The Wisdom of the Ages

 The Wisdom of the Ages

A person is either growing — or deteriorating; they never stay the same. That is the quality that gives them life — always changing, and so the direction of that change is up to them. The simplest gauge is whether they are improving on some measure of improvement — of which the most obvious, visible, and measurable is their appearance and quality of movement. That conveys the dynamism of their underlying health and robustness. They can do what they have to do — and not merely expend as much energy as possible with no rhyme or reason. Unfortunately, that is the mentality often taught as “exercise” — rather than the economy and efficiency of movement which is appropriate to any task — even in the realization that such expenditures of energy and the risks they entail, are unnecessary and wasteful uses of their time and energy.

Thus when people are clear in their objectives and intents, they can achieve meaningful results in everything they do — and so life turns out well for them — not by accident but because they are constantly refining their skills to increase their proficiency in what they do. Strength is a component of that but even more important is the skill at utilizing that strength — since very few tasks in life are accomplished by brute force and power. Rather, it is energy that has been channeled and honed to produce a precise effect and result — which accrues and transfers to all other aspects of their doing. That is the manner in which they do everything — from personal hygiene, household chores, preparing meals, and all the tasks of managing their environment and circumstances that give them the best chance for survival and prosperity — that they earned and is deserved, because they paid attention to these details that made it so.

So they don’t perish in a careless moment or overestimate their abilities — but know fairly accurately what they presently are — because they’ve regularly and recently exercised them — rather than simply reminiscing about what they used to do 50 years ago — but haven’t tested lately. Not that they have to win any medals or contests for their age-group — but it is enough not to have any limitations in doing anything in their daily lives, which might include walking up a flight of stairs, or carrying a week’s worth of groceries from the bus stop to their front door, or even riding a bike for that purpose. If they can maintain that level of regular daily activities, they are already far ahead of the crowd — in the most meaningful and productive way.

One would even say there is no distinguishing them from any other cohort. They are not adjudged young or old, but fit and able at fulfilling all the tasks of caring well for themselves. That is the healthy paradigm, and not the more contemporary expectation of one growing too weak to do necessary things for themselves — that begin insidiously with one thing — and predictably to everything. That level of total reliance and dependence on another, and even an army of caregivers just to maintain that one life, is an unsustainable vision of future life and society. Instead, everyone achieving that longevity, will have to merit it by their own dedicated and thoughtful self-care — as the only way possible, so the younger generations can do what they have to do — which is to take care of children properly and attentively so they do not become the next generation of people living on the streets — totally unprepared for productive and meaningful lives.

Not only do the old folks have to get healthier and more able (fit), every member of society has to carry their own weight — as the paradigm of a healthy society. Many think that is somebody else’s job — or responsibility, but that is the province of every sovereign life. That is to say that every such person is king of their own lives — and they are fully entitled to everything they can provide for themselves. They are not entitled to the fruits of the labors of everyone else — just because they are a privileged citizen demanding unlimited entitlements.

But in that doing, they remain stronger, more vibrant and able, and worthy of praise and emulation as the pioneers of the next evolution of human life and possibilities. The wisdom of aging has yet to be tapped — beyond trying to remain youthful. With all the information and products of these times, a quality of life unimaginable in the past is now possible for those who embrace those possibilities in living them — not with great determination and effort, but because it makes great sense to do it. The old dysfunctional and (co)dependent ways make them seem prohibitive.

That is also the old paradigm of strength training — that it must be a struggle against great resistance — rather than the integration of all the previous understandings that came before it — to be a better way of living and doing, rather than the age-old belief in the power of brute force. Strength and health comes by increasing the flow and circulation to areas we wish to improve — directly and manifestly. It doesn’t just happen because we make the already hardest and oftentimes only working muscle of the body work harder and faster — until it ultimately fails. We need to recruit all the other muscles of the body for this primary purpose — and that direction provides the nutrients by which the body grows healthier and stronger. That’s how all of life operates and evolves. It is the most natural thing. And then we are one with the universe and our environment — as Nature intended.

Heavy or Light?

 The father of modern day bodybuilding, Eugen Sandow, used 5 lb dumbbells for 50–100 repetitions in a daily workout of about 20 exercises lasting approximately an hour. He could also lift heavy weights but did not advocate that as a training style — but as a skill, as heavy weight lifting is actually, just as others would choose many other sports and activities to specialize in.

