Are You Strong Enough?

The two biggest things said when people feel they have a physical problem are “I just need to get stronger” or “You need to get stronger”.

Certainly, being stronger and more fit can help lead a healthier lifestyle and allow your body to be more resilient to stress, but just getting stronger for the sake of it may be the wrong approach. Chasing strength may be the reason why your balance or joints might ache in the first place. 

We all have an individual tolerance level. When that gets exceeded, things break down, or we compensate to accommodate it, which may push us further. For example, if you want to improve your balance and decide to get your legs stronger, you may gain some benefits. But if you have sufficient strength for your build and you push harder and harder, your body will eventually sacrifice something to push harder. Otherwise, you would collapse when lifting something heavy. The sacrifice might be compromising fluid body mechanics, which we never will be 100% perfect, just enough that it makes our balance worse.

Below is an explanation on how we can utilize our body type and determine if we are pushing beyond our means or not. ​

We are all for pushing our bodies to the limits and maximizing our abilities, but as stated before, we all have individual tolerance levels. Some people are genetically and structurally built to back on more muscle and lift heavier things without much compromise. Others can rotate better and move faster; of course, there’s everything else in between. If you are someone who isn’t built for massive strength, it doesn’t mean you can’t be strong. You just need to be strong enough for your body. When chasing more beyond our limitations, we compromise our mechanics, thus creating those achy joints. 

On the flip side, if you have stiffness even with body weight activities and general moving around, and the thought of strengthening anything is a no-go. You may need extra help to get guidance on how you should improve movement and strength within your body's means. 

In that case, seek the help of a professional who can guide you and take down the correct path.