“Use It Or Lose It”!
Just as you must use a vehicle you own to keep the component parts fine-tuned and running at peak capacity, so too must you treat your body as a fine tuned machine. You can’t let your car sit for months or even weeks on end without losing power in the battery …with who knows what kind of rust setting in from sitting without activity. You must use it.
Why is it that most people will recognize this issue on everything but their own bodies? Objects outside of themselves are given the privilege of regular use but they ignore the one and only engine that can keep all other engines going…their own body.
For example, an unchallenged, unused heart muscle becomes scrawny and weak and cannot pump effectively. Lung capacity diminishes and the red blood cell count declines as your oxygen demand lessens over time. This dominoes into other effects as your life slows and you become less mentally competitive in the years ahead and your unused brain neurons wither and nerves degenerate.
We used to conveniently blame this on the aging process thinking that the overall degeneration of the body was mostly due to aging but times have changed and we are much more educated and aware. Now we realize that this cause is more due to lack of use than due to age alone.
Here’s the truth of the matter; the human body is a “use it or lose it” machine.
Muscles loss which set in after you reach about 30 years of age causes an overall decline in metabolism (your body’s engine). The result is a reduction in the amount of fuel (calories) being burned each day. The result is it becomes increasingly easier to gain weight.
Most importantly you must understand that if something is not being used in the human body it will not just sit there and wait for attention…as if it is “frozen in time” until you are ready to get moving again. You may fool yourself into believing that it is just sitting there waiting for you unchanged…but the reality is it is deteriorating. Fast.
My proposal to you is to start and never stop a proper strengthening exercise program. The goal is to put the brakes on muscle tissue and bone loss. You don’t even have to perform daily, 2-3 times a week are sufficient to keep you strong.
Without a doubt, your health needs to be your number one issue…you need to regard it as your most treasured asset. Never allow your health to take second seat to anything, start your strength training program today. It truly is not a “back burner” problem that can be taken care of tomorrow.
If you don’t take care of it today, tomorrow may never arrive and if it does you may be facing serious health challenges…all because you refused to address your “fine-tuned” body when it was fine-tuned.
Strong Men Stay Young addresses the issue of procrastination and how to move past this debilitating habit.
