All About Health

by Gordo Byrn

I have a keen interest in how I fool myself and one of my most common rationalizations for excessive exercise is personal health.

I asked our editor for a month focused on health. We tell you how to get fast, how to get ripped, how to manage your time, how to achieve your goals... but we rarely pause to consider the dramatic impact of an integrated approach to personal wellness (body, mind and spirit).

For many of us, achieving unity in health is a big attraction of endurance sport. The moments when our minds quiet and our bodies perform enable us to feel a connection.

Once a year, I remove myself from my normal environment, dial my schedule as low as possible, review my personal plan and listen to myself. The listening is the most important part -- there are times in my life when I feel too busy to read a book, let alone listen to my thoughts.

One of the greatest benefits of easy, unstructured training is an opportunity to observe our thoughts, fears, anxieties flow across the screen of our minds. Relaxed training, in beautiful places, without music is how I sort through my life.

What if it was all about health? I love that question and have built my basic week with that in mind. Here’s my list:

A regular sleep pattern
Train early: Get my HR up a little
Stable weight: Achieved by frequent meals of real food
Not rushed: Time stress damages my health!
Nature: Bright light, trees and water
Body feels fluid: The ability to get over a fence, play with my daughter, fix stuff around the house -- all with a smile

The next time you need to do an indoor session, do it really easy (with a pen/paper) and note your personal list.

Once you have your list, invert it. My “not healthy” list:

Inconsistent and variable sleep
Missed and delayed workouts
Variable weight via meals that feature the false gods of gluttony: sugar and starch.
Feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day
Hamster wheel training -- locked in position, indoors
Muscles that are chronically sore to the touch, loss of functional mobility

Understanding your definition of personal health is one way to balance our mutual obsession with leaner, stronger, faster.

You are in control of your definition of success.

Choose wisely.

Gordo is the founder of Endurance Corner. You can find his personal blog here.