There are two kinds of stubborn:

Intelligent stubborn and stupid stubborn.

I’ve been both more often than I care to mention.

But every now and then, I wise up. I realize that what I previously learned and believed just ain’t so.

For example, at a much earlier time in my life, I believed that you had to push, push, push… relentlessly, to make progress. I believed you must drive yourself to failure when you work out, otherwise there is no possible way you are going to make progress.

Today I know better.

It was tough facing the truth. But when I tested myself to see what would happen if I adjusted the intensity of my workouts, I discovered that I made more rather than less progress.

For example, when I began learning Power Postures many harvest moons ago, I was taught to grind it out, to eat bitter, to not stop until a pool of sweat was at my feet. Anything less, I was told, was a sissy-man workout that would not lead to any improvement.

But when I allowed myself to “eat sweet” instead of bitter, holding a posture from one-to-five minutes instead of 20 or 40, and taking a break even when I thought I didn’t need one, my brain and nervous system turned off the threat response, and whaddyaknow, I began to feel what was going on inside my body at a whole new level.

The shift was somewhat microscopic, giving me insights and details that were blocked and covered up when I was being a “hard-ass.”

The same experience happened in my bodyweight conditioning and martial arts training.

When I slowed it down and varied the intensity, I was blown away by how much information and detail I never knew about before, such as something I have dubbed as “the Spiderman suit within.”

What the hell is that?

Well, you’ll never know if you’re a hard-ass.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with moving fast and pushing yourself. But do you have any idea what will happen if you vary the intensity and the speed you usee when training.

Oddly enough, super slow movements give you internal insights that make you super fast, improve balance and increase strength. Hence the adage you’ll hear in baseball, golf, tennis, et cetera, “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”

I encourage you to question the narratives you’ve probably heard since childhood.

The first thing people learn is what they tend to cling onto and believe without testing the flip-side of the coin.

It makes no sense that you can improve your fitness and heal your injuries by standing still, holding various postures, or doing bodyweight exercises. But then again, it makes perfect sense when you test yourself and experience the reality of a whole new whirld, one that has been there all along but was ignored.

Here endeth the lesson.

Kick hard-asses, take names!

Matt Furey