The Discovery of Exercise

Contrary to popular belief, the muscle in the body that is in the best shape it can be, is the heart -- because 60-100 times a minute, it must alternately contract and relax fully, so invariably, must retain its good shape and functioning -- while all the other voluntary (skeletal) muscles of the body, are less reliably in such good condition because there is no automatic brain impulse that causes it to express its full range of capability regularly -- and such muscles then forget the shape they can be in.

So the question is, what frequency of activation of those muscles is required for them to retain their memory (shape) -- and for what duration? The answer is surprisingly simple: one minute a day of full contractions alternated by full relaxations, at a rate of 60-100 times a minute, is enough to maintain 90% of this contractile ability and efficiency. Although that sounds like very little, it is a huge improvement in the typical zero amount of conditioning in this manner.

Actually, just doing one full-range contraction/relaxation would be enough -- as demonstrated proof that one still retains that capability. But if one doesn’t do such movements frequently and often enough, one loses the ability of that expression. It is not a requirement to throw the shot-put a world record hundred times -- but just to do it once, that makes one the world record holder, but the likelihood will be great that their average throw is within that range of capability.

That’s why the one “best.” is obviously the most important, that thousands of inferior and mediocre expressions are not better, or even the same. In fact, there is no place in a healthy life for such an abnormal and unhealthy conditioning regimen -- and that is precisely the problem for why the population on average, is decreasing in that fitness and capabilities. That would be the obvious conclusion -- and not just self-selecting the best examples but taking the average of the entire population, including those who don’t want to do it.

They are being conditioned -- not to be in their best shape, but to be in their worst shape -- and the thinking that there is no difference, but this perverse notion of struggle, effort, and “trying” constantly to be what one is not. The whole power of effective conditioning, is being who one is, as fully as possible and actually expressing that -- and not to be something else.

When people realize this, they can assume the shape they want to -- right now, as they already are -- but have not thought to be -- because they think that being in “shape” requires them to do something they are not capable of doing or being, rather than that it is the greatest expression of their present capabilities -- which they have no idea what it is until they actually manifest it.

With anyone still capable of some movement, there is always the possibility of a greatest range of their movement -- and that is what a skilled instructor discovers with the trainee. What is his actual greatest capability (shape) in that moment? That is the discovery of exercise that liberates immense energy and power -- and not simply going through the motions as though that was meaningful in itself.