If You Think Mental Strength is More Important than Physical Strength, You’re Wrong!
How can you house a strong mind inside a weak body? Not possible!
When we talk of mental strength or a strong mind, we refer to:
- The ability of a person to be disciplined
- To be emotionally intelligent, agile and resilient
- To be stoic when required
- To take tough decisions when the time comes
- To have unwavering focus, and what not.
In either case, one needs a strong body.
Don’t agree?
You will…once you understand why.
When you talk about a strong mind, which is disciplined and emotionally resilient, it refers to a mind that has had experiences, that has lived life.
A mind that has lived life has also faced ups and downs. It has gone through some tough times, where the emotional health was tested, and one had to do the unthinkable, what is usually uncomfortable.
Such a mind has also overcome some really tough physical challenges.
And each time, it overcame a tough challenge, it had its boost of confidence.
That’s how we are built…all of us.
A strong body comes with certain abilities.
Abilities that allow one to overcome tough challenges easily.
With each challenge one overcomes, there is a simultaneous boost in confidence and self-esteem.
This boost, then, further amplifies one’s propensity to take on tougher challenges and hurdles in the future.
Isn’t it obvious, then that a strong body creates the environment for a strong mind?
If you still don’t agree, let’s test the counter thought (the one that you believe in).
Imagine a strong mind…an emotionally resilient mind, with all it’s mental capabilities.
Then imagine a weak body…not completely capable of saving it’s own life, or others.
Imagine that this body houses a strong mind.
How long do you think it will function properly?
How long will it be until the mind starts imagining the future with this body?
How long will it be until the mind starts feeling insecure and unsafe in this body?
I bet it wouldn’t be too long.
Why?
Because your mind has it’s priorities clear…it wants to ensure your safety first.
Safety over and above everything.
You may have the most intelligent mind, the most resourceful mind, the smartest mind, the most strategic mind, yet it needs to stay safe to exist.
And what ensures that safety?
A strong body!
When you have a strong body, you feel a strange sense of confidence.
That confidence is akin to feeling invincible.
And it’s not just about safety and survival alone that sheds light on the importance of a strong body for a strong mind.
It is also important from the standpoint of utilizing the full capacity of the brain.
If you’ve ever taken part in an intense workout session, you would know what it feels like right after.
Until a few years past the session, you feel strong, capable, and invincible.
You feel this sudden rush of energy.
You feel happy.
And what happens when you’re happy?
You think better…clearer.
You become more creative and resourceful.
So in a way, being strong and able also makes room for you to be more creative, resourceful, and strategic.
Now I would to clarify that when we’re talking about physical strength, we are not talking about Herculean strength or that of Bruce Lee.
No!
Far from it.
We are talking of foundational strength.
What is foundational strength?
It is the basic minimum level of strength upon which every other physical attribute relies upon.
Talk about flexibility, agility, mobility, endurance, power…anything.
Every one of those need a certain minimum level of structural strength.
When you have the foundational strength, you become capable of protecting yourself from most of the danger situation, automatically.
So how do you build foundational strength?
Try GPP training!
GPP stands for General Physical Preparedness training.
Any human, at any point, should be physically prepared for a general contingency situation. And the best way to build structural strength is to shoot for the following goals:
- Endurance:
- Consecutive Pushups — 55
- Consecutive Pullups — 25
- Consecutive Squats — 100
- Strength:
- Military Press — 1x of bodyweight for 5 reps
- Deadlift — 1.5x of bodyweight for 5 reps
- Squats — 2x of bodyweight for 5 reps
While different strength coaches will give you different benchmarks, these six are the simplest to shoot for, and relatively easier to achieve.
After all, we are only aiming for a basic level of physical preparedness.
We are neither trying to beat Ronnie Coleman, nor Brian Shaw.
Once you build the foundational strength, you would notice that you have better thoughts.
You feel better about yourself in general.
The chances of you going through depression greatly reduces…almost annihilated actually.
You feel strong.
You feel capable.
You feel invincible.
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P.S.- Of course, you need to take care of your nutrition, so your body is able to build itself. When you ensure that, you have optimum levels of hormones, minerals, vitamins and vital ingredients in the body to function at it’s peak.
