A Word to the Wise

 

A few weeks back I was experiencing severe knee pain and searched the YouTube videos on various opinions on the subject, and one of the more helpful tips on walking up and down stairs was to place the feet with the toes at a 45 degree angle to the stairs. I did that for a few weeks and it was moderately helpful in reducing the pain — but seems to require a lot of attention that never became natural and fluid. But then I added leaning my weight forward as I went up the stairs — and leaning my weight back as I descended the stairs — and it became a very natural and pleasant movement again.

Then, it seems like one is falling up the stairs, and properly resisting falling down the stairs. As one ages, I think they tend to get it backwards. Using hands is not cheating but what they are designed for.

Another popular idea for developing and maintaining leg strength for this ultimate daily test is the lunge.

Most people will find lunges very hard on the knees — done in the manner usually prescribed by exercise instructors — to produce maximum pain. The way to make them easy is to hold on to the back of a chair in a comfortable fore and aft leg position and gently rock back and forth with the knee moving over the toes and then back in alignment with the ankle to the extent there is no pain in the knee joint. But that gentle movement will cause the cartilage to secret synovial fluid into that joint — which is a form of mucus that is the lubricant for movement in the body, and why it also lines the mucus membranes that lubricates the digestive, respiratory, lymphatic systems, etc. The other major fluid of the body is of course the blood — which is more obvious in how it moves more forcefully and visibly.

However, the joints are not lubricated by the blood as much as they are by the synovial fluid effected by changes in the compression of the cartilage — preferably repeated many times rather than few repetitions with a heavy load. In this case, it doesn’t matter how hard or heavy a load the joint is bearing, as the simple movement throughout its full range — as in cross-country bicycling at a slow pace — enabling one to persist all day. That is the kind of fitness most seniors require to maintain an active life throughout their years. Nothing violent or heroic — unless they absolutely have to, otherwise, the difference is not how fast they can walk or run, but that they can still walk or run at all. Likewise, they don’t need to bench press their bodyweight, but just have the upper body strength to push open the doors, etc.

That is the difference that makes a difference — that they can do all the daily activities independently — for as long as they live — and not that they’re still competing in their age-class and risking debilitating injuries.  Easy does it.

Will We Need to Change?

  To be successful throughout life, a person has to be changing and evolving with the times and circumstances — and not thinking if they keep doing the same thing for time immemorial, it will be right for any time and all circumstances. That is the essence of life — and not having a fixed idea of perfection and never deviating and evolving a better response to the present challenges — then wondering what went wrong, and how one got so detached from reality and proper functioning. Then every day after that, their situation seems to get more dire and hopeless. Change is the way of life.

As people grow older, they can also grow wiser — but many will stay the same all their lives, and fare poorly because of that mindset and approach. Those who remain viable all their days are quicker to recognize what they thought worked, no longer does — if it ever did, and make the proper adjustments. It is the same with all aspects and activities in life.

In the case of the bodybuilders and weightlifters, they eventually come to realize that simply doing what they did when young, may be impossible when they are old — which doesn’t preclude everything else one has not tried before — including and especially, that exercise can be made easier and more productive, rather than continuing to beat themselves up the hard way, with less results, and more possibilities of injury — and reduced recovery ability until finally, they just give up entirely. Of course that is the worst case outcome leading to total disability.

One gets better at doing what one actually does — but when one is resistant to trying, nothing will be done. So rather than increasing the resistance, the proper course is to lower the resistance — or maintain the same level as one ages so that movement looks and becomes easier, and not more labored. That is obviously the reversal of what one has been taught to believe that one should be constantly adding as much resistance as possible at every opportunity to do so — infinitely. It doesn’t work in older people, and neither does it work in younger people. Because it was never that the resistance was so important but that the full-range movement itself produced the fullest contraction and the fullest relaxation of the muscle — which optimizes the circulatory flow that is health.

