Hi all!
This is the first of a new series of newsletters about health, fitness, and the actions we can take each day to improve. I love to write, I love health and fitness, and I’m passionate about helping others live longer, healthier, and more fulfilled lives, so I’m excited about the opportunity to put those together here.
Everything will be anchored around the five factors of health: how we Train, Eat, Sleep, Think, and Connect with ourselves, others, and nature. They’ve been foundational for me and have shaped almost every aspect of my life for the better. I’m excited to pass them along to y’all as well.
Overall, the five factors are based around what we can control. Genetics, where you are born, luck, etc. are important, but we have little, if any, influence on them. With limited time and energy, we are best served focusing on what we can change.
The five factors are also based around balance. A sustainable, fulfilled life requires many things working in harmony. You can and should train hard, but giving yourself time to recover is just as important. You need to eat well, but without so many rules (and/or judgement) that you can’t enjoy a night out with friends and family. The five factors have helped me find what is “just enough” across each of these aspects, and re-balance as life and priorities shift.
After these first couple intro newsletters, we’ll focus on one of the factors each 1-2 months. If you have any specific questions or topics you want to put in the queue, just send them to info@crossfitwestseattle.com. I am excited, but not precious about this experiment, so please pass on any and all feedback. I want it to be helpful and impactful and I will adjust to meet what you need.
That’s all for now. Next time, we’ll go deeper on the five factors themselves, how to assess where we are at, and the actions we can take to make sustainable progress.
See you around the gym,
Erik