You Have Nothing Without Your Health
So yesterday I got food poisoning.
Now instead of going through the gory details of how this rather unpleasant affliction manifested itself in the form of ailments I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy, let’s just skip ahead to the result shall we!
In total I ended up losing 8 pounds from dawn til dusk accompanied by ever present full body aches and a bit of a fever that had me in bed, or in the bathroom, for the entire day. Not my best day of late but an incredibly valuable one that I’m sincerely grateful for none the less. Let me tell you why.
As you might imagine, in these times of uncertainty surrounding our health, when experiencing the first mild symptoms of what I now know was a bit of unwanted bacteria, I thought I had COVID. Now don’t get me wrong, if I did get COVID I’d kick that motherfucker in the dick and make it sorry for ever crossing my path, but that’s a little beside the point. Instead it made me contemplate my future and brought me into contact with a few crucial areas of my health that I know I’ve been putting on the back burner.
You see, lately my soul focus around food, training, sleep and the like is to be the best athlete I can be. In the early stages of my 36th year I now qualify as a CrossFit Masters Athlete and having taken a few years away from competing, I want to see where I stack up. So in the spirit of taking this shit seriously, I’ve made some changes.
I’ve rearranged my schedule to accommodate extra training sessions. I get to bed by 8:00pm every night without fail to wake up at 4:30am so I can get some work in before the 6:30am class. Jenny drives me to work to cut down on some of my energy expenditure. I’ve dialled in my mobility practice. And on and on it goes if you’re serious about realizing your potential.
But here’s the thing. To fuel my training I’ve been eating way more sugar. To make sure I get enough food in throughout the day I regularly eat calorie rich, nutrient poor foods. And worst for me is that because exercise is such a huge stressor on the body, I’ve been cutting out my morning cold showers to reduce inflammation and boost my immune system, for relaxing hot showers to help me wind down at night.
And then I got sick.
In university I had a professor named Bill who, while on a humanitarian mission in some war torn country who’s name escapes me all these years later, fell so ill that he became nearly immobile. For days he didn’t leave his bed yet barely slept, he sweat through his sheets even though he wore very little clothing and, unable to keep any food down he refrained from eating at all. And that’s when they came.
You see Bill was the kind of guy to find himself in some of the most dangerous areas in the world for the sake of helping the innocent people caught in the middle of it all. And on this particular trip he got himself wedged right in the centre of an intense conflict for the sake of helping those who had no choice in the matter, and he almost payed with his life. Some rebel militia unwelcoming of any foreign aid was discovered heading toward Bill and his colleagues just a few kilometres away from where they were staying and by all accounts were on their way to kill them. Thankfully with mere minutes to spare and with the help of his friends and the very little strength he possessed in his body, Bill and his team narrowly escaped with their lives, chased out of the country having only wanted to serve those affected by the conflict.
”You have NOTHING without your health”, he exclaimed at the end of his tall tail to a lecture hall full of kids on the edge of their seats. “It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how far you can run, or how much money you have in the bank. When you are sick, all of that ceases to exist and you will want nothing lest one thing; to be healthy once more.”
I like to think I’m grateful for my health each and every day. I mean, I’ve dedicated a huge swath of my life to the pursuit of being happy and healthy so I must be doing something right. Right?
The truth is that like anyone else I let some of the most important aspects slip from time to time. Every once in a while my focus narrows and the effort that I’m putting into my goals becomes unbalanced when put up against the very thing I need to support their success. Without a strong immune system capable of warding off any enemy, especially when I’m particularly vulnerable due to the significant increase in stress, I’m playing a dangerous game with my well being. With the consequences being that all my hard work, dedication, sacrifice and intention goes to shit because I was too lazy to think of my health first.
Remember what’s important team. Your health is king and without it, all your goals and ambitions will become dust and air. Never lose sight the fact that it’s on YOU to do everything you possibly can to protect its integrity so that you might live a long and happy life.
If we are truly grateful for what we have then it stands to reason that we will do everything we can to keep our bodies and minds sharp, robust and strong, despite what else is going on.
As for me, I’m going to do some Wim Hof followed by an ice cold shower!
Until next time,
-Coach Kev