Fitness in PhilosophyExplicit

by James Fitzgerald and Robby Gustin

The Fitness in Philosophy podcast is dedicated to discussing the intersection between concepts in philosophy and their connection with fitness. Each episode we talk about a particular philosophical concept like autonomy, knowledge, virtue, or truth and discuss how that idea connects with coaching fitness, participating in fitness as an individual, and fitness culture at large. It's hosted by OPEX Fitness Founder James Fitzgera ...   ...  Read more

Podcast episodes

  • Season 4

  • Social Reality and Fitness-(Episode LX)

    Explicit

    Social Reality and Fitness-(Episode LX)

    Explicit

    Most people would agree that things like rocks, tables, chairs, the sun, and oceans are all real. By real here, we mean something like: these things would exist even if humans didn't exist. But what about social reality? What about things that depend on humanity for their existence and yet have real power and influence? Here are some examples -Money -The presidency of the United States -Laws -The existence of nation states Take money for example. There's no inherent value or meaning to green pieces of paper (at least in the US) outside the meaning and value that humans have made up. And yet, this doesn't mean it's imaginary either. A person with 1000 green pieces of paper with $100 printed on it wields a considerable amount of actual monetary power in the world. Similarly, if humans didn't exist and have societies there would be no such concept or thing as "President of the United States', And yet, even though humans made it up the person holding that office wields a considerable amount of power. In this episode James and Robby discuss social reality and fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions -What is social reality? -Why is it so important to the world we live in today? -How do social reality and physical reality bump up against each other in fitness? -What about things like points and prizes for fitness which don't have any reality outside of a social context? -There's no movement such as "the Russian Kettlebell Swing" outside of human societal conventions and yet there are objective facts about how humans should hinge their hips, etc. Have any thoughts, comments or questions? You can email us at fitnessinphilosophy@gmail.com Want to purchase Fitness in Philosophy T-Shirts? You can purchase them from the following link. https://www.teepublic.com/user/fitness-in-philosophy·

  • Reality and Fitness

    Explicit

    Reality and Fitness

    Explicit

    Reality is one of the central concepts in philosophy. In fact, one of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is, "What is real?". Philosophers are very frequently trying to distinguish appearance from reality. Fitness provides one of the most direct forms of access to the external world/reality in terms of directly sensing the world around us. Fitness can also provide a direct "reality-check" to what we believe to be true about of ourselves in terms of our physical capabilities. That "reality-check" can serve as an inspiration to get better. In this episode James and Robby ask, and attempt to answer the following questions. What is reality? How does reality "hit" or "push back" against what we believe to be true? Is fitness and physical expression one of the best ways of gaining access to reality? What lessons do we learn as people from confronting physical realities like "I can't do a pull-up" or "I can't a mile? Can these be sources of motivation and inspiration? In a world on the brink of augmented and virtual reality encroaching on the fitness world, what does it mean to engage in "real" fitness? Have any thoughts, comments or questions? You can email us at fitnessinphilosophy@gmail.com Want to purchase Fitness in Philosophy T-Shirts? You can purchase them from the following link. https://www.teepublic.com/user/fitness-in-philosophy·

  • Habit and Fitness

    Explicit

    Habit and Fitness

    Explicit

    Habits are central to both philosophy and fitness. As far back as the Ancient Greeks, Aristotle famously said "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle in this particular case is talking about virtue, but the point applies equally well to other parts of life, especially health and fitness. One could argue that habits are the central determining factor in success in health and fitness. Here's an example to illustrate the point. Take two people one of whom grew up in a home based on ancestral principles and habits of sleeping at the right times, eating the right foods, moving their body, etc., but they have no scientific knowledge of nutrition science, exercise physiology, etc. Now, take another person who has all the knowledge in the world about nutrition, exercise physiology, etc., but who did not grow up knowing how to properly move his body, cook food, sleep at the right times. In fact that person grew up with negative habits eating junk food, not moving, sleeping too late, etc. Which person has the better chance of being healthy? Is it even a question? Of course, it's person 1. This example shows just how important habits are for health and fitness. In this episode James and Robby ask and attempt to answer the following questions. -How can health and fitness habits make us better people? -Why are health and fitness habits the most important to cultivate compared to professional or financial habits? -Why is the health and fitness industry obsessed with short term outcomes as opposed to long-term habits? -How are thoughts and feeling related to habits? -Why short cuts don't work when it comes to habits? Have any thoughts, comments or questions? You can email us at fitnessinphilosophy@gmail.com Want to purchase Fitness in Philosophy T-Shirts? You can purchase them from the following link. https://www.teepublic.com/user/fitness-in-philosophy·

  • Ease, Difficulty, and Fitness

    Explicit

    Ease, Difficulty, and Fitness

    Explicit

    Most of our life, technology, and progress is centered around the idea of making life easier. Think about things like Door Dash, sleeping pills, and self-driving cars. But a central question that comes up is: Is an easier life necessarily a better life? It seems that as humans we're hard-wired to need some difficulty, challenge, or struggle to live a full and meaningful life. In this episode James and Robby discuss the extent to which ease and difficulty play a role in fitness and our lives in general. They ask and attempt to answer questions like: -In a world where things have become so "easy" that it's actually "difficult" to lead a healthy life, how do we get back to healthy living? -Even if we wanted to we can't mimic the struggles of the past, so what we should do in the modern world to have some difficulty or challenge? -Should the purpose of fitness be to "rake ourselves over the coals" so to speak on a daily basis with overwhelming challenges? If you like the show, please leave us a review. They really do help. Have any thoughts, comments or questions? You can email us at fitnessinphilosophy@gmail.com Want to purchase Fitness in Philosophy T-Shirts? You can purchase them from the following link. https://www.teepublic.com/user/fitness-in-philosophy·

  • Beauty and Fitness

    Explicit

    Beauty and Fitness

    Explicit

    Beauty in philosophy is considered one of the ultimately values like justice, truth, knowledge, and goodness. One of the central goals of most people in engaging in fitness is to look better, or to cultivate physical beauty. In this episode James and Robby ask and give their answer the following questions What makes beauty worth pursuing? Is beauty just "appearance" that hides a deeper "reality" Is beauty in the eye of the beholder (subjective) or out there in the world? (objective) How does the modern fitness industry influence standards of beauty? How closely are physical fitness, evolution and natural beauty tied to one another? Can obsessive pursuit of (external) beauty via extreme forms of fitness make us (internally) ugly? If you like the show, please leave us a review. They really do help. Have any thoughts, comments or questions? You can email us at fitnessinphilosophy@gmail.com Want to purchase Fitness in Philosophy T-Shirts? You can purchase them from the following link. https://www.teepublic.com/user/fitness-in-philosophy·