A quick thought on monkey see, monkey do.
If you want to change your kid’s future, first change your present.
Whether they like it or not, your kids are going to adopt a lot of your habits and behaviors.
Think about it- if you could watch yourself from the 3rd person, you’d see a lot of resemblance to your parents (that is, if you want to be honest with yourself).
Maybe you’ve been fighting demons from your parents’ past. Maybe you drew the lucky straw and learned a lot of healthy behaviors from your parents.
Regardless of what happened to you, you now have the power to influence what gets passed down to your kids.
Wield that power thoughtfully.
P.S. If you’re ready to make a change and would like some help, make sure you stay tuned for next week’s newsletter (or if you’re really excited and impatient, just shoot me an email and I’ll let you in on the secret early 🤫).
A deep dive on deep health
I used to tell everyone that I wanted to live to be 150 years old. I have no idea why that conversation ever came up, but it happened on a regular basis.
Then, I watched people age.
Why in the world would I want to live to be 150 years old if the last 50-60% was filled with debility, dependence, isolation, and suffering?
Plan revised. I’m now fascinated by maximizing my healthspan, not my lifespan.
Sure, I definitely want to live longer, but I also want to live better. I want to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible to experience as much as possible.
One reason why I love athlete development so much is because sports are a springboard to learn foundational components of healthy living.
But, what even is health? What does being healthy even look like?
A quick Google search says the definition of health is “the state of being free from illness or injury.”
That’s a start, but it feels more like surviving than thriving, and I want to thrive.
That’s where the concept of deep health comes in.
Deep health, which I believe was developed by Precision Nutrition, is the notion that health is about thriving in 6 domains: physical, mental, relational, emotional, environmental, and existential.
Each section below contains the quoted definition from Precision Nutrition, then a brief add-on description from me.
Physical
- “Feeling vibrant, energized, and thriving. Performing and functioning well.”
This is the most obvious aspect of health. Can you move well? Is your heart beating appropriately? Are your arteries clear? Can you travel far distances without being exhausted?
Mental
- “Being alert, focused, competent, and thoughtful. Learning, remembering, and solving problems well.”
Nobody wants to have their brain fade away.
Relational
- “Being connected and authentic with others. Feeling supported and like you ‘belong.’”
I worked with a lot of elderly people through my physical therapy training. One of the strongest indicators of successful aging (gauged by happiness) was community support. Find people you care about and hold them tight.
Emotional
- “Experiencing a full range of emotions and expressing them appropriately.”
Turns out that feeling feelings is important- who knew?
Environmental
- “Knowing your everyday surroundings support your health and wellbeing.”
Do you have a roof over your head? Warm clothes for cold weather? It’s hard to be healthy if your environment is fighting against you.
Existential
- “Feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in life.”
What is your “why”? That’s your North Star, following it is a healthy endeavor.
An extra note on performance vs health
There are times where performance and physical health are going to be at odds.
When you’re young, there’s zero reason to sacrifice physical health for performance outcomes. If you have a 10u tournament and your arm is really hurting, please sit it out.
The risk:reward ratio is just not worth it at that age.
As you get older and the stakes are higher, there will be times that choosing performance over physical health makes a lot sense.
If you sprained your ankle really badly, but the state championship game is coming up, it’s probably worth it to throw some tape on it, suck it up, and fight.
One reason I like the deep health model so much is because it helps us make sense of these decisions.
Sure, you might be sacrificing some degree of physical health. But, it could be servicing your existential, relational, and/or emotional health in the process.
More from me…
- Check out the most recent podcast episode where I give you a 4-step process to start actually gaining weight. Just click here!
- If you think this newsletter doesn’t suck (or maybe you even enjoy reading it), I would really appreciate you sharing it with some other parents that might benefit from reading it. You can just send them to gtperformance.co/free and they can subscribe there!
Thanks so much for your help in spreading the word about long-term athlete development!
Best,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS