Exercising Made Easy

 Proper and effective exercise can be achieved with just the understanding of the human body — and how it evolved to work and maintain itself — and failing to do so accounts for a lot of the difficulties we experience as insurmountable problems in our lives. What is the human body designed to do? It is to move at the head, hands and feet — which is precisely what most popular contemporary exercises ignore entirely — in favor of what they believe are the “core” muscles and development — which have no function and meaning except for an ultimate expression at the head, hands and feet.

The muscular design is for the insertion (distal) of each muscle to contract towards the origin (proximal) — and not that one can produce a contraction starting at the core, or origin out towards the extr emity. This is a very important concept to understand — and when it is properly understood — makes any exercise or activity meaningful and productive, rather than just thinking that the object of every activity is to burn as many calories as possible. Or, not much better, to work the heart as hard as possible — as though it wasn’t already the hardest working muscle (organ) of the body. That is not the problem — but that in most contemporary people, the rest of the muscles in the body — are doing nothing most of the time.

So one asks, “What is the most productive thing those muscles could do?” Is it walking, running, jumping, lifting, martial arts, golf, treadmill, etc? If one is thinking clearly, it would be to help the heart in optimizing the circulation process — particularly at the known weaknesses of the furthest extremities known for its poorest circulation, which then causes all kinds of havoc — including the amputation in people of the feet most commonly, and the lack of circulation to the brain and head, which makes every other functioning meaningless and irrelevant.

If one can improve one’s circulation and functioning to any part of the body, what would be one’s priority? The abs, the pecs, the delts, the biceps, the lats, etc. Any intelligent person would say the brain — and not that the brain can take care of itself — but I need the largest bicep in the world, and that is my key to success in life. But if one gives precedence to the brain, the brain decides if it needs a bigger bicep, but a bigger bicep will not think to develop a bigger brain. One recognizes that the critical path of all development, has to be the brain first — and every other consideration second. But then, in a more reflective and thoughtful moment, one would realize the importance of the fine motor development and control of the hand second, and then the feet as critical to maintaining the upright human posture and propulsion as the feet levers against the ground.

We largely take those extremities (organs) for granted — and that is our problem — and not the lack of bigger quads, glutes, biceps, etc. That is not what is going to fail first — but if one activates the furthest most contraction, it triggers off all the supporting muscles closer to the center — where all the muscles have to be anchored next to the heart. Otherwise, all the muscles are disconnected and isolated — and so it is possible to develop disproportionately rather than proportionately as an fully integrated movement from the extremities makes necessary. Then there is no missing link or weakness that predisposes one to injury — or undue wear and tear.

Those joints made to move are moved, and those structures made to provide support and stability for the expressions (articulations) at the head, hands and feet, are not moved excessively and unnecessarily to require routine replacements as part of normal aging. That should be an indication that one is using the body improperly and abusively — and a matter of time before one is injured or impaired. That would be counterproductive to what we hope to be achieving with proper exercise — improvement and enhancement without the excessive and unnecessary risk of injury and even premature death — in the thinking that what doesn’t kill them will make them stronger. You don’t want to be that guy.

A very common sight in gyms — as well as the general population — is to see the modern physique of undeveloped and atrophied neck, forearms and calf muscles — while the development of those areas are sufficient proof that the rest is well-developed enough to support the formidable development at the extremities. But obviously, vice-versa is not true — and is more than just a matter of taste and aesthetics. That is a better measure of functionality (fitness) than how hard and fast the heart is working. That is evidenced by hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills — and not just the gross at the core of the body. That is what people tend to lose as they age — or deteriorate at any age. Yet somehow, they are overlooked — in the zeal to sell exercise equipment, machines and programs.

So we have the problems of arthritis at the hands, feet, and neck — because we never move those parts — even as much as we walk, run, bike, treadmill, and lift weights. Inevitably those parts will be involved — but the full range of that muscle from its ultimate contraction to fullest relaxation is not the intent as it should be — that enhances the blood flow through that area by the action of the voluntary muscular contraction rather than the mistaken notion that the heart can do it alone — unaided by the rest of the much more massive musculature. That is what the muscles can do most productively — and that is the healthiest thing it can do. That is why the body evolved as it did — to make all these things possible, and with the best understanding of it, optimize its functioning.

Is One Set Enough?

 Many people think that “progressive weight training” is simply using more weight — rather than considering all the variables. Number one is considering range of motion. The early bodybuilders were very adamant that one had to begin their movement from the greatest stretch possible — and then move into the fullest contraction possible, and alternate that change of muscular state as “one repetition.” But when one thinks that all that matters is how much weight one loads the bar/machine up to and then proceeds to move only a few inches by adjusting the leverage rather than by muscle change — and not going anywhere close to the fullest relaxation and fullest contraction — that manner of performance explains why they don’t achieve favorable benefits from all their “exercise.” They can exercise in that manner until the cows come home, and won’t obtain the benefits of properly executed exercise. Ultimately, that is what they are hoping to exercise and become proficient at — changing muscular states.

Then once that is established as what one is trying to achieve — then the number of repetitions becomes the second consideration of importance. Most people will achieve muscle failure at 50 repetitions — without prolonged resting — performed in this full range manner, whatever weight they are using. So if they are smart, they will select the lightest weight that makes 50 repetitions possible. Once they have obtained momentary muscle failure — nothing more is necessary — or possible. But rather than resting as long as possible to make further effort possible, the more productive strategy is to move onto the next exercise on one’s agenda, and then the next, until one has completed their entire workout with as little rest as possible — and one is completely exhausted. That manner of exercising would make it “aerobic” or “cardio” because an effort sustained for so long, has to be done with attention to breathing — while six repetitions can be done without proper attention to breathing, which makes it ‘anaerobic.” Thus, one has to rest overly long to recover from that deficit.

In fact, properly performed movement actually rides the breathing contraction and will then act as a pre-exhaustion for the subsequent exercise because there is no cardiovascular failure prohibiting further efforts. But unlike using too heavy weights, a light weight becomes heavy — until finally, one cannot even lift their arms without any weight or resistance. That is true muscle failure. That is the state one hopes to obtain in working out — that signals to the body that it must become stronger and more enduring. If it spends 90+% of its time resting, then there is no imperative to become stronger and more able. One simply quits whenever it is convenient to and adapts to the resting state — and so those “results” are not immediately apparent, as it is for those who have learned to make that transformation instantaneously. That is what the physique competitors become good at — making that impressive transformation.

Many are impressive coming in off the streets, but what distinguishes the champion bodybuilders from all the others, is this ability to transform to even greater levels than their fellow competitors can — which was the scientific flaw of Arthur Jones and his Nautilus principles. Rather than selecting a random population sample to “prove” his ideas, he found the two people who were the greatest genetic freaks in making those transformations — and nobody else came close. What makes something “scientific” is that it can be proven on random population samples — and not self-selected individuals with that predisposition for exhibiting those qualities one hopes to exhibit.

That is to say that what works for Casey Viator or Sergio Oliva, is not necessarily going to work for anybody else — but what works for a broad population of 70 year olds, probably has merit. By then, that population sample has already entered into those years in which muscle atrophy is the distinguishing characteristic of that population — and anything that defies and defeats it, is extraordinarily significant. By that measure, traditional and conventional exercise does not work — or it would have been demonstrated conclusively a long time ago. Just simply more of that is not going to work — no matter how strident the belief.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing can work — only that what we thought might work, hasn’t worked before — and so maybe we need to rethink it entirely to match the realities, rather than persisting in the belief that if we wish it hard enough, it will become reality. That is the paradigm of contemporary exercise — and why it doesn’t work, or only works among the young — and then fails utterly as people age, and need it most to work. It doesn’t make sense and is only our desire to impose our will over that reality.

Of course most people would like to believe that they can get into better shape by not doing anything — or just doing whatever they want to do — regardless of the consequences or the results. But life doesn’t work that way. Or merely doing the opposite of whatever life is telling us. That creates a lot of extra work and jobs, and for many, busyness itself is its own virtue and reward. Thus, many still think that proper exercise is simply a matter of burning the most calories — rather than actually getting “results,” and especially, with as little expenditure of time, energy and other resources. The object of a car is not simply to burn as energy as possible but to actually get somewhere — preferably as economically and efficiently as possible.

