The Most Basic Fitness Program
The problem for most people is not that they don’t know how to exercise — but that they don’t know what a muscle contraction is, and the powerful effect it has on the functioning of their body. Most people “know how to exercise” — even if it doesn’t do them much good — but the effects of muscular contractions are unmistakable and undeniable.
The difference is that just burning calories is insufficient to achieve the desired exercise effect — as is obvious in the many people who get plenty of “exercise” but not the desirable effect of optimizing the circulatory effect — that occurs because the muscles contract fully — just as the heart must to be an effective and efficient pump. The design and evolution of the heart is that is always working automatically — not just to pump blood to itself (cardio), but more importantly, to pump blood to all the other parts of the body — and particularly, the extremities — which are the important sensory organs of the head, hands and feet.
These organs are frequently underutilized and underexercised in modern life because the tools and technology minimize the need to maintain them in optimal condition for those purposes. Thus in general conditioning programs, the importance of exercising these most vitally important organs are minimized or overlooked entirely — but observant people can detect the lack of functioning and movement indicative of inflammation, swelling, and bloating at those sites to be the best indication of that individual’s health and well-being — as the most apparently visible.
People just assume that a double-chin and swollen face, swollen (inflamed) hands and feet are the products of natural aging — rather than the indication that those areas and organs are being neglected — in favor of much less critically important parts (muscles) of the body — that makes a huge difference in outcomes in later life as those inefficiencies and toxins build up in the tissues with no way to escape — and rejuvenate and revitalize with fresh nutrients.
The value of exercise is the extent to which the contractions fully expell the accumulated residual toxins in the tissues — as the purpose and meaning of circulation — all the way out to those extremities. That is the circuit — which can be limited to where there is actually the movement (contraction) of those muscles. Simply holding a heavy weight provides no such movement — no matter how heavy the weight. Movement would require the alternation of muscular states from contraction to relaxation — which is the same action of the heart, especially if it is choreographed to be rhythmic in that way (repetitions).
A good number to shoot for is 50–100. Admittedly, one could do more, but 1,000 repetitions of a single movement would take away the opportunity to do 20–10 more of different exercises that would provide greater value than just the one over exercised part — at the expense of all the others, with the added downside of repetitive stress in doing too much of only one movement. With 20 different movements, there is a reasonably good chance one can articulate and lubricate most of the major joints of the body daily — and easily for at least 50 repetitions — just as a health practice, and a sufficient warmup for whatever one can expect to encounter in the normal course of daily living.
That is the conditioning one hopes to establish as the baseline fitness for the rest of their lives — so it is a good habit to get into — no matter what else one will do in life. That would enable them to meet the ordinary challenges of life — which is more important than doing just one thing proficiently and exclusively — like the person who only does bench presses and nothing else. Most people who prefer to have a well-balanced physique and development — as that is what is impressive aesthetically as well as functionally —rather than as is usually seen, the large upper body with puny legs, or the well=developed legs with puny upper body, etc.
In a combat (competitive) situation, the well-trained individual knows to look for the obvious weakness and vulnerability of their opponent — and exploit that, rather than attack strength on strength. That’s why the first minutes of any bout is usually this feeling the opponent out — rather than a predetermined attack no matter what. The best read of another’s capabilities are the most obvious and visible — which are usually the neck, forearms and lower legs (feet). If those areas look inflamed (swollen), they are likely to be painful and nonfunctioning as well — whereas the person with outstanding dexterity and balance, have well-defined feet, hands, neck muscles — and the resulting control.
Most people miss that and in fact, never look at those organs as the best indicator of general health and capabilities. Because of that inattention to those areas, they are also the parts of the body that deteriorate first and affect all other subsequent movements — even to the point in which they have to be amputated for that lack of circulation. that is likely to happen at the feet, but when it happens at the head, it is usually not suspected that it could be from that same lack of optimal circulation to the head and brain that allows the buildup of toxic byproducts that allow for no space for the new nutrients that would revitalize its health.
The head and brain, like all other parts of the body, require effective circulation to maintain and achieve its best health, functioning and well-being — but most just look at a non moving head (relative to the torso), and think nothing of seeing a very swollen or atrophied neck, and think it has nothing to do with brain functioning and development — especially in later life — and think there is nothing they can do about it, when obviously, that is the most important and easiest parts of the body to impact positively. Most conventional exercisers don’t account for it at all in their training programs — when clearly, that is the key to maintaining health and fitness when all the other participants have stopped thinking it can be effective anymore.
