Everyone can enjoy maximum health and peak performance - however, that maximum differs for each person because of their genetics, environment, and lifestyle choices or experiences.

For example:

• Is a wheelchair-bound paraplegic who is competing in his/her chosen sport less healthy than a pro athlete with fully functioning body?

• Is a bodybuilder healthy if he looks like he could move the world, maintains 1% body-fat but got there by abusing steroids and growth hormone (and risks dying from the extreme dieting and fluid loss for competition)?

In order to know how to achieve PEAK HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE you need to know where you stand personally.

So the first step to realizing your own maximum health potential is to assess where you are.

The starting point of this assessment is a trip to your physician. If you haven’t had a full checkup then it’s time for one! We could write a book on how to choose your personal physician,(and we might!), but hopefully you already have an established relationship with your Doc!

Make an appointment and explain that you would like a full history and physical(check-up), that includes a focus on your specific age, sex, genetics, lifestyle, and any other pertinent criteria.

When you get your doctor’s assessment of where you stand you may have some items that need to be addressed from a medical perspective. These are the first goals that need to be incorporated into your peak health performance plan.

Next we recommend that you take a harder look at your genetics. Your doctor should have done that from a disease prevention/ potential standpoint.

You need to spend some time looking at which family member you most resemble:

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

• Do they have a weight problem, specific illnesses at a certain age?

• Do others tell you that you are the spitting image of your father, grandfather, etc.?

Note the answers and understand that they might be in your gene pool too!

The bottom line?

The trip to your doctor was just the first step toward maximum health. If you really want to be healthy you will need to know your fitness level.

This may sound confusing, but back to the wheelchair athlete vs. the bodybuilder: the wheelchair athlete might be healthier than the bodybuilder. If the bodybuilder is on the verge of a heart attack due to his abuse of drugs, he wouldn’t really be considered healthy, even though he might be considered fit for his sport.

Likewise you can be healthy (i.e. clean bill of health from your doctor; conforming to definitions you find in a history and physical) but be unfit/out of shape when administered a basic fitness test.

So, a trip to the local health club gym to see the exercise specialist will be in order. They will assess your fitness levels which usually include your % body-fat, flexibility, strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular conditioning.

From their assessment you should incorporate an exercise program to follow with specific fitness goals. This is a major step toward PEAK HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE!

In addition to getting yourself into top shape (which is definitely a lifestyle choice!), there are other ones to address:

• Are you overweight and need to lose weight i.e. nutrition and exercise

• Do you consume too much alcohol or drugs?

• Do you manage your stress levels successfully?

• Do you engage in unsafe sex?

• Do you eat for peak health and performance (i.e. do you eat to live or live to eat!)

These are equally as important as physical components of health:

• How happy are you?

• Do you have a strong network of family and friends and lover/partner that you connect with?

• Do you deal with frustration, anger, setbacks, etc in a positive manner or could you improve?

• Are you disciplined or do you have procrastination issues?

Peak health studies in health articles usually find that a good portion of healthy individuals have a spiritual connection. This is non-denominational so don’t read anything into it! We aren't up on a mountain chanting every morning,(however if that works for you that's fine!).

Mnay of us, and many health articles, ignore the role that the environment can play a role in our health.

A mistake!

If you are born in a third world county without access to proper nutrition, health care, or worse yet live near a toxic waste dump and drink polluted water everyday of your life, you will definitely be less healthy.

It may seem funny that we include financial health as a part of our peak health and performance overview but if you can’t manage your financial life then it will have a huge impact on your ability to maximize your health and performance. And we don’t mean everyone has to be a multi-millionaire (although we all think that would be great!), but learning to manage our financial life is very important.

So there you have it! Seems a bit over-the-top? Maybe, but it's been our experience that PEAK HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's a dynamic and fluid process, which means it requires your attention and commitment.