Fitness First (then the other stuff)
“To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear”
Before you worry about all the other stuff in your life — getting a new car, buying a bigger, fancier house, sticking lightbulbs into your ears to enhance your brains power, drinking enough green matcha to make a Buddhist monk shit himself, spending $10 000 on personality tests — consider focusing some effort on fitness first.
No amount of motivation, personality tests or positive psychology will replace the fundamental human need of fitness.
Begin with biology
When I lost over 30kgs, I decided that “success” had to begin with my body. I could read all the books on mind-games or psychology, but unfortunately none of that would replace the chunky first impressions people made of me.
Begin with the home you live in: your body.
It’s cheap and often free
Physical fitness is the cheapest biohack there is. I just love seeing all these pretentious rich dudes on instagram showing the world how long they plan to live. No one actually gives a shit. If you are doing it, do it for you, and no one else. Granted, there are a few individuals like Ben Greenfield who know their shit about anything biohacking / human longevity related, and are genuinely passionate about coaching people.
Health Has Become Fragmented
Health is a blanket term at best. To me, health is a feeling. It’s intrinsically knowing you are at your best. Having peace of mind and body. Fitness is a huge part of health. Probably the lead domino. It effects everything you do. If you are not fit — that could mean physically fit, mentally or emotionally, but for this argument I’m focusing on physical — your life will never manifest the best possible version you have available.
And trust me, it’s available.
In you is a residing fire you have no idea about. That motherfucker sits dormant and is just waiting for you to light the flame.
Some Starting Points
If you would like to know where to begin or feel a little lost on this never ending journey towards your best self, don’t stress. Below is what I would do, knowing what I do now, and I was starting out:
Don’t Set Goals — Set Standards. Goals are for losers. Goals are binary. I set a goal weight and reached it and I still wasn’t happy. Always ask yourself: what if I reach my goal? How will that look? Often you are doing it for reasons that are not your own. In contrast, a standard is something that is part of your identity. A standard might be making sure you move everyday — so no matter what, you meet that standard.
Forget the pilates balls and yoga bands. Run and Lift. Running is awesome…so is lifting. Deadlift, pull-up, benchpress, squat — these are the basics that should be mastered. Yoga and pilates should be an auxiliary to lifting — not the opposite.
Time-restrict your feeding and Intermittent Fast. The two are different, but both play critical roles in muscle gain and gat loss.
Don’t count calories, track your food. Just use a rough esitmate to track the food you eat. Use Under Armours My Fitness Pal.
I’m going to leave it to you to Google anything you may not know about that was mentioned. In most cases, you know the answer. The answer is often hidden in plain sight.
Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. What is fitness to you? What forms of fitness do you enjoy?
Have an awesome week ahead.
As always, thanks for indulging me with your time.
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