It should be no surprise that after the worldwide advent of Global Fast Fit a year and a half ago that Kenyans have no less than dominated. They’ve ranked highest in multiple metrics, which would include but most certainly aren’t limited to adoption, participation in events, fastest time in multiple categories, and much much more.

Kenyans are expected to hold the majority of Global Fast Fit records. Just based off the infographic above considering that out of the 29 countries, and 6,335 participants worldwide, Kenyans hold a staggering 46.2% of participation. Indonesia comes in 2nd with 26.2% and India is 3rd with 18.3%.

Let’s look at the top three performers of the Global Fast Fit Standard routine. We’ve divided the categories to see the top three overall, top women, top men above 50, and top women above 50:

The standard routine is much more accessible in that it only requires half the effort and exertion than that of the pro routine, but you can see that Kenyans under 50 have taken every spot for top three. What about the pro routine?

We can observe less parity in international distribution for the pro routine, but Kenyans still have excellent overall representation, especially when we consider increasing the list sizes to top ten or top fifteen.

But why do Kenyans have so much stake when it comes to athletic events? We had mentioned their dominance in long-distance running competitions in a previous post, but we’re seeing the same level of intensity toward Global Fast Fit.

Performers in any of the Global Fast Fit routines can attest that the running aspect of it is the most considerable factor in achieving a better score. Going too fast on the bodyweight exercises (pushups, plank leg lifts, bodyweight squats) lead to a high percentage risk of disqualification for poor form.

This would make the Global Fast Fit routines more favorable for athletes that are strong runners.

A study by Randall L. Wilber and Yannis P. Pitsiladis asked the same thing when it came to the naturally gifted long-distance running of Kenyan (and Ethiopian) athletes. They listed eight factors as markers for high athletic achievement.

1. Genetic Predisposition

East African genetics allow for higher performance, particularly when it comes to long-distance running.

2. High Maximal Oxygen Intake through Early Age Conditioning

Environmental factors in East Africa condition children to accustom themselves to movement over longer distances through walking or running. This increases their maximal oxygen intake at an early age which lends into adulthood.

3. Higher Hematocrit and Hemoglobin

This indicates the East African body’s ability to more efficiently carry and distribute oxygen throughout the body.

4. Body Type and Composition as well as Lower Limb Structure

The typical East African athletic build tends to be composed of a thinner frame with longer legs. This allows for the body to expend less energy while running and also carry less mass while moving.

5. Favorable Skeletal-Muscle-Fiber Composition

East African muscle fiber compositions tend to be that of slow-twitch fibers which are characterized with having higher oxidative enzymes. This is integral to having an increased aerobic exercise capacity.

6. Diet

A lack of processed foods, starches in every meal, balanced portions, and fresh fruit consumption lend to a diet favorable for runners.

7. Altitude

Some East Africans live and train at a higher altitude. This allows them to be more accustomed to areas where oxygen levels are lower. The body will adapt to areas with lower oxygen by increasing red blood cell production leading to more efficient oxygen distribution and usage.

8. Motivational Factors toward Economic Success

For some, achieving athletic success at the highest level is not only a great honor, but a gateway to a much better standard of living. Being able to compete athletically at an international level allows for greater recognition, and all the rewards that come with it.

Kenyans continue to dominate in Global Fast Fit, and we’re sure they’ll do so for the foreseeable future. Due to their resounding success, we grow more and more intrigued in the utility of the standard, pro, and shuttle routines as a universal fitness benchmark. With all of the aforementioned markers being potential contributors to Kenyan athletic success, and the Global Fast Fit routine’s capability of measuring overall fitness, we strongly believe the combination of the two is in order.

By the end of 2025, we believe we will eventually be able to utilize the Global Fast Fit routines to find the fittest Kenyan living within Kenya.

The last post was about Winsim GFF Club, what it represented in Nakuru County, and how it emanated and propagated a winning culture and mentality into its community. We also introduced Simon “Kasisi” Ndung’u Mucheru, a no-nonsense man of purpose who has rehabilitated from ORIF (Open Reduction and Internal Fixation) surgery after a harrowing encounter with a raging bull. If you’ve missed it then be sure to give it a read as both Winsim and Kasisi are pillars of the Nakuru community.

