan Injac
I’m like, what’s wrong? But I tell them, trust me, don’t worry about that.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
You won’t have that problem. It would be great if you had that problem, but you’re not going to have that problem.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So I have to explain to them all the effort, everything you have to do when it comes to building that size.
Pete Wright
How do you counter the other part of that argument — why it’s actually really important for women to lift heavier things?
Srdjan Injac
Well, the thing is, the heavier you lift, the more strength you’re going to gain. You want to strengthen the bones as well. You do want to gain muscle mass because, like we said, muscle is the body’s medicine. It regulates everything. And the amino acids that muscles possess, the protein intake and things like that — people are all terrified of those things. And I have to explain the way the body works and what the role of muscle is and how it’s going to help them
Srdjan Injac
as they age as well, because everything starts declining. So why wouldn’t you work on actually building more muscle — something you’re going to be losing year after year?
Pete Wright
Right.
Srdjan Injac
And it’s going to keep you functional and healthy. So it’s not just about the looks.
Srdjan Injac
That’s why people get scared when they talk about muscle — they think it’s just about looking big. But they forget all the other important parts of muscle mass and what comes with it.
Pete Wright
Yeah. Well, maybe this one is related. Myth number two: you’re too old to start lifting.
Srdjan Injac
You’re never too old. You get old when you stop. That’s when you start getting old — when you stop lifting. Because everything declines, and then you will not just start getting old, you’re going to start feeling old. Your joints, your muscle mass, your strength all go down. But yeah, I do get those people who are like, “Oh, I’m too old for that.”
Pete Wright
Yeah, those are like…
Srdjan Injac
I’m like, no you’re not. No one’s too old for anything.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I feel like people use that more as an excuse. “I’m too old for that, I’ll just do something else.” “That’s not for me. Maybe when I was younger.” And I’m like, no — now that you’re older, you actually need it more than when you were younger.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Now you need it so you can be mobile, so you can be healthier, live longer, everything.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And you’re never too old. People realize this after we start training — after a month, two, three, four months, a year — and then they see how much better shape they’re in and they’re like, “Wow, I’m glad I did start.”
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So the sooner you start, the better.
Pete Wright
Yeah. And that runs right into the next one — the right time. When is the right time?
Srdjan Injac
Don’t even think, “I’ll wait for the right time,” or “tomorrow,” or “next week.” The right time was yesterday. That’s what I would say. Just start doing something and slowly build that habit, work it into your schedule.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And I know people are all busy, but you’re never too old.
Pete Wright
So leading into myth number three, and this one I know is a trope, but I put it on the list anyway: no pain, no gain. I want to talk about the role of soreness in actually getting healthier. Because when I was growing up, my gym teacher would say “no pain, no gain,” but I think he used it as an excuse to haze students and just be mean. And I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about. So what are we referring to with no pain, no gain? Is that a thing you think about?
Srdjan Injac
I say it so I can push people harder. Because everyone likes to be comfortable. When you’re uncomfortable, that’s when you feel like you’re in pain — your whole body feels like you’re in pain.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
You can barely breathe, you can barely move. And that soreness that you feel — it hurts and all that stuff — and that’s what you want.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Because I always say your body’s not going to change unless you give it a reason to change.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So if you’re always in the comfort zone, you’re not going to get anything. That’s why I say no pain, no gain.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
You’re not going to gain strength, size, anything.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
It’s a response to the stress that you put on your body. So push it. Push those limits. Feel the pain. Feel the burn when you burn out your muscles — when you do a drop set or a superset and you can barely move your leg, you feel that muscle burn.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Those are the ones we talk about — that pain. So it’s not literally pain. You don’t want to be in pain and get injured. But you want to push those limits.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
You want to push past that comfort zone. That’s what we mean when we say no pain, no gain.
Pete Wright
Yeah. And when you feel sore the next morning, that means something good happened.
Srdjan Injac
Because when I feel sore the next morning, I love that feeling. That means now my muscle is in the recovery phase. And now I need to do the right thing — eat the right food, get the right nutrients, and recover properly so I can come back next week
Srdjan Injac
and go even harder and be stronger and grow. But it doesn’t mean that if you’re not sore, you didn’t do well or didn’t have a good workout. You’re not always going to feel that sore all the time.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Because it’s impossible. Sometimes, after all these years, I’m not always sore. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t break down the muscle or didn’t have a good workout. Sometimes I feel fine, but then I
Srdjan Injac
grab the weight and try to do it again and I’m like, oh — actually I feel it.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
It’s still a little bit sore. I can still feel the soreness. So it’s still in the recovery phase. If you’re sore, don’t work that muscle — let it recover and then go again. But yeah, no pain, no gain.
