I’m going to talk about Teddy Roosevelt in a bit – but first, let me talk a bit about a health care professional I met who knows too much when it comes to nutrition.
I say this because he doesn’t have a lick of fat on his body – yet, he doesn’t look like he has an ounce of muscle, either.
Being lean is a desired goal for many people. But in and of itself, being lean isn’t such a great idea.
Here’s why: A lot of very lean people think they’re healthier than others because they don’t have much body fat; yet these same weenies have very little LIFE FORCE. They have almost zero power. Their persnickety diet has zapped them of vitality. Instead of eating healthy – they obsess and worry about every morsel.
And all the worrry, obsessing, and angst is zapping these people of life force. Tis not good.
Lack of vitality and life force can be gauged from a simple handshake.
When a worry-wart shakes your hand pay attention to what you feel. No, I am not checking to see if he can or cannot crush your hand. That only tells you how strong he is. What I’m checking for is the level of vibrancy or electricity in the person’s hand.
Case in point is the health care guy I mentioned. When I shook his hand he gave a fairly firm handshake. But there was no electricity. In fact, his hands had a numb and chilly energy to them. That’s saying a lot when it’s 100 degrees out, don’t you think.
At another time the guy put his hand on my shoulder to make a point about nutrition. Once again, the hand was darn near lifeless. Might as well have put a skeleton’s hand on me. It didn’t feel much different.
So you might wonder, why is this. How can someone who eats nothing but the perfect diet and does a ton of cardio,running, cycling, etc. – be so devoid of vibrant power.
There are many reasons but the soundest one of all is as follows: The guy doesn’t do deep breathing exercises. When you breathe deeply and fully and do so from various stances and positions, you quickly change the vibration level of your mind and body.
Yesterday I had a group of men in for some coaching. I taught them some deep breathing exercises and we did them together for a few minutes. Afterward they felt energy running up and down their spines, tingling sensations in their hands and heat coming from the bottoms of their feet.
Two hours after we did the exercise they were still feeling the effects.
These men learned the meaning of the Farmer Burns saying, ‘Deep breathing alone has made many a weak man strong and many a sick man well.’
He was right.
You cannot ONLY eat your way to vibrant health. That’s like putting fuel in a tank and never starting the engine. Exercise is king – but it’s got to be the right kind of exercise – not just anything.
I have nothing against long-distance running. If that is a person’s goal I am all for him. But I will point out the truth, unless you’re balancing your running with powerful bodyweight exercises, like those taught in Combat Conditioning – as well as the Dynamic Stretching and Deep Breathing as taught in Combat Stretching – you’re doing more harm to your body than good.
All the pounding you put your body through when doing long-distance running is just plain ‘bad medicine’ for your body. You’re far better off doing sprints, hill sprints, rope skipping, swimming, tai chi, and so on.
Okay, I’m going to make an off-the-beat point. I’m stretching things a wee bit. But I sincerely believe we need to get back to having tough guys like Teddy Roosevelt in the White House. Roosevelt wrestled, boxed and did ju-jutsu. And along with those combat sports come the greatest physical fitness exercises in the world – bodyweight exercises.
Kick butt – take names,
P.S. From couch potato to Superhero Fitness Machine – go to my Inner Circle and discover how it’s done.