In this issue...
- What's New at StrongFast?
- Feature Article: Physical Morality
- Fitness Found Online
- Recipe: Lemon Pepper Chicken
What's New at StrongFast?
Saturday morning wapping is a blast. Shaolin Chris even made his bi-annual visit!
Still working on some big changes. The first batch will be ready in the fall. The whole enchilada kicks in for 2015. Plenty to do until then!
"I joined a health club last year and spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound.
Apparently you have to go there."
Feature Article: Physical Morality
I recently watched some interesting videos on the history of fitness. In them, Dr. Ed Thomas mentions the Physical Morality movement, describing its tenet as, “What each of us does with our bodies does impact others.” As such, we have a "moral imperative" to take care of ourselves.
We generally think of fitness as a selfish pursuit. People want to look better, or compete better, or live longer, or look better. (Yes, I said that already, but it is the number one reason people pursue fitness.) Physical Morality offers quite an interesting alternative perspective.
How does our fitness impact others?
First, there are the people who depend on you. This probably means your family: kids, parents, spouse, etc. If any of them become injured or ill, they may depend on you for critical assistance. That's a big deal. Being too sick to go out, too tired to get out of bed, or too out of shape to climb stairs can seriously reduce your ability to help the people who need you.
There are plenty of other lower priority ways you may help your family, neighbors, or friends. Perhaps someone needs help moving heavy furniture, or mowing a large lawn, or getting a cat out of a tree. Your fitness level impacts your ability to help others with all sorts of physical activities.
Even people who aren't close to you can be impacted. Co-workers who will have to pick up the slack when you're incapacitated, for example. And animals: your own or perhaps rescue animals who will receive less care when you're unable to volunteer.
But it's not just our ability to help others; it's also our dependence on others that our health impacts. When we can't move furniture or mow the lawn ourselves, we depend on others to help us (or pay people to do it). If you're too out of shape to walk or climb stairs, this affects people around you. (Like the people who stand on the left on the escalator in the subway...argh!)
And if you require health care, that means resources that affect others, both the people who provide the care and the people who pay for it (including other members of the insurance pool). If the poor health is due to personal neglect...well, I think that's the "moral imperative" part.
Of course, there are people who won't care about any of this, who feel entitled to the assistance of others and no obligation to help anyone else. There's a word for these people, but this is a family newsletter.
Anyway, it's an interesting take on the motivation for taking care of ourselves. There's nothing wrong with selfish reasons for keeping fit, of course. There may be plenty wrong with thinking it's nobody's business.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. And remember...family newsletter!
Be seeing you
-gary
Fitness Found Online
 A practical 10 tips before stepping on the scale. It's an overused and abused method of trying to track fat loss, but when used wisely has its merits. Just be sure not to obsess over it. |
 Who doesn't like a good study involving the Kohler effect? Seems even a virtual training buddy is better than nothing at all. (And probably better than some actual buddies...but not you!) |
Recipe: Lemon Pepper Chicken
I’ll resist addressing the censorship issues raised by “Family Newsletter”, and go right to the heart of the question. Is there a moral responsibility to care for our person health. The short answer is “Yes.” If you subscribe to the school of thought that implies we are all interconnected is our actions where on this Big Blue Marble. Then of course we owe it to each other to care for our selves and there by add to the greater good of all. For we know that when we feel good (a side effect of good health) we are more apt to “play nice with others” and extend that personal feeling of well being to others. Now will this concept take root and bear fruit in the future. As we say in the U.K. “Now bloody likely.” Why? In this world of disconnection from others (Texting/ absorption in electronics) we have loss the voice of our own bodies. An not hearing the voice of your body we listen to another Master…the MIND.
We would do well to remember this saying “The MIND makes a good servant but a terrible Master.”