Has dependence on technology made us weak? (pg xv).
“But barring an urgent need for survival the human body is perfectly content to simply rest and do nothing. Doing things, doing anything, requires a certain amount of energy, and our bodies would rather save up that energy just in case they need it later . . . “ (pg xviii).
“What happens when we think about the body in terms of its preprogrammed responses to the world? In most cases, the strategies that our bodies used to adapt to stress are completely outside of our conscious control. You don’t have to think about sweating when you’re working out. Your body just does it. You breathe harder at altitude when you need more oxygen. Your heart and adrenal glands respond to threats before you even have a chance to think about them - giving you extra power in a moment of need. There is an entire hidden world of human biological responses that lies beyond our conscious minds that is intrinsically linked to the environment” (pg xxix).
“In the last couple hundred years we’ve put all these barriers on ourselves . . . {We’re} like, Oh fuck! It’s cold outside. I’m just going to sit at home and be comfortable. {We} don’t realize that the entire human race has been conditioned to think that the outdoors is dangerous. Or that working out in the cold is lunacy. But guess what? This is something that people have been doing for hundreds of thousands of year. We were made for it” (pg. 153).
Wim Hof is the brainchild and inspiration behind much of what Carney has to say.
There is also a few documentaries on Wim Hof:
He, Scott Carney, also mentions the November Project, a free fitness program dedicated to “Human development and community building through empowering group workouts.”
Grade: C
Reading the Preface and Introduction was sufficient enough for me. Perhaps this idea is better suited as an article with a few links to those he draws inspiration from. Plus, I hate cold water. So there’s that.
For more on . . .