I grew up in an era where the only "fitness" that existed was in some kind of sport. My high school did not have a weight room; neither did the first college I went to (I know. And we didn't have "cardio" machines either). To get in shape for basketball season, you played basketball, did "calisthenics", and did all sorts of drills on the court. In fact, my high school basketball coach was so concerned about my "fitness" to play basketball one year, after I had come down with walking pneumonia, he strongly suggested that I put on a back pack and run to school; run home; run everywhere I went which, of course, I did.
It didn't help.
I could run forever. I just couldn't run short sprints up and down the court, over and over. And, I had no power in my legs because all I had done for weeks was run. I was fit to run but not to play basketball. If basketball had been played on an oval track, I would have been awesome.
The human body is really lazy. It's always looking for the easy way out; the easiest way to get something done. It's by design and it's brilliant. It's what allows you to be unfit and alive at the same time.
Think about it. You can train for nearly five months and see very little difference in your muscles (contrary to just about every ad on television and the onslaught on the Internet). Your body is just figuring out how to get better at doing what ever it is you're doing. It's like your body knows way more than you know. It's as if your body is saying, "Why should I spend all that energy making your muscles bigger and having to support all of that with energy when I can just get smarter and better at the movement first? After all, you're probably going to quit anyway."
What you're body is doing is laying down new "roadways" - capillaries to provide blood - and "communication systems" - nervous system organization. After the infrastructure is in place, and you can support the demands of bigger, stronger muscles, your body will start changing. You'll notice muscles seem firmer; you feel lighter, tighter, stronger.
This is why it's good to mix up your training routines. It forces your body to learn something new so you end up building a substantial infrastructure so you can do lots of varying activities. Travel, work in the yard, go for a jog, lift weights, play tennis. It's all within your domain of fitness because you've trained your body across a wide spectrum of physical demands.
Your body is smarter than you are. It's going to figure out how to get the job done and do it spending as little energy as possible over time.
Be consistently variable with your training if you want to live a consistently fit life.
DK
I grew up in an era where the only "fitness" that existed was in some kind of sport. My high school did not have a weight room; neither did the first college I went to (I know. And we didn't have "cardio" machines either). To get in shape for basketball season, you played basketball, did "calisthenics", and did all sorts of drills on the court. In fact, my high school basketball coach was so concerned about my "fitness" to play basketball one year, after I had come down with walking pneumonia, he strongly suggested that I put on a back pack and run to school; run home; run everywhere I went which, of course, I did.
It didn't help.
I could run forever. I just couldn't run short sprints up and down the court, over and over. And, I had no power in my legs because all I had done for weeks was run. I was fit to run but not to play basketball. If basketball had been played on an oval track, I would have been awesome.
The human body is really lazy. It's always looking for the easy way out; the easiest way to get something done. It's by design and it's brilliant. It's what allows you to be unfit and alive at the same time.
Think about it. You can train for nearly five months and see very little difference in your muscles (contrary to just about every ad on television and the onslaught on the Internet). Your body is just figuring out how to get better at doing what ever it is you're doing. It's like your body knows way more than you know. It's as if your body is saying, "Why should I spend all that energy making your muscles bigger and having to support all of that with energy when I can just get smarter and better at the movement first? After all, you're probably going to quit anyway."
What you're body is doing is laying down new "roadways" - capillaries to provide blood - and "communication systems" - nervous system organization. After the infrastructure is in place, and you can support the demands of bigger, stronger muscles, your body will start changing. You'll notice muscles seem firmer; you feel lighter, tighter, stronger.
This is why it's good to mix up your training routines. It forces your body to learn something new so you end up building a substantial infrastructure so you can do lots of varying activities. Travel, work in the yard, go for a jog, lift weights, play tennis. It's all within your domain of fitness because you've trained your body across a wide spectrum of physical demands.
Your body is smarter than you are. It's going to figure out how to get the job done and do it spending as little energy as possible over time.
Be consistently variable with your training if you want to live a consistently fit life.
DK