Kinesthetic Intelligence

IQ But For Your Body

We all know people who seemingly can effortlessly pick up some new hobby/sport and almost immediately it seems as if they’ve been doing this (whatever it is) their entire lives. Maybe this is even you.

Personally, this is how I am, hence why I have built a successful career in fitness and was a top performer in an organization known for having great athletes (not to be self-aggrandizing but to further highlight my understanding/familiarity of this topic). This has always been a topic of interest for me because you see it all the time and you know what it looks like, but no one really ever addresses the underlying cause description of what this entails/implies.

What I call this is Kinesthetic Intelligence (and apparently… a few other people which I found doing a deep dive for this article, lol). Kinesthetic, meaning a person’s awareness of their position and movement of their body through space and their proprioception/how well they can control and use their body to perform whatever action it is they are attempting to do.

*Not to be confused with Kinesthetic Learning which is a Learning Style through “touch” and other physical forms of learning, this has more to do with coordinating your mind with your body. (I have high levels of what I’m calling Kinesthetic Intelligence but I am a Visual and Verbal Learner and actually suck at Kinesthetic Learning).*

Often we discuss forms of intelligence in terms of quantitative/being good with numbers, memory recall/reading comprehension, verbal fluency/articulation, EQ/intent, and things like synthesis/being able to connect the dots. Artistic ability also gets lumped into this and as

BowTied Bull

describes in their book Efficiency doesn’t necessarily mean they are intelligent in the traditional sense like most of the things above or have a high IQ, but it is a form of intelligence in itself.

However, not often when we approach intelligence from the traditional framework do we discuss those who display this more physical type of intelligence, this kinesthetic intelligence.

Just like artistry, one might not have raw traditional intelligence but can possess high levels of this type of intelligence. More common than not, however, people who do possess this type of intelligence will likely also display other types of more traditional intelligence because many of the traits that lead to this type of intelligence naturally require traditional intelligence.

Now there is some information/works done on this, but nothing I’ve ever personally stumbled upon outside of research for this article and definitely not popularized. There is something called “The Multiple Intelligence Theory”, published by Howard Gardner, which highlights this multifaceted view of multiple different types of intelligence and acknowledges the existence of Kinesthetic Intelligence.

So today I’m attempting to expand on this specific type of intelligence and put into my own words what this phenomenon is and my observations around it.

An interesting conclusion I’ve drawn about the type of people that do possess this is they have almost a natural understanding of physics without necessarily understanding the underlying physics at all.

Think of something like throwing a football 30+ yards to someone on the run and accurately hitting them in the hands, on stride perfectly, at full speed. This requires an almost instantaneous mental calculation of many laws of physics like velocity, trajectory, power, gravity, etc. and these people can consistently do this time and time after, the best nearly every time, many of which couldn’t even tell you a basic formula for trajectory (y=x tan θ− gx ² ​ / 2v ² cos ² θ), I sure as hell can’t (I googled this), but I can drop a dime on you at 50 yards on a fly route…

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Traits of Kinesthetically Inclined Individuals

Taking a deeper look into this…

A good way to describe this in plain English would be how well someone moves or can use their body. A good word that really encapsulates the entire concept is the word “Proprioception”—the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.

“Proprioception, otherwise known as kinesthesia, is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception, you wouldn't be able to move without thinking about your next step.”

So if you combine proprioception with other traits I have listed below like pattern replication, raw athletic prowess (power, strength, speed), etc., and you will be painting the picture of someone with high levels of this intelligence.

However, as shown as an example in the first graphic, this does not have to translate directly to sports or athletics, this can also show itself in activities like performing surgery, marksmanship with weapons, calligraphy (how well you write for those lacking non-kinesthetic intelligence), playing an instrument, and even things like video gaming.

Actually, video gaming is an excellent example of this and to this day I am the only one in my friend groups that has brought up how video gaming is very genetic in determining how skilled (or lack thereof) someone will be. Some people will have better control over their controller and those fine motor movements, their reaction times, their hand-eye coordination, and other attributes that would make one a good gamer.

This also highlights how someone might have high levels of some kin. int.¹ traits, but struggle at an activity that requires other kin. int. traits they might not have or lack in the context. What I’m trying to say is while athletically I can hold my own, I suck at video games (no he doesn’t —heifer).

Another good example I’ve learned and observed is driving a car/racing for the same reasons. No need to dive too deep into that, you get what I’m saying from the above. (However, I am actually good at this one, unlike video games). In this context, I have seen the crossover in traits where the same reason I’m good at certain sports like baseball or even lifting weights, is the same reason I’m good at this - at the level of someone who has been doing it for multiple years - in just a handful of months.

This is because many of these traits will have massive crossover even to things that seem “unlike” until you really think about it. This is why some people just seem good at nearly every physical activity/hobby they pick up.

