Health and Fitness: a Survival Technique.

                “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis

                I start with this quote today, not only because I admire C.S. Lewis and his works, but because I think it can be applied to fitness in a unique way. On the surface this quote looks like it belongs in a philosophy blog or something to that effect, but not a health and fitness blog. But take a look at the last phrase “it [friendship] is one of those things that give value to survival.” The key word here is survival, and I believe as the time and culture has changed, our method for surviving has dramatically altered as well.

                When the word survival pops into your head what do you think of? If you are like me then you conjure up a “castaway” image; complete with long beards, spear fishing, and the volleyball companion.  Obviously this type of survival is no longer necessary in our culture, so would we conclude survival is dead? Certainly not, for in this sedentary society we have a much more subtle problem: excess. It is excess that is cutting our lives short, it is excess that limits our potential, and it is excess that requires us to expend our energy in such an artificial way.

We are in this fight against excess and its companions, (heat disease, diabetes, obesity, premature death, and many others) some are fighting vigorously; others seem to have given up. But is survival not worth fighting for?  As C.S. Lewis states, friendship gives value to all this, and not only that but family, art, philosophy, education, love, and freedom.

It’s an abstract idea, but health and fitness is a survival technique, probably one of the most overlooked in today’s age. So if you are having trouble motivating yourself, just know that health and fitness is more than just the pursuit of six pack abs and overall sex appeal. It is a survival technique that not only gives us a better quality of life, but gives us more days to enjoy what is really worth living for.