Preface
We are merely a soul within an organic container (ship/temple) and if we want this ship to have a safe/successful/long journey, it must be taken care of and worshiped (cleaned/maintained) like a sacred/religious temple.
We only have one life, one set of eyes, ears, teeth, one ship THE most valuable thing that we have. Without it and without taking proper care of it, everyone from the billionaire to the beggar truly has nothing.
It’s such a shame people look outward to find happiness and stability in their life, sometimes leaving the health of their body by the wayside. I find these types of people who don’t value their temple often have a seemingly unfillable void in their life (see Realize Your Destiny) and try as they might to satisfy this void with “things”, it’s insatiable, an itch they can’t scratch, and my heart aches for the fellow suffering humans out there searching for an external happiness/solution rather than an internal happiness/solution.
In writing this I hope to show others the light they may need to increase their quality of life through properly honoring their temple, I write this not to condescend their life choices. Some people just need to be gently led or pointed to what may be the proper direction for themselves.
Taking care of your temple: the foundation
It doesn’t take much to be a happy human, in fact, everything we need has already been laid out in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Basic Needs.
For those unfamiliar they are:
LEVEL 1: Physical Survival Needs
The first and most basic of all needs are those to do with physical survival. This is the need for food, drink, shelter, sleep and oxygen. If a person cannot satisfy this basic survival need it dominates their interest and concern. A person who is cold, sick or hungry will not be very interested in socializing, learning or working.
LEVEL 2: Physical Safety Needs
Once the physical survival needs are met, a new set of needs emerges. The physical survival needs still exist, but having these needs satisfied regularly, a person becomes aware of the next level of human need – physical safety. This is the need to feel safe in the world: to feel safe from personal danger and threats; being deprived at Level 2 results in fear. When a person is fearful, all concentration goes to calming the fear with no thought for any other task. For a person to develop fully as a human being there must be some freedom from fear of personal attack, particularly in one’s own home.
LEVEL 3: Love and Belonging Needs
Once the physical survival and safety needs are regularly met, a need for love, affection and belonging begins to emerge. Level 3 needs result from the fact that human beings are sociable and need relationships with others. Maslow states: “The person … will hunger for affectionate relationships with people in general for a place in the group.”
Some of these needs include:
Family or belonging – the need to belong to a group, family, religion, town or class.
Acceptance and understanding – the need to feel alright and to know that others accept you as you are.
Loving and affection – the need both to get and give love.
Intimacy – the need to share inner thoughts with others in close, caring ways.
People deprived at this level seem bored and joyless, even if they are doing well at their chosen tasks. They have feelings of loneliness, pain, sadness, separation and unworthiness.
LEVEL 4: Self-esteem Needs
With a few exceptions, people in our society have a need to feel of value and to count for something. This is called the need for esteem. It is a degree of self-respect and respect from others. Self-respect includes the need for confidence, achievement, independence and freedom. Respect from others includes recognition, attention and appreciation.
LEVEL 5: Self-fulfilled (Self-actualized)
If the first four needs are met, a new one will probably develop: the need for self-fulfillment. This is to become more what a person can be: to develop all aspects – physical, social, emotional and spiritual. Among the characteristics of self-fulfilled people is awareness of living, completeness, joyfulness, unforgettable moments or periods of joy, unity and understanding.
There you have it, the secret to having a happy life, it’s pretty simple, if you’re interested in learning more it’s pretty straightforward and easy to understand research. That’s all you need, but let’s lay it out and expand on the HOW of satisfying those needs.
Living an active life and the physical body
We start with this section because it has the greatest benefits. As long as you live an active life it will counteract most of the negative effects from giving minimal attention from the other areas of your life.
It doesn’t take much to be a happy human but after living both the sedentary and active lifestyles, I am convinced that an active lifestyle is superior and necessary for normal human happiness and function. It is indisputable science that even moving just a little more than usual once a week positively affects the human body. If all it takes is just a little more exertion to see positive results why doesn’t everyone do it?
My particular journey
I come from Texas, where everything is huge, including our waistlines. After all, Texas is ranked as the 10th most obese state right next to Oklahoma with 35% of adults being considered obese as of 2018 (source). I hail from a small but prominent city, less than 500,000 people. 35% of that is 175,000 people, plenty of fellow humans to observe in a small place.
As I aged from a youngster there I saw the negative effects of the commonly accepted sedentary lifestyle on myself, my family, my friends, and my fellow city family. Seeing firsthand these fellow humans that I love having a low quality of life and the ripples that come from it (not to say they’re not satisfied with their life or their bodies or should be ashamed of them). I decided I don’t wish anyone to see me like that, I don’t want the health problems that come with it, and I don’t want my friends/family/children wondering when/if I’ll die early.
