Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Published: Tue, 08/17/21

Hi Every One,

Jack of all trades, master of none is often used as an insult.  But did you know that the original expression was:

A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.

When it comes to fitness in particular, history has proven that this is absolutely true.  In ancient Greece the most respected Olympic athletes were the most versatile ones, the pentathletes.  Pentathlon featured long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, a sprint race and wrestling.  The Greeks created the pentathlon because they believed that being the best you could be meant you were well-rounded in the disciplines that mattered the most to survival.

According to Decathlonpedia, the Encyclopedia of Combined Events, the Vikings created their own multi-sport contests. They competed in running, game, as well as in throwing a heavy lance.  In Scotland, similar competitions appeared in the 9th century. The Scottish games devoted themselves more to throwing disciplines such as throwing heavy stone, knotting or something similar to the hammer throw.  Later, during the Middle Ages, when knights tried to join knighthood, they needed to obtain versatile skills in order to show them in the knight tournaments. These tournaments were considered the best tests to prove the knights‘ all-around skills in what mattered the most at the time.

So what does this mean to us today?  It means that in order to stay healthy physically and mentally our fitness regime needs to include what is called "strength endurance".  We don't have to be able to lift extreme loads, or run extremely fast,   But we have to be able to carry reasonable weights for long enough periods of time.  The more we can move in ways that involve multiple aspects of our human physiology the more resilient our immune system will be.  Just like William Wallace tells his long time friend, "I was wondering if you could do that when it matters.  As it - as it matters in battle.  Could you crush a man with that throw?"

Can our immune system crush whatever is thrown at it?

To see some of our "jack of all trades" styles of workouts focusing on "strength endurance" go to our YouTube Channel under the Ayurvedic Yoga playlist.  Here is one of them 5 Minute Ayurvedic Workout | The Alpha Series

And as always, you can hear us bitch on our Podcast almost weekly.  :-)

Na’maste Kala! (Which in Greek means, may we all be well!)

-Tim and Vie


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St Petersburg FL 33705
USA

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