The difference between someone with high kinesthetic intelligence and someone who is just specifically good at a single physical type of activity is that the kinesthetically intelligent person will have to carry over to other activities they will do that will be pretty obvious to anyone observing them.

For example, they are the type of people that might not have ever played a throwing type of sport but when they throw a ball, they don’t look like a total idiot. Now this won’t always be the case, they won’t always be good at literally *every* sport, but they will have the base qualities that constitute kinesthetic intelligence.

In the same way that some people are traditionally intelligent in many different ways…

→ like how some are really great at math but can’t create a strategic plan to save their life

→ or how someone might be great at organizing an entire business enterprise but can’t speak articulately to save their life

…the same type of spectrum applies here, someone might have elite levels of spatial awareness and reaction time but has as much fluidity in their movement as a jar of peanut butter.

Typically what you see is that in activities that favor those with a certain set of these traits, they will be good at other activities that also favor these sets of traits. The main difference between being good at that activity because of specificity and repetition (meaning they have just done it and practiced it so much they’ve gotten good over time) and someone with high kin. int. will be this crossover across activities that favor these traits.

When you combine the natural talent that comes from genetically having these traits with the practice and repetition, this is where you see outlier talent in sports or whatever endeavors because they are aligned in harmony with it.

Sometimes you will see people who are just good at pretty much everything physical that they do and what I’ve come to realize is this is kinesthetic intelligence mixed with overall intelligence and topped off with confidence.

Oftentimes, these types of people won’t just be successful in physical activities but they’re also successful at most things they do in life.

I don’t really have a point here, rather just an observation that I have seen many many times in my lifetime.

Let’s list out some of these traits:

• Body Control (could essentially just list “proprioception” and it would blanket cover all of these, but I will give more specific traits)

• Reaction Times

• High Levels of Coordination

• Spatial Awareness

• Pattern Replication (we will dive more into this)

• Fluidity in their Movement

• Hand-Eye Coordination

• Stability

• Dexterity

• Etc.

I’m not going to break all of these traits down because most of them are pretty self-explanatory. The real key point to grasp is that they just possess high levels of the type of traits that we would attribute to kinesthetics—(which is essentially any movement or physical trait that would make one good at any activity).

Basically, they will be good at ANYTHING that requires using their bodies.

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Pattern Replication

So maybe I’m just inventing new words for things that already exist or maybe I’m onto something. This is a concept I came up with the other day while playing a Costco Axe and Ninja Star throwing game that sent me down a mental rabbit hole.

What I realized is a large part of the ability to be good at many athletic endeavors is the rate and ability at which you actually learn the proper mechanics and technique to be good at that activity.

Unless you are working with an actual coach or another person who knows how to do this (even then actually being able to learn and apply their teachings requires this), getting good at it will require trial and error of small adjustments until you’re consistently getting the result you’re after (for me, it was throwing it in the Bullseye).

Where the pattern part of this comes into play is having the pattern recognition of how you feel and the technique you’re using every time you get a positive result. Over time, you begin to recognize specifically what type of technique or touch you need to execute gets you these results.

A kinesthetically intelligent person will be able to not only start to recognize and tweak their technique to see what works, but they will also be able to consciously manipulate their body precisely and then be able to repeat or replicate the same technique conditions that produced the result they wanted.

So in short, it is a mixture of being able to notice (mainly “feel” as you can’t see yourself) what kind of technique/movements works but then also being able to consciously be able to repeat those techniques/movements due to the control they have over their bodies/movements.

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How This Applies Directly to Lifting and Muscle Growth…

When it comes to building muscle, a commonality that has been recorded in literature is those who can flex each individual muscle, meaning they can do things like “pop their pecs” flex their leg muscles without moving their leg, or just in general flex essentially every muscle by just mentally flexing them, have a greater potential for muscle growth (i.e. what we refer to as “good genetics”).

This is in large part due to them having a better “mind-muscle connection” which really means they will be better at isolating and targeting their specific muscles during an exercise which is a huge component for how effective that exercise is/growth.

I theorize these types of people will learn how to perform exercises with good technique and confidence exponentially quicker than those who might not have been blessed in the kinesthetic intelligence department. For those who aren’t sure if they have “it” a very good indicator is that other people have commented that you are good at whatever it is, “you seem like a natural”, or have been told you have good genetics.

This means that what you are doing is rarer and can indicate that you are indeed an outlier.

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What To Do With All This Information

This type of post is weird for me because normally when I write, I am trying to provide actionable advice and some type of knowledge that you can apply that will help you get whatever results it is you’re after. Where here, I don’t really have too much takeaway advice rather I just wanted to write about and share something I’ve noticed, but haven’t seen discussed very often.

