Being Well-grounded

 The extremities of the feet, hands and head (face and brain) are the leading indicators of the general health and functioning of the body — so much so that that is how we recognize individuals apart from every other. Those are also the most visible and obvious parts of every body — more than we could identify one’s person’s heart from another, shoulder or hip, etc.

They are also the distinctively expressive organs of the human body. When we note that an individual is remarkably animated (vibrant, lively) it is because of those movements at the face, hands and feet — rather than how high or far they jump, fast they run, or how much they lift. And in fact, specialists in such activities will adopt a rather stoic expression throughout to conserve their energy only to the essential required for efficiency and economy of their "movement."

Apart from such narrow and constrained competitions though, the human is at its best being ready and able to express whatever movements might be required by their versatility afforded by their face (communication), hands (tool using and making), and feet (leveraging one’s bodyweight against the ground). Other animals are much more specialized in what they can do — and why they do it so well. But the human being (organism) has the capacity to do many things — because of the large brain capacity that enables and empowers it. Humans seem to be good at whatever they decide they want to become good at.

One of the earliest forms of human expression and distinction in addition to physical competition, was simply dance — that exhibited fine motor coordination in addition to the gross motor coordination of traditional athletics. Other similar manifestations were painting (art) and music (dexterity) — in the broader category of culture — those shared values it was agreed upon that were desirable qualities to cultivate and improve — for long-forgotten reasons.

Often, people didn’t know why, but recognized that there was something “right” in being light on one’s feet — rather than simply plodding along, shuffling one’s feet — even for great distances. Palpably and aesthetically, it was not the same sense as one leaping and moving quickly on their feet — and particularly on their toes or balls of their feet. Such movements, required the greater articulation of the foot musculature — which has led some exercise physiologists to proclaim that the feet are the second heart of the human body when operated in this manner — as the "soleus pushup.”

That has led to a few enterprising individuals to devise and market a simple device to simulate this movement — but doesn’t require it. It can easily and effectively be done sitting in any chair that allows such freedom of movement — and as such, may even be superior to a stationary bicycle because of its singular focus on the importance of the full range foot movement — not to be confused with the movement at the hips and knees. It is the alternation of the muscle state from fullest contraction to relaxation that produces the pumping effect — which is also the quality produced by any and all the muscles activated in this way.

That is the very reason that exercise in general is beneficial for the health of the body — by directing the blood flow to those areas actually exercised in this manner. If it were only the heart responsible for pumping blood equally to all parts of the body, then we would not see the disproportionate developments of those who choose only to work their upper body, and ignore their lower body -- and vice-versa. But the flow must go to where there actually is the clearing of space because of the muscular contractions compressing the fluids out of that area — which then makes it possible and easy for the heart to pump blood into those vacuums. Without such preceding contractions and clearing, the heart cannot overcome the resistance of the already full area — and fluid accumulation and inflammation (swelling) Is the inevitable result — that continues to worsen in time without this intervention.

This is the condition seen so often with poor circulation in their feet and legs — even if they articulate movement at the hip and knees — because the backup begins at the feet that is minimally or inadequately articulated — even while there may be movement at the hips and knees. This is fairly typical of the movements performed on exercise machines that do not stress the importance of the movement at the extremity. For all practical purposes, it is the same as walking a mile while shuffling their feet. There is no articulation at the foot, and thus no pumping effect — which is the chief value of the exercise.

So when one realizes that it is the movement at the feet (ankle), the machine, device, resistance is much less important — that movement can be done, seated, lying, or standing — with or without equipment, productively. That is true for all the extremities of the body — which are those areas notorious for the poorest circulation of the body — but doesn’t have to be that way. The understanding changes the equation. Then when one realizes that the distal (insertion) of muscles contracts towards the proximal (origin), it becomes a simple matter in accomplishing the healthful effect of exercises — rather than just burning as many calories futilely by doing all the wrong things and wondering why exercise does not deliver the results promised by so many “experts.”

