Gym Musing: The Body's Power to Heal

I remember the time I dislocated my shoulder about four years ago; the excruciating pain. When moving it even a millimeter hurt really bad. I remember thinking at the time that I would never recover from such a terrible injury.

Then, slowly and steadily it healed. I was sternly told by my physician to consistently follow certain small exercises; otherwise there was a greater chance of dislocation in the future. It took some tremendous persistence, patience, and at times, frustration getting through those painful exercises. But I followed his instructions to the letter.

Now, that same arm does pull ups, push ups, and everything else it could previously do, and actually even more so than it ever did before.

That is the power of your body. Whether you believe in God, or in mother nature, or in pure science. The fact is, your body has capabilities beyond your imagination. It has a tremendous capacity to heal. You just have to push it. You have to slightly injure it, give it a reason to become better. And it will listen. Like the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi once said: “The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.”

And Arnold Schwarzenegger also mentions: "The body is very important, but the mind is more important than the body. Because that creates the will, the will that you need to go to the gym everyday. The will that makes you go beyond if you can’t do another rep. It’s the will that makes you go one more time."

Believe. Achieve.