Understanding Exercise
People naturally have an aversion to anything they don't fully understand -- especially when it is coupled with the advice that they must do it despite not seeing any good reason for doing it. The problem is a lack of understanding of what they are doing, and until that is fully grasped, there will understandably be great resistance -- to do what doesn't make perfectly good sense and is aligned with everything else they know to be true in their lives.
Frequently, that is because those who offer that advice don't understand themselves what they are talking about -- but that is what everybody else also says, and nobody asks if it can be proven right or wrong in the present moment and situation. That's what makes anything "scientific" -- that those results can be repeated by anyone, and not just a small group of "experts" jealousy protecting their "secrets," that only they are privy to.
That is the same in every human activity -- the desire to be the smartest person in the room -- without having to demonstrate it. In that manner, they hope to intimidate all the others who know even less than they do -- because real confidence is very hard to come by.
That confidence arises to the extent that what one believes and thinks, closely relates to how it predicts real world events and outcomes. People told to do something that doesn't make convincingly good sense to them -- are understandably reluctant to charge into the battlefield -- while those who unquestioningly, are merely replaced by the next recruitment of newbies.
So survival would dictate that one would filter all new information and actions through the filter of the tried and tested -- or what has developed through life and eperience as the "scientific method," as well as self-evident truth -- which is to say that if it sounds too good to be true, it should be put through a more rigorous examination and stands the test the first time and every time -- and not just sometime in the future will miraculously transform into the truth.
Reality doessn't work that way -- and what we are trying to do in life is have our thoughts and ideas align with realities, rather than thinking one can impose whatever fanciful ideas one wants upon the existing realities -- and eerything will turn out hunky-dory, rather than the disasters we are witnessing so famously in declining civilizations, cultures and societies.
There is a reason they go extinct -- rather than having "survival value," which is the name of the game of life. It is not about beating everybody else -- but simply perfecting one's own game throughout life. However, it is not merely doing one's own thing -- as the immature think -- but actually doing everybody's thing -- and then some, to arrive at a greater synthesis and summation of all of life.
That means learning from everything -- and not just learning and doing the one thing -- as though it is everything. Those are the specializations that have their moment and quickly flame out and move off the stage after their 15 minutes of fame -- to spend the rest of their existence in oblivion -- of which the most typical are the drug, sex, and other diversionary addictions that numb one from their sensitivities and awareness of what is important to do.
That which is important to do, must receive the highest priority among all the possibilities -- at every moment -- and not the "entertainment," which is invariably the fragmentation of life into the many parts that are less than the whole comprehension of it. In that way, everything is made less meaningful and significant -- until inevitably, nothing makes any sense at all, and becomes merely arbitrary and the fad of the moment.
These fads are dictated by whomever is most motivated and funded to convince everyone else that their way of thinking is the only way that can be thought -- and one should consider no other explanations. These campaigns usually appeal to greed or fear -- or the combination of the two which is the fear of missing out (FOMO) -- as though that truth might not last if one does not act quickly enough.
But the truth is that which endures -- and stands the test of time -- rather than what is easily forgotten as soon as the vested interests run out of money to promote them, and are displaced by the next fanciful ambition.
And that is why it is so important to begin each day grounding oneself in reality -- especially to see what one is momentarily capable of -- not only at one's peak, but importantly, at one's weakest -- because that is one's vulnerability -- that must be worked on and strengthened for the greatest integrity of that individual. That is all one can do -- but that is what one must do -- to achieve the best of what their life is capable of being.
People naturally have an aversion to anything they don't fully understand -- especially when it is coupled with the advice that they must do it despite not seeing any good reason for doing it. The problem is a lack of understanding of what they are doing, and until that is fully grasped, there will understandably be great resistance -- to do what doesn't make perfectly good sense and is aligned with everything else they know to be true in their lives.
Frequently, that is because those who offer that advice don't understand themselves what they are talking about -- but that is what everybody else also says, and nobody asks if it can be proven right or wrong in the present moment and situation. That's what makes anything "scientific" -- that those results can be repeated by anyone, and not just a small group of "experts" jealousy protecting their "secrets," that only they are privy to.
That is the same in every human activity -- the desire to be the smartest person in the room -- without having to demonstrate it. In that manner, they hope to intimidate all the others who know even less than they do -- because real confidence is very hard to come by.
That confidence arises to the extent that what one believes and thinks, closely relates to how it predicts real world events and outcomes. People told to do something that doesn't make convincingly good sense to them -- are understandably reluctant to charge into the battlefield -- while those who unquestioningly, are merely replaced by the next recruitment of newbies.
So survival would dictate that one would filter all new information and actions through the filter of the tried and tested -- or what has developed through life and eperience as the "scientific method," as well as self-evident truth -- which is to say that if it sounds too good to be true, it should be put through a more rigorous examination and stands the test the first time and every time -- and not just sometime in the future will miraculously transform into the truth.
Reality doessn't work that way -- and what we are trying to do in life is have our thoughts and ideas align with realities, rather than thinking one can impose whatever fanciful ideas one wants upon the existing realities -- and eerything will turn out hunky-dory, rather than the disasters we are witnessing so famously in declining civilizations, cultures and societies.
There is a reason they go extinct -- rather than having "survival value," which is the name of the game of life. It is not about beating everybody else -- but simply perfecting one's own game throughout life. However, it is not merely doing one's own thing -- as the immature think -- but actually doing everybody's thing -- and then some, to arrive at a greater synthesis and summation of all of life.
That means learning from everything -- and not just learning and doing the one thing -- as though it is everything. Those are the specializations that have their moment and quickly flame out and move off the stage after their 15 minutes of fame -- to spend the rest of their existence in oblivion -- of which the most typical are the drug, sex, and other diversionary addictions that numb one from their sensitivities and awareness of what is important to do.
That which is important to do, must receive the highest priority among all the possibilities -- at every moment -- and not the "entertainment," which is invariably the fragmentation of life into the many parts that are less than the whole comprehension of it. In that way, everything is made less meaningful and significant -- until inevitably, nothing makes any sense at all, and becomes merely arbitrary and the fad of the moment.
These fads are dictated by whomever is most motivated and funded to convince everyone else that their way of thinking is the only way that can be thought -- and one should consider no other explanations. These campaigns usually appeal to greed or fear -- or the combination of the two which is the fear of missing out (FOMO) -- as though that truth might not last if one does not act quickly enough.
But the truth is that which endures -- and stands the test of time -- rather than what is easily forgotten as soon as the vested interests run out of money to promote them, and are displaced by the next fanciful ambition.
And that is why it is so important to begin each day grounding oneself in reality -- especially to see what one is momentarily capable of -- not only at one's peak, but importantly, at one's weakest -- because that is one's vulnerability -- that must be worked on and strengthened for the greatest integrity of that individual. That is all one can do -- but that is what one must do -- to achieve the best of what their life is capable of being.
Can One Exercise Too Much?
The problem with doing 500 squats a day is that it leaves less time and energy for working the rest of the body — although we usually see the opposite of this — in people who do 500 repetitions for their biceps or abdominals, while doing little or nothing for their legs. Most gyms are full of such people with lopsided developments that make them look grotesque rather than appealing. Another variation on the theme is to load a barbell or machine, and just let it sit there so nobody else can use it — and so one can pull ahead of everybody else in that manner.
But all sarcasm aside, the danger of such regimens is the thinking that any one thing is all that is required to achieve perfection in all things — rather than just the one thing that has become the limits of their universe — and that is true with running, weightlifting, gender identity, or any other one thing by which they hope to reduce and explain every other activity in the world. The whole rationale for exercise is that it enabled one to become as complete a well-developed individual as possible — rather than a caricature of a stereotype — even of oneself. That’s why it was the fundamental exercise of the ancient academies — and not all the smart guys went to one camp, and everybody else went to another camp, and further divisions and specializations as job security for the bureaucrats of every ambition.
Having discussed exercise with many of the great pioneers and researchers, I found that 50 repetitions of any exercise would provide the appropriate fatigue that simply doing more would not. That was true whether they were in the poorest condition or world-class condition. If one performed less than 50 repetitions the weight was too heavy, and if they could do more than 50 repetitions, the execution was imperfect — which in the case of the squat was dropping down and rebounding out of the low position — rather than actually “squatting” at any time — which is specifically, to sit in the bottom position for an extended period of time.
The movement from the top to the bottom is not actually squatting — if no squatting actually occurs — which is to rest in the bottom position for any extended period of time — which is a great practice for a count of “50.” In this definition, many squatters cannot even do “one” — but do everything possible not to actually achieve the squat, and are even taught to avoid ever getting into a proper squatting position by allowing their knees to move forward beyond their toes — which is an actual requirement for a proper squat. Thus they usually cannot go below a quarter of the way down — and activate dorsiflexion, which is the toes moving towards the shin or tibialis — which is how the human leg is designed to move (hinge).
Yet many exercise instruction actually teaches against moving in the manner the body is actually designed to move — while contriving many other movements that have no practical application other than performing that exercise. And so after a lifetime of performing such movements, as they age, the damage to their knees, back, and other joints become apparent if not crippling — when the very reason for performing proper exercise is to avoid injury, rehabilitate and strengthen beyond present capabilities her than the — as a lifelong practice.
In the “squat movement” particularly, that would be performing the bottom half rather than the upper half usually done by most — because the top of the bottom half is not a resting position as standing fully erect is. So even with bodyweight alone, the muscles must work to maintain that position, while in the fully erect position, it is a bone-on-bone lockout requiring very little muscle activation — which is the kind of weightlifting/training most people do — and so can go all day, every day — with liberal rests on top of that.
But if the purpose and understanding is to fatigue the muscles as thoroughly as possible (high intensity failure) to stimulate muscle growth, that should be achieved in 50 repetitions rather than 500 — to prevent repetitive stress injury and premature wear and tear to the joints — while doing very little for muscle activation and full-range articulation of the movement and muscle from fullest relaxation to fullest contraction at the focus of movement — which is the “pump” indicative of enhancing the circulatory effect that skeletal (voluntary) muscles direct in addition to the always reliable heart action.
