Dynamic Tension
Dynamic Tension is the system of exercises popularized by Charles Atlas.
Dynamic-Tension is a self-resistance exercise method which pits muscle against muscle. The practitioner tenses the muscles of given body part and then moves the body part against the tension as if a heavy weight was being lifted. Dynamic-Tension exercises are not merely isometrics since they call for movement. The method comprises a combination of isotonic, isokinetic and some isometric exercises.
Proponents assert that it is nearly impossible to be injured during exercise using this method because one's own muscles provide the force and, as they tire, so the force used also decreases. Likewise, the benefits can continue beyond the more traditional exercise methods because as the practitioner grows stronger, the exercise becomes more intense.
"Dynamic-Tension" is a registered trademark of Charles Atlas, Ltd.
Alois P.Swoboda's "Conscious Evolution" Course was what inspired Charles Atlas and introduced him to the self tensing exercises that he would later refer to as Dynamic Tension. Charles Atlas later said, "Everything that I know I learned from A.P. Swoboda."
History
After being bullied as a child, Charles Atlas joined the YMCA and began to do numerous exercise routines. He became obsessed with strength. He said that one day he watched a tiger stretching in the zoo and asked himself "How does Mr. Tiger keep in physical condition? Did you ever see a tiger with a barbell?" He concluded that lions and tigers became strong by pitting muscle against muscle. [1] Some other notable users of this method include Joe Dimaggio, Joe Louis, Robert Ripley and Alan Wells.
Other uses
The phrase dynamic tension is also used in the business discipline of performance measurement to illustrate the benefits of competing priorities. People tend to behave in ways which will optimize their own rewards and recognition. If the business rewards the employee solely on one measure such as revenue, the employee will be incented to make sales even when they are unprofitable. On the other hand, measuring solely on profit ratios leads to cherry-picking of sales opportunities, lost volume and higher unit costs (because the fixed costs of production must be spread over fewer units). Any one key performance indicator can be manipulated. Rewarding employees based on both revenue and profit ratio is more complex but tends to lead to better alignment between the employees' incentives and the desired business results. Like the competing tensions of two arms pulling against each other, the two competing business priorities are said to be in dynamic tension with each other.
This principle was exemplified in the concept of the balanced scorecard.
Trivia
1. In the song "I Can Make You a Man" of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," Tim Curry's character sings that "He thinks dynamic tension must be hard work" in reference to his creation
References
- ^ The 20th Century History With The Boring parts Left Out, D. Wallechinsky, 1999