That said, my brain will not allow me to not have some type of practical application, so alas I leave you with this:

If you are someone who you think possesses a high level of this type of intelligence, or you see that one of your children or anyone has this then it would be wise to take advantage of this natural ability.

Not to say at 40 years old you’re now suddenly going to become some pro athlete, but just for the sake of enjoyment of life, it would probably benefit you to take advantage of this, if only because we humans find a good deal of happiness and satisfaction at doing things we are good at. Also, it keeps your brain active and continuously learning which can help stave off things like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, or neurological decline.

Now if you have a child or young person in your life who you have influence over, you can be setting them up for success in life by pushing them towards the type of activities they are going to be good at. They might not go Pro, but they could get a free education out of it, likely develop good social circles, and the athletic foundation could help ensure they stay fit and healthy for life.

Something I have seen that some people fail at is that they will use their own ego and personal desires to push their kids into sports and other activities that they just likely will not excel at. Rather if they removed the bias and were more objective, they could find a better fit for their child’s skill-set in another sport/physical endeavor.

Now some, likely actually many, of you will not have high levels of kinesthetic intelligence… and that is perfectly fine. Your life likely changes absolutely zero and you should be exercising/working out anyway because it is healthy and anyone can look like the best version of themselves - plus you should be doing hobbies and activities that you enjoy regardless of how good (or not) you might be at them (like me on the golf course).

So really the takeaway here is to swim with the current rather than against it with whatever activities, hobbies, or even professions you decide to pursue, and don’t try to force something that isn’t playing to your natural strengths or miss opportunities because you’ve ignored/didn’t value this type of intelligence vs the traditional when it could’ve paid off huge.

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Closing thoughts

Often when the discussion of intelligence comes up, it just seems to me that we don’t talk about the role of physical intelligence, of kinesthetic intelligence, and how it is its own unique type of intelligence.

One that is unique in the sense it can be actively displayed and observed through one’s own movement and their ability or lack thereof to control their body.

In a modern world where the physical has been so far removed from most people’s day-to-day lives (as is evident by looking at obesity rates), it’s easy to forget the value and really just the existence of this type of intelligence.

My prediction is that as the general health and fitness of the world becomes more and more of an issue, we will come back to this topic and concept more often because a society that doesn’t place physicality in a high regard is one that will eventually suffer the consequences of neglecting this importance.

Anyway, this is a fun topic/concept that just really isn’t talked about that often so I’m interested to hear any of your thoughts on the matter.

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Push Pull Legs Program Remastered

I wanted to mention that I am releasing an updated, “remastered” version of my Push Pull Legs Program (which will be available as a Downloadable PDF)

If you’re not familiar with it, you can see what it’s all about here ↓

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It is the same program with an easier-to-read format plus fixed some of the errors in the previous PDF like having Pull and Legs swapped around one week (Week 10 Day 4)…

As you can see, much better than the old eyesore, the old one was for those who had to go through that ocular trauma. It is coming as I plan on announcing/writing my official preview post for the next program and even one after that (going to publish programs like rapid-fire in the coming future).

I’m stoked, I hope you’re stoked!

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Oh… One More Thing

After months and months of headache, speed bumps, more headaches, an entire spike strip, and another headache, I will finally be launching my 1 on 1 Coaching Service that will be done through my own exclusive app next Monday, July 1st.

I try to be pretty rational and do not have a flair for the theatrics BUT this is truly going to change the game and how coaching is done in my niche little corner of Twitter/X due to just how phenomenal the app will make the coaching experience for those who decide to take things to the next level and work 1 on1 with me.

The app is essentially all the tools I suggest to help with your fitness progress all-in-one + having direct messaging and the ability to book calls when needed with me +, of course, training plans, cardio plans, diet plans, and even supplement plans tailored directly for you + a bunch of other cool stuff I didn’t think was possible in an app but I guess is like the “Vault” where I am putting together an entire education series/essentially a knowledge course on everything I know so you can fire kme eventually and do it all on your own, confidently.

As stated on StrongAsAnOx.com, this will be a first come first serve so In will be reaching out to those who deserve their spot on the waitlist first then I will take on 5-10 people a week for just a few weeks until my roster is full.

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#WAGMI

Your friend,

- BowTiedOx

DISCLAIMER

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol. These are opinions from a Cartoon Ox.

• Coaching: Will be available here when it launches, you can pre-reserve a potential spot with your email on the site

• Consultation Calls: You can book a 1 Hour call with me here to go over all of your health and fitness, mindset, or fitness coaching/business questions

• Digital Logbook: Is available here for those who want to track their lifts on their phone and have access to my programs preloaded (currently PPL & Density, working on all + more)

1. We got lazy and abbreviated “kin. int.” a million times because Kinesthetic Intelligence is a mouthful to read over and over, lol.