It doesn’t matter how much of the wrong thing you do — and have no time to learn the right thing that works.

The Most Important Exercise (Few do anymore)

 I like to begin each gym workout by doing light breathing pullovers lying on a bench — which used to be the key exercise in the ’50s and ’60s “Golden Era” of bodybuilding — producing those impressive chest to waist differentials through ribcage expansion — as well as midsection minimization. It was such a key movement, that Arthur Jones made it the prototype to demonstrate his Nautilus principles in action. His second machine, was the hip and back machine, which did not catch on in popularity — even though it was for the hip girdle muscles, as much as the pullover was for the shoulder girdle muscles — in his objective to work the maximum number of muscles as well as the largest of the body — with these two basic movements and machines.

Every other machine and movement was much less effective in its impact — because it was either redundant, or more specialized and isolating. And in the case of the neck, forearms, and calves, he felt that no machines in the Nautilus mode were necessary — because the standard mode of performance and resistance could not be improved on. What he, as well as most gym athletes failed to appreciate, was that those levers of the human body are activated and developed not so much by resistance as they are by the range of movement — inversely related to resistance. Because of that, most people lifting heavy weights, never move at their wrists, hands and neck — and even come to believe as many do, that such joints should not be articulated (moved) — because they cannot move under heavy resistance, or would be injurious to do so.

Such extremities were evolved (designed) optimally for range of motion — rather than lifting heavy loads as their primary purpose. That is the reason that the most impressive development of these muscles at the extremities are usually exhibited by the ballet dancers and gymnasts — who have unparalleled development of such movements and that musculature/functioning. That is usually the difference between the outstanding performer and the novice — who doesn’t exhibit such mastery out to their very fingertips. Those are people obviously born with high body intelligence and are usually recognized very early in life as prodigies of movement — which no amount of training can duplicate. So in many countries that appreciate those qualities, they can spot such talents in a roomful of youngsters and only train those who will greatly benefit by such guidance.

Every other society does that to some extent — because they recognize certain qualities as more desirable than others, and that life is not just a random crapshoot in which the normal have as much chance of winning as the “gifted” in that field or specialty. They don’t start off equal, and they don’t end up equal — which is the proper understanding of life and all its activities and outcomes. But that is not to say that nothing can be done — and those advantages are inevitable and inviolable.

The exercise that seems to make the most difference in leveling the playing field for most — is the breathing exercise which is best exemplified by the pullover done lying on a bench with either a light dumbbell or barbell — with either bent or straight arms — for at least 50 repetitions. That was the transformative movement that turned many puny weaklings into bodybuilding champions — in this golden era in which those taking up exercise with this modality were invariably successful beyond their wildest hopes. That was fairly typical of the results one could expect as a weight trainee of that time — but not so much anymore, when the wrong things are given greater emphasis and importance.

It was the importance and practice of breathing — and not merely the increase and monitoring of the heart rate that produced the greatest difference in exercisers. In fact, the pullover is hardly ever taught anymore as even one of the necessary exercises — while many much less and even unproductive movements are promoted as the must-do exercises — the usual being the bench press, squat and deadlift. And if that were not bad enough, done with dangerously heavy weights.

Meanwhile, the most productive exercise ever performed, is shunned because one cannot lift as heavy weights — or should. But proper deep breathing alone would probably be transformative to most people — for a very good reason. First off, they need to breathe only through the nose, and let the movement of air in and out of their body happen because the volume of the chest capacity is maximized and minimized by the natural action of the pullover movement — with a very nominal weight that serves mainly as a focal point. There is no other exercise or movement that comes close to duplicating that dedication to that objective and effectiveness. It is essentially the “breathing exercise” — and as such, makes all subsequent exercises much more productive — done in that same manner — with that attention to the breathing as the essential muscle contraction powering all the others.

In fact, properly done, every other muscle contraction and effort, merely “rides” the breathing contraction — and that is the proper cadence for sustaining any prolonged effort. That is the “flow” one wants to get into, which becomes conditioned so that one need not give conscious attention to in doing most other things. It should be automatic — because of this essential conditioning. 

