Ideally, a gym membership option would have a minimum term of three-five years.
A lifetime membership option should be available.
The long road is always, always… always, the best option.
Currently, we have a new concept in the health industry, known as “bio-hacking.”
This might include the entire Bulletproof Coffee movement, much of the “fasting” movement and even training methods such as the overuse of intensity or Tabata intervals (“get a “quick result” in a few minutes per week”)
I feel that the seeds for this were likely born after around 1970, when we saw the “lean” body image really gain traction, as well as the proliferation of diet books such as Atkins diet and low fat diet. Ideas started to travel fast, so did imagery. Patience started to decline, as did attention span*.
Hacking itself though, started around the 1960’s in the computer programming sub-culture. A “hacker” is defined by the Jargon File** as “A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and stretching their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.”
Here is our conflict. In the “bio-hacking” movement we are seeing something different. We are seeing an attempt to bypass the basics and find a short term fix to somehow heighten “performance.”
For the programmer to stretch the capabilities of the system, they first completely understand the underlying system itself. The system is used correctly, as per the design intent, then the “hacking” comes in.
In “bio-hacking,” we are seeing in many cases, a complete dis-regard for the capabilities of the underlying system and an attempt to elevate energy, body composition or performance through ice-baths and skipping meals. There is a greater focus on artificially entraining theta brain waves through an app than there is on understanding our own mind, behavioural patterns and creating a healthy movement practice.
What has come to exist, is closer to the classic video game “cheat,” in which a player tries to use a non-standard method to find an advantage, or make the game easier.
Fortunately, we aren’t video games.
I’m not discounting benefits of some cold therapy, float tanks or putting butter in your coffee (if that’s your thing). I’m simply pointing out the fact that the short term game never wins and participating in the long term game, with patience and awareness is far superior to the hack that most people are looking for.
Always, always choose the long road.
Once the basics of meditation, nutrition and food timing, circadian rhythms, movement, and hydration are covered, you’ll likely feel so good you don’t need to look for a hack.
* (Microsoft Corp. now tells us that our attention span is around 8 seconds. Slightly shorter than that of a goldfish).
**A glossary used by computer programmers
