How I Developed My Health And Fitness PhilosophyMy general health and fitness philosophy (and the guiding principle for this site) is that if you want to be as strong and healthy as you can be, you only need to watch what animals do in the wild and follow their example. How did I come to this conclusion? From experience. Let me explain. How do you get in Shape? I can't
remember exactly when, but at some point, I decided I wanted to get in
better shape. In order to do this, I did what a lot of people do and I
took up running and weight lifting. Makes sense, doesn't it? You run to
improve your cardiovascular fitness, and you "pump iron" to increase
your muscle mass. I remember the first time I went for a long run. It
felt like my lungs were on fire. I thought this was a good thing though
(and it was) as it meant my lungs were working in ways they hadn't in a
long time. Same with weight lifting. After my first workout, I can
remember my arms quivering and my muscles being sore. Again,
however, this was a good thing, right? It meant I was building muscle
and getting stronger. This is the price you pay for better health ...I started making progress, but ...
At any rate, I was pretty diligent at doing both
activities. I could go for long runs relatively easily, and over time I
could perform my various weight lifting routines with greater and
greater weight. If you asked me, or anyone who knew me, we both would
have said that I was in great shape. However, although I was doing
everything most fitness experts say you should do, I was beginning to
have my doubts ... What Judo taught meThese doubts really came into focus for me when I took up Judo for a time. Although I really enjoyed it, I couldn't believe how quickly I got tired in practice. Shouldn't all of the running I'd been doing help me here? What was worse, I was constantly getting injured. I remember at one point I really mashed (I don't know what the technical term is, but I just remember my shoulder making a crunching sound as I hit the mat) my shoulder. This seriously limited what I could do. As well, I couldn't fully extend one of my arms for a time. Shouldn't all of the weights I'd been lifting make me strong and help me avoid these injuries? Putting the Pieces TogetherThis is when I had my revelation. As I was sitting down with an ice pack on my shoulder, my mind wandered back to a time when I was very young visiting the zoo. I remember looking at the gorillas in their cage and marveling at how strong they were. How could gorillas get so strong when they couldn't exercise like human beings? They didn't lift weights, that's for sure. My young mind couldn't find an answer to that question, and I guess I quickly forgot about it, probably distracted by something else. However, as I sat there (somewhat) older and wiser, and in very real pain, those questions came back into my head. Could it be that everything I was doing was wrong? Might it be that running and weight lifting, when it came to health and fitness, were not all they were cracked up to be?
Well, if you've read this far, you can probably guess as to what conclusions I came to. Namely LONG DISTANCE RUNNING, or JOGGING, IS ABOUT THE DUMBEST EXERCISE YOU CAN DO. THIS IS FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY THE SECOND DUMBEST EXERCISE, WHICH IS WEIGHT LIFTING, PARTICULARLY WITH HEAVY WEIGHTS. If you wish to read my critiques and criticisms of both running and weight lifting, and why they are unnatural and unhealthy exercises that you should NOT do, click on the links below: Why Running IS NOT a Natural or Healthy Exercise I used to really enjoy running. In Vancouver, we have great sea walls and trails, and jogging is really popular. However, all of that running put a serious pounding on my knees (I actually seriously wore out the cartiledge in my right knee). How healthy is it in reality? I believe that it does. In this article, I explain why. Return
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