Great adaptations

One can learn a lot from observing young children at play. Kids will parade the toys we buy them at the very heart of social developmental education where the unwritten curriculum is so often unwittingly delivered: the playground.

Whether you wish to get to level two or 10, you’re not going to get there before you take your first step- Matthew Muscat Inglott

Children appear to be born with a natural ability to distinguish between what is fair and unfair. Observe how a young toy-less child chances upon a more fortunate child enjoying the coolest toy around. They look on at what they cannot have, ignited by their yearning, held briefly bewildered by the unfairness, and ultimately left to simmer in woeful acceptance.

One might ask, how can one five-year-old genuinely and rightfully merit some marvelous object more than another? Reality sets in. Alas, we grow up and learn that all is not equal, and life is not always fair.

The playground is not the only place the toy-less child’s reaction can be seen. Observe how we marvel at top athletes performing at the height of their game, those exhibiting some remarkable skill, or even somebody in the gym who seems to have achieved Adonis-like physical stature.

Unfortunately we often misplace our conditioned acceptance of an unfair reality in cases where it simply does not apply. Rest assured, when it comes to achieving physical goals, the game is far fairer. Luck carries us only so far in the exercise and fitness domain.

What you put in with conviction, you take out with dividends. But what exactly are we putting in? This is no finite resource but instead something far more valuable and inexhaustible: pure unadulterated effort. Some can muster it, many can’t. It cannot be taken from you, you don’t pay tax on it, and along with the results you achieve it belongs to you and you alone.

Granted, some may start the game with more than others, but the human body is not a cruel reality; it is more honest and fair than perhaps any man-made system could ever be. Next time you catch yourself wondering whether you could ever do that, the answer is yes, you could.

Our physical goal must be approached through a clear-cut series of incremental steps. If you are currently on level zero, then it doesn’t matter whether you wish to get to level two or 10, because you’re not going to get there before you take your first step to level one.

A certain type of advanced training might be beyond you now, but remember that even seemingly harmless activities can be dangerous for the unprepared. Don’t be afraid of seemingly impossible exercise methods, and by that same token, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by seemingly gentle exercise methods either. Clinics everywhere enjoy guaranteed clientele injured through the latest exercise trend however fun and easy it may appear.

Whatever shape or form it assumes, exercise is ultimately a form of stress. The body strives to constantly hover as close to normality as possible, so when stress pushes us out of our comfort zone, the body undergoes adaptation.

The heart, lungs, blood vessels, muscles and other physical structures change at cellular level to meet the same stress more comfortably should it be applied again in the near future. It is a sort of self-defence mechanism. The right amount of incrementally intensifying stresses applied at the right time will result in continuous positive adaptation.

At this time of year we expose our bodies to a similar sort of stress far more familiar to us and easier to understand: the sun. Our skin must adapt to the stress of the sun’s rays by producing brown protective pigmentation, or simply put, by tanning.

Since we consider a tan beautiful, much like a well-developed body, these are adaptations we like to encourage, so off we head in droves to our sunny beaches and, in not-quite-so-plentiful numbers, to the gym.

If the stress of sun exposure is too little, we don’t see much of a tan develop just like failing to put in the required effort at the gym will not represent sufficient stress to elicit physical change.

If the amount of sun exposure is stressful enough to elicit a tan, then the next 24 hours will reveal a beautiful shade of golden brown just as a productive workout will cause positive changes in our muscular and circulatory systems.

If we allow the skin to cool and we head to the beach again in a couple of days after the adaptive processes have been allowed to take place, we can spend slightly longer in the sun, and repeat the process again and again, building a deeper tan over time. In the same way, the right amount of incrementally increasing physical stress in the gym will result in continuous improvements in fitness. This is a beautiful mechanism when embraced with caution.

Leave too much time between tanning sessions and our colour starts to fade just as working out too sparsely will produce little noticeable effects. We could also conversely spend far too long in the sun, causing our skin to burn just as working out too often and too intensely eventually leads to overtraining, sickness and injury.

Whatever style of exercise you choose, observe this law and you will continue to reap your dividends. Don’t shy away from great challenges, but remain aware of the steps that lay before it and, more precisely, which one you are standing on right now.

info@noble-gym.com