No Limits: The Art and Science of High Performance

by Mukesh Bansal

The core belief behind this book is that every human being has incredible potential that can be nurtured with the right training, and that one can develop one’s capabilities without too many hurdles. No matter how good you are, you can get better still. This is what keeps driving world-class performers to practise harder than anyone else. Olympics record-breaking athlete Sergey Bubka has broken the world record in pole vaulting thirty-five times. During a two-year period in his career, he broke his own record fourteen times. Clearly, just setting the record and being the best in the world was not enough for him. He believed he could do better and kept pushing his limits and in the process, completely changed his sport. This seeming lack of limit in our capabilities arises from the amazing plasticity that exists in our genes and physiology. The survival of the fittest has endowed our bodies and minds with this great flexibility. With the right kind of training, we can enhance almost every one of our faculties and optimise our performance. It is almost like having a dashboard for traits that you can dial-up on demand, although it does need a bit of practice and deliberately pushing the limits to trigger growth. This adaptability is counterbalanced by another energy-saving trait that the body deploys which we referred to as ‘use it or lose it’. If there is a physical or mental faculty that is not being used regularly, it slowly begins to atrophy. To stay physically and mental...