All the mumbo-jumbo, hocus-pocus, jargon, pharmaceuticals aside, that is the simple process ensuring health. Most bodybuilders and weightlifters condition themselves to the wrong things — and that becomes unsustainable in time and age, and is the primary reason they die prematurely at younger ages than their cohorts — usually from heart problems because they are overworking their hearts — thinking the harder the better. The primary value of exercise is not for the heart — but for all the other skeletal muscles that are not working unless one deliberately programs them to. The heart is always the hardest, most dedicated muscle of the body — and doesn’t need to be stressed harder or exclusively while the rest of the skeletal muscles continue to do little or nothing at all. And worse, some think it desirable to work the muscles against the heart to make it work even harder — endlessly until it fails. Of course, that is the ultimate failure.

Instead, one desires to learn to use the body and muscles so that it can sustain its functioning and activity as long as necessary — all of one’s life if possible. That requires a very different approach and mindset. That probably is the great challenge of conditioning activities of these times — not just for bodybuilders and weightlifters, but for everybody aspiring to achieve their best lives, for the rest of their lives.

Recovery Ability

 The best way to recover from the muscle soreness produced by a high-intensity exercise, is to do alternating muscle contractions and relaxations on the rest days rather than doing nothing — or complete abstinence from any exercise or further exertion. That is the main reason for increasing soreness in the subsequent days after a single high-intensity workout — until the recovery process runs its natural course in about a week.

The reason for the pain and soreness is inflammation — also known as swelling, that instigates the healing process. To speed up that process, the alternation of muscle contractions alternated with relaxations produces the flow of those waste products out of the muscle tissues back towards the heart and other purifying and recycling organs of the body. That is the primary function of all the muscles of the body that ensures its health — to produce that flow, or movement within the body. Without that movement, the body naturally dies, deteriorates, and malfunctions — because the optimal conditions for its operation are absent or lacking.

Every living thing is designed produce its own best health — or its life cannot be sustained. Even in medical interventions, the expectation is that the body will heal itself, and recover in the modified way intended. If it can’t recover from that procedure, then there is no point in proceeding further down that particular path.

But what has been noted for thousands of years, is that producing a flow of the body’s vital energy and resources, is what heals and makes the body stronger. The Chinese called it chi, and the Indians called it prana, and then modern medicine called it neuromuscular and cardiovascular — which are different names for the same thing. If they want to break it down further, it can be called acupressure, acupuncture, reflexology, meditation, etc.

The body is not static but a constant movement within — unless it is blocked or disengaged, frequently by one’s own actions and intentions. The obvious case are the top athletes who die prematurely from some heart condition — while thinking they can achieve immortality by pushing their bodies to extreme limits. Such individuals are usually born with strong hearts and prematurely wear them out by thinking it is the only organ in the body responsible for flow (circulation). However, all muscles operating as the heart does — alternatively contracting and relaxing — produces a flow, and when all the muscles of the body are in that synchronicity and synergy, then extraordinary feats are possible — and that body is even one with the universe, rather than struggling against it.

That was the ancient paradigm of life — that each individual was in a struggle against everything and all of life — rather than observing all of life, and finding a way to be in that flow of the greater reality. Surely, that would be the secret to living a long life in prosperity. A few are more gifted than others in every realm and activity so it is important to understand that everyone will not achieve the same results as all the others, but certain principles apply to all.

All living things have to respire — or exchange vital nutrients with their environment to maintain and optimize their health. With inflammation, the question is how to effectively get those accumulated waste products out of the body (tissues) to create the space for new life-giving nutrients to enter. But the equation has to be seen rightly — as first pumping out the old, and Nature takes care of the rest — for everybody.

Contrary to what many believe, you can’t force the heart to pump stagnant fluid out of the tissues. The skeletal muscles of the body are much more numerous — not simply for the purpose of lifting more weight but because operating as the heart does pumping blood back towards the heart, it creates a tremendous vacuum for which the heart has no resistance for its own work — and that is the whole purpose, and not simply to make the work the heart harder until it is the first organ to fail typically and fatally.

That is the lesson to be learned in the question of how to get rid of the pain caused by inflammation (the accumulation of waste products caused by regular metabolism as well as accelerated efforts such as high-intensity exercise. As was noted by Arthur Jones in formulating his Nautilus Principles of exercise, that was the missing link, and what made such manner of exercise unsustainable — but effective while it could be. That exercise had to be brief and infrequent — but even then, there was the inescapable pain and soreness of training that way. But that was negative conditioning — which the body will avoid as much as possible.