The opposite of this are the mouth-breathers who force air in and out of their bodies — and deliberately make a conscious effort of even breathing, which adds to their workload diverting attention from the effortless flow. And so they are desperately trying to catch their breath — even in walking, talking and sleeping.  

It is so basic and essential that it is so easy to overlook -- as the most important thing we have to do in life.  Many ancient wisdoms have made it the foundation of their healthy practices.  This is how we practice better breathing by just the attention to it -- and all subsequent efforts become more productive.

Optimal Conditions for Exercise

 The key to understanding exercise under any circumstances and conditions is the importance of the circulatory effect and how it is effected by the change in muscle states from contraction to relaxation (expansion). The prime example of this is the function of the heart — which is dedicated to providing this ambient constant pressure outwards towards the extremities.

However, the flow back towards the heart is not provided by that same functioning — but then is determined by the extent of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles compressing the fluids back towards the heart and central organs of the body to recycle, purify and eliminate waste products out of the body, and the failure to do so, largely accounts for the accumulation of these toxic substances in the tissues as the inflammation (swelling) that is seen as the source of all human dysfunction, disrepair, deterioration and eventually death.

In that sense, the body is an ecosystem dependent on the exchange with the greater environment — taking in food, air, water, other nutrients, and eliminating it from the body in an optimal interdependence. Simply put, that is taking in the new, and getting rid of the old, as the normal, healthy process of life — and therefore, anything that aids in that process, facilitates the health, and that which impedes those processes, have to be addressed, accommodated, and adapted for as much as is practicable in living one’s life, and prolonging those possibilities.

Simply put, one has to put in that effort to survive, and then beyond that, to flourish and prosper beyond the most primitive hand-to-mouth survival — in building up more than adequate reserves to deal with even greater challenges and rewards. Life for every living creature is not automatic and entitled. One has to do the necessary — and the basics, which should not be taken for granted just because they are provided for at a minimal, subsistence level — such as a heart beat. That is the minimal that will keep us alive — but beyond that, we wish to have greater capacities to do the many things that the human mind can conceive of.

So whether one is bedridden, chair-bound, or forced to stand all day, the requirements for effective exercise remain the same — and that is how effectively the body can move the metabolic waste products out of the body — and in that same process, create the space for new nutrients to enter — in changing the muscular states that produce contraction and compression. How much weight, or how far or fast one moves the entirety of the body is irrelevant for this purpose — because the only thing that matters, is the movement of the fluids out of the tissues at it most distant end. Those extremities are the head, hands, and feet — in that order of importance.

That is also the order of decline in most badly aging people. While it is difficult to determine cognitive decline and mental functioning, what is obvious and overlooked, is the decline in the muscularity and condition of the neck and face — which are the indications of the effectiveness of the circulation to those furthest reaches of the body — that people think there is very little they can do something about. There is also very little or nothing they think they can do about a weakening grip or unsteady foot — when these areas can be impacted most easily and greatly by exercise — or movements at these end joints.

Instead, they place great emphasis and importance of movement everywhere else — and especially on increasing the rate at which the always working heart is now demanded to increase the circulatory effect throughout the mass that is at least 100 times the mass of the heart. Meanwhile, the rest of their muscles still do nothing — and they are stunned when they continue to deteriorate dramatically even as they make their heart work harder and harder — until it ultimately fails. That was never the problem.

The problem was that the fluids were accumulating in the extremities of the feet, hands, and head, and they were not producing the movements at those joints (axes) to push out accumulation — and when they do that, they realize they can instantly transform themselves into their highest functioning selves — just as Nature intended and designed the body to — anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances it is required to — to optimize its chances for survival. Other animals grow twice as big when threatened.

