The fact that American’s are fat is not up for debate. The fact that American’s are stupider may illicit somewhat of an argument, but most people can see that is the case. We are also lazier, there seems to be a pattern here.

Western civilization was not only founded on thought, but the Greeks considered the body and its upkeep an integral part of the equation. Contrary to the BMI that your average church may suggest, taking care of ones body (and that doesn’t mean abstaining from stuff, except maybe that doughnut on Sunday morning) is also an important part of the Christian faith. The same with many other world religions. Is it any wonder that the seeming decline of our society can be tied to our bloating waistlines?

At the end of 2005 I was overweight and frankly miserable. I had a decent job, a nice car, a bright future, but I was far from happy, then I made a decision, I was going to work out again. The subsequent events of that decision made 2006 an incredible year, and I firmly believe 2006 would not have been the same had it not been for getting in shape. Before Third Stage would not exist had I not gotten in shape.

When I am sedentary and not active, my music sucks, I am borderline depressed (not the creative kind), generally feel dumber, but am hyper at the same time. Essentially (and this has been proven), when one works out their cardiovascular system, the hormones released into your body are essentially equivalent hormones that equal small doses of Ecstasy, Ritalin and Prozac. That sounds like a very interesting high. Also it has been proven that your brain also reconnects neurons. You get all of this, plus the added blood flow gives your body more oxygen and an oxygen high.

I am not naive enough to say that working out is all peachy because it is often painful and an annoyance, but what if instead of drugging themselves people just hopped on a treadmill? You get the same hormones as drugs, get smarter, and the only real side effect is looking better. That sounds like a good prescription and who knows, maybe we’ll figure some things out with our new toned minds.