Health comes in many forms. By understanding what matters most and engaging in your health I believe you can live a full and healthy life.

Exercise: Roger Bannister the first man to run a sub 4 minute mile passed away this month. He was a fervent believer in amateur sport and lamented the ever increasing professionalization. As specialization and professionalism creep into sport at an ever earlier age how do we find the types of people who start rugby clubs, field hockey clubs, or a squash clubs. Pushing the limits of the human body is an incredible task but who is to say that building a community of healthy happy people is not as important? Perhaps I shouldn’t be so nostalgic at 31 but I would love to see the next splash of money go to a community hub that binds parents, kids, and communities of all skill levels over a Fortius Centre of Excellence:)

Fuelling: A paper from 2014 looked at the intake of protein timing during the day and its impact on protein synthesis in the body. The take home message: A typical eating pattern skews protein intake to the evening when we need it less. The paper’s authours suggest spreading proteins throughout the day to maintain protein synthesis and aid in exercise recovery. See the article summary here.

Mental health: mindfulness meditation, the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally, has entered the conscious of the western world. More than 18 million people subscribe to the Headspace app, and the initial therapeutic practice created by John Kabat-Zinn is taught globally. Mindfulness is not, however, a one-size-fits-all remedy. Much like learning to exercise we must understand the purpose, the form that resonates or works well for us and our practice should be consistent (where I have fallen short). Most of us wouldn’t expect to get the benefits of exercise from one ten minute session – at least I hope we wouldn’t. To build a better understanding or what it is and why you may enjoy it check out this article.

Sleep: it is hard to go a week without seeing an advertisement for a new sleep aid. Sound machines, cuddle pillows, app monitoring, and new mattresses, the list is extensive and many companies want a share of the pie. The irony of sleep aids is they tend to pull our attention toward technology and away from simply prioritizing time and sleep. If you are thinking about a sleep aid – think first things first – are you giving yourself enough time to get a good nights rest?

As we head into spring ask yourself these questions: am I helping to build a healthy community, when do I eat my proteins, do I understand meditation, and do I give myself enough time to sleep? Thanks for reading!

Dave

ps: my favourite quote this month. “Focus on hitting good shots, not winning shots.” It resonated!