THE MEANS TO AN END-A Deeper Scope of Practical Service

The search for the “means” of available function that justify the “end” of the task begins with the task specific joint(s), and all of its psycho-neuro-myofascial counterparts. (Article #20-“The Torque Detective”)

It is the “microscopic” depth of a Resistance Training Specialist’s? perception that provides a broader scope of practical service. Ultimately, the perception is about teaching a person how to sustain a contraction through the full range of a joint capsules’ excursion in its socket. It may be helpful to consider the importance of this.

There are very few involuntary functions that require our joints to span their extremities, and probably even fewer that actually require our muscles to contract through that entire spectrum. Instead, we are built with mechanical disadvantages that require rotational inertia to overcome the resistance that is imposed by the environment.

By the time we are able to perform any involuntary act, the brain has already developed the ability to coordinate an amalgamation of contractions, disperse the resistance among them, increase the properties of inertia i.e. causing our limbs and/or anything connected to them to begin moving semi-independently, diluting the demand. As a result, our muscles become accustomed to working through a limited portion of the distance where their tension is required as the aforementioned inertial properties kick in.

Therefore, they seldom if ever have the opportunity of contracting to the “ends” of their length, so why is a “full range” contraction necessary, and if it is, how much is the “full range”, and how it that determined?

The long and short ends of a muscle’s contraction represents its’ Length Tension and defines the end ranges of its joints’ function a.k.a. threshold to tolerate the effort required to perform work. It is at these ends where the greatest risk of long term harm exists. The only way to minimize this risk is to maintain control of the end ranges (of joint mobility), and the only way to have control is to contract there.

If we do not, or cannot, our joints do not remain steady, and this unsteadiness increases the risk of arthritis (a.k.a. the crushing consequences of skeletal deformation and joint erosion). The point is, whenever we are unprepared, the short term benefits of the “Just Do It” involuntary ends (as in “the only way is through”) produce long term detriments because we are indiscernibly out of control.

The only safe way to “Just Do It” is not to work “Through” until reaching the task specific “end” (and its benefits), but to prepare for “It” first, by adhering to the aforementioned “means” of joint function. In other words, the most essential end to pursue is not the task or its’ effect, but the end lengths of muscle contractions, located at the end ranges of their joints’ excursions. Here are the means to those ends:

The shapes of a joint’s structure determine what it can do.; how it works or functions. However, as Tom has stated, “what a joint can do is not always what it will do”.

The best way to visualize the “can do” possibilities is to move a joint’s capsule in and around its socket on the model of a human skeleton. Then, the influences of bone structure become vividly, although liberally, apparent. “Liberally”, because the remaining, more malleable tissues that reveal what a joint “will do” are not present.

Since cartilage, ligaments, nerves, muscles, tendons, fascia, fat, and skin are lacking, they must be considered by some other means to determine more precisely, what they will do, under the conditions of the entire human structure.

A lever system consists of (1) an axis, (2) a distance from the axis to the application of a resistive force (Resistance Arm), (3) a distance from the other side of the axis to the application of an opposing force (Force Arm) that is used, in some way, to cope with the Resistance Arm for some purpose, and one other component.

(4) The Lever Arm of the system, which can be a rigid object like a beam, board, or bone, but is not always. These visible objects are often nothing more than structural supports. Although imperceptible to an untrained eye, the features of the Lever Arm are the same as a Resistance Arm i.e. the linear distance from the axis to the application of force.

In our world, like in engineering, (although it can be created internally with a strategic intent) the resistive force is typically outside the body in the form of gravity, water or air currents, and a variety of surface conditions, but, because the opposing force comes from muscle (and its counterparts), it represents our effort, so, for clarification, Tom aptly refers to the Force Arm part of the system as an “Effort Arm?”.

Furthermore, he is the only person I have ever known, (in nearly 50 years of study) who has indicated that the Lever Arm inside the body is not the entire bone of a muscle’s attachment (like the plain-sight of a support beam), but, is like the actual Lever Arm an Engineer sees i.e. it is the same linear distance from the (joint) axis to the application of a muscle’s force. That is (for some later explanation), huge!

Fitness and Exercise “Experts” indiscriminately claim that the “core” is the primary influence of the human body a.k.a. the center of its mass. Those dubious inaccuracies are controversies for another article, but for this one, if ever appropriate to use the word “core” as a symbol of a primary influence, it is with regards to the axis of a joint, because the axis is the primary means of joint function. “The core of each joint in the human body is its axis.” (Eric Glickstein, 2020 i.e. just now).

When we look into the “microscope” (our depth of study) rather than the “periscope” (breadth of practice), we cannot improve our “inner vision” without regard for the axes because they are the markers for everything we need to discern.

