Today's message comes from the Renewed Man Boot Camp. Renewed Man is a systematic teaching and coaching series designed to help men grow emotionally, relationally, and spiritually ... developing the essential character quality of "self-mastery." Even though this community is created for men, the principles are universal -- women will benefit from these insights
as well.
We build this teaching around 12 Keys, and this week, we're focusing on Key 11:
PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. Here's how we put it:
11. Physical Well-being - We cultivate our physical
energy and health. We do this by committing -- or recommitting -- to: (a) some kind of sound and healthy eating strategy (b) some kind of sane plan for physical movement and exercise.
Here's one of the daily messages from this week's teaching series. I hope this will help you:
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It might seem strange that a program focusing on developing sexual self-control would have a separate module dealing with physical health. But it's really not. Our physical well-being makes a huge difference. People who've gone through this program testify that this is one of the most important and helpful weeks. Here's why:
Our physical health is integrally tied to our mental health, emotional health, and even the quality of our relationships. We are unified, multi-faceted beings, and our physical health deeply influences all the other
dimensions of our lives.
I make no claim to be an expert about food, nutrition, exercise, or physical well-being in general. In all the weeks of this 12-week program, the focus of my teaching is to bring you a
distillation of a variety of other experts and thought-leaders. That's especially true this week.
And today I bring you the wisdom of Kelly McGonagil. McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and author of "The Willpower Instinct," and "The Joy of Movement." Here's what she says about the importance of MOVEMENT in our lives:
"Around the world, people who are physically active are happier and more satisfied with their lives. This is true whether their preferred activity is walking, running, swimming, dancing, biking, playing sports, lifting weights, or practicing yoga. People who are regularly active have a stronger sense of purpose, and they experience
more gratitude, love, and hope. They feel more connected to their communities, are less likely to suffer from loneliness or become depressed.
"These benefits are seen throughout the lifespan. They apply to every socioeconomic strata and
appear to be culturally universal. Importantly, the psychological and social benefits of physical activity do not depend on any particular physical ability or health status. They have been demonstrated in people with chronic pain, physical disabilities, serious mental and physical illnesses, and even among patients in hospice care. The joys described above—from hope and meaning to belonging—are linked first and foremost to movement, not to fitness." -- Kelly
McGonigal
This idea has been a life-changing NEW PARADIGM for me ... and I hope you will adopt this mindset as well:
We don’t exercise for weight loss, or even so much to change our body composition. We exercise primarily for HAPPINESS. For our mental well-being.
Now, don't take this the wrong way. Exercise DOES positively impact your weight and fitness, but over the long term, and not in the ways we might expect.
You might have seen headlines that talk about how exercise doesn't help very much in the process of weight loss. Don't let the headlines confuse you -- exercise does, indeed, make a big
difference, but here's the problem: In our current environment, where our eating is so out of whack, it's not enough to create weight loss and great fitness for most out of shape people.
In a world where we can easily consume 3000 calories of sugar and fat in a single meal, with fast food and ever-preset desserts, it's almost impossible to out-exercise all that unhealthy food.
But so what? That's not the main reason to exercise
anyway.
The main reason to exercise is not that your body needs it. Your brain needs it. Your soul needs it. You exercise for well-being. For mood. To feel good. To expand your energy and focus.
Weight loss will come later (if you need it), as you have more energy and focus to discipline yourself for better eating.
Listen to what McGonagil says in her book "The Will Power Instinct":
“Exercise turns out to be the closest thing to a wonder drug that self-control scientists have discovered. For starters, the willpower benefits of exercise are immediate. Fifteen minutes on a treadmill
reduces cravings, as seen when researchers try to tempt dieters with chocolate and smokers with cigarettes.
"The long-term effects of exercise are even more impressive. It not
only relieves ordinary, everyday stress, but it’s as powerful an antidepressant as Prozac. Working out also enhances the biology of self-control by increasing baseline heart rate variability and training the brain.
"When neuroscientists have peered inside the brains of new exercisers, they have seen increases in both gray matter—brain cells—and white matter, the insulation on brain cells that helps them communicate quickly and efficiently with each other. Physical exercise—like meditation—makes your brain bigger and faster, and the prefrontal cortex shows the largest training
effect.”
NEXT ACTION
Today's action step is to do something to MOVE today! While
you're at it, spend some time thinking about how to add more movement to your life. As emphasized in today's lesson, it almost doesn't matter WHAT you do, as long as you do something. Something to get you off the couch, out of the chair, outside, and moving. Make it fun. Make it a habit.
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Would you like to go "all in" and join the Renewed Man Boot Camp? It's a 12 Week
Immersion in these principles. You'll get these daily teachings, a weekly video on one of the 12 Keys of Being a Renewed Man, and access to a support group and/or a coaching group that I lead.
Find out more about the Renewed Man Program
here.
