The first book I read that opened my eyes to where we have actually come from was ‘The Story of the Human Body’ by Daniel Lieberman.

This book shattered most of the misinformation I had followed on the human body from the mainstream all my life. It’s the book that started my journey to physical freedom.

This book is about evolutionary biology. It starts the journey of the human body all the way from the beginning of humans in Africa 6 million years ago, all the way up to now.

We share 99% of our DNA with chimps if you are unaware. We have a common ancestor.

This books tracks the evolution of the human body the whole way through those 6 million years, and all the adaptations that have happened up to now.

It also shows how most of the biggest issues in the world today are man-made. How our exponential progress was a double-edged sword.

We have conquered the planet and rose to the top of the food chain. But this has also led to the decline of our health and the rise of disease.

After reading this, I could see the whole bigger picture of why I was in chronic pain and the route back to my physical freedom.

Along with many other issues in my life.

The Environment Shapes Us

Reading about evolutionary biology will make you realise the massive impact the environment has on your body and life.

Living in this modern environment that we aren’t adapted for, is what has caused the biggest issues of our times.

One of the crucial points Daniel highlights in the book is that most of the issues of today are ‘mismatch diseases’:

Humans living in an environment they are not adapted for.

The following example always stuck with me:

• In the hunter gatherer days we had an abundance of movement, and very little food
• In modern life we have an abundance of food, and very little movement

It’s the exact opposite of what we were designed for.

And it all becomes clear why the biggest issues of our times are:

• Cardiovascular diseases (the biggest killer in the world)
• Chronic back pain (the biggest chronic pain in the world)
• Anxiety/depression

They didn’t exist back in the hunter gathererer days, they are man-made mismatch diseases.

Before, you might have to run 10km to get your dinner. Now, you open the fridge or get it delivered to your door. Obesity was inevitable.

Before, you would move through full range of motion each day with an active lifestyle. There were no chairs, you sat in your deep squat. Now, we sit all day and barely move outside of maybe 1 designated hour per day (the gym). Chronic pain & injury was inevitable.

Hence diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain & injury are prevalent in our times.

This gave me a lightbulb moment: the environment is shaping our body everyday outside of our awareness.

We only notice years or decades later when we start to feel like the tin man.

This shattered the illusion of the ‘experts’ and their ‘diagnoses’ for me. That it’s too late to regain physical freedom.

I could see how they were only giving me their opinion through a narrow keyhole of expertise. Not taking into account the bigger picture of evolution.

My body isn’t f***ed like I’m led to believe, it’s the environment that changed my body from a baby with physical freedom, to the tin man adult I was.

I was being told change is impossible, but yet I have already changed from physical freedom to tin man through the environment of the western world.

Which means I can change back towards more physical freedom. They are 2 sides of the same coin. If one wasn’t possible, the other wouldn’t be.

The environment is the main problem here, not my body. My body can only adapt to the environment I give it.

If I change my environment, I will change my body.

Lifestyle Change

We have to use the knowledge of how crucial the environment is to our body.

We have to factor this into our life.

This lifestyle change will be the most important factor for you to regain physical freedom for the rest of your life.

1) Brush Your Joints

The analogy I use with client to teach them this point is “brush your joints just like your teeth”.

You brush your teeth twice a day without fail, but do nothing for your body, why?

Would you rather:

• have white teeth at 50 but have a crippled body in a wheelchair?
• have physical freedom at 50 but have dentures?

Every single person I have asked says physical freedom.

That is what they say, but their ACTIONS are leading them down the other path. Your actions show your priorities in life, not your words.

This analogy highlights the fact that they have the proactive lifestyle change in place for their teeth, but not for their body.

When I was first explained this by a coach around the time I read this book, it blew my mind. Everything started finally making sense.

All the time I had spent looking for the fix, the answers. And the truth was such a simple one all along. One that when you hear it, you don’t understand how you never realised it before.

This lifestyle change is the first crucial pillar to regaining your physical freedom long term.

