Movement and Resistance

  Thoughtful, well-designed, productive equipment should be adjustable down as well as up — which was the unanticipated genius of the Nautilus machines — created to provide variable resistance throughout the full range of movement. That means going from zero to 100% — whatever that is — but the zero resistance is just as important — because that allows for full relaxation — alternated with a full muscular contraction — which mimics the essential function of the heart to provide the circulation and flow that is the river of life and health for every body.

Without that essential circulation and flow, the body becomes a stagnant pond — isolated from the life-giving resources outside that body in which all of life has evolved, and why they are so similar in basic ways that don’t have to be reinvented with each and every life. They are automatic (autonomous) and given to every living being as the result of millions of years of trial and error that has resulted in the evolution of the brain, heart, structures and functions distinctive of each species, as well as the individual variations within each species.

The eternal question asked by exercisers is whether it is best to exercise with heavy weights or light weights for optimal gains — when the answer should obviously be “both” — just as it might be asked of the heart — which is more important and productive?, the contraction or the relaxation? One gives meaning and significance to the other — but one without the other is the cessation of life. In life, that is often true — that one is not more important than the other, but that both are necessary parts of the whole.

Unfortunately, many gym equipment are designed to go harder, but few think to go easier, and then it is a whole new level of sophistication to realize that it should be infinitely variable — because the muscle itself is designed for that range of articulation — which is the fullest expression and realization of health. The problem with a barbell is that it always stays the same — and so it is too heavy when the muscle is in its weakest position (relaxed), and often too light in its strongest position — which can be easily rectified by extending the range of movement (contraction) — which most people fail, or never think to do.

Instead, the common manner of performance in all their movements, is to use the entire body mass to throw the weight up, and then let it drop when the momentum comes to its highest point — and repeat that manner of movement until one needs to stop and breathe — because that manner of performance, requires them to hold their breath until the conclusion of their set, which is usually five or less. And although they claim it is muscular failure that terminates that set; it is actually cardio-pulmonary failure — because they are not breathing — and will only resume once their set is terminated. While that supreme effort may be an objective for lifting the maximum weight in that movement, it is not the manner in which most activities or work is achieved — usually as a sustained effort — oftentimes for 8 hours. The closest physical approximation is long distance bicycling — in which one is essentially performing one unvarying movement (repetition) as long as necessary to get where they want to.

It’s not the Tour de France — but takes as long as it takes — until one gets there. Rather than being as fast as one can get there, the preferred pace is what allows them to enjoy the ride. The physical exertion is secondary but a necessary ingredient of the total experience in learning more about one’s self — and how one will respond to varying challenges. Fitness doesn’t come in a test tube — or in any one measure — but is the total response one has at their command and mastery — even if finding that out for the first time what that is. That can change from moment to moment, and position to position.

It would be a simple matter if all one had to do was load up a barbell as heavy as possible — but then, what is one doing with it? For most people, the more weight they use, the less they do — because the muscle has to remain contracted throughout the entire range of the movement — which precludes proper breathing. Breathing also requires the alternation of the muscles involved to contract and relax — to move air in and out of the body by the same principles of fluid dynamics that moves blood — by the pressure differences caused by changing volumes. That is the ultimate significance of muscle contractions (compressions) alternated with relaxations (expansion) — as is made possible when the weight moves from zero to 100%.

In that way, the muscle can work indefinitely. The reason for conditioning, is to succeed and not fail. That is the flaw in high-intensity training. The objective is to succeed and persist — and not fail prematurely when it is inconvenient to do so. 50–100 repetitions should be enough to maintain those capabilities — no matter how old one gets. It’s the movement that matters — and not the resistance.

First Things First

  I had the good (mis)fortune to be diagnosed at a young age with childhood (rheumatoid) arthritis — for which the doctors said I would be crippled as an adult — “but then they could operate.” So I asked innocently if that would make me well — and the doctor replied facetiously, “No, but then they can operate.” So early on, I realized I was on my own — at least until I was old enough for them to “operate.”

When one is “old,” it does not much matter if one’s arthritis is the cause of being too young — or too old, because all one hopes for, is to be functioning at the highest level possible — all the rest of one’s days. Many of the greatest transformative legends began with such modest but realistic goals — just to be able to breathe without fearing one can’t. Two of them, Tommy Kono and George Eiferman, went from being scrawny asthmatics, to having strongman performances including blowing up hot water bottles til they burst — as well as being acclaimed as the most perfectly developed physical specimens of their time.

That was before everybody realized how effective exercise could be in producing such great results. But these original pioneers weren’t doing it for such spectacular results — but were starting to just get up to normal — and derived all the great benefits beyond. Those were the bodybuilding stories in the first half of the 20th century — before the hype took over, and everyone was sold to believe anybody could have similarly great results.

The truth of the matter was that nobody knew for certain who could and who couldn’t achieve such remarkable results — except by actually finding out for themselves — in the doing. In that way, they would remain grounded in their own reality — limitations and potential. That is all one can ask in life — that it is uniquely and personally their own experience — and not just the average as the truth of that endeavor for everyone. That is the primal lesson in life.

That is also what “science” is — testing out the truth of that matter for oneself, and not simply relying on the “experts” to tell them what the truth is — regardless of whether it works for them or not. And then if it doesn’t, the next question is to inquire why it didn’t — and refine a better solution. Otherwise, one is trapped in the conundrum of doing the same things over and over that doesn’t work — expecting a different result, no matter how fanciful the explanation. Therefore, the greatest motivator, is testing whether an idea works in the present reality — and not only after a year has passed. If it takes a year to manifest, you’re uncertain what worked — because a lot can happen in a year.

But if it manifests immediately, one can have more confidence that what one just did — is probably the reason for the difference (change.) The simplest and most direct understanding of the body and how it moves, is manifested at the extremities of the feet, hands and head — and as long as those organs are functioning well, the rest of the body is less important for ensuring lifelong health and functioning. As easy as it is to say, most older people lose their movement at these most distal joints — which defines the possibilities and limits of that functioning — including the arthritis at those joints and the brain fog at the head.

That is totally predictable and likely. But if such individuals do nothing else but keep their head, hands and feet looking youthful and fully functioning, there’s no easy way to tell how old such a person is — because the telltale markers are absent. That won’t change with more movement at the hip or shoulders — while remaining unmoving at the neck, wrists, and ankles. It is at those distal joints that movement has to be articulated — which implies the engagement of the supporting muscular structures — because that is how the body actually is designed to work — and not by short-circuiting the movement and circulation to the proximal structures — that does nothing, or very little for beyond that movement.

That is the most misunderstood part of exercise — that makes it far less effective and unproductive — but with the proper understanding of the whole design and objectives of the human body, the ultimate objectives can be achieved and manifested immediately. That goes for beginners or advanced — and puts everyone into the game — without the torturous path to it. You simply do what the body immediately needs and will benefit most by, and the body fills in the rest. Otherwise, the efforts and resources are diverted to the lower priority needs — at the expense of the higher. It’s like considering the brain alone. All things being equal, what would one choose to develop most? Then do it first.