How Healthy Are We, Actually – Part 3
Back in Part #2 of this series, FOUND HERE we discussed sleep and nutrition in deep detail and how these 2 things are the foundation to your lifespan and healthspan matching up with each other.
In the final part of this series, I want to discuss the other 2 big rocks when it comes to health and longevity – Exercise and Happiness. I know I have written hundreds of pages on the exercise piece, so I am going to do my best to summarize my findings of what we have found to be the most beneficial forms of exercise that our members get the most success from (and actually keep them coming back year after year!).
First, the best exercise program is the one that YOU actually want to do, and will be able to repeatedly do on a consistent basis. After being in this industry for 16+ years, I have seen a ton of fitness fads come and go (can you remember the shake weight?!).
(Charles Barkley sure does remember the shake weight!)
What tends to stick around are the things that are useful to our bodies, the movements we tend to do every day, and have to continue to be strong at on a daily basis as we age gracefully. These movements include, but are not limited to:
- Push
- Pull
- Squat
- Hinge
- Carry
- Groundwork
There is nothing too sexy on this list, but it is the “basics done brilliantly well” which will yield the best results over the long term.
We like to call our programs and what we do with our clients MRT, or “Metabolic Resistance Training.” We don’t break up our clients workouts into just straight body part training – chest one day, back the next – we instead will pair upper body pushing movements with lower body pulling movements, then sprinkle in things that will either keep your heart rate up (if you are a fat loss client) or to help with lean muscle building – like adding an extra set of a strength exercise.
This not only saves you time, since it is a full body routine, it also becomes more metabolically challenging since you are performing more compound lifts.
The other part here, and probably the most important factor like I mentioned above – is that we want to create a plan and program that can be repeated again and again, and is actually something that our members look forward to. It also doesn’t completely destroy them so they are sore for a week, but it does challenge them to want to do more and to progress each day.
Remember, the best exercise routine is the one that YOU will follow and do.
The last piece of the health and longevity puzzle is happiness. This is a tough one to actually define. How do you know when you are happy? Is happiness a fleeting feeling, or is it an emotion that we go in and out of? I feel like it is an emotion, just like sadness, and we have to have both emotions of happiness and sadness to be human.
I believe happiness can be engineered to be in our lives more and more. One way is by adding an intentional community into our lives.
Being intentional about the friendships and relationships that you have will have a lasting impact on your happiness. Also, having a community of like-minded people just like you that are on a similar journey is one of the secrets to happiness.
A recent Harvard Study found that strengthening your closest relationships has the highest correlation to happiness in a person’s lifetime. This not only includes your spouse/close friends, but also the community that you decide to spend the most time with – this is what we like to call your “intentional community.”
(Epic’s “Intentional Community!)
How do you cultivate and create an intentional community? Start showing up to places where you know you are valued and where you can bring value to a group of humans that share similar values as you. I love to call Epic Fitness our little intentional community.
Many members call it their “third place” – besides work and home, we are their third home. This is honestly the best compliment, to be that safe space where you have people in a community just like you that are pushing towards a common goal to become the best possible version of themselves.
I know we went over a lot of information in this 3-part series, but I wanted to review it quickly and give takeaways.
In part one of this blog FOUND HERE, we discussed what has gotten us to be one of the unhealthiest nations in the world. Obesity and metabolic disease account for 93% of Americans being “sick” to one degree or another.
In part 2 and 3 we discussed the 4 pillars to health and living a vibrant and full life:
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Happiness (our relationships)
Doing the simple things brilliantly well – prioritizing sleep, protein and mindful movement is a great start. This is literally the bulk of what will add a decade (or more!) to your life. Because, isn’t that what we want in the end? I want to be able to dance at my sons and grandon’s/grandaughter’s wedding. I want to be able to hike up a mountain in my 90’s.
I want to be able to ski and do all the things I love and to MOVE freely into my 100’s. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it is not. You have the control, just keep doing the simple (notice how I say simple, not easy) things brilliantly well!
Are you ready to find an intentional community, and a routine you can stick with for the long term? Check out our 14 Day Kickstart program below:
[maxbutton id=”29″ ]