My Body Tutor : No More Excuses

Last week, my aunt took me to see Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘Wintuk’ show. I’ve never seen a Cirque show so I was really excited because I’ve heard a lot about it.

I can safely say these guys/girls are the best athletes in the world. It is incredible some of the feats they pull off. (Although I didn’t see this in person here’s one I found which still boggles my mind, although, all their stunts did.)

Body control doesn’t do a justice. However, that’s what these athletes are masters of – body control.

Whether they are 40 feet in their air balancing themselves on a little ball or riding a bike and jumping up and down over someone’s head, body control is what it comes down to.

To be able to go from a sprint to a stand still is very hard. Much harder than going from a stand still to a sprint because momentum can be our worst and best friend.

A few days of eating right in a row can make us feel like we’re on top of the world. But a bad meal or two or three (which is inevitable) can be our demise.

With exercise, momentum is something we want to avoid.

For example, those guys in the gym that are curling too much weight, rocking their entire body in order to lift the weight, are using momentum to bring the weight up.

The idea is to use your bicep. Not momentum!

Of course, these guys think they look cool because they’re lifting a lot but they’re wasting their time. And they look silly. Ego lifters aren’t people you want to follow.

The goal is to have perfect form. Slow and steady. I don’t care about how much you can lift. I care about how much you can lift with perfect form.

The best way to achieve perfect form, at the very least, is to go slow. At least your muscles will feel the tension.

Both on the negative (lowering) and the positive (lifting) of the exercise.

Can you stop on a dime?

See if you can. If you can’t, you’re using too much momentum and not enough muscle.