Pete Wright
So how does this one relate to “you need to confuse your muscles”? Do you need to always be confusing your muscles?
Srdjan Injac
That’s what people say — confuse the muscle — when they hit a plateau. Because we get so used to the same routine over and over again. And sometimes breaking that routine
Srdjan Injac
will help with soreness, because people stop feeling the same way. They’re not sore anymore. They’re always lifting the same weight, the same order of exercises, everything. So that’s why we say: shock the muscle, confuse the muscle.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Do something else, something you’re not used to. The exercise you did at the beginning — now do it at the end. Do a drop set, do a superset. Something that will throw off the routine you’ve had for weeks, maybe months. People stick to their routine for too long. And your body will respond to that.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And then you’ll be like, “Oh my god, now I’m actually sore.” Because you did something different. You worked the muscle from a different angle.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Usually when you start an exercise or a workout, you’re stronger, so you’re pushing more weight, probably going with lower reps. And
Srdjan Injac
maybe the exercise you do at the end — when you’re more fatigued and can’t push as much weight — do that one first next time and give everything you’ve got.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
That’s why we always say confuse the muscle. But it doesn’t mean you have to do something different every single workout every week. I start switching things up when I feel like I’m plateauing.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
If I feel like I’m getting used to the same routine, I’ll switch it up. Like if something worked really well yesterday — I had a great workout and I feel really sore —
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I’m going to do the same workout next time and see how I feel. If I feel the same soreness, I’ll stick with it a little longer and then I’ll switch it up.
Srdjan Injac
Until I feel like, okay, now I’m too used to it. It’s almost psychological — your body almost knows what’s coming next and you’re ready for that movement.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And you don’t really feel like you’re getting much out of it.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So I’ll switch it up. Sometimes I’ll overhaul the whole workout. I’ll come in planning chest and biceps, and then at the last minute I’m like, you know what? I’ll do shoulders and triceps.
Pete Wright
So you keep your muscles guessing until the last minute — you tell your muscles we’re doing shoulders today, but then you get there and you don’t.
Srdjan Injac
Sometimes, yeah. I even keep myself guessing. In my own mind I’m like, we’re doing this — and then, nope, we’re switching it up. And actually, it works.
Pete Wright
Right. See, for me it’s like: I’m gonna come in and do core. Nope, we’re eating pancakes.
Srdjan Injac
No, you’re definitely confused there.
Pete Wright
Confused? I’m always confused. All right. So there’s another one we’ve talked about before that I think relates. And it’s interesting because we just did training programming 101 last week, and we’ve already gotten some questions.
Srdjan Injac
Oh yeah.
Pete Wright
And one of them I think relates to this, which is: lightweight, high reps for toning; heavyweight, low reps for size. So when you’re talking about aesthetics, I think it’s much more complicated than this — because sometimes for aesthetics, you have to address size, right?
Srdjan Injac
Well yeah, if you’re going for that more athletic aesthetic look, then the workouts are going to have to be a little bit different from a bodybuilder who just wants
Srdjan Injac
bigger size and muscle.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So the whole workout’s going to be different.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
The sets, the reps, even the type of exercises.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And for aesthetics, you’re going to incorporate more plyometrics and things like that.
Pete Wright
Which goes into this first part — lightweight, high reps for toning. None of that addresses strength and endurance of the muscle.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, because we explained last time how reps work.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
When you go low reps, you work more on strength. When you’re in the middle, it’s hypertrophy. And when you go fifteen to twenty reps, you’re working on the endurance of the muscle.
Pete Wright
Yes.
Srdjan Injac
So depending on your goal, you’re going to train accordingly. I like to have all three — I want the endurance, I want some size, and of course I want the strength.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So I’ll try to incorporate all three into my workout.
Pete Wright
Yeah. All right. More training is always better.
Srdjan Injac
Train as often as you can. But like I said, I’m not going to work muscles that are already sore.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Because the recovery phase is also very important. It’s not just about when you come in. Because you don’t grow at the gym when you’re lifting weights. You’re still the same. You’re going to come out looking the same — you just feel like you’re bigger because you’ve got the pump, the blood flow in.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
That’s why you see people flexing in the mirror and all that stuff.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I’m like, you’re still the same. You didn’t grow. I know it looks good, you feel good, but
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
give it twenty-four hours and it’s going to go down. But you’re essentially damaging the muscles, breaking them down, and then
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
you need to take proper time to recover. So the recovery phase for me is sometimes even more important than going to the gym and lifting weights.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Right. So we say the minimum is three times a week — that’s always been the baseline if you want to see any kind of results. And if you can come in four or five times, that would be great.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Some of the more advanced people will go six times a week.
