Relating the components of fitness to building character part 1 Muscular strength

    Developing character through fitness

 

  If  you have devoted any time in life to developing your fitness, you can agree that is certainly brings about a building of character at the same time.  All of our personal favorite physical activities fall into one or more of the components of fitness. These are considered to be muscular strength ( measured on one rep max), muscular endurance (nonstop high volume movement, such as push ups), cardiovascular endurance (moderate heart rate for 60 plus mins), flexibility (range of motion), and the result of our activities being displayed at our body composition (measured lean body mass and fat).  We train to progress and excel in these areas, and can probably agree it takes a lot of our mind being involved. The development of character that has accompanied your practice can be notice when you take a step back. Each component of fitness also includes our brain, emotions, attention, and every cell in our body working together to experience a practice.

  Taking time to be aware of the relationship between each component of fitness and the attributes it can bring to life is a better way to take advantage of our time more wisely. This series will address them separately. I am aware the individual experiences are varied, and hope that the practice of integrating awareness of the mind and body will yield more results for those willing to experience this practice.

   Muscular Strength

Muscular strength refers to the amount of force a muscle can produce with a single maximal effort. Muscle strength is measured during muscular contraction. The size of your muscle fibers and the ability of nerves to activate muscle fibers are related to muscle strength.

   Notice how you feel when working on increasing your strength, and the word confidence will come to many of us quickly. This confidence is a direct result of the experience of handling heavy weight in a controlled manner. When we continue to take on resistance our strength increases. The heavier loads increase our muscle fiber size, as does the volume of training display our bodies ability to continually adapt. The practice of activating our nervous system in movement is essential for progress.

     The relationship of the movement is another aspect to take into consideration. Our posture sets the stage for movement, and where we move our energy follows. Notice how you feel when standing, attentive and ready to move as opposed to laying down. Our posture and movements have a direct result on our mind set. Take notice and find meaning in your movements that are helpful to you. Here are two examples of how to apply this, or look at.

 The single rep max of a squat is display our ability to stand upright while bearing the weight. Think of the amount of times we have felt overwhelmed and that things are too much, the single act of standing up right sets our mind and body for stability, grounding, and readiness to act.

  The deadlift is a great symbol of removing obstacles,  the willingness to pick up responsibility, take action, and make changes. The practice of this not only involves a upper and lower body, but calls into a large amount of intention, skill, procedure, and attention to detail. This is reserved for the wise and mature. Results will not be haphazard and only experienced with pure form, which includes the control of the weight on the eccentric movement. Here is what separates the wise and foolish. The letting go with control is where is the strength is built.

  The one rep max has been a time tested display of strength and is used for lifting competitions as well as the standards of proper form. This can be seen best in  powerlifting, and any gym across the world as we like to see what we are capable of in a single moment. This is most scene with classic lifts such as a bench press, squat, or deadlift. Being called on to perform maximum effort recruits our nervous system to a different and more important task than mindless movements. Some of us will experience we can do much more than we thought in a single moment when called to action. Others  may come to a reality check, aka an ego check. The practice of a one rep max should be used occasionally,and is not recommended on a regular basis as it is a risk of injury. This can be done for different body parts or specific lifts on a rotating schedule.