(Because waxing poetic is cool, but health requires a lot of DOING. Here’s a reminder of the big picture. – pbk)
To begin
To deconstruct The Master To-Do List For Health And Fitness, Zone 2 cardio is hard to beat. You move your body at a low to moderate level of cardio intensity, starting where you’re at, doing so nearly daily, and gradually increasing to between 30 and 60 minutes per session.
This counters nearly all metabolic illnesses (obesity, prediabetes, BP, cholesterol, and clogged artery stuff), mobilizes fluids, improves moods, stimulates neuroplasticity in the brain, and can be started by anyone who can ambulate. It can’t fix the whole house, but it’s a master key that opens many doors.
Go.
The second step of The Master List…
…is appreciating that there are more items on The List. Nutrition. Sleep. Functional strength. Breathwork and mobilizing lymphatics. Inner work. Circadian synchronization. And yes, you need them all.
Get those nailed down, and you’ll be better off than 98.999% of humanity. Proficiency here will prevent, reverse, or significantly reduce the effects of most chronic illnesses in modern life.
To get to the 1%
The penultimate realization comes from appreciating learning, which all the above develops without you realizing it.
Learning: monitoring your progress and exploring what helps and putting aside what doesn’t. Habit science is huge, here. Combine learning how to learn with how to accelerate accomplishments with exponential speed, and the previously inconceivable is within your grasp.
Self-deception, procrastination, and all the other enemies of understanding and improvement? When your drawing board consists of your body and soul, any dishonesty sabotages yourself; this is also why bargaining with your doctor and your health are so nonsensical. You learn to stop effing around when the poker chips are pieces of you.
For the final 0.001%
Keeping track of the arithmetic, this where you’ll work harder on connecting and relating to others, and by extension, to a higher purpose, power, or transcendence. Like finding a great coach or training partners, you’ve already experienced the magnifying effect of true friends and a team; tough problems dissolve, your progress leapfrogs, and the words like legacy, sharing, and meaning start to enter your vocabulary.
Ironman was cool, but The Avengers saved the Multiverse.
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