Also mentioned in that post is the importance of how Global Fast Fit develops and improves communities starting at a grassroots level. The complexities and nuances of the average day to day life can understandably make it easy to overlook the necessities of maintaining good health. However, being active and healthy (better yet, ‘actively healthy’) to avoid lifestyle disease is a message we intend to hammer home. True understanding of the most minute of personal health issues need to come from the local level, and we can’t go global unless we start local first.

With that being said, as most problems tend to start small, so do most solutions. Winsim GFF Club, with Kasisi heading it is a fantastic start at improving Nakuru County, but how can it be scaled? That’s where the Nomads come in.

The GFF Nomads are a group of young Kenyan fitness coaches that have a passion for being actively healthy, and are taking that passion to the other gyms in Nakuru. What began as a beacon and haven for good health at Winsim, is now a journey and adventure with the Nomads. But who exactly are these Nomads, and why are they the ones to bring active health to Nakuru?

 

Leading the Nomads is Meshack “Metro” Simiyu, a table tennis player who competes at a national level. Being able to compete at such a high level in any physical activity is indicative of the amount of time and work that comes with perfecting a craft. Metro knows this intimately. He understands the stakes, and that’s why he heads this young group in their quest to empower the community of Nakuru. You can see him sitting second from the right in the front row, wearing the white GFF Kenya t-shirt (get in touch to find out where you can get yours).

Simon “Kasisi” Ndung’u Mucheru, (who you can see furthest to the left in the red GFF t-shirt) you should already be familiar with. He owns and heads the Winsim GFF Club and has taken his ideals of fitness with a purpose out on a road tour with the Nomads. Kasisi is a practical man of faith. The body is a temple, and exercise is a sacrament. His faith was tested when a raging bull’s act of aggression shattered his hip, but with time and conviction he has overcome what for some would be impossible odds. Kasisi is now a Nomad and is a walking display of resilient faith.

Moving toward the right of Kasisi in the back row wearing the dark gray shirt is none other than Kelvin “Rookie” Kairu. His nickname must be an inside joke because he certainly isn’t a rookie in the Global Fast Fit world. Rookie was one of the original members to hold the GFF Men’s World Record back when the pro routine was the standard variation. He’s been around since the early days of Global Fast Fit, and as a GFF Ambassador, has contributed to many of the community projects since their inception. So make no mistake, Rookie is anything but…well, a rookie.

In front of Rookie in the red t-shirt is a man of few words. John “Johnny” Nderitu doesn’t need to say much. Johnny is an accomplished athlete which is easily indicated by his love for swimming, and ridiculously fast Global Fast Fit standard routine time (1:07?!). He’s a common sight on the various treks and hikes that the Kenyan teams take, as Johnny also enjoys a good adventure. His stoic nature adds to the team’s aura and mystique; while Johnny is a man of few words, his actions do plenty of talking.

Behind Metro, to the right in the back row is Simon “Instructor” Muchiri. Instructor is aptly named due to his belief in exercise being the solution for all of life’s problems. He is also one of the masterminds towards Nomad PR, making sure that gyms know of their presence, and eventually, their arrival. Instructor covers the team’s strategic decisions and ensures only smooth operations for the constant travel of this group of trainers.

Furthest right is another former GFF Men’s World Champion, Clinton “CK” Kavai. CK held the record only until recently, but his 1:03 run of the GFF standard routine will stand the test of time. One of the purest athletes of the group, CK exhibits some of the most fluid form and running movement which he has come to be known for. He’s got incredible upside when it comes to the world of athletics and if you’re following the Nomads, a reason to watch would just to see CK meet his potential.

There’s one more Nomad from the original group that isn’t being shown in the above photo…

 

…so he gets a feature photo all to himself!

Andrew “Zugu” Muchiri is the one documenting the story of the Nomads. Every still and moving media of the Nomads is coming from Zugu. One could argue that Zugu’s work might just be one of the most important coming out of the entire team. Great stories need telling, and that’s precisely what is being done. Every drop of sweat, every exerted effort, is being captured and shown to any who would follow the prodigious Nomads in their journey. Also don’t sleep on Zugu as an athlete, especially when he has a GFF Standard score of 1:28!

