Adding Shell to a Crab
Working out in a gym is ok if you are looking for a particular body sculpt, increasing general fitness, wanting to lift heavier weights or gain extra strength. It's often an ego-driven pursuit flavoured by self-discipline and a philosophy of toughness and sacrifice. It can also be part of a cross-training program for a sport in which hard bodies collide.
It's better than sitting on a sofa watching TV and eating potato chips. But in my opinion, not much better.
The problem with this kind of strength training is that the results are finite and relative to muscle mass.
The other issues I have with building muscles is whether or not it's really good for your health, is there any element of body nurturing in the exercise process, is the body developing in a balanced way and what account is there for injury now or long term?
This kind of strength conditioning can have impressive results but it's all about hardness and from a tai chi perspective, hard things break.
To me it's like adding more shell to a crab. The crab becomes stronger but once the shell breaks the inside will be just as mushy.
Tai chi is about power, not quantitive strength. The hardening is done at the core not the edges. The bone marrow becomes a solid mass encased in a spongy, shock absorbent body. Iron wrapped in silk. A pillow to hit and a sledgehammer coming back.