I teach clients how to incorporate this proactive approach for their bodies going forward, just like they do for their teeth.

Because I don’t just want to help clients overcome chronic pain & injury and have them fall back into it again when they leave.

I am here to empower clients to keep their physical freedom going forward for life.

When you understand this lifestyle change pillar, you can see why you are always on the roundabout of injuries & average progress.

The mainstream route is all a reactive approach, not proactive. So you will keep going back to them forever without getting the results you want.

Like a person who is confused by his teeth going black & falling out when he never brushes them. Even though he goes to his regular dentist appointment.

2) Determine Your Priorities

Now that I have brought this into your awareness, you have to decide your own priorities in life.

If you value your teeth more than your body, keep going as you are.

If you value your teeth more (or atleast) as much as you value your teeth, start prioritising them too.

Otherwise you are living a lie. You are saying you prioritise your body, but you aren’t. Aspirations not backed up by actions are where regret comes from.

As Musashi says: “Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. You can bend to it’s power or live a lie”.

After facing this harsh truth, I started taking a proactive approach with my body 6 years ago.

I brush my joints each morning just like I brush my teeth, still to this day.

I don’t think about it. It’s just part of my life now.

If you want long term success in any part of your life, you make the crucial task part of who you are, not something you ‘do’.

I’m a person who values my physical freedom highly. So I look after my body each day. Period.

You have to make your choice.

3) Daily Movements

If you choose to prioritise your body by brushing your joints daily, there are many ways to incorporate this into your life.

For each client, I split their program up into:

• Daily movements (5 mins daily)
• Harder exercises (30-60 mins x 3 times per week)

The daily movements are there to build this proactive lifestyle change into their routines.

After working with hundreds of clients & getting testimonials that could make me look like a guru, do you want the truth on what clients usually tell me helped them the most?

The daily movements. The proactive approach of looking after their body.

The height of cultivation runs through simplicity, to quote Bruce Lee. A man who knew a thing or two about getting results.

If you want to stick with something, you need to make it as easy & effective as possible.

Like I tell clients on the consultation call before signing up: if you can’t prioritise atleast 5 mins a day for the only body you will ever have, then I can’t help you.

A harsh truth.

But the other side of harsh truths is the progress you want but couldn’t get before.

Change Your Environment, Change Your Body

Your body isn’t f***ed.

Your athletic pursuits aren’t over.

This isn’t how your story has to end.

If you change the environment you give your body each day, your body will start to change.

This is not my opinion, this is science. This is mother nature.

This is a fundamental law of nature that us humans can’t skip.

Adam & Frances are 2 clients from the Physical Freedom Program who come to mind for this topic.

You can see them specifically say how much the lifestyle change/daily movements helped them regain physical freedom.

Look past the big picture transformation to the process behind it. There is nothing special about it, they just followed an effective process.

Address this pivotal lifestyle change, or become part of the statistic suffering from the mismatch disease of chronic pain & injury.

Focus on the process & the outcome takes care of itself.

You have a lot more control than you are led to believe.

Don’t Settle,
Mark

The 3 ways I can help you:

1) Physical Freedom Program:

• My 1:1 coaching program on how to overcome chronic pain & injury, and reach your athletic potential
• I have worked with 100s of clients, across 37 different sports/activities, over 3 separate continents. Covering injuries to all joints in the human body
• Join those not settling for their movement limitations here

2) Mental Freedom Course

• My self-awareness course that teaches you how to stop looping & suffering, and skillfully navigate your own mind
• Most people are a slave to their subconscious, constantly playing out the same undesirable patterns in their life
• Here you will understand why you are the way you are, and how to break free to become who you always wanted to be

3) Lifestyle Design University

• From must €49, you can have the blueprint to design the life true to yourself
• You will learn how to create a vision, how to use my self-development system, and how to move the levers to freedom which close the gap towards the life you want
• Now you will avoid the biggest regret of humanity in the process: “not living a life true to myself, living the life others expected of me”