BODY BY CHAOS

  

“Chaos is the plan”.  Ever since I wrote it, I’ve been equally a fan of myself for having come up with the expression and upset with myself for having not come up with it sooner.  Much like one of my readers that complimenting my “brute force and ignorance” approach to training and nutrition and me instantly getting upset that I never thought to name the blog that (seriously: it would have been EVEN better than “Mythical Strength”), “chaos is the plan” just sums things up so well.  And as we follow that plan, what’s interesting is that we get to observe just WHAT chaos being the plan produces.  Specifically, we become the embodiment of chaos, for we, in turn, develop a body produced by and from chaos.  And what a fascinating thing that is to observe.

Seems to be working well for this dude

 

SO many people in the world of training are fans of the principle of specificity referred to as “Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands”, or “SAID” for short.  That cute acronym ties in so neatly with having SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound).  Hell: both of those even include “specific” in them: a match made in heaven.  For those of you who have thankfully NOT suffered through hours of leadership/fitness presentations, the first principle basically speaks to the idea that the body will specifically adapt to the demand imposed upon it.  This is a simple concept: if you lay down on a bench and bench a heavy single every day, the body will become a heavy benching machine.  It won’t grow giant legs in response to the demand, your heart rate won’t improve, you won’t get better lung capacity: you become a machine dedicated to benching.  “SMART goals” is pretty self-explanatory, and basically serves as a guide to ensure that, when you develop a goal, you develop one that can actually be accomplished.  The absence of one of the SMART principles tends to interrupt one’s ability to achieve a goal…

 

But f**k me: how boring is all of that?  Achievable?  Why do I want an ACHIEVABLE goal?  Know what you get when you achieve a goal?  Ennui.  Dan John talks about the pain of achieving goals.  There is such a letdown when you actually get that brass ring, as there was far more passion and drive in the PURSUIT of the goal than there ever was in the achievement of it.  It’s why Vegeta is such a better character than Goku, why Clubber Lang was far more appealing the Rocky, why we “root for the underdog”: it’s the PURSUIT that is fascinating.  I’m not trying to be Kaz or Mariusz or Poundstone: I wanna be Cain Marko.  And that’s just ONE aspect of “SMART” I take issue with.  Let’s just be Sisyphus here folks.  My goals are not at all time-bound because they’re not achievable, and relevancy went out the window a long time ago.  We’re gonna push this rock up this hill forever.

Or combine it all and be Cain Marko pushing the Hulk up a hill forever!

 

But let’s get back to SAID.  The body will specifically adapt to the demand imposed upon it…but what if?  What if the demand imposed upon it ISN’T specific?  What if we hammer it with heavy lifting sometimes, hard conditioning sometimes, running sometimes, walking sometimes, 3 minute workouts, 30 minute workouts, 90 minute workouts, sometimes kettlebells, sometimes barbells, sometimes bodyweight?  What specific adaptation will the body make in the absence of specificity? 

 

It becomes awesome!  It becomes capable!  It becomes “more trouble than it’s worth”, because it can do SO many things, because it’s been subjected to so much ridiculous stimulus that it decided “f**k: looks like I need to be ready for ANYTHING”.  And not only that: it becomes better AT adapting.  It can rapidly shift gears because THAT is its own skillset.

Unlike some others out there...

 

When I took on the 10k swing challenge in 7 days, I could observe improvements DAY TO DAY in my ability to swing a kettlebell and recover from the training.  My body was THIRSTING for specificity, such that, when finally GIVEN an opportunity to employ SAID, it rapidly embraced it.  It was so used to being a pure being of chaos that, when finally given an opportunity to do something a few times in a row, it became remarkably proficient at it.

 

It’s the same whenever I go on my multi-month long binges of some sort of “new hotness”, like Tabata front squats or 5 minutes of ABCs or my current daily “TABEARTA” thing.  The first session sucks, and then, within the week, I’m dialed in, and I can ride it out until my brain starts melting down from TOO MUCH SPECIFICITY and I HAVE to change it up.

Like the worse game of horse ever

 

Hell, it’s the same with warming up, and my complete lack of it.  The vast majority of my workouts are done WITHOUT warming up than with.  I want my body to be able to act immediately upon demand, without prep and without warning.  Hell: wouldn’t you?  Doesn’t that seem more valuable?

 

And yes, this post has become incredibly self-congratulatory, but f**k it, I’m a case study of n=1 regarding my own insanity and if I don’t share no one else will know.  I bring that up because I’m turning 37 in Oct, I’ve never prioritized physique, and I can ACCIDENTALLY cut down to stupidly lean levels by getting too busy to eat and my training is so looney tunes that I never worry about overeating: I’m far too concerned about under-recovering.  My body is constantly primed to grow, because it’s essentially living in total fear of my brain and is champing at the bit to “adapt to the chaos”.  It soaks up nutrients and produces results because it NEEDS to: it is a body by chaos.

I don't count calories or macros because that takes away from the time I need to spend EATING so that I don't get rhabado

 

For those of you struggling, for those of you experiencing inadequate results, for those of you that are unsatisfied: why not introduce a little chaos into your life?  Why not try to produce your own body by chaos?  We’ve seen what the body by convention tends to look like these days: it’s unimpressive.  We’ve see what the body by the party approved training plans is producing: it’s underwhelming.  What have you got to lose from trying out a little chaos and seeing what comes out the other side?  Throw away the recipe book and make yourself a real stew out of intuition.  Let effort be the sole determinant of your plan and chaos be your guide.  Roll die to determine your workout and get after it.  Throw some darts.  Spin the globe and see where it lands.  You may find that what is produced is far greater than anything you could have achieved had you actually set out for it.