The Survival Fitness Essentials You Need
Survival fitness, it’s what “fitness” really is; when you think about it. Fitness and survival fitness have no real separation, after all what are you being “fit” for? Fitness and health is all about surviving longer, living better, and carrying onward into the coming years.
But, when it comes to the idea of fitness, we often just think of muscles, low body fat, the ability to run for long distances, or aesthetics. Modern life has provided us with so many luxuries and creature comforts, that we no longer NEED to use our bodies on a daily basis, in they way they were designed to be used. We can literally get through a whole day seated most of the time, taking well under 10,000 steps, and ordering all of our food to our door step. This means we can spend out time when we workout just focusing on looking good, without much thought into if we’re actually functioning well.
While iPhones, Ubers, modern medicine, conventional housing, subway trains, electricity, wifi, and ALL the other stuff we have are amazing (and I wouldn’t want to trade it away), they’re also playing a roll in our collective society moving less and less. Effectively, we’re becoming less “human” than each previous generation.
We’re no longer squatting and kneeling on the floor. We don’t have to forage or farm for food. Many of us are not actively hunting or trapping the meat we consume. We’re not hiking hours a day, being exposed to the elements. We don’t have to hike, climb, or even crawl throughout our daily travels. We’re not chasing down food, or running away from threats (hopefully) on a regular basis.
Our lives are much “softer” and much more convenient than those who came before us. But, I for one, DO NOT wish to go back to caveman times, or even as far back as 100 years ago. Nope, modern times are amazing, we have great stuff, and marvels of modern medicine/science rock!
However, while time/technology and our creature comforts have rolled on and evolved at a neck breaking pace, our genes have not.
Believe it or not, you’re not a whole lot different than people thousands of years ago. Our physical bodies are almost identical to those who came before us, and we still run the same “software” when it comes to our psycho/social interactions. Essentially, our genes have stood still while the world around us has been evolving at an ever increasing pace.
Our bodies, and minds, still NEED specific movements and exercises to remain well tuned and to help us ensure our survival.
That’s why this upcoming series on our Wynn Fitness Blog will be all about “Survival Fitness Essentials”. Now hold on, I know … I know … this sounds like it’s all going to be some kinda “pseudo navy seal type stuff”, but trust me. It won’t be that at all.
Nope, we’ll be looking into the stuff that your body craves, the stuff that it has needed since the dawn of time and still needs. We’ll be looking at the things that you can do, daily, easily, and in minimal time that will help you be more “human”. These are the things your ancestors did all the time that helped keep their bodies limber, and ready. These are the things that if you do well, and continue to do forever, will help you age well, reduce the risk of injuries, and “survive” the steady plodding pace of time.
-Tim