Work = Force x distance

W = F x D is a concept I first encountered when I took a deeper look into how to change the human body. To me there is something beautifully simplistic about being able to distill a topic of such depth into one clean equation that articulates the formula so concisely .

This article started as a straight forward unpacking of the equation for strength, but the more I meditated upon this formula the more it became apparent that the branches of this tree extend out beyond the gym and into other areas of life.

Areas that extend to our working lives and achieving what we have the ambition to do.

The formula for strength

In the equation W = F x D, Work in (W) is a proxy for strength.

Developing strength (W) is a matter of producing force against some kind of resistance, in the gym I use barbells as my primary tool for accomplishing this.

Then factor in the distance you move the load. In the gym, consider the start position for the barbell and the distance it travels to being locked out to complete the movement of the lift you’re doing.

As you become stronger, you not only develop a mastery of the barbell exercises, you also get better at producing force.
You can tolerate a greater weight on the barbell, and all this over many reps and sets for months and years adds up into a great deal of completed work indeed.

The net result of all this force x distance in your life is a radically changed body and mind.

Dr MaryAnne tuning up her deadlift form.

As the body and mind are biologically inseparable as one strengthens and improves in health it has a knock on effect into the wellbeing of the other.

As circulation, respiration, cardio vascular and muscular health improve these effects are passed on to cognitive benefits as the brain governs our central nervous system and itself relies on healthy blood supply and a relationship with a system that is overall robust and healthy.

Then there is the psychological effects of all the F x D.

As your capability increases greater feats in the gym are faced; your mind keeps pace by being conditioned to the regular challenges.

The path of getting stronger becomes going beyond what you once associated as your past self-accomplishment level and into new territories of physical prowess, and this is no matter what decade of life you are in.

It’s a magnificent to go through and magnificent to behold when you are the coach leading someone.

“When it comes to actually changing your body… where the numbers go the results flow.”

feelings vs physics

Whereas much of the modern fitness industry relies upon emotionally inspiring you, strength training inspires by showing you the proof in your numbers. And let me tell you when it comes to actually changing your body… where the numbers go the results flow.

The thing that drew me to Starting Strength was that it is grounded in first principles of science. It does not rely on an emotive buy-in for you to make a first purchase, but interestingly after as little as 2-3 weeks of doing it people become very committed to it and speak passionately about it. I believe this is because it works so well and the progress results are so quick, in some cases quicker than any progress a person has known in their lifetime.

I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I have doubled people’s strength in a little as 3 months of training with me.

In strength training the emotional feelings of accomplishment follow as a result of the applications of the physics. That's powerful, because it means that It’s not necessary to use an emotional buy-in to sell the strength training process, because it is so fundamentally rooted in reliable scientific principles that the data and results speak for themselves.

Those results come as a result of consistency with F x D.

There’s no gimmicks, or gadgets and it’s not even reliant upon creating a feel-good class vibe. The physics of proper strength training work even when you’re having a bad day.

This matters because if you’re only doing the class because of a feel good vibe, then if your having a bad day it can intercept your commitment to making class…

the Undeniable Proof of progress

The W (work) always goes up as you increase your force produced and distance moved.

The equation is so beautifully simple, because it means that we can keep a training journal. A note of metrics that chart progress. That’s important for a couple of reasons.

You can have faith that this is working. Sometimes when we look in the mirror the passage of time is less clear in showing changes, and this can leave us a little despondent, but a look at your metrics of strength progress can more than lift your spirits that the method is sound, your time and effort are not in vain and change is happening.

Therein displays the undeniable proof of progress, made three times a week with 5lb jumps a time.

beyond strength

The philosophy of W = F x D reaches out beyond the gym.

It applies to projects you maybe working on, to entrepreneurial endeavours and as a formula it provides a certain kind of reliability that your efforts are headed somewhere.

If the endeavour your are on is represented as W (work), use the equation to hold yourself accountable.
Are you putting in the F (force) effort needed to make it possible?

Is that effort scalable over time so that you can move up to increase your over all output?

The D distance, enables realistic appraisal of how far you have moved a project along. And also reassurance that progress, even if small, is happening. How many times have you seen people abandon a project because it wasn’t moving fast enough?

In the middle of the sliding scale of optimism and pessimism lies realism.

W = F x D enables us to take a realistic appraisal of the task at hand, what magnitude of effort needs to go into it, how we can track its development and deconstruct it to diagnose problems.

Thinking about W = F x D structurally helps you determine whether or not you can capitalise on all your efforts when the time comes.

That sure statistical reliability is of great use in a world that is becoming increasingly entrepreneurial and values those that forward think and apply the effort to make a real difference in all that they do.

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