Yin and Yang in training and in the body

The idea of Yin and Yang helps us see clearly that exactly the same principle of opposites applies to sport, training and the human body.

In Yin and Yang theory, good and evil are opposites. It is said that we come to know goodness through evil. And conversely, only the utmost benefit and goodness will ultimately begin to produce evil. The same holds for the concepts of “easy” and “hard”. To get something good, whatever that may mean, you have to give: you have to contribute by enduring hardship and discomfort. Only those who give also receive. Those who invest through dedication and effort usually receive a fitting reward too, provided they have enough patience. There is no doubt that regular training will one day pay you back in the form of results in competitions.

Given the above, it is utterly wrong to strive for only the good. If there is only good, development is not possible. Unfortunately, this is exactly the premise our education system tries to start from: only good, fun, stress-free, easy and comfortable, and so on. There is nothing wrong with pursuing these things, but it is clear that achieving them is impossible without accidentally bringing along the manifestations of the opposite extreme: bad, boring, stress, hard or uncomfortable. You can’t have one without the other, and vice versa. How is it that people still fail to understand that one is not possible without the other? We define and perceive different states, situations and qualities through their opposites.

Yin and Yang in the body

Looking inside the human being, a person as a biological structural-functional “machine” as a whole is nothing other than a process. It is a phenomenal, regularly regenerating and self-reproducing process whose very existence comes about through the interplay of opposing processes: I am talking about assimilation (synthesis) and dissimilation (degradation). So our physical existence alone is made possible by opposing processes, namely anabolism and catabolism. We are constantly breaking down and renewing ourselves. The training we do is a small process within the big process. To experience progress (moving forward), every single workout requires taking a small step back (expending energy, breaking down muscles, and so on). In other words, experiencing development (benefit, ease, the good life) is possible only through hardship, discomfort and suffering. Because of anabolism and catabolism, in everyday terms we talk rather about the optimal ratio of work to rest, which again are opposites. To move forward, you have to take a step back.

In my view, the capacity for development as such, looked at from any angle, is one of the strangest phenomena in humans, and it is realized through the unique capacity for compensation that nature has given us. Yet for this compensation to appear, we cannot escape opposites. To build something stronger anew, you must first tear down. First you tear down, then something new is built in its place, and this rebuilt structure is compensated with a small surplus (supercompensation). Building muscle is the purest manifestation of this phenomenon.

But our functioning in space, too, actually comes about through opposites. The whole human body works predominantly through opposing movements: extensions and flexions. Balance, or the simple fact that we are able to stand upright at all, is the most direct example of how harmony (balance) is achieved through opposites (extension and flexion). Stand up with your arms hanging relaxed and begin to lean slightly forward. At some point try to stop that lean. You will feel how the muscles on the back of the body prevent you from falling forward (you can clearly feel the muscles at the back of the thigh kicking in). And leaning backward is prevented by the muscles at the front (noticeably the quadriceps).

In bodybuilding it is also well known that if you want to develop, say, the outer sides of the thighs, you place your feet narrow (when squatting or on the leg press), and if you want to target the inner parts more, you work with a wide stance. The same applies to the arms, for example in biceps curls. A wider grip on the bar shifts the emphasis of the load more onto the inner head of the biceps, while a narrower grip loads the outer head more.

Opposition is also the basis of the inverse relationship between intensity and volume. The more weight we lift, the fewer repetitions we can manage with it. The longer a set we want to do, the lighter the weight has to be.

The body’s pH level. Although pH varies between different body fluids and organ environments (urine has one, blood another and stomach acid a third, for example), the acidic and alkaline processes in the internal environment of our body should be more or less in balance on average (pH 7.0). The “pH” level shows how acidic or alkaline our body is overall. It is very important that balance prevails in our body and that the body’s pH level is as neutral as possible.
Finally, and most interesting of all: the largest cell in the human body is the female egg cell, so guess what is one of the smallest cells in the human body? Exactly, the sperm cell. Two cells from opposite extremes of the “axis” are “put together”/merge, and the result is a new human being.

In summary:
1. Aerobic vs anaerobic
2. Extension vs flexion
3. Catabolic vs anabolic
4. Slow-twitch muscle fibers vs fast-twitch muscle fibers
5. Volume vs intensity
6. Training (work) vs rest (recovery)
7. Energy expenditure vs energy from food
8. Carbohydrates vs fats
9. Strength vs endurance
10. Alkaline vs acidic internal environment of the body (pH)
11. Body vs mind

etc…

Heraclitus: “Illness makes health pleasant, and evil makes goodness; hunger makes fullness sweet, and weariness makes sleep.”

Author: Janar Rückenberg

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