The Measure of Success

 What a lot of people don’t realize about those “Before” and “After” photos is that it is not about change over time — but change momentarily. When the entire objective is to build (pump) the body — rather than measure on any other criteria or performance — that can be seen by a tape measure and photos of that enhanced circulation known as the “pump.”

This can be so dramatic that many well-known physiques will not let anybody see them unless they are pumped — and their arm sizes are about 2″ larger than their arms are “cold.” Likewise, they may be fairly fit-looking before a workout, but seem twice as big, and virtually a different person — and that is why a lot of adolescents get hooked on bodybuilding and weight-training — because it does give them that instant gratification and success, particularly if it coincides with their puberty growth spurt. Then these transformations seem nothing short of miraculous — and dramatically affects their psyche and outlook on life thereafter.

As often as not, that is the significance of the “before” and “after” photos and measurements. It could just as well be the measure of change before and after a single workout — rather than the representation of change over time. That is the measure of the effectiveness of a product or practice — more than it is little change over many years — thinking it will miraculously morph into something unforeseen in the present practice and exercise.

Bodybuilding and weight-training is not alone in effecting such transformations. One can see it happen instantly in skin care products — and more familiarly, with the application of make-up, posture, manner, and dress. All this should not come as a secret; it should be obvious — and why astute people cultivate these advantages.

The worst outlook on life, is to feel that one can never change anything — about themselves, or any other happening in the world — no matter how much time, effort and resources one devotes to it. That is distinctly the value of movement, action, and intent: one can change the world, because they can change themselves — and that is the root of all action and intents.

They experience that as a fact — in their workouts — which the tape measure and photos merely confirm enough times initially that shortly, it is not required — but should not be forgotten — for those times in life when what used to work, no longer works. Then they have to go back to those basics, rather than merely presume it is still working — because they may be doing something entirely different now — that doesn’t work. It usually is because they are doing too few repetitions with too much weight — that it actually precludes doing anything productive, restorative or rehabilitative. That’s why there is no measurable change — no matter how long one stays at it.

But actually changing, is easily measurable — and that measure is significant. It is not merely the passage of time — with no change until eventually, one day, everything will have changed — but what exactly caused it, is anybody’s conjecture. Changing weights is the easiest thing to do — but changing the body itself is the greater objective. For that purpose, it doesn’t matter how much the weights have changed — while one has stayed the same.

That’s what most people don’t suspect — that the most consequential change, is what is happening to the body — and not the weight stack. Is the body being super pumped — or is it largely and mostly at rest? If one can sustain an optimal pumping effect, where is it going? — and how can one tell? The tape measure and before and after photos are easily obtainable self-evidence of this. Either it is happening — or it isn’t. Even in the older guys who believe they can no longer achieve a pump (because of age) — if they ever did.

That’s what makes bodybuilders and physique competitors fairly unique; that is their objective — which is not a bad thing for anybody to be able to do somewhat — because that is the rehabilitative process that also makes them grow. That is what is called the recovery ability — and when one loses that, deterioration and decline becomes a way of life. How does one know when that has become the predominant theme in their life? The tape measure and photo — of before and after. The decline is not inevitable. That becomes the measure of success.

Only a rare few improve persistently over time. That is what is significant to measure — and people who make that difference.

What 5% of the Effort -- Provides 95% of the Results

 People knowledgeable of High-intensity exercise have proven in study after study, as well as personal experience — that one such workout a week is sufficient to induce and sustain growth over the course of their lifetime. However, that doesn’t mean they only work out that once a week at that level of intensity. If that’s all they do — and nothing else the rest of the week — they are likely to experience extreme muscle soreness for nearly all that week until it is time for their next high-intensity once a week workout — which is not a pleasant way to go through life — always recovering, and then inflicting that same muscle soreness for another week, etc.