A Word to the Wise (Old)
The major advantage of the old and wise has been the benefit of learning from experience in one's own life -- and not just learning from one other -- who may not be the wisest person in the world. In fact, most come to question whether the person most influential in that indoctrination knew anything at all -- and not that they knew everything, as they maintained.
That is a healthy skepticism leading one to eventually question everything, and find out the truth of such matters for themselves -- rather than simply believing everything unquestioningly on face value -- as long as they insisted they were the properly-designated authorities on such matters, and had the "credentials" to prove it.
The proof always, is in the actual results and difference it makes -- in every real world test. The laboratory conditions, are invariably contrived to whatever conditions one thinks is important -- and begins with that flawed premise -- that it actually matters. Otherwise, they would just test it in the real world -- and dispense with the highly manipulated conditions. Often, as is frequent now, the results merely confirm with what those funding the study want to "prove," and nothing beyond that objective can be considered.
In fact, many are thought that the "scientific method" is to propose a hypothesis and prove it -- rather than more importantly, finding out the truth of the matter. That might be that there are much more important matters to consider, and while one can prove their hypothesis, that may not be the most significant consideration. One has only proven what one set out to prove -- which is usually a simple matter of excluding every other explanation.
That is definitively not science -- but simply believing whatever one wants to believe -- which is how most people operate, and then complain that what they are doing is not working. It may be that they are exercising a lot -- but feel compelled to do more (because they are not getting the desired results). But instead of thinking they might be wrong, they think they merely need to do more -- of what is obviously not working.
There is a belief among many people that a lot more of the wrong thing, eventually makes it the right thing -- rather than that the right thing manifests from the very beginning, and is self-evident immediately. Thus we have the common belief that in a year from now, what they are doing now, will show favorable results -- rather than immediately, and thereafter. Time is used in this way to disconnect from the present reality in favor of an imagined scenario divorced from the present reality.
In this way, many come to prefer their ideas rather than the reality -- which tells them they are wrong. It is more important to such people to always be "right" -- no matter how wrong they are, and everything in reality tells them so. So as they get older, they become more delusional -- and you can't convince them otherwise. That's why it is so important to connect the mind with the body -- as the manifestation of the truth.
The Key to Healthy Lifelong Exercise
The key to sustaining healthy lifelong practices is to have the proper understanding of what one is doing. Once one has this understanding that makes perfectly good sense, then it is impossible not to do it — like avoiding touching a hot stove. One understands that perfectly clearly — and not that one feels lazy and so will rest their hands on a hot stove. The human body is a lot smarter than people think it is — innately, and so when they are clear on what they must do, it doesn’t make sense to do anything else.
But unfortunately, a lot of what we are taught to do, doesn’t make any sense, and so the body intelligence tells them to ignore that “instruction,” because it doesn’t make sense and can be confirmed by their own experience — which ultimately overrides what they have been told to do “for their own good.” However, that is not confirmed in anything they do — and so they don’t bother to waste their time — because they know better.
That is particularly true in developing lifelong exercise habits — because they seem so unconnected with immediate feedback — and one will be advised that if they simply keep it up, they’ll have miraculous results in one to three years — rather than immediately and thereafter. If that were the case each and every time, then one would be a fool not to do it — especially when one needs to — like getting up in the morning and recognizing that one can barely move or is experiencing pain in moving. At that, many think the cure is not to move at all — since it causes pain, rather than “exercising” caution in that movement — and getting back to the basics of that movement — which is the articulation of that joint through as full a range as momentarily possible, realizing that every articulation of that range, increases that functioning through circulation and lubrication.
And that is the whole purpose of adopting a lifelong movement strategy to maintain those fullest capabilities — rather than throttling back more and more each day until one is completely disabled and dysfunctional. Obviously, that is not heading in the right direction they want to go — let alone as they get older. Maintaining full range movement is the only thing that makes sense — to enjoy the fullest life possible — but the price one has to pay to maintain those capabilities is not as exorbitant as most instructors make it out to be — infinitely out of reach. That is the training psychology employed by most instructors by promising those results only and always in some distant future — rather than actualizing those capabilities in the present moment — when it is desirable and important to do so.
Contrary to what the popular media would have us believe, most people do not pop out of bed each morning ready to take on the world — beginning with running a marathon and setting a personal best weightlifting — which is daunting rather than encouraging. Instead, most people are at their lowest levels of energy and wish to bump that up incrementally until they’re “ready to go,” and that is particularly important for the weak, sick and disabled — to bump themselves up to that next level of increasing functionality and well-being. Otherwise, nothing happens, and nothing seems possible. Also, nothing makes more sense to do.
But that doesn’t imply or mean doing all the things that don’t make sense — thinking if they simply do it long enough and more — that it will magically transform a pumpkin into a golden carriage. Reality doesn’t work that way. It is not “magical and wishful-thinking” enough that gets one there. It has to have a sound basis in reality and experience — and produce direct and immediate results. One does not turn on a computer and hope to get the proper results a year or three from now. No one would buy one if that is the timeframe of their expectations.
Yet they accept those rationalizations from “instructors” who obviously cannot produce immediate and direct results — because of that disconnect from reality in favor of their theories and explanations. The simplicity of exercise is understanding the basics of vital functions — underlying breathing and circulation. They both operate by the fundamental principle of volume inversely related to pressure — so that as any volume decreases (contracts), the pressure increases and has to move where there is less pressure, and since every muscle contracts by moving the insertion (distal) to the origin (proximal), that action enhances the flow back towards the center of the body (heart) — while the heart pumps blood towards the extremities (but not back towards the heart again). That is what the voluntary muscle action does.
And so those who understand and merely effect those muscular contractions, enhance that obvious health effect — along with producing movement, and the familiar pump, as well as fatigue. All that is incorporated in traditional movements like running, jumping, walking, lifting weights — but also can be done deliberately just for that enhanced pumping effect — when one understands that that is the effect — whether one wants it to be or not.
So whether one is an astronaut or simply lives a largely sedentary life, they no longer have to labor from dawn to dusk to maintain optimal fitness — but can achieve those objectives “scientifically and systematically” by upping their understanding before undertaking more effort — without it. That addresses the great challenge of these times in how to maintain health in greater longevity — even and despite increasingly sedentary lifestyles. The answer is not standing up or walking all day — but simulating the alternating muscular contractions and relaxations that produce that effect — beginning at the known weaknesses of those effects at the extremities of the body — the head, hands and feet — that despite all the myriad of activities undertaken, are ignored in conventional exercise to begin at the biceps, quadriceps, and pecs instead — which is the lack of understanding and observance of how the body fails with age — most disastrously at the head, hands and feet.
The beauty of this is that even the most weakened and aged people, can still move their head, hands and feet — even in they cannot move at every other joint — nor is it necessary to do so to obtain the healthy circulatory (pumping) effect — because the fluids pumped from the extremities has to go through the rest of the body, but not vice-versa if the focus is at a joint closer to the core — as in the case of the biceps, quadriceps, pectoral muscles — while the vital organs of the extremities are left to languish in the familiar pattern of the aged.
An intelligent being would recognize it means little for the heart and lungs to continue functioning while the critical organs have perished for the lack of this vital circulation to maintain them in top (optimal) condition for the remainder of their lives.
Exercising for Life
The greatest reason for exercising is to attain and maintain one's optimal functioning and health -- and not to lift more, or to get big -- both in the long run, might be disastrous to one's lifelong well-being. Lifting the most weight possible always comes with the risk of incurring a major injury that will haunt one for the rest of their lives. Once injured, that remains a lifelong vulnerability -- but one takes that into account and works with and around it as best they can.
Only rarely can one claim to be 100% fully restored and better than new -- but one does their best to aim for it. One learns to make behavioral adjustments. In that manner, many formidable strong men overcame their disabilities and weaknesses they might not feel the need to if born fully competent and even gifted.
People in such disadvantage know that their best gains come from going back to the basics -- and mastering them to build a stronger foundation for which to build further gains on. It was the inattention to those details that might have inevitably led to their injury -- taking things for granted, or miscalculating one's abilities.
And so the proper course of rehabilitation, is to begin all over again -- as though one knew nothing, and have the advantage of doing it right from the very beginning. This is particularly true for those starting off exercise late in life -- at which such miscalculations could cost them permanent and lasting injuries, and even death, if they miscalculate their abilities.
So the wise course, is to take nothing for granted, and nothing as known -- which might have been the very reason for their resulting predicament. In this case, the people frequently in the worst shape and conditioning, are those who think they know everything there is to know about exercise -- that is obviously untrue and not working for them. Some even go so far as to teach classes of people who are all in better shape and condition than they are -- because they have been duly "certified" to do so.
Most exercise instructors are not "certified" to be experts in any activity or event but have paid their fee to have an organization certify that they took a First Aid and CPR course as entrance to their weekend certification seminar -- of which much of the familiar jargon and misconceptions are indoctrinated and repeated -- such as BMI and Target Heart Rate.
All activity that can be sustained for five minutes is "aerobic," while those efforts that exhaust one in under a minute, is anaerobic because one cannot sustain such efforts without incurring an oxygen deficit. That happens when one is not breathing deeply and fully to sustain that activity indefinitely. It is just "one and done," or maybe even three repetitions at the most -- before one must deload and breathe more normally again -- often resting in this way most of their "workout" time.
That is not the nature of work most people have to do -- and be productive. Thus, most labor takes place over a course of an 8-hour day, and not just the one and done -- and they go home or do nothing more. That is more likely not to be productive effort, but destructive effort. It takes just that one moment of destructive force, to undo eight hours or even a lifetime of constant, steady, persistant effort.