However, he didn’t realize he found the solution all along — in first identifying the position in which a muscle had to be fully contracted and what position it had to be fully relaxed. And that was what was important — and not providing resistance in going from one position to the other. The body doesn’t care about that. It is like the modern day computer or any modern appliance that only cares whether it is “On” or “Off” — and not the difficulty in moving from one position to the other.

Initially it might have mattered to prevent the switch from slipping too easily into the wrong position but now it doesn’t matter, and the same switch is used alternately to produce the “On” or “Off” condition. Muscles are that same way: it can be on or off — contracted or relaxed — and that is its power. It’s not the resistance in moving from one state to the other that has magic. Life is discrete and binary in that way — as is all of reality, night and day, up and down, left and right, high and low pressures making the world go round.

Or one can remain mystified by it all — as one more thing unrelated to all the others. Shit just happens — and there’s nothing one can do about it — and that is my excuse for everything.

Making Exercise Easier

  Making Exercise Easier

Your living area should reflect the priorities of what you think is most important to do. For many people, their living spaces are configured to accommodate that ease and convenience — of plopping down into a Lazy Boy and turning on their television by remote control — and spend the rest of their hours in that position until it is time to go to sleep, and many just give up entirely and go to sleep in that position. So of course, they don’t get a lot of exercise in their daily lives — except to get up for bathroom breaks and getting something to eat. That reflects who they are and the shape they are in.

People who make exercise the central activity of their lives con’t have to buy a lot of exercise equipment just to use for a minute each day — but are inclined to have a nearly empty room for which they can move around quite easily — because it is the movement itself which is important, and not the amount of equipment they have — and use so briefly. The best example of this is the dance studio — with little or no furniture — only bars installed into the walls to practice their balance and flexibility. Close seconds are the martial arts studios with their cleared space to practice their movements. And then there are the yoga practitioners — who don’t move around a lot, and just require a mat — if that.

Clearly the lesson to be learned from these examples of people highly likely to break into exercise at any opportunity and inspiration, is that they are not dependent on any particular apparatus and circumstances, but can improvise with nothing or very little — rather than being constricted and constrained by the furnishings and predisposition to comfort with no further effort. Monasteries are often set up in this way — to make prayers, postures and practices the only thing possible, as well as to indulge in as much as possible.

That would be the template for anybody desiring to design more exercise into their lives — or anything else for that matter. Their living room should be their exercise studio — and everything else secondary to that primary purpose — if at all necessary. Instead, the usual contemporary life accumulates as much clutter as is possible — to make productive movements and exercises nearly impossible and prohibitive. Rather than clutter as much as possible into their living space, the ascetic values that space as the room that makes movement possible, productive and expressive — instead of limiting those possibilities, and even putting away their exercise equipment to limit their access and spontaneity to it.

But rather than cluttering up one’s space with as much specialized equipment as one can afford, a far better idea is to realize that the floor, walls, movable chair and mat (not rolled up and put away), is the perfect time and conditions for practicing and mastering whatever movements one can think of. One could even do 10,000 steps marching in one place more productively than walking outside — in less ideal conditions. It doesn’t matter how far one goes, but how fully they lift their knees and articulate the leg movement — which is likely to be more constrained if they have to transport the rest of their body over uncertain terrain.

That’s what the exercise adepts realize — that it is not the external trappings that make exercise more conducive, but this anywhere, anytime access possible — even if one just thought of it in the spur of the moment. That really is what the true spirit of exercise was meant to be — and not all this planning, expense, and thinking people insist is required. Many will even insist that you consult with one’s Primary Care Provider or Certified Personal Trainer before attempting to do anything new and unfamiliar.

People are invariably successful because they discovered a way that works for themselves — despite what all the experts say and prescribe for everyone else. That is the whole poi.nt of living, purpose and meaning in the fully actualized life — not reserved just for the experts, media and influencers. That ultimately is the permission to live one’s own life — and achieve the greatest success at it. No one can do it for any other. That success is entirely personal. It either works, or it doesn’t — and what one should go by.

Lots of things work for a while — and then it stops working once the novelty wears off. That merely indicates that one has to improve the understanding — and not that all understanding is futile. Exercise doesn’t have to be hard and difficult. Only the experts insist that it is so — but then it doesn’t work for them either. So one has to break all the rules to find the way that does work — and not simply settle for more elaborate explanations of why things don’t work. Anything that works is self-evident truth. Life is very simple in that way.

