You thought that strength training and conditioning worked because of the myofibrillary damage that elicits a local and systemic hormonal response, repair mechanisms, and eventually larger and more resilient muscle fibers, bones, tendons and ligaments.
Or maybe you thought that it worked because of the way it literally changes how in the brain interacts with the environment. Our nervous system re-writes what our series of mechanical levers (body) is capable of; learns more synchronized, efficient, and healthy ways of moving.
Maybe you thought that strength training and conditioning works because it builds confidence and primes our system to burn fuel more efficiently.
All of these are true. But they’re relatively short-term, certainly too short to make lasting and meaningful change
s in a person.
Strength training works because it makes Happy Stoics.
Productive resistance training is highly uncomfortable. But for years I’ve had men and women, boys and girls, basically lining up to in an average basement and otherwise lonely cul-de-sac do things like 20-rep squats, dead lifts, grinding van pushes, and sprints.
I’m uncertain, but suspect that the magic is in having well-designed programs and an environment that keeps the toil BOTH effective AND fun for a sustained period of time. This is an art and a science and it can be tricky. By no means am I the only one who knows the formula. I’ve been doing it myself for years.
Either I have a rare and exceptional group of people to work with (and in a way they certainly are), or there’s something about squats and jumps, dead lifts and sprints.
Soon you are surprised to see what your body and mind are capable of. And you’re rolling that forward to other aspects of life…
Intense and challenging but relatively brief bits of training teach…
Hard decisions now; rewarding time later.
Easy decisions now; hard time later.
This is life. And it’s the real value behind playing and training for a sport, activity, or aesthetic ideal that you naturally love.
Bonny Lane Club 