Health and Wellness in the New Year
Written by: Randy Larson, J.D., LL.M., CFP®
Dear 25 Financial Family,
Happy New Year! At 25 Financial, our Mission is to create More Time and More Money for our clients. But our Vision bigger. It is to help our clients live life to its fullest potential. What is the point of all the time and money in the world if we are not enjoying it? Team 25 is “taking the plunge” into habits that will sustain overall health and happiness. We invite you to join us and make 2024 your best year yet!
We have all heard, “No Pain, No Gain.” But all suffering is not equal. Getting the blood pumping at the gym is painful…but not the same kind of pain caused by obesity and cardiovascular disease. The former is pain with benefits (“redemptive” suffering), whereas the latter is just pain. Engaging in redemptive suffering creates ecosystems of life that produce greater degrees of overall health, happiness and prosperity.
Life is hard. We are all tempted to cope with difficulties with unhealthy life practices…including doing nothing at all. It helps to be in a community that encourages healthy living through redemptive suffering. At 25, our team has been engaging in the following disciplines. We invite you to join us and make 2024 your best year yet!
“The blessing in life is when you find the torture you are comfortable with. That’s marriage, it’s kids, it’s work, it’s exercise. Find the torture you’re comfortable with and you’ll do well. You’ve mastered that, you’ve mastered life.”
– Jerry Seinfeld
Cold Water Immersion (Cold Baths)
“You are crazy!” “Why would you do that to yourself?!” We have heard it all. Nevertheless, we have had a blast swapping stories of our 3-5 minute, daily ice (32-45 degree) baths. Some choose cold showers, others hunker down in tiny $100 Amazon plunge pools, and still others cut holes in the ice at the vacation lake house! I keep my pool open year-round as my instrument of torture…and even plan “plunge parties” with our Winter house guests. Everyone has different thresholds, but the general goal is about 11 minutes per week.
My journey began in 2022 with research to help call my brain’s bluff that I would die of cold (or stupidity!). I then started with 30-second plunges. I have now acclimated to daily 3-5 minute baths. There are lots of benefits from ice bathing, but I particularly love the euphoric feeling afterwards and the laser-focus concentration at work for about 4 hours following (think Bradley Cooper after popping the pill in the movie “Limitless”). I also get deeper sleep, energetically tackle difficult issues with newfound grit, and have developed a “can-do” attitude towards seemingly impossible tasks. I get all of this at the cost of 3 minutes of my day!
Exercise
Jeff (25 Financial Co-Founder) and I began our personal training routines at age 16 and 17, respectively. Since then, we have exercised daily. Our focus is to build muscle mass to help with bone health, posture, etc… and also endurance train at a “Zone 2” (115-140 BPM) heart rate for 3-4 hours/week and 8-12 minutes at Zone 5 (175+ BPM)/week. Our team prioritizes training including using our new 25 building’s full gym or carving out time for a Lifetime Fitness visit when traveling.
I like to train (or ice bathe) in the morning or when I hit the end of my brain cycle late afternoon. My mental and emotional battery recharges after each training session. My brain cycle resets afterwards, giving me another 3-4 hours of deep concentration. I am also more energetic, social, happy and intelligent person after training. I used to think I would not have enough time to train. Now, I don’t think I could survive at this level without training!
Fasting
I began my water fasting journey 20 years ago in Seminary. Over the decades, I have periodically abstained from everything but water from Sunday after dinner to Tuesday morning, using mealtimes to pray. Fasting helps me manage stress, enhance my prayer life, gain clarity on a difficult issue, appreciate food and other blessings that I take for granted and silence my stomach’s incessant demands. I feel refreshed and focused for weeks after a fast.
There are also many medical benefits to a water fast. We invite you to start your year by engaging in a water fast with Team 25. We are fasting between Sunday dinner on January 7th through Wednesday dinner January 10th (3 full days). Fast for as long or short as you desire and let us know how it goes!
Happy New Year from your 25 Family – Here’s to living life to the fullest!
Helpful Links/Sources:
https://www.onepeloton.com/blog/cold-plunge-benefits/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits
