Be Content

In December CPC launched our workshop series with two yoga sessions. In both sessions, the theme of being present in the moment and doing what felt right for YOU was laced throughout. It’s easy for all of us to get frustrated trying to “keep up” or from trying to be able to do something that the person next to you can. I would like to take a minute to reflect on this idea and put a bit of an anatomical and physiological spin on it. 

Last month I read an article that talked about limb lengths and insertion points. I won’t bore you with any other jargon, but it related these concepts (and others) to athletic performance. What it boiled down to, was how all of these physical and anatomical traits and/or characteristics can effect athletic performance. Bottom line? How “good” of an athlete you may be, may be pre-disposed to your genetic makeup.  

Let’s talk about limb length and insertion point. Limb length isn’t really that complicated, it is simply the length of your limbs. More specifically the bones that make up and support those limbs. If you have long legs, odds are your femur and tibia/fibula are going to be long. Insertion point is a little more complex. It deals with how and where your muscles attach themselves to the afore mentioned skeletal system. Locomotion is the act of moving your body through space, which is done by your muscles exerting a force upon the bones of your skeleton to acquire the intended response.  Flex your bicep and your arm bends. Flex your quad and your leg straightens. You get the point. This concept gets a little trickier when you start to think about exactly where on a bone (due to genetics) a muscle attaches; higher or lower is going to produce different reactions or results, specifically force production.  I’m not going to get into the physics behind it all - lever arms, axis’, force, etc., - I’m sure you get the picture.

With regard to athletes, these (genetic) characteristics lend themselves to the level of performance they are able to achieve. In certain sports, particular body types “fit” what is asked of that athlete during competition. Is it possible to train and coach athletes to be the best they can? Of course, otherwise CPC may not exist, but genetics play a large role as well. Some athletes are just genetic marvels - truly gifted specimens. There is a reason that you don’t see many 7’ power lifters or 5’ Olympic swimmers. For the rest of us, we fall somewhere within the mix of it all.

My point of all of this is that we are all different and will be better at or worse at certain things than other people. Basic concept right? You may physically look like someone but you may be built completely different internally. You may not deadlift 400lbs or run a 4 min mile, but it’s probably due to the fact that you may not be built to perform those things. Come to terms with that! Accept that. Know your limitations and find joy in the things that you are good at. A little healthy competition is good, but most of all you should focus on being happy with yourself and what YOU can do.