After being sedentary for so long I dove in, as is usually my style, any movement was better than none. Sticking to the basics I did cardio and machines, feeling like my body was dying. The first day after I couldn’t move, I rested till I was a little less sore. It would’ve been easy to quit, make excuses, but I pressed on. Coming back, still no definite direction other than “get better”, with that mantra all I had to do was stay disciplined and do a little more than the last time.
I didn’t know of the Kazien philosophy by name when I started, but I lived it. It’s simple really if you always improve, you’re always getting better. You can apply this to all aspects of your life but in working out its value has no question. Still, with only the physical education that the public education system taught me, I did beginner workouts, keeping a diary of each workout and the stats. This gave me a physical log to see where I’ve been and where I’m going in my journey. With the numbers readily available to me I was able to see that I ran a distance of 2.4 in thirty minutes so the next day I needed to run at least 2.41 in thirty minutes or at least, aim for that improvement. Same for any other exercise measured in repetitions, if you did 11 pushups the last time, you need to do 12 this time even if you need to rest in between them. If you do rest in between them next timeyou need to not rest in between them. Very simple, and improving even just 1% every day will eventually add up to large gains. It’s simple math.
As time went on I wanted more, I felt as if I had plateaued. I began reading several lifestyle blogs and taking the content that was relevant to me and adding it to my workout. I learned proper form, new exercises, before/after care, and some basic biology.
With this newfound knowledge and fortunately the time to focus on it, I began working out every day, I did this for nine months, still keeping my workout journal, and taking pictures once a week to measure progress. I think it’s important to take stock of one’s progress when pursuing goals as you can either be encouraged or see the writing on the wall to kick your ass in gear.
BEFORE/AFTER
(I’m not at this stage anymore, this was my height of progress thus far.)
By the way, the results you see came with zero knowledge on fitness and all from just researching what I needed online. I had my own humble apartment gym with only two treadmills, two bike machines, and the two other weight machines you can see behind me. After 5 months, I supplemented with two 30lb dumbbells that I purchased myself.
What’s your goal?
When pursuing an active lifestyle it’s important to have a goal, a certain desire. Maybe that’s washboard abs, losing weight, running a marathon, maintaining health, or becoming the next Olympian. Deciding your goal will automatically reverse engineer your path as a gymnast won’t want the muscle building exercises and a weightlifter won’t want to focus on cardio, BUT an MMA fighter may want to incorporate both. Figure out your goal and research the right tools for the job.
Some basic goals in working out may look like this:
Goal: General Physical Health
20min Light Cardio – 1*week
20min Basic Weightlifting – 1*week
20min Body Weight Exercises – 1*week
Total Workout Time/Session: 1hr
(Or maybe just playing casual sports/working an active job)
Goal: Losing Weight
30min Cardio – 2*week
25min Basic Weightlifting – 2*week
25min Body Weight Exercises – 2*week
Total Workout Time/Session: 1hr 20min
Goal: Greek Statue
30min High Intensity Cardio – 3*week
25min High Intensity Weightlifting – 3*week
25min Body Weight Exercises – 3*week
Total Workout Time/Session: 1hr 20min
Goal: Big Muscles
Weightlifting – 3*week
Heavy Weightlifting – 2*week
Total Workout Time/Session: 60min
Goal: Trying to become a Ballet Dancer*
30min Cardio – 2*week
Strength Training – 3*week
1hr Dance Class – 3-4*week
Yoga Class/Stretching – 7*week
Practice – 5-7*week
(*disclaimer I am not a dancer – I sourced this from a professional dancer)
Exercising tips and my philosophy
If you’re looking to burn fat then you have two methods to choose from:
1 – Cardio
2 – High Intensity Weight Training
(the real key here being upping your heart rate)
If you’re only looking to burn fat then cardio should be your go-to whether it’s the treadmill, stair machine, elliptical, or bike. You’ll want to keep your heart rate up around at least 160bpm (depending on your weight look up what bpm is high intensity for your weight/age) for a session of at least 30 minutes. Do that at least three times a week and you’ll be able to see the extra weight just falling off over time.
If you’d like to burn fat most people only preach cardio, and cardio definitely works, but I’ve found weightlifting also has the capability to burn fat as well, the key to it is keeping it high intensity so that your heart rate stays elevated. It’s actually hilarious that people think you won’t lose fat with only weightlifting, I’ve seen it happen– I’ve had it happen myself, so have you but it’s possible you may not have realized it.
