Why We Need to Move.
Fitness is a lifelong pursuit because it helps make your life long.
What’s amazing is we are actually at a wonderful time in terms of history of physical fitness. CrossFit is twenty one years old and Greg Glassman put focus on work capacity versus age.
Meaning if you are more able when you are younger you will maintain that ability longer. Lifting grandkids for example. From my experience in CrossFit the culminative full body fitness approach is beneficial. Pair that with the comradery of the share suck of grueling work out, CrossFit helps a lot of people. Yet, that does not mean it is perfect either. With higher than average cost per month, required fitness apparel and accessories, it is as they say becomes a lifestyle. Which is why you will see social media updates about someone who does CrossFit. From the outside looking in those moments of self gloating “Hey man you wanna watch me work out?” are arrogant and cocky. Yet, from the inside there is a feeling of accomplishment from moving your body in ways you didn’t think you could when you didn’t want to. Thus breeds a mental attitude which can apply to other parts of your life.
Then if you go back to the golden age of body builders, most of the cast of pumping iron is still alive, rest in peace Franco Columbu, and that documentary is from 1977.
Arnold took the world by storm, and brought a lot of focus to body building. Venice beach Gold’s Gym is considered the mecca of body building. His popularity helped make people aware of what a human body can do. Now obviously to say that anyone can be Arnold is preposterous. Arnold had a lot of things helping him besides his genetics and his will power. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. What it does mean is you can challenge yourself and see how capable you are. The only one who knows is you. Bodybuilding is great because it made gyms grow. Yet there are certain negative aspects of being disproportional to the average human. Such as loss of mobility and speed. Which decreases athleticism, and activity level is crucial to longevity.
But before the golden era of body building, there were the legends of the past.
Eugene Sandow, born April 2, 1867. Is the person the Mr. Olympia trophy is modeled after. He is featured in Edison’s first movies. Because he studied Grecian sculptures and exercised in such away to emulate those physiques. Comparative to today’s standard of the v-taper, the Farnese Hercules statue is more mid section heavy.
Which is indicative of the type of lives people lived back then. With multiple direction changes across multiple planes of movement. Picking things up and throwing them, Sword slashes, throwing punches, and blocking with a shield all involve transferring power from the legs to the upper extremities, making the core musculature crucial in the human kinetic chain.
George HackenSchmidt was the world’s first heavyweight greco wrestling champion and was able to lift 276 lbs (125 Kgs) with one hand over head. Also maintain a neck bridge and bench press a barbell his record was 335 lbs 151 Kgs.
He maintained his physical fitness through out his long life of 90 years old with a vertical jump higher than a chair in his mid seventies.
Tom Burrows an Ozzy who came to the UK to train soldiers in physical fitness. What was his qualification? Swinging Indian clubs for endurance. Usual 80 hours continuous, his longest 107 hours in 1913. This was a test of mental focus, sleep deprivation, and sheer will.
Roger Banister and the sub four minute mile 3:59. He achieved this feat in 1954 at 25 years of age. Since the 65 years the fast time is 3:43.13, and now over 1,400 people have achieved this milestone that people did not think was possible.
The point of this is the limits we impose on ourselves primarily stems from our own mind. The human body is beyond capable, it is the mental fortitude required to point it in the right direction that is necessary.
Dig deeper and you can see societies that place special emphasis on physical activity like the Northern India people who swing Gadas, and Jori. Their elderly are able to perform feats of strength well into their later half of their life.
Movement is medicine, and the Juice helps you stay loose. Don’t mire the young and foolish listen to the wise and able. Because one day you will be seventy.