That's how civilizations are built -- as well as individual bodies -- that unrelenting, unwavering effort -- and not the uncontrollable moment of thoughtless rage that destroys everything. That's what human beings and bodies are designed for -- and what keeps them in good shape and condition all their lives.
It is the fullest articulation of these possibilities over a lifetime, and not the force exhibited in a moment. So when it is asked what is the proper exercise for a human -- a single attempt or persistent repetitions, the better answer is the expression of strength as endurance -- to persist. That is what gets most jobs done -- and ultimately, that is the purpose of any undertaking -- to be able to do it as long as it takes.
In most cases, that is taking it slowly and easily -- for as long as one has to, and not be one and done, and doing nothing for the rest of their lives -- thinking nothing more needs to be done. That is the problem of most of the people who have fallen out of exercise -- they think that it is sufficient what they have done 20-40 years ago, and that should be enough to coast on in for the remainder of their lives. It doesn't work that way.
If that were the case, than one could rest on all those heart beats one expended earlier in life, rather than that it is just as necessary now and forevermore. Those are the rules of life. If one wishes to maintain those capabilities, one has to actually use (articulate) them -- and just the memories of having done so ages ago, will not suffice. Every day anew, they have to articulate their fitness -- to go on.
But it doesn't have to be world record efforts and feats, as just the movements themselves -- without making them harder and more improbable. But that is what most do in thinking of exercise -- not how to make movement easier and effortless, but how to make it increasingly and progressively more difficult -- until invariably, it becomes impossible and unthinkable -- especially for the old and infirm.
Rather than being unthinkable, it should be the first thing one thinks to do -- by first considering, what is the human body designed to do? There is a good reason the body is hinged as it is -- to provide movement unique to the species. No other species moves in that way. That is true for all species -- they each have their unique possibilities of movements.
The obvious is not flying -- but no other animal can do a deep squat -- because their legs aren't hinged for it. Yet many people think a deep squat is an aberration rather than what humans are built to do. Many do everything they can not to ever go into a deep squat -- explaining that their tendons, ligaments, and bones won't allow them to. More likely than not, they just haven't done it since childhood -- when it was the most natural position for them to attain.
But years of sitting on poorly designed furniture rendered them incapable of achieving those positions anymore. Not only that, but their backs hurt -- and every other joint in their body because of the positions they put themselves in for overly long hours. So the fluids in their body pool and stagnate rather than providing the optimal circulation to maintain working order. That becomes the new normal -- of increasing dis-ability, and they think that is what Nature intended in the great evolution of beings.
The Focus of Movement
The critical importance of Arthur Jones' lifelong observation on exercise was ultimately manifested in his focus of muscular action around a single joint (axis of rotation) -- of which the largest are the shoulder girdle and hip girdle involving the largest muscles of the body. That specificity seemed to enable one to work the largest muscles -- but more importantly, to work the most muscles in that singular focus.
I call them squat-pushups:
You can begin from the bottom position or the top. Since I sleep on a firm 2″ close-cell foam mattress on the floor, I begin each day moving from a lying position into a squat position and sit there for as long as I want to — pushing my knees as far forward and down as possible to stretch the ligaments and tendons of the ankle, knee, hip and feet — and turn my head left to right to get the blood flowing to the brain, and am fully awake. Then I push my knees down with my hands to rise up to the Half-lift position. Then I place my hands on the top of my thighs in the classic athlete’s resting position (think football huddle), and lower myself into the full squat position again while maintaining that hand position throughout the exercise.
In that manner, I eliminate the least productive part of the squat movement — which is the half squat to fully erect position — while only doing the productive part, which is the full squat up to resting with the hands on top of the thighs close to the knees. That maintains constant tension on the leg muscles and back — and eliminating the fully erect position which is a bone-on-bone lockout and wonder why they get very little muscular development while experiencing a lot of back, hip and knee pain.
So you eliminate all the non-productive but problematical parts of the exercise and what remains is all gain and no pain — which is most people’s wish list. And although this exercise done in this fashion seems too easy, it is just the right amount of taxing and fatiguing for 50 repetitions yet light enough to be a perfect cardio workout as well. “Cardio” doesn’t only need to work the heart but any sustainable exercise for 50 repetitions (5 minutes) will raise the heart rate to the desired targets (60–85% of maximum), which is the more efficient way to do cardio — while also producing the muscle pump for muscular gains which conventional cardio doesn’t do.
This is particularly desirable for the aging person (athlete) to maintain productive exercise all their lives — rather than lifting too heavy that one fatal last time that brings an abrupt and unexpected end to their continued exercise and progress. That is as often as not the sad end to a lot of athletic careers — while those beginning even late in life and proceeding cautiously and thoughtfully — often pull ahead and remain that way for the rest of life.
That has been the leap that few have made — from vibrant youth to mature years — that have to continue to evolve as needed over time. It is not enough just to continue to do what young people do — thinking that will keep them young forever. Instead, that refusal to adapt over time will knock them out — for good, because they have learned no other way but doing things by brute force. But with age, one hopes to grow wiser as well — which means adapting and changing to stay vital and vibrant — and not demanding that the old days of their glory return. That’s not going to happen — no matter how many plates they slap onto the bar. Most athletes have to learn that lesson the hard way — but the fit always do. The unfit are those who insist that the world change to suit them.
So you make the squat as easy as possible — using all four appendages for the lift — instead of imposing artificial performance requirements that make it harder, and eventually impossible — particularly when they need it the most. That is what the survival of the fit is all about — doing what you have to do — by making it entirely possible, and not inevitably impossible so one can’t go on. Fitness is the total response to a challenge — and not tying all one’s appendages behind one’s back to prove how fit they are.
Articulating the Fullest Range of Movement
"Articulating the Fullest Range of Movement" -- most people presume to know what that is, and then proceed to demonstrate that they have no idea what it is -- and have no intention of finding out. But that is ultimately the whole purpose of exercise and practice -- to discover that ultimate possibilities of that expression in oneself, and thus I stress the importance of the head, hands and feet in doing so -- which are the organs of expression in every human activity.
That is what distinguishes performance in every arena of movement -- from the smile, to the gesture, and the leap. Most are aware of the gross movement -- but the trained eye, is focused on out to the finger tips -- which most don't even think can be controlled. Instead, they think of those ends (extremities) as clubs, stumps, and hard objects for striking another's head -- rather than the unique qualities that make a person human.
Why are humans unique as a species? It is because of their distinctively large brains, ability to grasp and make tools, and the upright posture and movements possible with that. Those are the distinctive human qualities that everyone is born with -- and hopes to accentuate to some proficient degree in their lives.
That might be as an artist, musician, writer, actor, obviously, but not so obviously in movement and athletics, where the gross movements seem to overpower the finer, but every coach knows that those ultimately make the difference between the best and everybody else.
The prima ballerina dances with her toes, fingers, and head -- while mere mortals struggle with the grossest of movements -- just to lift a foot off the ground while maintaining their balance. Such people invariably have to be gifted from birth -- and smart coaches can pick them out of a crowd. Without that advantage, all their efforts may be in vain, and what they have learned throughout their many years of involvement with their activity, is to recognize the gifted over all the rest, and work with them as much as possible because they have unlimited potential.
But still, one will begin with the basics -- which is seeing the range of motion and expression that individual has from the start -- and then cultivate and expand those expressions beyond anything seen before.
The unknowing person may think there is something wrong with that individual because they aren't doing what everybody else is doing -- and doesn't suspect that that is what nobody else can do. To the doctrinaire mind, that is just "wrong," because nobody can do that, or should be allowed to -- because that is not normal, and the average. Needless to say, such "instructors" have a short and difficult time in the activity of their "expertise" -- mired in the back of the pack with no path forward.
They may even have no idea which direction they are heading -- but are merely conditioned to follow the pack.
Therefore, the immensely gifted must be guided by their own parameters and not simply competing with all the others with the same skillset and limitations. But if one is limited by what they see the average doing, that may not be enough to achieve their own ultimate possibilities. Discovering the fullest range of one's own movement (articulation) is the key to discovering the possibilities of their unique life -- and where that will take them.
So that process is not incidental but integral -- and more important than learning "what everybody" knows -- which may not be true at all. And that is why many fail while thinking they are doing all the right things -- but getting no (desired) results. Obviously what they know is wrong -- at least for them, and what there may be is a greater truth beyond the accepted "conventional wisdom" -- that isn't working for most people.
It was always intended that everyone ultimately be their own best guide -- while learning from everyone and everything. Of course there will always be those who volunteer themselves as the only true disciples of the collective wisdom of humanity -- and now work as "fact-checkers" to ensure that conformity. They are the self-appointed exclusive guardians of the known -- or ancient wisdom -- referred biblically as the "Pharisees and the Scribes." They know everything -- for all time.
So when any new insights arise, they are first to battle and suppress, and defend the ancient wisdom as all that can be known. Everything else is heresy and a sacrilege -- even on the frontiers of conquering old age and what makes it so. Obviously, everything that has been tried, has not worked -- or there wouldn't be this obsessive industry in search of immortality -- which of course is life without limits. But obviously there are limits -- and discovering and extending that range is a life lived well enough.
It is much easier just to talk about immortality and infinity as the ultimate limits -- because then one does not have to bother with actually finding out what those are. One does not have to talk or make any real sense. Nothing has to verified in one's lifetime -- because given eternity, anything could possibly be true.
But when we accept our own mortality, all we can do is make the best of it -- for however long it lasts. And that is a life well-lived. That practice, makes perfect -- and not the endless treadmill -- thinking the objective in life, is to consume and burn as many calories as possible -- as an end in itself.
The Significance of the Nautilus Machine (Cam)
The genius of the Nautilus cam was to provide variable resistance throughout the full-range of a movement around one axis of rotation -- with the understanding that in moving from one extreme to the other allowed one to access the full momentary capability of that muscle. That was the design of every exercise and machine incorporating that principle -- with the objective being to fully exhaust the muscle -- by eliminating the weak points that didn't allow the muscle to be fully worked in the full contraction phase.
