Start With the Physical
April 15th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina
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If you have many improvements you’d like to make in your life — career, relationship, health — where should you begin? My suggestion is to start with your physical body. Improving your diet and level of fitness will produce positive results in every area of your life because you’ll have extra energy available to you every day. This means more energy to invest in your career, relationships, and mental and spiritual development.
You take your body with you wherever you go. If you’re overweight then you carry that excess with you at all times. You’ll see it every time you look in the mirror and carry it up and down every flight of stairs. An extra 20 lbs may not seem like much, but if you carry around an extra 20-lb dumbbell all day long, you’ll see that it feels burdensome and tires you out much faster. 20 lbs of excess fat weighs the same as a 20-lb dumbbell, and carrying it around all day will drain your energy.
It’s been said that people spend their first 50 years trading their health for wealth, and then they spend the next 50 years trading their wealth for health. But this isn’t a trade that you should make at all.
Losing your fitness can occur so gradually, you barely notice it. Even if you aren’t overweight, if you eat poorly and don’t exercise, you’ll suffer for it. But you may not see the symptoms of poor nutrition and fitness appear in your body right away — they’ll pop up in other areas like a feeling of malaise in your relationship, a lack of ability to concentrate well at work, a lack of ambition, or a feeling of fuzziness in your overall focus. You feel demotivated and don’t know why.
I recall that the times in my life when I exercised the most, I also had the clearest thinking, and I could concentrate for long periods without getting tired. Among the many benefits of exercise are in increase in blood flow, which helps oxygenate the body and especially the brain.
One of the key benefits of improving your body is that you’ll see physical results. When you look in the mirror or step on the scale and see that you’ve made progress, it’s very satisfying. And this self-esteem boost can lead to greater accomplishments in every other area.
Listen to your self-talk the next time you see yourself in the mirror. Is it positive or negative? Are you reinforcing the self-image you want?
Of the many stories I’ve read from people who’ve transformed their lives for the better, physical fitness was nearly always a significant component from the beginning.
April 15th, 2005 at 9:05 am
love the new design of the website!
Great post as well, just a question, do you still do those morning runs?
April 15th, 2005 at 9:20 am
Yes! Thank you for that post! A few thoughts:
Notice how you always read about CEOs who have fitness equipment in their offices, or run at lunch?
My husband is a trap shooter and always competes better when he’s been exercising. His concentration improves, his aim improves, and I’m sure his steadiness improves.
And, my goodness, your body houses your whole Self, letting it go to means letting all sorts of things go.
-Ellie (new reader, enjoying your writings.)
April 15th, 2005 at 9:40 am
Evening runs now, Michael. I like running when it’s dark, so when the seasons change and the days get longer, I usually switch to evenings — last night I went running just after sunset. Usually I run for 25-45 minutes.
During the winter I mostly exercised indoors with weight training, calisthenics, and my stationary bike. But when the weather is nice, I prefer outdoor exercise. In L.A. I loved running along Venice beach or around the docks in Marina del Rey.
April 15th, 2005 at 10:11 am
Steve, how many hours of sleep do you try to get every night?
Is it better to try train your body to live with only, say, 6 hours of sleep? Where your body will then have to get in the habit of squeezing as much deep sleep out of those 6 hours as possible. (Similar to your advice about shortening your work hours to squeeze out more productivity.) Or do you maybe try to sleep 9 hours a night since you know you’ll be running around all day and don’t want to cut corners? I’ve heard reasonable arguments for both strategies regarding sleep.
April 15th, 2005 at 10:26 am
I sleep 6-8 hours per night — usually on the longer end of the range during the winter and on the shorter end during the summer. Last night I slept about 7 hours. I’ve tried pushing my sleep down below 6 hours, but then my concentration/focus suffers. I can do that for a night or two but not sustainably.
Kelly Lange said once at a book signing that she sleeps only 3 hours a night. Now that’s impressive.
April 15th, 2005 at 11:54 am
“I recall that the times in my life when I exercised the most, I also had the clearest thinking, and I could concentrate for long periods without getting tired. Among the many benefits of exercise are in increase in blood flow, which helps oxygenate the body and especially the brain.”
Steve,
I love this quote. Personally, on the road as much as I am, I don’t think I’d have near the energy, enthusiasm or postive focus I do if I didn’t compete in triathlon. Having a “coming up goal” pushes me to stay engaged and stay involved in my own evolution as a human on all the levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
April 15th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
I read recently that people who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night live shorter lives. And people who sleep more than 8 don’t live as long either. The optimal range was 7-8 hours, according to a Japanese study.
I don’t know if this is true, but found it interesting when I read it. I know I definitely feel my best at 7-8 hours of sleep. If I sleep too long I can be a little lethargic, and if I sleep less than 7 hours a night I usually feel like I need a nap during the day.
April 15th, 2005 at 11:13 pm
There is only one good answer to how much you must sleep: “As long as you need”. Some (very few) people can do with 4-5 hours of sleep and still wake up in the morning ready to go. 3 hours is plain amazing. Edwin Bliss in the old “Getting Things Done” talks about some of those few who can do that.
I’m not one of them. I need 8-9 hours of sleep, that’s how my body works and I know that the only right thing to do is to give my body this amount of sleep.
