Training to improve physical fitness not only directly benefits photography by improving work capacity through endurance and enabling certain types of shots that would have been inaccessible for a less fit individual, but it also helps improving one’s skills by developing relevant learning and traing methods.
I wrote earlier about the importance of overcoming self-imposed challenges for developing one’s craft – the photographer’s artistic skill set. This concept is similar to the principle of progressive over-loading used in strength training. Taking the analogy further, it is well know in the world of physical training that continuously increasing the load (e.g. the weight of the barbell) would result in over-training. Increasing the amount of the exercise would eventually lead to the same result: diminishing returns and ultimately, a burnout.