You’ll want to do at least 30 minutes of weighted exercises at a heavier weight than you may do otherwise and you’ll want only a minute between repetitions if you can. Lift heavy and keep up the speed to keep up your heart rate and you’ll experience fat loss as well as build muscle.
Of course, you may combine these in any way that may suit your own personal goals/needs.
What exercises do I do?
When choosing workout exercises be sure to research first (THIS IS SO YOU DON’T HURT YOURSELF), make sure to know what proper form looks like, look up tips, and dip a toe into everything you think may benefit you. In the end choose exercises that are best for you, not everyone can do all the fancy stuff you see in gyms, try some and keep the ones that resonate with you the most. Making sure to switch up the exercises every now and again because after all:
If you don’t ever change, you don’t get no better
– Louie Armstrong
Personally I am of the philosophy of natural exercises. I am of the belief that mother nature knows best and there are certain ways to exercise that will produce the greatest benefits. The more natural the movement, the better for our health and our body. Go to the basics and think of how physical activity has been for the majority of human history. Ancient humans: did cardio to catch prey or outrun predators (on dirt, not concrete like we have today), lifted/carried animal carcasses back to the pack, moved rocks/logs for supplies or building, swam, climbed trees and the like, and didn’t workout every day (more on this later). In order to exercise optimally as a human I believe we need to stick as close to nature as possible.
Natural Cardio Examples
Parkour
Dancing
Hiking
Swimming
Walking Outside
Running Outside (can sub mountain biking here if your knees are bad)
Natural Weightlifting Examples
Free Weight Exercises (deadlift, bench, dumbbells, etc)
Farmer’s Walk/Carry
Anything with a pull or a lift
Other Natural Exercise Examples
Any body weight exercise really
Push-ups
Pull-ups/Chin-ups
Sit-ups/Crunches
Bridge
Most of the things at the gym are natural and that’s great. Not to say you won’t get any benefits from using the unnatural machines, there is a time and a place for them, but I don’t see how anyone can say that these man made machines (that have been around for only about 200 years) are superior to the exercise methods mother nature gave us or even free weight training (first developed by the Greeks as early as 5th century B.C.).
Our current human body is the result of at least 200,000 years of development (if we only count the years that we’ve been considered modern humans) and is a very complex machine. I find it hard to believe that a human technology developed less than 200 years ago can stand up to par to the track record of something that has been around for 1,000 times longer.
Another point against using resistance machines is that they hone in on the target muscle group. I don’t believe that they benefit the surrounding areas OR any other parts that you would also be using naturally in conjunction with the target muscle group. For example, if you’re using the incline leg press to simulate squats, sure you’ll get killer work on your thighs, maybe even calves (depends on foot placement/lift method). You train and lift 210lbs on the incline leg press and do a set like: 25, 15, 10 but I GUARANTEE you, if you try to do that same weight with free weight squats you won’t be able to do as much weight for as many reps and you WILL be sore the next day (I know because I have tested this). This is because now you’re using your back to hold the weight and you must balance it. Balancing is the key here, there are tons of micro movements our muscles are doing when having to balance free weights and resistance machines take the ability to develop that (and the other movement supporting facilities) away from your body.
All in all, resistance machines may have their place (to hone in on a specific muscle you want for competition/aesthetics), but to receive the best return on workout investment (especially out of the weight room) it’s best to stick to free weights in this authors’ opinion.
Machines in my eyes are only beneficial when focusing on a certain muscle groups and even then, there is a way to do it with free weights so why not train these microfiber balancing muscles? Why not get the surrounding muscle groups as well while you’re at it?
Building muscles with weight lifting and heavy weight vs repetitions
If you’re looking to build muscle at the gym there’s really only one tip you need: copy the people that look like you’re current goal. If you see someone at the gym that looks like what you want to look like, then observe their workout routine. You already see that they have results, so they must be doing something right, just do what they do.
If you have the courage you can approach these people and ask them what’s up, it’s possible they will be willing to share. Most people are more than happy to help others when they’re the expert, especially when someone asks them NICELY. Ask these people about their workout routine– don’t ask them what the secret is, THERE IS NO SECRET. You know what every (non-steroid) weight lifter and athlete will tell you if you ask their secret? “It’s time”. It’s time, that’s literally it. Stop looking for a secret/shortcut. Put in the proper time and you will see the results. You can have the best diet, you can have all the supplements, and you can even have “that one easy trick to burn muscle and build fat instantly”… but if you don’t put in the time, and proper time at that you won’t build anything.