But one has to measure the output (results) and not simply the inputs (efforts and good intentions) — that can be unlimited with no commensurate results. So when we ask is one set sufficient to optimize gains, the better question is in what manner of training, is nothing more possible? That would obviously be doing 50 repetitions of one exercise immediately followed by the next exercise for 50 repetitions, etc until the body is fully exhausted. There is no place for multiple sets — which means resting for more than one is actually exercising. That is the reason most people fail to make gains — they’re resting most of the time — claiming they are doing “multiple sets” — to failure even. They don’t have the slightest idea what that is.

If they do only one set to failure (or 50 repetitions), that will produce the extreme muscle soreness that will take about a week to recover from — if they do nothing else. But the quickest way to recover from that extreme muscle soreness is just to exercise alternating the contraction and relaxation of those muscles because that action is the circulatory effect that removes the inflammation and promotes healing. Such daily exercises until the next gym workout is for the recovery and consolidation of those gains.

That’s how one set of each exercise is more than enough, and one gym workout a week, is more than enough — to sustain gains at any age, because what one is doing then, is working on their recovery ability — and that is the problem of aging and disease. Then, even the exceptional, run out of recovery ability — and go into irreversible decline. But that is not necessarily inherent in aging. Some activities are more productive than others — and that is what the true scientists are trying to isolate — and not just doing anything, and wondering why it doesn’t work.

Any Time, Any Where

 Sitting or lying does not preclude being able to exercise. It can be done anywhere, at any time, under any conditions. ‘The prerequisite for beneficial exercise, is knowing what exercise is — and does, and not simply following the directives of some authoritarian figure presuming to know what is best for everybody — having never thought it through for themselves, but only being “conditioned” to do what they are commanded to. That’s what passes for exercise and physical education in unenlightened societies and cultures — and why there is great resistance to doing what doesn’t make perfectly good sense. But that is irrelevant because the “conditioning” to just do — without question or understanding, is the whole purpose and intent of such conditioning.

The rationale and justification for exercise is that it enhances the circulatory effect — beginning with the proper understanding of breathing — because it is oxygen and other nutrients that one is attempting to circulate, while effectively removing the accumulation of waste products of the body due to extraordinary exertion — as well as normal metabolic processes that are going on all the time as the minimum requirements for sustaining life at the most basic level. With that understanding of the “basics,” then one can concoct a strategy for maximizing those benefits while eliminating the invariable and inevitable negatives — which occurs in everything one does in life.

Thus, one assesses first, what is the reward to risk of what I’m proposing to do — rather than adopting the reckless abandon of thinking that “whatever doesn’t kill me, will make me stronger.” Life doesn’t work that way — so even the lion does not take on the bull elephant, or the shark the orca — which will surely kill them — no matter how many times they try. Instead, they know better to harvest the low-hanging fruit first before attempting to get at the most difficult — and precarious, thereby risking life and limb. Those are the inviolable rules of survival, and learning those lessons well, enables one to live a good and long life.

Sitting in itself is not a bad position to be in — and is usually preferred to standing all day, or even lying all day. If sitting precluded healthy exercise, then bicycle riding wouldn’t qualify as healthy exercise — nor would most of the equipment in the gym consist of flat and adjustable benches. Nor would the weightlifter or football player sit down at every chance they have. The problem with standing all day is the steady state muscle tension/relaxation that doesn’t vary which produces the pumping (circulatory) effect that rids the tissues of waste products and creates space for new nutrients. One has to precede the other — and the new cannot simply force out the old occupying that space.

That’s what muscle contraction does — squeeze out the old fluids — so upon that muscle relaxation, there is space to accept the new. That’s how breathing also works: the old has to be contracted (compressed) out first, and upon relaxation, the atmospheric pressure will fill the lungs with fresh air — and not simply that one can suck in air harder despite the lungs not being emptied first. “Lungs” very specifically means branching tissue — requiring air and fluids to take a very specific fixed path. It is not just a balloon where every random air molecule, can go wherever it wants to. The circulatory (blood) system also has that same construction — requiring the old first to be pushed out, and upon relaxation, new nutrients are drawn into that space (vacuum.)

