Reps Get A Bad Rap

Repetition is an essential component in intellectual and physical development. Repetition can be challenging, even painful, when we first start to learn a skill and yet mastery of any skill requires repeated practice-a willingness to work at it daily for some weeks to achieve a level of competence that will allow for enjoyment.

In the context of fitness, reps are required to learn and improve exercise modalities to attain optimal fitness goals. When repeated with clear intention and quality of movement, the brain and body work together to perfect the motion. It’s this kind of repetitive motion that contributes to significant improvement in body composition, not to mention the benefits to emotional well-being. Whether it’s cardio or strength training, yoga or Pilates, swimming or tennis, the reps improve skill set, strength and stamina.

Our consumer driven society promotes the idea that skills should come easily so we can derive instant gratification. I’ve noticed that my children and their peers are resistant to beginning or once they start, easily discouraged if they’re not naturally talented in a subject or a skill. They say things like, “Math isn’t my subject,” “I love singing but I won’t take lessons because I have a horrible voice” or with respect to gymnastics, “I’m not flexible enough.” Part of the issue seems to be that both children and adults feel they should be entertained at all times. Over the years, I’ve often heard fellow gym goers and clients express their negative views of reps as boring and dreaded.

Repetition is used in many of the greatest contributions to culture including literature, music, dance and poetry. It facilitates memorization and can be deeply meditative. Physically, reps can be therapeutic, helping the nervous system to identify new, challenging movement as safe and pleasurable. It’s with reps that we grow to stretch our minds and bodies to test the limits of what we achieve so as to have the opportunity to go father, to be better. Repetition allows us to develop the skills needed to experience “flow” defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his brilliant book by the same name as an “optimal experience,” when “people become so involved in what they are doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic.” This is when we feel a sense of enjoyment and meaning and “a feeling that the boundaries of our being have been pushed forward.”

Take some time for yourself to consider what physical activities give you a sense of flow.

#flow #fitness #wellness #mindfulness #weightloss #integrativeexercise #optimalliving #wellnesswithdalia