Upright Rows

  Upright Rows

The human body is perfectly hinged to do an upright row — so to believe it is a movement that should never be done is preposterous — just as believing that a squat should never be done — ever. Those are the movements the human body was designed to do — but as always, many take a foolproof construct and turn it into their own self-destruction by using it for purposes it was not designed to do. If one should never do the upright rowing motion, then no parent should ever lift a baby — because that is precisely the movement involved. However, one would never attempt to lift a grownup in that manner — for what should be obvious reasons. That should be a moot point.

The problem always lies in the manner and circumstances in which such movements are prescribed — usually by the self-proclaimed experts on this — and every other matter they think they know what they are talking about, even if they’ve never thought it through, and tested it first on themselves, and then others — until they could reasonably be sure they knew what they were talking about. But that absolute certainty that they can know and do no wrong, should give us a clue as to how far they are to be believed.

While both the upright rowing motion and the squat are movements the human body is uniquely evolved and designed for, that manner which it is prescribed, makes them injurious — on the advice that the joint (axis) in which it is optimally designed to move, is instead advised to remain immobile — placing undue and unnatural movement and stress on joints that should be secondarily involved in supportive roles — rather than as the primary movers.

In the case of the squat, it is commonly advised that one should not allow the lower leg to move at all — usually indicated by the angle of the lower leg to the foot — which they advise should be maintained at a right angle, thus immobilizing the ankle — which actually should be the joint at greatest expression, or range of movement. This is particularly notable in dancers, gymnasts, divers, and performers of most athletic events. The reason a person jumps high, is because they can use their foot as a lever against the earth — but if some arbitrary rule demands that the foot must remain at a 90 degree angle to the lower leg, the result will be much less than allowing for the fullest articulation of the range of movement in all the joints. That would not make for interesting viewing, as all participants would be handicapped in that way — and we would not witness the full potential and possibilities of such movements.

However, that lack of movement might be advantageous in being able to support a heavier weight — by not allowing for the vulnerability that movement entails. Except in rare cases, movement is required in most human activities and expression — or we’d simply get a mechanical jack to hold up that weight indefinitely — if that is required. That is obvious in the case of a “squat” in which there is no movement from a bone on bone lockout. As soon as there is movement out of that position, the weight that can be supported is less — and finally, at the furthest range of movement, the range is the resistance. Everyone has those ultimate natural limits — although they may vary greatly from one person to another. But each individual only has to work with what they are given — and that is what matters. That is the importance of “knowing oneself,” and not presuming to know everyone else — and what they “all must be doing.”

The upright row is like the squat in that respect — that the ultimate expression and articulation of the arm movements — is indicated by the range of movement at the wrist joint. The manner in which it is usually performed with injurious effect — is to immobilize the wrist movement throughout the movement — to enable the handling of a heavier weight — rather than in recognizing, that the range of movement at the wrist, determines the state of muscular contraction of all the muscles of the arm land torso. That is a movement that most modern contemporary people do not do except for the aforementioned dancers, gymnasts, performers, etc. — in favor of the misplaced and prodigious development of the “showy” muscles for visual impact — and how much weight they are using.

In the case of the most productive exercises most people can do, it is far more important to perform the movement correctly than to increase the weight used. In most cases, such exercises are so productive that no additional weight is required to achieve the exercise effect and benefits. This is especially true when people become older and wiser, and realize just to be able to retain such movements is a rare feat in itself — even among the former world champions and people hoping to retain as much of their faculties and abilities throughout their lives — as their outstanding accomplishment.

There are a lot of people who have damaged their shoulder and arm mobilities by using too much weight in the upright row to whom just performing a full-range articulation of all the joints (axes) involved in that movement with no weight for 50 repetitions, would be a feat they no longer thought possible ever again. That is enough to put them in the top 5% of all people over 75, and if younger, a light enough weight to maintain their focus — that particularly, the essential range of movement is the axis at the wrist, and not any amount of weight done with the wrists immobilized — to damage the rotator cuff and arm muscles.

