The Most Basic Fitness Program
The problem for most people is not that they don’t know how to exercise — but that they don’t know what a muscle contraction is, and the powerful effect it has on the functioning of their body. Most people “know how to exercise” — even if it doesn’t do them much good — but the effects of muscular contractions are unmistakable and undeniable.
The difference is that just burning calories is insufficient to achieve the desired exercise effect — as is obvious in the many people who get plenty of “exercise” but not the desirable effect of optimizing the circulatory effect — that occurs because the muscles contract fully — just as the heart must to be an effective and efficient pump. The design and evolution of the heart is that is always working automatically — not just to pump blood to itself (cardio), but more importantly, to pump blood to all the other parts of the body — and particularly, the extremities — which are the important sensory organs of the head, hands and feet.
These organs are frequently underutilized and underexercised in modern life because the tools and technology minimize the need to maintain them in optimal condition for those purposes. Thus in general conditioning programs, the importance of exercising these most vitally important organs are minimized or overlooked entirely — but observant people can detect the lack of functioning and movement indicative of inflammation, swelling, and bloating at those sites to be the best indication of that individual’s health and well-being — as the most apparently visible.
People just assume that a double-chin and swollen face, swollen (inflamed) hands and feet are the products of natural aging — rather than the indication that those areas and organs are being neglected — in favor of much less critically important parts (muscles) of the body — that makes a huge difference in outcomes in later life as those inefficiencies and toxins build up in the tissues with no way to escape — and rejuvenate and revitalize with fresh nutrients.
The value of exercise is the extent to which the contractions fully expell the accumulated residual toxins in the tissues — as the purpose and meaning of circulation — all the way out to those extremities. That is the circuit — which can be limited to where there is actually the movement (contraction) of those muscles. Simply holding a heavy weight provides no such movement — no matter how heavy the weight. Movement would require the alternation of muscular states from contraction to relaxation — which is the same action of the heart, especially if it is choreographed to be rhythmic in that way (repetitions).
A good number to shoot for is 50–100. Admittedly, one could do more, but 1,000 repetitions of a single movement would take away the opportunity to do 20–10 more of different exercises that would provide greater value than just the one over exercised part — at the expense of all the others, with the added downside of repetitive stress in doing too much of only one movement. With 20 different movements, there is a reasonably good chance one can articulate and lubricate most of the major joints of the body daily — and easily for at least 50 repetitions — just as a health practice, and a sufficient warmup for whatever one can expect to encounter in the normal course of daily living.
That is the conditioning one hopes to establish as the baseline fitness for the rest of their lives — so it is a good habit to get into — no matter what else one will do in life. That would enable them to meet the ordinary challenges of life — which is more important than doing just one thing proficiently and exclusively — like the person who only does bench presses and nothing else. Most people who prefer to have a well-balanced physique and development — as that is what is impressive aesthetically as well as functionally —rather than as is usually seen, the large upper body with puny legs, or the well=developed legs with puny upper body, etc.
In a combat (competitive) situation, the well-trained individual knows to look for the obvious weakness and vulnerability of their opponent — and exploit that, rather than attack strength on strength. That’s why the first minutes of any bout is usually this feeling the opponent out — rather than a predetermined attack no matter what. The best read of another’s capabilities are the most obvious and visible — which are usually the neck, forearms and lower legs (feet). If those areas look inflamed (swollen), they are likely to be painful and nonfunctioning as well — whereas the person with outstanding dexterity and balance, have well-defined feet, hands, neck muscles — and the resulting control.
Most people miss that and in fact, never look at those organs as the best indicator of general health and capabilities. Because of that inattention to those areas, they are also the parts of the body that deteriorate first and affect all other subsequent movements — even to the point in which they have to be amputated for that lack of circulation. that is likely to happen at the feet, but when it happens at the head, it is usually not suspected that it could be from that same lack of optimal circulation to the head and brain that allows the buildup of toxic byproducts that allow for no space for the new nutrients that would revitalize its health.
The head and brain, like all other parts of the body, require effective circulation to maintain and achieve its best health, functioning and well-being — but most just look at a non moving head (relative to the torso), and think nothing of seeing a very swollen or atrophied neck, and think it has nothing to do with brain functioning and development — especially in later life — and think there is nothing they can do about it, when obviously, that is the most important and easiest parts of the body to impact positively. Most conventional exercisers don’t account for it at all in their training programs — when clearly, that is the key to maintaining health and fitness when all the other participants have stopped thinking it can be effective anymore.
It is a simple matter of effecting the flexors and the extensors of the extremities at their greatest range of movement for a sufficiently high number of repetitions (50–100) daily — and maintain that regimen for as long as one wishes to be an optimally functioning human being — fully capable of having to do whatever they have to do. That is being fit for life — how it matters.