That is the primary talent and skill bodybuilders have and cultivate to get better at. That they shrink back to “normal” is quite expected — because one doesn’t have to be at peak form all the time. Only when they have to — same as all the other animals in nature. They do only what they have to do — and keep the rest in reserve — for when they have to. The rest is just a waste of time, effort and resources — devoted to all the irrelevant things — while the really important, go completely unrecognized, ignored, and merely taken for granted — as nothing can be done about it. That is where it makes the most difference. Those are the true markers of the vitality and condition of an aging (deteriorating) individual — the appearance of the neck, hands and feet — implying the health and circulation of the rest.

It is not weight and resistance that determines that — but range of motion at those most distal axes — that trigger the rest of the musculature. It’s always been as simple as that.

Recovery from Exercise

  Physiologists say there are 600-800 muscles in the human body -- so in order to work every muscle individually would be prohibitive -- and require one to exercise virtually every waking moment -- unless they can find a way to work many muscles at a time, which is an easy thing to do when one realizes that muscles are organized into pathways or meridians in which energy flows.  Some of the ancient adepts called it "chi" or "prana" indicating the vital life force.  Centuries later, it would be called "circulation," which for all practical purposes, are the same thing.

Life is funny in that way: the same thing can be called by different names as though they were different things -- rather than the same thing called and described in different ways -- as it more accurately is.  Such differences are rooted in language itself, and not whether it is a higher or lower understanding of that phenomenon.  But once we are clear on what we are talking about, we can evolve even higher levels of understanding of what we are talking about, otherwise, one opinion (explanation) is as good as any other.

In these discussions, it is possible to go in two different ways: the simpler, or the vastly more complex -- and endless discussion so that one never gets around to acting on it.  Or having the simplest understanding, and immediately acting on it, and being guided by that outcome as to what to do next.  In other words, one does not begin with a conclusion -- but is a discovery of the truth along the way.  Most of life prefers this way -- learning by trial and error, or doing -- rather than thinking one knows what they doing, and finding out at the end, that one had no idea what they were doing.  That is the difference between success and failure -- and of course, disappointment.

"Exercise" has always been the exercise of one's understanding, and not just the mindless repetition of what some higher authority says is good for you -- without rhyme nor reason.  The value of exercise has been to enhance and even optimize the circulatory effect -- to best do what a body needs to do.  For a few, that might be to lift the heaviest weight -- but for most, it is to sustain their effort for as long as it takes -- and not to fail prematurely or unexpectedly.  Under dire circumstances, maybe that is what they would have to do -- but not if they can avoid it, as a last, desperate resort.

Instead, they would prefer to have plenty in reserve at all times -- uncertain as we all are, of exactly where the "finish line" is, or the music stops.  That is true for all the aspects of our lives -- health, finances, jobs, relationships, or contests -- or if we choose to condition ourselves for such extremes, it is done sparingly and under controlled circumstances in which even the recovery is planned for.  It is not enough just to work oneself until utter exhaustion and even death -- thinking that whatever doesn't kill them makes them stronger.  They might not recover -- but go into a lifelong downward spiral to the end.

That is particularly a problem with prolonged modern lives.  Everyone would be perfectly happy to live a hundred years in perfectly good health -- but that is usually not the case.  Thus far, it may even be unprecedented.  So then, who will be the first?  Obviously, recovery and recovery ability plays a big role in that actualization.

As far as I've been able to determine, performing the exercise through the full range of motion from contraction to relaxation -- without a load (resistance) speeds the recovery from the inflammation brought about my overload training.  Such a performance is what used to be called "muscle control," by the pioneers of modern day bodybuilding -- like Eugen Sandow himself -- generally considered the "father of modern bodybuilding."  But he was notably unique in that he trained with heavy weights, light weights, and no weights at all, and attributed each for his outstanding development.  Each in his mind, was equally valid, and allowed everyone to self-select the course of instruction that suited them best.

It is only in recent times that most are convinced that lifting the most weight is the most productive -- and the exercises in which one can lift the most weight, have become the most popular -- even though they are largely unproductive for most.  They can simply lift the most weight in the deadlift, squat and bench press -- but whether they are the most productive exercises for bodybuilding and health, is another matter entirely.  And particularly worth pondering because they are likely to be the most injurious exercises to perform because of the heavy weights.  