That and the ability to do a squat (get off the ground) with just one’s own bodyweight, are the benchmarks and milestones that everyone should aim for. 10,000 steps — or even 1,000 steps — are much less indicative and beneficial than those 100 reps a day — as measured by the articulation at the wrist, ankles, and neck. Those are the critical faculties of the human body anybody in their right mind wishes to retain, maintain, and improve throughout life — as their priorities. You don’t need to add more weight to exercise those parts of the body. The full range articulation produces the maximum contraction and relaxation without the need for added resistance. That is what all the exercise machine manufacturers realize — and so they don’t build those machines for those movements. Doing so, would make those exercises worse, less productive and injurious.

Hip and Back

  There is a reason the gluteus muscle is the largest and strongest muscle of the human body — but most people cannot see the reason for it, and so ignore and even deliberately do not develop it — in favor of developing all the other, less critical muscles of the body — and that becomes the source of a lot of pain and problems even in the otherwise well-developed human physique. The major function and importance of the gluteus muscle is to bind the upper body to the lower body, and in that manner, provide maximum stability and support for all the movements taking place at the extremities that are obvious as “movements,” while the base (gluteus) seems immobile.

As such, the best exercise for the gluteus does not require or exhibit movement, but actually occurs when the gluteus is simply squeezed into a tighter contraction — without and regardless of visible movement. Such compression and activation, forces the engagement and subsequent blood flow, that becomes problematical when there is no contraction and relaxation (pumping effect) of the gluteus muscle resulting in the numbness or sciatica of people who do not activate their glues for prolonged periods.

It is like any other muscle of the body that has that capability — but is ignored, because it can be — in the modern sedentary life and activities. One back researcher noted that such back pain was unheard of among indigenous peoples — who always exhibited well-toned and usually contracted gluteus muscles — but then developed elaborate back exercises to remedy back pain in modern sedentary lives — rather than the much more obvious solution to contract the gluteus muscles — as is apparent in any athletic performance — but invariably overlooked, as the key functioning that makes the supreme effort most effective.

Instead, they will seek to develop all the muscles adjoining it — like the spinal erectors above and the hamstrings and quadriceps below it — but not the gluteus itself. It is always taken for granted, and assumed to be working as well as it can — even without deliberate attention paid to it. In fact, a lot of exercise machine design addresses the upper body and lower body exercises as though they were two separate universes — rather than an integral whole. The obvious example is the difference between the standing press and the bench press — because no upper to lower body tie-in is required in the latter. And then in the leg press, no upper body tie-in is necessary. And that is how the body is generally worked — as two different and unconnected spheres of power — the shoulder girdle, and the hip girdle — but seldom as one and the same thing, which natural movement is meant to be.

Some traditional and conventional movement disciplines don’t make such divisions, and their whole intent is integral movement — rather than the isolated movements favored by the makers of exercise equipment. The more, different, and unrelated movements, the more machines and gimmicks they can sell — rather than the simplicity of understanding the human body at its most basic and functional level. The best example of these are the dancers and yogis who are fond of saying that their bodies are their instrument. From there, gym equipment and apparatus can get more elaborate and costly. But as fitness and exercise afficionados have known forever, all one requires is the body itself — to get the best workout.

Knowing what to do is the lack. The hardest thing to see is the obvious. Most glute exercises are unsatisfactory because they are done lying on one’s stomach (pressuring the abdomen) — while moving the thigh bone rearward. The easiest way to contract the gluteus is to lie straight on one’s back and with very little visible movement, simply squeeze the gluteus muscles — and then alternately relax. The sciatic nerve comes out of the vertebra into the gluteus — so if that (blood) flow is not optimal, it would affect the entirety of the sciatic nerve running all the way down the leg resulting in the familiar numbness and pain. The nerves are not being stimulated and fed by that proper functioning.

The other position to perform the glute squeeze is lying on one’s side — and placing the upper hand on the lower glute for added range of movement — with that twist. The glute can only be maximally contracted when the body is in a straight line — and not as commonly practiced in a squat, deadlift, or any other hinged movement. That is the peculiarity of the glute contraction — that it is to provide stability and support for all the other movements of the body — which even squatting or deadlifting cannot do, or any other back and leg exercises commonly done for glute activation and development.

