How Should We Exercise? Structure, Function and Form, Form Follows Function, Function Determines Form

Form follows function is most familiar to us an architectural principle of the 20th century. It is a basic idea about how a building should be designed. It is an interesting idea. Really all buildings have some kind of a structure and that structure must support the basic purpose or function of the building. There are lots of architectural interpretations of what this saying might mean though.

Form also follows function in biology. It means that for a certain function to be done, a biological structure will adapt a certain form. This occurs all the way from the cellular level up to the macro level. (ask.com) As humans we can apply this principle in a number of ways. First as a species, we had to evolve or develop certain structures to support human biology, for instance structures to support upright walking. But on the level of a single lifetime, we also have to develop structures to support the activities that constitute our individual life. It is daily activities, habits and personality that shape the structures that support our individual lives.

For instance we can use the example of Olympic athletes. Millions of people watch the Olympics every four years. We all get a chance to compare the physiques, the structures of athletes in different sports. These physiques are built up by years of training, usually constituting most of an athlete’s upbringing and adult life up to the point of Olympic competition. How immensely different are the bodies of the shot putter vs. the Olympic marathoner. Most of the earth’s people are not Olympic athletes. However, we can learn much from their example. The thickness of their bones, strength and size of their muscles, the speed and endurance they possess are all products of their training, which is in fact their lifestyle.

You will find that a high level athlete with a high skill level at his/her own sport, developed over thousands of hours of practice and training may have a low level of ability in other sports. A heavy muscular frame is not suited to setting a world record in the marathon. Each of these athletes has developed themselves into a specialist because that is what they wanted to be. Each of them now looks like the specialist they are. All of us have innate abilities, things that we want to do, and ways of expressing ourselves. Why should we subscribe to the idea that all of us should follow some standardized exercise procedure? When we talk about fitness, we have to ask, fit for what? As in the examples above, any training should only be something that takes us on a path towards what we want.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article

“There truly is only one reason to exercise: To increase your metabolism in order to burn more calories 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What is the only style of exercise that accomplishes that goal? Strength training. Increasing your metabolism through strength training is the key to successful, permanent weight loss.” (http://health.yahoo.net/experts/yahoo-spotlight/why-your-cardio-routine-making-you-fat)

Really? Really? That is the only reason to exercise? Are we just machines that have to be maintained as we would maintain our cars? Or are we human beings with individuality and purpose?

If we turn our attention back to the idea of architecture, we realize that all buildings are built with a purpose. They are built as an office building, a shopping mall, a residence, and they all reflect that purpose. Who are we? What is our purpose, and what do we want? Our purpose and function will in large measure determine our structure and form. There is a difference between fitness and health and the idea of training. “Movement is Life” and all of us must move and enjoy moving in some way. Training on the other hand is specificity, and is useful in forming and expressing our individuality. What is your purpose? Your purpose and the meaning of your life will determine how you build your structure. Here is an excerpt from a recent article in the NY TIMES

“In addition to activities like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming that promote endurance, cardiovascular health and weight control, there is a dire need for exercises that improve posture and increase strength, flexibility and balance. These exercises can greatly reduce the risk of injuries...”This is only an excerpt but it does suggest the typical exercise paradigm. Strength, aerobics, and flexibility, or stretching, all these are undoubtedly important but they are again a suggestion that we are merely mechanical beings. There is rarely a mention of skill, the power of the brain and nervous system to learn new things and movements that develop our true health and purpose, or the idea that we are a whole person and not just a collection of parts. There is almost never a mention of awareness as fundamental to our health and progress.

Awareness reveals our strengths and weakness. Most of us have developed weak links by the age of 40, according to Dr. Nicholas De Nubile. To age well we must have some knowledge of our own individual weak links as well as our strengths. Without knowledge of ourselves we are liable to cause injuries that could have been prevented. Awareness points us toward a lifetime of functional activity especially in the areas that are most important to us. It teaches us to do things moment by moment. That’s what keeps us strong and well aligned, instead of functioning by society’s ideas and repeating endlessly repetitive routines. Did you know that consistent attendance to repetitive exercise routines could itself be harmful at times? Why not design all your activity around your purpose. What is your passion? What are your goals? How do you want to express yourself? These are the pursuits that your fitness could serve. Directed, effective fitness requires continual learning.

The standard strength, stretch and cardio are not enough to keep you healthy and moving toward your potential if you ignore the learning component of fitness and health, the brain. We all think, but what is proper thought? Without proper thought we do not age well, nor do we fulfill our potential in any area. According to Dr. Feldenkrais, proper thought is thought that causes improved action. “It is not enough to know, you must act” (Bruce Lee). Add skill, self knowledge and learning to your conception of health and fitness and you will prosper. Don’t exercise the way the “experts” say to do it. Exercise the way your passion demands. But don’t “Just do it”. Do it first with purpose and passion, then skill and knowledge, then directed fitness and training.

How should we exercise? Exercise to fulfill your purpose on earth. Let the rest follow.

Scott Forrester is Student Awareness Through Movement Instructor, a 4th year Feldenkrais Student, PTA and CPT.

The New Fitness Pyramid: First Principles

What are the training principles that will take us where we want to go, to realizing more of our individual potential?  Let’s look at two ideas that will get us started.

First we need self knowledge. Who are we and what do we want?  I am training for a 50k run in April.  A friend is training for a half marathon.  My wife wants to improve her health, maintain enough endurance to enjoy short walks, and live with less pain. Another friend wanted to be able to continue to continue to play and practice the piano without succumbing to pain due to long hours of practice in where she held habitual positions at the keyboard.

