What Inspires You?

Do you love a good true crime story as much as me?  If so, you’ll love the Swindled podcast I was enjoying this weekend. And yes, you’re reading the right newsletter – Mekanix One Percent Better – and I promise this all quickly comes back to fitness in short order.

The latest episode covers a few “bad actor” sheriffs, and one in particular, who latched on to a very peculiar rule. In certain counties, sheriffs are given a budget to feed their prison population with a stipulation that any money left over can be kept by the sheriffs personally. As in… deposited into their personal bank accounts. The policy was no doubt set up to drive smart budget allocation, but I’m sure you can see where this might go awry.
And go awry it did.

The poster child sheriff suddenly was living a lavish lifestyle replete with a beach vacation condo purchase, all miraculously funded on a $50,000/salary. Meanwhile, the prisoners were dropping like flies from malnourishment.

It got me thinking about dangerous incentives – something I see all the time in the fitness world.  Rapid weight loss, unrealistic body physique goals, ego driven workouts, and more. Supposedly “good” incentives can yield the opposite results: bad health, superficial fitness masking miserable health, injuries, and more.

As you think about why you’re training, think about the incentives pulling you along. I think you’ll find the incentives of longevity, health span, or preparing for adventure create a far superior physical + mental health outcome. And you’ll be pleasantly surprised, too, when you also happen to lose bodyfat, boost energy, and look great as well.

1% Better Every Day.

Justin