Then when one has that proper understanding on that very fundamental and basic level, one can easily design the functioning that optimizes that. The contraction beginning at the furthest extremity (joint) will cause all that fluid to be evacuated towards the center of the body — but if there is no movement at those extremities — there is only a contraction from that joint actually moving — which may be minimally at the shoulder and hip girdles, while placing greater demands on the heart alone — and so that kind of exercise has been deemed “cardio,” because there is no commensurate effort otherwise. That is an artificial construct devised by people who sell “cardio” equipment, rather than the requirements of movement in the natural world, which would more accurately measure output rather than input.

That is to say, that it doesn’t matter how hard the heart can be forced to work, if it results in no measurable difference in output or outcomes. The far more meaningful measure, is the movement at the hands, feet and head — just like placing the thermostats at the farthest reaches of the house — and not in the furnace itself. It doesn’t matter how hard the heart is working — if it never gets that flow to the hands, feet and head — the critical faculties of the body. That’s where most of the senses are located.

It is a well-known phenomenon of contemporary life that those senses and faculties fail in people long before the heart does — because of this lack of effective circulation — resulting in weakened hand and foot strength, cognitive functioning indicated by the deterioration of the neck musculature and appearance, coinciding with decreasing head movement. Those are the joints and parts of the body that actually need to be moved — and is irrelevant whether one is standing, sitting, or lying — or for that matter, is in outer space.

The movement at the neck, wrists and ankles can all be effected sitting, lying, or standing — inconspicuously and largely unnoticed unlike most traditional exercises which aim to be as conspicuous and attention-seeking as possible. That is the way most people have been conditioned to think exercise “has to be” — appealing for the validation of others, and if nobody is going to pay them any mind, they’re just not going to do it. They don’t quite get it that exercise is good they are doing for themselves, and not for the good of everybody else — if that even makes sense. Thus, they won’t care, if everybody else doesn’t — first. And if nobody cares, they’ll quit at their first opportunity — or just won’t do it at all.

So the understanding has to precede the doing — and once one is clear about what they are doing, then it is a simple matter to devise the movements Nature quite intended for humans to do. Move the head left and right, up and down. Move the closed hand towards the palmward direction, and the knuckleward direction. Move the heels up and down, and feet side to side for 50 reps as an impromptu exercise whenever one has the opportunity to — and those motions, will increase the circulation to the extremities of the body — where the body begins to break down because of that deficiency of effective circulation.

Then once a week, have a gym workout — and maintain that schedule for the rest of their lives — for a higher intensity capability — using those same principles and priorities.

Making Exercise Easy and Possible

There is no lack of "teachers" who can make any subject difficult, complicated and impossible to understand -- and therefore master.  Promoting that, ensures their own lifelong job security -- until the student breaks free from that codependency -- and moves on.  

That is part of the journey in any learning -- which true teachers also recognize and encourage.  The bad teachers never want their students to move on and do without them -- and that is the problem of many primitive cultures in which the "witch doctors" keep as many people as possible under their personal control.  That is the essential feature of such societies -- the control by others, and power derived outside of oneself.

But with the development of civilization, individuals are increasingly empowered to be their own light and motive power -- rather than the instruments of any other -- particularly of forces they may never be aware of.  Then that is like living in those more primitive societies in which one never realizes who is pulling their strings and pushing their buttons-- as though they thought of these things themselves.

That's why it is so important to know oneself -- both the powers and limitations -- and in that process, discover the real -- and not just what somebody else would have them believe is the truth of the matter.  Many such teachers, would have us believe that what they know, is all that can be known -- when in fact, any explanation is not the ultimate truth but just the quest for a better explanation -- particularly if the explanation merely justifies why everything is going wrong -- working with that current "understanding."  But that does not solve the problem -- and in fact, may be one of these explanations that can never be tested for truth because it is purely hypothetical.

