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To say that exercise is an important tenet of getting yourself healthy and well is especially redundant. I don’t want to sit here and beat you over the head with basic facts that you already learned from your 5th grade gym teacher. But I would be remiss not to cover this important topic. Getting the body moving is essential on so many levels.
The reality is, we are all meant to be natural athletes. Mother Nature designed human beings to do certain things like lift heavy objects, compound force onto objects using tools, sprint, climb, as well as pleasure each other physically which can also be quite the endeavor. We’re not the most natural of fighters in that it seems like the body of a human is more designed as a gatherer than a hunter, but we also have through the millennia required a natural strength and ability to defend ourselves from other species and protect ourselves against the natural elements.
Look around today, however, and you will notice that the average individual is far from athletic. If Rapid Regeneration is about discovering the ultimate innate power in ourselves as beings — pursuing the foods, methods and lifestyles that bring out our full potential — then we too should consider that the ideal human figure is one which is athletic, physically elegant, and possessing strength, agility, quickness and stamina.
There is no way to make yourself athletic without exercise. No matter how healthy you want to eat, how many supplements you want to take, or how much meditation you want to practice, there are benefits you will miss out on by not exercising. This is something that I really missed the boat on during the first couple of years when I was going through serious detox and regeneration. I would excuse myself from really going after exercise, telling myself that it was more important that I rest or that I was too busy. Truthfully, I was missing out majorly.
After I starting to incorporate exercise seriously into my routine, I saw a quantum leap in my results. It launched me into a completely new level of wellness and energy. My performance in all areas of life surged. I finally got some muscle, tone and definition on my body and people stopped worrying I was undernourished with how I was eating. A lot of my back and neck soreness and pain were eliminated as my abdominal and core strengthened. I was sleeping better and my libido increased significantly. My personality was more easy-going and my mood was more elevated throughout the day.
It’s not like I was Mr. Gym Guy or anything. To this day, I still have a lot to learn in terms of physical fitness and how to really effectively work out with equipment, etc. At one point, I purchased a video series made a section in my tiny little home at the time, where I set up a foam mat in my living room. There were relatively short 30 minute workouts that I would do simply using the weight of my own body.
When I was really trying to get ‘back in shape’ back in 2019, I would try and do these maybe 2 or 3 times per week. I would also try and get out and ride my bike once a week for about 15 miles. And on a good week, I would also do a 90-minute hot yoga session. I kept this up for about a year and it was quite a transformation.
Although this transformed my body and kick-started a new phase of my life, workout buffs will tell you this isn’t even that much. But looking back, this even is a lot to me now, and it probably seems like a lot to you, too. Well, please don’t be intimidated because I understand the time commitment can be daunting. Nowadays, because of how busy my schedule is, I more typically get two really good workouts in per week, for maybe one hour. Some weeks I only get away with one workout per week.
In an ideal world, I am working to get to a place where I can do this three or maybe four times per week, because I feel absolutely great for the rest of the day whenever I do it. I do still maintain a certain physical prowess even with this more sparse amount of exercise nowadays. It’s not the aesthetic results that I am interested in ultimately — it’s just that I realize if my body is in an athletic state then I can conclude that the muscles are toned, the cardiovascular system is more tuned up, and the body is in more of a state of balance and flow.
I will share some knowledge, insights, and tips that have worked for me to help make this as easy as possible for you, although I am providing the disclaimer that I am not a physical trainer of any kind, nor am I providing personal trainer advice of any kind about exercise. By using this information you understand that I am under no responsibility or liability for your exercise choices, and if you want specific guidance for your body and your situation you should utilize a fitness or exercise professional.
Some benefits of exercising and maintaining certain physical shape and athleticism include:
— Weight management
— Cardiovascular condition / respiratory condition / not getting out of breath as much
— Better oxygen retention
— Higher energy levels
— Better sleep and falling asleep faster
— Increased hormone production
— Increased levels of libido and superior bedroom performance
— Stimulation of your metabolism
— Stimulation of the skin by sweating
— Detoxification through breathing and the respiratory system
— Oxygenation of certain areas of the body that are otherwise hard to reach
— Stimulation of the lymphatic system through the movement of the body, forcing body fluids to move more and encouraging lymphatic filtration
There are some things to try and keep in mind to make sure somebody is successful in this undertaking:
— Low-impact exercise is key. It is so important to not get injured, otherwise your methods of exercise become much more limited. Too many people are jumping all around and running and doing all kinds of things when their body isn’t in ideal shape. If you are already nursing some kind of injury or physical weakness somewhere in your body, low-impact exercise is really the only way to move your body in the lowest-risk way.