The major objective was to be as healthy and well-functioning as possible — to do whatever you want to do. That obviously begins with being as muscular as possible — rather than flabby, grossly underweight, unprepared and unpracticed. So the common theme underlining all fitness activities is to be at peak readiness for whatever one chooses to do — all their lives, and not sacrifice everything, including one’s health for a momentary glory and achievement — and even perish in the process — as is the lore of competitive bodybuilding — while the concept of general and healthful bodybuilding throughout one’s life, is always a good idea.

Every living being does that — as the survival imperative. That means being prepared for all the challenges of life — and not just the one — that is often the one that will prove fatal, or remain their greatest vulnerability until the end. One specifically hopes to strengthen that weakness so it is not the limiting factor In all one' does. That might be performance style as well as pure strength — and every record holder, prides themselves on their style and technique — over brute force and strength. Even the apex predators of land, sea, and sky, are renowned by their technique as the summation of their strengths.

But more importantly, it enabled the weak to become strong — not because of the resistance — but because of the technique for achieving that effect (result). In fact, it was noted that the resistance (weight) used, was not directly correlated to the results one got — but the manner of performance (form) was the greater common denominator in every activity. While not everybody can be the world record holder in that event, everyone can perfect their own form and function — which is their unique event of accomplishment. The right weight for that individual, is that weight that enables them to perfect their form and performance — regardless of the weight and resistance. More often than not, increasing the weight degrades the form — and every subsequent repetition degrades it further and is non- or counterproductive, and eventually injurious.

Meanwhile, the person who perfects their form, and maintains that standard throughout their lives — remain in exemplary condition and shape — and those repetitions are worth repeating. A famous YouTuber, Ric Drasin used to interview the former greats of bodybuilding — of which a common complaint was that they no longer got a pump — even despite doing the same thing they used to — mainly because the weights they were using were almost the same, while their forms in the manner of performance had greatly deteriorated — as to be virtually unrecognizable as that same exercise.

The proper course of action would have been to reduce the weight (resistance) significantly in order to perform at least one good repetition — which was now shortened to a movement of only a few inches — if that, and totally eliminating the most productive part of the movement, which was the muscle in full contraction. Their rationale for not going there anymore, was that range was no longer available to them because of the damage to their joints from years of lifting too heavy weights. The proper prescription at that point, is to reduce the weight to enable proper performance — over any other consideration, and then repeating that for a target of 50 repetitions — which is indicative that they could do more, or continue indefinitely if they had to. In that manner, they become an aerobic activity — which can be sustained indefinitely as long as required.

Most people in gyms do not do 50 repetitions of any exercise because they can’t — no matter how light the weight because their muscle fatigues — if done improperly, or anaerobically. That is to say that they run out of capacity because they are holding their breath, or breathing too shallowly. Meanwhile, they are not contracting and relaxing a muscle to constitute one complete movement (rep), but are merely holding a muscle in a fixed state of semi contraction while leveraging the weight up and down with the rest of their bodyweight. That was the rationale for Arthur Jones’ design of the Nautilus machines to provide variable resistance throughout the full range around one axis (focus) of movement — virtually going from zero to 100% of resistance — as the muscle involved moved from full relaxation to full contraction.

The problem with that thesis is that most trainees started with 100% of resistance at the position of greatest weakness and vulnerability — and never reached fullest muscle contraction because of that manner of performance. So in essence, they overrode the design genius, and made the movement worse — in using too heavy a weight. The proper course would have been to choose the right weight in the weakest position, and slowly increase the range of movement in the fully contracted position they could not come close to attaining by selecting too heavy a weight to start the movement with. So when those machines did not achieve the result he predicted for everybody, he thought it was necessary to create another line of machines for therapeutic and weaker individuals.

The flaw was not that they needed to add more weight — but needed to lighten the weight to enable the fullest range of movement — and doing more repetitions of that proper movement up to 50 times — which is virtually guaranteed to produce a pump in everybody, from the weakest to the strongest — because it has to! But in every video of training sessions and styles, that proper usage is absent — and overridden by the desire to use as much weight as possible. Not only is that unnecessary but counterproductive — because the major complaint among the old and disabled, is that they tire easily — and that is what prevents them from exercising productively and more intensely.

