I love philosophy just because it gives answers to so many things in life! Relationships, conflict management, socienty… But, what does fitness have to do with philosophy? Well, check this out. This is a theory about progress applied to fitness:

One of the basic principles of constant progress is moderation. Avoid extremes, be it in fitness, business or any other area of life:

• Too much food is not good for your body, but going on a radical, unhealthy quick-loss diet is even worse.
• Not exercising and leading a sedentary life will cause health problems. On the other hand, exercising far beyond your limits may lead to burnouts, injuries or even heart attacks.
• Not eating right amount of protein will slow down your muscle growth. But taking such supplements like steroids to boost the growth is like kissing your health good-bye.
• Not sleeping enough can provoke stress, lack of motivation, irritation and other unstable, health-threatening moods. Sleping for too long has the same result.
• Spending too many hours working will affect your private life, your family, your wellbeing. But not working at all is not a solution either. (You still got to pay your bills.)

Astonishingly, it can be applied to anything. And it is nothing new. The taoist books, written over 2000 years ago, already mentioned the importance of sobriety and self-control. They say, the best way is somewhere in between.

It doesn’t mean that the progress is always a straight line. In fact, nothing is. Even on a subatomic level the atoms do move, but not in a straight line: they swing.

Or take something like our economy’s growth: it looks like a wave with its ups and downs. Of course, those swings may cause problems like unemployment, inflation or depression. That is why any government is trying to hold those waves as flat as possible. And that is what you should do, too. Because the less something swings, the more stable it is, the less probable it is to come out of balance. And the more stable it is, the longer it will last.

Equilibrium is the answer.

Be it in your time management, fitness or diet programm. Avoid extremes and take one step after another. “Rome wasn’t build in one day” as my father used to say.

If you led an unhealthy life all your life, you can be damn sure that it will take time to become Mr. or Mrs. Universe.

But if you opt for an extreme for a quicker solution like some pills, liposunction or steroids, your health may be at a great risk.

Think about it.