04/22/2026
"Don't show effort on your face!"
I've heard this many a time in the Pilates, Gyrotonic and somatic movement worlds. The thing is, there's nothing wrong or dangerous with showing effort on your face, it just depends on your goals.
If I want to give the illusion of effortless grace in a ballet performance, I will be trained to not show the effort of exertion on my face. It's part of ballet's mystique.🩰
If I want to build maximum strength lifting weights, I will absolutely make a face at some point. My tempo might slow down as well; I might shake and my face might be red.
To build strength we have to make ourselves work slightly beyond our current comfort levels because in that struggle adaptation begins - the kind that will make us stronger and more resilient.
This struggle builds CAPACITY. We will then be able to do *more* with less stress, less effort!
The same can be said about increasing cardiovascular capacity.🏃🏽🏃🏿♂️🏃🏻♀️
So just because some methods encourage a constant pleasant *visage* doesn't mean you apply this way of being to ALL types of exercise.
We can even make strained faces lifting weights and doing cardio and turn around and move gracefully in a dance class - and probably feel stronger, be more stable, produce more powerful jumps, etc. because our CAPACITY has increased.💪🏼
Here's a caveat for not showing effort: it probably means you're not challenging your nervous system enough to increase strength in your bones, muscles, connective tissue, etc. - if that is, of course, your goal.
Food for thought.
Have you ever been told to keep a pleasant mug while exercising? 😀🤪💀
