Balance
Balance…
Possibly the most abused words in the English language. So valued, yet so elusive. Always striving for, yet impossible to attain. As a result, we give up hope for balance and toss it aside.
But I'd like to think we all have more balance in our life than we think.
Everyone I've talked to this past year, after complaining about covid, has talked about more time, less busy schedules, the joy of working from home, commuting less, more time with family and loved ones, cooking and eating at home, working out, running, trying new things, etc. I don't know about you, but that sounds like balance to me!
Because this is a page is about strength training, and because I love to draw parallels between lifting and life, here's a brief thought now on lifting and balance.
I love to study about the foundational principles on barbell lifting, and lately I've been experimenting on my own lifts. The biomechanics of lifting is so fascinating! What's the most efficient way to use your body to move the most weight safely??? Tension, compression, centre of mass, levers, moment arm, base of support...
The squat is a highly complex compound movement - all the above principles are at work - yet it can be beautifully simple and elegant when it comes together (despite the ugly poo face under heavy load). When all these factors line up, you get the weight of the barbell over your midfoot, the squat can be magic.
You have achieved balance.
I was working with a client last night, I introduced her to low bar squat and shifted several things. She had a set where I could see it was starting to line up. After racking the bar, I asked her how it felt, and I could see her face lighten as she said so definitively "great". I could see she was achieving balance. It was awesome!
The elements all coming together, the push/pull in harmony, resistance is reduced, it feels easy. Am I talking about the squat or life now? 🤔
So let's not give on balance friends! We may never live in balance 100% of the time, but it's a beautiful state worth striving for.
Live, love, work, play, train, rest - in balance.
Infitiny ~ Be Exceptional
