Yogi's vs Lifters vs Desk Jockeys vs THE FREAKS

These are spectra. Everyone sits somewhere on these, between your ultimate strength and weakest or between the furthest degrees of stiffness and mobility. It’s categorizing people to learn where we need to be and what means of exercise we should tend to in order to promote the best athlete (strong, efficient, fast, durable) that we can be (everyone has an inner athlete, age and ability level are irrelevant).

Everyone should be reaching towards the middle and doing more of the same won’t help. It is necessary to do what is opposing and usually what does NOT come natural. We must practice, this doesn’t mean immerse, but practice what we are not good at performing. Naturally mobile people will excel and therefore tend to enjoy yoga b/c they are good at it and will end up doing more and more of it.

People w/ a certain amount of “natural strength” (I use this loosely b/c it doesn’t exist) will gravitate towards lifting b/c they’re good at it. These people are typically on the more stiff and wound up (psychologically) side that could use the mobility, relaxation and breathing patterns of yoga. This is true and the same for the yoga person that needs the addition of strength work (actually more so than the other way around, even if I’m slightly biased, science agrees).

The desk jockey needs to do something that’s off his/her butt. And the genetic freak has just happened to luck out (h/e remember that ‘natural’ strength doesn’t exist). Unless they are too mobile, then this goes to the “stability spectrum” that I’ll explain next time. I happen to be one of these too mobile/strong/ freaks and it can raise a whole new host of issues that I’ll get into later.

Until then, do what goes against your nature or comfort zone. That’s where the magic is.