Sunday, April 5, 2009

You're only as strong as you are flexible


Topic: Men's fitness - strength vs. flexibility

Which man is better off:

The rich man who earns $100, owes a balance of $1000 to the bank and has a minimum interest payment of $80.

or

The wealthy man who earns $50, owes $10 to the bank that requires a monthly interest payment payment of $1.

I choose the wealthy man, although he earns half of that of the rich man he has more cash flow to create greater wealth and will have less stress during financial storms.

The same lesson should apply to our fitness goals. Men tend to focus on strength training and put little effort toward flexibility. Muscle is like income or revenue, the more the merrier, however flexibility is like the benefits of cash flow mentioned earlier.

A flexible muscular structure helps to prevent aches, pain, and significantly reduces the likelihood of muscle strain or injury. Stretching mixed with a form of meditation also helps improve the body's overall performance including heightened energy, cardiovascular flow, and other anatomical systems. (We'll reserve the even greater spiritual benefits for another article)

So I encourage you to spend at least 35% of your work out on stretching and meditation, which are the only natural methods of relaxing muscles. Yoga classes or the like are highly beneficial and also reduce stress. You should also consider working with healing practitioners, such as message therapist and myofascial release who can dig deeper into the muscular system and create more flexibility than you may find on your own.
Stretching your muscles will significantly increase as your bodies ability become more flexible and relaxed; ultimately causing you to extend the length of your life on this earth.

I give thanks to my wife and health advisor Dr. Kayla L. Briggs for helping to open my eyes to this truth.

Martin A. Briggs
- writer