The Luxury of a Healthy Body

By CORY FREEMAN

As a practicing physical therapist, I spend my days working with people to rehabilitate to a healthy, functional body. I quite frequently have patients and clients tell me that they took for granted that they once were pain free or functional prior to injury or degeneration. All too frequently in our lives we find ourselves appreciating what we once had, and not appreciating what we have while it is ours. Having a healthy functional body is a luxury that not all humans have. And so, in my attempt to bring this luxury to your attention, my hope is that you will be inspired to engage daily in three ways to work towards or maintain a healthy body.

Physical activity - Our bodies were made to move. We see over and over in research literature the importance of physical activity for healing and maintaining healthy bodies. Find ways each day to move and be active. My boyfriend and I like to do weight training together at the gym most days, but on the days we don’t go to the gym we like to do walks in the neighborhood or find local hikes. My son likes to join us on these too, which is a nice way to get a good conversation going among the three of us. Most importantly when it comes to physical activity is to make sure it’s something you find enjoyable, and to be consistent with it.

Diet - We often say and hear that diet is the most important aspect to having a healthy body and creating the physique we desire. In general, I teach clients to get as much of their food intake from one ingredient foods such as: rice, chicken, potatoes, fish, bell peppers, blueberries, eggs, etc. I also encourage clients to indulge in the foods that bring them satisfaction and happiness on a periodic, but consistent basis. To help with improving or maintaining a good diet this becomes a family affair as well. My partner and I are on the same meal plan and diet, which helps with keeping consistent, but it’s also a lot of fun to cook and prepare meals together. I take the time each day to cook or prepare meals. It is an important part of being healthy, and so I put aside time and make it a priority.

Sleep - This is an area that gets overlooked frequently. Sleep is essential for our bodies to recover and to rid our bodies of the stress hormone that we build up all day long. If you are trying to lose fat, gain muscle, or focused primarily on health and wellbeing, then you need to prioritize your sleep. If you aren’t getting good sleep then please talk to your doctor about options to help in that regard. You’ll be amazed at how good you will feel with getting consistent full nights of sleep.

The human body is an amazing biological machine, and like any machine it needs maintenance to keep it up and running. A healthy body is a luxury that can easily be taken for granted. I encourage you to work towards and maintain a healthy body by staying physically active, maintaining a good and consistent diet, and prioritizing your sleep. This one body is likely all we are going to get in this life, take good care of it and yourself.

CORY FREEMAN is a two-time first-place national bodybuilding champion, having won both of his first-place titles, The Men’s Classic Physique Master’s Over 35 at the 2019 NPC Viking Championship and at the 2019 NPC Masters USA in his rookie year. Cory works as a physical therapist in the home health industry.