“Fear is good, failure isn’t bad, and you should treat your body like a truck, not a temple.” -Laird Hamilton
The Journey to RISE Active Healing + Active Wellness model includes working to be the best version of self at every age! Big wave surfer, Laird Hamilton, seems to have found the fountain of youth. The 58-year old continues to push his body to extreme levels and shared his commandments for staying fit for life with Outside Magazine (the best of which are included here).
Go by feel – It’s always important to listen to your body as it can be the best way to tell you how things affect you.
Find ways to control and apply strength – Incorporate additional movements into your exercises for a full body workout (e.g. add leg lifts when doing bench presses)
The goal is staying in shape for life – Keep moving as much as you can. Staying active helps us stay fit.
Garbage in, garbage out – Eat bad, feel bad. Eat healthy, feel healthy. It’s that simple.
Use vacation as an opportunity to establish a good routine – Treat vacations like a mini-boot camp where you can focus on your health and fitness, if possible.
Get good at resting – People with active lives have a hard time resting. But rest can be beneficial to recovery and longevity.
Mix it up – Keep your body guessing to challenge yourself and improve your fitness. We can get really efficient exercising one way and not even realizing we’re neglecting other parts of our body and mind.
Sleep! – Prioritize it like a workout. And know how much you need.
Go easy on yourself – Being a slave to your routine and diet will only lead to burnout.
Chew your food more – It helps in your ability to absorb nutrients from food
Train with friends – It pushes you, stimulates you, and holds you accountable.
Use fear as a motivator – Once you understand your fear, it can serve as a catalyst to better performance.
We get in our own way – We give into fears, don’t like to be uncomfortable, and are afraid of failure and it can come as a detriment to pushing our boundaries and not realizing the best version of ourselves.
Play the long game – If you’re still out there moving, regardless of your age, you’re winning.
Need to get started on building whole-body strength and preventing joint injury? Check out this training program (scroll down to “The Forever Workout”). The best part? You don’t need expensive gym equipment to stay in shape.
Source: Outside Magazine
Interested in more reading on the habits of successful people, like Laird? Check out one of Dr. Stilp’s favorite books “Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionairs, Icons, and World-Class Performers”.
For help or questions on staying fit for a lifetime and treating your body more like a truck, schedule an appointment with Dr. Sonja Stilp. Dr. Stilp drives a (this lifted and supercharged) truck to endless RISE fitness adventures. KEEP MOVING YOUR ENERGY! It is the BEST BioHack.