But what was overlooked was that a muscle can do two things -- and not just the one. That is, the muscle has to be able to contract -- but it also has to relax as well, and alternating those states, produces a pumping effect -- just like the heart does in pumping the blood out towards the extremities (capillaries). But by that design, the heart cannot also pump the blood (fluids) back towards the heart -- because the very objective and design of the capillaries is to slow down the speed of fluid (gas) to optimize the exchange between the tissues and the fluid.
The best example of this branching design and function, is where the respiration (breath) exchanges gas with the capillaries in the lungs, and how breathing and circulation intersect to enable life. Breathing alone doesn't get the job done; circulation alone does not get the job done. It is these two processes acting in concert that is the magic of life. One without the other, does not work.
Likewise, in the action of the muscles, contracting alone is not enough. A muscle also has to be able to relax to get a job done. The opposite of a muscle contraction is not gravity -- but relaxation, or the lengthening of the muscle, which is the opposite of contraction (shortening).
This alternation of contraction with relaxation can be achieved in the absence of gravity (resistance) because it is not dependent on the external forces but the internal forces generated. What is being moved, is the blood and fluids within the body -- because when they don't move as they are capable of doing, the fluids stagnate rather than circulate to maintain the health of the body.
Thus we have the problem of "inflammation" which is the buildup of toxic waste products that do not properly get out of the body through the filtering, purifying and eliminating organs designed for that function. And if the old is not expelled first, it leaves no room for incoming new nutrients -- and the body operating in that manner, simply accumulates and never eliminates -- which makes room for the new.
Predictably, such people grow to monstrous size and weight -- as the more toxic they become, the more water they will retain to dilute that toxicity. Along with that, they are not producing the alternating muscle contraction and relaxation characteristic of exercise as we recognize it -- and so the muscles become increasingly flaccid and undefined.
The original design and use of the Nautilus machines did not recognize the importance of its ability to move into a greater range of movement because of the greater relaxation that could be attained when the resistance moved to zero -- and the training style adopted by even the most familiar with the underlying principles, was actually to make that relaxation prohibitive -- in making the relaxation phase (eccentric) harder -- rather than as it should be, easier and even to zero if possible. It was thought that in contracting and then contracting even harder on the relaxation phase, the muscle would exhaust that much faster -- when the conditioning desired, is to increase the endurance rather than induce premature failure.
In no human task, would failing prematurely be desirable -- because that might be a critical failure when one needed it most. Instead, one would condition themselves to be indefatigable as much as possible -- so as to be the last man standing -- rather than the first man out. That is true whether that is "musical chairs," dodgeball, high stakes poker, or the high jump. The advantage goes to those still in the game -- and not the many lying by the wayside incapacitated by one thing or another.
The Nautilus machine was not designed to lift the most weight once -- or decreasingly fewer times, but actually to enable one to continue the execution (repetition) until the movement could not be sustained any longer by natural fatigue caused by the buildup of cells firing to produce energy and the resulting waste products that result in failure to respond even with no added resistance (load).
Obviously, achieving that with maximum weights is impossible because the quit point leaves a lot of capacity untapped. Failure is that point in which one cannot move even with no resistance on that particular muscle -- and must cheat by employing all the other muscles in the body to effect and complete the movement. That attainment would require the body to adapt very dramatically and significantly -- because of that very strong directive to improve one's capabilities.
That was what the inventor of the Nautilus machines and concepts intended -- but seems to have gotten lost in the execution. The original intent was to perform as many repetitions until one quite naturally and predictably failed -- and not simply to produce failure before executing any full range movements properly -- which is the training style exhibited by most experts training with these machines.
The objective is not to lift the most weight possible for five very limited range repetitions -- and then rush to the next preloaded machine for another five repetitions under cardiovascular duress so that one can hardly breathe and catch one's breath -- but actually to use as light a weight that makes the fullest relaxation possible -- because that is the actual limit on the performance of that fully-articulated movement. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, a too heavy weight prevents the muscle from attaining its fullest muscle contraction -- that is also only possible with a minimal resistance.
It is the range of movement that is the greatest resistance and limit -- in both directions, and working to extend those extremes, is the exercise and practice -- which doesn't put extraordinary demands on the cardiovascular system to fail preemptively and prematurely -- but executed with proper full range breathing, allows one to build up the capacity to sustain the effort -- for at least 50 repetitions as the benchmark that it could be sustained indefinitely.
Achieving that number of repetitions seems to be key in developing the confidence and competency to do any movement -- that one or two repetitions is not sufficient to reinforce and build muscle memory. Then it is simply a movement one feels competent to do at any and all times -- rather than a position and movement one conditions oneself to move in and out of as quickly as possible.
The valuable part of any movement -- is extending the range of that movement -- and not simply using more weight in a very limited range of movement -- with the muscle not changing states but merely rebounding while the muscular state hardly changes. At that point, one is merely using leverage to lift and lower the weight -- while the muscle changes very little, but the effort feels maximal because not changing muscular states indicates that one is not breathing -- which requires both the full exhalation (contraction) and full inhalation (relaxation) to effect.
That is ultimately the measure of the effectiveness of one's exercise -- because it is impossible to achieve the fullest contraction and the fullest relaxation of any muscle in isolation from all the supporting and connected muscles that are dependent on each other to achieve any maximum attempt. Those are positions achieved, and not a measure of weight used while largely avoiding getting into those positions at all.
That's why such movements are not productive, and in fact, may even be counterproductive -- because they are doing it for all the wrong reasons -- mainly, limiting one's range of movement. It always begins with understanding well what one is doing -- even if it was not with that intention and perfect understanding of what one is doing. The awareness and learning is the most important part.
The great danger is the tremendous stress placed on the heart to do all the work -- which rightfully, should be spread among all the muscles of the body to optimize that functioning (circulation and respiration) and resulting health effects. That makes it possible for a person of 100 to exercise as easily as a person at 20 -- just as productively -- in the safest possible manner. The objective is not to make movements, exercise, practices as difficult, problematical, and dangerous as possible (resistance) -- but to make it so sensible that one couldn't think of doing anything else.
Rather than being the ultimate machine for lifting weights with a favorable mechanical advantage, the cam by design nullified that requirement for leverage and momentum and inadvertently, became the ideal device for increasing the range of motion -- when used in this manner with nominal resistance. Like many inventions and discoveries of the past, it served a purpose far more valuable than it was originally conceived for -- which is exhausting the muscle worked even in a constrained range.
The huge advantage for this, is that training with attention to increasing the range focused (measured) on a single axis of movement also affects the state of all the muscles -- because nothing else is possible! That is simply how muscles work. Whether putting the shot or lifting a maximum weight, it would never be advantageous to limit the contraction to only one muscle while not engaging the adjoining supporting and interconnected muscles -- which includes the heart in that supportive role, rather than the primary intent machine sellers promote.
What is easiest to measure is not necessarily what is most important or significant to measure. Any increased effort will raise the heart rate -- but simply raising the heart rate, will not necessarily increase the productivity of the effort -- and as such, actually decreases the productivity of every effort. This is particularly disastrous when the heart works increasingly harder -- with no complementary effort by the skeletal (voluntary) muscles to pump the blood back towards the heart -- which is the focus of one's concerns in adopting a healthy exercise to empower productivity and enhance growth. That is what the heart is hardwired to do -- to support every other function in the body, and making that the primary and only measure -- makes everything counterproductive.
And that is the reason so many bodybuilders die of heart problems -- of their own self-infliction. They need to make the rest of the muscles work harder -- and the heart will take care of itself -- as it is designed and hardwired to do as the strength of that muscular system. The last thing one wants, is to design training strategies for it to fail prematurely -- and unnecessarily.
Obviously, Nautilus machines are nearly the ideal machine for older people and people in poor health to build up their strength and range of motion -- when used with light weight (resistance) for 50 repetitions. And as Arthur Jones, inventor of the Nautilus machines confided, those same effects can be achieved if one simply understands the Nautilus training principles well enough.
That is the game-changer. Advantage to the older and wiser -- particularly the wiser.
How Exercise Prevents Dementia
Specifically, most contemporary people’s neck muscles atrophy for lack of head movement — and muscular development is indicative of enhanced circulation that makes that development and functioning possible.
The weakness of the circulatory system is generally not the heart pumping blood out to the tissues (extremities) but in the skeletal muscles pumping the blood (fluids) back towards the heart — with alternating muscular contractions and relaxations just as the heart is effective as a pump. That is why exercise stimulates positive effects — but more particularly, they have to specifically exercise moving the head — or turning the head all the way to the right and all the way to the left — which people don’t tend to do even on an exercise bike or treadmill.
So while their hearts may go on pumping vigorously, many people’s brains will die for the lack of that proper movement (circulation) at the head — which is very indicative of the circulation to those areas. Circulation is not equal to all parts of the body but is dependent to the greater extent on the muscle contractions at the extremities of the head, hands and feet notable throughout history as the weakness of the human body.
So the paradigm of merely pumping the blood more vigorously from the heart won’t help as much as pumping the blood and fluids specifically from the extremities of the head, hands and feet — which are overlooked entirely by the exercise professionals as well as doctors and researchers — all who display this notable atrophy and deterioration at those sites — even as much as they exercise conventionally.
In order for exercise to specificaly benefit those critically important organs of the human body (cognition, grip strength, balance), the movement (contraction) has to begin at the insertions at the extremities — to improve that circulation and reduce the inflammation resulting from that accumulation and retention at those extremities, which begins with the proper understanding of the circulatory process and functioning to be most effective.
What most people fail to differentiate is that the blood vessels coming from the heart to the extremities (arteriole) are smooth and effected by the heart action (pump) — while the blood vessels from the extremities (veins) are no longer driven by the action of the heart but instead have valves that prevent backflow. Thus, the major thrust is provided by voluntary muscular action — beginning at the insertion of the muscle specifically contracted — and thus the meaningful movement in this, is the axis of rotation at the furthest extremity activated — which is minimal by those doing most conventional “cardio” exercises.
