Last week I was approached by a worried parent in the gym who believed that letting their teenage son lift weights might have a negative effect on his intelligence.
Yes, seriously.
The root of his concern was the belief that “bodybuilders have a reputation for being big dumb meatheads” (sorry bodybuilders), so he wanted to know if there’s any real science behind this.
I reassured him this old stereotype is nonsense, of course, but the more I spoke to people about it, the more I noticed that lots of people seem to share his opinion that bodybuilders and musclebound guys in general are “stupid”.
What Does Science Say?
Okay, let me be clear on this:
As a parent, one of the best things you can do is encourage your teenagers to lift weights.
It offers so many health benefits, ranging from the much-documented endorphin release, and improvements to mental health, and (of course) building the foundations of a strong, muscular physique for the future.
But what about intelligence?
Well, researchers from the University of Texas set out to established whether lifting weights from a young age would help or hinder the brain power of adolescents, and discovered that pupils who lifted weights three times per week had a higher GPA (grade point average) than pupils who did not lift at all. (1)
Combine this with more recent research from the University of Sydney, Australia, which showed that taking up weight training at a young age is also one of the best strategies to offset the development of amnesia (which over 135 million people are predicted to have by 2050!), and we have a recipe for success right here. (2)
Head researcher Dr. Yorgi Mavros adds this:
“What we found is that improvements in cognitive function are strongly linked to gains in muscle strength, and the stronger people become, the greater the benefit is for their brain in later life.”
– Dr Yorgi Mavros
Why Does The “Big Dumb Meathead” Stereotype Still Exist?
I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.
I believe this stereotype really kicked into high gear during the 1980s, when movies were based around larger-than-life musclebound guys who seemed to give people the impression that being jacked means being one dimensional or stupid.
What’s most silly about this, of course, is that when we take a closer look at some of the biggest stars from that era we see that they’re incredibly intelligent individuals!
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ah-nuld is often the first name to come up when people make these claims.
Sure, he sounds robotic, but we’d be foolish to overlook an ultra-impressive career in which he became a real estate millionaire by age 29, and then arguably the best bodybuilder ever, and then Hollywood’s #1 action movie star during the 1980s and 1990s. Also, if we take into consideration his modern day achievements we can see he’s done a tonne of charity work which he goes largely uncredited for, and in the last few years he started what is now one of the world’s most listened to daily podcasts (Arnold’s Pump Club).
But yeah, “big dumb robot voice”.
- Sylvester Stallone
Sly is another easy target.
This is usually because of his somewhat slurred speech, which was caused by a doctor having a mishap with a pair of tweezers during his birth.
However, Stallone has an IQ of 160 – yep, “Rocky” has the same IQ as Albert Einstein – and has gone on to achieve some quite remarkable things throughout his long and storied career in Hollywood.
None are more impressive than the story of he broke through, though.
Seriously, if you’ve never heard Stallone tell the crazy story behind the making of the first Rocky move, set yourself ten minutes aside and go listen to it. I guarantee you’ll come away with a new level of respect for him. Sly has also been incredibly smart with his training over the years by learning how to adjust his exercise regimen to his body, which has given him the luxury of doing what he does best on the big screen well into his 70s.
- Dolph Lundgren
Dolph’s breakthrough role (Ivan Drago) gave him a stereotype which he could never shake off.
His relationship with socialite Grace Jones – and all of their cheesy-as-fuck modelling shoots! – also did little to convince the public there was anything substantial beneath the surface.
However, Dolph Lundgren is a classic case of “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.
Fluent in seven languages, he has masters degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering, and was even offered a scholarship to MIT in 1984 (which he declined to land the role in Rocky IV). He also holds a 3rd Dan black belt in Kyokushin karate, and became European Karate Champion at 23 years old, so the scary thing about Dolph is that he could kick your ass from here to high heaven and then explain how he did it!
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
The Rock… The People’s Champ… The Brahma Bull… The Great One… The Most Electrifying Man In All Of Entertainment… The Final Boss!
Six different nicknames, but only one stereotype; “a big dumb meathead who was in the right place at the right time!”
Really, though?
Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions is named after the famous story of how he only had $7 in his bank account when he moved back into his parents house at 23 years old, having been cut from the NFL and told he didn’t have future in the sport.
This set him on a path to becoming one of the world’s biggest stars and serial entrepreneurs; first by becoming one of the WWE’s best-loved performers of all time, and then a Hollywood leading man, followed by successfully launching various additional businesses (workout clothes, energy drinks, supplements, tequila, and skin care products) before returning to a position on the board of directors in WWE.
For a man so fucking busy, the fact that he still handles his social media profiles by himself is nuts. Then again, his social media is another success story in its own right, as he’s able to charge advertisers as much as $1 million per sponsored post.
At this point, The Rock is just completing side quests!
References:
- Keating, X. D., et al. Association Of Weekly Strength Exercise Frequency And Academic Performance Among Students At A Large University In The United States. J Strength Cond Res (2013).
- Mavros, Y., et al. Mediation of Cognitive Function Improvements by Strength Gains After Resistance Training in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Outcomes of the Study of Mental and Resistance Training. J Am Geriatrics Soc (2016).