But that does not invalidate the fact that one hard workout a week is about all a body can stand — without prematurely burning out or getting injured in some mysterious way — causing many to give up exercise entirely once they reach the vulnerable, susceptible “older” ages — which of course becomes fatal at that stage of life. So the challenge for everyone, is to find that “pace” that allows them to remain exercising all their lives — rather than overdoing it for a short period of time, and then quitting completely — as is fairly typical. One desires to be the atypical person who wasn’t just active and in good shape 50 years ago in the past, but one at the top of their game until the end of life. That is the survival of the fitness — and not the many others who have fallen off the exercise bandwagon for some reason or another. At that point, it doesn’t matter what the excuse is — only that one is not doing the best they can — presently.

Thus one will see a lot of people giving advice in their later years — of what they claimed worked 50 years ago, but is simply unthinkable in their present condition — which might have gotten them this way. That includes the damaged knees, damaged backs, damaged hearts, drug addictions, personality disorders, etc. That is often the price the former great athletes had to pay for their moments of glory. To a lesser extent, that is also the calculus daily exercisers have to make as well. The question is, what 5% of the effort and expenditure, gets one 95% of the results and effects of beneficial exercise — and not as many people think, that unlimited more is always better — and guarantees favorable outcomes.

That is usually what naive and young people think — and think is sufficient to keep them always young — but a few grow wiser with time and age, and note that recovery ability is not unlimited — but has to be managed to last and optimize a lifetime. Of course, first we have to have a critical mass of people living to those older ages — before we note, that some do it better than others — as is true of most things in life. So increasingly, we see the great divergence of the healthy becoming unprecedentedly healthier — while there seems to be no limit to how dependent the not so fortunate in this respect can be kept merely alive indefinitely.

That gives a new meaning to the concept of “peak physical condition” beyond the past traditional measures and expectations of what that is — because it is being defined as we live it. It is not just whether we can still sprint a 100 yards — or do 10 pullups — but something much more meaningful in our daily living — as we actually require it. It is just as much about knowing one’s present capabilities and limitations — as it is establishing a “new personal best” by more conventional standards or event.

At some point in life, just successfully recovering from a hard (intense) workout, is accomplishment enough — because if one can maintain that “ability,” that is all the encouragement and motivation one needs. What is worrisome, is reaching a point in life at which one feels they can no longer recover — from anything, and just fall further into hopelessness and despair for the rest of their lives. That is what resilience is about — which is recovery ability — to adapt to the many challenges a life will bring — and that is more important than just doing what doesn’t need to be done — no matter how impressive.

Most are familiar that some version of a squat is desirable to maintain joint integrity of the lower body — but are often advised not to allow their knees to move as far forward as possible — which is precisely the requirement for engaging the ligaments and tendons of the ankle — as well as the plantar fascia of the feet. Yet the excuse for that performance is that it does not stress the knee joint — which is not the limitation in most people but the tightness of the ligaments and tendons of the ankle, as well as the tightness of the plantar fascia. Meanwhile, the knee maintained in a nearly upright position is obviously the most stressful to the knee by forcing all the weight only on to that one hinge (axis), rather than allowing all the joints of the leg to handle that load — and disburse it. That should be the whole purpose of that exercise (movement).

And similarly, for the upper body (shoulder girdle), the movement of greatest engagement is to attempt to touch one’s hands behind one’s back, with one arm going above the shoulder and the other going below the shoulder — as the productive calisthenic (freehand) movement that results in a quick muscle pump of those structures — more so than one could get with the jumping jacks. Such a movement engages all the muscles in one — rather than working only one at a time, with the obvious limitation that one simply runs out of time and energy to do such low-productivity workouts.

And the word on diet is simply that one is best off lowering carbohydrate intake as low as possible — because the healthy body has the capacity to create its own fuel (glucose) from its own healthy cells. That is the basis for the wisdom of the ketogenic diet and autophagy. There is no need to store glucose in the body — which results in obesity and diabetes (insulin/metabolic resistance). With these simple guidelines, achieving optimal health and functioning should not be the difficult resistance many make it out to be. Actually, that is how Nature intended it to be — and provided for, but we have to understand, and learn to work with — and not against.