In philosophy and science, it is not the knowledge itself that is so important -- as it is whether it can be proven in each instance to be a valid truth in each individual case.  If not, then its value is unproven, and it really doesn't matter what one believes.  Any explanation will be as good as any other -- because none can be tested for the truth, or is untestable.

Fortunately, most of life is not that way -- but easily accessible for any individual to test the truth of the matter for themselves.  Yet many don't -- because they have been indoctrinated to believe that the truth is what somebody else says it is -- and they cannot test the truth for themselves, because they are not the "experts."  People don't usually become good at what they do by listening to the experts -- but in discovering the truth of the matter for themselves.  Those are the real experts, and not those who know what somebody else taught them is the truth -- and they inquire no further.

Those are the inquiring minds -- to whom the known is just the beginning and not the end of their quest for the ultimate limits of any truth and understanding.  Nowhere is it more possible to test the truth and validity than in exercise and physical education -- because the results are direct and immediate -- and not just in some other time and place far away.  If competitive bodybuilders prove nothing else, it is that such immediate manifestations and transformations are possible.  That is the underlying theme in any quest -- and not simply doing the same things somebody has told them to without commensurate and immediate results.

The major rationale for proper exercise is not that one will look and feel better a year or ten years from now -- but that it does effect that affect immediately, and improves with practice.  That is what one is learning -- and not just mindlessly burning as many calories as possible -- doing anything!  Likewise, it doesn't matter how much money one spends -- but how much value one obtains in those exchanges that improve the quality of their lives.  So obviously, one should devote all one's attention to what they are doing -- and not simply doing as much as possible, burning as many calories as one can.  

But that is the mindset many have in doing anything -- usually because some authority told them so -- and not that they ever learned anything on their own, and so when facing any challenge, they ask everybody else what they should do -- without bothering to test their own capabilities and understanding on the matter -- and then consulting the collective wisdom of the known.  That is the challenge under which most will have to live their lives -- and why we were each given our own brain and senses.

Not even little children first consult their parents before attempting to find out the truth of the matter for themselves -- by themselves.  They often will try and try again -- before one day miraculously standing all by themselves.  Some personalities and predispositions will be more inclined than others.    But the understanding shouldn't be a limiting factor -- except when imposed as what a few self-designated experts regard as their exclusive economic opportunity.

Life is more important than that.  A basic right is that everyone should first resort to their own brain and senses -- before asking anybody else what to do.  That is already going about it in the wrong way.  The value of exercise, conditioning, practice, and improving, is that skillset comes in handy throughout their lives -- but especially so when they are retired and in declining health.  Rather than continuing to get worse, one should experiment to see if one can get better -- even resurrecting themselves from the nearly dead back to unprecedented good health.  What have they got to lose? -- and everything to gain -- even if ultimately, they run out of time and life.

So does everybody else.  That is the great equalizer.  We all come into the world alone, and leave it alone.  Nothing has ever changed that -- not even the great pharoahs and emperors of old -- who thought they could bring everybody else with them -- to continue to serve them in the next world.  But at that point, one would be deluding oneself to think that one would still be in-charge and controlling everybody else.

The genius in exercise, conditioning and fitness, is not how to make it harder for everyone, but how to make it easier -- so that even those on their death beds or at death's door, can still do it to get better -- and that is the greatest challenge of their lives at that moment.  That may be the difference between moving on, or staying unmoved forevermore.

Everything else is variations on those basics.  The heart works by alternating a full contraction with a full relaxation.  If it only contracts, or only relaxes, it is no good.  It has to do both.  But that is not so much a problem with the heart, as it is with every other muscle in the body -- of never contracting again.  It is like CPR for the rest of the body.  One knows that alternating a compression with a rest, is necessary for life itself -- and beyond that, all the muscles of the body could be trained to mimick the heart in that way -- optimizing the circulation that ensures and enables healthy functioning and development.

Some exercise researchers claimed that the soleus muscle was a second heart -- pumping the blood back to the heart -- and not realizing all muscles will act as a pump when contractions (compressions) are alternated with relaxations.  That is the principle of fluid dynamics.  That is all that is necessary to effect (optimize) the flow -- of blood surely, but also the lymphatic fluids that allowed to stagnate and accumulate, become the scourge of inflammation and all disease and malfunction.  So just knowing that, is worth all the other.

