Coordination is everything!

Optimal Muscle Training: Building Strength And Coordination Chapter 5

Shortly after I was awarded my 1st dan (black belt) in karate, I attended a course given by Master Kanazawa, one of the world’s senior instructors from Japan. Following the event I was surprised to suddenly find myself standing next to him at the vending machine. Not wishing to miss out on the opportunity to talk to one of the most respected practitioners of karate in the world, I quickly formed a question in my mind. I asked the great man if he could recommend exercises that would help improve my karate.

In typical Japanese fashion he paused for a moment, and then with an expression of sympathy for a westerner completely missing the point, uttered one word - karate. I thanked him for his advice and kicked myself for asking such a stupid question, however, it was some time before I began to appreciate his answer.

For Optimal Muscle Training
Focus On The Movement

We have become entrenched in the culture of exercise and consequently miss the basics of optimal muscle training. The basic assumption made by those advocating exercise centuries ago has never really been questioned. We believe that to improve performance in one activity we must spend more time doing another. Activity for activity’s sake, otherwise known as exercise, has for many taken the place of participating in sport; a visit to the gymnasium has become a substitute for sport.

Yet sport encourages the integration of the whole organism because it is necessary to think as we move and plan ahead. In performing each movement in response to the run of play, we use mechanisms that nature evolved for the purpose of survival in a hostile world. Sport is today’s equivalent of the hunting, fighting and avoidance of predators that kept our ancestors alive. The skills developed in our past are essential in today’s sport; accuracy, speed, strength and intelligence are all requirements for success.

We have come to believe that the stronger a muscle the better, without a thought to what we actually do with a stronger muscle. I am not advocating we should do nothing, or that all exercise is harmful. The important issue is why we exercise and what is it we hope to achieve? If we want to get fit, ask the question - fit for what? When did you last review your objectives for devoting so much time and effort to its pursuit?

To achieve optimal muscle training in your program it is useful to understand the physiology involved so you do not misuse your body. All movement, even of the smallest part, involves the total organism yet many exercises fail to recognise the integral nature of human function. Exercises have always been designed to achieve specific improvements for one part of the body in the belief it will benefit the athlete for the particular demands of their sport. My view is that the concentration on individual parts whilst performing these exercises destroys the unity of the organism necessary for good movement.

Getting into shape usually involves a trip to the local gymnasium with its staggering array of equipment. A combination of technology and clever marketing has transformed the dull exercise machine into an essential piece of equipment capable of ‘achieving miracles’.

Today’s machines have made it possible to work individual muscles in isolation - this is not optimal muscle training in my view. It is no coincidence that many first-time gym users will often joke they ache in muscles they did not know existed. Unfortunately, in the rush to develop the ultimate range of equipment, a vital factor in human development and movement has been overlooked. That is, no single movement involves either an individual or isolated set of muscles! Machines that work a muscle whilst immobilising or supporting part of the body, encourage ‘unnatural’ actions never to be repeated outside the gymnasium, sports scientist Dr Mel Siff wrote: -

"….it is well known in physiology that the body knows of actions, not muscles, so that it is inappropriate to place any intentional stress on individual muscles rather than on the desired motor patterns."

Even the harmless looking treadmill does not replicate natural activity. Running on a moving surface employs a different combination of muscles when compared with road running. Chuck Wolf, the director of sport science and human performance for the U.S.A. Triathlon National Training Center in Florida acknowledges this problem with the exercise machine saying,

"… our love of machines has caused us to lose sight of the way the body functions. Machines are ideal for multiple repetitions of the same movement patterns along a single plane. Unfortunately, that's not how we move."

FIG. 5.1 Some exercise machines encourage ‘unnatural’ activity in the pursuit of the perfect body. Many gym exercises have little in common with everyday activities.

Too much emphasis is placed on muscle and hence exercises to improve strength at the cost of neglecting the systems that control them. Complex machines are able to analyse the strength of individual muscles in specific movements. However, these machines do not measure the body during natural activity. Problems are then identified with the suspect muscle and exercises prescribed to correct the condition. But what causes the weakness initially? Why is a muscle weak or too tight? A muscle can only do what it is told to do and as we do not have the ability to directly control a muscle we cannot be certain of what we are actually telling it to do.

The ‘offending’ muscle is only performing its function as directed by the controlling mechanisms for which we ultimately carry the responsibility. When the police stop a speeding motorist they prosecute the driver not the car!

More recently other gadgets have started to appear on the market that promise to improve balance and proprioception (our ability to sense the position, location and movement of the body and its parts). But do these devices really help to improve performance in your sport? Or do you just acquire a new skill such as balancing on a swiss-ball that may be fun but does nothing to help your game? Bill Hartman, sports scientist and golf coach, writes

"So what can you do to improve your golf-specific balance? Play golf. There is not a gadget or exercise which will improve your golf-specific balance like playing golf. Why? Because nothing can duplicate the demands of playing golf other than playing golf. I know, it sounds silly doesn’t it. If you look at other athletes in any sport from martial arts to gymnastics to hockey, you’ll find that they simply perform their sporting skills over and over to acquire their amazing balance skills. They don’t rely on silly, useless gadgets. If you were a tightrope walker, would you practice on a wooden beam or stand on a stability ball. Of course not, because it would not duplicate the demands of tightrope walking. The rope has its own “feel” and sway that nothing else but a tightrope can duplicate. So if you want to improve your golf-specific balance, play golf."

It is possible to benefit from training and exercise with or without exercise equipment. However, the prevalent gym culture tends to focus on results. Informal competition within the gym tempts many to overload the weights or push too hard without considering the effect in order to impress their peers. The next few chapters look at some of the fundamentals of movement and common misconceptions about exercise.

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