Structural Integrity

We all have a deep seeded understanding of what it feels like to be strong. Maybe we can’t easily identify what this feels like, but I think most people know strength when they see it. When I’m talking about strength, I am not referring to things that are hard and stiff, I am talking about durability, and durability is only possible through structural integrity.

Imagine if the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed by brick. Or if skyscrapers were made entirely of concrete. They may seem strong at first but would eventually crumble as their resilience to the environment weakens. It takes a lot of work for engineers and architects to construct something that lasts. In order to optimally design structures, they must account for environmental demands and perfectly craft design features to accommodate for these demands.

I argue that our bodies should be viewed under the same framework. I believe we misunderstand what it means to be strong. Our bodies are extremely intricate. In the same way that bridges may have cables, trusses, and various design elements, our bodies consist of muscles, joints, and bones. These biological design elements serve the function of supporting one another to serve specific functions. The more you understand complex functions in the body, the more you begin to see structural elements that are designed to account for them. With the proper tuning and adjustment, these functions can be optimized for, and longevity is made possible.

Is strength even a valuable metric to pursue? I mean yes, but only if it’s contextual. If you’re an athlete, you may have your hand forced into a short sighted approach. I believe that the human body was carefully constructed, through the process of millions of years evolution, to perform certain functions. Sports are fun, and although activity is generally good, we were not evolved to row, or wrestle, or play golf. We were also not evolved to live the largely sedentary lifestyle we currently live. So it should come to no surprise that our bodies begin to crumble under these environmental factors.

If you want something to last, it should be carefully constructed in accordance to the external forces it operates under.

In order to maintain strength, resilience, flexibility, durability, metabolic heath, etc. we should train to respect our biology. If your body is constructed to serve foundational functions, everything else falls in order. Robust physical heath, and not strength in particular, tends to outwardly effect other areas of our life.

We must be able to maintain structural integrity in the face of external forces. If a San Fransisco skyscraper was made entirely of bricks, it would crumble as soon as there was an earthquake. Similarly, a skyscraper made of overly flexible materials might sway too much from the wind and topple over. I know these examples might seem obvious or absurd, but I am trying to really make it clear what I mean by structural integrity.

For example, we all have to orient our bodies to account for gravity. If certain parts of our structure are too flexible, or too stiff, we will eventually default into compromising positions, which has a negatively compounding effect on our health. If you want to prevent this deterioration, you have to examine your physical structure down to the nuts and bolts, and be especially cognizant of the force vectors you apply.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”