Physical training… Essential or Nonessential? Part 3/4

“He who has a why to live can endure almost any how.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

Survival

As humans, we are designed to survive, we came with natural abilities that you see in many healthy kids and young adults. We can run, get up and down, climb, throw stuff and jump. But sadly due to modern conveniences, many of us have lost many of these abilities we once possessed. Now, some of you may think “But I don’t live in the jungle, I don’t have to run from tigers” and it’s true, you don’t. But, we still have to survive in this “modern jungle” which can involve anything from standing up for yourself, to helping someone else or being physically strong enough to attract the mate you so desire. Yes, people rarely go out searching for the weakest human being they can find as a suitable mate. Those are called “predators” and it takes strong people to stop them as well. There’s nothing wrong with feeling strong, looking good and knowing you can defend yourself or someone who needs it. In medieval times, these heroes were called Knights. In Japan prior to the fall of the shogunate empire there was the samurai class. That’s not to not say that everyone should aspire to this level of warrior (although it isn’t the worst idea) but that everyone should develop some sort of routine akin to these strong members of society. They most likely had some sort of daily physical routine whether weapons training or a martial art along with basic physical fitness (running, push ups, squats etc). Now I’m not at all advocating these exercises for you because I don’t know you. What I’m suggesting, is commitment to some sort of routine to find what works for you in order to become a stronger individual. Perhaps Day 1 of your newfound routine consists of scouring YouTube to learn how to do a push up coupled with 5 minutes of practice and by day 30 you can do 1 perfect one (I’ll take the perfect rep over 100 caca reps). My advice is, start however you must, but start and treat it like it is a valuable skill.

“People are so frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.” -Seneca

Physical training… Essential or Nonessential? 2/4

“Freedom can not be bestowed – it must be achieved.” Albert Hubbard

Freedom

Think back to when you were a kid, and you had very little fear (To me that was sticking a fork in a socket at age 4 so maybe a little older than that). When you are young and fearless, your body has a freedom it moves with, something that you lose as you age and rightfully so because that’s how you avoid danger. So lets think of that in a broad sense, if you saw a tree you climbed it, or tried. If you saw a pond, you jumped in it and swam around, if you saw a hill you ran or rode your bike up to the top of it. You catch my drift. Being physically fit and active means “freedom” to pursue your whims. When we become too unfit to do basic things that we as humans are meant to do, to put it plainly. It sucks… Imagine going on a trip to Hawaii with a beautiful girl or guy and being too physically too unfit to go hike to some amazing waterfalls. You will miss out on so many of life’s experience. Notice I use the word “health” and talk about being “physically fit”. This has little to do with what your body fat is or how much you can power clean. Like most things in life it comes down to the basics, but if it’s not in your routine to practice these basics routinely, you will sacrifice your freedom as a human to enjoy many of life’s pleasures. We were just talking about spending quality time with a mate am I right? 🙂 It’s also freedom from overpaying for your fitness, when it really just comes down to basics and repetition. Are healthy people ever wondering what 6-week “shred” they should do or what diet they need to pay for next? Do you know anyone who has become overweight eating minimally processed food (meat, vegetables, fruit, rice) and controlling their portions? As a snack do I pick Cheetos or Strawberries? Sadly, we have the answers to most of our problems but we lack the habits. So our solution is to oftentimes throw money at it with the hopes it will work, and unfortunately, very rarely is that the case. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that there will be a day where you have power formed over years of consistent training and learning. If the President of the United States or a top CEO can find 15-30 minutes daily to put effort into their physical training and health, so can you.

“Champions are brilliant at the basics” -John Wooden

Physical Training… Essential or Nonessential? Part 1/4

“The happy man is one who has a healthy body, a wealthy soul and a well educated nature” – Thales

Our happiest moments in life can often be tied to when our health was at it’s best. Most of us can remember being young kids happily running around interacting with the outside world in pure bliss. Now, although we can’t rewind time, and I’m sure many of us wouldn’t want to, we can agree there is something profound about the adolescent state of being healthy and physically active. It’s shouldn’t come as a surprise that many Greek philosophers touted physical and mental health as a necessity for one’s happiness. Many of you will also agree that much of our happiness is connected to very primitive needs and desires. The good news is that most are fairly basic and don’t require much. To me, it starts with your body and mind before branching out to your family, your community and so on. There’s no arguing that you will have more to offer the people who matter if your mind and body are in their peak state. Imagine a world where ninety percent of the population is physically unfit and inactive while technology is at it’s peak (VR, robots, the whole bit, Postmates is now in the form of a microwave that just beams you food in an instant). Now contrast that with the “sticks and stones” days where man was just trying to survive and thrive. To me, neither sound very appealing, and that’s part of why I think the age we are in right now is amazing. First of all, I love the internet. For one, it allows me to communicate with friends and family all over the world in an instant, although it has also allowed people to grow pretty damn soft in my opinion. There was a study done in the last decade that showed many Americans actually consumed Fewer CALORIES in the early 2000’s than they did in the 50s yet the obesity rate has skyrocketed… “How is that possible?” you might ask. One study found that the amount of activity had significantly decreased, meaning people were less active and adopting more sedentary behaviors. At the time I felt justified blaming technology for this problem but then again, the iPad isn’t in charge of the house is it? Since then I have met many strong men and women who have cultivated outstanding relationships with food, exercise and health within their household which has led me to this conclusion. Training the mind and body daily IS ESSENTIAL for everyone. No matter what the government or anyone says, it is your right to be able to practice daily, ways to use your body and maintain it. It will take time, like anything worth doing does, but it starts with daily consistent practice. I assure you, the rewards will far outweigh the cost. To me, staying physically fit and active means three things, maybe more but I’ll start with three. I believe it boils down to your freedom, survival (basic human movement), and accomplishment. Stay tuned as I break them down one at a time in the following sections.

“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step” -Chinese proverb