There are no quick fixes. Better health and function are processes taking place over a lifetime.  This process always involves learning.  The more we know what we want and what we are currently doing, the more we can do what we want.  Questions to ask might include:

• ·         How old am I?

• ·          What is my current state of training/ health? 

• ·         What are my strengths/ weakness?

• ·         How do I approach training / life?

• ·         What is really involved in doing what I want?

• ·         Am I aware of the little things and their value?

• ·         Do we give our bodies/ minds the things they need to succeed?

• ·         Do we realize that it is as or more important how we do things as that we do them?

All these questions deserve a separate article. Books have been written about each of them.  In the long run, the process is as important as the goal.  It is all about particular kinds of learning.

The next principle is consistency. We can all recall the story of the tortoise and the hare.  It is a great parable. My dad had a number of sayings that he would use repeatedly and he liked to say “slow and easy does it”.  Slow and easy gets the job done.  I had difficulty taking that advice as a kid, preferring to bull my way through most things, yet the advice still echoes in my mind.  Millions of Americans have seen the Grand Canyon and marveled at how the Colorado River carved a mile deep gorge over eons of time.

 Persistence has no equal and yet we are accustomed to everything happening quickly in the 21^st century.  If we have to stand in line, we may just go somewhere else where we can get served more quickly.  We want the pizza delivered in 10 minutes, perfect body in 30-90 days. We want a faster race time achieved quickly through a generic training program. We come to physical therapy wanting to be “fixed” as quickly as possible, instead of persisting or leaning new habits.  It is simply the way of life in the modern world.

Legendary champion Mark Allen, winner of six ironman triathlon world titles trained smarter than most of his competition.  He took days off when needed. He acknowledged his age when going for his sixth ironman title at age 37 and modified his training and focused his training to provide an optimal environment with enough training challenges, sleep, and nutrition.  He was ahead of his time in using carbon fiber bicycles. Most of all he developed inner confidence.  It took many years of training his inner and outer self before he came to dominate the sport.  Mark Allen also failed to defeat Dave Scott six times before he finally succeeded in winning his first title in Hawaii.

Like Mark each of us can realize that we cannot do it all with determination and brute force. Life-long experiential learning is necessary.  Learn, persist, and be consistent.  Consistency trumps a single hard effort. A one days flood does not carve a very deep canyon.

For help with your training / goals, contact Scott Forrester at awareathletes@gmail.com

By Scott Forrester, LPTA, CPT, Running form coach, Feldenkrais student Awareness Through Movement Instructor

Learning to Access Your Potential

Compare the foundations of the "Old Fitness Pyramid" tm and "New Fitness Pyramid."ttm  In the former the foundation is goal setting in the latter the base that supports the pyramid is potential.  Lets examine both concepts.  First, what is goal setting?  Where does adherence to this concept lead?



Goal:

1. The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end

While no one would deny the value of setting goals, when a goal becomes our core concept everything else is measured by that concept.  It's an end without a process, straining toward a goal, using effort to make up for lack of skill.  The result is failure and injury, while bypassing the learning process.  This is called the "quick fix"  approach.  But there is another way.

Potential has two important aspects:

1. Capable of being but not yet in existence'; latent
2.  The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or coming into being.

• Latent;  present and capable of emerging or developing but not now visible

Potential is what is possible or capable of existing within each individual.  We all have vast amounts of potential, untapped possibilities.  Aspect #2 implies possessing the capacity for growth.  When we look at potential we are embracing individuality and the learning and growth process.  The "quick fix" approach allows only success or failure.  When we embrace life as a process of learning toward potential, there is no failure.  All learning involves experience, error, and recalibration.  The quick fix cannot match the combination of self knowledge and commitment to growth and development.  To discover your potential, embrace your weakness.

Find your true weakness and surrender to it, therein lies the path to genius.  Most people spend their lives using their strengths to overcome or cover up their weaknesses.  Those few who use their strengths to incorporate their weaknesses, who don't divide themselves, those people are very rare.  In any generation there are a few and they lead their generation." -Moshe Feldenkrais

Embracing his weakness, Jim Ryun, a world record holder in the mile, discovered his immense talent and dedicated himself to developing it.

"I attempted as many little boys do, to excel in sports, but had no success.  In junior high I was cut from the basketball team and all of the other teams that were available, so I finally went out  for the track team.  We were having an orientation assembly and the football and cross country coaches were making presentations for their sports.  At the time I was 6'2" and 140 pounds, and I knew that once I got hit by a football player, that'd be the end of it.  So I chose to go out for cross-country, not knowing what it was."  As the weeks passed Ryun slowly came to realize that his running ability had only begun to be tapped (http://famteam.com/sampleAAchapter.htm)

George Forman recaptured the World Heavyweight Boxing title at 45 and held it till he was almost 47.  He was a very powerful puncher, but relying on power made him vulnerable to fatigue.  George was famous for losing the title to Mohammed Ali, falling victim to Ali's "rope a dope" strategy.  Foremen learned to let the opponent come to him using his energy more efficiently, combining his strengths and weaknesses.

Do you want your health and activity to last into old age?  Helen Kelin, famed ultra runner, in her seventies, inspired her teammates to finish an Eco-challenge.  In her eighties she set a world marathon age record because she said she learned to "run within herself."

Are you injured?  The solution is to learn exactly what you are doing and how you are doing it.  Learning is the gift of life, a special kind of learning, that of knowing oneself. People learn to know "how they are acting and thus are able to do what they want. . . the intense living of their unavowed and sometime declared dreams." (Moshe Feldenkrais)