The Resilience of the Human Body

By Stephen Lenz

I can really recall the night out in Davis, where I would have a deep conversation on the resilience of the human body. It was just over three years ago when I first met my very close friend, Asem Elshimi, at the Graduate (Recently closed sadly due to rent costs), and we got on this fantastic topic of exercise and the limits to the human body. He asked a very interesting question that would lead to one of the most moving conversations that I have had with anyone regarding exercise. He had asked the question, “What is the maximum limit of the human body?” I had never truly had to examine this question because no one had ever been so interested to ask such a question. Also, little did I know what would come of this conversation, I would plant a seed that would later be proven to hold true through the actions of my best friend.

The conversation went something along the lines of this following the delay after the question had been asked:

Me: “The human body was extremely resilient and that the limit is far greater than most believe. What do you think the limits are?”

Asem: “Well, I run roughly one to two miles a day and it’s exhausting! I would say that I may be lucky if I make it to five miles in a single run.”

Me: “You won’t believe me when I say this, but it’s far greater than that…in fact, if you train hard enough, you could average over 10 miles a day per run. In my prime, I was running 70 to 90 miles a week. The limits of the human body are far greater than most people give it credit for. It is capable of pushing very hard and is able to recover in the most extreme of conditions if you build up and teach the body how to do this.”

Asem: “Holy crap! That’s a lot of running in a single week. You are crazy for running that many miles a week…how long do you think it would take me to build up to that kind of distances for running?”

Me: “If you gave yourself about half of a year, you could easily be doing this if you give yourself the chance to build up your tolerance. Like I said, the human body is VERY, VERY, VERY resilient and can do so much more than most people want to give it credit for. You should give it a try and see for yourself.”

Asem: “I definitely am going to give this a go. I really want to see this for myself and prove to myself that I can do it. I am going to aim for getting to a 10 mile run in a single day.”

Me: “You’ll easily conquer that in a few months. You’d be surprised to see that your body could probably handle running a marathon or longer if you really committed to running, and increasing your mileage over time.”

Several months pass…Asem ends up going from running a few miles a day to well over 10 miles in his single long run in a week over the next few months. He then pushes it even further and starts achieving some ultra-distance runs. He and I are obviously reflecting on this throughout his process and he picks my brain on ideas during his super long runs that he suddenly finds himself doing for fun while pursuing his master’s in electrical engineering. His long run ends up being 29 miles if I am recalling correctly. He was very, very thankful for this, and I honestly believe and told him that I didn’t do anything for him and that he did this for himself! I had just planted the seed was all and he made it happen and put in the hard work to make it happen! He proved that he was living proof of resilience of the human body!

Long story short, this was one of the most awesome experiences, ironically with Asem (pronounce awesome) for me in really showing someone how RESILIENT the human body truly is and how capable we all are of obtaining the ability to move for extreme distances or tolerate vast amounts of pain. The body is able and capable of taking on super extremes conditions including: weather, terrain, and whatever you throw at it and at a much greater capacity than people really realize at that. This is not to say that it’s not painful, although with the build up in your capacity to do work, the pain becomes far more tolerable and bearable over time. You can also push harder for longer periods of time as you become more aware of how much you can push your body, and in any physical activity for that matter…ranging from weights, to cardio, to circuit workouts, etc. The body is and has been designed for centuries to move over long distances and it is how we survived as hunter gatherers in our early development.

Give your body the opportunity to try exercise and push out of your comfort zone. If you have never done so, it will make for a novel experience and will open your eyes in a way that you could never have imagined. It can take the place of any form and any activity, and does not necessarily have to be running, bicycling, or swimming. It also doesn’t have to be at the exact pace or in the exact way that everyone else gets to that point. You need to do it at the rate that works for you and so long as you keep on building, you will see exactly how resilient the human body is. This will furthermore boost your confidence in your ability to be resilient in situations that take place in other aspects of life and work. Furthermore, it will inspire you to want to continue seeking curiosity because this idea of resilience involves many unknowns and will be different for every person. In closing of this article, the human body is super resilient, and you should really do everything in your power to unlock the true potential of your resilience. See how far you can push, test your limits regularly, and seek the curiosity factor continuously from pushing yourself in exercise. You won’t be disappointed, and you will surprise yourself at what your body can do! It is EXTREMELY resilient and that is just putting it simply!

Questions for you guys to respond and give your opinions!

1) What is the way in which you will attempt to put your body's resilience to the test this year?

2) How have you already experienced resilience of the human body?

Please hare your thoughts and ideas below!!!!!

Cheers!!!