Are You Surviving...or Thriving?

Want to send a big thanks to everyone who stopped by the open house today! A big thanks to SSG Rogers, our local Marine Recruiter who brought in some future warriors to PSKC. Look forward to working with you guys in the future.

Here's a question for you guys to ponder this weekend...how healthy are you?

One of the key points I took away from the Crossfit Level I Certification last weekend is what Crossfit defines as the "continuum of health". It's a very simple concept that had a very profound effect on me.

It goes like this...if you have a spectrum...on the far left end is "sickness", the middle part is defined as "wellness", and the very far right end is "fitness". What these 3 areas are looking at his a person's total picture of health.

So how do you know how "healthy" you are. Well that's where measurements can take place.(e.g. bodyfat percentage, blood work, how much you deadlift, how many snatches you can get in 5 minutes, etc)...all these are measurements that indicate how sick, well, or fit you are...

So let's put some hypothetical numbers to this..

A "sick" dude probably is over 40% bodyweight, has a resting heart rate of 110bpm, and could do 20-30 snatches with a 35lb kettlebell in 5 minutes...i.e. this dude ain't looking/feeling/performing too well.

A dude in the "wellness" range is probably around 20% bodyfat, resting heart rate of 70-75bpm, and could do around 50 snatches with a 44lb kettlebell in 5 minutes..i.e. this guy is what society consider as "normal". Not too bad and but not too good..

not "sick", but not exactly optimal either

A "fit" dude is around 10% bodyfat, resting heart rate 45-50bpm, and could kill 120 snatches with a 53lb bell in 10 minutes....i.e. this guy is one strong capable dude...

one fit dude

Okay...so where am I going with this? Which one of these "dudes" is more likely to spend a significant amount of time and money in the healthcare system? Who is going to lead a full life that is not handicapped by shit they can't do because they are too weak or out of deconditioned?

Odds are the sick guy is probably already on some sort of meds to control blood pressure, and diabesity has a firm hold on him. The bottomline is this dude (if he doesn't die) is going to have a piss poor quality of life for the rest of his days.

So let's take the "average" American..he is in "okay" shape. But the problem is "okay/average" in today's society is perfectly acceptable. This dude isn't sick, but he damn sure isn't thriving either..simply stuck in the middle...surviving. And society tells him it's fine to be average..to be firmly seating in his recliner of comfort..he's somewhat active, but not enough to be considered "fit".

Now..let's take the guy who is thriving. This is the guy we should aspire to be...why? This guy is kicking life in the ass. He is strong, his heart/lungs are in great condition, and guess what he's probably doing as well? He's eating clean all natural foods...lean meats, veggies, fruits...he's not poisoning himself with sugary processed foods. He will never be in the hospital....his life is going to be a long, well lived, full, adventurous life if he continues down this path.

Before the "fit" dude becomes the "sick" dude he has a long way to go...but the "well" guy doesn't have that far to travel before becoming "sick". Makes sense? The more bad you make your ass (therefore becoming a bad ass) you are arming yourself against sickness and future hospital visits.

Now, let's take this a step further.....AGE.

Really quick, I want to think of people in the 40-60 age range. How many of those people would you consider "fit"? I'm willing to go out on a limb here and say it's less than a handful...now think of people in the 60-80 range, can you think of anyone?

Now, because you're getting older does that necessarily mean you are sentenced to a poor quality of life and sickness/hospital visits? Obviously there are certain physiological things that take place with age, but how much of getting old can be attributed to flat out not doing anything? Not to mention having a lifetime accumulation of eating shitty foods?

This quote sums up exactly what I'm talking about...

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

The foundation for lifelong health is intense exercise that focuses on functional movement (squatting, running, pressing, jumping, throwing, climbing). There is no difference in what a 10 year old needs and a 40-50-80 year old needs...

remember being this like this lil dude? All he wants to do is grow up to be strong..

Grandpa Troy just cleaned and pressed a 106lb kb, this is what happens when you continue to kick ass...age be damned

So my main point is you control your own destiny. No matter where you are in the health continuum, you can start right now and make strides to move into the "fit" category, therefore moving further away from being sick. It's always your choice...

If not you'll end up being that old weak man/woman who needs help carrying the groceries to the car, always in pain, getting hurt...always dependent upon others. Or you can remember back when you were that lil kid who just wanted to grow up and be big and strong...tap into that inner bad ass who wants more out of life.

All you need to do is step inside PSKC and we'll do the rest for you!