“Exercising Safely”: Exercise Myths and Misconceptions Mini-Series with Dr. James Fisher & Luke Carlson, M.S.

In this week's episode of the Discover Strength Podcast, we are excited to continue with our Exercise Myths and Misconceptions Mini-Series with Dr. James Fisher and Discover Strength CEO, Luke Carlson. We'll discuss another prevalent myth in the fitness industry: that exercise comes with inherent risks. We're excited to be talking about exercising safely, and what that means for you.

These two friends and colleagues were kind enough to sit down and discuss, in their own words, some of the most pervasive myths still running rampant in our industry. While there are plenty to choose from, we decided to focus on the myths and misconceptions from our very first podcast ever with Dr. Fisher (HERE).

This five-part mini-series will cover some of the most widespread myths and misconceptions and hopefully set the record straight on some of these topics once and for all.

Our fourth episode focuses on something that is especially pervasive in the world of strength and conditioning and social media: the idea that in order to improve speed and power, you must train (i.e. lift weights) explosively and with a high level of speed and power, potentially opening you up to higher injury risk while training. Thankfully we've got two leaders in the industry to set the record straight.

Dr. Fisher explains in depth what the research actually has to say about speed and power development. Luke Carlson, formerly an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Minnesota Vikings, talks about the actual application of the data in high-level athletes.

Like many things in the fitness industry, this idea that you must train fast to be fast is muddied by experts, pseudo-experts and high-level athletes, who are at best simply misinformed or disingenuous and at worst are charlatans who are simply telling people what they think they want to hear. The research is clear that speed and power can be improved through strength training, but you don't have to train fast to actually be fast, and in fact, this can lead to potential injury.

Instead, as we discuss in detail, it's the intention to move fast which translates to actual improvements on the field. Most importantly, we discuss that exercise, specifically resistance training, should never lead to injury if done correctly. Higher speeds mean higher forces and a higher likelihood of potential injury, so if you get injured training, you are by definition not exercising.

The best way to become a better, faster, more adept athlete at your particular sport or endeavor is to simply practice that sport in an environment that is as close as possible to the actual competition. The idea that you must train fast in order to be fast is not supported by the literature at all, and can again potentially lead to deleterious results.

If you want to get better at your sport, then take notes and make sure you listen to this episode twice!

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