All they are doing is making the heart work harder — into the resistance produced by the blood (fluids) that are not flushed out by the voluntary muscular contractions, which is also compression — and why compression garments also have this same effect of aiding the outflow of inflammation (fluids) back towards the purifying and recycling organs of the body.
By evacuating the fluids in this fashion, one creates the space for the new blood and fluids to enter — while simply causing the heart to work infinitely harder into this resistance, merely enlarges the heart, while doing very little for producing a healthier environment to maintain health and functioning in the tissues. Movement affects circulation in this way — and not simply by increasing the heart rate measurement to sell more heart rate measuring devices and machinery.
There is no increased effort (exertion) that will not automatically (autonomically) increase the heart rate, and so is redundant — and even counterproductive if the skeletal muscles are disengaged and inactivated — as is the case in most “cardio” exercises. Note particularly the lack of head movement while one is on an exercise bike — or treadmill. The same can be said for the absence of articulation at the wrist joint, and minimal articulation at best at the ankle.
The full range movement (articulation) is what produces a full contraction and a full relaxation — just as the heart works as the primary pump of the body. But realizing that, one can make that objective the primary purpose of all one’s exercises — and not lifting weights, running faster, jumping higher, and all those high-impact activities that make it increasingly prohibitive especially to older people.
Rather, one should rethink exercise and the purpose of it to accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives — instead of the opposite as is the “conventional wisdom.” It’s time to move into the Space Age rather than maintaining progress through the miracle of brute force.
The problem with most people’s weight-training is that they are instructed to use as heavy a weight as possible — which usually comes at the expense of the range of motion. The heavier the weight, the more one will limit the range of movement — so as to be able to “complete” the few repetitions they rationalize to compensate for the increased resistance.
Hardly anybody I’ve witnessed articulates the full range of movement — because that would mean achieving the fullest relaxation alternated with the fullest contraction. Instead, what most do to complete their few reps, is to maintain a constant contraction and achieve movement through leverage and momentum — rather than changing muscle states. Predictably, they “fail” in a few repetitions because not changing muscle states results in cardiovascular failure — as one is not breathing but working on that reserve built up resting between sets. That’s why that style of exercise is not considered aerobic — which is with breathing as the enabler.
In contrast, what is considered “aerobic” exercise, is an activity that can be sustained for a prolonged period of time. That can be achieved by lowering the muscular demands so that it does not increase the circulation through the muscles — and thus they exhibit no muscular development by enhancing those pathways typical of the cardio exercisers — and thus the additional requirement to lift weights.
The objective of beneficial exercise is to increase the circulation through the musculature and all the other organs of the body — and not just to the heart. That is well provided for by millions of years of evolutionary development — in all animals, regardless of whether they’ve heard of “aerobic exercise” and treadmills — or not. If the primary importance is placed on the full articulation of range and the accompanying contractile states, that produces flow in the doing of it.
Otherwise, the fluids stagnate, and produce the conditions of edema, lymphedema, lipedemia — which are the markers of impending disease and dysfunction.
Designing Exercise with No Preconceived Notions of What It Should Be
What distinguishes the human above all the other animals is the large brain, opposable thumb (grip and manipulation), and upright posture (balance) and gait — which is the head, hands and feet. Everything else is supportive to those objectives — including the heart, lungs, digestive tract, etc. Maintaining the optimal health in those areas (organs) is far more important than biceps and six-pack abs — but fortunately, the health of those extremities implies the health and functioning of the underlying health and functioning — rather than vice-versa.
And that is the problem of longer contemporary lives — that the heart and lungs go on functioning long after the brain, hands and feet do — as kind of a living death. So we really want those organs particularly to be the priorities in any fitness (exercise) program — rather than simply making the heart work infinitely harder. In fact, the best understanding of exercise, is to recruit the entirety of the muscular system to aid and enhance the circulatory effect — which it does by contracting and relaxing at the axis of rotation of the extremities — resulting in the maintenance, development and growth of those muscles above all the others — because of their primary importance.
Yet that is not what is exercised conventionally — and because it isn’t, has limited impact on one’s quality of life in longevity. The observation by even the most casual observer, is those are the sites where people reveal their age most — and prematurely — along with the lack of articulation at those joints. Instead, we see the characteristic swelling of the neck and face, bloated hands and feet, indicative of the pooling of those fluids in those areas as edema, lymphedema, lipedema (inflammation) — of which many of the pioneering researchers on longevity and disease, recognize as the universal cause limiting optimal health and functioning.
Most think there is nothing they can do about it except hope for some miracle drug to make them feel better — rather than realizing that those are the axes of rotation that make the most difference and matter — rather than the six-pack abs or biceps — or for that matter, even the heart which is autonomically hardwired to take care of itself. But that is not the case with the voluntary skeletal muscles — that have to willfully be activated and engaged. That’s what active young people do without realizing or thinking about it — and why those who are more active in this way exhibit better health and development.
But as we get older, we tend to make less of these movements — and contemporary popular exercise ignores these movements of the head, hands and feet completely — because one does not need machinery and equipment to exercise them. That is because it does not require resistance but is activated by range of movement alone. That is the provision for ensuring that health — that evolved for millions of years, but has been precluded by the sedentary lives of our times. It is not so much that the sitting is bad, as it is that the head, hands and feet are immobilized while the screens provide that feedback. That is to observe that it is not necessary to turn one’s head to see and hear better, but one merely turns up the volume. Thus people are much less aware of their surroundings and vulnerable to the perils around them — which lowers their fitness for survival.
In that manner, all the senses of touch, feel, balance, awareness — atrophy, because the movements that dictate that optimal circulation, have been disengaged. And that is the characteristic decline and deterioration of most people as they age — most visibly at the neck, hands and feet. But exercise instead, is focused on the heart — which is obviously still beating, and does not need to be directly increased. Rather, it is the movement at the axis of the extremities at the neck/face, hands, and feet that have to be articulated because that action pumps the fluids (inflammation) back towards the heart and other recycling organs. That is how the health is maintained — and can be optimized — but contemporary life thinks is not important, and so we increasingly see the premature failure of the human body beginning at those extremities.
Observing and understanding that, one would create movements that provide those movements explicitly, and in doing so, will realize that the full range contraction (and relaxation) at those axes, require the activation of the underlying supportive muscular structures as well, and as such, is the most efficient and effective way to obtain those health benefits of optimizing the circulatory effect. And that is the greater objective — and not simply making the heart alone work harder — while the head, hands, and feet remain immobilized — as is the case with the treadmill, stationary bike, and style of diverting the flow to less important areas of the anatomy — at the expense of the most critically important organs of the body! At that point, it doesn’t matter how formidable the physique is “at the core” — if the critical functioning at the extremities have ceased to remain viable and vital. That’s how the human body fails — with age.
But that is also how the human being can ensure its health — beginning at those critical areas traditionally renowned for their “poor circulation” — as though nothing can be done about it to alter that fact. Once we properly understand that the most important work done by a muscle contraction is the movement of blood and fluids back towards the heart and central organs, we quickly disabuse ourselves of the notion that all that is required in exercise is just to make the heart work faster and harder — because that is the easiest thing to measure, but not necessarily the most significant. The atrophying of the neck, hand and feet muscles are far more indicative of that individual’s fitness, health and condition to live a quality existence.
The group of people who exhibit these movements best are those whose primary exercise is dance — because as a spatial exercise, they have to turn their heads a lot to orient themselves where they are, while maintaining fine motor expressions of the hands and feet — to a range most people think are simply impossible. But most people, even if the worst of conditions, are capable of moving at the head, hands and feet joints — even if it is not possible or easy to move at any other joint (axis). And that is the key to understanding movement that is productive and restorative no matter what present condition one begins at — to higher states of functioning, development and growth.
That is what is not clearly understood by even all the experts. But understanding, before even exerting any effort, pays off much more highly than applying any amount of brute force attempting to obtain the results one desires. Then the results just come because that is the natural and logical outcome of what one is doing — simply because one demands that it be so. That’s not how the world works. Instead, one has to up the understanding first — and then the results are inevitable, because nothing else is possible.
In this manner, one can sustain exercise all throughout their life — and never have to give it up because it is too hard or dangerous to do — particularly when they need it most.
The Most Important Consideration
The presumption most people make in considering “bodyweight” exercises is to think that it means “zero” weight — rather than in most cases, being way too much weight for them to do a movement properly and productively. The best example is the chinning exercise — which is impossible for most beginning exercisers to do. To make that movement possible, one should go to a pulley machine and take a much lighter weight to make that motion possible — from full relaxation to full contraction — which most people have no idea what that entails, because they are so obsessed with handling as much weight as possible. So in fact, what they do is keep their muscle virtually fully contracted throughout their short range of movement for a few repetitions before quitting.
For that reason, the Nautilus training machines were invaluable in teaching what it means to contract a single muscle through the full range of its contraction to relaxation — and back. So much so that Arthur Jones claimed his machines were fool-proof — but only if the proper attention was paid to the fullest range of movement — which implies change of contractile states, rather than weight handled. It was not meant to be a weight-lifting device — but rather the opposite — so as to eliminate the mechanical advantage.
That would actually make the muscle work harder — at any weight. Because his movements and machines were actually used improperly, to prove his point, he then insisted that each trainee had to be supervised for each repetition to ensure that they did not perform it in a style to override the design’s original intent — which was to design a machine so perfect for exercising that it was “foolproof” — rather than spawning the need for personal trainers to supervise every repetition done to “guarantee” results.
