Strength Prose - New Beginnings

34NEW BEGINNINGS

Strength Prose Issue #1 January 2019

Editor’s Note.

It’s January, we’re all starting new things. Hell, I’m starting this magazine, You might be starting out on your fitness journey. You might just be picking up this issue to help you add a new spin to your current training.

That’s what this issue is all about, this first issue, this inaugural issue—it’s about getting you into fitness, or adjusting to a different style of training that you haven’t done before—in full New Year’s Resolution fashion.

Starting something new needn’t be scary, but we here at Strength Prose understand that it can be rather daunting. But luckily, we’ve brought together a team of writers from different backgrounds—so whether you’re looking at just starting in fitness, starting in powerlifting, or wanting to get your head around macros and calories, we can help. Its what we are here for.

- Danny Lee Managing Editor.

Photo by Ian Lee

In This Issue

� (The )Beginning (of) Powerlifting

� Setting Yourself New Challenges

� The Specialty of being a Generalist

� New Year New Knowledge

� New Year, Mindful You.

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1The Specialty of Being a Generalist.

A Philosophical View On Finding What Works For You

Writer—Sophie Thomas.

In ethology and evolutionary biology, there is a clearly defined difference between specialist and generalist species. As the name suggests, specialist species tend to survive on a very precise set of variables in their living space: terrain, diet, and climate, among many conditions. Generalist species on the other hand are seen to be a bit hardier – they are able to thrive a wide array of changes within their environment. A real life example would be the lifestyle of a koala and a raccoon, respectively. Koalas require the right diet, climate, and behavioral settings in order to thrive and pass on their genes. Raccoons on the other hand have adapted tremendously well to urban living, despite originally inhabitant vastly forested areas. In short, the specialist requires precise circumstances for it to live on – the generalist does not.

The fitness industry, I feel, can suffer from the inverse of this theory. In such a competitive industry, the urge to specialise and branch off into different varieties of coaching can prove tempting – and undeniably rewarding. A generic fat loss coach is certainly not be the best fit for a powerlifter looking to prepare for his meet; nor appropriate for an elderly client who just wants to feel better and move well in everyday life. No doubt there is a time and a place for specialization – particularly if you want to market yourself towards a clear audience in need of your skills.

Specialisation has been a relatively new phenomenon in the fitness industry; even the 20 th century saw coaches dabbling in a little bit of everything, enjoying a cross-pollination of ideas that offered good (and, undoubtedly, poor) alternatives to single-route ideologies. There has been marked benefits to specializing branches of fitness – higher standards of competitions; good quality coaching to athlete-specific training; and better regulation of drug use. (Ok, actually, scratch that – not the last thing.)

A consequence of this however has been the dismissal of the generalist.

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