That is in distinct contrast to achieving a superior muscular contraction and relaxation -- with no weight at all -- because there is no resistance to prevent it.  That would be similar to the peak muscle contractions achieved by competitive bodybuilders -- whose downside is that they never learn to master the muscular relaxation phase of it -- and thus are always hypertense.  Hypertension is a big problem in the population at large -- and doesn't need to be exacerbated by maintaining that state all the time.  That is in fact the major occupational hazard of being a competitive bodybuilder -- as opposed to the bodybuilders who do it purely to achieve their best health -- which includes the ability to relax as well.

But the critical factor in such movements is not the weight or resistance -- but the attainment of the fullest contraction and the fullest relaxation that produces the pumping effect that reduces the inflammation (swelling) by enhancing this flow -- that can be achieved and effected by just knowing in what position the articulation must be.  That is how easy, effective, productive exercise can be -- at all times, and under any conditions, and especially in recovering from more strenuous exercise that produces extreme muscle soreness that gets worse without this active recovery process.

Clearing Space

 Reconfigure your home into an exercise studio: All you need is space, and then a few props like a padded floor mat, a sturdy folding chair, and a light pair of dumbbells. The major thing is that it is always set up and ready to go — at any time one thinks of it. You don’t want to be putting your exercise machine and equipment away — so it is a hassle to get it out and set it up each time, and by then, lose the inspiration of the moment. No, you have to be ready to go whenever you feel like it, or can think of it — and not that you have to get your gym clothes together, drive to the gym, pool, or some other specialized place, and all the other things that make exercise a hassle — before one even starts.

No, you already want to be exercising before you realize it — and have to make a monumental effort to get started. And so many don’t start, but just wait for those moments of inspiration to pass — and so never get around to it — as much as they think they should, or ought to. But if you’re standing by the dryer waiting for that five minutes to end, you can do five minutes of calf (heel) raises — which is better than running/walking a mile. And then if the clothes are still not dry, you can set the timer for another five minutes and do five minutes of bent over rows — or overhead arm raises.

The key to making any movement an effective exercise, is the movement (flexion or extension) at the extremities of the head, hands, and feet — which is exactly where most contemporary people never move anymore. That is the price of a modern convenient life — not requiring those movements anymore because the information comes to us on the screen — so we don’t have to turn our heads to see and hear what is behind us. And so the neck and neck muscles atrophy — but more importantly, the brain does as well because as any part of the body, it benefits from increased (optimal) circulation, and is only sustained at a subsistence level — like most parts of the body.

Where one specifically moves, increases the flow to those parts actually moved, because the movement itself enhances the flow. That’s how one can tell what a person actually does: they show prodigious development in those areas actually moved — and lesser development to those areas hardly activated. The typical example is the grossly disproportionate development between the upper body and the lower body development in most gym goers. Realizing this, most people’s remedy is just to hide their legs from view — while wearing tank tops to expose their most prodigious development. But doing so, makes the disproportion grow even greater — until it becomes a hopeless disproportion bordering on a disability.

The easiest exercise to actually do — is the simple calf (heel) raise — anytime one can think of it. That essential movement, is what is required in running, jumping, walking, cycling, and Olympic weightlifting. It doesn’t need to be made any harder or more difficult. It just has to be done — and sustained for a good amount of time — because you don’t want to run for just ten reps — but as long as one has to. Doing it on a block doesn’t make it a better exercise — but actually makes it worse. One can get all the stretch one desires by moving one foot as far back from the other to obtain a maximal stretch — while also producing a maximal contraction as well by eliminating the resistance that prevents that amplitude.

