Increase in my body's function....

[Michael Jen]

I talk a lot about becoming highly functional or increasing your body's function. This phrase seems kind of generic as many people don't seem to understand what it means. The best way for me to describe an increase in a body's function is simply to give examples based on my own body. I have felt many huge changes in my body and my body is now able to do many things it was unable to do in the past.

1. No chronic pain. If you read the "My Story" page, you know that I had a lot of bad pain. I have no pain now despite the fact that I train martial arts which is very hard on the body.

2. Tremendous increase in flexbility. In the past, I was stiff as a board. I'm not yoga master or anywhere close to that, however, my flexibility has increase a lot in comparison to where I used to be.

3. Standing and walking for few hours used to kill me. My legs and back would ache and be tired. Now, standing and walking for numerous hours doesn't bother me a single bit.

4. I used to have poor muscular endurance when it came to manual labor. For example, if I did some home improvement, I would feel my low back ache very quickly. My shoulders would fatigue extremely. Now, the same type of labor isn't uncomfortable on my body anymore.

5. I no longer feel the need to stretch or warm up before doing sports. In the past, if I did not stretch or warm up before running (especially sprints), I would feel my hamstrings and calves immediately tighten up. I felt like that tightening may lead to cramps. Now I no longer feel that tightening. I can simply walk out the the door and start running.

6. Jogging barefoot on concrete doesn't bother my joints. Keep in mind that I never "built up" to doing this by first running barefoot on grass and softer ground. As my body became more functional, I decided to just go outside, try it, and I did it without problems. Of course I am not running many miles as I have no interest in making the skin on the bottom of my feet very callous. However, I have no problem taking a lap around my block.

7. Despite no longer doing heavy body buidling type of weight training, I am not feeling any weaker during my martial arts training.

8. I now have a greater sense of body control, fluidity, and strength when it comes to natural movments such as climbing, crawling, jumping, brachiation, etc... I remember several years ago when I felt decrepit when climbing over a very large object and jumping off it (I felt like an old man who was scare that he was going to hurt himself).

[Bill Hotter]

1. check
2. check...maybe not "tremendous" increase
3. check
4. check
5. I still feel the need to at least warm my body before exercise.
6. “Jogging barefoot on concrete”…was never much of a jogger.
7. check
8. che… well… “I felt like an old man who was scared that he was going to hurt himself.”-----Almost there…

One thing that is kind of a benchmark for me is walking down steps or hiking down a steep grade. I just got back from a hike. I feel pretty good. I did my menu before I went.

This may sound crazy but I think I might be able to surpass my previous body functionality. I’m starting to feel light on my toes.

[Michael Jen]

I'm not much of a jogger, I just wanted to see if I could do it on concrete without my joints hurting. I tried it in the past and it was quite bothersome so I wanted to see how much my body improved.

Being that you have been dedicated to doing your program, you are already using a different body than before you started MBF. If you keep with the program and do all the things you should be doing and don't do the things you shouldn't be doing, you will feel progress that will be very surprising. Personally, I feel better now than when I was 18 years old.