The last few weeks have really fucked me over.

Skin issues, allergies, and poor sleep - my health was a wreck.

When I'm healthy I seem to want everything the world has to offer.

When I'm sick the only thing I want is to be healthy again.

This month of exhaustion and pain reminded me of what my life looks like when my health goes unchecked.

Our health matters you know this - I know this - our grandparents know this. Even though we know this - what are we actually doing about it?

The Modern Age of Health

Life is entering a new stage. Run clubs are filling up major cities and sports like paddle and tennis are becoming common hobbies.

It is possible that this could be a trend that may be fuelled by other non-health specific motives (I have my own thoughts on that).

The reality is - it's becoming "cool" to be healthy again. Modern science is backing up traditional wisdom and there are more voices talking about the body than ever before.

However with a lot of noise comes a lot of distraction.

Health is more commercialized than ever.

• Supplements

• Coaching Programs

• Clothing

With all of the different voices and content I often find myself being pulled in multiple different directions at once.

Even though I've accomplished a decent amount physically - am I still doing enough?

Do I need to start running, competing, powerlifting, bodybuilding, and gymnastics all at the same time?

I've found my answer in hybrid training but we'll get to that another day. The reality is that to fit the new age of health into our day to day lives - we need energy.

Motivation does not last forever. How can we have the energy to turn healthy living into our daily lifestyle?

A New Beginning

I have been in the health space for nearly seven years now.

My opinions are a bit biased because my life is built around this topic - it's all I study, read, and learn about (split up into many different facets)

However - I can say for certain - I have had more energy this last year than I have in the first six. On top of that, I'm also:

• In better shape

• Physically stronger

• A running hobbyist

• An Ironman 70.3 finisher

• More mentally clear than ever

Life is more vivid and it's because I've created a lifestyle that makes being healthy easy.

My sleep is fantastic and I no longer have to rely on stimulants just to get work done. This is all because of a protocol I've coined the purposeful athlete effect.

Purposeful Athlete Effect

Not everyone wants to be an athlete - that's okay. First, let's redefine what an athlete is.

Oxford labels athletes as sport specific competitors. Jonathan Sullivan, MD clarifies in his book, The Barbell Prescription, that we are all athletes.

“The word athlete comes to us from the Greek ἀθλητής, athletes, derived from the word for “prize.” The practical meaning of this word during the classical Olympic era was something like “contestant” and also something like “combatant.” Excerpt FromThe Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40Jonathon M Sullivan

We are in a life or death battle against disease, decay, muscle-loss, and death.

Athletes are constantly training their attributes for better performance:

• Strength

• Power

• Mobility

• Balance

• Endurance

• Body Composition

The funny thing about this? This is exactly the attributes to fight against the battle of aging.

The foundation to win the battle is built in our 20s. The purposeful athlete is the competitor who is focused on the long game.

Here is exactly how you can start playing the long game and while being high energy the whole time.

1) Nutrition - How do you fuel your body?

First, we need to clean your engine.

The modern diet has everyone's body destroying themselves from the inside out.

Everyone wants to sell you on fad diets, cook books, and nutrition programs for quick results.

Look, if you are looking for a two week cleanse - look else where. We are focused on playing the long game, short term results don't mean anything. We are in a battle to the death here - and we want to win.

The best thing to do is start eliminating things from your diet. Don't be too drastic (Make small changes one week at a time)

If you don't know what to eliminate - start with what has been studied and proven to be horrific for your health.

• Industrial seed oils

• Artificial sweeteners & colours

• Refined carbohydrates and processed sugar

• Ultra processed foods (Fast food, processed meat, Packaged snacks)

Look through sources like EWG's Dirty Dozen list. If you think that any of this is controversial - ready a study or look into the literature.

Or better yet, remove it from your diet and find out yourself.

Once you have found foods that you enjoy and have created your own "mini diet" you can start incorporating some training.

2) Training

Now we are in it for the long run. Exercise is the single best solution to the worlds most common ailments and disease.

Unfortunately - it is one of the most under prescribed.

This isn't something to over complicate. Let's start with a basic program. (I highly recommend aerobic and anaerobic training to be combined with your strength training for better health - I'll give tips for that in the future)

Here we'll start slow. This isn't a three or six month program - remember - we are doing this for life.

Find three days of the week that you have the same time available. Make sure that there is at least one day between each for rest.

At first I was going to recommend finding a gym - but I get that gym's can be intimidating.

Eventually you will have to find a gym or build a gym (the former is cheaper), for now we'll go through a routine that you can do at home.

We will be doing the same routine 3 times a week.

Adjust the workouts how you need in order to complete the required number of reps. If this means going on your knees for the push ups - that is okay.

Once you can stick with this and an eating schedule for a month - you probably already feel like a new person. Now we can start engraining this into your lifestyle.

3) Lifestyle

This is where the long game begins. There are two paths in life with our health.

A majority of individuals live a sedentary lifestyle, with little movement until they reach the age of 60. At this age they begin to make a regular trips to the doctor for disease and physical conditions. Eventually passing away due to a clogged artery, infectious disease, weakened immune system, or any other critical health condition.

Another small minority lives a lifestyle full of movement and presence. They spend their weekends outdoors and find free time during the day to move their body. They are the grandparents that are tending their gardens and meeting their grand children in new cities. They pass away peacefully surrounded by their loved ones and are grateful for how long their body held up for them.

I get it - these are two very polarized lifestyles. Early death is a taboo topic. Even so, in many circumstances, it's a consequence of how we treat our bodies and our health.

The lifestyle component of the purposeful athlete is about curating a healthy lifestyle that works for you and isn't influenced by what others are doing.

One of my favorite members at my gym is pushing 70 and is just about to complete his final last Ironman before retiring. Another client is 65 and she shows up every 6am class five times a week still deadlifting over 100lbs.

Most health advice will get you into the gym and make you train like a body builder.

For many of us that isn't our goal - we just want to be healthy, happy, and confident.

The protocol is so simple.

• Resistance train 2-3x per week.

• Walk/Jog/Hike for 45-60min 2x per week

• Fuel your body with real foods.

This looks and sounds easy because it is. You can fill these slots with any form of exercise that you like.

• Body build

• Group fit classes

• Triathlons

• Running

• Recreational Sports

• Yoga

• Even medieval war role play (i saw a post on twitter)

This is the blueprint to always be high energy. It is built on the foundation of daily healthy non-negotiable habits that you do no matter what.

Stick with it and you won't recognize the difference.

See you on the other side,

Jordan

The Novice Hybrid Protocol: I'll be releasing this for free for newsletter subscribers in the next couple of days - stay tuned.