Day 10

Day 10

Here’s what I found out about strength today. The funniest thing about it is the way people measure it. Correction, the funniest thing is its variety in definitions. Is Arnold Schw@#%@#@ger strong? Why? Is Lance Armstrong strong? Why? Is an ant strong? Why? Is God strong? Why? Is that paraplegic homeless man down the street who is always joyful strong? Why? (No, there’s no paraplegic homeless man down the street from me, just a hypothetical person.) In the world of physique, we would see the Mr. Olympia and body builders and think that because of huge pectorals and biceps, they are strong due to the mere size of a muscle. When you see someone bike ride for over a hundred miles, you might think of strength. When an animal can lift 50 times its own weight, you might think it’s strong. (I won’t define God’s strength due to lack of time and typing.) If a man who can’t walk and has nowhere to go even if he could yet finds joy in the blessings he does have, one might see strength.

My point is that we hear strength and might think of how much a guy can bench press. In the weight room, most guys jump to that, but what about real strength? What about strength that matters? Are you likely to be moving furniture lying on your back? When do these overstated exercises really help? In most cases, they don’t really provide much “applicable” strength. As I begin to design my workouts soon, what I’ll be considering is, “What am I trying to get better at? What am I training for?” My dad’s birthday is today! Happy Birthday again Dad! As a testament to his health, I’m going to brag that in his late 50’s, he still skis the Black runs with me and keeps up! Sure, his knee hurts more and longer than mine at the end of the day, but he’s in pretty good health. Today, he mentioned that he was invited to go on a 120 mile, 3 day, dirt-biking trip in Baja, Mexico. I don’t think he feels up to that, but hey, that’s a rough trip by most people’s standards, as are the Black Diamond ski runs he dominates! We mentioned on the phone that if he wants to go riding in Mexico this summer, he’ll need to train for it. When the ski season nears again, we’ll need to train for it. My quadriceps could have used some more training this fall! After 3 ski trips this spring (I know, it’s a tough life), my legs were informing me of my need to train them better for next year! Now then, if I did a bunch of bench press and bicep curls, anyone who thinks about it for a moment could tell me how little that would help in skiing. However, what about leg presses and leg extensions? That’s obviously the best thing to do…wrong! True, it’s better that bicep curls, but what about your lower back, your glutes, your calves? You don’t have to do an exercise for each one and shouldn’t! That’s right, you shouldn’t! Here’s why. Ever heard of muscle memory? Well this is similar. Your brain fires impulses to your muscles when they are supposed to react in a push or pull fashion. When you ski, your entire leg engages, from your hip flexors, to your toes! So why did we ever think that a leg press was the best exercise? Your body needs to practice doing the motions and using all of the muscles that it will use in real life. A one-legged body-weight squat is just an intense and more appropriate to preparing your body for skiing. It works your toes to your core, building muscle, balance, and coordination. All these are crucial to skiing.

No, we don’t all need to train like a skier because we don’t all ski. Maybe you do, but you are more of a housekeeper than a serious skier. Trust me, doing the dishes hurt my back more than the hardest ski slope! Honestly, my back isn’t prepared to be slightly hunched for more than 10 minutes. It’s agonizing! A few toe-touching stretches each day could probably help take care of that. Yes, each task, each sport, each lifestyles has a workout regimen that suits it specifically and applicably. Before you get too into deciding what weight you can bench press at the gym, figure out what you are preparing for. Figure out your goals first. Are you just trying to have nice abs or do you want to have energy and make that burning knee go away every time you walk up your staircase?

Feel free to comment below and tell me what your goals are. Maybe I can help you figure out the best way to improve your health for your personal lifestyle needs! After all, I’m really doing this 40 day thing for you anyway…