"That can't be healthy!"
"But that's bad for your health!"
These are probably the 2 BIGGEST scare tactics anyone
can use to derail you in the chase for the body you want.
And in fact, they can be used by ANYONE, no matter their
current physical status, and no matter if the person is
400 lbs or not, you'll still think twice about what you're
doing.
So, we think it's way past time to give you a way
to get an accurate snapshot of your overall HEALTH
(from a medical standpoint).
Don't you agree?
Revisiting this "Rule Of 3" from the other day, We've wrapped our
heads around the best way to keep a finger on the pulse of your overall,
total health, pun totally intended.
In Rule Of 3, we talked about the 3 basic controls of "health":
1. Work output
2. Substance Input
3. System Stress
From that, and doing some quick fact checking, it looks like you
can get a good idea of your overall "health" from these 3 metrics:
* Blood Pressure
* Height-to-waist ratio
* Shoulder-to-waist ratio
... in which there's a sweet spot for all of these.
For example, aiming for a maximum shoulder to waist, would
mean drug use, which leads to high blood pressure. Going for a super
low height-to-waist ratio would mean no lifting work and likely low
blood pressure due to a prolonged lack of food and blood thinning.
We were thinking of using "pulse rate" instead of blood pressure,
but blood pressure gives you insight into so much more, including
cardiac output AND gives you an idea of the EXTERNAL stressors in
your life (work, family, etc)
Some physical factors of blood pressure are:
* Heart rate
* Volume of fluid or blood volume
* Resistance. (plaque in vessels, diameter of vessels)
Shoulder-to-waist gives you insights into bone health, muscle
tone, coordination, joint health, and probably more. (our best guess
would be the sweet spot here is 1.5-1.7... mainly because you need
a narrower waist to achieve the 1.5)
Height-to-waist gives you insights into "metabolic syndrome"
such as the self-administered portion of high blood pressure,
diabetes, risks of heart disease, high cholesterol, etc
Current research supports a waist-to-height ratio of under 0.5
or a height-to-waist of over 2 for reduced risk of "metabolic
syndrome".
Blood pressure readings are pretty standard and known for "health":
Systolic (Top Number) ==> 90 - 120
Diastolic(Bottom Number) ==>60 - 80
Obviously, you still get your checkups for blood work to
determine other things that could be wrong, but for metrics you can
CONTROL... We can't think of a better 3.
Now, obviously, we're still looking to get the IDEAL body
size and shape, with appropriate leanness and muscularity...
... so don't forget that.
Here's to your Health & Wellness!
