How It Works

  If you want to maximize muscle growth, you should do one set of 50 repetitions of any exercise — because effective blood flow is mostly related to the number of repetitions performed — rather than amount of weight lifted once. That is how the heart works — beating the same amount faster or slower. When the heart enlarges, that is not a good thing but a bad thing — because it is inversely related to its strength — but is unfortunately, what many competitive athletes do that cause them to die prematurely of congestive heart failure particularly, but all the other heart failures as well.

The way to get around this, is to use the contractile/relaxation function of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body to aid in this circulatory process because it is well-noted that when one works a certain muscle specifically, those particular muscles tend to grow — while those not worked as much, or even at all, languish — despite the many bogus claims (studies) that one cannot spot-reduce/enlarge any muscles in this way because it is only dependent on the heart action alone for this flow.

Obviously and evidently, that is not true — no matter how many bogus certified fitness (aerorbics) instructors claim that is true. What accounts for this is that the skeletal muscles by their contractions/relaxations dictate the flow to these areas — specifically and directly — rather than just the heart equally to all areas (muscles) of the body, or the marathoners would be the most heavily-muscled and proportionately developed — instead of ending up with enlarged hearts but scrawny muscular developments.

Most people do NOT do 50 repetitions because they choose to do for that reason but because they realize how difficult it is to do 50 repetitions of any exercise in one set (without resting) — but that is the requirement for achieving exercise intensity, and thus is claimed by those who understand high intensity training, why it must be done infrequently as well (once a week) — because of the rest and recovery required that is necessary for growth, and more importantly, sustained growth throughout life.

This is particularly notable among the aging populations — that very rare individuals can perform 50 repetitions of any full range motions — and it is maintaining and even extending the range of movement that is paramount, and not the many former competitive athletes who can no longer raise their arms — much less for 50 repetitions. But if they can maintain that ability for 50 repetitions even without any weight at all, they are already in a class of their own — and really want to maintain throughout life rather than a limited range of movement once — with innumerable rest periods between attempts.

Properly done full-range movements produces muscle fatigue and ultimately failure — because of the repetitions performed — and NOT because of the weight on the resistance that rests on the bar. Many obviously are confused by that, and think it is enough to just load up a bar and leave it resting for however many sets they call it. But only the muscle actually being engaged is what is causing the muscles to be exercised — and not the rest in between, called and justified as “sets.” It doesn’t matter if one does 50 sets of any movement. What makes the most difference, is whether one can perform 50 repetitions of the properly performed full range movement.

It is the movement itself that is more important than any resistance to that movement — that prevents its proper execution.

Principles in Designing an Effective Exercise Program

 1)  The rationale for exercise is to improve the circulation to any part of the body actually articulated (moved).  Circulation is what brings healthy nutrients to every cell in the body -- while removing toxic buildup.  Optimizing that circulation provides the greatest health to that body -- and therefore optimizing that functioning while enabling further growth.

2)  The parts of the body particularly noted to poor circulation is predictably at the extremities of the body -- where the blood vessels are smaller -- for a very good reason.  The blood vessels get smaller to increase the surface area and exchange potential of the passing blood cells with the resident cells to sustain their life-giving health and well-being.

3)  The design of the human body favors the articulation (movements) at the head, hands and feet -- most importantly.  Such mastery is noted in most human expressions -- in work, play (athletics), art, dexterity, etc.  As people age, or decline in health, what is particularly notabe is the deterioration at the neck, hands, and feet -- though that is incidentally addressed in most traditional as well as "state of the art" exercise modalities -- hence the widespread belief that there is nothing -- or very little that can be done about it.  Instead, the focus shifts to other areas of the body that are much less important and critical to maintaining the health and vigor.

One will note that movements at the extremities at the head, hands and feet MUST be supported by the rest of the musculature structures -- while it is entirely possible to overlook and override that development in focusing and measuring movements (changes) at the core of the body -- particularly the heart -- which is actually the CONSTANT in every individual.  That is to say, that one's heart is unique to every individual -- and what they need to learn to do throughout their lives, is to adapt appropriately to those capabilities -- rather than push it beyond its limits to remain competitive with others.  

In this respect, all hearts are not created equal -- nor are all brains for that matter -- or any other body parts, so to treat them as such, invalidates the whole basis for making it a "competitive" activity.  That is probably the greatest error in the understanding of human physiology and kinesiology.  The only meaningful measure is one's individual performance measured against their own baseline performance -- as the measure of anything significant.  

4)  When one strips away most of the erroneous and fallacious presumptions about exercise, it is a rather simple matter to design and effect a productive course of practice for every individual -- beginning with their uniquely own baseline -- rather than prematurely to world record standards -- or the the theoretical "average."

5)  The major advantage of exercise equipment is that it can be adjusted down as well as up -- and not as usually thought, that it should always and inevitably be adjusted up -- even to the point when the movement is unrecognizable from the beginning baseline movement -- which understandably, must be the unimpeded free-hand movement throughout the greatest range of that articulation.  That articulation is made possible by the changes in state of the muscle that provides that movement -- from the fullest relaxation of that muscle, to its fullest contraction.

6)  The change in muscular state, is what physically and physiologically controls the rate of flow (circulation) to any particular area of the body -- and is particularly important to effect in any desire to improve the health, functioning and well-being of that particular region (organ) -- as noted in aging and people of declining health -- including those in presumably good health because their biceps and abdominal muscles are still impressive -- despite declining abilities at their head, hands and feet -- where it should be obviously more important to measure, and implies the underlying supporting health of those "core" functions.

7)  Thus with the misplaced emphasis on all the wrong things and areas of the human body, it is understandable to note that exercise seems to have a tenuous relationship to health, longevity, and functioning than one would assume should be more direct and clearcut.  That happens when one looks at all the wrong things -- as one who is unfamiliar with any (sporting) activity and doesn't understand the rules and objectives of the game.  Is it to kick the ball the farthest -- or most accurately?  Or both?

8)  How often is enough?  Actually, once would be plenty -- if it is the World Record -- but most have to practice a lifetime to achieve that, and many practicing a lifetime, will never achieve that.  But even for the world record holder, how often do they have to do that?  Once would be sufficient.

But many in every activity of expressions and possibilities, are naturally gifted as prodigies in their activities -- whether they want to be or not.  That is not a matter of desire or drive -- but genetics, and the person they were uniquely designed to be.  That is why it is so important in life for every individual to discover what those talents and abilities are for themselves -- as well as their weaknesses and vulnerabilities -- and adapt to them as best they can, for a happy existence.  Trying to be something or someone other than one is meant to be, is the surest programming for disaster and unhappiness in one's life and everything they do.

9)  While the effort and exercise is important, just as important is the proper recovery -- or one merely and prematurely depletes themselves because they are not a sustainable organism.  All individuals and organizations are governed by those economies -- and as such, must develop the proper balance between all things, rather than than a lopsided development of only one thing -- in disregard or at the expense of all the others.  Life does not work well that way -- with any kind of disproportion and imbalance.  It will inevitably and predictably trigger an opposite and counterbalancing reaction -- usually beyond one's control.

10)  Life is a process of finding out.  There are no golden rules or ten commandments -- other than what each individual discovers for themselves.  They can use the guidelines as simply what others have thought before them -- but they are not the end-all, and be-all of human knowledge.  That is what each must discover in their own lifetimes.  That was the original intent of all these exercises and practices -- to discover the person and the world and their relationship to one another.  

In this discovery, those who remain humble and are constantly learning and relearning everything they know, are to be regarded much more highly than any claims of exclusive certainty to any knowledge.  The wise will advise to find out for yourself -- which means first, knowing oneself -- and that is the key to understanding anything else.

The "Failure" of Understanding

 Many people claim to be the expert on "training to failure," but in watching their videos, it is obvious they have not the slightest idea of what they are talking about.  They think it is enough just to quit at any point and to call that "failure" -- when none of the prerequisites for true failure have been attained.  Foremost, that is the requirement for full range movement -- which means articulating the fullest range of the contraction AND the fullest range of the relaxation phase of any muscle under focus.  Instead, what many will do, is shorten the range of motion so that fullest contraction and fullest relaxation of that muscle is never attained -- but rather just a midrange contraction is maintained throughout their "movement" -- which is mainly caused by repositioning leverage rather than muscle change of states.

That's why the simple "lifting" of a weight is deceptive as a measure of how much work the muscle is doing, or more importantly, how much change of muscle state is occurring -- and the importance of this, is that the change of muscular state, determines the pumping effect of that muscle -- just as the heart must do to do its share of the circulatory effect.  But the heart does not act alone in this process -- because the actions of the rest of the muscles of the body, also play an even greater role in this when one is "exercising."  One simply is not aware of it -- although it is the primary reason people manifest greater muscle development where they actually move -- and not that there will be equal development everywhere just because the heart alone accounts for it.

