Strength is the Master Quality

If you read the previous blog, and took it seriously, and you weren’t already walking, you’re doing it now. Well done. You’ve started building the master quality—strength.

Wait a minute: strength, from walking? Seriously? Yes, seriously.

What is Strength?

There are many definitions of strength, but in this context, strength boils down to one thing: the ability to produce force against resistance. We produce force against resistance when we lift a weight, but we also do it when we stand up, pass the salt, and when we walk. Anything that produces movement produces force necessary to overcome the resistance in the way of that movement.

Endurance

It’s been said that endurance is continued strength. This is absolutely true. Take our example of walking: for most of us, walking around the house is no problem. Same for around the block, the neighborhood, etc. But, if we walk long enough, we’re tired. Our muscles don’t move us as quickly—with the same amount of force—as they did when we started the walk. Or, take a walk on flat ground and move it to the hills; walking is suddenly much harder (requires more force), and is often called hiking, instead of walking.

Body Composition

As we said, strength is the production of force against resistance. It is what allows us to create movement. What produces that force? Muscle (the brain, nervous system, connective tissue, and bones are all involved, but it’s the muscle that contracts, producing the movement). What else is true about muscle? It’s metabolically active, which means it burns calories, both at rest and when active (more when active). Getting stronger helps us build more muscle, and more muscles burns more calories, even at rest, and burning more calories helps us burn more fuel, which includes stored body fat.

The Point?

There are a lot of ways to exercise, and many of them are very beneficial. That said, the master quality is strength, and the most beneficial way of training is to use a program that build strength. It will help you move well; it will help you maintain healthy body composition; it will help you slow the aging process (which causes us to lose muscle, and the capabilities that come with it).

By all means, work on flexibility, mobility, movement (getting strong helps all of that). By all means, develop endurance (getting strong helps with that, too). And by all means, train to get the body you want (which is likely to involve a certain level of muscle, and…yep, strength helps with that, too).  Just make sure that strength is your foundation, and that you keep tending to that foundation, even as you build on it—for the rest of your life.

Let’s get better together.