And still they got it wrong because they thought the important thing was to override the designed disadvantage that made the muscle work harder so that it would fatigue and ultimately fail — even with a light weight. A muscle moving through full contraction and full relaxation will fatigue and fail — quite naturally around 50 repetitions — because by then, the muscles will be so engorged with blood (pumped), that the muscle can no longer contract hard enough to move the blood out of that muscle (momentarily) — and so one is done for that bodypart, and not as people who have no idea what they are talking about, do 10 sets to “failure.” You’re just done — and might require up to a week to fully recover from that workout.
So these were absolute requirements and not choices people arbitrarily made about whether they should workout for 2–3 hours every day, or only 3 times a week. Once a week was all they could stand. But each week when they returned for their next workout, they were obviously dramatically changed — and could sustain that rate of improvement for about six weeks — whereupon if they did not take a break, they would get sick or injured because their recovery ability was exhausted by then. Not coincidentally, most studies done to prove the effectiveness of this “High intensity” training usually lasted six weeks — rather than being able to be sustained indefinitely, or over a lifetime.
However, of much greater importance in considering lifelong exercise, is the pace and manner of training that can be sustained up to the day one dies — by judiciously metering out one’s time, energy and resources for a vibrant life as long as possible — and that is the great challenge of these times. It is no longer enough to be “One and done,” or for that matter, reminiscing about one’s glory days 50 years ago while presently confined to a bed or wheelchair because of those disabilities caused by their final attempts.
Then the problem and its solutions are something else entirely — and all those considerations usually thought important, are really irrelevancies — because what matters, is whether one understands how to effect a full muscular contraction, and a full muscular relaxation — and the primitive notions that any activity and movement does, misses the point. It doesn’t require apparatus at all but the understanding of what produces muscular contraction and muscular relaxation — and how that alternation, effects the blood flow. Then one can design the movements of their choice to trigger those changes in muscular states and effects — because it is the changes in states that produce the magic of health, functioning, and growth — and not simply the mindless expenditure of energy.
Then the body takes on that manifestation of intelligence — which is pleasing to the sensibilities in the many ways we perceive as robust, vibrant and healthy. It is not just bodyparts pasted together but constitute an aesthetic whole — and that was the ideal they were hoping to embody in their artwork, statues, and ultimately in their own bodies. That was what the original bodybuilders emulated — that has been lost in the quest for monstrosity — at any cost and price! And so, many now feel that it is justified for their moment of glory and fame — and even their lives at a young age.
It is important to consider how muscles contract — and the importance of that design. The insertion of the muscle always moves toward the origin of that muscle — and never vice-versa. Therefore, the important axis of rotation is at the furthest extremity to have meaningful expression and functionality — because that firing, causes all the supporting muscles back to the center to be fired as well in that same interconnecting pattern. So when that integrated contraction occurs, the health of the body is maintained — particularly at the extremities, where most human bodies fail because of the poor circulation caused by the lack of activation from those extremities.
The practical demonstration of this integration and synergy is to do a light weight dumbbell wrist curl to initiate a shoulder shrug — rather than the usual manner of performance of keeping the wrist immobile so one can handle a much heavier weight. Because there is no movement initiated at the wrist, the movement is confined only to the trapezius back to the origin of the musculature at the sternum. That is not a great distance from the heart — as it would be if the impulse of contraction began at the wrist. And what that contraction is doing, is compressing the fluids back towards the center of the body — from the extremities, that die from that lack of circulatory engagement — particularly in people as they age. We know it as cognitive decline, weakness of grip strength, and lack of foot strength to maintain balance. But rather than requiring weights to effect, the movement itself causes the contraction and relaxation.
That I propose, would be how one ensures optimal health and functioning of those parts that seem to go wrong prematurely — and wreaks havoc on everything else. That is to say, that once the head, hands, and feet are no longer functioning properly because of poor (lack of) circulation and health it causes, it doesn’t much matter how long they live for the rest of society to have to take care of them. Then the solution becomes a problem.
So the issue is the understanding of movement — and its effect on the musculature, and how that produces health — and not how much weight one is using — whether bodyweight, dumbbells, barbells, apparatus. The understanding is the critical element.
Just Do the Warmup
The older one gets, the harder it is to get going -- until eventually, many stop trying -- and that is disastrous. The problem stems from the lack of an effective "warmup" program, and many feel it is totally unnecessary -- that they should just be able to plunge right in -- cold and immediately access top speed and capability -- until one day, they suffer that inevitable injury. That is the same kind of thinking that many people have in believing they need to do nothing to maintain top condition and proficiency -- just because they want it to be so.
The real world doesn't work that way. People who are good at what they do get that way with a lot of preparation and practice -- so that even their warmup is way beyond most people's personal best. That is one of the great skills they cultivate -- in being able to move from the lowest state of readiness to their best. They are meticulous at even the most fundamental, baby steps, and that persistence gets them to the next level -- and the next.
These are important lessons because as one grows older, one has less energy, and rather than just turning over and lying in bed all day, they have to resolve to get up and out of bed, or out of their chair -- even when it seems impossible, leading one to think if they will ever walk again.
While it might be the case that they no longer pop out of bed ready to take on the world -- if they proceed slowly and deliberately enough, they will change their position and energy level -- but not if they have to do it fast and quickly. For most people in retirement, that is not a requirement that they do anything fast -- but eventually, and that is good enough. But beginning slowly, and repeating the movement develops proficiency and efficiency, and after a while, they are moving faster without trying -- but more importantly, are moving better because they are trying.
One is developing the muscle memory for sure, but in the movement, lubricating the joints by that movement, as well as increasing the circulation by that movement. All the good stuff to enable them to move better -- and when they move better, they can move faster -- if that is required, but in the slow, deliberate movement, one is priming the motor pathways for such movements.
That is why slow movement exercise can enable faster movements. One has developed the neuromuscular connections and efficiency to perform that movement. It doesn't have to be with added or maximum resistance -- to be productive. It just has to be possible -- and manifested.
It is not as important to run a marathon as it is to prepare oneself to run a marathon. The former will deplete one's momentary capabilities -- while the warmup will get one in the best condition to run one. And that is necessary in the contemporary healthy life -- to be able to meet any challenge, and not fighting every fight just because one can.
That's not how the alpha male stays the alpha male. That individual invariably picks his spots -- and only takes on those challenges they absolutely have to -- not being the first to strike, but the last. He knows to prepare their capabilities to rise to those occasions -- and not exercising every chance they get. That is the great principle of conservation of energy -- rather than expending it as much as possible -- for no good purpose.
That is the proverbial lesson of the race between the turtle and the hare: the hare takes off from the get-go, not even realizing or aware if anybody else is even running, while everybody else eventually gets there -- and passes them while they have long exhausted themselves, and even crippled themselves. The race doesn't end at age 40 but age 100 -- and one must understand that.
In that understanding, they can better manage their time, energy and resources -- over a long lifetime. Life is no longer short, brutal, nasty -- and so one's optimal conditioning should reflect that. We're no longer fighting the lions in the coliseum -- to prove our merit and fitness for survival.
Humans are built for the long haul rather than a short run at the top -- and then one is at the mercy of the health care system for the remainder of their lives. And so many despair at such a prospect of growing old rather than embracing it as a mark of successful adaptions and meeting the challenges of their unique lives -- and fear that their time is running out before they find the answers to the problems of their own existence.
Obviously in movement, that is to achieve the grace and ease of it -- instead of making it more difficult and problematic at every opportunity. That would not be progressive exercise but regressive -- to a more primitive and unenlightened time.
So the impossible question is not how one can make any movement more difficult -- but rather, how to make it as easy as possible -- all one's life, and never stop that improvement. That is the problem with traditional and conventional exercise -- always to increase the difficulty until finally one gives it up. And then what? Of course there will be atrophy, deterioration, and dis-ease. One would not expect anything else. That's how the world works -- or doesn't. That is the simplicity of the instruction manual for the body; it gets better because one makes it get better. It is the perfection of the practice -- so that one is prepared for anything one is required to do in their daily lives -- whatever that might be.
Whatever it takes.
Is 50 Squats Enough?
As one who was diagnosed as having childhood arthritis — with the prognosis that it would inevitably get worse until I was crippled in adulthood —at which point they could “operate,” I found that doing light weight lifting exercises improved the circulation to the point that it ameliorated much of the back pain to the point that I could live a normal active life. But just in doing these most therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, people told me I had transformed into an impressive and imposing athlete — just as how many early bodybuilders had gotten involved. That was the typical profile of bodybuilders in the 50s and 60s — mainly youngsters taking it up to overcome childhood arthritis, asthma, a woefully underdeveloped body — and within a year, people were suggesting they ought to enter a physique contest — and they surprisingly won or placed highly. Then they “got into” it — unlike the many novices who now desire to win the Mr. Olympia before even embarking on an exercise program of any sort. That is definitely putting the cart before the horse.
Now as a person in my 70s still with that genetic predisposition that I now know how to overcome, I sleep on a firm mat on the floor and the first thing I do is roll onto the floor and sit in a squat — and let those tendons and ligaments that are problematical for most older people, stretch until they are quite loose, lubricated, and ready to move. Once I’ve done what I have to do for morning hygiene, I get back to doing 50 squat-push-ups as the best bang for the buck — if I don’t get around to doing anything else — but because of that movement, I usually feel I can go easily for another 30 minutes of other movements — and in that manner, I can fulfill my exercise requirements for the day, while just “warming up” for normal daily movements throughout the day. At that point, I already feel like I’m ahead of the game — because I can move without pain or restrictions — and if I fall or take a blow, my muscles will absorb most of the trauma — and I can recover as though from a more intensive once a week gym workout.
Obviously, that already makes an immediate difference — over those who cannot jumpstart their day in similar manner and effectiveness — and grow increasingly incapacitated — including the many who just never feel comfortable “squatting” — which actually means to hang out in that low position — rather than bounce out of it as quickly as they can, or never achieve that full possibility of position and movement. Thus you see so many bodybuilders with impressive biceps but always wear sweat pants so as not to reveal deficient leg development. And even among the older competitive bodybuilders, they have impressive biceps but woeful leg development, and walk as though they may fall over from that imbalance.