They require a manner of training, that increases their momentary ability to persist and endure — over any exertion that exhausts them from continuing — even if that prohibition comes from the many who claim to know better academically and theoretically what people should be doing — but can’t. More familiar versions of such advice is to ask that an untrained person do ten pullups — when they can’t even do one — but should continue practicing until they can do ten.

Weight-training or Cardio?

It is best to focus on weight training AND cardio for OVERALL fitness. You never know when you might need one or the other — and can adjust accordingly and appropriately. That is true for most of the real life situations one is likely to encounter — in every aspect of life. That is what we mean by “fitness” — being able to rise to the challenge of that particular instance, and not simply to go about our business no matter what. That is the very definition of “unfitness” — and one who is not long for this life, or basically doesn’t want to know what is going on. Instead, they will blissfully listen to their playlist and record for their Instagrams while the world is crumbling around them.

It is usually implied in these discussions that strength and stamina are two different qualities — rather than one and the same — dependent on a third variable, which is oxygen, or aerobic capacity. There is nothing inherently anaerobic in weight training; it can be done aerobically — which is at a rate that can be sustained indefinitely — as required. Otherwise, one does a single lift, and has no capacity for sustaining further efforts — just like running a 100 yard sprint. One can’t simply decide that they will run at that pace for a mile. It just cannot be sustained — at that level.

In most activities, one has to determine how much to leave in reserve — and not just exhaust oneself by the end of the first quarter. Championship teams have this ability to pace themselves properly for the entire duration of the game or effort; that means remaining in the game. It’s like going for a cross country bicycle ride: one can ride as fast as one can but after a mile, the legs have cramped up so severely nothing else is possible, but after a prolonged rest, they decide to slow down and see how much further they can go — and that becomes the cadence they know they can persist. That is not a formula but the trial and error of learning one’s actual capacities. That is what one is learning as one does it — and not that they’ve read some academic study — and so every outcome is assured, and then one just goes through the motions.

The best way to do cardio is by weight training because one is developing the rest of the musculature — and not just demanding the heart work harder, so one has an enlarged heart, and pipestem legs, arms, and neck — characteristic of a corpse. Hopefully, one is aiming to develop robustness obvious on sight — and not that we have to go to obscure measurements to know that for a fact.

Every effort raises the heart rate — but whether it produces meaningful and productive work is another matter entirely. As long as one is going to make the effort, they might as well build up the musculature — which is the storehouse of that capacity. Productive exercise in this sense is enhancing the flow (circulation) that builds by removing the waste products and providing nutrients by which cells grow and function well. That happens not because one wants it to — but is the very principle by which life works — and that makes a difference.

So when people say they exercise daily and get no results — that is not possible, because I’ve never seen it not work in anybody — training properly and effectively. Most of those people train improperly, and would be well-advised to seek out competent instruction — rather than continuing to do whatever they’re doing, which is usually playing with their phones — as their “exercise.” That’s what got them into the poor condition and shape they are — and will persist no matter what new theories they entertain. And that is what it is for them — merely more entertainment to waste their time, energy and money.

Even longtime exercisers are not immune from this — which they invariably attribute to “age,” rather than no longer doing it with the same attention they formerly gave to it — in their most productive years. If one compares the video of 50 years ago to how they train presently, it is quite obvious they are not doing the same thing — but now getting no results just like everybody else training in similar fashion. That’s not because they can’t lift heavy anymore, but because of noticeably restricted range of motion, inadequate repetitions, and overly generous rest periods recovering from improperly done movements.

If they’ve been conditioned to believe that the weight they are using is the most significant measure of productivity, they will think that anything less is unproductive — rather than realizing that the objective and measure, should be on the difference between the contraction and the relaxation as the indicator of flow — which is the given in how the heart works as an effective pump. It has to fully contract alternated by a full relaxation — but no voluntary (skeletal) muscle works that way unless consciously and deliberately worked that way. Otherwise, it will just remain at rest — and thus fluids will accumulate in the tissues — because of that lack of strong pumping action from the skeletal muscles. In some people, it is worse than others.