But most have never thought about it -- as much as people all over the world participate in these athletic events and competitions -- until of course, they can't.  They're good up to that point -- but then many fall off the cliff -- even before they get to middle age, and some after they leave kindergarten.  That's way too early to stop learning anything more.

At this age and stage, we are rewriting life itself -- in just living it.  No need for added drama and difficulty.  The easiest movements to do, are simply moving at the head, hands and wrists -- producing those alternating muscular contractions/relaxations -- at the furthest extremities one moves at -- which would be at the head, hands, and feet -- where it is most productive and healthy to do so.  It is as simple as that.  You don't need to get the whole body around the track -- but can get a better health effect by simply alternating contractions at the extremities with the most critical organs of the body -- that makes each individual distinctive.

The Holy Grail of Health

 The question is not whether exercise works and is good for you, but what does one prioritize in a world of limited time, energy and resources?

We see that in older people, what breaks down are the critical faculties at the head, hands and feet — or cognitive function, grip strength, and foot strength (balance), as the major markers of decline — or good health. Those are neuromuscular functions — or voluntary — rather than cardiovascular — which is autonomic. That means that what one can make the most significant difference, is what one can control — rather than what is automatic. The neuromuscular effects the cardiovascular system automatically, while simply increasing the heart rate, does not indicate or improve athletic performance. That is to say that lifting a weight will increase the heart rate, but simply increasing the heart rate, will not necessarily lift a weight.

And in fact, what is usually called cardio exercise, is usually done with very little movement of the upper body, as well as foot articulation. It is the full range articulation at that axis that causes the muscle to be fully contracted or fully relaxed. Just shuffling one’s feet with little of that change of muscular states precludes that flow to the extremities — while the core may continue to function for years. And that is the problem of the unexcercised body — the willful voluntary muscles hardly move again. That movement causes blood and fluids to circulate to those areas — and without it, the circuit is circumscribed.

The heart may be working harder — but none of the other muscles of the body are — and they contribute greatly to the circulatory effect. It is that circulation that produces muscle growth and optimal functioning of all the organs. So if the brain, hands and feet are cut off from that enhancement, effective and efficient circulation will not occur no matter how hard and fast the heart alone works. It is a one pound organ providing for the hundredful mass and musculature — rather than recruiting all the other muscles of the body to optimize that circulatory effect. That would be the intelligent thing to do — and the most productive exercise to do.

That is what is overlooked in exercise expressly for health in longevity. A person who is vital and animated is particularly so by the expressions and movements (articulations) at the head, hands and feet. Those are the organs of human expression. The rest of the body plays a supportive role. When the functioning (health) of the head, hands and feet cease, then that individual loses their uniqueness and identity — and become our worst nightmare — requiring constant care by others to do all the things most people can do for themselves.

But if a person retains and increases their functioning and proficiency at the head, hands and feet, they are functioning at their highest level. But even young and presumably fit people don’t achieve that — because their time, energy and resources are misplaced to what is much less important — including competitive athletics, which presumably is to prepare them for the greater challenges of life ahead. That may be lifting a heavy weight, or running great distances — leaving no time for developing the head, hands and feet.

The best example would be maintaining and enhancing one’s ability to turn one’s head 360 degrees — because that movement, requires the activation and engagement of all the muscles of the body! — and not just the heart alone. The exercise of that movement, would be indicative of a person firing on all cylinders — and not just the one — whether that be the heart, biceps, glutes, abdominals, etc. The atrophied turkey/pencil neck is not inevitable in every aging person — but indicative of poor circulation to the head (brain) — with predictably disastrous consequences. The head must actually move to provide that circulation; playing “mental” games doesn’t produce that very “physical” effect. That is the integration of mind and body long sought as the Holy Grail of Health. It’s not the mind or the body; it requires one to be firing on all cylinders to make the “unprecedented” life possible. That is what we are all here for.

