We left off last time with “the good life is good because it keeps you healthy, functionally independent, happy, and free for a long time.” It is time to break down what that means, and get as practical as we can about it.
Healthy: Not trying to get too formal here, healthy means you have a high quality of life and live a long time. It also your important predictive health metrics (of longevity) are within healthy ranges: your A1C, Triglycerides, HDL, Body Fat %, Skeletal Muscle Mass, Bone Density, and that you’re strong enough to do the basic activities of life (like your chores), and probably some elective/enjoyment activities too, like going on hikes and traveling.
Functionally Independent: This one is even more basic. It means that you have enough strength, mobility, aerobic fitness and stamina to not need another person to be your caretaker, or a bunch of complicated machines and systems to keep you alive.
You can go to the grocery store, cook, and perhaps roll the full recycle bin up and down a steep driveway. This can vary depending on where you live and your lifestyle. If you live in the mountains and snow, you will need enough of the above qualities to manage steep and sometimes slippery conditions. If you live in a hot climate, the ability to thermoregulate while performing basic tasks is important.
Happy: This could be considered the psychological aspect of “Healthy.” Highly subjective of course. Leaning on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, people who are happy have their basic needs physiological and safety needs met, *and* essentially maintain their social being through love and connection to other people, pursue what interests them above and beyond their basic needs, and feel competent and strong while doing so.
Free: You can explore what this means to you, but the “self-actualization” part of the hierarchy is pretty good: “the desire to become the most you can be.” In this framework, free can be interpreted as not being hindered from this desire, like being physically or cognitively impaired from pursuing your “best self’s” interests.
Ok we have some semi-working definitions, so what can we do with these practically? A lot of this stuff exists on a spectrum, and varies depending on your age, where you live, who your parents were, what kindof culture you exist in, etc. So I like to narrow things down by reflecting on the thing I think many relatively young people block out of their mind: what their life will be like in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, while they are presently in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Aside: if you’re 20-something and reading this, congratulations on getting ahead, but I expect that you won’t be practically concerned with this stuff for at least another decade or so :).
So, for example, what do you imagine your best life will be like when you are 80+? Are you still able to travel? Are you able to take care of yourself, or do you anticipate needing a caretaker? What can you do now to set yourself up for the life you want to live?
I know these are difficult questions to answer, and may make you want to forget about all of this. Try not to look away, you can do this, and your future self will thank you for it.
Take 2-5 minutes to write down your thoughts on this.
Now here is the interesting part. I have a list of 10 action steps for you that are so universal that it almost doesn’t matter what exactly you envision your future to be like, you will probably need all of these tools at some point, the sooner the better on all of them. Prioritize them based on what feel the most doable right now, then based off of what you think will have the biggest impact on your life.
Here is what you can do in 10 steps for the rest of your life:
Take all the instructions below one at a time, and only take on the next one when you feel like you have the bandwidth to without stressing yourself out more. Overwhelm is the obstacle.
- Commit to walking as your consistent activity, 5 days per week for at least 20 minutes, and at least 2 of those days go above 45 minutes if you can. Enjoyable walking, outdoors as much as possible (weather permitting), around the neighborhood, or at a nice park, trail, etc. I like trails because they keep things interesting with variable terrain, and if there are hills will be especially beneficial. To get the most out of your walks, do some simple and intuitive range of motion stretches, before, during, and/or after. Simple. Stretch your calves, do some virtual swimming backstroke with your arms, do a cat stretch on a wall or tree, hold a squat for 30 seconds.
- Commit to adopting a sleep hygiene routine: get more hours if you can, 7-10 ideally, but even if you cannot, develop a routine for how you go to bed that starts at least 1 hour before sleepytime. Track your sleep via a free app if you’re struggling with this, and save it for later if/when you have a coach.
- Commit to a basic mobility and strength routine 2-3 days per week for 40-60 minutes that emphasizes range of motion in the squat and overhead positions, and addresses common imbalances by showing you a set of corrective mobility and strength exercises for each one. These are the basic “use it or lose it” skills that I see deteriorate and cause a loss of functional independence over time.
- Commit to keeping your protein intake high, your green vegetable intake high, and your refined sugar intake as low as possible. Seek coaching on this for at least 3 months if you find it difficult to do. Protein ideally at ~1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day. Work your way up to this if you find it hard, it is the most important building block for muscle and your sustained structural longevity. Refined sugar is the most important building block for diabetes (a joke!), enjoy it here and there as part of your social and food culture, but understand it is an addictive and harmful substance like nicotine or alcohol, and won’t serve your long-term needs (not a joke!)
- Proactively seek a holistic Education on the basics of Functional Strength and Functional Mobility. This is still not taught in school, and there are a lot of marketing traps out there. Don’t just settle for any gym. You don’t need a new tech gadget, you need an education. Fortunately, in this era you can google it and will likely have several results pop up near you. Commit to 3 months with a place or coach that has values similar to yours, then decide if you know enough to continue on your own after 90 days, or that there is something about the place/person that is valuable enough for you to continue on there for longer.
- When “school is out” (or sooner), invest in a set of dumbbells (at least weight levels, e.g. 10s, 20s, 30s), a couple bands for stretching, and perhaps a barbell + rubber plates if you want to have full flexibility to develop and maintain your body. If you can’t walk often (for whatever reason), consider investing in a C2 rowing machine.
- If after your 3-month journey with a coach or gym you still have no idea how to design a routine to keep building your strength & fitness up, find a skilled coach who will write one for you, and ask if they can create a template for you or refer you to a program/resource to keep following on your own indefinitely.
- Find a good Functional Medicine Practitioner who appreciates the role of preventative care, and will only prescribe medication when that is the only option.
- Get your Strength to Conditioning Ratios right: If you want to do things that require fitness beyond “taking out the trash bins” level, it depends a lot on what that is, and if it’s something very niche, like backpacking Mt. Whitney, you will need specific training outside of a gym. But a basic principle you should follow in developing your general fitness is prioritizing proper strength and mobility-focused training time/workouts over conditioning-focused ones at a ratio of at least 2:1. Ideally 3:1 or 4:1 if you don’t have a niche, conditioning-oriented goal. If you are interested in maximizing your fitness per the CF definition or for competition, you can do well with 1:1, but will need to make some tradeoffs. This will be where you may need to veer off even a good gym’s program, as many are simply not able to meet this need.
- Commit to a life of learning and humility: No one is an island. I made many mistakes to learn all of the above, and could have avoided a lot of it with proper guidance earlier in life. If you find any of these things difficult, seek out help and support from experts and communities who are already doing these things with their people, and pay it forward by sharing your lessons with someone you care about.
Cheers to many more years of you being healthy, functionally independent, happy, and free!
Coach Mauricio