It Simply Works

 When you think about it, micro workouts throughout the day — as one has the time and inspiration for it, is more likely to be the more natural and productive way to exercise and maintain one’s health and fitness — because it is done as needed, and has the opportunity for it — than as a rigid program of requirements regardless of how one feels — in the moment. Then one is likely to get “out of synch” with the need and appropriateness of activity and movements — apart from the actual realities and challenges (demands) of the moment — and in that way, exercise becomes an arbitrary obligation regardless of the realities and needs — rather than the answer to them — as required.

That is the meaning of “listening to one’s own body (and senses),” rather than just following a program that may not work for some — but think they must do regardless of the outcomes (results). The outcomes are what is important — and not the inputs, or good intentions — without any feedback in reality. That is because a lot of people these days learn only what other people tell them is the truth, rather than finding out that truth for themselves — in their own experience and lives, and that is entirely the truth for themselves, and not the “theoretical/academic average” — that poor students and instructors think is the ultimate truth of the matter — regardless of their own results.

It is their own results that matter — and from that, one might extrapolate a greater universal application — but if it is not working for one(self), one has to look elsewhere, and try something else until it works — and that will be the truth of the matter, and not what everyone says, but nobody has actually seen any results from doing so. Before one asks anyone else, one can test out an idea themselves — to get a baseline understanding of what is involved, and then enlarge the perspective and understanding by asking others what their own experience and results have been — and process all the answers into a greater understanding and meaning.

Obtaining 30 minutes of deliberate and focused daily exercise is easily possible anyway one can get it. It doesn’t have to be constrained with many rules that make it nearly impossible to achieve. That seems to be what a lot of people insist exercise must be — that makes it an exercise of the will to overcome the impossible — rather than making it as possible for themselves all their lives. There is no rule against that. Movements are frequently hard enough, and so the exercise is to make them as easy and effortless as possible. Obviously the best conditions and circumstances to practice this, is upon first awakening from a prolonged inactivity (rest), and get one’s moving parts moving again — without the aches and pains that accumulate and compound with life. This is actually the best time to exercise — in moving from zero to normal operating conditions — because such movement accelerates the movement of the two major fluids of the body — the blood, and the synovial fluid (mucus) — which is the lubricant for all movement in the body.

That is the role and importance of the mucus and mucus membranes — throughout the body. Without it, food would not pass through the digestive tract, air would not pass through the respiratory tract, etc. And movements properly activated, cause the contraction of the muscles that exaggerate this flow back towards the central, purifying and recycling organs of the body — which if never moved out of the tissues, result in the accumulations we know as inflammation and swelling — which are the precursors of all disease. If we could flush these toxins out effectively, then we’d be self-perpetuating healthy beings — which is the natural design of all living beings. And in clearing the space, we make room for new nutrients to enter into those spaces (tissues) — because there is not unlimited space to store as much junk — just because we can. At some point, the body becomes toxic — and then tissues and organs start breaking down in the various neuropathies. Then things don’t work as well as they used to — and keeps getting worse — unless this course is corrected.

That could be as little as a minute of concentrated movement to restore that full functioning again — as in the case of a leg or arm going to sleep (numb), and being revived with a minute (50 repetitions) of a simple movement around one joint (axis) — to start up the circulation again. Usually, that already makes a difference — and can be repeated a few times throughout the day — without fear of harm, or further injury and damage. In fact, that is the cure — and should be the basis of any exercise program — first for rehabilitation and restoration, and in that process, are the seeds for continued progress, growth and development.

Too many people put the cart before the horse — and want to win the Kentucky Derby or the Mr. Olympia title before just to get healthy and whole again — and let the body take its natural course from there. That is the process that gets one there — and not how ambitious or desirous one is of getting to the top — even sacrificing their health and life to do so. That is the wrong way to go about it. But if one is simply and humbly focused on finding out what works for them — they will go as far as they pursue it, and have it last their entire lifetime — which is the new benchmark of possibility for this day and age.

Increasingly many are coming around to that realization of this new paradigm for fitness. Why not all one’s life, and not just while one is young — and then revert back to the traditional paradigm of unrelenting decline and deterioration? Obviously that requires a different way than the one that hasn’t worked before. One knows by now that High Intensity workouts have to be brief and infrequent, but does that mean that Low Intensity workouts can be sustained and prolonged throughout one’s lifetime? But it also can’t be nothing. Yet it has to be the easiest movements possible.