Pete Wright
Right.
Srdjan Injac
But they have a different split — what muscle groups they work and all that.
Pete Wright
Right.
Srdjan Injac
My split is like four times, sometimes five. It depends on my schedule — sometimes I’ll get four workouts a week, sometimes five.
Pete Wright
Okay. A little more rapid fire. Machines are inferior to free weights. Myth or truth?
Srdjan Injac
No.
Pete Wright
No.
Srdjan Injac
It’s not like one is better than the other.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
It depends what you’re looking for. Machines are made for isolation. If you have a chest press or a lat pulldown — whatever machine — it’s made for that particular muscle group you’re working on. You sit on that machine, you shut off your core and everything else, and you isolate that muscle group.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So it’s great for isolation, it’s great for gaining strength on just that one muscle, building size and everything. But free weights are also amazing because now you’re including the core.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Stabilizer muscles, everything else. So they’re important as well — the strength of the core is very important.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So they work different things, and you should definitely do both.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I don’t think you should focus on one and ignore the other. They both work with each other and they’re equally important.
Pete Wright
Okay. Sweat means you’re burning more calories.
Srdjan Injac
No, that’s not true. I have some people that sweat so much.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I mean, I sweat a lot. I sweat from training you. Sometimes I feel like I’m sweating more than you, and I’m not even working out. So there’s no way that at that moment I’m burning more calories than you are.
Pete Wright
Well, that’s a relief to hear you say out loud.
Srdjan Injac
So yeah — even if you’re not sweating as much as I am, you’re definitely burning more calories than me at that moment. It’s just the way it is. My sweat glands are just out of control. I always sweat.
Pete Wright
I’m putting that on a t-shirt for sure.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah. And I do have a lot of clients who just find it hard to sweat. And I see that as a challenge. I’ll accept the challenge.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I’m going to push you till you sweat.
Pete Wright
I love it.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, so that’s not true.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
People think that because if you didn’t sweat, you didn’t work out hard enough. That’s not true.
Pete Wright
Okay. If you miss a week, you’ll lose all your progress.
Srdjan Injac
No. Okay, here’s the thing.
Pete Wright
Okay.
Srdjan Injac
You won’t lose your progress in a week. You can’t really lose your progress in a week. I sometimes randomly take a week off just to recover — focus on nutrition, eating right, recovery.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So that way when I come back, nothing is sore, nothing is really tight and tense. I’m relaxed, I’m good to go.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
During that week I might get a massage, go to the chiropractor, get an adjustment — all those things. But you’re not going to lose your progress. It takes about three weeks — according to the research — for you to start losing some of the muscle mass you’ve gained.
Pete Wright
Three weeks, okay.
Srdjan Injac
So after three weeks, they say you start losing it. But that’s only if you really don’t do anything.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
No workouts, not watching what you eat, protein intake not there.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Then yeah, you’ll start losing.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Now, you’re probably going to lose less if you’re a more advanced lifter and if you’ve been doing it for more than three to five years. They say you’ve gained what they call mature muscle — and we’ve talked about how mature muscle is a little bit harder to lose.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Usually mature muscle — they say you gain it anywhere between three to five years minimum. But that’s with constant training and really working on strength and size.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
So even then, like — I’ll go on vacation for a month.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Three weeks, four weeks, maybe longer. And I come back and I haven’t really lost much muscle mass at all. Maybe a little bit of strength because I haven’t been lifting.
Pete Wright
Yeah. So you might notice when you sit down on your chest press that you’re not lifting quite as much quite as easily.
Srdjan Injac
But if I’ve been eating right — yeah. It comes back in like two weeks.
Pete Wright
Okay. All right.
Srdjan Injac
It’s back. So yeah — you can miss a week, even miss two weeks. As long as you’ve been eating right and keeping your protein intake up, don’t worry about it.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
You’re still okay.
Pete Wright
You can spot reduce fat.
Srdjan Injac
Oh, you can pick the spots where you want to reduce fat.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, I wish you could do that. But the body is smart. It’s not going to take fat from where you want it to. You can’t just point and say, I want it gone from here. And I love when people — I immediately start thinking about someone saying, “Well, I want to lose this belly, so I’m going to do a whole bunch of abs.”
