A Warning With a Grain of Salt

A Warning With a Grain of Salt

Categories: Blog, Strength Training, Pressing RESET, Caution, William Wallace, #Braveheart
Feb 06, 2024

So, I have a new book coming out in April called A Simple Book of Strength. When I was reviewing the book, I realized that I didn’t have the customary disclaimer at the front. As I was writing it, it struck me that it was such a sad thing to be writing. Disclaimers in health and fitness books are warnings for engaging in activities that lead to health and fitness.

Think about it. You want to live a better life. You decide to engage in physical activities or lifestyle changes that you hope will lead to a healthier body and mind so that you can enjoy a better life. Right before you embark on your journey, you are warned about the risks of reaching for more out of your life.

That’s the world we live in today: a world ruled by fear. 

We are so hyper-vigilant about the risks of doing something to pursue a healthier, happier life that we neglect the risks of doing nothing to pursue a better life. This is so backward because the risks of doing nothing to improve your life far outweigh the risks of doing something to improve your life.

If you do something, you create the opportunity for change in the form of growth, strength, and wisdom. If you do nothing, you create the opportunity for change in the form of atrophy, weakness, and loss. 

Don’t make this mistake. Doing nothing does not keep things the same. Doing nothing hastens decay, it moves things backwards in the wrong direction, the direction no one really wants to go. 

Doing nothing or doing the same thing only hastens and compounds the results of what you’ve already been doing! If your health is declining, it is because of what you are doing (or not doing, depending on how you look at it). 

For example, a lifetime of sitting on the couch and eating processed foods will likely lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart issues, or worse. Not changing, not reaching for a better life, is far riskier for your overall well-being, happiness, and longevity than reaching for change. 

Yes, there is a chance you could die going for a walk. Life happens. But today, outside in nature where you belong and moving as you were created to is far better than dying a slow death miserable inside (in your head, heart, or indoors – inside is inside…). 

I could talk about this forever. Instead, I’ll just leave my disclaimer for A Simple Book of Strength here: 

Cautionary Note: 

Exercise has risks associated with it. Research shows that it can lead to being stronger, healthier, and happier. However, it can also lead to injuries or even death. It happens. You should also know that doing nothing also has risks associated with it. Research shows that being sedentary can lead to sickness, weakness, frailty, depression, and anxiety. It can also make you more injury-prone and hasten your destination towards death. It happens. 

1. Before you engage in any exercise program, consult with your trusted family physician. But also, before you engage in any sedentary lifestyle, you should also consult with your trusted family physician. 

“Every man dies, but not every man really lives.” William Wallace, Braveheart