Are We Really Smarter Than Our Biology?

When was the last time your personal biology reached out and reminded you who is really in charge?

You know, when you went off your diet for some frequent stops in the drive-thru, only to discover the numbers on the scale bumping up. Or jumping up off the couch after a holiday lay-off, only to find that the fitness you once had, is now noticeable absent.

We keep hoping that we can direct our physiology to do the bidding of our thoughts, but our biology just ignores us and continues on its merry way. Nature is sure stubborn.

What Our Body Knows vs. What We Think

I use a popular brand fitness computer with their website for logging my workouts. For sessions that involve weightlifting, I select each individual exercise from a menu and the software totals up the numbers of my efforts.

This menu of available exercises is quite extensive too. As I am not a gym bro, I am amazed at the number of exercises listed for the same muscles. For example, several exercises listed are a variation on the basic curl where you contract the biceps under resistance.

Sounds impressive but seriously, if the intent is to work the biceps muscles, how many ways can there be to flex that one muscle group?

Knowing a little about anatomy, I understand that the physiology of that bicep is the same whether you are lifting a barbell, dumbbell, kettle bell, or your toddler. Like listing the weight being lifted in pounds or kilograms. Does the body know? Does the body even care?

What Does Our Biology Know?

I think of our bodily processes as a complex dance involving thousands of simultaneous activities. Something as simple as contracting a limb muscle requires that other limb muscles in the area relax at the same time. For the biceps to contract, the triceps on the opposite side of the arm must relax and vice versa. Not an easy thing to do if you have the think about it.

Under the guidance of the nervous system, this dance of opposing forces behaves right on cue. While our thoughts can enter these efforts (thinking about how I am picking up this weight), our conscious thoughts never make everything happen. (Think of the coordination required to take a step – contract certain muscles, relax others, AND maintain balance simultaneously. Truly awesome.)

The body does what it does, and our thinking knows what we are thinking. While there is some overlap, the two systems run independent of each other. We can assign labels and numbers to physiology all we want. Our body just does what it does, regardless.

Mind-Body Communications

Cultivating better connections between body and mind takes a little work but is well worth the efforts. Being mindful of how we care for our body is a great start. Paying attention to our nutrition, hydration, exercise, and rest benefits us with a lifetime of service.

Getting out of our heads can also contribute.

Lighten up over doing the right exercise in the right way. Just move your body in ways that feel comfortable. It will know what to do with the effort.

Trust in your biology to do the right thing.

Also listen in on how you are doing. Feedback from your body is always there when we just pay attention.

Trust yourself and your biology. They will get things done, each in their own unique way.

“We are biology. We are reminded of this at the beginning and the end, at birth and at death. In between we do what we can to forget.”
― Mary Roach