More Than Fitness
In our own words ‘More Than Fitness” is, “The life application of overcoming adversity, a constant state of evolution and radical pursuit of deep health and healing”. It’s a life mantra that I've adopted over the course of my career, my time in athletics, and in the fitness industry. I want to discuss the significance of the intricate transferability of life experiences in fitness and beyond. I'll explore these ideas in detail and depth, and then delve into those very intricacies. The core significance behind "More Than Fitness" is that there are countless opportunities within the gym and fitness environment where I find that experiences are highly relevant. This relevance spans across all time domains and experiences and translates into practical life applications. For those who have been listening to our podcast for a while, you might have heard me mention this before. I’ll reiterate it here: my favorite aspect of fitness is its life application of overcoming adversity.
Life Application of Overcoming Adversity:
In a fitness setting, we are constantly under duress, strain, and fatigue. We need to develop mental fortitude, adhere to time domains, and meet desired stimuli. I believe these elements correlate directly to our everyday lives and experiences. Essentially, the capacity to overcome adversity in fitness builds our ability to tackle challenges in life.
This process is pivotal for personal growth and the internal development of our individual selves. We mature, grow, and transform. Scientific research suggests that it takes 6 to 8 weeks to experience physical changes in body composition. However, the Bible teaches that it is blessed to believe before seeing. If we can believe without seeing, imagine the impact of seeing the transformation—the faith it ignites within us. A physical transformation can lead to emotional, mental, or spiritual transformations as well. These elements are deeply integrated into our daily lives, affecting our decisions, interactions, and experiences. These intangibles contribute to overcoming adversity and are a core part of what makes fitness "more than fitness."
Constant State of Evolution:
So much of this conversation is symbiotic to it’s counterparts. I believe that each aspect leads into the next, they compound for the further development of the human experience. As organisms, when we face stress or adversity, we typically respond in one of a few ways. Option one, we fight - we challenge whatever the threat might be to our safety and survival. Option two, we flee - we run from whatever fear may be in front of us. Option three, we fawn - avoiding conflict at all costs in the same of our safety. Option four, we freeze - the literal inability to move or act against a threat. I would like to submit a fifth option - we evolve. As we engage with discomfort, fear, stress, or any of these other unfavorable, and typically negatively associated emotions, we are stretched beyond our capacity.
As our capacity is stretched beyond our normal framework, we are forced to become a more comprehensive version of ourselves. We evolve into a higher self! This evolution can not only change our beliefs, but also our biology. Stress, pain, fear, etc., is perceived in the brain, but experienced in the body and as we rewire our belief center, evolve and grow, the tissue in our body will adapt and evolve as well.
Racidal Pursuit of Deep Health and Healing:
This is Everything In Between, this is the epitome of “More Than Fitness”. Fitness is not limited to the four walls of a gym, but rather expands deeper, wider, higher and well beyond muscular endurance, body composition, aesthetics and performance. As we are constantly evolving, stretching our physical capacity and expanding our theologies and beliefs, we see “More Than Fitness” evolve into a radical pursuit of the modalities of deep health, and chasing after healing.
Deep health, in and of itself, is Sozo - it’s health in every way. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, socio-economic, environmental, relational, and more. It’s chasing after these discipline, mastering our thought life, controlling our belief centers, breaking off of false narratives, limiting beliefs, and other. The healing of our internal world will be directly correlated to our external experiences. Our thoughts and beliefs drive our experiences, and our experiences inform our beliefs. It’s cyclical. If we are not intentional, we can very likely get stuck in a perpetual cycle of self deprecation, devaluation and dis-ease. And unfortunately, many of us do.
I want to encourage you today - you don’t have to survive this way anymore.
I have 5 exhortations for you. Meditate on and internalize these as true; it will change your life.
Thoughts are not facts - challenge them
Your past does not define your future - your habits do
Your body keeps score - listen to it
It’s okay to not be okay - it’s not okay to stay that way
YOU CAN CHANGE
You have the power to change your experience. Your inherited traits might load the gun, but your habits pull the trigger. You are capable of reversing certain predispositions. You are able to break generational beliefs. And you can change the genetic footprint of your lineage!
I encourage you to challenge your limitations - as this is the heart of “More Than Fitness”!
If you’re interested in learning how to implement the “More Than Fitness” mindset to increase the quality of your life experiences, book a call here for a free strategy session with Mike!
