Outrun the Lion

Once upon a time, in the vast openings of the Africans' plains, a man woke up, stretched out of his cavern, and looked around, seeking food. For he was hungry.

Supermarkets were still a few millennia down the path of human evolution, so he picked up his spear and headed down towards the river where he knew the gazelle were gathering for the morning drink.

Indeed, a herd of gazelle was there, sipping from the river, oblivious of the strong caveman approaching from the south. As he kept working on his hunt, step after step, he cared not to make a sound. He was tasting the wind with his lips, thorough enough to keep it blowing on his face so that the prey could not smell him.

Suddenly, the entire herd raised their head from the water, puzzled around with their eyes, and jumped into a rushed run northbound, away from the hunter.

What could possibly give me up? Thought the man. But as he was right amidst his perplexity, he could feel something was off. Too much silence. Too much silence in a place that was otherwise dominated by thousands of different voices.

And then he heard the roar of the lion just behind his back.

What did the caveman do at this point?

A) He set off for a 10k light jog, running to improve his endurance
B) He sprinted away as fast as he could, running for his life

Yes, you guessed right. The light jog endurance training doesn't work against the lion. Back in the savannah, the only way to survive was to outrun the lion.

How to Train for Metabolic Health

The funny story was just an attempt to make you laugh a bit, because laughing is such an important part of our lives and health. But the waistline is also a critical KPI for our metabolic health.

According to Dr. Philip Ovadia, keeping a waistline size that is below 102cm (40 inches) for men, and 89cm (35 inches) for women, is one of the 5 key markers of metabolic health.

Now, why do I talk about waistline when a lion is chasing me down this article? Well, that's because if you are a bit like me, and with "like me" I mean a bit of a couch potatoe, you may find yourself beyond such limit.

Truth is, there is a 50% chance that you – beloved reader – are a bit overweight. And you, like many many others, are likely paying a gym subscription in the endless effort get back into last year's blue jeans.

Training is important,
but how to train is paramount.

There are a few principles that will help you focus your energies for weight loss, with the goal to put the waistline under the dangerous threshold.

Principle n.1 - Move

All throughout your day, simply move more.

• take the stairs and skip the elevator
• park farther away from the supermarket entrance (you will also save a lot of time that is usually wasted hunting for the closest-to-the-entrances spot)
• use a standing desk, or put your computer over a shoebox on top of your kitchen working area
• use a glass for water instead of a jar, so that you will be force to go and fill it up more often

Tricks are endless here. Consider that the caveman in our story had to go hunting every single day of his life. By foot. We – humans – have been moving around all day for millennia.

Then, over less than a century, we sat down and bagun to fat up.

Principle n.2 - Build Your Muscles

You are young now. If you fall, you will simply raise back up. No big deal.

But – did you know that falling is the leading cause of injury-related death from 65 up? – Careful man, 65 comes quite quickly in this life. Keeping your muscles active and fit will help you hold onto things when your legs will give up for a moment.

Muscles are not only meant to attract a partner, they will save your life.

Plus, muscles burn more than normal tissue. The more you build up your muscles, the more you will burn, the faster you will get to your wasteline comfort zone.

Go to the gym, do it at home using an app, better with a friend or gym-buddy.
But build up your muscles.

Principle n.3 - Fast Is Better

We all see running as the go-to weight-loss exercise. Then we get frustrated because it is tough and it doesn't yield as much results as we expect.

Well, running sprints seems to be the most effective way to run for weight loss. You concentrate your efforts in a short time span, and get great results out of it.

Plus, you'll get to outrun the lion!