Sunday Story…Your Heart

Loves you...Love it Back!

It seems more and more people are coming around to this idea that you don’t have to destroy yourself every day in the gym. This concept (crush yourself every day) has led many of us down the path of destroying our bodies. And as we age the price, we pay for that is just too high.

However, we still want to enjoy all the benefits that come from having a healthy, fit body…little things like the ability to perform everyday tasks (gardening, moving, walking) easily, or looking good both in and out of our clothes, enjoying any activity we want, and most of all aging in a way that serves our highest and best.

The biggest bang for your buck comes from heart rate training, long slow distance, or cardiovascular fitness. Although the time it takes is longer in duration the effort is nowhere near maximal. If you aren’t doing this type of training, start right now. A good heart rate monitor is maybe fifty bucks, and the app is free. Then go do something for about 30 minutes and don’t let your beats per minute go over 125. If it does, slow down and restart. You will find improvement happens quickly and with little effort. But you must pay attention to it and track it. If you can measure it, you can manage it.

There is nothing about this you can’t do at your current fitness level. If you don’t maintain good cardiovascular fitness the rest of your life can be very difficult.

Strap the monitor on and go for a walk. How hard is that?

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…You Gotta Move!

Like the song says…you gotta move. A lot. Often. In as many ways, directions, and modalities as possible. You are human. You are designed to move. The human body is not going to do well sitting and doing nothing. Like your house or your car, if it isn’t being used for the purpose it was designed for it is going to fall apart.

 

As a group, those of us first-world denizens, have been lying to ourselves. We all wanted the “Easy” button. All you have to do is 20 minutes a day 3 times a week. All you must do is 10,000 steps. These are the “Easy” buttons. And although they are partially true they are not the whole truth.

 

The whole truth is much more complicated than that. You need to sprint occasionally. You need to carry some stuff for some distance. You need to climb a ladder, put some weight on your back, and pick up some heavy stuff. Maybe go swimming, ride a bike, run, walk, row…all of the above, and change it up.

 

I use a device that measures my daily “strain.” Strain is the cardiovascular exertion throughout the day. It is based on heart rate activity. The longer my heart spends at an elevated rate the higher the strain. I move a lot. I pick things up all day and put them in different places. Occasionally I demonstrate some movement. I am not talking about “working out.” I am talking about what my every day looks like. And guess what? My monthly strain shows 19 days of all-out strain, 10 days of strenuous strain, and only 1 moderate day. There were no light days.

 

So how does this affect the quality of my life? Stay tuned for that one!

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…Own Your Experience

I recently spent some time in the doctor’s office for my annual physical. As you might imagine I am not the patient they are used to seeing. The physician and the entire set up is designed to treat sick people. It is not designed to help maintain and improve already healthy people. If you are sick, it’s the right place to be. If you are not…well, not so much.

 

Your body is a miraculous design. Your heart pumps gallons of blood through miles of thoroughfares 24/7. Your brain processes a huge amount of information, sorting and collating at speeds you can only imagine. You have muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage all working together just so you can get up in the morning. If you are reading this your mind and body are coordinating together in order for you to understand what you are seeing.

 

If something is broken, you should do your best to get it fixed. BUT if nothing is broken, then you are in charge of maintaining your machine. Just like the other machines in your life. Changing the oil in the car, having the HVAC system serviced, putting fuel in, are all part of life. It’s the same for your body.

 

Your doctor wants you to be well. It’s up to you to decide how healthy you want to be. There is a continuum of health from sick/unwell…to very fit and unwell. Your job is to find the place where you are fit, healthy and happy.

 

This is not an impossible task, but you are going to have to own your own experience to make it happen. What you eat, how well you sleep, your exercise regimen, your mental health practices, your relationships are all part of the complex process that determines the quality of your life.

 

You cannot abdicate your responsibility and expect your health and fitness to just happen. You must be proactive and work (everyday) toward optimum health and fitness. No one else can do it.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412

 

Sunday Story…Stress Kills

One of the most important and overlooked factors in your journey to Living Longer Better is stress. Stress will kill you if you don’t manage it properly. It’s sneaky and cumulative, each little piece adds more than just that piece. The next thing you know you are spiraling down into a morass of bad health outcomes and worse choices.

 

Here's the best piece of advice I can give you. It comes from HH the Dalai Lama… “If there is no solution to the problem then don't waste time worrying about it. If there is a solution to the problem then don't waste time worrying about it.”
 or to put it another way... “If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.”

In other words, if you can’t fix it, then it isn’t worth worrying about, and if you can fix it…Fix it!

Way too often our stress is arising in our minds. It doesn’t exist outside of there. On the other hand, if the stress is arising from a very real problem, then seek the solution and implement that. If it doesn’t work, try something else.

A plan is one antidote to stress. If you have a step-by-step plan to implement it will go far in reducing your stress level. There are some other tried and true strategies you can use as well…meditation, communing with nature, a massage. Anything that allows you to get out of the noise in your head and back in touch with your heart.

Seek out harmonious relationships…with yourself first, the world around you, and the people around you. Harmony is the antithesis of stress.

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412