I felt the cold, snowy wind hit my face as I skied fast down a steep, black run at Whistler. My adrenaline pumped. Part excitement, part fear. I got to the bottom and checked my speed. 59 miles per hour. Not bad, I thought. Not sure I could have gone faster.
I checked the app to see how fast the other guys on the business trip skied. Some from Vancouver grew up skiing this mountain. “Holy crap,” I thought. One of the most calm, easy-going guys on the trip from Vancouver hit 79 mph!
I love skiing fast, driving fast, swimming with sharks, and flying helicopters. But, I only push my luck so far.
I’ll ski jumping off 100-foot ski jumps and racing motorcycles.
Your risk threshold for physical injury is up to you. Most of us, however, die in much more predictable ways.
Why We Die
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following were the leading causes of death in 2023:
- Heart disease: 680,981
- Cancer: 613,352
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 222,698
- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 162,639
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 145,357
- Alzheimer’s disease: 114,034
- Diabetes: 95,190
All but #3 are health-related causes of deaths.
While some people are dealt bad hands in life and die from health-related causes unexpectedly, most premature health-related deaths are preventable.
Also according to the CDC, here are the top seven ways to prevent the number one cause of death, heart disease:
- Don’t smoke or use tobacco
- Exercise for 30 to 60 minutes per day
- Eat a healthy diet
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Get quality sleep
- Manage stress
- Get regular health-screening tests
All of those preventative measures are within our control. And we’re not doing a good job at applying them. For adults age 20 and older, 73.6% are overweight and 40.3% are obese.
One Body for Life
Imagine you were just given a brand new car. Now, imagine that it’s the only car you will have for the rest of your life. How would you take care of it?
You’d give it good fuel. You’d get regular maintenance on it. You’d do whatever it took to protect it and keep it running well for decades.
You don’t get another body.
Ingest excessive alcohol, drugs, and bad food, your body won’t last long. Carry a flabby tire around your waist for years, your body will fail sooner than necessary.
To live a long, good life, remember that your body is the only one you get. How you take care of it determines the quality of your life.
Like the check engine light on a car, your body tells you when its not doing well. If you experience any of these for more than a few weeks, your body is not OK:
- Low energy
- Skin breakouts or rashes (unless you’re a teenager)
- Painful joints
- Moaning and groaning when you get up from a chair
- Getting winded when you go up a flight of stairs
- Trouble breathing or other respiratory issues (perpetual coughing or nasal irritation)
You Don’t Have to Get Old So Young
Laird Hamilton surfs 50-foot waves at age 61.
Mark Sisson runs sprints and has an eight-pack at age 72.
Most people get old before they’re actually old.
While I’m not a medical professional, based on my decades of trying to improve my health, feel good, and solve basic physical issues, there are certain things we should be able to do in life to feel good and function well. Here are bare-minimum standards for every adult age 18 to 60:
- 5 full push-ups with good form
- 5 full controlled horizontal pull-ups
- Sprint 50 yards at a reasonably fast pace
- Jog one mile without stopping
- Sit down and get up off the floor without using hands (from Built to Move by Kelly Starrett)
- Hike for an hour on a moderate hill while carrying on a conversation
- Body fat percentage: 15% for men, 25% for women
Treat your body well and you’ll enjoy a more full, more rewarding life.
This post is part of a series inspired by Steven Pressfield’s calling question, “What would you do if you had three months left to live?” I’d share what I’ve learned with those I love and anyone who’d listen. Here are all Lessons.