The Habits of Physicality

The ancient Greeks took physique very seriously, as did all ancient societies.

The biggest names in Greek philosophy often devoted lengthy passages to describing proper training and healthy eating.

There’s something so beautiful about a person who takes excellent care of their body. 

Not just because of how it looks and the love that goes into it, but also because, like the ancient Greeks, it’s about the person you have to become to get there… not just about the end result. 

This got me questioning, what are the habits of physicality? 

What can we learn from the ancients, who turned this into a science? What have Zenon and I learned from being on this journey ourselves and guiding thousands of people through it? 

We decided to compile them all into a list. 

Read on for more. 

What Are The Habits of Physicality?

Develop a Strong Foundation

More than anything, you need to know the foundation you are standing on regarding health and fitness. 

The ancient Greeks revered physicality, which is still true to a degree nowadays. But simply wanting to get and maintain your physicality because everyone else is doing it is not a strong enough foundation to sustain your journey. 

If you dig deeper into understanding the reason behind it, why it’s good for you, and the stakes of not being physical over the long term, you might have a more profound reason to sink your teeth into when things get tough, which they will.

Maintain Stability & Consistency

It took me a long time to realize that yo-yo-ing diets, half-hearted exercising, and falling on and off the wagon were signs of instability. They were holding me back from much more than just getting the body I wanted. 

First, I had to learn how to become a stable person. 

Stability is so important when it comes to physicality. It takes a long time to get the results you want; to get there, you need to develop a stable inner world. It’s also a prerequisite for consistency. 

Develop Strength & Discipline

There is great freedom in discipline. 

Many of us tend to feel constrained by discipline, but the truth is, it makes us freer. This is because it removes decision fatigue and allows you to focus your energy elsewhere. 

At its core, discipline is doing the thing even when you don’t feel like doing it. 

Exhibit Self Control & Restraint 

People struggle with overeating all the time. 

We often fear the idea of self-control and restraint, mainly because it feels like a punishment. But, unfortunately, it’s true – when there’s too much self-restraint, we inevitably swing in the other direction and create bad habits that get harder and harder to undo. 

The point is to do it in a way conducive to long-term stability. 

Pay Attention to How You Hold Yourself 

Paying attention to your physical presence is essential to maintaining healthy physicality. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Relax your shoulders and keep your head straight and level.
• When standing, spread your weight evenly on both legs. Keep your spine straight. 
• When sitting down, again, keep your hips level and your weight evenly positioned across both sides of your body. Keep your spine straight but relaxed, and keep your elbows on your chair’s arms, relaxing your arm and wrist muscles.
• In conversation, make clear eye contact and speak slowly and deliberately, with an even pitch. Physicality is not just about how your body looks or is positioned but also how you communicate with others. 

Ready to dive deep into how to develop better habits around physicality in your life? Check out our 5-Day Restore Your Core Challenge. 

Restore Your Core is a proven solution for a lean and strong core. This body and mind transformation will have you feeling amazing in just minutes a day. Learn more here: https://tyzenfit.com/5-day-restore-core 

The Habit Of Awareness

This is all about cultivating your presence of mind so that you can understand where you are and what you bring to the moment. Start with being aware of where and what you are today. 

To understand your starting point, ask yourself:

Where am I in my life journey? How long has it been since I was last active? Have I had any injuries? 

To understand where you are moment to moment and cultivate more on-going awareness, check-in with yourself regularly. Before you eat, ask yourself, how hungry are you? If you’re not really hungry, are you bored, lonely, angry, or tired? Before you move, check-in with your body. How are you feeling? Are you holding tension anywhere? Are you moving with good alignment? Are you grounded? Are you lengthening yourself? 

In ancient civilizations, being robustly fit was the norm. However, today we have the comforts of technology and ease. Today’s fast pace and digital space often pulls us out of our body. Compound that with lack of movement and we find ourselves dealing with dangerous levels of atrophy that sneak up on us quietly and quickly. So it is imperative that we take an honest look at our current situation and health history. 

The best way to do this is with regular check-ins. 

The Habit of Intention

Sometimes the things we must do to reach our vision are not always fun or convenient. However, when we understand our purpose and align our fitness plan with that purpose, each step we take is done with intention. 

Think about how much you could accomplish in life when you are filled with energy, strength, and power. This is what being fit can do for you. 

The best way to follow your purpose is aligning your inner voice with your intention and actions. We help you identify your purpose and align every rep, set and rest period with your intention. Every time you do this, it gets easier and easier until it’s just a habit. 

The Habit of Discipline 

There is great freedom in discipline. The key to everything is choosing virtue in the face of vice. 

If we are the metal and our emotions the fire, discipline is the hammer that will forge us into a sword. 

Many of us tend to feel constrained by discipline, but the truth is, it makes us freer. Instead of staying stuck in our emotions or decision fatigue, discipline allows us to focus our energy. 

At its core, discipline is doing the thing even when you don’t feel like doing it. 

Our emotions can lift and stop us, but discipline will always move us forward. The more we put into it, the more we get out of it.

Toil with a smile – appreciate the grind’s ability to forge greatness.

(Stick with it even when it is tough)

If it was easy, everyone would do it. It is friction that forges blades, pressure that bends a bow to launch an arrow, explosions that fire cylinders in cars. Muscle fibers tear only to have the body rebuild the muscle stronger, which somes with soreness. No pain no gain is a misleading refrain but does hold truth. Those who understand deep inside the reward you experience when you overcome a challenge know that it was hard fought. 

Those that know, understand that the reward is in the doing. When the challenges start to pile on, it means you’re on the right track and there is nothing greater to smile about than the traction you are gaining as you push forward. 

Aspire for greatness – Look toward your greatest self and never settle. 

(Become Greater)

Your most fit self is something you can see in great detail. Every inch you move closer to it, it becomes clearer and clearer. Every inch counts on your way to a Fit You. You can be wrong about what you are supposed to do, you can be wrong about how long it may take, but you can never be wrong to gaze toward your potential and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Aspiration is the breath of the soul so honor it with your best effort, everyday toward your best self! 

Be grateful for this opportunity – Give to that which is greater than oneself. 

Never have we had greater access to ways in which we can take this journey; never has the need for health been so prevalent in the social conscience. Thousands, if not millions, of people through thousands of years toiled and died so that we may have the knowledge base all at our fingertips. 

Carpe diem – the call to our consciousness to “pluck the day”, “cease the day.” 

To what end.

If we can not see the forest for the trees we lose sight of where we are. The “who”, and then the “when” follow close behind. 

Be it the celestial above, those who came before you, or those who will follow you, root your purpose in something greater than yourself. This way your fuel will never extinguish and the good you will accomplish will reach out beyond what you thought possible. 

Onward, for the win!