As even most doctors will tell you, if you do nothing to maintain your health, it should be to optimize the circulation to your legs — over the biceps, or upper body, and why they recommend walking — let alone squatting — which for most people over 70, is simply out of the question henceforth. If one removes that essential component of the circulatory system then increasing immobility is predictable and inevitable — along with its health consequences and complications.
But rather than making the squat harder to do — by adding a weight to one’s back or holding one’s arms out in front, the better, more practical version is to use one’s hands on one’s thighs to stabilize that movement — just as a thoughtful instructor would advise for a weak, elderly person to rise from the floor — rather than insisting that they do so in the hardest, most difficult and contrived manner that these “exercise physiologists” can think of as predictive of greater health. And that is the problem of all these YouTube videos advising older people on how to get up off the floor once they have fallen and don’t know “how” to get up. The results speak for themselves.
The computer people used to make operating a computer as difficult as possible — until somebody came up with the genius idea to make computers as easy as possible — and even “foolproof” as much as possible. Many “teachers” still teach that way — to make their subject matter as difficult as possible so maybe one person can understand who would have anyway — rather than make the difficult as simple as possible so it is accessible and productive to virtually everyone — rather than prohibitive and problematical as it seems to be.
Results come from that better understanding — and not more effort at what doesn’t make sense.
Integrating Exercise into Our Daily Living
The most critically important parts and functions of the human body are at the head, hands and feet — which people overlook and ignore totally — but will be the death of them. Those are the parts of the body that tend to indicate aging — at the neck/face, hands and feet — because of its poorest circulation at the extremities.
Realizing this, the proper measurement of the effectiveness of the circulation would be at these extremities rather than the heart. The purpose of the heart, is to pump blood out to the extremities — and not merely to pump blood to itself. That’s already included in the evolution of the heart and has become an autonomic function — which means one does not have to get up each morning and get the heart pumping — or any other time of the day, except when trauma disrupts the heart beat.
At such events, alternating compressions of the chest, causes pressure differences in the chest cavity that simulate the pumping action of the heart (circulation) — but also, the same compressions cause the movement of air in and out of the lungs by varying that pressure within the lungs — and the environment provides atmospheric pressure of about 15 lbs per square inch. That means when one relaxes the pressure on the chest, air will automatically enter to equalize the pressure difference — making the old mouth to mouth resuscitation redundant and unnecessary.
Besides, if you blow air into a lung that is already half full, that new air doesn’t get to the lowest part of the lungs where it exchanges with the blood vessels because of the branching structure of lung tissue — similar to the blood vessels by evolutionary design. That means air and fluids have to follow a fixed pathway — and is not like a balloon like sac that randomly distributes gases and fluids.
This is an important concept in realizing that blood flow is dictated not by the contractions of the heart — but by the contractions at the extremity farthest from the heart — to complete the circuit. Therefore, the most effective movements for ensuring the health at these extremities, are the contractions that take place at the axes of the neck, wrist and ankle — and that activation and engagement, triggers similar contractions at the supportive muscles to which those finer muscles are attached — all the way back to the center of the body.
In throwing, hitting, writing, painting, playing a musical instrument, or opening a jar — the extension and flexion is the ultimate objective. In running, jumping, kicking, balancing, biking, the ultimate objective is to extend and flex at the ankle to use the foot as a lever against the earth — just as the hand does against any other object. But before those movements occur, the head turns to see, hear, take in information appropriately to determine the right action.
However, the sedentary life mainly makes those critical movements unnecessary — and that is the problem. And when people think of exercise, they think it is most important to get their heart working faster and harder — when the heart is always working appropriately as required — but there are no longer the critical movements of the head, hands and feet — that powered the evolution of the human being to levels beyond other animals — in the larger brain, upright posture, and tool-making ability. These capabilities are the first to go in the unexercised life.
What needs to happen to maintain this health and vitality — is to relocate the priority of movement at these axes of movement — rather than the heart, which one notes in marathoners as well as treadmillers, that the rest of the musculature remains undeveloped and atrophied despite their dedication — because there is no alternating contraction/relaxation (extension/flexion at the extremities that produce the blood flow there because the contractions produce the vacuum that allows the blood from the heart to replace it.
Instead, the steady state of the muscle retains the fluids at the extremities we recognize as edema, lymphedema, lipedema (inflammation) — which are the retention of the waste products produced by natural cell functions. Thus the body becomes toxic — and so the nerves die (neuropathies) — which are the familiar conditions of deterioration and disease of bodies blamed entirely on aging — rather than the lack of proper use of the human body to self-maintain and grow to health.
That is the major reason traditional/conventional exercises have failed to drastically address this “aging” process — because the emphasis is entirely misplaced to the heart primarily, but also to the biceps and abdominals — which are not primary muscles of function and expression. Both are supportive muscles to the movements of ultimate expression at the head/face, hands and feet. That is what has to move — up and down through the full range, and left and right through the full range for the head. Then there won’t be that awful atrophying of the neck we see in most deteriorating people which predictably causes dementias and the failure of the critical/cognitive functions of the head, grip strength, balance, etc. which are the markers of declining health associated primarily with age, but also in people of any age.
But once one properly activates and operates the human body as it was designed and intended to optimize its function and health, it takes care of itself.
A Connection to Reality
For unfortunately many people today, what they want to believe, is good enough for them -- because they only live in their virtual reality rather than the actual reality. The actual reality is what is verifiable and confirmable to others as their actual reality also -- while the virtual one is everyone's private fantasy -- apparent and real only to themselves.
Most probably, they were taught by their teachers that reality was anything they wanted to believe -- about themselves, and then about everything else in the world -- and it was not necessary, or even counterproductive for them to test whether such beliefs and explanations made any difference in the results they were experiencing -- and if not, they simply had to believe and try harder -- even infinitely harder to make it work.
In such a worldview, there is no limit to time, energy and resources, and that any amount, was the same as none or all -- as long as the belief was infinite. Fortunately, the world does not work that way -- and it is important not just to have the right stuff, but also the right amount of that stuff -- at the appropriate moment and circumstances, and all those ingredients coming together at the right moment, resulted in the perfect outcome.
Therein lies the importance of "exercise" -- which is to find out the truth of the matter. That means putting the belief to the test -- that it actually works, and beyond that, produced the best outcome -- as far as one can tell and imagine possible. Of course that also results in failure and disaster more often than not -- but that is also a necessary part of the exercise and experience.
Another term for exercise is experiment -- which is to find out if an idea works, and whether that outcome is evident to others as well. If it only works for one individual but no one else, then it is not scientific -- which means simply verifiable by anybody else. It does not, and preferably should not be verified only by those with the same education and experience, by those already convinced of the same conclusions -- or true believers of that same cult.
But when even the most skeptical experience the same things, then it is quite possible that notion has validity across the broad spectrum of populations and experience. It doesn't have to be the ultimate truth of the matter -- and it seldom is, but it is the best there is until a better idea and explanations comes along -- and one should remain open to such possibilities and revelations.
One seldom knows it at the time as such but in the moment, is likely to regard it as a revolution for the abrupt change in thinking, which over greater time, seems that inevitable evolution -- or development over time. But it didn't get there without many years and centuries of testing and refinement -- even if they weren't aware that that was what they were doing. They may have had very little consciousness of what they were doing at the time. Most likely, they were just following the program -- as everyone of that culture was convinced was the only one -- passed down through the ages from the original Creator Himself. Ever since, followers and disciples along that same thought have sought to make it the only Way.
Great truths evolve to even greater truths over time, while the many faulty explanations hang around surprisingly long after they have been debunked and discredited. That notion for these times is that exercise must be hard and long to be any good -- which makes that practice prohibitive for all but the most faithful. Meanwhile, the obvious truth of the experience is that if movements are made simple and possible for anyone, the barriers for participation are removed -- but it requires that right understanding, and not more effort with the wrong understanding. One has to be able to discriminate that critical difference -- and not that it works as well as anything else.
Obviously, that is not what one experiences in real life. Some things matter more than others -- and not just that anything goes -- so you choose your own poison with everybody else's approval, approbation, and encouragement. Clearly, those are the problems of the day -- and not sustainable long-term productive lives.
People learn to make life difficult for themselves -- as though that makes perfectly good sense. That is their indoctrination and conditioning -- which naturally creates more difficulties in their lives than is necessary or desirable. Many are convinced that is the way of life -- rather than constantly seeking a better way.
People are taught to get up off the floor in the most difficult way possible -- rather than the easiest, which creates great problems for many of the older people -- particularly when they fall -- AND DON"T KNOW HOW TO GET UP from that unfamiliar position. Well meaning exercise instructors will teach them exercises to do faithfully so that in a year, they can easily lift themselves off the floor -- but not immediately -- as needed.
To such "instructors" time is not of essence and urgency -- because their idea exists in a vacuum of reality. It never has to meet the test of reality and urgency. It is just one more bit of knowledge to forget in their seniority. The useful information is never forgotten but always reinforced by the practical application. That is the real meaning of it -- and of anything else -- that it makes a real difference, when you need it to.
Otherwise, one may starve to death waiting for that year to pass while one continues to lie helplessly on the floor -- because one can't do what is momentarily impossible. That is the significance of proper exercise -- to find out what is momentarily possible -- even if it is "failure," because that is the feedback needed to improve their next attempt -- and not keep on repeating the same thing expecting a different result. That is idiocy -- that deservingly becomes extinct.
Fortunately in the animal kingdom, they don't observe such rules by will try everything and anything -- until they succeed or perish. But no one tells them they must rise from the floor without using their hands -- if that is what makes it possible. Or any other advantage -- even if it makes it easy, and effortless. That is preferable to the alternative -- extinction. That is the meaning of fitness.