The remedy is not making the heart work harder and faster — but in producing similar pumping action at the extremities to optimize the circulation (circuit) by contracting (compressing) the residual fluids out first — so then the tireless heart, has space to pump the blood into with as little resistance possible. Otherwise, the stagnant fluid is the resistance — that prevents new nutrients from entering. In this way, weight training complements the work of the heart for its greatest effectiveness and health — and not that one OR the other is sufficient.

Bodybuilding versus Sarcopenia

 What most people call training with heavy weights is resting — and the results show it. What a person really benefits from is actually moving — rather than not moving 95% of the time. That is the major reason people training with lighter weights achieve superior results — because they are exercising most of their gym time, rather than resting 99% of the time to justify lifting a heavier weight. But the heavier weight NOT being lifted produces predictably no results. If a person uses a maximum weight, they will fail not because of true muscle failure — but because of cardiopulmonary failure as the struggle to breathe becomes paramount and overriding . I’ve never seen anybody override that failure — while mistaking it for true muscle failure.

The only way to ensure coming close to true muscle failure, is to use a lighter weight to allow for the fullest relaxation as well as the alternating fullest contraction — which is the pumping effect, just as the ultimate pump of the body works. While the heart always works in that manner — alternating the fullest contraction with the fullest relaxation, the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body can effect varying states of contraction and/or relaxation, and unfortunately, most people aren’t aware of these extremes unless instructed, or trained on a Nautilus machine designed expressly to achieve that alternating range — around a single axis of rotation (focus). But even then, the fullest range of that articulation, is achieved by using a weight light enough to accommodate the relaxation phase and not the heaviest weight one can handle in the contraction — which is how the Nautilus machines defeated the purpose of its own design.

In using a heavy weight, the muscle never really relaxes — or is allowed to relax as an essential part of the movement. Instead, it always maintains a certain degree of contraction — even as the relaxation, and as such, there is very limited change in the muscular state — limiting the blood flow. The same is true of the other extreme, of relaxing — but never contracting, or only limited so — which is the reason certain activities can be sustained indefinitely — or risk failure at an inopportune moment. Under such circumstances, failing at that moment could risk injury — or worse. But nobody in their right mind would train to that limit each and every time — unless they could not avoid it. That would be the life or death situation actually requiring it — while not tempting fate unnecessarily, and familiarizing oneself with those limits —as the margin for safety.

However, that does not prevent the most zealous from testing those limits too often — with prematurely shortened lifespans for such abuses — as seen in the enlarged hearts of people thought to be in the best of health otherwise. The heart is the critical failure — and not meant to be pushed over the limits as though it has infinite ability to adapt. It is in every case, the limiting factor of that body — and the last thing that needs to be push to its limits. Meanwhile, most of the other muscles of the contemporary sedentary body is underused and underutilized — and that is what needs to be exercised. The heart can take care of itself — and the rest of the body, but not so all the other muscles of the body. Those have to be deliberately and intentionally programmed and exercised (conditioned) to maintain and increase their health — because that is not automatic, and the reason some are more successful than others at maintaining their health as they age.

That very few people do over time, is an indication not that something is wrong with their age — as it is their lifestyle and behaviors. If they are not getting better and healthier, they are obviously not doing what they need to do to change that to produce more favorable results — even if it is doing something different than what is producing poor results for everyone unfailingly. Just continuing to do what is not working is obviously not going to work. One has to do things differently — to work.

Bodybuilding could be done with or without weights. The critical feature is the understanding of the importance of the differing muscular states and how it is effected — by the movement itself. There is a position in which a muscle is fully relaxed, and a position in which a muscle is fully contracted — and it is the fullest expression of that difference that is the power — to maintain health, development, functioning — and not magical equipment or supplements. One needs to first have the most basic understanding of why everything could be beneficial — and not that magical thinking gets results because one believes it enough.

Better Than Running

 As people get older, they often lose the ability to run -- or just don't like to do it anymore -- for various good reasons.  The usual culprits are the high impact taken by the foot, knees, hips and back, but lesser recognized, is the feeling of being winded -- and the reason for this is the high impact on the torso, knocking the wind out of the body from that jolt as the foot hits the ground with at least half of its bodyweight.  