That is to note that the amount of weight that can be safely handled in the stretched (relaxed) position, is a fraction of the amount that can be safely handled in its most contracted position — as was noted by Arthur Jones in the design of his Nautilus machines. In the case of the calf (heel) raise off of a block, that principle is reversed to make the beginning position the hardest part of the movement — while causing the top position of that movement to be eliminated entirely. It is the top portion of that movement that is the most productive part of it — as is true for all the movements of the body.

It is the contraction that needs to be achieved, and not more relaxation. That is the exercise effect. You want to extend the range of contraction — as the effort — rather than the relaxation — as the effort. That is why the concept of accentuating the negative, doesn’t work in the real world applications — while it might cause a muscle to fail sooner — because it is not given this interval to properly rest and prepare for the next contraction. Any muscle used in this manner would fail sooner (prematurely) — but what would be the point? — other than to make it fail as quickly as possible, as an end in itself. I can think of no application in which such an outcome would be desirable — other than to prove that it is possible. In every case, it would be better just to allow gravity to do its work. The reason for lowering a weight under a controlled speed, would be to protect the tendons, ligaments and muscles from the accelerating forces of a deadweight drop in its most vulnerable position.

Under normal conditions, there is no such danger — and one can proceed to move with the confidence of safety — from any position of complete rest and inactivity. That requires space to move freely, a mat for doing lying exercises, and a chair to aid one in doing seated or standing exercises. As easy as it may seem, it has to always be readily available — and not apparatus that only takes five or ten minutes to set up. That won’t do.

Eventually one hopes to be conditioned into the thinking that they exercise any time, any place, under any circumstances because the body and its proper understanding is all one needs to maintain its optimal health — and not the thinking that one is dependent on all these other extraneous factors, promoters of their products and expertise, want you to believe is necessary.

You don’t need to be standing up to exercise — or even to be seated. you can be lying on a mat — or in bed — as long as you move the head, hands and feet through their full ranges. That is what most exercisers don’t do — and that is the areas that need to be moved — as the known weaknesses of the human constitution. This is particularly critical in older people with their lifelong accumulation of problems that threaten their very survival. Conventional/traditional exercise does not work because of the focus on the wrong parts of the body, and no amount of doing all the wrong things, will equal a little bit of the right thing. 

Intensity and Resistance

  Usually when we speak of resistance, that is referring to a mass outside the body, which can be moved measurably — including the body mass itself. In fact, many people’s idea of exercise is to move the body itself — before adding further resistance. However, the really important part of movement, is the movement happening within the body itself — which is the circulation, or circulatory effect that enables one to perform a movement, and more importantly, sustain such effort to accomplish some task.

It’s rarely the case that one accomplishes anything with one burst of power — and then no further effort. Those incidents are largely involved in the destruction of something — rather than the making of it. Building something requires time and effort — while great things can be destroyed in a millisecond. But then all one has is a lot of broken pieces, while the objective of most work and effort, is to build something out of nothing — over time. That is the work of man — whether building a structure, or their own bodies, health, and well-being.

Such edifices can last a lifetime — while “one and done” is dependent on how much one started out with — to last very long. If one hasn’t first build up that reserve, then there is no well to go to — and one is constantly in search of a new source, and exhausting oneself each day in that way. Thus the practicality of building up one’s reserves — so that they are readily available at the right opportunities — or the need for survival. But rather than exist only in perpetual survival mode, one wishes to have a little extra, and if possible, a lot extra — to better take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. That begins with one’s health and fitness — or readiness to respond to the challenges of their own existence — as the basic equipment they always have with them.

Naturally, it would make a lot of sense if that did not require a lot of equipment, nutrients and other resources to carry around with them — to access those inner reserves — by the body’s own design. That is the function of the circulatory system and effect. It gets those resources to where they need to be — to be most useful and productive. In primitive times and conditions, the daily movements required for survival ensured people stayed in the best health for what they had to do. But in contemporary life and times, there is little one actually needs to do to ensure that survival, and so a lot of people become unfit — simply because they can.