Rather than handling the heaviest weights, it would be maximally effective with the lightest weights possible — and that is the movements at the head, hands and feet — that initiate those contractions at the farthest extremities of the body — to do the most good. It is a well-known truism that the greatest predictor of future health and vitality is the functioning of the head, hands and feet — as what must be exercised as the priority to health and longevity, and can easily be done anywhere, under any circumstances, if one can just spare a minute from their daily lives. There doesn’t have to be an upper limit on how frequently it can be done — to good effect. That is the simplicity and genius of the micro workout. Anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances. It simply works.

The Most Natural Exercise

 The problem with most exercise is that one is usually doing one thing over and over again — rather than all things the body is capable of — to keep it in working order. If one never does these things, then one doesn’t know what they are presently capable of — until one day, when they try to access that capability, realize it is no longer there, or might not have been as proficient as they imagined it to be. Thus the need to regularly exercise those capabilities to ensure that they are still there — and improve them if that is desired. One does not get better at anything by never finding out what their present capabilities are — and not practicing them to get better. The simple cliche is, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Or the more positive way to look at it, is just to practice what you want to get better at. Those are also good rules for life.

By that same wisdom, one also eliminates those activities one does not want to get better at — and are actually harmful — leading to injury and unnecessary risks. One doesn’t want to be doing things that predispose them to injury, danger, and even death — thinking that “whatever doesn’t kill them, will make them stronger.” The world doesn’t work that way — or won’t for long, and one of the reasons for any practice, is to live a long, healthy and prosperous life — and not flame out at every chance one gets — in a brief and precarious existence, usually filled with much toil and trouble.

So rather than everyone who takes up exercise thinking they have to become the world champion at it or it is a waste of time, energy and resources, the better approach is simply to realize that one won’t be at their momentary best at anything they do — without the proper warmup, or familiarization with their actual present capabilities — to have a fairly good idea of what they are capable of — regardless of the world record in that event. All they are trying to find out, is what they are capable of — and how it needs to improve for whatever task at hand.

Running may occasionally be appropriate — or jumping, swimming, lifting — but rather than becoming proficient at only one thing, the better strategy, is to be prepared to do anything — or as wide a range of movement and activities as one can reasonably expect to encounter — rather than the one thing practiced to the exclusion of everything else. The obvious example are those who only do the treadmill for hours on end — thinking in doing so, that one is exercising the entire body as represented by the heart — while letting all the other muscles and joints atrophy.

The heart has the least danger of atrophying — and in fact, the greater danger is the enlargement of the heart because it is the only muscle demanded to work harder and faster — while the greater mass of muscle remains immobilized. That is similarly true for cycling: one simple movement is repeated countless times — while the mass of muscles, remain immobilized — even to the extent that the blood supply (circulation) is cut off — by the constant, unvarying tension (contraction) in those muscles frequently causing numbness and nerve damage particularly to the hands and arms.

The remedy obviously is to articulate the movement at the wrists, elbows and shoulders — that vary the muscular state from contraction to relaxation — which restores the pumping effect of the muscles. That will not happen if the muscles remain constantly tense (contracted), or as in most sedentary people — unvaryingly flaccid — no matter how hard and fast the heart alone is working. The evolution of the circulatory system is that it works best when there is a pumping effect at the extremities of the body to work in conjunction with the pumping effect from the heart on out to the rest of the body. Those who complement that design and use, optimize the circulatory effect — which is why exercise works — to keep the body in top operating condition — and improve in its capabilities as evidenced by its growth and development. One does not need to fully understand that in order for it to work. Nature ensures that it will — through millions of years of design and testing.

All one has to do is not get in the way of that natural process and development. One may even have fanciful ideas that the way to make it work even better is to obstruct and impede that process — in the mistaken notion that the best action, is to do the opposite rather than the obvious. Not surprisingly, many people die prematurely, in addition to almost everyone experiencing injuries and calamities along this journey — and predictably, many abandon all efforts altogether — and resign themselves to that’s how life is, inevitably, for everyone — as the “aging” paradigm. But as many more live longer lives, it becomes apparent, that they are not all aging equally. A rare few actually seem to be getting better with age — or at least, aging better — because, and not despite, of all they are doing.

Some things make more sense than others — as well as being self-evident truths. So rather than being focused on the end-results of what one desires from exercise, one is best off not beginning with such presumptions and ambitions — but begin with no preconceptions of what one can do and find out upon awakening — as their warmup to each day. Then once they do that, they can forget about it for the rest of the day — as having met their requirement for getting into optimal operating condition — and go on with thee rest of life unbothered by the aches, pains and other limitations that prevent them from living their best lives from day to day.