In a mechanical system, the axis can be located outside, as the fulcrum of a see-saw, or as any kind of axle, inside, like a door hinge, but in either case, it causes rotation as it is fixed against or within a lever.

The anatomical counterpart is very different. It is not inside or outside of its lever arm, but is actually a variable part of the capsule portion of the joint. Its variability is determined by its relationship to the contact surface of its socket. Unlike a fixed mechanical axis, an anatomical axis shifts with every instance of change, to remain adjusted on a perpendicular course with the surface of its socket (thus Tom’s use of the term, “Instantaneous axis of rotation”). This location of the anatomical axis is the “means” to “detect” the aforementioned Lever Arm.

We know that when a muscle contracts, its fibers converge from their attachments, so it is also necessary to know the placement of their “geographical” landmarks and how their muscle’s fibers are distributed across the spine, trunk, and limbs, to determine the direction of their force. Then, a comparison of their direction of tension with the course of their Lever Arm reveals an angular line of pull that is known as a Force Angle.

Proper distribution of the forces that reside between joint surfaces (compression, friction, and shear) are crucial for the health of joint structure. When other incidences like the absence of contraction at the end range of joint motion regularly disturb the normal exchange, joint surfaces begin to move incongruently on each other, causing the aforementioned onset of arthritic conditions.

Force Angles are the means to detect the components that maintain the order of joint forces, but again, without awareness of the axis, there is no way to recognize the Lever Arm, and without the Lever Arm, there is no way to appreciate how the joint forces are allocated. (More information about joint forces and their components is available in Article #17, “Prepare to be Fit”.)

Force also has a magnitude that, in a lever system, is more than the acceleration of a mass. The purpose of lever is to redirect the amount of a load to acquire a prevailing advantage a.k.a. leverage.

Therefore, the magnitude of the force in a lever system involves consideration of the relationship between its direction and placement (application) so again, the axis is compulsory. The direction of force from the placement of its application toward its axis creates a path of (1) resistance outside the body or (2) tension within.

The length of the perpendicular distance between the path and the axis at a particular moment of the relevant joint’s excursion indicates how much rotation the force will impose on its Lever Arm (at that particular moment) a.k.a. torque. This instantaneous line of torque (Torque-line, Eric Glickstein, 2019) is referred to as a Moment Arm.

The resistance outside and the tension within the body represent the inexorable “tug of war”, as Tom calls it, that we both need to remain alive and yet is imperceptibly crushing us i.e. the aforementioned skeletal deformation and joint erosion (that are imposed when the challenge is too far beyond our ability to tolerate it). It is the struggle between the resistance of gravity and our tension of muscular contractions that conditions our effort to prevail.

Regarding our effort, in addition to Length Tension, the Moment Arm is used to delineate the threshold for work. Due to the variable relationship between its Lever Arm, the axis, and production of its tension, the allocation of the muscle’s contractile strength varies throughout the joint range.

Where Length Tension determines the functional range of its joint, the Moment Arm is a (contractile) strength variable, and thus, a determinant of the amount of rotational pull against its Lever Arm. The variable magnitude of its tension production is referred to as its “Strength Profile”.

Consequently, “the body has many machine-like characteristics, consisting of axes, levers, and pulley cables of motors that produce angles of force. In the body, the cables are nerves; fascia, and tendons. The motors are muscles. The force is tension from the muscle contractions that torque the axes of the levers we call bones, and the pulleys are irregular shapes of bone structure that redirect the linear path of muscle forces, altering the placement of contact on their bones.” (Article #17-“Prepare to be Fit”)

The bottom line is, the prerequisite to prepare for any kind of involuntary performance is to build a better body. Knowing the physics that define how the body functions on the inside is the means to what it “will do” per moment a.k.a. momentary ability, which establishes a threshold to tolerate work (determined by Length Tension and the length of a Moment Arms' “Torque-line”).

However, to build a better body i.e. prepare it for any involuntary purpose, we need to create exercises that challenge the threshold appropriately, so it is also compulsory to know the physics of all forms of external force. With this in mind, it is possible to adjust the consistency of the resistance (the Resistance Profile) according to momentary ability, (momentary presence of strength i.e. Strength Profile) and its variable changes.

When the changes become invariably better, the body is prepared enough to know how far we can “stretch the threshold” i.e. how far, how fast and for how long a body “can do” it until it “can’t”; how much is enough until it reaches the “end” a.k.a. “The Only Way Is Through” without inflicting damage.

“There are no rules of exercise, only of the body and force”. (Tom Purvis, circa 1990; first time I heard anyone make that statement.)