They say your health is your greatest wealth. It is one of those “yeah , no shit!” things. However, is it just me or do many people neglect their health when they could really work to improve it. You may have heard it before, I know who said it, but I am unable to find where it was first written . “The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
The quote above is awe-inspiring, incredibly accurate, humbling, and terrifying all at the same time. It sums up mankind eloquently, sums up life perfectly, makes you painfully aware of your existence, and scares the shit out of me. It scares the shit out of me because, even though a vast amount of people have heard it, they ignore it. They think, “yeah, that is not me, that is for some sucker!”. They think of that and then wind up falling into reality of it all. No one wants to live only to make the same mistake they were warned about. Not only is it embarrassing, it is downright stupid.
I will be doing my best to not wind up a static for this quote. When it comes to my health, I will have five non-negotiables. These are things that I must do every week as long as I am able and within reason. I will be eating healthy, stretching every morning, going to the gym (5 days a week), walking 10,000 steps a day, and attending Krav Maga classes. If I do the above, I will be giving my health the best chance to do what it needs to do best. I shouldn’t have to mention it, but this also include my annual doctors checkup and visits to keep my health on track.
I have, let’s call it a habit, of eating unhealthy. Currently I weigh 210 lbs and could definitely stand to lose some body fat. I figure I need to lose 45 lbs and get my body fat from its current starting point of ~30% to ~8%. Usually, when it comes to eating, I will skip breakfast, go out for lunch, and then go out for dinner. There is no planning here. If I am in the mood for a burger, I will get a burger. If I want a burrito, I will grab one. There is no planning ahead, it just rolls with the emotions. I don’t even want to begin to think about how many calories I have been ingesting. There is also my very dark and seductive habit of eating late night ice cream. Right now, my two addictions are Moose Tracks and Birthday Cake flavors. It may also not help that I can add a side of M&M’s or cookie dough. These combination can really bring a man to his knees to beg for more. Anyway, in an effort to eat heather, I will be ordering my meals from Fresh ‘n’ Lean. It’s a service that sends you 21 healthy (actual healthy food with no preservatives or ingredients that I cannot pronounce) right to your door step that you can eat throughout the week. The service includes 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 7 dinners. On top of this I will be adding One-A-Day vitamins, a probiotic, and krill oil supplements. Now don’t get me wrong here. I know there are days when I will fall way of the diet train. That is OK, as long as I get back on it. After all, the last time I check, I am still human.
As an old, 37 year old man, I need to stretch in the mornings. Long story short, among other previous back issues, I have the ultimate pleasure of having scoliosis (when the spine curves sideways), but luckily, you wouldn’t know unless I told you this deep dark secret. Which I just did. I will give you a minute to take that in. Anyway, overtime, it caused me to lean to my left side in order to compensate for the direction it was going. What I did not know was that overtime, this would lead to severe back pain. I tried a lot of things to get rid of it, and after a while, even though I decided to continue to try new things to lessen it, I thought I would have to deal with it for the rest of my life. Then one day, while at an event, I learned about the Egoscue method. As soon as I heard of it and was able to see what it could do, I jumped right in. The Egoscue method is a series of daily stretches, that when done over time, realign your body to where it should be. I was lucky to be right near one of the clinics and the therapist I worked with was dedicated to his craft. It was insane, after my first consultation, I was immediately able to see results. Before I knew it the back pain was virtually gone. It was by far one of the best investments I ever made. Thanks to this method, I am now able to sleep through the night, do not have any pain lying on my side, and let’s just say I can now do things that I thought I would never be able to do again. There is only one tiny catch. You have to keep up with the exercises daily or your body will start to revert back to the way it was. So let’s do the math, I can either do 30 minutes of easy stretching per day, or I can slowly and gradually ease my way back into pain. I will choose the former. Think of it like when you got your braces off. THe Orthodontist told you that you had to wear the retainer every night or your teeth would shift back. There were those who did not listen, and were shocked to see their teeth shift back to their pre-braces smile.