It is an important muscle in the body — but not for the reason most people think so — as some kind of a sexual magnet, but is the anchor of the entire body — to which all other movements and activities are ultimately based in. We ordinarily don’t think about it, and merely take it for granted that it will just be there — until one day they fall, and the shock absorber they thought would always be there, isn’t, and so they fracture their hips — with devastating consequences. Shock absorption, is one of the major attributes of muscles that provide an added layer of responsiveness and protection in a long and prosperous life. It’s not just decoration.

Health and Functionality

The older one gets, the more they realize that their very health and functioning is what really matters -- and not all the lesser concerns one thought was so important -- including how much one can lift in a gym, how many steps one should take to simulate "natural movement and exercise," etc. -- the point being to be able to do those movements throughout the normal course of their day, and throughout life -- as who they are.  That is the reality of each life -- no matter what they do.  The doing is the telling.

The theme that seems to be gaining prominence, is the realization that people, and particularly the young, are not be well-prepared to meet the challenges of the present -- particularly when faced with problems and difficulties -- as the people of yore.  Instead, they waste a lot of time playing video games -- often for hours each day -- while hardly moving from their couch.

So rather than looking like robust and dynamic individuals, capable of doing anything, they turn into couch potatoes -- hardly capable of moving, and even requiring assistance with their daily living.  As much as we can, we choose to do as much as possible independently as the primary expression of everything we are capable of doing -- which means maintaining those capabilities as required -- throughout life.  That is the meaning and purpose of "fitness" -- beyond all else.  Everything else just seems less important -- over the years -- and even counterproductive in many cases.

Until recently, it was even thought a prolonged period of complete dependency on others, was a final stage of life -- beyond retirement -- that might even last the entire latter half of life -- if one was so fortunate to live so long.  Of course, such lives were unprecedented because if people lived so long, it was because they excelled at maintaining their fitness beyond the rest.  And while entire industries have sprung up to keep others alive as long as profitable, lesser attention has been given to learning how to take better care of oneself.  The chief beneficiary in that, is the individual themselves -- in their own better quality and capacity of life.

In that way, the quality of life has improved directly, and not simply the cost and profitability of keeping people alive beyond what they can do for themselves.  That is the only way it can be done for mass numbers of people -- that each individual has to train themselves to attain that life, and no amount of other people, can do it for them.

Ultimately, that is the great equalizer in life -- not how one' began, and all the distractions subsequent -- before that final stage and act -- that can be increasingly prolonged.  If the only yardsticks for that measurement was what we first learned as young people, that usually eliminates the great majority of people -- but there is no rule against moving those goal posts -- as becomes practical and meaningful in one's own life.  That will best be determined individually -- and uniquely -- rather than by the arbitrary authority of those who would establish that criteria for everyone else, and particularly the young who can benefit from that guidance -- before one is well on their own path.

That is the ultimate objective of every learning, practice and exercise -- and not to abandon it as soon as nobody else is validating them for such efforts.  And these days, it is often the case that a few go into a lifelong downward spiral -- in full public view until they disappear completely because they no longer want to be seen, much less participate in community activities.  They even come to believe that they are "invisible," and so why should they care?

It's not that there are no longer standards -- but increasingly, they have to be set by every individual for themselves -- in the hierarchy of ascent to a greater life.  At that challenge, many implode because there is nothing within except jumping onto the latest new trend and bandwagon -- until they are let off, or fall off in the wilderness -- and are left entirely on their own.  It happens to everyone sooner or later.

From there, only a rare few continue on -- realizing that is what they have been practicing and preparing all their lives to do.  The rest will retreat back to the familiarity of the past -- even with its certainty of a dead-end, and no exit.  That has been the paradigm of aging in the past -- clinging to the past, rather than in creating the future paradigm that subsumes all that has come before into a more sustainable future.

So rather than lamenting what no longer works -- one must discover or invent what does work -- and makes a difference.  It doesn't have to be a 500 lb. bench press, squat or deadlift -- but the full range (articulation) of such movements -- without impediments and resistance.  That is making all movements possible, easy and functional -- rather than the present course of making it more difficult and impossible -- until the predictable abandonment of all further efforts and hope because it is just "too impossible" anymore.