Absorbing that shock/jolt/impact will force air out of the lungs causing one to breathe shallowly, erratically and rapidly -- rather than deeply and slowly.  It forces the breath to conform to that striking (impact), rather than conforming the movement to adapt to the breathing rate -- or rhythm.  And it is the breathing rhythm that ultimately determines the aerobic efficiency that enables one to persist in that movement/effort tirelessly.

That is the very definition of what it means to be aerobic -- or exercising with breathing, as opposed to not breathing, characteristic of anaerobic exercise.  Very simply put, aerobic exercise is that which can be sustained for extended periods of time because there is a good supply of oxygen provided by optimal breathing -- while anaerobic exercise and effort, does not expect or require those efforts to continue beyond the single great effort.  As such, it doesn't matter if the body fails entirely after that one great effort.

The problem arises if that one supreme effort does not accomplish the objective -- and requires a subsequent great effort, etc.  At that realization, one has to recalibrate their strategy for whether that requires a greater supreme effort, or whether lesser persistent efforts would be more effective.  In more cases than not, the smaller effort persisted as long as it takes, is much more suited to accomplishing most objectives than the one and done supreme effort -- beyond which it does not matter if one lives or dies thereafter.

The well known saying, is to live another day -- to accomplish what one has to -- as long as it takes.  That is very convenient for those planning to live a long life anyway.  To those in a hurry, it is now or never -- with no practice or improvement possible -- or necessary.  That manner of operation is usually not a good idea -- because it does not allow for the use of time -- which is one's greatest ally and asset throughout life.

The key question to ask is whether doing less might result in more -- and not simply more unquestionably?  At what point does fast-walking overtake slow-running?  Or more to the point, can race-walking beat jogging as a better fitness activity -- for most people?  The superiority of race-walking is that it requires the engagement of the upper body as much as it does the fullest articulation of the leg joints.  That is to say, that it is by its very nature a whole-body exercise -- and that is what gives it its peculiar articulation and expression.

The rules of its performance, require one to do it properly -- with no further instruction necessary.  There is no vertical lift off of the ground -- and so no impact on the body.  That is obviously how the body is designed to move -- and could -- for as long as it has to.  It's not the fastest -- but it is the fastest that can be sustained for as long as it has to be.

Most people don't walk or jog with their arms -- but they should to get a full body workout.  Those movements are even more constrained on a treadmill or stationary bike.  They've just been led to believe that only the heartrate matters -- and if the heart is beating maximally, it must be forcing the circulation through the inert parts of the body -- which anybody who has done prolonged distance cycling knows is not true.  The hands will go numb -- as well as other parts of the body no matter how hard and forcefully the heart is working.

That is true even with walking without the active engagement of the arms -- often experienced as the swelling in the hands even after a long walk.  The proper and effective circulation requires the active engagement (articulation) of those muscles and joints -- and not just because the heart is working maximally.  That is why such people even become atrophied in parts of their body -- while becoming overdeveloped in those parts that are actually moved.

And so for a well-developed, proportioned physique, it would behoove a person to actually move the parts of their body they want to develop -- including and especially at the cognitively important head., hands and feet -- which conveniently, are the easiest parts of the body to move.  And in doing so, one will note that that has a profound effect on the movement, functioning and development of the musculature proximal to those distal joints.  That is how the circulation is effected and optimized --  from the extremities back towards the heart, rather than as erroneously thought, from the heart to the extremities.

That is the major reason why exercise conducted with that understanding fails to achieve the desired results.  It is like pouring water uphill and wondering why it will not flow.

Strength-Training or Cardio: Which is Better?

 There are no exercises one can do that will not elevate the heart rate — while one can elevate the heart rate without a corresponding actual movement or productivity. That of course, is a reaction to a stressful or emotional situation which one can do little about — that takes a toll on the body resources nevertheless. Understanding that, it is meaningless to talk about doing only cardio exercise to manipulate the heart rate (and of course sell all the paraphrenalia) associated with that concept — that the heart is unrelated and unconnected to all the other muscles and functioning, and requires conscious and willful efforts to get the heart pumping.