The “secret” for size
If you’re more of a shy person I’ve got some tips for you here so don’t fret, in fact (like everything else) it’s easy. Heavy Weight = Size and Repetitions = Definition that’s all there is to it. What happens when you do both? Hm, I’m not sure, you’ll have to find out…
To get size, you need to lift as heavy as you can on all exercises, this will mean you’re only able to get 3-5 repetitions within a set vs well any more than that. For muscles to increase in size they need to undergo enough stress (and have enough nutrients but more on that later) so they see the signals of what’s needed from your body and rebuild themselves to be even stronger and thus larger for when you’ll need them next time.
It will always be better to lift 100lbs once, than 20lbs 10 times. Think of it like this: if you could throw a 100lb boulder at someone, you’ll kill or seriously maim them; BUT, if you throw 100 1lb stones at someone then they’ll most likely only be annoyed– or at the very least less injured than the 100lb boulder. Working out uses the same logic. You could say “apples and oranges” but I would contest that because I have seen the benefits from this line of thinking firsthand. Of course if you are lifting heavy, please please please be safe and make sure you have your technique down before focusing on heavy weight otherwise YOU WILL GET HURT.
The body is a beautiful and magnificent thing and knows EXACTLY what it’s doing without your help, after all we don’t tell our bodies how to grow or react, they just do. Thus, when the body undergoes stress it sees this stress and says “WOW, woah, yeah, ok, so I just lifted 100lbs for the third time this week and was totally unprepared for that. I’m going to use the nutrients I get/have available to make these muscles bigger so I’m more prepared in the future! You know what, screw it, I should be safe and make sure I can handle 105lbs.. You never know..”.
The body will always allocate its resources based on the external stimuli it receives as well as the fuel within it. Lift heavy and it’ll make more muscles, do cardio and it’ll remove excess weight, do nothing and your body will do the bare minimum needed for survival. No ifs, ands, or buts– lifting heavy (PROPERLY) is the greatest method to muscle growth.
It’s freaking amazing that we only need to put our body into situations and it grows accordingly. I.E. Farmer’s muscles
Light Repetitions
Light repetitions also have their place in the routine, mostly on rest days, but they also have another benefit that can fly under the radar: better and longer function.
When you work with light repetitions you’re challenging your muscles less and your brain more. What this ends up doing (besides building and defining muscle) is giving your brain practice in sending the proper signals for whatever movement you’re doing. Each repetition, your brain sends a signal through your body to produce a movement. As your body receives the stress from repetition it realizes that the weight isn’t increasing but the length and duration is increasing. With minimal updates (compared to heavy lifting) to muscles for the task at hand it looks to other places to increase efficiency. These places are the nerve connections from the extremities of your body to your brain. Increasing the efficiency in these neural pathways allows for faster messages and better control from the brain. This is why professional runners do sprints over and over and over; their body isn’t changing any more muscle-wise, so they need better reaction time they condition their pathways to send signals as fast/efficiently as possible.
The benefits of repetition based exercising are endurance, enhanced movement, and mental discipline/focus.
Anyway, just another type of strength you may want and should be aware of.
Working Out: Full Body vs Sections
There is a spirited debate between working out the full body vs working in sections. For this writer I have tried both and see the value in both, however in the end if I did have to pick one, I would pick full body.
I prefer full body workouts because I can see no reason to train my body in sections myself. A good all around body is my goal, I have zero need to train one body part over another. I am not training for any sports and there is no part of my body that feels “lacking” and needs to catch up to another.
My advice: Try both and see what works best for the goals you’re trying to obtain. As an athlete, you may need to focus on one particular section where I did not.
Additional Benefits From Working Out Besides Aesthetics
Aside from aesthetics, there are additional benefits from working out. The additional benefits from working out regularly are as follows: physical/mental discipline, self-confidence, the ability to help others, increased longevity of life, mental health benefits, more freedom in eating, and better sleep.
Physical/Mental Discipline – I have teased the idea of this above, but if you continue to work out regularly and surpass your limits you will increase your physical/mental discipline. This means should be able to keep going when your body wants to quit. This means you should also be able to increase your concentration skills after all if you can focus on getting through the goal during physical exertion– you should be able to focus getting through the goal when your body isn’t under pressure and at its limits (as long as your mind is strong that is).
Self-Confidence – This does tie back in with aesthetics a bit however it goes beyond that as well. Other than the new eyes that people will view you with and the new compliments/attraction you will receive from those who see you as a potential partner, you should also gain self-confidence in the fact that you know you can do hard things. You know you can beat your limits. You know once you put your mind to something you can get it. You know you have the power to do anything, it merely takes doing it. Maybe you won’t have this to the level I presented, maybe you will still have your own mental hangups. I want you to know though, you have permission to be confident in yourself. You are a new person, you have overcome a challenge that you have set before yourself, something you didn’t have to do, something that hurt, you kicked your own ass and came out greater. Dare I say you have done more than most people even think about doing, you deserve to be proud of your achievement.
