Only one part of our being can be fairly gauged: our physical heath. Our other parts—the mental, emotional, or spiritual aspects don’t register on any objective scale. But if we get a handle on that one part, we do gain insight on the others. We can gain this data via our doctor’s assessment of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc. Or, we can do it ourselves, an arguably better way, and supplement our doctor’s results.
However valuable, a patient’s self-assessment has traditionally been the least reliable health resource. New technology has changed that. Smart watches accurately measure walking, running, and even swim lap distances, and can automatically upload results to your computer. Apple’s watch, for example, measures heart rate activity, and is expected to pinpoint certain heart abnormalities in the future.
But there is an even simpler method—sign up for a local bike, walk, or run event. Don’t worry about recording the results yourself—www.Athlinks.com automatically keeps track of most organized events. All you have to do is claim your results, like I do, to see a summary of all your events (see mine here). Then, the fun part begins, challenging oneself to keep bettering your results.
To get started, sign up for either the BCMC Bike Ride (Tuesday) or Walk/Run (Thursday) at www.bcmcshow.com. The annual results of these and other events provide a good indication of your progress over many years (30 years’ worth in my case). Consequently, the results of periodic exams by your doctor are seldom surprising. Now “Just Do It.”