Who is to know their Physical Limits?
Let's assume for a moment that there are no Physical Limits, what your Body can accomplish is only limited by your Mind. If you have a winning spirit you can accomplish whatever you want. Sounds familiar? It certainly sounds motivational and the proponents for this hypothesis have a lot of examples to share. But is it true? Doesn't that tell anyone that missed the Medal or the Cup that their winning spirit was lacking?
I know of numerous examples of athletes with great determination and unwavering efforts to win - who ended-up absolutely devastated when they did not Win. A friend's daughter knew without a doubt that she was going to be a Ballet Dancer when she was only six years old. She never stopped aggressively pursuing her dream and it is anyone's guess how many painful hours on end she put into her training. Then, fifteen year later she was told that her career (which never started) had ended, because of Arthrosis, a degenerative disease of joints and articulation between bones. Certainly not a winning concept in Ballet Dancing, but was it lack of motivation, determination and willpower that ended her career?
It seems safe to assert that at the very least the Mind is not in all cases the power that limits the body's physical abilities. So let's ask the Who question: Who must, who should and who could benefit from knowing their body's physical capabilities and potential properties?
Who must know?
- Athletes training for a competitive Event where the record to break is known
- Parents who want to coach their kids to become champions
- Applicants for a professional career in physically demanding jobs (Firefighters, Police, Marines)
- Adults who are afraid to enter into physical exercise for the first time
Athletes training for a competitive Event where the record to break is known
Let's assume you are training to win a Marathon in your age group. What is the obvious thing you do? You need to find out what the current record holders time is, because that is the record to break. So if the standing record is 3 hours, you'll probably set your target at max. 2:50 - because the defender may have the edge of experience. But marathon running is no small feat; there are runners that submit to injury, fainting or even death; so where do you source the confidence that you are not one of them? Yes you can get a physical check-up prior to a race, or preferably prior to beginning training, that gives you peace of mind that your body doesn't show exclusion symptoms like cardio-vascular or lung function issues. But it tells you nothing about your physiological ability to challenge that record. The greatest motivation for ambitious goals is the knowing that your body is able to handle the load that means you have to test your physical limits, your vital capacity, not merely the absence of disease.
Parents who want to coach their kids to become champions
Today's children are born into an ultra-competitive world and in this setting; parents want to prepare their kids to excellence, where in many cases they impose their own unrealized dreams on them. So they want to coach their kids to Olympic Gold Medals, or as the next Tour de France or Wimbledon champion. They subject their kids to ambitious training regiments without ever knowing if they can ever prevail in the sports discipline of choice. But it should be clear that a 5'4" short boy will be an unlikely LA Lakers Basketball Hero and a 90 lbs 18 year old will more likely score as a Jockey than as a Sumo Yokozuna. Likewise, very few elitist cyclists have a physiology like Lance Armstrong and even the most aggressive training may never challenge his legendary performance. In the case of the aborted career of the Ballet Dancer, the little girl clearly didn't have the ideal physiology to begin with as she was overweight and unable to reduce it. It follows that parents who are raising the next generation Roger Federer, need to know more than the kid's health, they need to investigate the benchmark to challenge and what are the physical limits to be broken.
Applicants for a professional career in physically demanding jobs
In the context of staffing firefighter, police, special service armed forces and security positions, physical ability testing is an expected procedure. These test usually consists of a combination of some of the following: Scaling a wall, usually 6 feet in height; Long (broad) jumping a set distance; Crawling through openings at ground level; Running a set distance, usually a quarter mile; Dragging a heavy object a set distance; Running a course consisting of various obstacles; Sit-ups, pull-ups and squats; and so forth. If the test is passed in a given time, the candidate is considered fit for the physical demand of the job. So are the physical limits of the candidate assessed? No, not at all, such tests are setting a minimal entry barrier, but they don't care whether the candidate just barely made it, or had power and energy to spare. Thus, the person considering a physically demanding job, can greatly benefit from knowing his or her physical limits, because power to spare and the assurance of one's ability to improve is a great motivation factor that leads to job satisfaction and opens the opportunity for promotions.
Adults who are afraid to enter into physical exercise for the first time
The word is spreading fast, that Diet and Exercise are promoting Health and Longevity. We can see a growing number of middle-aged sedentary people who are convinced of this wisdom, but they are hesitant to modify their lifestyle because they are afraid of over-exertion and injury. They are often being told by their physician to start exercising, and if they follow-up on the advice with a Personal Trainer, they do the right thing. A licensed Personal Trainer can train the novice at any age and avoid injury. In addition, the Personal Trainer can refer the person to testing the own Physical Limit. The benefit of knowing can be a huge - and necessary motivation factor, because lifestyle modification that includes physical activity is associated with a high dropout rate. But we have tested many seniors who were surprised and overjoyed when they learned that they had grossly underestimated their own - dormant - physical ability.
Resources:
"ACSM" American College of Sports Medicine
Heinz R Gisel has built up laser and medical companies from start through IPO's in the US, Europe and Japan. He is a Personal and Institutional Nutrition Concepts and Medical Devices Innovator, based in San Diego and Tokyo. He is the Founder and CEO of Vitality Concepts Corporation and Doctors 4 Vitality Clinics, the first truly preventive health analysis that does not need radiation exposure. He developed patented procedures to restore and protect health and vitality naturally. He believes that Nutrients belong into food and beverages and not capsules and pills and he has developed proprietary concepts to reintroduce specific nutrients into natural foods they way Nature intended - and is wholesome for body and mind. He is a best-selling author and public speaker on many health and quality of life topics. His most recent Book is "In Foodture We Trust", published Spring 2009
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