Obviously we just can’t keep on doing the same things that hasn’t worked before — hoping for a different result. We have to do something differently — something that makes perfectly good sense — so we don’t have to force ourselves to do what doesn’t make perfectly good sense and produces those results immediately as self-evident truth.

Risks and Rewards

 The most significant contribution of Arthur Jones in developing the Nautilus principles and machines was not variable resistance through the full range of movement around one axis — but actually determining in what position that muscle had to be in to be fully contracted and fully relaxed — because it is the alternation between those muscular states — that determines the blood flow (circulation), and that is what produces health, growth, and optimal functioning. To him, that was incidental to developing machines that would be “foolproof” in ensuring that a person did precisely the right movement — and ensuring the results he “guaranteed.”

However, he did not account for trainees to actually subvert the intended functioning of his equipment — usually by lifting more weight than could be maintained by the proper performance. The machines were not designed to enable one to lift the most weights, but actually to exhaust the muscles using the least amount of resistance. All that got lost in training and selling machines to those who believed that using the most weight (resistance) was what produced optimal results — rather than by achieving the greatest difference in the state of muscular contraction and relaxation — just as the heart is effective in pumping blood out towards the extremities by that same action.

However, contrary to popular belief, the heart cannot force blood through the miles of capillaries, in which the purpose of that evolutionary design is to slow the blood down to where it can efficiently exchange gases with the resident tissue — at which point, contractions of the muscles at those extremities that contain the capillaries (at the head, hands, and feet), are effective at contracting (pumping) that blood back to towards the heart aided by the veins that allow blood to flow in only that direction back towards the heart (center of the body). It is two different set of blood vessels, and not just the heart providing the motive power for all the blood flow. That is the greatest misunderstanding of cardiovascular functioning and exercise effectiveness.

That is why exercise — or more specifically, contractions at those extremities, cause blood flow that ensures the elimination and removal of those accumulating and stagnant metabolic waste products (inflammation), and then allowing the new nutrients that ensure health, development and optimal functioning — as Nature intended. That process ensures the health and well-being of that individual — and not simply wanting it more than everybody else — as the jocks fancy it is.

So, far and away the most important thing, is to understand the science of this process — and not simply lifting the most weight possible. Thus the squat, deadlift, bench press are not the most effective exercises as often touted — but are simply those movements that allow one to use the most weight — regardless of whether they produce the desired results. As many have known and proven time and again, lifting the most weights possible, is a precursor for a career-ending injury, while a better objective for most, is to obtain the maximum benefits with the least amount of risk and injury. That is the wise strategy no matter what one is doing.

And hopefully by now, many more are entertaining how well they are functioning, or can function at all, when they are 75, rather than thinking that any price at 25, ensures their glory for the rest of their years. That has been the predictable failing in the traditional sports model as the template for lifelong fitness and health. It won’t matter how good one was at 25, when one is absolutely no good at 75 — and god forbid, even live another 25 years in that persistently declining condition.

After all, this is the 21st Century and the Space Age — and not just the continuation of the Cave man era — when life was assuredly, short, nasty and brutal. Then the future did not matter — and how one hoped to improve for it. It was just “one and done” — at every opportunity. And so life has persisted with that kind of attitude and outlook — rather than in thinking it is for a better tomorrow, and day after that… So yeah, excessive drinking, smoking, eating, driving recklessly and fast, has consequences and long term effects, and not taking the maximum risks just because one can.

The Future of Exercise

 In order of descending importance, the organs which one would most want to improve, are the head, hands and feet — which conventional exercises pay very little attention to and frequently regard as nothing more than stumps, but which will always make the greatest difference in one’s health, development and functioning. This is also the reason that conventional exercises don’t seem to work as one gets older and really needs them to work — because it increasingly becomes a matter of life and death. When one is young, it seems that everything can work — even if they are uncertain what does work from all their frenetic activity. Thus we .typically see the legendary bodybuilder or athlete, who is dumbstruck in their later years, that what they thought worked, doesn’t now, when it matters the most.