The ability to help others – With your newfound physical prowess/strength you will now have the ability to help others. You do not have to help any person, but you now have more opportunities to do so than you did before. If you set down this road for your own love of self that’s fine. However, if this blog is what got yourself to get into gear then I want you to realize you didn’t do it alone. As such, I would like you to please consider giving back to others. To you this may mean carrying things that others can’t, this may mean giving others’ advice/motivation like I have given you, this may mean running after a dog or some important paper running in the wind, this could be climbing up something, this could be bringing joy to others through sport/dance, this could also be keeping someone safe. Please consider helping others now that you will have more opportunity to do so. One piece of advice: ask before helping, some people don’t want your help and could be worse off if you don’t give it.
Increased longevity of life – I say this without a shadow of a doubt, you will live longer if you consistently exercise. The body was made to move, it was meant to, not moving puts more strain on the body than actually moving. We must undergo stress to grow, growing is life and putting your body under stress will allow it to last longer because the body will grow accordingly. If you keep your heart rate up your heart will begin to pump more efficiently, your lungs will transfer oxygen better, your circulation will become more efficient, your mind will become sharper, your organs will flush out impurities and inefficient cells will be removed. Should be afraid of dying (you shouldn’t be, but more on that in a future article) then take solace in the fact that you will live longer from being physically fit or even a little active. If you aren’t afraid of dying than take solace in the fact that being physically fit or even a little bit active will allow you to take even greater pleasure in the life you have while you’re still here.
Mental health – I have touched on this a tad above but I will go further into depth here. First let me say, I am not a mental health professional. It is entirely possible that working out/this advice will not be enough for your mental health problems if you have them. If you have serious mental health issues please seek the help of a mental health professional.
Now with all that out of the way… Working to be physically fit and being physically fit will have numerous mental health benefits. Working to be physically fit allows you to relieve stress, there are very few things that allow you to healthily get out your stress/emotions without being judged. As a healthy outlet to work through these things weighing on you, you will be less likely to use an unhealthy outlet such as the people around you or yourself to take out these feelings/emotions.
Working out also promotes the feeling of being alive, you are actively moving your body, you are actively moving weights, this will provide you will a greater sense of power and self. You are alive and you will likely grow to appreciate yourself more. Loving oneself is one of the hardest things to do, but even if you can’t do it mentally at first, doing it physically will allow the mental part of it to come. At the very least it will provide you with a goal to work toward (hopefully with moving goalposts) and at that sense a purpose. If you can fulfill one purpose, you will certainly be able to fulfill another.
More freedom in eating – This is a relatively simple benefit. If you are active you will be able to eat more of the things you would like to with less negative effect on the body. You will be working off more calories (hopefully) than you are consuming and thus you will have more wiggle room. This provides the ability to remove the self-imposed guilt and mental chains we keep on ourselves when it comes to the nutritional consumption we choose to pursue. Remove guilt, gain freedom — freedom and removal of guilt brings happiness and pleasure. Just be sure that when you are pursuing this pleasure you don’t undo any progress you’ve made or at least be aware of the fact that you will likely have to make up for this later.
Better sleep – If you expend more energy during the day and wear out your body, your body will need more time to repair itself which happens during sleep. More wear and tear means more work required to fix it. It’s as simple as that.
Experiment between working out in the morning and working out at night. Results may vary but I’ve personally found that working out in the morning works better for me than at night. The logic I use is that back in the day when we used to hunt we would do it during the morning/day as we weren’t night hunters. Energy expended during light hours only makes sense. Were we to expend energy in the evening/nigh/dark hours it would likely be in escaping prey and should we survive/escape we would need to sleep lightly so that we may detect them if they still came after us– thus leading to a not quite as deep/restful sleep.
Motivation to move and parting advice
There is a whole new world that will open up to you once you begin adding physical activity to your life. You will feel like a new person.
You will be able to breathe better, help others more, and take comfort in the fact that you are strong in mind and body.
Health complications and an early death will no longer be a fear hovering over your shoulder. You may also eat with less guilt.
Be smart about it too. Are you really going to wake up in the morning before work to workout if your clothes aren’t ready to go? What about if you go to bed late the day before? Do you think you’ll get the results you desire from eating the same way as you are now? Think about what you need to do to properly set yourself up for success.
Once you breakthrough to experience the other side you will never go back.
This one simple thing could be all you need for life or it could set you on a journey for more.
What are you waiting for? Get up and get started now.
All the best,
FCP