Squats Will Make You Swim Faster... Maybe...
LIFE IS A PARADOX...
I love a good paradox. There’s something playful and mind-bending about holding two seemingly opposite truths in your head at once and realising… both are right.
A paradox isn’t a problem to be solved, it’s a perspective to sit with. It asks you to zoom out, tilt your head, and see that the world is rarely neat, rarely simple, it ain't black and white (unless you're a pies supporter). And that’s what makes it fun.
One of my favourites? Adaptation is task-specific. AND adaptation is transferable.
Specificity rules
In training, your body adapts precisely to the demands you place upon it.
- Sprint to get faster at sprinting.
- Squat heavy to get stronger at squatting.
- Swim to improve swimming.
The central nervous system, muscles, tendons, even your psychology, all of it sharpens for the task at hand. This is why athletes rehearse their sport again and again. If you want to be good at X, you must train X. Repetition, repetition, repetition.
But transfer is real
Here’s the kicker: those same adaptations don’t stay locked in their box. They spill over.
- Build leg strength in the gym and suddenly you’re jumping higher on the court.
- Ride the bike for endurance and you find yourself running further without gassing out.
- Learn discipline with your training and it shows up in your work, your parenting, your relationships.
The body (and mind) are marvellous contraptions. General qualities: strength, endurance, resilience, don’t just stick to one lane. They travel.
Micro and macro
So which is it specific or transferable? The answer is both, just at different levels.
- Micro level: ruthlessly specific. The exact pattern, speed, angle, movement or skill you train is the one you get better at.
- Macro level: beautifully transferable. The qualities you build: capacity, grit, adaptability, spread across sports, careers, and life.
Building your capacities is for me, what life is all about.
More than training
Zoom out again, and it’s not just about sets and reps. It’s life itself.
Patience learned rehabbing an injury makes you a calmer parent. Courage built in a hard conversation makes you braver under pressure. Philosophy or maths sharpen your ability to think clearly in… pretty much everything.
The Stoics had this figured out: practice in one area to grow in all areas. Shoutout to my boy Marcus Aurelius and his book of meditations.
The art of holding both
Ignore specificity, and you drift without progress.
Ignore transfer, and you become narrow and brittle.
The art is holding both truths: training for the task in front of you while recognising that every rep, every challenge, every small win is shaping you far beyond the gym.
Adaptation is task-specific. Adaptation is transferable.
That’s the paradox. That’s the point.
Get your head around the duality of our existence, this is the good stuff, this is where growth happens.
The Virtus lens
This is why we train the way we do at Virtus. Our programs are built to give you the specific stimulus you need for your goals, while also building the broad physical and mental qualities that make you better at life. Stronger in the gym. More capable on the field. More resilient at work. More present at home. More capable of (insert any worthy pursuit here)
We don’t just want you to win at one thing. We want you to become the kind of person who carries those wins into everything.
Every rep is shaping more than your body. It’s shaping your life. Let’s get started.
Onwards.
Lachie
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