After spending the last three weeks moving into my new house, I am back in action... and I feel like I fell out of a tree.

Today I have a non-fight-related tip for you that, while obvious, can actually save you from decades of physical agony... IF you can manage to implement it into your lifestyle.  

Here we go:

During this moving process, while pushing through countless hours of physical labor,  I achieved a state of constant pain.

My body began to fall apart.  I threw my back out trying to silently squeeze out a fart in Home Depot... and my wife's make-shift chiropractic could not help me.

An annoying side-note: most folks under the age of 25 can't even relate...

because your bodies have not yet begun to reject your lifestyle.

Enjoy it while you can.  

The following observations reflect the true nature of physical work, and the fate of people who use their bodies regularly, yet unintelligently so.

Stuff like moving is exercise... which is suppose to be good.

You pick up big stuff, and you put it down... it's like lifting weights... or rather all the weight you've ever accumulated in your entire life.  

The same thing can be said for those who do construction, landscaping, farming, or any other physically intensive labor.  

So I ask this question:

"Where are all of the super-jacked and physically healthy construction workers, or movers, or landscapers out there?"

It seems like they don't exist... you never find a muscular and healthy mover anywhere. 

All I see are dudes with back braces on... nursing their injuries, trying their best to fight the arthritis taking over their entire bodies.

Daily exercise is supposed to make you a beast.

Apparently not...

So what's the deal here?

#1.  Most people work STUPIDLY... and I am no exception.  

A buddy of mine was a roofer, and every day he would carry countless shingle packets (which are heavy) up a ladder... but since he was right-handed, he would always use his right shoulder.

This created massive imbalances within his body from head to toe... the left side of his core, to stabilize the load, became very strong but very TIGHT as well.

This pulled the entire alignment of his torso out of wack... his back was off, his hips were off, and this created tons of undue stress on specific points within his spine.  

After several disk fusions... let's just say that he's not a roofer any longer.  

Circumstances like this can be seen in ANY AND EVERY JOB... even if you work at a desk.

If you only pick stuff up with your right hand, or swing a hammer with your right hand, or only cross your right leg while sitting on a chair, you're going to have imbalances, you're going to have undue stress on certain parts of your body, and you're going to have problems.  

SO SWITCH SIDES... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...

But it's not so easy... is it?  

Even though I reminded myself 135 times during the course of the past couple of weeks, most times, I would forget instantly.

I also tried weed-wacking with my left hand and not only did I destroy my lawn, I sprayed poison ivy from my ankles to my face as a fun reward for 'trying'.

It's not easy... but life isn't easy... so we just have to deal with it.   

Become more ambidextrous, and your body will thank you.

#3.  Eat every couple of hours... pack food intelligently.

The only thing that can be worse than pushing yourself constantly to the breaking point, is not feeding your ability to recover.  

It's bad enough that you're breaking down your body with the work... you don't need to do it from the inside out, as catabolic hormones dissolve your very being.  

This is clearly a recipe for disaster... so wake up 20 minutes early, and make sure you have some food to stuff into your gullet.

Ok... I'm about to be late for a class... so I have to cut this short.  

In conclusion... use the other side of your body, REST more, work intuitively, and eat smart.  

That is all... back to martial arts next week...

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