Beyond Effort

  “Aerobics” means with breathing as the essential focus of one’s movement. That is to say that all the other movements and activities of the body are synchronized to the breathing contraction and relaxation — rather than as many think, the breathing has to catch up to their activity — and so they commonly run out of breath, and the body is forced to stop. That is what one doesn’t want happening at the most critical moments in life — because that is frequently the difference between life and death. One has to know at any moment, what reserves and capacities one can reliably access — and not that one could fail at any time, moment, and circumstances. Obviously, that will not do — and serve their purposes very well — which is why we condition ourselves to meet the challenges of every moment of our lives — to be prepared for most things we normally encounter in our lives.

One of the first things a person does to become a world champion athlete or attempt any monumental undertaking in their lives — is to get their breathing under control, and well-known to them — rather than as many novices do, think nothing about it — and place it last in the scheme of their concerns. Thus, they will always run out of breath — and fail ultimately because of that — not for the lack of air around them, but because they are not managing that resource effectively. That is why a lot of physical as well as mental disciplines place the control of breathing as their highest priority — and not the last thing one should concern themselves with — if they ever get around to it at all.

In the early 20th century, exercise was largely about breathing and posture — which then morphed into muscle control and early bodybuilding — of which it was noted that the most transformative exercises was alternating the breathing squat with the breathing pullover — and was promoted by the popular physical culture magazines of its time as the foundational exercises for subsequent bodybuilding. Its earliest practitioners were not so much intent on gaining muscle — as it was that that was the astounding result of just doing those exercises to begin every workout. Many of those guys actually took up exercise as the minimum they could do — often with the lightest weights possible.

In fact, the person often regarded as the father of modern bodybuilding, Eugen Sandow, was famous for promoting his exercise routines using 5 lb dumbbells for 50–100 repetitions. But he also had a strong man act in which he lifted record poundages for his time. But he was not insistent that that was what one had to do — to be in good shape. The 5 lb dumbbells was what got him there. And beyond that, he was a master of muscle control — which is largely the understanding of how the muscle works and changes — regardless of equipment and venue.

The equipment doesn’t make the muscle work; the muscle makes the equipment work. That varies according to how well one knows the action of any single movement around one axis of movement (or rotation) — because all the muscles work in that same manner once its basic action is understood. Unfortunately, most people don’t bother with that simple, basic understanding — and so most of their movements are of a random sort — thinking that any motion is as good as any other, because their whole understanding is to waste as much energy as possible in everything they do. That’s why some people become very good at what they do — while many others have no idea of what they are doing, and could care less.

Those are the people who become unsuccessful exercisers — and are indifferent or hate what they do, because none of it makes any sense at all — and they are just wasting their time — not that they have anything more important to do. For surely, getting the understanding of exercise right, is the most important thing they can do — and get right, because it makes the most difference in their quality of life. That’s why exercise is revered in many cultures and traditions throughout history and survival. Properly done, it makes the biggest difference in the quality of one’s life -- and its many outcomes.

Undoubtedly the most important movement in one’s life is the simplicity of breathing. As a volume expands, the pressure drops. As a volume contracts, the pressure increases. That is the physics of movement — and not gravity. A high pressure will move into a lesser pressure. No exercise does that more purposely and effectively than the lying pullover on a bench — expanding the rib cage (volume) and contracting it was well. If one does no other exercise (movement), that would be the best one to do.

Arthur Jones recognized this and made it his prototype Nautilus machine. His second was the Hip and Back machine — and then he could have stopped there. That would have produced 90% of the results — with truly minimal effort — particularly if one did 50–100 repetitions of each with a resistance that made that possible. The muscle didn’t have to fail to make the movement productive; doing the movement itself — with nominal resistance, would have been the right movement to ensure impressive muscular development — whether one wanted it or not. He didn’t have to create all those other machines. The singular upper body movement, and the singular lower body movement, was all that was needed — to get into shape and maintain it all one’s life — without the strain and effort that people thought was necessary in exercise — because that is the way they have been conditioned to think and reinforce.

It’s never been thought that exercise doesn’t need to be difficult and hard — and that the better way, is actually the intelligent way — which can be sustained without the difficulties self-imposed. That was the step beyond — that he never quite achieved. How does one go beyond effort?