Being Average  is Not a Sign Of Greatness

I wore a fitness tracker for two years because I wanted to learn more about my own performance. It tracked my sleep, recovery, heart rate, activity, and cardiovascular fitness.

Over time, it estimated that my fitness level was far above average and that my heart was about ten years younger than my biological age.

The result sounded impressive, but it didn’t match how I saw myself. I wasn’t following an extreme routine or building my life around a fitness score. I was training, teaching, eating reasonably well, and living the life I enjoy.

The tracker was measuring my normal life and calling it exceptional.

That made me question the average.

Average Describes Where People Are

An average measures a group. The number changes with the condition of the people inside that group.

When the population becomes less active, a person who moves regularly rises above average without doing anything extraordinary. Basic physical habits begin to produce exceptional rankings.

In 2022, only 22.5 percent of American adults age 25 and older met the federal guidelines for both aerobic activity and muscle strengthening. Those guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week and muscle-strengthening activity on two days. CDC data

Three weekly training sessions can place someone far ahead of much of the population. That person deserves credit for being consistent. The comparison also shows how low the average has become.

The same problem can affect how we judge intelligence, discipline, and personal responsibility. Reading beyond a headline may make someone appear unusually informed. Arriving on time can look impressive in an unreliable environment. Taking responsibility for a mistake may seem rare enough to deserve special recognition.

These are normal behaviors for a capable adult. Their rarity doesn’t make them extraordinary.

We’ve Removed Movement From Daily Life

People used to move because daily life required it. Today, many of us can work, shop, eat, socialize, and entertain ourselves without much physical effort.

We sit while working. We sit while traveling. We return home and sit again. Food arrives at the door, elevators replace stairs, and screens fill the hours that once required movement.

The body adapts to the life we give it. When life demands very little movement, the body becomes better at doing very little.

Then people reach their forties, fifties, and sixties and assume that weakness, poor balance, limited mobility, and low energy are simply the price of getting older. Age affects the body, and physical decline can begin much earlier when the body stops receiving a reason to remain capable.

An old monkey in its natural environment doesn’t spend the day eating processed food on a couch. It continues climbing, reaching, walking, and interacting with its surroundings because its life requires physical ability.

The comparison has limits. Human beings live longer, face different diseases, and have access to medical care that wild animals don’t have. The basic principle still applies. A living body preserves capacity through use.

Our environment allows us to survive with very little movement. Health requires us to make a conscious choice that nature once made for us.

Prepare for the Second Half of Life

Many people begin taking their health seriously after a warning. Their blood pressure rises, their blood sugar becomes a concern, or everyday movement starts causing pain. Exercise becomes a response to a problem that has been developing for years.

Preparation should begin while the body is still capable.

I want to enter the second half of my life strong, mobile, and independent. I want enough endurance to work, travel, train, and remain involved with my children. I want to get off the floor easily, carry what needs to be carried, and recover when I lose my balance.

I also want to reduce my chances of becoming dependent on medication for conditions that my daily choices may help prevent or manage.

Medication is sometimes necessary, and a healthy lifestyle can’t guarantee protection from illness. Genetics, injury, infection, and disease can affect anyone. Regular physical activity still improves the odds of preserving function and reducing the risk of several chronic health conditions.

The goal is to give your future body a better starting position.

Your Body Adapts to What You Ask From It

I see this process every time someone begins martial arts training after years of inactivity.

The first classes reveal what ordinary life allowed them to lose. Their balance is uncertain. Their movement feels disconnected. A short drill raises their heart rate quickly, and getting down to the floor feels easier than getting back up.

The body begins responding as soon as the demands change.

Students learn how to move with another person, strike pads, work from the ground, manage resistance, and continue thinking while tired. Coordination improves because the training requires coordination. Endurance develops because the body has to keep working. Confidence grows from repeated evidence that they can handle more than they expected.

Progress doesn’t require becoming a fighter. It requires consistent exposure to an appropriate challenge.

Martial arts training provides that challenge with a practical purpose. You develop strength, balance, coordination, endurance, timing, and judgment while learning how to protect yourself. The skill gives the physical work meaning, which helps many people remain consistent longer than they would with exercise alone.

Choose a Standard That Serves Your Future

My fitness tracker gave me useful information. It helped me recognize patterns in my sleep, recovery, and performance. It also confirmed that the way I live is supporting my health.

The comparison with the average gave me a warning.

Being above average can become dangerous when it convinces you that you’ve done enough. A low average can make ordinary effort look like excellence while your real potential remains unexplored.

Your standard should come from the life you want to continue living.

Think about what you want your body to do ten or twenty years from now. Consider the work you want to perform, the places you want to visit, and the people you want to remain capable of helping. Then examine whether your current life is preparing you for that future.

Train consistently. Eat in a way that supports your health. Recover properly. Keep giving your body physical problems that require it to adapt.

The average tells you how other people are living. It cannot decide what your body should remain capable of doing.

Do something amazing,

Tsahi Shemesh
Founder & CEO
Krav Maga Experts

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