In earlier and less prosperous times, societies could not support such unproductive individuals, and so it just didn’t happen — not if any individual could help it. But with the growth of societies and civilizations, it became possible to support most people in abundance, and prosperity if they managed that abundance well, and wisely. Life became a little more complex — because it afforded most with that luxury. However, such wealth can be frittered away if not valued and managed properly for optimal results.

One might simply waste as much time, energy and resources as the thing to do — thinking that is all to do in life. And so their exercises and activities will reflect that wasting of capacity rather than the building of those reserves toward a greater life. Predictably, their measure is only how many calories they “burn” — as though that is all — and not the possibility that it is to build the body for greater capacities than it started out with. Most are aware of such possibilities, but think that it is only possible with great sacrifice of time, energy and resources — rather than how the body would prefer to be — and was designed for.

All animals are similarly designed in that way — unless their movements and activities are distorted and constrained. In humans, certain movements naturally produce muscle contractions — which are the triggers for blood flow to increase in that way. That is the effect of use, or exercise — specifically to produce a maximal contraction that expels fluids out, and upon relaxation, reload because of the space (vacuum) created by that expansion. — allowing the heart to easily fill those areas with its reliable pumping. All the muscles of the body work in this simple way: There is a position in which it must be fully contracted, and another position in which it must be fully relaxed, and those are the important positions — and NOT the resistance in going from one position to the other.

The body doesn’t care about the resistance in going from one extreme to the other. In that way, it is similar to the operation of a computer. The computer only recognizes if a switch is open or closed — and how it gets from one extreme to the other is irrelevant. But that is what most people concern themselves with — the resistance in getting to the extremes, and so never get there. Getting to those extremes, is what is required in increasing the range of motion (movement). Instead, the tendency is to shorten the range of movement — while adding more resistance — whether that is bodyweight, free weights, machines, angle, difficulty, etc.

The problem is that one selects a resistance that is determined by the most weight one can handle in the pre-contracted position — rather than the proper weight determined by the pre-stretched position — and thus never gets into the super-contracted or super-relaxed positions indicative of the greatest range of that possibility. That can be achieved not by resistance — but in knowing what the extreme ranges of that muscle expression are. That was what I observed when I studied the Nautilus machines that featured “variable resistance throughout the full range of movement.” The range of movement itself, was the greatest resistance — moving in either direction.

This is particularly helpful to note in people with limited range of movement — which is virtually everybody — but obscured with the preoccupation of “resistance” used — while the range of the movement varies greatly from one person to another — so as to be virtually meaningless. That is true of all the exercises usually performed and seen in a gym — further exacerbated by overly long rest intervals, so as to render most workouts predictably unproductive. Some are more obvious than others — such as talking or scrolling on their smart phones for 90% of their gym time. Very rarely does one witness a person actually working out the entirety of their gym session — but if one does, that is usually the best conditioned person in the gym.

But it is not enough just to do a limited range movement like the treadmill or stationary bike — in which there is no articulation of the neck, wrists and ankles — indicative of people only working their heart harder and faster, with the resulting atrophied and emaciated look of “cardio” exercisers throughout the rest of their musculature. Sensibly, they should be doing light resistance weight training without rest as all the cardio they need — while achieving total muscular failure/exhaustion in an hour. I’ve never seen that program fail to produce impressive outcomes with each and every workout — no matter what the level of previous training and experience.

That quality of workout can be done only once a week — while simulating those movements without weights the rest of the week — to obviate the muscle soreness that might linger the rest of the week. What is generally called a “high-intensity” workout uses heavy weights for a small number of repetitions — that produces cardiovascular failure rather than true muscle failure, because the weight restricts the breathing by compressing the chest — while the heart rate exceeds the safe levels under that duress. So everything about that manner of performance and exercise is telling the trainee to stop or they will suffer extreme adverse effects — and not that whatever doesn’t kill them, will make them invulnerable. Life doesn’t work that way.