High Repetitions with Lighter Weights
The more repetitions one does, the heavier the weight becomes — and not that a weight remains the same and one can do infinite repetitions — by extrapolating theoretically. Practically, the more repetitions one does, the heavier a weight seems because the muscle becomes fatigued — particularly if one is articulating and increasing the range of movement. As one increases the range at both ends, it creates its own resistance to further movement in that direction — both in the contracted position as well as the relaxed position.
So using the example of a Nautilus pullover machine, the intent is to provide variable resistance through the full range of motion — however most people circumvent that range of motion to handle a heavier weight — because they think that the more important consideration is to increase the weight rather than the range — which is much more significant. Doing so causes the greatest difference between muscle contraction and muscle relaxation — which is the physics dictating fluid dynamics and movement.
There is a popular belief among theoretical exercise researchers who claim that one cannot spot reduce or spot develop any particular muscle in preference to any other — because of their belief that the heart alone pumps blood equally to every muscle — rather than to muscles activated in that movement. That is the reason most “bodybuilders” have lopsided developments — because all they do is bench presses or curls — rather than understanding that the muscle contracts at the insertion towards the origin, and then that origin when contracted as far as it can go, instigates the contractions of the more proximal (near the center of the body) muscle supporting it.
Understanding this chain-reaction, it is quite possible to activate as much of the musculature possible by focusing the range of movement at the furthest extremity — back towards the center of origin of all the muscles near the heart. Thus one would ensure the proper development of all the muscles along that line — because they are firing in the proper sequence and proportion as they were designed and evolved to. That would also be the most economical and efficient way to work out the muscles — as well as fatigue them — which is the objective of the workout. In fact, this is such a profoundly effective way of engaging the most muscles possible, that it is recommended that one must allow greater recovery time between such intense workouts — as few as once a week or even less!
That doesn’t mean that one should do nothing in the meantime — because such an intense workout also produces greater muscle soreness that can be reduced by doing those movement lengthening or shortening. That can be effected with no weights — but in simply knowing where those positions are. That was the great contribution of the Nautilus principles in isolating movement around a single axis of rotation — and then adding resistance. But then people got lost in using it to lift more weight — than as more important, fatiguing the muscle — to the point that it would fail even with no resistance at all.
One can achieve that with light weights — by increasing the range of the contraction and relaxation in both directions — which one will not do with heavier weight for fear of injury and lost of control. Most won’t consider it because it is harder — and thus preempt their “lifting” heavier weights. But the health benefit is that they are actually moving until they absolutely can’t — rather than taking the overly generous rest periods between handling heavier weights — and then doing 3–6 repetitions maintaining constant tension while holding their breath — that causes them to quit the exercise because of cardiovascular failure produced by not breathing, making their exercise anaerobic. And so they have to have a separate session to properly do “cardio,” or exercise with breathing (aerobics).
Is It Better to Do More Repetitions with Lighter Weights?
The more relevant question is whether light weights can build health — which includes better functioning as well as muscular development. And once one knows what they are doing, they can even build health and muscles with no weights at all — but with a better understanding of what they are trying to achieve. That is particularly important the older one gets with an increasing urgency for health and functioning — and not just to have bigger muscles or to lift more weights.
The person often called the father of modern bodybuilding, Eugen Sandow, prescribed such a course of using 5–10 lb dumbbells for 50–100 repetitions in all his exercises. Then 50 years later, Arthur Jones developed his Nautilus training principles centered around producing resistance through an even greater range of movement — in which he recognized that at one extreme of movement, the muscle under consideration was fully relaxed, and at the other extreme, the muscle was fully contracted. But beyond that, if one increases the range of motion beyond either extreme — the body produces its own resistance — against further movement — not requiring weights at all but working with the greater understanding of the physiology involved.
That is the first thing one has to do — increase the range of movement — and then repetitions become relevant. If one shortens the range of movement to handle heavier weights, then such exercise becomes counterproductive, and eventually injurious. That is the case for not advising older people to use increasingly more weight because it greatly increases the risk of injuries, while being non- or counterproductive — and why people think exercise is no longer effective in older people, or dangerous at worst.
So beginning with these older, more critical population, one fully recognizes the wisdom of the Hippocratic Oath, which is first, “Do No Harm” — and not as many coach and advise, “What doesn’t kill (cripple) you, makes you stronger.” That is the major reason people have to give up exercise entirely — even if they were once Mr. Olympia. More likely than not, they just die at a prematurely young age — of an exercise-induced condition.
We are surprised to learn that many so-called very fit athletes die suddenly — while following their self-prescribed regimens for keeping fit and healthy forever. Particularly susceptible are the “world’s strongest men,” because their hearts and joints can’t take the abuse anymore. The truth of the matter is that exercise does not have to be hard and difficult to be productive — and the favorable health effects can be achieved with a better understanding of the physics and biology involved.
People are healthier in every way because the circulation is optimized — rather than stagnant. Those are the fundamentals of essential life functions — breathing and circulation that in the absence, life cannot be sustained — but under normal conditions, is also not optimized, which exercise clumsily attempts to do. But it is not just a matter of making the heart beat faster and work harder — but that the entire musculature has that as its primary and most important function as well. That happens when a muscle mimics the action of the heart — in alternating muscular states of contraction with relaxations — that produces a pumping effect.
But you don’t do Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation with just 3–6 repetitions and think that is enough. Instead, one does 50 compressions in a minute — and maintains that pace for as long as they deem necessary and hopeful. Compressions are a contraction as they both make a volume smaller — which increases the pressure within until it is forced out into an area in which there is less pressure. And then when it relaxes, it allows space for new fluids and gases coming in from a properly functioning heart. But it is not the heart that is forcing the blood into an already occupied space. It has to first be vacated by the muscle contraction beginning at the insertion of the muscle that is being contracted — back towards the heart by a different set of blood vessels (venous) — which only has tiny valves to prevent a backflow. But the major propulsion has to be provided by the contractions of the skeletal muscles beginning at the insertion of the furthest axis of rotation (contraction).
That is true for the head, hands and feet — which suffer from the poorest circulation in most people because they do no produce contractions at those axes — because of the sedentary life and lack of articulation particularly at those axes (joints). As such, it is easy to understand why people suffer from arthritis at the hands, feet, and head — which greatly explains dementias and the lack of functioning at those critical parts of the human body with advanced ages — even those who exercise their hearts tirelessly but exclusively — as is possible to do with modern exercise equipment. The inflammation remains in the tissues.
That’s why the telltale signs of aging are at the hands, feet and face/neck — because in modern conventional exercise, they are deemed unimportant to exercise — when in fact, they are of the greatest importance, and assuring that circulation and health, requires the health and development of the rest of the body — but not necessarily vice-versa. And so we have the familiar people whose hearts go on beating long after their heads, hands, and feet have become unresponsive — and people can’t understand why.
They don’t want to understand why. They think they should just be entitled to optimal health, functioning and development. But that’s not how life evolved. Life favored those who used all their faculties — and that use, optimized their continued survival — just as with all the other species. That is the meaning of survival of the fit. It is not an entitlement to live forever doing nothing to ensure one’s own health and prospects. One has to care for oneself as one’s primary task — and not only demand it of others. That means practicing what needs to be done — all one’s life — as though their lives depends on it, because it does.
It sounds like a cold, cruel world but it doesn’t have to be that way. One has to improve the understanding before repetitions do any good — and practice such movements until they become second nature — not requiring extraordinary effort and motivation to effect. Too much of the discussions on exercise presume that it is extraneous and even vain to desire rather than the reasonable expectation of continued life. That is what it takes.
Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
The quick, simple and obvious truth of why intermittent fasting works is the realization that excessive weight gain is caused by eating all the time. and that if one simply restricts the time one will allow for that activity, that is at least half the problem. That is particularly true in exercise — of people who think they have to eat before they can do anything else — especially exercise, and so a good practice and habit is to exercise before eating rather than thinking one can only do so after a meal — at which point, exercise becomes further deferred, if not forgotten altogether. But together, they are the ideal diet/exercise combination.
Many morbidly overweight people will rationalize that if they don’t eat before doing anything else, they will “starve to death,” but humans like any other species, have evolved to do well without eating for prolonged periods — and that is Nature’s plan for keeping one healthy — because then the organism will “eat itself” — which is a good thing, because it realizes that the prudent thing is to burn off the oldest, weakest most diseased and excessive cells in the body in the purging and renewal process to maintain its health and viability. That is what every life form does — rather than going into starvation mode first. It is the last and unavoidable last resort — when one has run out of choices and options.
But if one’s priority is always to eat first and foremost — above all other considerations — that will be disastrous when food is always abundant and available, and so one should devise a schedule to reduce those opportunities. That is just common sense — aligned with millions of years of evolutionary wisdom to derive higher beings. If we ignore that wisdom, we create a lifetime of problems for ourselves — which the ancients have warned us against, but foolish people think they can simply cancel what they want. And so things don’t work right — and they haven’t a clue.
A good place to begin is to do nothing — and see if things get better or worse — including not eating. It seemed to work so well that wise people throughout the ages and across cultures have recommended it highly — as the beginning of wisdom, insight and mindfulness — that makes everything else possible. That practice has even become the cornerstone for many religions — as well as health modalities and cures. It might have been that they were intolerant to some foods — so abstaining from further consumption was the obvious and simple cure. To such people, consuming more is not the answer — but the problem.
They often have no idea — but think that if a little is good, more is always better. And of course, unlimited more is the ultimate achievement. But nothing works that way — and instead, there is a fine line for obtaining the proper balance in all things — for optimal effect and results. In a world of scarcity, it would be advantageous to eat at every opportunity, but in a world of abundance and prosperity, a better strategy is to practice restraint, and focus on more pressing priorities — and make the most of those other opportunities. Then one is a complete and well-developed human being — rather than one doing too much of only one thing — to the exclusion of all their other opportunities and abilities.