It is a simple matter of effecting the flexors and the extensors of the extremities at their greatest range of movement for a sufficiently high number of repetitions (50–100) daily — and maintain that regimen for as long as one wishes to be an optimally functioning human being — fully capable of having to do whatever they have to do. That is being fit for life — how it matters.
The Resistance Within
Every person is their own “Primary Care Provider" rather than the designated, specialized health professionals. That is to acknowledge that one is primarily responsible for their own best health and well-being — and everybody and everything is secondary in that endeavor. That includes researching and choosing the best professionals in every field to assist them in achieving their ultimate objective of attaining the best life possible for themselves — and not just be the best customer/client a professional ever had. There is a difference — because not every professional or amateur, is equally good and competent. One has to make those determinations as well — and not go by their sales pitch, marketing program, or sincerity in saying, “Trust me.” One is their own ultimate judge and jury of such matters, as well as every decision they make in life.
If they choose well, life will be successful — but if they choose poorly, things will turn out badly. Fortunately in most things, it is never too late to see the light and course-correct — because that too is life, and maybe the better part of it. That’s how one' improves — and not the fantasy of making one decision, and then living happily forever after. Even the great ones failed a thousand times before achieving their greatest successes. That is every “greatest story ever told.”
In health, that is invariably the story of the runt of the litter and the 98 lb. weakling transforming themselves into the renown human specimen — because that was the drive and necessity for their very survival. It was either that or they would perish — at every opportunity to do so, but fatefully, they chose and acted wisely, and continued for another day. Such individuals then became famous for their resilience and persistence in the face of all odds. It did not matter how daunting the obstacle, they would overcome them as their signature style at living life large.
But it doesn’t just happen; those are the people in the habit of overcoming every obstacle — and when they fail, simply consider it practice until they eventually succeed. And then if they don’t, they’ll perish like everybody has before them — but know they gave it their best shot, and so went out on top regardless of the outcome. So that is the question to ask of oneself — each and every day — and how to get there, and not just settle for arbitrary goals others say will guarantee them eternal happiness and immortality.
There is a tendency to get caught up in such lofty and far-flung goals rather than remain focused on the simple matters at hand — known as the “attention to details,” yet it is this latter, that makes the most difference. This is why a rare few achieve remarkable results — while the vast majority come to regard their efforts as futile, or hardly worth the effort — because they’re focused on all the wrong things. It’s not about how many calories they burn, how profusely they sweat, how much pain they endure, how elaborate their theories and explanations, or how much weight they lift. What makes the difference, is how well they increase the health/life-giving circulatory effect to the part of the body that needs it the most. That is more than just thinking to make the heart work harder and faster — because that is not the ultimate and greater objective: it is the greater circulatory effect — that can be achieved when all the muscles of the body assist in that task, and not just the burden of the heart alone — even working against all the others — as though that was a smart thing to do.
That is the primary function of all the muscles in the body, and when one understands that, it is a simple matter of designing movement that effects that most optimally — regardless of equipment external to the body, or even moving the entirety of the body itself. What one wants to know and achieve, is how to optimize the flow to the areas one can benefit from the most — to produce the greatest functioning and health, and from that, all the other attributes are derived and manifested — rather than vice-versa. In a cause and effect world, one has to properly identify which is the cause and which is the effect — and mere correlation is insufficient to this understanding and purpose. It is not a co-incidence that things happen; that is the fallacy of epidemiological studies.
“There is a reason things happen.,” and not that if one does anything, they achieve the desired results. Of course they may attain many other unintended consequences — like injuries or loss, which is inevitable in a cause and effect world. Nothing happens randomly — although there can be unintended results. That is, it may make things worse, and become the problem — rather than its solution. That happens frequently when a plausible explanation is not true — which is the old wives tales that are commonly believed as the truth — rather than the actuality of the results. When this is pointed out, the resistance against the obvious, is simply increased — instead of rethought — to achieve a more effective level of understanding.
That is the unfortunate legacy of many physical regimens. Simply harder is better, rather than taking the time upfront to develop clarity. One wants to be as busy as possible so that there is no possibility for thought and understanding — before applying maximal effort and force. It may be that a lighter touch with a better understanding is all that is required. In exercises, it is the movement itself that is the benefit and not the resistance against it — and then not doing it properly. The proper movement, produces the alternating full contraction with a full relaxation — whereas the steady state muscle impedes that flow no matter how hard the heart is working. That is also the definition of what it means to be “aerobic.”
