Physical.
In my personal opinion, the Spiritual and Physical dimensions of “well-centered fitness” are, which dependent upon, foundational to the other dimensions—Intellectual, Emotional, and Social. Yesterday, I addressed the Spiritual “infrastructure”. Today, I want to consider the necessary “infrastructure” to the Physical dimension, as it pertains to personal growth.
The Physical dimension is best considered as one’s physical health—the absence of disease and the capacity to perform physically. One cannot perform at any desired level if one is sick. Physical impairment affects the capacity for human performance.
Now, to be clear, I don’t consider the physical limitations or disabilities (oh, how I don’t like these terms!) to be restrictions to human achievement. They merely affect the effort required. The example that immediately comes to mind is Kyle Maynard (No Excuses). With regards to “physical achievement”, Kyle has achieved far more than I, being “able-bodied”, ever did. [For those who might not know Kyle Maynard’s story, he was a champion wrestler, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and many other amazing things as a quadruple congenital amputee!]
To a degree, our potential level of physical performance is determined by our genetics. As Pers Olaf Åstrand famously said, “If you want to be an Olympic champion, then choose your parents wisely.” Nonetheless, we determine what we achieve with what we are given.
The necessary infrastructure for Physical well-centeredness includes: health, nutrition, opportunity, and desire. Without adequate emphasis on health, performance will be impaired. We cannot perform when we are sick. Nutrition fuels our health, energy, and performance. Opportunity has to present itself, but, more importantly, we have to seek and take advantage of opportunities. Lastly, we have to have the will to improve.
I pride myself in rarely getting sick. I joke that I don’t have time to get sick, so I don’t. There could be some truth to this. Moreover, I focus on what keeps me well—sleep (though I pretty much limit myself to 6 hours a night), reasonably good nutrition (I am not a fanatic), regular exercise, and not being intimidated by germs. I trust my immune system. We get along. I take care of it with proper exercise and nutrition. I allow it to be exposed to the environment so that it can build defenses (the immune system need to be exposed to pathogens to build “acquired immunity”—excessive antibiotics and anti-bacterial soaps and the like serve very little in promoting a healthy immune system).
I have a friend who is a serious germophobe—to the point that she will request new silverware, if the waiter sets it down on the table rather than on a napkin. So, one day at lunch, I decided to mess with her. I took my Taco Bell soft taco (I said I am not a fanatic about nutrition), touched it to the ground for a brief moment, and proceeded to eat it. It, of course, freaked her out–“The germs!” I, however, asked her: “When was the last time I was sick?” “You are never sick,” she responded. “And how many days of work have you missed in the last month?” I asked. (She had several sick days over the preceding month.) My point was made.
Now, I am not telling anyone to eat off the ground or to go looking for germs. (Please, don’t go licking door handles or anything!) My point is that good health begins with not worrying about having bad health. The human immune system is amazing. It can do the job, as long as we take care of it (sleep, exercise, nutrition).
We must eat right. I have written on diet before. While I don’t hold nutritional credentials, I don’t have to be a nutritionist to emphasize eating a balanced diet that is not excessive in calories. In other words, begin by not eating too much (maintain an optimal body composition) and avoid “junk foods”. Small changes in diet can have compounding effects.
Exercise. Students of exercise are taught about “Nieman’s ‘J’” (named for exercise physiologist, David Nieman). Nieman demonstrated that the risk of upper respiratory infections (URTI) significantly decreases with moderate intensity regular exercise. Interestingly, the benefit is only up to a point, and individuals performing prolonged, intense exercise have a risk of URTI greater than that of sedentary individuals. So, a balance approach to diet and exercise is warranted.
Opportunity for Physical well-centeredness includes time for exercise, access to health care, access to good food, etc. Now, some can claim a “lack of opportunity”, but in most cases, this is nonsense. It is true our opportunity may be limited—for example, I would like more time to exercise, but I make the most of the time I have. The inaccessibility to “healthy” foods is often given as an excuse for poor health and obesity. It is true that many Americans live in what are termed “food deserts”—neighborhoods that lack grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and healthy restaurants (and are thus restricted to buy foods at convenience stores and fast food restaurants). This is, indeed a problem, but it is not an excuse. It is possible to eat healthy on a tight budget. It is how one spends their food budget that matters. Fast food is cheap, but it alone does not make one fat. Excess body fat is the result of the imbalance between caloric intake and expenditure. Of course, there are health issues that go along with eating a diet that is largely cheap, processed food. But it is too much food that makes us obese. I managed to live for a period of time on a food budget that was between $100-150 a month and remain healthy. (Lived on organic rice bought in bulk, oatmeal, eggs, inexpensive fruits and vegetables, chicken, etc.) It was boring, but it was healthy. I remained lean, fit, and, moreover, free of illness. We have minimal dietary needs. Flavor and sweets are not among them. Water is necessary. Pop/soda, juice, and/or alcohol are not.
Physical well-centeredness is a matter of choice. It requires desire and effort. No matter what physical challenges one may face, we can almost all accomplish more physically than we presently are. The will to achieve a higher level of Physical well-centeredness is a critical “infrastructure” need. Without it, no progress is made.
Carpe momento!