For 2,000 years, we have all been caught in the middle of a giant game of tug of war between doctors and trainers.

You've got doctors on one side saying that everybody needs to aim for stable, balanced health.

And on the other side, you've got trainers saying that you really need to be

aiming for excellence. And that tension is really what created the myth of Brain versus Braun.

Doctors decided that a really effective way of building up their own authority was to put down heavy, meaty athletes,

point to those guys and say, that's what happens if you go too far with athletic training.

Hello, welcome to another episode of Better with Dr. Stephanie. Tis me, your host, as always, Dr.

Stephanie Estima.

Today we are going to go on a different geeky magic carpet ride together.

We are going to talk about the history of muscle, some of the myths from some of our early four mothers and

forefathers around muscle building and which of those perseverate today. My guest is Michael

Joseph Gross. He is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, New York Times,

and the Atlantic. And his latest book, which is what we

discussed today, is called Stronger, The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives. And this book is going

to tell us why muscle is more than aesthetics. It is central for our health, our independence,

and even our identity. So who is this for? Why should you listen to this episode? Well, if you are

someone who is new to weightlifting and you're a woman and you're scared of getting bulky,

we talk about where some of these myths come from and why they still exist and persevere today.

If you are someone who has been lifting weights and you're very,

you know, loud and proud and you love the muscle that you've been able to put on your body,

I think that this is going to orient you to the community of women and men who have come before

you in a long way back to the Victorian era, spoiler alert, way back to the Victorian era where women were lifting weights.

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