Strengthening Your Nerves For Great Health

    Strength doesn't always come from the physical, it comes from all of the body's energy; your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Your nerves are what electrifies the body's system of running normally with the cells moving where they need to go, your blood flowing with great power to the muscles and fibers, and how you remain in a state of emotion. Our spines are one of the greatest acts in the nervous system, it's the electricity that flows from the brain down and if any of that flow is compromised either by a broken bone or discharge within the brain, your whole body is affected. Training the body from the inside out is crucial although most don't realize that when all they care about is how they look or how big the muscles are. Your nerves are no exception, when you exercise you're using that electric impulse to move your body in the positions your body is able to withstand, there are however certain exercises that actually make your nerves stronger and one system is called Isometrics. Isometrics for those who don't understand is when you push/pull against an immoveable object using your own body as resistance and not moving. You are squeezing every fiber in the body for a period of time and as you correctly breathe, you're utilizing your body's nervous system to jumpstart everything.

 
    With regular practice and finding creative ways to do them, doing isometrics can strengthen your nerves and help you build a calming and powerful demeanor. I know that sounds like a contradiction when you are striking every muscle in your being into a non-moving exercise but believe me they work wonders. When you squeeze (or flex), you're amplifying the blood's flowing mechanism and when you relax after a contraction the blood begins to flow at a more relaxed state and even generates more of it to the cells. This is why it's helped with people who have had injuries, strengthen the bones and joints because when you have that powerful flow of antioxidants and fresh blood going into those areas, they help regenerate the body's functioning abilities. If you are in a stressful state of mind, Isometrics can help relieve that stress by flexing various parts of the body and once relaxed more blood flow becomes imminent and this can calm down your stress levels. You can do this type training virtually anywhere and any time.

 
    I have already talked about blood flow but yet it's worth talking about it more because our blood is one of the major keys to help our body's system. Think about it with people who have been injured, killed or whatever, what's one of the most common things that happen; the loss of blood and when that happens, the body begins to shut itself down and goes cold. If your body can't produce the blood it needs, your heart begins to fail, and the vessels in your organs stop working and your brain stops functioning. When you practice Isometrics, you're creating more fuel for your body's system which is a beautiful thing in of itself. Although Isometrics is not a stand-alone method, it can aid in your exercise goals in ways you never thought possible. Think what it would be like to be much stronger in a specific position, be able to have the grip strength to lift your favorite weighted exercise, be able throw a ball with greater speed, jump higher, run like the wind and even have the strength to save someone's life. This type of training has been used in various ways for eons from the war mongering romans to spiritual yoga masters, wrestlers, Astronomers (they had to train in isometric form so their muscles can be strong while floating in anti-gravity otherwise they would atrophy) and athletes from all kinds of sports because this type of training didn't just give you an advantage it helped you from getting injured.

 
    One thing many neglect to learn is the proper way to breathe, sure we breathe everyday, we have no choice otherwise we die but the way we breathe can determine our strength and our weakness. When you see a bodybuilder on stage posing and he's flexing hard one of the things you may or may not notice is that most of the time he's holding his breath which can lead to a series of problems including muscle tears, ripped tendons, and even a brain hemorrhage if they're not careful. A great method of breathing which I use to help in my training of isometrics is to flex the muscle and take in a deep breath, once I get enough of the inhale, I breathe out still flexing and making an "sss" sound until the exhale is completely done; I learned this method from a couple people and it's helped others get stronger, lower blood pressure and strengthen the abdominal muscles which in turn strengthens the organs. It's building great power from the inside out. Another method of Isometrics is holding the exercise for an extended period of time and only contracting at a lesser percentage. Say you held the push-up position (The Plank) and held that position, don't push so hard into the floor but contract the muscles for about 30% of your max level and hold for 30 seconds to a minute. When you contract at 70-100% you're only going to last a few seconds, 7-12 at best because if you hold an isometric longer than 12 seconds say try 30 seconds to a full minute at a very high percentage you're setting yourself up for injury which can lead to tears and popped vessels which you don't want. In the longer isometric holds, you just breathe as naturally as possible. So get on it and become as strong as possible. It's a new year and it's time make a new you; stronger, healthier and more confident in your life.