The Simple Path To Health
In the ever-evolving world of health and wellness, it's easy to get lost in the sea of information and trends. I've been following the health/wellness space for most of my adult life. I started following Tim Ferriss early in his public career, read "The 4-Hour Body," and was instantly hooked on the idea of optimizing your way to the next level of fitness. Since then, I've read multiple books and started following many fitness influencers such as Andrew Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Rich Roll, etc. My YouTube and Instagram algorithms are so tuned that basically all I get recommended is fitness content.
However, after years of immersion in this world, I've come to an unexpected conclusion. After all these years of consuming so much content, I find myself wanting to simplify and pare down quite a bit. With the broader cultural adoption of biohacking and the boom in the supplement industry, I find myself going back to basics and saving quite a bit of money on supplement regimens that only provide marginal benefits. So I've distilled this down to what I consider the five pillars of health, each of which I may write about in more detail in future blog posts. They are as follows:
- 8 hours of sleep (or at least 8 hours of sleep opportunity)
- Eat real food (but not too much)
- Lift heavy weights 2-5 times per week
- Cardio 2-6 hours per week
- Stretch! Yes, it actually matters, especially if you are concerned about blood pressure and cardiovascular health
- Maintain healthy relationships with yourself and others
The last point is especially countercultural at this moment, where people losing social ties and loneliness is an epidemic. It's one that is hard to optimize, as relationships are inherently inefficient. But it matters as much to your health span and quality of life as any of the others.
As you can see, none of this is new, and none of this is complicated. But that seems to be the way the world works: most things that matter are simple but not easy.