A New-ish Health & Fitness Model
There are a lot of “models”, “pillars” and “pyramids” in the health and fitness industry, so here’s another one… with a little twist.
Before I introduce this new-ish model I want to briefly explain my personal perspective on the health and fitness industry. In my eyes, this industry exists in an interesting balance between rigorous scientific discovery, pseudo-scientific proclamations and the modern juggernaut of sensationalist propaganda that is social media, marketing and the pursuit of individualism — I know, that last one is a mouth full.
What I want to make clear is, as both a health and fitness professional and a consumer, I’m aware there’s a lot of stuff to sort through in this industry in order to find the answers and solutions you’re looking for. This is where I’d like to bring up one more point.
I think there is a general agreement in the value science has in contributing to understanding and solving the complexities of human physiology as it relates to the broadly categorized health and fitness industry. Where I feel there is an under-appreciation is in the role of creativity, intuition and nature.
First, I want to be clear that I strongly support that continued scientific progress is essential to uncovering the mechanisms and processes to both better understand human physiology and to ultimately solve our most important health questions. What I introduce are beacons of light from additional spectra — nature and lifestyle.
I bring up these additional layers because what I’ve found is that they not only influence the health and fitness industry, but both impact our lives in many dimensions. This may not be surprising seeing as they are relatively broad categories that include many things, nonetheless I feel the significance of their relationship together is only beginning to gain traction within the mainstream.
Bringing all this back to the model I’m introducing, what I present isn’t new and it isn’t really a “model”. Rather, what I present is a framework that provides a simple and clear structure to a theme I continue to see and which is specifically responsible for the multi-dimensional nature of the health and fitness industry. This framework is dependent on the concepts of inter-connectivity and integration.
Visualize an equilateral triangle — each side represents one of three key components that when combined support the other and create structural integrity. This is the representation of my “model” and the three key components are:
- Human Physiology
- Nature
- Lifestyle
Today, I leave you with a brief description of each component. In later articles, I’ll return to this framework with the goal to:
- Explore examples of the inter-connectivity and integration between our physiology, nature and lifestyle
- Provide practical and actionable steps to improve your health, fitness and performance using this framework
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
This is all about you, specifically the connection between your mind and body in the forms of three major biological systems you have voluntary control over: (1) Musculoskeletal System (the skeleton, voluntary muscles of the body, and other soft tissues involved with movement), (2) Cardiopulmonary System (lungs, heart, and all their peripheral tissues involved with blood flow and gas exchange) and (3) Nervous System (eyes, brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves branching throughout the body). In the greater context I use physiology as an umbrella term for all of the biological processes, systems, and activities that occur within our bodies at every second, minute and hour of the day. As mentioned above, it’s important to understand that no system works in isolation. Our entire physiology is very much interconnected and integrated.
NATURE
In the environmental sciences nature can be described in two parts, the Non-Living and Living Systems. The Non-Living System includes the climate and the many waterways, bodies of water, and land masses that create earth. For example, the weather we experience, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the rocks and soil underneath us are all part of the Non-Living System. In contrast, the Living System includes all of the animals, plants and the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit our oceans, earth and our bodies. For example, the foods we eat, the diversity of microorganisms that reside in our digestive tract, and the relationships we have with other living organisms (think about state parks, gardens, your house plants, pets and human relationships).
LIFESTYLE
My definition of lifestyle includes all of the daily, weekly, monthly and annual practices and habits we integrate in our lives throughout a lifetime — I know, that’s a lot of stuff! From an environmental perspective, I view lifestyle as an individual ecosystem that bridges the gap between the other two sides of the triangle — our physiology and nature. If you can remember back to high school biology class, you may remember that ecosystems are made of communities that together form into larger ecosystems called biomes (think deserts and rainforests). Circling back to the human-centered perspective, at a micro-level lifestyle can shape our individual physiology influencing how we think, feel, and perform each day. At a macro-level, lifestyle can shape our social relationships, communities and societies. Just as the interactions between nature’s Living and Non-Living Systems integrate to shape the deserts, rainforests and other ecosystems of the world, our individual lifestyles integrate to shape the modern world we exist in today and connect everything within it.
Eudaimonia