One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist, brain surgeon, or god forbid, a PE teacher to notice that the familiar pattern of deterioration and aging at the neck, hands and feet where circulation is poorest, and the simple value of exercise, is that it enhances the circulation specifically to those areas actually moved at those joints, or axis of rotation. There is movement around those joints because the muscles providing that movement either shorten (contract) or lengthen (relax), and that alternation of the contraction with a relaxation, produces the pumping effect — just as the heart does in pumping the blood out towards the extremities.

However, once they get out to the capillaries, the heart which weighs less than a pound, cannot push the blood through the miles of capillaries, but are reliant on the skeletal muscles to contract and push the blood back towards the heart as its motive force, and upon relaxation, has cleared space for the new blood and nutrients to easily enter. That understanding greatly reduces the work of the heart while enhancing the circulatory effect.

Many scientists, researchers and exercisers have come to realize that the source of all disease and deterioration in the human body is due to inflammation —or the lack of this efficient and effective circulation. And so the fluids merely pool in the tissues — in the familiar forms of fluid retention (edema, lymphedema, lipedema, obesity, neuropathy, arthritis, etc). Properly thought out muscle contractions alternated with relaxations, optimizes the flow that keeps the body healthy, growing, and functioning (moving). The moving is also the lubrication for such movements.

None of this has to be traumatic or dramatic — but can be achieved just with the proper understanding of these cause and effects. It has very little to do with the common markers for such achievement — such as calories expended, sweat generated, weight lifted, miles moved, etc. The relevant and productive movement, is what occurs at the neck, wrist and ankles — and everything else is a lot less important — particularly for productive exercise as one ages, is disabled, or even hopeless. If one increases the flow to the brain, one has already made a quantum leap in improvement, and then next in importance, improved the flow to the hands, and then the feet — which is the usual progression of deterioration of the human body.

In the long evolution of the human being, these movements were necessary to insure one’s survival. If one was incapable of turning their head, they had no idea what dangers lurked behind them. And then when they recognized the dangers, the ability to throw a rock, or a spear, required the proper flick of the wrist to perfect that accuracy — just as one shoots a basketball, throws a ball, and hits with a racquet oor bat. It is the wrist movement that gives that effort meaning. Similarly, the full articulation of the foot movement acts as a lever against the earth (ground) — allowing them to maneuver into the most advantageous place or position. So merely shuffling one’s feet with no such leveraging effect, does very little to maintain that mobility and circulation. The hands and feet are not just stumps — but actually the marvel of human evolution — along with a large brain.

That advantageous equipment does not come without a high cost — and justifying the highest expenditure of resources to optimize. So once one has that critical understanding of the body, and how it was designed and evolved to work, then one can hone those faculties into finely tuned instruments — rather than the brute force one thinks works miracles. It’s like the cell phone. It works much better the more one understands how it is designed to work, rather than using it as a hammer on every occasion and opportunity.

On days when r I feel particularly lazy and lethargic, I know the best thing I can do to wake up is to increase the flow to my head — which means turning it as far to the left and then right — at least for a count of 50, or at least a minute of sustained movement. Any sustained effort, will raise the heart rate above the resting heart — which is automatically “cardio.” And the 50 repetitions ensures that it is also an aerobic exercise — done “with breathing” — as opposed to only one or two repetitions without breathing — which is very stressful and demanding on the heart. One will frequently note that exercisers of that sort, frequently have enlarged, weakened hearts because of the unfairly disproportionate demands placed on the heart with minimal contractions at the extremities — inn the condition known as congestive heart failure — which is so named in the belief that it is the fault of the heart for not working hard enough — while the organs at the extremities remain immobilized. And so the fluids continue to accumulate to what seems the bursting point of what the skin can contain. It’s not a pleasant sight — and in its extreme forms, those appendages are heavily wrapped and further immobilized.

All the more need to produce muscular contractions at those tissues — while reducing the work the heart has to do. That is a large part of the aging process — that the heart gets weaker, necessitating the need for the skeletal (voluntary) muscles should contribute more to that healthful circulation — as the most important work it can do. Far beyond any competitive activity or sport. The problem is that many people make a game of it, rather than realize it is seriously the best thing one can do — with their muscles — to ensure their health and fitness.

That is the future of exercise.