Training for Function, Not Aesthetic

You have to work at being awake. You have to work at staying conscious and in the moment. Your mind will not necessarily do this for you automatically. Your body----ahem… my bad, your self-regenerating-organic-machine is made to fit your life, and you life is framed by your awareness. You cannot cultivate what you’re not aware of. Broadening your awareness of your own self is of primary importance.

Training for aesthetic means that you’re training to “look better”. It generally starts with being unhappy with certain areas on the body, then focusing on those specific areas. Thinner thighs, bigger arms, bigger butt, etc... The motivation behind aesthetic training can be a powerfully toxic mindset to promote. Over time, you are likely to be bound and restricted by the dysmorphic view of your physical self. It will become very easy to lopside yourself into unbalanced physical proportions in an attempt to feed those diseased emotions or thought processes of an unhappy self image. 

Aesthetic training generally involves single or double joint movements, because of the focus on specific areas of the body. Bicep curls and tricep extensions for bigger arms, leg lifts for a more toned butt, lateral raises for bigger shoulders etc… These small isolation movements are teaching your body and mind to connect to only a small portion of itself. The movements are not natural in that they move from isolated joints; something we almost never do in real life! While this isn’t inherently bad, as some work is better than no work, there is much more the self-regenerating-organic-machine can do! 

Don't go to the gym to dislike yourself, go there to learn about yourself!

Real work starts by learning how your body was supposed to be used. Don’t go to the gym and find a machine to fit your body into, or try to isolate muscle groups by moving in ways you normally wouldn’t. Your body is a freaking self-regenerating-organic-machine! Teach it how it was supposed to work! Use the whole body at once in a variety of ways! Pick up objects (deadlift), carry them (farmer walk), put them over your head (overhead press, push-press, push-jerk), then throw it as far as you can (heaving)! Drop down on the ground and get back up (burpee), crouch down low (squat), jump over that thing (box jump), now run to that tree and back (sprinting), and top it all off with a handstand! Do all this with good biomechanics, intact kinesthetic awareness, and with conscious control of your thoughts and emotions in movement.

Q. What muscles does all that work?

A. Your body.

Training for function means not just the responsibility for good movement, but good intention of movement. Are you working out your self-regenerating-organic-machine to feel cool, tough, proud, look good, feel sexy, feel badass, be tougher than THAT guy, skinnier than THAT girl etc…? Or is it to be calm, focused, aware, determined, driven, spontaneous, emotionally connected, free, etc…? Don’t feed diseased thought processes and emotions that limit your view of yourself or the world. Don’t train for aesthetic, train for function!

Train not for “what I look like” but for “what I can do.” 

Real work produces real results.

You body thirsts to be free. Its passion is gymnastically driven acrobatics fueled by emotional awareness and heightened senses. This is what makes it happy and tunes it into your consciousness and reality. Your body doesn't want your mind to not be aware of it, or to fixate on how fat you think your ass is, or how small you think your arms/chest are, or how thin you want to be. Your body doesn’t want to move while your mind wanders; it wants connection! Your self-regenerating-organic-machine wants adventure, unpredictability, and the promise of glorious food at the end of it. It wants real work!

Functional training gives you all the aesthetic results you ever wanted, plus so much more! 

Yes, your body is made to move around this reality, in this dimension, in such a way as that it can move quickly, surmount obstacles, and manipulate objects without hurting itself. Your mind is made to stay in tune with your body, and aware of reality around you, and feed you with nutritious thoughts and emotions that help you, not hinder you. That’s not a revolutionary thought... if you think about it (oh the irony!)

Remember, the self-regenerating-organic-machine is a single unit. It is much more than the sum of its parts; we grow exponentially with each piece of the whole we bring into our consciousness. When you train, train as a single unit. This extends beyond simply adding muscles into your training regimen, it means adding in the mind which gives validity to how your thoughts, emotions, and even worldview affect your health and fitness.

Let’s get some real work done! Starting with the squat!

Your Homework:

Perform the “Squat test” at least once this week (you can do more than once if you’re brave) and see how good you do. 

Be realistic with your understanding of your body, and be smart in how you approach this test. If you have never squatted or cannot squat you should perform this test under proper supervision.

Watch the entire video first, then go at it and have fun.

And continue to:

1. Play; both inside the gym and outside.

2. Learn new skills or continue to master known ones (or both!)

3. Grow tall at least once a day for 5 consecutive minutes.

4. Perform core workouts daily.

5. Get breath!

6. Wake up!