So these seven fitness devotees make up the nucleus of the GFF Nomads. And still, you may wonder, what makes the Nomads so special? Surely, trainers that are brought up in the world of health and fitness are expected to dedicate themselves to keeping people in shape? This brings us back to the core message of Global Fast Fit. Getting in shape, becoming healthier, building communities is a choice. While you are not obligated to do so, doing these things makes the world a better place. Each and every one of the Nomads have made this choice. Take their background/career-paths as testament:

Metro: English and Literature

Kasisi: Water Technician

Rookie: Former Rugby Player

Johnny: Automotive Engineer

Instructor: Procurement and Logistics Officer

CK: Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Zugu: Business Management

The Nomads have chosen to create a better life for everyone around them. It doesn’t take a formal education in kinesiology, physical therapy, exercise science, etc. to encourage and influence others to be better. It might need a bit of sweat, probably a lot of time, maybe a few intangibles to overcome, but it starts with a choice.

The Nomads and Global Fast Fit are proud to help you make that choice.

First Nakuru, then Kenya, then the World

Today, we bring to your attention the house “Where Warriors Reside”, a gym dedicated toward the values of Global Fast Fit. This place of fitness could be nowhere else other than Winsim GFF Club, located in Nakuru, Kenya.

Kenya is already world famous for its athletes, in particular their long distance runners. Arguably the greatest marathon runner of all time, Eliud Kipchoge, is from Kenya. Other names such as Paul Tergat, Hellen Obiri, Faith Kipyegon come to mind, not to mention the many budding stars rising from the Kenyan ranks.

There’s plenty of buzz and recognition of Kenyans on a global stage, but what goes on at the community level? Despite the name, Global Fast Fit also places extra emphasis and optics on a community perspective. How better to develop individual health & wellness than to target where it all starts?

That’s where the Winsim GFF Club comes in. A gym located in the county of Nakuru, Kenya, just northwest on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Winsim instills a no-frills, no-excuses attitude for its goers.

 

 

You can envision the exercise culture emanating from this fitness studio. Getting healthy isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Pretty much everything you need is here, and it’s all you really need to get yourself in working shape. The athletes that come out of Winsim aren’t just people who train hard, but they train with a purpose.

There’s a reason for the cultural atmosphere of Winsim GFF Club. Look no further than the proprietor of this fitness studio, Simon Ndung’u, more famously known as Kasisi. Kasisi himself is both a physical outlier and anomaly. See for yourself:

 

 

This is the physique of someone who has had ORIF (Open Reduction and Internal Fixation) surgery. That’s when doctors need to realign and fix broken bones through the use of metal plates and screws. It’s quite the feat to be able to bounce back from such a major surgery, but why did Kasisi even need to get ORIF surgery in the first place? He had an aggressive encounter with a raging bull.

Stakes are high, not just in Kenyan communities, but all communities. Staying healthy means continuing to provide for oneself, or one’s family. It means being less of a burden on society throughout the course of your life. For a lot of Kenyan athletes, it could mean a path to the Olympics, or several other high-profile competitions.

So we celebrate Winsim GFF Club and its owner Kasisi, for introducing that culture of purpose to the community of Nakuru. There’s an excellent reason why they were just recently judged as the GOAT gym in a competition with other fitness centers in the region. It’s because this is a gym where exercising has a purpose and that purpose is to win, whether it be in health, in competition, or in life.

The Well-Oiled Automaton

Our bodies are absolutely wondrous in every way. Within them are millions of individual cogs that are constantly working and turning to make us the complete living, breathing machines that we are. But what happens when a few of those cogs stop turning? It's nothing too serious, fortunately there are other cogs that can turn harder and faster to pick up the slack, but then what happens when it's no longer a few cogs, but many of them?

The above scenario is a very basic and simple way of explaining what dysautonomia essentially causes. What exactly is dysautonomia, and who of us has this issue? 

While you're busy living your life, there are an endless amount of automated processes that your body is conducting that make that living possible. The normal human body knows how much air to take in, how much energy is needed for optimal function, how much waste to secrete, what living and non-living cells it needs to drive out and exterminate, and so on. Because these processes are automated, you won't pay much notice to them because they come effortlessly and naturally. You still probably won't pay too much mind when a few of those functions aren't as efficient as they used to be. They're just issues that begin showing up with age, right?

You'll definitely take notice when those functions no longer operate as intended.