Rethinking Exercise

  The major difference between high-intensity training (HIT) and low-intensity training (LIT) is that HIT cannot be sustained for very long, which requires a rest (Interval) making it HIIT. Low-intensity exercise does not require one to have to take a rest break at frequent intervals — but is exercise that can be sustained and prolonged indefinitely — like a cross-country bike ride. That person would not require a rest break every ten minutes — or they’d never get anywhere. But the high-intensity effort can usually not be sustained for very long because it usually means holding one’s breath for a maximal effort — which makes it anaerobic — or done without breathing.

The internal pressures involved with such maximal efforts are what causes a lot of damage and premature deaths among such highly-motivated athletes — like the proverbial “John Henry” who thought he could outrace a steam engine. Many of the “World’s Strongest Men,” also succumb to such stresses and retire quite young from such competitions, as well as many bodybuilders — including the Arnolds and the Ronnies. It is not that the spirit is not willing, but the body accumulates all these past traumas — and rather than becoming infinitely stronger, it inevitably takes a toll. That is not likely to be the case with low-intensity training — in which one can go on indefinitely — and so the body is telling you something in that.

However, just because one can sustain an activity indefinitely, is no guarantee that it will be productive enough to produce muscle growth and enhanced functioning. So one is aiming for that sweet spot at which one can sustain muscle growth and improved functioning for the rest of their lives — rather than the brief moment of glory followed by a lifetime in decline — which is the case in many former champions.

It may be that they suffer a few injuries along the way that makes no longer all-out efforts possible, and they’d be happy just to rehabilitate those injuries so they could resume a life without pain and disabilities — and that is the far superior role of lower-intensity but also productive exercise — which almost every highly-competitive athlete comes around to — but unfortunately, know no other way to train and exercise but the all-out to the next injury style.

At this point, many just give up and abandon exercise completely — or come back for high-intensity training that forces a prolonged rest, burnout and/or injury — before becoming completely discouraged. Their conditioning has been that they either have to force themselves beyond their limits each and every workout, or it is a waste of time to do anything less. But the less can be more — if it can be sustained over an entire lifetime, and I thing that is the paradigm people want — but are usually not offered that possibility.

It does require rethinking productive movements — beginning with the notion of the measurement of exercise at the heart — which defines high and low intensity. High intensity exercise is measured by achieving maximal heart rate — which is a danger zone and why that theoretical maximum was formulated — to protect those with heart problems from approaching those thresholds. Thus the concepts or “aerobic” and “cardio” also derive from that focus on heart function alone as the measure of effectiveness. But in the hands of the highly competitive, what was originally designed as maximums that should not be broached, was interpreted by the jocks as minimums that must be exceeded each and every time to be productive.

That is not true. The central focus in exercise is not how hard the heart works, but how effectively the muscle one wishes to develop is working — to increase the blood flow through that area — which is the circulatory effect — that more sensibly, has to be measured at the extremities rather than at the heart — because that is the objective — to pump the blood to the farthest reaches of the body, and not just to the heart itself. The heart always gets all the blood — by design. But the muscles don’t — unless they are activated in the same manner as the heart — in alternately contracting fully and relaxing fully, which makes its an auxillary pump.

That muscle mass is about 30% of the body weight — as opposed to the one pound heart — which people think is erroneously pushing the blood singlehandedly throughout the body as well as lifting hundreds of pounds externally. What the body does, is use favorable leverage to perform such tasks — rather than the naive notion that one simply has to make the heart alone work harder and faster — until it fails completely, and that is not a desirable outcome. Instead, one wants to produce as much results as possible, at a slow and steady pace — which usually makes the difference over time.

Meanwhile, the high-intensity guys are usually resting — which is a hell of a way to get anything done — but that’s what they think they are doing. But as people get older and wiser, they recognize that if they can still move through a great range, they are way ahead of the game, and that more than increasing resistance over a decreasing range, is the quality of life and movement they want.

High and low intensity is inherently the wrong way to think about it — because the focus is on working the heart harder and faster — rather than whether the muscles of the body are working as the heart does — making the entire musculature dedicated to the circulatory effect — which produces the optimal health and all its benefits.