One or the Other

 The muscle is designed to do two things: Contract — and relax, and in doing so, produces movement — visibly, and internally.

The heart is the best illustration of this: it functions by reliably contracting and alternately relaxing, and in doing so, produces the necessary pumping effect — which doesn’t happen if that muscle only contracts or only relaxes — in which case, we note that the heart has ceased to function. It is in doing both alternately that it is meaningful and productive — so just to do one or the other is a meaningless question because one gives meaning to the other.

I know many exercise “experts” will tell their classes that they need to do this or that to get their hearts pumping — but the truth of the matter is that the heart is always pumping, and is always the hardest, perennially working muscle — and when that ceases, so will life dependent on that pumping effect — or circulation. Respiration and circulation enables one to sustain themselves in this environment — and is also dependent on the muscular change from fullest expiration (contraction), to fullest relaxation (inspiration). Again, one gives meaning and power to other.

That’s why in any movement and activity, that which produces the greatest variability between these two extremes is life and health enhancing — while the cessation of one over the other, must result in death or disability long before that definitive end. For this reason, many bodybuilders are incapable of sustaining gains and growth because they focus on one or the other — when it is the change of muscular states from one extent (extreme) to the other that is most productive and allows them to retain their viability to the day they die. They tend to lop off the extremes from their movements — even while doing a lot of minimal change movements — characterized by foreshortened movements, such as adding more weight to further reduce their range of movement.

How that is achieved is fairly easy to do — rather than the impossibility that most exercise instruction insists it must be, and so it becomes a more unproductive activity and eventually forcing most to discontinue it as a nonproductive activity — rather than the primary way of enabling and empowering all their daily activities and functioning. Then it would make sense to begin each day in such a way — or suffer the consequences.

Rather than the resistance (workload) being important, it is actually the range of moving the muscle from one extreme to the other to effect the circulatory function — and not the one or the other the teachers instruct. Health is that which is “optimal” — and not merely one thing at the expense of all the others.

It is the range of moving from one extreme to the other itself that causes the contraction and relaxation -- and not the resistance or workload. So it is knowing what positions the bones must be in to effect these different states -- that is obviously achieved when bodybuilders can contract their muscles very forcefully while posing -- or as the yoga people do in adopting certain postures to effect relaxation. Obviously in these situations and circumstances, no resistance is required -- and would actually be a hindrance -- to obtaining the fullest contraction or the fullest relaxation.

It's been known for centuries that one can achieve these prodigious muscular developments before the advent and invention of so-called exercise machines -- which are usually sold by emphasizing the added strain on the heart -- but that is not the deficiency in most people. Most people's problem is that their voluntary muscles are unexercised because they require willful intention to activate -- while the heart is always automatic (autonomic) and does not need to be prodded into doing more or less. It will always do what is required -- without that willful intervention. One similarly does not need to "invent" gravity for that purpose; it will act infallibly.

One need not invent a machine to make water run downhill -- and think oneself a genius in doing so. The lack is getting the water or weight uphill to the preferred location where it will do the most good. So as I witnessed many feats of impressive destruction, one wondered, could any of that energy be used to construct something useful -- and in the case of every life, it would be to optimize the health and well-being of what fails prematurely -- from the lack of use and circulation, because that is the real intent of exercise and activity -- and not merely to waste (burn) as much energy as possible.

Exercise of that sort must fail -- because it misunderstands its purpose in the thinking that sheer destruction and waste, is the objective of any meaningful and productive activity. As such, it is not life-sustaining but becomes increasingly self-destructive behavior -- invariably leading to disabilities and death. The feet, knees and back are prematurely worn out, making even the simplest daily movements prohibitive. Of course the media writers will write about the one in a hundred who managed to overcome that elimination from further participation -- as proof and testimony that such programs work, while ignoring the 99% that prove the obvious rule.

In fact, in many academic circles, what is celebrated as fact, is what has never been observed to be true -- because that would be too obvious, and not require "experts" to explain. Instead, they're usually advising people not to do what would not require instruction but only the awareness of what is happening -- or not. Increasingly, laws are passed to prohibit one from finding out the truth of any matter for themselves. That's what media celebrities think is their job -- to tell everybody else what to think. It doesn't matter if it is true or valid but that we all jump on the same bandwagon -- as what they think is the function and purpose of society.

Everybody on the same page, makes it "true" -- regardless of the self-evident truth. Then it is a matter of how steadfast one can hold their conviction -- until everyone comes to their senses, and sees the simplicity of the matter.