Investing in the way you look
Body positivity, inclusion, and kindness are all hot topics at the time of writing. And as a general idea, we really support the notion of kindness towards your fellow humans. We can create a society where people can express and grace the world with their own unique personality and aspirations. When we distill this chain of thought down to its essence, then health and happiness is what we wish for our fellow humans.
“So, coffee talkers… how does this relate to your title? It seems to tell a different story.” Well… this is where it gets a bit tricky, so please give us a bit of wiggle room. We think that you can have your cake and eat it too! So, without further ado, lets dive in…
One thing that we have noticed lately is that there is a striking visual overlap between the following variables:
General physical health
Strength and functionality
An aesthetically pleasing silhouette
“So, what does this mean? And how does it relate to you?”, you might ask. Well… here is the thing: It means that health, strength, and beauty shouldn’t been seen as separate, but as different colors created by the same prism—which is the general notion of a healthy and functional body.
Let’s start with general physical health. There is some talk in our culture that you can be overweight and healthy at the same time. It’s true that you can always improve your health with exercise, no matter what your weight is—and health can be charted along a wide spectrum. It’s also true that visceral fat, or belly fat, is a valuable indicator of metabolic health. There is a reason why waist circumference is one of the markers for Metabolic Syndrome, along with high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and high blood glucose levels. As these markers worsen, you are likely to graduate to a disease state of obesity and/or Type 2 Diabetes. That makes excess belly fat an excellent warning sign to get moving.
That leads us to strength and functionality. When we start moving regularly, we get stronger and we get better at moving (functionality). This is especially true if we make proper form and technique the requirement that all movement is filtered through. If technique is our first concern, strength and functionality will always follow. These are the things that time will try to rob from us all, so we better start fighting for it now.
So, our health is improving, we’re moving better, and getting stronger. Guess what? We’re looking better, too! An aesthetically pleasing silhouette doesn’t have to be your main goal (and it’s ok if it is), but who’s going to argue with the fringe benefit of looking better and better as your health, strength, and functionality improves?
Because all of these variables exist as different colors in the same prism, you can focus on one, and happily receive the fringe benefits of the others. Or, if you lose motivation focusing on one, you can shift to another one. You will always be heading in the right direction, no matter what your initial motivation was—so pick a variable to focus on and watch the magic happen.
Until next time
Scott & Lennart