Obviously that is not the case, or there wouldn't be so many disproportionately developed physiques in virtually all the gyms.  But of course, those people will exhibit their most disproportionately developed muscles -- while hiding the underdeveloped muscles, and hopefully, one has enough aesthetic sense not to increase these disproportions -- in favored of a complete, well-developed musculature with no noticeable weaknesses, and not simply be another one of these "freaks" with arms as big as their legs -- who call themselves "bodybuilders."  The rationale for bodybuilding, has always been to produce that greatest balance of proportion and symmetry -- in recognition of the fact that one's vulnerability will always be through one's weakest link -- and no amount of increasing that disparity, is the proper remedy.

Although the "experts" will have a lot of convoluted explanations of why their ideas explain everything, the most obvious and self-evident, should be one's first resort.  As regards human functioning, that would simply be the most basic functioning of essential life requirements -- which is the effective circulation of blood to any area, and how that is achieved -- whether consciously and deliberately or not.  That approach will probably not increase the sales of supplements and exercise equipment -- especially in the light of the realization that such activation does not require any of it -- but is the action available to everybody who is simply aware of it, and knows how to effect those changes.

What happens in any full range movement is that the muscle changes state from fullest relaxation to fullest contraction -- and the objective is not to lift more weight by shortening the range of movement, but to increase those ranges at the extremes -- and in doing so, one has increased the range of movement in that particular action and possibility -- as the measure of what is meaningful to measure.  The obvious indicator of aging and poor health, is the decreasing range of movement exhibited -- until there is very limited movement and activity at all, and that limited range of movement indicates the muscles' ability to contract strongly enough to push the blood (fluid) out of the tissues, and so they become stagnant and inflamed, and over time, damage the nerves responsible for activating those contractions.

But again, rather than just increasing the apparent movements through a constricted range of motion (movement), the effective strategy is to focus on increasing the range of movement particularly at the extremes -- which is not what most people do.  Instead, they will tend to shorten the range of movement even more -- even while claiming they have increased the workload -- but that is not a positive payoff for what is "compromised."  A movement poorly done for countless repetitions, does not transform into a well-executed movement achieved just once.  That is to say, that no amount of anything, becomes something else, just because there is a lot of it.  It has to be the right thing from the start -- and then one is not wasting their time, energy and resources just on accumulating more of the wrong thing -- thinking it will eventually transform into the right thing.

That's not how the world works.  And what one wants to know, is how the world actually works, and not simply bend it into one's explanation and theories -- to rationalize why they aren't working.  Like everything else in life, it should be self-evident when something actually works -- and then no further explications are necessary.  One hopes to live in this world of self-evident truth -- rather than in the world in which truth has to be interpreted by these self-proclaimed experts -- while the situation and problems just get worse.

That is the familiar quality of life as many know it now -- that the truth is arbitrary to favor whomever pays for that information to be widely disseminated -- rather than that it rings of any truth that can become foundations for which one can build any successful endeavors and enterprises -- including one's health and well-being, which one hopes to be the core of their being.  Then, whatever new marketing idea or gimmick is currently popular, one will remain steadfast in knowing they have built their own temples on solid ground.

The steady state muscular contraction will result in a cardiovascular failure rather than a neuromuscular one -- because not allowing the total musculature to fully relax while fully contracting -- results in no breathing, or at least efficiently enough to sustain an effort.  One of the important things to note is the interdependency of muscles all to be fully relaxed or fully contracted -- and not that only one muscle can be contracted in isolation, while the others remain relaxed.  That is not how the musculature is designed to work.  Either all the muscles are fully relaxed, or all the muscles are fully contracted is how they are designed for maximum efficiency.

And was recognized even in the earliest days of observation, that must begin with the breathing -- as well as the limit on the upside.  When one is out of breath, no further effort is possible, so the proper exercise will be dependent as well as in synch with the breathing -- when it is properly recognized as the manner in which one benefits from exercise.  One desires to optimize the respiration and the circulation throughout the body -- and particularly to areas thought most important by their actual articulation -- at the head, hands and feet implying the rest.  That is to say that when those critical areas and organs are addressed, the supporting structures will be adequate and empower those capabilities -- but not necessarily vice versa -- which is the conventional wisdom and training style that shows no such overwhelmingly effective success in addressing those well-known weaknesses of circulation and functioning, particularly in the elderly, disabled and terminal.

That is obviously where exercise needs to be explicitly directed -- and not to the unlimited other parts that then detract from those resources and intentions.  That is the failure of contemporary exercise to address the most critical challenges of life in these times.  It has to be redesigned and reconfigured to deliberately address those well-known weaknesses and vulnerabilities -- rather than simply doing what the young people do in their infinite foolishness that they never need to manage and cultivate their resources to the problems and challenges of their own living.