METHODOLOGY Level 1 Training Guide

What Is Fitness? (Part 2), continued

Figure 2.  A Graphical Representation of One’s Health

(Fitness Throughout His or Her Life).

that everything is improving except one value. We knew this observation could be
another test in assessing one’s fitness regimen.

Recall that we represent fitness as the area under the curve on a graph with power
on the Y-axis and duration of effort on the X-axis. By adding a third dimension, age,
on the Z-axis and extending the fitness across, it produces a three-dimensional
solid (Figure 2). That is health. And with this measure, I have the same relation-
ship to things that seemingly matter: high-density lipoproteins (HDL), triglycerides,
heart rate, anything that the doctor would tell you is important.

I am of the opinion that health would be maximally held by maximizing your area
under the curve and holding that work capacity for as long as you can. In other
words: Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar;
do constantly varied high-intensity exercise; learn and play new sports throughout
your life. This will buy you more health than will trying to fix your cholesterol or
bone density with a pharmaceutical intervention. That it is a failed approach.

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