That produces dysfunction and failure — whether one is sedentary or riding a stationary bike. The flow is not induced where the muscle involved is not moving — from fullest contraction to fullest relaxation — which is what modern bodybuilders and previously, muscle control artists, understood and actualized. That control could be achieved entirely without equipment — but equipment could also be designed to instruct one on where the movement requires the muscle to be in its most contracted state, and in which position it must be in its most relaxed state. That was the genius of the Nautilus machines. The inventor designed the movement to effect those muscle states — regardless of the resistance used. That’s how the human body works.
This is particularly important as one ages — or desires to strengthen a weakness. It is the range of movement that is significant — and not the resistance increased at the expense of this range. The range is the resistance.
The Intelligent Exercise of the Human Body
The distinctive features that make the human being the ultimate achievement of evolution, is the large brain, tool-using hands, and feet that make upright posture and locomotion possible. So it would make a lot of sense that the most practical and productive development of those faculties would be the preferred conditioning program — rather than the development of what is common to all life forms, which is the heart similar to most other species.
Thus, that is not the distinguishing feature, nor does it have to be worked any harder and faster — because its value is that it works reliably as its greatest function — automatically. That’s why the heart is only a one pound organ in humans, rather than 30% of the body weight — as in the well-muscled human. The heart can only do one thing — while the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the human body can do whatever one wants it to do. That may include nothing at all — which is the problem for many. On the other hand, the heart as a muscle, does not have that option, but must always work until the day one dies — unfailingly.
Realizing that, the thoughtful person wishing to maximize their effectiveness, would choose to do what is not automatic but lacking, as their greatest contribution to increasing their productivity, functioning, overall health and proficiency. That is what is sorely lacking — and not what has been provided for in all living beings — no matter what. That is to note that we do not need to create “gravity” because it is simply a fact of life in our environment — whether we realize this or not. Many people don’t, and can live healthy and productive lives — just like the air we breathe.
We don’t first have to create the right mixture of gases that compose the air we breathe. We just have to access it as best we can — but a few will try to perfect the science of that functioning to gain an advantage — if it makes a difference. In most things, if a tool does the job, it doesn’t have to be a precision instrument made of the best materials. And often, the cheapest thing that can do the job, is the best money can buy — and beyond that, the rest may be impressive to others, but conveys no further advantage — for all practical purposes.
That is the first law of survival — if it works — regardless of the fancy explanations of why it does, or worse, why it is not working — but they are the “experts” in the field. They know all the things that do not work. Thus they claim, they need more funding to maintain that status quo — of them in charge, and to keep all others out of it. That kind of thinking is endemic to all activity and spheres of influence — but the trick is to distinguish that and not get caught up in those distractions that can consume a lifetime. And so many will conclude that it doesn’t make a difference — because they faithfully did all the things that did not work.
That is usually evident from the very start — but many insist one has to give it time — like a few years to exhibit those results, because it does not work. It is like asking a class of grade schoolers if they know how to “make a muscle,” and every arm in class will bend In the appropriate manner to make their biceps contract. That’s how easy it is — to make a muscle — and that simplicity and directness should not be complicated by elaborate explanations paraphrasing what researchers far away know exclusively — but have yet to prove in their own lives and being.
It is not because of age or lack of equipment and space that are the barriers — but simply the lack of the awareness of their own doing — or lack of it. The simple exercise that always works, is simply to turn one’s head as far to the left or right as one can go — and find out what is possible and the limit of that range of movement. In that very movement, the muscle of the neck will contract to enable that movement — as surely and demonstratively as the grade schoolers contracting their biceps. But for all intents and purposes, turning their heads is much more valuable as that movement affects the circulation to the head and brain — which most exercise practitioners just ignore as not being very important — because they think the head, hands and feet should be immobilized to enable their exercise. That kind of exercise is the wrong kind of exercise specifically for that reason — in that it precludes the movement where it is most important to move — and make a muscle because the circulation has been enabled by that movement.
That is the very reason the human body deteriorates prematurely and very visibly — at the sites of the neck, hands and feet — before all else, but is also the easiest thing to rectify — because it is simply a rotation around the furthest axis of the human body — which implies all else, but not vice-versa. The “core” muscles don’t need to be moved because their major function is stability and support — for the fine movements that occur at the extremities — whether that it shooting a basketball, hitting a ball with a bat or racket, painting a picture, playing an instrument, running, jumping, walking, etc.
As such, only enough room to move the head, the hands, the feet, is all that is required to optimize the circulatory flow throughout the body — rather than move or jump over mountains — to achieve the beneficial effects of exercise in any environment one feels most comfortable in, and has the inspiration and opportunity to do. That’s how easy, convenient, and accessible it can be — unless one insists that it has to be otherwise. Then it becomes an excuse not to do it.
