I think one of the few good things to come out of a tech SNAFU is a re-examination of one’s digital life choices.
An experiment with Substack as a social media platform for writers went badly after hitting a tech glitch. Much headbanging ensued.
But while brooding and staring at my Substack dashboard last night, I thought, Might as well adjust that faulty title.
Intensely Active, Sensibly Healthy was the original name, to focus on the pain points I was way too familiar with: older than 40, previously active, busy as frak but committed to getting back to it, and frustrated with failed attempts to do so.
Intense activity was the brass ring, like regularly doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a 60-year-old.
Sensible health was important to call out, because successfully resuming intense activity depends on consistency. You have to put in the hours to rebuild musculoskeletal resilience and safe, efficient movements. And nothing derails training consistency like a heart attack or cancer for Christmas.
Flipping the adjectives made sense
I submit that sensible activity is the key to participating at whatever level is “high” or “intense” for you.
Thoughtfully planned training gets more training sessions under your belt than going gonzo berserker. Intense activity is what caused much of my frustration, from injuries that sidelined me for 6 months at a time.
Protoplasm isn’t Vibranium—learned the hard way through undeniable injuries impossible to ignore. After the third break, going Back To The Drawing Board seemed like a wonderful idea. Some consideration here, coaching outreach there, marinated with physical therapy for a sufficient time, and I was good to go.
Sensibly done, and you can, too.
Health is a different matter.
People’s attitude towards health is pretty much the opposite of what I thought I’d find in my medical practice.
Most of my brand-new patients want to arrange a comprehensive physical as one of their first asks. This is highly gratifying to me as a primary care physician.
It’s just that many of them are 20-somethings: the demographic you’d think least likely to want or need an in-depth physical to find a health problem.
Apparently, 20-somethings are pretty smart.
20-somethings recently out of college or early 30-somethings with young families almost always ask for a head-to-toe comprehensive evaluation. Ditto young entrepreneurs with a long view, and retirees with multiple medical problems already having regular appointments.
It’s the 40-50+ year old attorneys, doctors, business owners, and other professionals who need hauling in. Often with years since their last comprehensive exam, and a year or more since seeing any doctor for any of their (active) medical problems.
With their education and experience, I thought they’d be the first to see the value of optimizing their health, and given their stage of life, the first to line up, given their elevated risk of chronic disease.
Nope.
Foks in my demographic aren’t intensely looking out for their health. But they sure should be, particularly if they want to go all-out physically sometime soon.
Go gonzo on your nutrition! Your longevity-building exercise! Your sleep and recovery, plus your inner work and socialization! And nail those doctor appointments!
There’s a fair amount of catching up to do for that healthy base.
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