The study that says 7-8 hours of sleep for everyone has the flaw that the hours are an average on everyone. Some can most likely live long on not so much sleep, while others who can’t still try and die earlier. I’m sure the recommendation is correct for many people and surely well meant, but there are still some very rare individuals who beat this statistic.
April 16th, 2005 at 1:27 am
I confirm Erin’s comment. I’ve read the same information.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:34 am
Great post again Steve.
I was on a diet and exercise plan for four years. It was called the “I’ll do it tomorrow plan”. I lost a lot on the plan… exactly four years. The most important thing I’ve found about exercise is to do it “Today”.
Bill Phillips book “Body for Life”, has one of the most workable plans I’ve found. Simply stated the book covers 4 areas that work synergistically to help you create the body you want.
1. Interval Aerobic exercise 3 days a week for 20-30 minutes/day
2. Weight training 3 days a week for 45 minutes/day
3. Balanced diet plan (something like a 40-40-20 plan) with 6 meals/day
4. Drinking 2-4 liters of water per day
His plan is not easy, but as Jason Womack commented above, makes a great “coming up goal”. I find that it takes all 4 things to really get in shape. If I leave out any one thing I really notice the difference. It’s really funny how you can drink lots of “heavy” water and lose weight.
I agree that exercise will give you clearer thinking than anything else. If you listen to a audio book on your Ipod when you exercise you can make that exercise time more productive.
BTW.. Thanks for the post about “rockets” on my site. I also learned early about windy days.
John
April 16th, 2005 at 11:47 am
Interesting - I’ve been in great shape for about 18 years now. The periods during which I’ve had to forego exercise led to back pain and depression. This has been especially challenging in the past year as I’ve grappled with RSI and been forced to give up weightlifting and using elliptical trainers.
As for sleep, 7-8 hours is where it’s at for me. Though if I’m forced to skip, I usually do a binge 10 hour night and then return to my normal rhythm.
April 16th, 2005 at 8:31 pm
Steve,
Your website is very informative and I have found some great tips on time management. Could you recommend some books, tapes/cds, or websites that you found to be useful?
Thank you
April 17th, 2005 at 2:06 am
Any of you vegetarians?
April 17th, 2005 at 6:17 pm
@Sonya: I could recommend hundreds of resources I’ve found useful, so you’ll have to be very specific about what you’re looking for.
April 18th, 2005 at 4:20 am
My body is a temple. A temple of my soul.
You must first build a grand great temple.
DJ Tiesto
In Search Of Sunrise, Volume 3 (2002)
08, Your Body Is A Temple
April 18th, 2005 at 6:45 pm
Hi, I wanted to buy motivational cds or books. Most importantly, I need to learn how be organizied and improve time management skills. Thanks!
April 18th, 2005 at 6:56 pm
Sonya, that’s still very general, so I’d suggest doing a search on amazon.com on those topics and then look for books and audio programs that get at least 4-5 star ratings from customers. For starters though I can recommend Julie Morgenstern’s Organizing From the Inside Out.
April 18th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
To Anonymous:
I used to be a vegetarian, though not a particularly strict one. I didn’t do it out of particular concern for animal rights or spirituality, although I find those noble causes and additional benefits of being a vegetarian. I simply do not care for the taste of most meats!
However, I have recently switched back to eating meats because I’ve been trying to gain muscle mass. I felt I was not getting enough protein in my diet.
As for the article, I agree totally. Exercising will produce a huge boost to self-esteem, relieves stress, and you just generally feel like you’ve conquered the world after a good workout. It’s easy to incorporate simple exercises into your daily routine, and the benefits are excellent!
April 18th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
P.S. It seems there already many comments on vegetarianism in a previous entry: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/#comments
Along with some insightful information about protein that I was ignorant of.
April 26th, 2005 at 4:57 pm
After spending most of my 20s overweight and unfit, I made a commitment three years ago to change. Excercise became a top priority, even as I was working full time, enrolled in a part-time graduate school program and expecting my first child. I started running and lost about 50 pounds over the course of six months. Three years later, I’ve kept the weight off. After some knee trouble I switched to cycling, which had been a great passion of mine during college. Now, fitness is an important component of my life - my wife might call it an obsession! My workouts are unbreakable appointments with myself. I am as amazed as anybody else that I was able to do this, but it has made me a better time manager and (I hope) a better parent.
Don’t wait - do it now - you *can* change!
April 27th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
Steve
Agreed that physical fitness is a great starting point. Following that, you have mentioned meditation a few times in passing, which is something that interests me but I have never really found that easy to commence. What type of meditation do you do, and how do you learn the relevant techniques? Have you found this beneficial to your well-being?
I love your site - very insightful. Please keep it up.
April 28th, 2005 at 4:52 am
I wouldn’t put a label on the type or style of meditation I do. It’s mainly a matter of breathing, sitting quietly, and listening to my thoughts until my mind becomes more clear and focused — is there an apppropriate label for that? I’ve tried a few structured forms of meditation, and I sometimes use guided meditation tapes, but I usually like to keep it simple.
I’ve found it beneficial, especially for the relaxation it provides to my body and mind. Running is also a form of meditation for me, at least when I’m in good physical condition.