Now, the gym is a must regardless of any age. I know people who love going to the gym. The second they wake up they want to work out. I don’t understand the drive that is in them to make them want to do this everyday. Then there is me. I am the type of person, who if given the choice on my day off, would avoid the gym at all costs, as if it were one of the ten plagues bestowed upon ancient Egypt. I will be changing this. I have obtained a yearly subscription to Bodybuidling.com which gives the user workout programs that I will follow. On top of that I have also joined LA Fitness. The real question is when will I go. I plan on going Monday through Friday. Now I have two options here, I am going to try to get up early before work and do it, and if that fails, I will be going during my lunch break. In the very pit of my soul, I know that once I get home for the day from work, I am not going back outside. The second my ass hits that couch, the day is over. I once read in The 5 Second Rule, that a good way to wake up in the morning is to take a cold shower. If you do not want to do that, because who the hell does, you can run your hands under cold water in the sink. Personally, I have also found, if you drink some ice cold water it can wake you right up. I’m going to have to save my showers for after the gym, so I will see how the cold water works. Either way, as I write this, it is one of those “now or never” moments which I will be taking advantage of. When it comes to physical shape, the only thing worse than being 37 and out of shape is being 38 (or older) and out of shape!
10,000 steps a day? Yep! That is what they tell us. “Just walk 10.000 steps a day and you will lose weight, fight off disease, strengthen your bones, improve your brain function, boost that mood of yours, and a whole host of other things!” Much easier said than done. In order for me to walk 10,000 steps I will need to be walking for approximately 90 minutes straight. Yes I have conducted the experiments necessary to figure this out. That is not the problem. I actually love going for walks. The problem is the time it takes. So how am I going to make the time to do it? Simple. I have purchased a lightweight portable treadmill, that with little effort, I can move to an elevated desk to walk while I am working on my computer, to the living room to walk while I am watching TV, or if needed I can use it to walk while playing video games. This will also come in very handy if it is raining outside. I have completely taken any and all excuses out of it. At this point, if I do not do it, it means I was just too lazy.
Finally there is Krav Maga. What is Krav Maga? The words “Krav Maga” are Hebrew. They translate into “Contact Combat”. This martial art was derived from combinations and techniques that are used in aikido, wrestling, judo, boxing, and karate. This martial art was designed for real world efficiency to use in real-world situations. Think of it like this, in a street fight, which you should avoid at all costs, there are no rules.If you are pulled into one, you want to know the best way to defend yourself so you can get away safely and hopefully unharmed. I was lucky enough to find a great training center in West Palm Beach but unfortunately missed a number of classes due to my back issues. Now that the back issues are a thing of the past, thanks to my old man stretches, I can finally return to move up in the ranks. My non-negotiable for this is to attend classes 2-3 times a week. Most weeks include a Saturday class but sometimes they don’t, which is perfectly fine. For those of you who are wondering, the answer is yes, the class is a lot of fun, you learn a lot, it is a great workout, and you leave each one feeling great. Just make sure you drink a lot of water afterwards. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.
Within reason, before working on my current goal of any given day, I will be working to accomplish these goals. Within reason? What the fuck does that mean? Well, some things, like eating dinner and Krav Maga, happen during the nighttime, so I cannot wait until I am done with those to begin working on my current goal now can I? The key here is two have two simultaneous goals. The first being health related (see all that bullshit above) and the second being my current goal. My current goal will fall into one of three categories. Those categories are professional, recreational, and personal. As long as I do one at a time, I should be good to go. If I want to do more, good for me. If not, that is cool too. I just need to keep in mind that the 5 items above are my primary goal and anything that comes after will be secondary. Why? Didn’t you read the above? My health is my greatest wealth, and without it, I cannot get shit done. So, all that being said, or written, whatever, let’s do this!