Self Defence Against an Unhealthy Lifestyle

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Self defence against an unhealthy lifestyle? Sure, that’s a thing.

An unhealthy lifestyle is a collection of destructive habits which create a physical and mentally unbalanced living environment. This unbalance may lead to morbidity, damage our lifestyle and shorten our life expectancy.

Moran-Laskov-4

Below are 10 somewhat undesired habits that we must protect ourselves from and the “self-defense” methods against them.

# Threat Threat details Self-defense technique
1 Smoking One of the primary causes for lung and Esophagus cancer, responsible for many illnesses to the body. We are exposed to it passively and actively in everyday life. The best way to defend against smoking is by avoiding it and people who smoke. If you cannot avoid it, politely ask people not to smoke around you and take responsibility over your body by not smoking.
2 Lack of sleep Lack of sleep has a big effect on our body, physically and mentally. People who suffer from lack of sleep often deal with blurred vision, dizziness, decline in cognitive function, confusion, hallucination and memory loss. Aside from this, anxiety and depression are very common to people who suffer from lack of sleep. Try to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep per night and create a good sleeping environment. I.E.: comfortable mattress, clean bedroom, darken the room and remove anything that might interfere with your sleep. Get into bed no later than 22:30 and get up no later than 6:00.
3 Alcohol Excessive consumption of alcohol damages the liver, disrupts your judgment, causes aggressive behavior and might lead to car accidents and other damages. On the other hand, researches have shown that drinking amoderate amount of red wine that is full of anti-oxidants may be beneficial to your health. Avoid at all costs driving after alcohol consumption or being in a car with a driver that has consumed alcohol. Prepare a designated driver or call a taxi to get you home. If you still insist on drinking, try to consume no more than one cup each time, no more than three times per week and try to do it before you go to sleep.
4 Nervousness Nervousness can damage your judgment and can lead to wrong actions that may cause irreversible damage. Nervousness can lead to excessive secretion of stress hormones that may damage the immune system and leave the body vulnerable to heart attacks, diabetes, stroke and cancer. Practice 20 minutes of breathing techniques every day while sitting cross-legged. Make sure to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Researches have shown that people who practice these techniques every day, are calmer, more peaceful  and can cope better with the hectic everyday life.
5 Obesity About 2 million people die every year as a result of Obesity. Today there are about 1.5 billion people around the world that are overweight and obese. According to the world health organization, obesity is the number 1 cause of morbidity. Overweight people are more prone to illnesses such as: strokes, damage to internal organs- liver, heart and kidneys. Joint problems in the legs and problem with blood circulation in the legs. Weigh yourselves and measure your height, check on the internet your BMI score, if it is above 27, check your diameter three cm’ above your belly button, if it is above 102 cm for men or 88 cm for women then it is considered high. If you are over- weight reach out to a professional that may assist you in your dietary habits with physical fitness in-order to reduce the excessive fat that is a risk to your health. Physical fitness alone is not enough, you must combine the two.

# Threat Threat details Self-defense technique
6 Incorrect posture Incorrect posture might damage your back. Back problems significantly disrupt our lifestyle and can handicap our day to day life. A healthy back is a combination of correct posture and strong ab, hip and back muscles. While sitting there is a lot more pressure on the back than standing. Strengthen your abs, hip and back muscles. Try to reduce the time you spend sitting in a chair. Sit up straight and make sure to sit on A chair that allows you to lean back every once in a while. Press your back against the wall once in a while to get a better understanding of a straight posture. Exercises that strengthen the back include: kettlebells, Alexander system, Yoga, Pilates, Feldenkrais and Primal move.
7 Prolonged sitting Today, about 75 % of the modern world’s workforce, perform their jobs seated.  Prolonged sitting enhances the chances of morbidity also in the cases of people that exercise regularly. People that sit longer than 3 hours straight have a higher chance of suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease, back pains and a higher tendency to gain weight. Avoid sitting longer than 1.5 hours straight. Get up, walk around, stretch yourselves, talk to your co-workers. This will improve your health and your inner office relations. Use stairs more often, park farther away from your office so that you can walk and get your blood flowing after sitting in the car.
8 Lack of exercise The “Rambam” was a very wise scholar who lived 850 years ago. Among his many occupations he was the doctor of the king of Egypt and a healthy lifestyle guide that is relevant to this day. One of his wise sayings was: “As long as you exercise regularly no sickness will come to you and you shall become stronger. Those who sit down and do not exercise, even if they eat healthy, all their lives will be painful and full of tiredness”. He talks about the fact that it is not enough to eat healthy, you must also exercise the body. Exercise regularly in a way that you enjoy. In Krav Maga you can find different aspects of physical fitness – strength training, flexibility, coordination, explosive strength, balance and more. These aspects do not exist in standard sports. Keep exercising in your favorite sports, try to train cardio 4 times each week for at least 30 minutes and strength 3 times for 30 minutes.
9 Lack of drinking water Our body is made up of 60% water. A decrease of 2% of our body weight in water, might damage the concentration, cause dehydration, damage muscles, rise in pulse and other injuries. Most people do not hydrate enough during the day, this habit might cause kidney stones and other kidney injuries in the future. Make sure to drink 2 cups of water after waking up, 1 glass before each meal and between meals. 1 glass before going to sleep, altogether 2 liters during the day. There is no substitute to water, especially sugary drinks!
10 Time management problems Most people do not find the time to exercise, sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, time for themselves and their family. The question is, do we live in a time that we have to much obligations or is this a time management problem? If we do not find the time for a healthy lifestyle this will for sure hurt your quality of life and even shorten it. In order for you to have more time, first you will need to prioritize your life. People usually say that health is the most important thing. Dedicate 5 minutes each morning to plan your day, make your meetings with the most important person in your lives for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Afterwards coordinate your exercises for the day and finish your day no later than 22:30. The key is your hands.
       

 I would suggest that you browse for and find your local Krav Maga Global (KMG) gym and sign up for a life changing experience today, not next Monday ;)

Author: Ran Laskov – part of the KMG Global Instructor Team (GIT), clinical dietitian, fitness instructor, nutritionist and healthy lifestyle lecturer.

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