The Physical Health Pyramid

The health and fitness realm is a confusing space to traverse. If you’ve spent any time on the internet scrolling through social media or Google links, you know exactly what I mean. You may also know (or are) “that old guy” at your local gym, giving out words of wisdom free of charge, whether it was asked for or not. No hate from me whatsoever, but man I have heard some stuff.

I’m not going to be one to condemn the “talking heads.” We are incredibly blessed to have so much information at our fingertips.

I will, however, remain true to my mission, which is To Provide Purpose and Direction for your Physical Health.

As you navigate social media posts and conversations full of health and fitness tips and tricks, I would encourage you to not take everything (or nearly anything) at face value. Not everything is true, and even things that are true may not be applicable in certain contexts, such as your own personal situation.

Before we apply information to our own health journeys, we must test the information we hear against these 3 main things:

1. Scientific Research - The more, the merrier. Preferably studies that have replicated findings across multiple independent studies; that are experiments done with human randomized control trials; and/or, is a meta-analysis.

2. Experience - Again, the more, the merrier. It's great that it worked for “the old guy,” but did it work for anyone else? Has the tip-giver ever coached this tip with anyone else, thus taking into consideration the nuance of variation between individuals?

3. Common Sense - Does this info really sound plausible? If I eat a spoonful of cayenne pepper every day, will that actually cause me to lose 50 lb.? Really???

This can be easier said than done (and can be a full topic for discussion on its own). Navigating your health journey can be hard.

Thankfully, that’s what I’m here for.

And that’s why I created the Physical Health Pyramid. To give you direction in the form of a clear roadmap, so that you can navigate your own individual health journey as best you can.

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This is a Harvest original, folks. Will I copyright it? Likely not. But it's still pretty cool.

If you Google “Health Pyramid” or other similar phrases, you’ll find dozens of these on the internet. Mine is not special or revolutionary. It is merely a culmination of my own experience (personally, professionally, and conversationally), education, research, and analysis. It is the roadmap that I personally follow and use to optimize my health. 

So you can be certain that each component is well-supported, and there’s at least 1 person using it. 

You can also be certain that it is subject to change, because research and experience changes over time. I won’t be dying on any hill for this any time soon.

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How to Use the Pyramid:

This diagram is in the shape of a pyramid intentionally:

1. An important component of health is not just doing the right things, but doing them in the right order, and at the right time.

2. Therefore, each level must build on itself. Don’t start on level 4, start on level 1. You need the experiences and tools from the previous level(s) in order to do the next level properly. And even as you progress up to level 4, you must continue to execute the previous levels in order to support doing level 4 appropriately. 

Here’s how I would recommend utilizing this pyramid:

1. If you’re a newbie - This is a roadmap to actually get somewhere. In order to do things correctly and efficiently over the next 10-15 years, you must know what to prioritize given your current state of life. A structured approach will almost always elicit better results than chaos.

2. If you’re a seasoned veteran - This is a mirror for you to analyze your habits. You can either confirm you are on the right track, or course correct where you may be off the mark.

3. If you don’t live under a rock (i.e. probably everybody) - This is a tool to use in the process of testing information we receive from social media, peers, and the like. With this as a reference guide, you can understand how certain tips and tricks fit into the broader context of our physical health. If no one has ever told you before, not everything is about you, and certain advice is not pertinent to your situation, or at least your situation right now. Advice given to bodybuilders who are pursuing a professional career in physique competition will be different from advice given to grandmas who want to function in the late years of their lives. Misapplication of advice thwarts even the best attempts to be healthy.

One final note: if you are a “newbie,” this structure does not disallow you from simultaneously pursuing multiple levels at the same time from the beginning. It's okay to want to lose 10 lb. right off the bat (which would be a Level 3 Specificity goal), and you don’t have to “wait” until you’ve mastered the previous 2 levels in order to do that. However, I will caution you. Take a look at the size of each level. So often, I’ve had clients that will only focus on the number on the scale and whether it's moving down. While it's still good to check in on your weight from time to time, that should not pull the majority of our focus. The majority of our focus needs to be put towards Level 1, getting a high quantity of healthy things, and then Level 2, doing that consistently for a while. And so often, I’ve seen clients just focus on getting a high quantity of healthy things consistently for a while, and they don’t even look at the scale. Fastforward 2-3 months, they’re down 10 lb. and they didn’t even “try” to lose the weight. Don’t put the cart before the horse, the horse won’t be happy.

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What Each Level of the Pyramid Means:

Each level of the pyramid deserves its own time to break it down, so I won’t go into the details yet.

I will, however, very briefly unpack each level so that you can at least get a good feel for the application of it. 

Level 1: Quantity - The very foundation of our health should be made up of a high amount of good, “healthy” things. This means moving as much as possible, eating as much highly nutritious foods (lean meats, dairy, eggs, seafood, whole grains, fruits, veggies, nuts) as possible, and sleeping/resting/lowering stress as much as possible. A high quantity of these things will provide you the most value to your physical health. If you currently have zero quantity of these things, focus on getting at least a little bit. If you already have a little bit, focus on getting more. If you already have a high quantity of these things, consider moving to the next level.

Level 2: Consistency - You may have a good quantity of healthy habits built into your routine, but some days are much better than others. Those “cheat” days can really add up quickly and detract from the progress you’re trying to make. The goal, then, is to “smooth out” the quantity as much as possible. Add healthy habits into most days (if not every day), and stick with that for weeks, months, and years. The more consistent you are over the long term, the more your lifestyle will mold itself to fit this shape, the easier it will be to overcome temptations, and the more clearly you will see the results.

Level 3: Specificity - After you’ve been maintaining a large quantity of healthy habits consistently for a while, you’ll find that you naturally desire to start pursuing some specific goals. To get bigger arms, to get below 200 lb. bodyweight, to compete in a bodybuilding show, to bench press 225 lb., to name a few. When that occurs, we need to organize our efforts a bit more to achieve that particular goal, and doing “general healthy things” won’t quite cut it. For example, to bench press 225, you can’t just walk every day and eat good foods. You need to make sure you’re actually doing barbell bench press in your workout program, doing a higher volume of chest exercises per week, reducing volume of other exercises to account for that shift, performing some higher weight/lower rep sets, pushing closer to failure each set, practicing your technique, etc. This allows us to become great at specific tasks versus just good at a broad range of tasks.

Level 4: Automation - I’m 23 years old as I’m writing this. Married, but no kids, no pets, not many massive responsibilities (yet). How I live my life now will be different from how I live it in 5, 10, 20, and 50 years from now because of how my circumstances will change. But, as I move through each season of life, the goal is to not fall off the wagon. I do that by looking back on my past experiences and analyzing my new situation to make a plan for how to do my health right given the cards I’m dealt. My quantity may change, my consistency may change, my specific goals may change, but I do not fall of the wagon. I am able to easily tweak certain variables to still elicit the responses that I want to get. The Lord wants my healthy body for service to the Kingdom, so I cannot neglect it. And that’s a non-negotiable.

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Drop your thoughts, reactions, and opinions in the comments below! I hope this provides you with direction on how to take care of your body and what to prioritize for the Lord.