I was scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day when I saw Jesse Itzler (entrepreneur and author of one of my favorite books, Living With a Seal) encourage his followers to look at their spending habits differently. A lot of people see the amount that they spend on the gym, supplements, organic produce, free-range meat and quickly reconsider their positive lifestyle changes. They tell themselves that all these things don’t matter as they make up excuses to justify their lack of progress. Whether it is bad genetics, an old injury or they can’t afford it, people are constantly creating barriers for themselves. Still, like in business, you need to invest to see some serious returns!
While Jesse might have a lot of money (like… a lot) he mainly consumes bananas and his workouts don’t cost a thing. Why? He basically runs and does body weight exercises such as pushups and pull-ups. Still, he recognizes that our bodies require a lot of attention and even though he isn’t a fitness professional, I completely agree with him. If you’re going to eat a certain way because your morals, go for it. If you’re going to train until you have to be dragged out of the gym, more power to you! Still, you need to take into consideration the toll that all this stress has on your body and consider recovery. Jesse’s punchline was related to his successful business background; think of everything that you spend on your health and wellness as an investment.
I’m not trying to convince you to convince yourself that you need a 7-day cruise to find inner peace. I’m not telling you that you need to spend $100 a week on massages at your local spa. I am telling you that what you do every single day will have a major impact on your longterm progress and there are certain things that you need to heavily consider if you want to live the longest, healthiest life possible. There are some aspects of your life that you have total control over.
One of those is hydration. Cramping is often caused by a lack of hydration in your body. Keeping your body properly hydrated will enable you to operate at a higher level every single day. While access to drinkable water isn’t a luxury that every one can afford, most of you in the US can, so you really should!
Another one of those is stretching. Tight hamstrings and glutes are a leading cause of lower back pain, which spreads throughout the body and has a serious impact on mobility. Muscular imbalances are common and one of the best ways to minimize their negative impact on the body is daily stretching. It doesn’t cost anything… just a few minutes, and we all know you have a few free minutes.
Even if you’re thinking that I don’t have any time, take five minutes before bed to stretch. If you’re telling yourself that you can’t afford to lose any sleep, consider the quality of your sleep. Stretching can lead to having longer muscles that are looser, which can prevent you from waking up in the middle of the night with muscle pain… or cramps! (Staying hydrated!) One other key that will help you maximize sleep (quality rest and laying in bed are NOT THE SAME) is your actual sleeping set-up. While we’re not experts when it comes to proper mattresses and pillows, we know that everyone needs to consider their body type and position when buying a mattress. Our friends over at Ortho Mattress put together this amazing infographic to help you maximize your sleep.
Coming full circle, there are a lot of ways that you can find a healthy lifestyle on a budget, but when we’re talking about living a long and pain free life, you don’t want to be cheap. Consider investing in your health and we guarantee that you’ll be happy about that investment when you start to see results because progress helps you stay hungry and fit!
