WhatWouldHulkDo
Level 8 Valued Member
Some musing I had during my long run this weekend.
Brother @offwidth made a comment recently in a thread about running:
it never really gets 'easier'.... you just get faster...
I think that's spot on, and I think it applies to training in general, not just running. I think too many people have this idea that "if I can just get to X (Simple, 2X BW deadlift, whatever), that will be enough, then maintaining my strength & health will be easy." That's not how adaptation works - the body doesn't adapt to make things easy, it adapts to be efficient. It will seek the point of equilibrium where it can meet the demands imposed on it with minimal maintenance cost. Things feel "easy" when the demands are far below the capability of the system, but unfortunately the body isn't going to maintain that extra capability if it isn't challenged to do so; maintaining extra capability costs extra energy. @Anna C made a great point on another thread that, if you aren't challenging yourself in some form (weight, volume, or density), eventually you regress. So, yes, reaching Simple might make most of normal life feel easy, but you will still have to be challenged in order to maintain that capacity.
This is why I've never liked the idea of "owning" a kettlebell before moving up in S&S weight, though I haven't been able to quantify why before now. I think people have the wrong idea of what "owning" means. In my mind, it doesn't mean that the training is easy. It means that you can execute a session explosively and with perfect form on any given day - even when it's challenging. And some days, it will be challenging, even though you've done it several times in the past. I would postulate that each and every one of us - from the beasts like @Harald Motz to the people just starting off - have days where something that was easy yesterday just isn't easy today.
I'm not saying that we all need to push ourselves to the levels of competitive powerlifters or SOF operators. And when the body says that it needs a break, we all have to respect that. But, don't ever expect that things will be easy, even once you are strong - I don't even think that "easy" should be the goal, because it's just a path to being disappointed. Teddy Roosevelt talked about living a "strenuous life" - that should be the goal. To continually be challenging yourself, maintain (or increase) your capability above what a life of "ignoble ease" would demand.
Celebrate the fact that training is not easy.
Brother @offwidth made a comment recently in a thread about running:
it never really gets 'easier'.... you just get faster...
I think that's spot on, and I think it applies to training in general, not just running. I think too many people have this idea that "if I can just get to X (Simple, 2X BW deadlift, whatever), that will be enough, then maintaining my strength & health will be easy." That's not how adaptation works - the body doesn't adapt to make things easy, it adapts to be efficient. It will seek the point of equilibrium where it can meet the demands imposed on it with minimal maintenance cost. Things feel "easy" when the demands are far below the capability of the system, but unfortunately the body isn't going to maintain that extra capability if it isn't challenged to do so; maintaining extra capability costs extra energy. @Anna C made a great point on another thread that, if you aren't challenging yourself in some form (weight, volume, or density), eventually you regress. So, yes, reaching Simple might make most of normal life feel easy, but you will still have to be challenged in order to maintain that capacity.
This is why I've never liked the idea of "owning" a kettlebell before moving up in S&S weight, though I haven't been able to quantify why before now. I think people have the wrong idea of what "owning" means. In my mind, it doesn't mean that the training is easy. It means that you can execute a session explosively and with perfect form on any given day - even when it's challenging. And some days, it will be challenging, even though you've done it several times in the past. I would postulate that each and every one of us - from the beasts like @Harald Motz to the people just starting off - have days where something that was easy yesterday just isn't easy today.
I'm not saying that we all need to push ourselves to the levels of competitive powerlifters or SOF operators. And when the body says that it needs a break, we all have to respect that. But, don't ever expect that things will be easy, even once you are strong - I don't even think that "easy" should be the goal, because it's just a path to being disappointed. Teddy Roosevelt talked about living a "strenuous life" - that should be the goal. To continually be challenging yourself, maintain (or increase) your capability above what a life of "ignoble ease" would demand.
Celebrate the fact that training is not easy.