— Warm up the body before you start really getting into it. This helps warm up the muscles and gets the blood and oxygen flowing. I like to bounce up and down on an aerobic ball for 5-10 minutes before I really start the workout.
— Figure out the time of day when you can realistically exercise. For me, the best time is first thing in the day, after waking up and stretching, and before eating or doing anything else. Otherwise, I am less likely to work up the motivation to do it — so it helps for me to plan and do it at this time.
— At the same time, compromise and negotiate with your own self for when you can realistically fit in exercise. For me, I like to exercise in the morning, but there was a time when it was just too early for me to wake up and do that. So, I forced myself to do it right after getting home from work, before dinner. It was difficult, but I made myself get into that rhythm and within about two weeks it was easy.
— If you don’t have the self-control to fit in exercise around your schedule, then try and fit your schedule around your exercise, or wake up earlier, or do whatever you need to do.
— It’s a balance — a lot of people are gym freaks but the rest of their life is a mess. It’s understandable if you can’t work out five times a week because if you did you might risk compromising your performance with work, relationships or other obligations. You need to figure out a way to balance everything together. But, don’t use your other obligations as an excuse not to exercise. Just remember the busiest people on the planet make time to exercise.
— Yoga is great, and I am a huge advocate for yoga. It’s transformed me in many ways. But there are plateaus with yoga physically. It doesn’t really push the boat out in terms of cardiovascular stimulation and how hard you work your heart and lungs, and it also doesn’t really engage in resistance training to the point where you’re really breaking down and building up new muscle. So, definitely practice yoga. But also get your body moving in an even more intense way, get your heart pumping, your lymph moving, and your muscles strengthening.
— Gyms can be great but they’re not for everybody. A home gym can make it that much easier to get started or fit a workout in throughout the day. Even if there is just a room where you can put a mat down and use that area, this could be the difference-maker. I personally belong to a health club but I don’t go that much and find myself getting in a workout at home just as often.
— Look for natural ways to stimulate your body and engage in your natural physicality. Take the stairs. Try and lift properly and engage your core next time you’re lifting and carrying a bunch of stuff. Look for ways to move and challenge your body throughout the day.
— Exercising on an empty stomach can have huge benefits. These benefits are compounded even more so when combined with intermittent fasting, or in other words, if you are exercising in the first part of the day without having eaten anything since dinner the night before. You’ll notice for yourself an effect when you do this and then have your first meal of the day after exercising.
— Just do it already! Honestly, most people are constantly telling themselves they are going to start that exercise program next week, or next month, or whatever. And most people are overweight, unhealthy and lacking in energy. Excuses and pushing this out are only going to create a life of quiet desperation for yourself. By starting doing what you know you should do, whether you feel like doing it or not (trust me I know you don’t feel like doing it), you will become the person that you know you really should be inside, and you will feel great both physically and mentally. Within a couple weeks, your new routine will be second-nature.
— If you don’t feel like you can do it, let the next version of yourself take over and take that action for you — the current you may not be able to do it, but he or she can.
— Don’t stop — I’ve made this mistake and it’s cost me. Once you have momentum, that’s the time to add more fuel to the fire and keep it growing. Don’t walk away just as soon as you’ve got some momentum and physical prowess and are feeling good. Keep it going, and keep going to the next level. If you stop, take a few months off and come back, it’s going to be almost as difficult as getting started the first time. An object in motion stays in motion — so too will you keep up the success of your journey with your wellness and fitness if you stay moving.
In terms of exercise equipment, there are a few items you can use at home which can really make a tremendous impact.
RapidRegeneration.com/ExerciseEquipment
I don’t want to beat a dead horse here because it’s such a simple and straightforward subject, but figuring out how to move your body is 100% absolutely essential to getting yourself healthy and well. If you’re old or completely out of shape and the farthest thing from athletic — you’ve got to start somewhere. Get some hand-squeezers. Get some two-pound weights. Do a plank. Do a crunch and hold it in position. Try do something to crawl your way back to how nature intended for us to be throughout our lifetimes — physical and athletic to some degree. You can do it.
Otherwise, if you do nothing at all, you’re just declining, weakening, and circling the drain. As this is happening, your muscles continue to atrophy, your heart and respiratory system weakens, your circulation becomes more anemic, your lymphatic fluids stagnate, and overall you’re just letting yourself go — I know this is not the path for you!
You can do it! Forget about all the things that have been told to you over the years which are negative and hurtful that could cause you to doubt yourself. The truth is, you have it in you to do it. Just do something to get started, and start with something little every day, or every other day, or every week at least. Then reward yourself, and then do it again. So go ahead — do it now!