The Quantum Leap FROM Nautilus Principles

When one takes and tests ideas to their logical ultimate conclusions, they frequently break down to reveal an even more basic greater truth.

When one exercises with great (maximal) intensity, obviously, it cannot be maintained (sustained) for very long, and the recovery from such exertions and efforts might take a week to fully recover from -- during which time there is extreme muscular soreness and awareness until that recovery, whereupon, the program schedule would inflict another pain-inducing workout -- even though at that pace, gains would continue, if the program would.

But after three-six weeks of accelerated growth and progress this way, the body demands a further week of rest to recover and fully recharge -- because the demand on the resources are so extraordinary, to even those with exceptional recovery abilities.

So while once a week of a five minute training session of high intensity would theoretically continue gains, as a practical matter, life is unsustainable at that rate of change and challenge without suffering an imminent injury or breakdown of some sort -- which is the reality of running the body at maximum capacity with no margin of reserves for any extended period.

What was required was actually throttling back from that precipice -- to what extent and level? The most instructive and informative organ for this, is the heart -- that is the only organ that must always function reliably, no matter what. And the only way it does, is either to contract fully -- or not, which is the familiar pulse, or beating of the heart.

What Nautilus principles ultimately advocated, was that a maximal effort was to be exerted in the "relaxation" phase as much as the "contraction," which obviously would have made the whole sense of relaxation, impossible -- because it then became one continuous "contraction," or effort, that was sustained for as long as possible -- which naturally, will result in muscle failure, but far before that, result in the cessation of circulation to the brain -- which will shut down all further efforts until the normal order (balance) is restored.

That was also the problem with "isometric" exercises advocated earlier -- that those sustained efforts, caused trainees of that system, to pass out -- from the cessation of blood flow to the brain, when a maximal contraction (state) is sustained for as long as possible. The natural, healthful functioning of the body, is to effect change, from one state to the other -- which is the essence of a flow. A fully contracted state, OR a fully relaxed state without an interval of change -- is disruptive, and the sign of dysfunction and death.

Contrary to popular thinking, increased effectiveness of circulation to any part of the body, and particularly to the extremities which is usually the problem in most people experiencing decreased functioning and decline, is that changing the heart rate is not the essential factor, but rather, ensuring that the voluntary muscles, particularly at the extremities, exhibit and manifest this alternation of muscular state of contraction and relaxation.

However, in most traditional exercises, no attention is paid to the movement and muscular states at these extremities, which implies the health of the rest of the neuromuscular and cardiovascular pathways to effect. Because muscles must always contract from their further insertion towards its origin, beginning at that actual focus of rotation, causes a chain reaction to initiate from that point -- back to the origin of all the muscles near the heart. That is very convenient since the weakness of most individuals is not due to the heart not pumping out to the extremities, but the extremities not pumping blood back to the heart.

This is particularly noticeable in people with congestive heart failure with the notable swelling in their extremities, which they usually further immobilize and exacerbate. To a lesser degree, this condition can be seen in most people ordinarily deemed to be normal and healthy, but give the impression of being bloated in those regions, or obviously, "fat."

Every person undoubtedly has muscles, but most people have never trained, or conditioned their muscles for any particular expression other than to be flaccid -- and this is also the problem of people as they age, to lose the muscularity of expression -- to which they often surgically affix their faces in an immobile expression of responsiveness (contraction), seemingly unaware that they have the ability to effect those appearances with a modicum of conditioning exercises.

That is also true for all the muscles of the body. Most people lack the ability to transform themselves instantly into a more desirable and pleasing shape, with the exception of the bodybuilders, who expressly do. But even they do not realize, that if they alternated those contractions (poses) with relaxation intervals, that would be the easiest way to maintain and even improve their ability to do so -- at the normal rate of the resting heart beat, of approximately sixty per minute!

One can enhance or direct the circulation to any area of the body, with that focus, initiated and activated by that axis of movement. One needs no other equipment but the understanding that the lengthening (relaxation) and contraction (shortening) of the muscles in that way, at that focal points -- is the necessary physics of that process, that not coincidentally, optimizes functioning and well-being, for any other purpose.