Pete Wright
Yeah, just all crunches all the time. You end up with ridiculously strong abs and the same amount of belly fat.
Srdjan Injac
And the same amount of belly fat. Didn’t go down even a bit.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Because that’s not how it works. The body is smart. It’s not going to take fat from where you want it to.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Usually you start seeing definition in your arms, your shoulders, your chest, your back, your legs — before you see it in your belly.
Pete Wright
Even if you’re doing those crunches.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, even if you’re doing those crunches. You can do as many crunches as you want. You can strengthen your abs, but they’re still covered
Srdjan Injac
with fat. Because fat doesn’t really have a function in most parts of your body, but in the belly and abdominal area it does — it keeps your organs protected. So the body’s not going to take it from there first just because you want it to.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
And then you also have the fat that’s
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
inside — around the organs — the visceral fat. That one will start going down. But the outside layer of fat,
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
that’s the last one that will go.
Pete Wright
The last one.
Srdjan Injac
Because the body keeps the organs protected and warm. It has a function there.
Pete Wright
Okay.
Srdjan Injac
So the body is very smart. You can’t just point to a spot.
Pete Wright
Is that smart? Honestly, I think I would classify a body that listens to my intentions as smart. Right now it’s just an antagonist.
Srdjan Injac
And work with you, right?
Pete Wright
Yeah. Just work with me. All right. Last question, and then we’re going to bust out of here.
Srdjan Injac
Oh.
Pete Wright
You need supplements to build muscle. Ain’t no gain without a little supplemental help.
Srdjan Injac
No, that’s not completely true.
Pete Wright
No.
Srdjan Injac
Supplements will help — definitely. For example, if you just take something simple like a protein shake, you’ll get some extra protein that you probably wouldn’t get otherwise because maybe you’re not meeting your daily protein intake. So that will help.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Plus it helps if you drink the protein right after your workout. And supplements are convenient — a protein shake, you can just mix it really quick and drink it. Nobody’s carrying a chicken breast in their pocket. So it will help, but it doesn’t mean you necessarily need it.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
A lot of times here at the gym, after my workout, I don’t drink a protein shake. I have time, so I eat. I eat the right food, I’ll make myself a meal, and I might drink a protein shake later.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I might not. I might just have another meal.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I’d rather get that protein through food than through a protein shake. If I really feel like I need it — I haven’t met my protein intake, stuff like that — I’ll take it.
Pete Wright
Okay.
Srdjan Injac
And then of course, maybe creatine.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Creatine — everyone should be taking it, right? So if you’re older, then yeah, it will definitely help. Because everyone can benefit from creatine. It doesn’t matter if you’re working out at the gym or not, or you’re a runner or a climber or just hiking. It doesn’t matter.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
Even if you’re not lifting — ten grams of creatine every day, you should be taking it. If you’re younger, your body still produces enough creatine.
Pete Wright
Mm-hmm.
Srdjan Injac
It will help a little bit, but you don’t need it in order to grow. You can still grow if you just do everything right. The supplements — they do add a little bit and they do help.
Pete Wright
Okay. But they’re like the garnish on the meal. They’re assistive. They’re parsley.
Srdjan Injac
Yes. That’s why I say: if you can get everything through food, try to get it through food. If not — even protein bars, I won’t eat them unless I really need to. If I have nothing else, I’m really busy, I can’t get to food, I can’t make myself a meal.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
I’ll have the protein bar or protein shake. But if I can get it through food, that’s how I’m going to do it.
Pete Wright
Yeah.
Srdjan Injac
That’s how you should do it — and it’s way better for you, way healthier.
Pete Wright
All right. I hear you, for crying out loud. I hear you.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah.
Pete Wright
Thank you everybody for hanging out, and thank you for sending those questions in. We’re going to start answering those questions next week. It’s nice to have a little bit of routine. We’re back from our respective breaks and injuries and travel and holidays.
Srdjan Injac
Yeah, I’ve been sick.
Pete Wright
And it’s been a couple of weeks, but we’re here. Questions — just look at the show notes, swipe up in the show notes, tap the link that says you want to submit a question for the coach, and we’ll get you answered in a coming week. We look forward to it. On behalf of Srdjan Injac, I’m Pete Wright.
Srdjan Injac
[laughs]
Pete Wright
We’ll see you right back here next week on Build for Health.
