/// 6 Effortless Ways to Optimize Your Body Everyday
Casual actions and variations of everyday motions that can incrementally but definitively optimize your body, without trying too hard.
Physical fitness is not only one of the most important elements to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.
-John F. Kennedy
The key is you can do this everyday at almost anytime without equipment or a training facility. Not by adding a disruptive regiment to your life but things you can seamlessly integrate without inconvenience.
Blind Tasking
Our sense of smell may technically be the most powerful of senses but we rely on our sight far more and is also the source of most of the information we receive. We don’t consider our eyes to make our lives easier or more efficient because it’s a part of us, by default. But not to the blind.
Vision enhances our motor skills tremendously, which is why hand–eye coordination exists. But negate sight and everything changes. You have to rely on your other, less utilized senses in replacement, exercising and optimizing your body’s less tapped potential.
Simply shut your eyes when doing everyday tasks whenever feasible to incrementally hone those other senses and motor skills;
For a serious exercise, blindfold yourself for an entire weekend.
Hand Switching
It seems like a human evolutionary flaw that all of us aren’t naturally ambidextrous. The fact that we have hands, limbs or even entire sides of our bodies that are dominant and therefore the opposing, weaker, is a waste of our physical potential.
If you’re like 92 percent of the world’s population, you write, type, eat, draw, fight, carry and do just about anything almost entirely with your right hand. From complex activities to the most basic motions that require finesse and precision.
Meaning your other arm is dead weight or at best a backup limb.
You may never be able to use both hands with equal performance but you can certainly train the weaker to be better. Just by giving your left hand some more things to do.
Retro Walking
Or simply known as walking backwards is actually an ancient Chinese form of exercise that has increased health benefits to regular forward walking. Because of this rarely utilized motion it can build scarcely used muscles, improve motor performance and enhance balance.
It’s strange to do this in public (although this is a popular thing in Asia) it can still be done around your house.
From now on, try retro walking anytime you’re in private or if you’re up for it, jog backwards in the park.
Anti-Shortcutting
Artificial machines wear down and get weaker the more they’re used but it’s the opposite (with limits) with biological machines… humans. Even incremental movements and actions can make us that much more physically optimized. So going the extra step or the hard way does us good.
Whenever feasible and when time is not a concern, take the steps instead of the escalator, walk instead of using transportation and take the scenic route.
You’ll burn a little bit more calories, gain some muscle, enhance your cardio and inadvertently do some exploring.
Ever Standing
A relatively new trend of standing at your desk instead of sitting all day came out of nowhere. After some study, sitting for long periods of time became “the new smoking”, then it was upgraded to “the new cancer”.
Sounds ridiculous but now there is convincing scientific research proving that standing instead of sitting does indeed have health benefits such as the reduced risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. As well as better posture conditioning and less stress on the back and knees.
Now think about this. Standing is almost as easy as breathing and is easier than walking so this is a no-brainer.
Plus 1 Pushuping
The push-up is one of the most effective and useful exercises there is because it works so much of your upper body and even abdominal in a very simple manner, without equipment. And yet, most people can’t do more than 10 in a set.
But there’s a simple fix to get to the level of doing 100 in a single set:
Considering a single push-up is the equivalent of lifting just 65 percent of your own body weight, if you can’t do a good amount of these, then you really can’t hold your own.
Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.
-Jim Rohn
Great life tips brother. I’ll try to remember these.
Wait, so I want to know how to do 100 push ups!
Some good tips. I already take the stairs over escalators and elevators and stand whenever possible. Will try your other ideas.
Great tips. I find that taking the stairs is often faster because people just stand on the escalator. I’m definitely going to try some of these other suggestions.
Love this post, already doing the standing and taking the long way whenever possible and the others are brilliant. Especially the push up trick. I can do maybe 20 then i pass out. But now or actually soon with your idea i’ll break 100.
Been following these optimizations for a while and it seems to be working hehehe.
I always try and leave enough time to take the long and scenic route. Not always feasible, but rewarding when I can pull it off.