Rule #1: Build cardio capacity & muscle strength

Health

Dec 31

Agency is predicated on being alive and capable, and so we pursue longevity and healthspan as our first aim.

There are two primary elements associated with maximal physical healthspan: cardiovascular capacity and muscular strength. Our heart, lungs, and their downstream processes must work efficiently and fully, and our muscular abilities must be sufficient to allow us to move both ourselves and external objects through the world without undue strain. Building both has knock-on effects which aid mental clarity, creativity, and problem-solving ability, a lovely bonus as we pursue cognitive healthspan (the aim of several later Rules of Health).

We build cardiovascular capacity through frequent aerobic activity such as walking, running, biking, and cycling, as well as less-frequent forays into anaerobic activity using high-intensity interval work in various permutations.

We build muscular strength through resistance training, using both our own bodyweight and external objects to spur our bodies to grow denser, more neurologically coordinated, and more capable of movement under load.

Building both, when combined with a judicious relationship with food, will increase the probability we remain free from the diseases of Western Civilization (Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cancer, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, dementia, etcetera), giving us increased healthspan through a drastic reduction in our likelihood of playing host to the chronic maladies of premature mortality.