Other/Mixed Strength Training and Health

[pet']

Hello,

Being strong without being in good health is just useless. It sounds like being kind of weak.

For instance, When you train let's say 2h a day, everyday, and then as @BCman said go to failure, so you do not recover. Mechanically, you get tired all day long, everyday, both mentally and physically. Thus, what happen if during the day, you have to lift heavy for your "real life", for example, lifting a furniture ? Well, you can not or you struggle or you get injured.

It is better, IMO, to be able to lift "only" 130 or 140kg (for instance) everyday, but having some reps (or kilos) in the tank, than lifting everyday 190, but having no back up and being exhausting.

Strength training and health require a subtle balance between effort and recovery. So, finding the perfect minimum dose to progress while staying fresh.

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[North Coast Miller]

when my strenght increase over a period of time i have noticed that my overall health also improves and that is a good thing. But i do wonder are there a connection with becoming a stronger person also connected with other parts like your mind,body and spirit?What are your thoughts on that?

Overall I find it improves some aspects of mind. In general though, I haven't noticed any correlation between strength and being strong in other ways. Doesn't seem to effect how often I catch colds etc - that seems to be more environment and habits (not touching face without washing hands first, etc).

I've never felt stronger spiritually than when I was doing a lot of breath meditation and relatively little exercise - mostly MA footwork drills and sparring with a bit of jogging. I was not really strong compared to my historic levels, nor particularly fast, though performed far better against opponents due to better awareness in motion.

Back when I was younger and seriously into bodybuilding I was also a bit of a lunatic, so not really connected to better qualities of mind or spirit unfortunately. I did have my training down for max effect and recovery, it felt like I was wearing a suit of living armor - looking down I could barely see my feet or my belly for how big my pecs were - like the fact I used to smoke years ago it no longer even seems real now.

Personally I find having good fitness allows me a bit more mental clarity in some regards, but overall just like any other specific quality - mind, spirit, awareness and other non-physical aspects need to be cultivated as their own thing.

I agree with BCman above, movement and strength are the fountain of youth for physical health. That which we do not use and cultivate either stagnates or diminishes.

 

[Tarzan]

when my strenght increase over a period of time i have noticed that my overall health also improves and that is a good thing. But i do wonder are there a connection with becoming a stronger person also connected with other parts like your mind,body and spirit?What are your thoughts on that?

I've been using gymnastics skills practice as form of mind training for my kids. We have a bit of healthy competition going when we do a few things like frog stands, flex hangs, and bar hangs etc. We set a timer up and see who can go for the longest.

A few days ago my 7 yo son did a 1:37 hang from the rings, so I said to him
"That shows me you have a strong mind, someone with a weak mind would never be able to do that"
And then I reinforced it by telling him
"If you ever find anything hard, either at home or at school or Karate, you can think of that & remember how strong your mind is when you tell yourself you can do something"

So it sets up a feedback loop where a good performance reinforces that strength of mind and the strength of mind encourages a strong physical or academic performance.

If they fail something and start getting upset or negative I try not to feed any energy into it and tell them to take a break and try again later, maybe you just need a rest.

I also tell them
"If you tell yourself you can't do something you will be right every time."
"If you tell yourself you can, you might not make it the first time but at least you will allow yourself to try"

 

[JeffC]

@pet' I totally agree. When I trained and competed in Olympic Weighlifting it was a lot of work keeping the tightness and soreness away. You were only strong just before your next 2.5-3 hour training session, or after your only day off. If you did not use your day off wisely, then you were really in for a world of hurt in the coming week. Sounds tough, it is, but I miss it sometimes. I could not handle that level of training now with age, and responsibility.

 

[pet']

Hello,

I could not handle that level of training now with age, and responsibility

That is very wise.

When we get older (I say that with plenty of respect, because I also noticed it on myself) we have to train a lot wiser.

Responsability changes, we eventually need more time to rest. So it is crucial to adapt volume, frequency, weights and son on to keep a level we consider as "decent" as long as possible.

Before, I wanted to maintain peak performance all the time (both cardio, strength, endurance, etc...). I overtrained. So what did I gain ? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I far prefer a "decent" level for some fields, than a peak level. This is a kind of duality between being a Formula 1 or a Hummer.

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[wespom9]

A few days ago my 7 yo son did a 1:37 hang from the rings, so I said to him
"That shows me you have a strong mind, someone with a weak mind would never be able to do that"
And then I reinforced it by telling him
"If you ever find anything hard, either at home or at school or Karate, you can think of that & remember how strong your mind is when you tell yourself you can do something"

So it sets up a feedback loop where a good performance reinforces that strength of mind and the strength of mind encourages a strong physical or academic performance.

It is funny what healthy competition can allow you to achieve. I always used to tell the kids to whom I coach baseball, there were a ton of players better than I was, but very few who surpassed my will.

 

[D-Rock]

For instance, When you train let's say 2h a day, everyday, and then as @BCman said go to failure, so you do not recover. Mechanically, you get tired all day long, everyday, both mentally and physically.

I've been there, not fun. Al was quoted in a blog post on long rests talking about some people who are zombies and only awake when it's time to train. That described me exactly.

So it sets up a feedback loop where a good performance reinforces that strength of mind and the strength of mind encourages a strong physical or academic performance.

Brilliant cycle.

Sounds tough, it is, but I miss it sometimes. I could not handle that level of training now with age, and responsibility.

I now try to enjoy my tough training sessions as infrequent treats and during competitive moments! I still have youth on my side, but have been maturing my training to allow for my increasing responsibilities and for longevity's sake. I get better results this way anyway.