The Surprise Benefits of Imbalance

I do not like admitting it, but my life has not been steady. I’d rather not go into details, but the traditional life path of an average American human is not one that has been available to me. Truthfully, this fact has always bothered me. I crave some of the things I’ve not been able to get my hands on. But what can you do?

Adaptation and Adoption

Even prior to the shutdown order, my gym was among the first wave of businesses in my life that closed to “protect everyone”. A great sentiment, but not a great time to not have access to a gym. I waited out the situation for a while, believing as we all did (because Trump told us) it would go away and end sooner than later. But as time has gone on, I’ve had to adapt.

The cheapest and most available option was an outdoor workout. Most often at the gym, I use a stair master, so I challenged myself with nearby hills, figuring it was a close equivalent. I guessed steep hills worked the same muscles. I was wrong.

The “A-Ha” Moment

Up,

Although going up a hill does work some of the same muscles on a machine, others simply were not engaged at all. My back and waist play a much larger role. I finally understand what they mean when they say “engage your core”. Also, the energy required to power myself upward without the stairs magically and effortlessly falling before me is more intense and valuable. And that says nothing about going down.

Down,

Perhaps the more daredevil gym-goers are willing to turn around and use the stair master backward, but that has never been me. Furthermore, I assumed that downhill was too easy to offer any benefit. However, going down a hill, and greatly dependent upon the angle of the slant pushes the core in a completely different way! I feel engagement and tightening in my lower abs. My knees and legs are using a completely different set of muscles. And most importantly, because the ground before me is uneven, my entire body is forced to compensate for balance.

& In Between…

Hills have their own use, but not when it comes to ab work. You would imagine that lying down anywhere, even outside, is the same. You would be mistaken. It’s not always easy to see a slant. Let me tell you, a sit-up on flat ground is one thing, a sit-up on an uphill slant is another.

Uneven Ground

In this process, I’ve discovered unseen benefits to uneven or unsteady ground. Were it not for a global pandemic I doubt I would have discovered the unique and challenging opportunities offered by an outdoor regime. And as I look back on my life I see that I have often been on unsteady ground, but that, too, has built up strength and resilience that I otherwise would not have.