Voluntary muscles require that conscious and willful efforts to operate — but not the heart. The heart is an autonomic function — which means it is hardwired to function as it needs to, and not because one wants to achieve a “target” heart rate. That is the greatest misunderstanding in the fitness world — because it leads people to believe they can obtain all the benefits of healthful exercise and activities just by manipulating the heart rate to measure as certain arbitrary number — rather than in thinking that all activity has to conform to the limits of heart functioning — or that there will be that critical failure.

Thus the wise course, is to condition to that natural limitation — rather than naively thinking that anything is possible — if one simply believes in it ardently enough. That is why many bodybuilders die prematurely — as well as marathoners — including the original legendary runner who inspired that race. At some point one has to recognize one’s own limits — and not just think that the body will respond to any demand placed on it — infinitely. That’s not the real world, and the whole point of fitness activities, is to prepare oneself to function optimally in whatever challenges and conditions one has to, and not unilaterally demand that reality must bend to one’s own will — despite the realities of the situation.

Such conditioning (education) is useless and counterproductive (injurious), and likely to produce a premature ending — and the whole point in life is surviving, and optimizing the conditions for doing so. That always begins with discovering one’s own unique limitations and possibilities, and not just assuming that the universal “average” is one’s own. That is partly what one is here to find out — the actuality of the matter, and not just the academic and theoretical. In this, one is greatly aided by their own senses and sensibilities — and based on that information, one proceeds further.

The main difference between strength-training and “cardio” exercise is this testing of reality as opposed to theoretical abstracts of an arbitrary ideal determined by “correlation” rather than “causation.” That is to say that the bodybuilder knows what movements produce a verifiable and visual pump in the muscle addressed, while the cardio effects cannot be detected in the here and now — but is taken as a matter of faith that one is doing the right thing — because certain self-designated experts say so.

That is to observe that when lifting a heavy weight, the heart rate will surely elevate in doing so, but simply elevating the heart rate will not ensure the success of a monumental effort — because the focus is misplaced to the heart rate — rather than more properly, in the muscles involved and coordinated to achieve that effect. The heart function simply takes care of itself — automatically, because that is how it is designed and evolved to do — and not that conscious effort and attention to that, will guarantee a favorable outcome in the performance of anything else.

A Word to the Wise

A few weeks back I was experiencing severe knee pain and searched the YouTube videos on various opinions on the subject, and one of the more helpful tips on walking up and down stairs was to place the feet with the toes at a 45 degree angle to the stairs. I did that for a few weeks and it was moderately helpful in reducing the pain — but seems to require a lot of attention that never became natural and fluid. But then I added leaning my weight forward as I went up the stairs — and leaning my weight back as I descended the stairs — and it became a very natural and pleasant movement again.

Then, it seems like one is falling up the stairs, and properly resisting falling down the stairs. As one ages, I think they tend to get it backwards. Using hands is not cheating but what they are designed for.

Another popular idea for developing and maintaining leg strength for this ultimate daily test is the lunge.

Most people will find lunges very hard on the knees — done in the manner usually prescribed by exercise instructors — to produce maximum pain. The way to make them easy is to hold on to the back of a chair in a comfortable fore and aft leg position and gently rock back and forth with the knee moving over the toes and then back in alignment with the ankle to the extent there is no pain in the knee joint. But that gentle movement will cause the cartilage to secret synovial fluid into that joint — which is a form of mucus that is the lubricant for movement in the body, and why it also lines the mucus membranes that lubricates the digestive, respiratory, lymphatic systems, etc. The other major fluid of the body is of course the blood — which is more obvious in how it moves more forcefully and visibly.

However, the joints are not lubricated by the blood as much as they are by the synovial fluid effected by changes in the compression of the cartilage — preferably repeated many times rather than few repetitions with a heavy load. In this case, it doesn’t matter how hard or heavy a load the joint is bearing, as the simple movement throughout its full range — as in cross-country bicycling at a slow pace — enabling one to persist all day. That is the kind of fitness most seniors require to maintain an active life throughout their years. Nothing violent or heroic — unless they absolutely have to, otherwise, the difference is not how fast they can walk or run, but that they can still walk or run at all. Likewise, they don’t need to bench press their bodyweight, but just have the upper body strength to push open the doors, etc.

That is the difference that makes a difference — that they can do all the daily activities independently — for as long as they live — and not that they’re still competing in their age-class and risking debilitating injuries.  Easy does it.