Dysautonomia, and why We've Never Heard of it

Why isn't dysautonomia a more common term in the lay person's medical lexicon? The rarity of very severe cases such as my own is part of the reason, some people can have versions of it that don't impair their day to day life, and really does come off as just issues with getting older.

The other reason we don't hear of dysautonomia is the difficulty in treating it when it gets as severe as it does.

A Frustrating Scenario

Dysautonomia is incredibly difficult to diagnose because conventional medicine dictates that there needs to be hard evidence of bodily dysfunction based off of readings and tests taken at a hospital by a medical specialist. As an example, someone that has frequent and urgent urination of a dark color might be sent to a nephrologist for examination. The nephrologist might take a blood and urine sample and could end up finding elevated creatinine levels within the urine, or perhaps lower blood urea nitrogen. This would potentially indicate kidney, or even possibly liver issues. Despite treatment, and even improved numbers, the problem still persists or possibly even worsens. Maybe the issue is the bladder, so a urinary ultrasound is taken, but no structural problems are detected. The specialist then may refer a different medical department or suggest a wait and see approach seeing as the readings don't indicate a serious issue.

As you're waiting for answers, a few other things begin to go wrong. Along with the urological issues come respiratory issues. Now it takes more effort to take in a full breath of air. A visit to the pulmonologist doesn't reveal anything concrete. General malaise begins to set in as more and more things go wrong little by little over time.

The above scenario represents the dysautonomia conundrum. Something is seriously wrong, but the tests and readings tend to not indicate any immediate solutions. 

The problem here is a functional issue as opposed to a structural one. 

Structure vs. Function

Structural issues are straightforward, you can determine a problem through a set of readings, then there are solutions to that problem due to the many years of medical science, history, and practice that have gone into solving it. For example, if there's a problem with your lungs then an x-ray, or a tissue sample, etc. may reveal the problem and then there would be a following set of steps in accordance to deal with it.

Functional issues differ because the structure of an organ or system is intact enough that readings and tests appear normal, but somehow they no longer operate optimally or normally. Sometimes a structural problem is found, but resolving it may partially alleviate the dysfunction, or maybe it won't at all. 

Why is there an issue? It all happens to do with the body's ability to communicate with the brain and vice-versa. The problem isn't with an organ, or system itself, but rather with the messaging between it and the brain. Once this connection is severed, the part of the body effected by this severance no longer understands the correct way to function.

A common example that can be found with many people that suffer from severe dysautonomia would be the workings of the bladder. The body understands to release the waste contents of the bladder when it's full. It knows when to do it, and you know when it very much requires you to do so. An urge to let out those fluids builds up as the bladder fills, and then there's great urgency to release it when it's completely full in order to make room for more waste. If the connection between the bladder and the brain is severed, then it may no longer understand when is the appropriate time to release all fluids. The bladder might give the sense of urgency to release it at half capacity, or a quarter capacity.

If it's bad enough, it might feel the need to release fluids the moment water enters your body.

I've gone through the above scenario. It's not pleasant to be dehydrated all the time no matter how much water you drink, nor was it fun to lose 5kg (more than 10 lbs.) in a day of water weight. You can also get an idea on how this might affect the day to day life considering that plans have to be made on how to drink fluids, and the proximity you have to be from a restroom at all times.

Who Deals with an Indiscernible Issue?

The primary option for someone suffering from dysautonomia is to visit a functional specialist.

Functional specialists are forced to look at the body as a whole, with all of the aforementioned millions of cogs all turning and working together to keep the human machine running. In order to understand and figure out what's possibly causing the dysfunction, the functional specialist will have to observe the same things a normal medical specialist would such as dietary, and lifestyle habits, but the analysis to treat these issues differ. While they may observe an organ system for clues, they're main goal is to find out the root cause of what's causing the severance in the body's ability to communicate with the brain. 

What gives? How does this get dealt with?

In my last post, I announced I'd be revisiting digestive issues and their effects on the human body. Why is a dysautonomia post following it?

While I wish I could give a one size fits all cause for dysautonomia, I can't. The same way that regular medical specialists are unable to, since the source may come from a single problem, or possibly a multitude of them.

However, seeing as my posts tend to deal with the digestive system, I can offer that a common occurrence of these autonomic issues starts in your stomach and works its way from there. Malnutrition and malabsorption of your dietary intake is an easy way for the bodily autonomic functions to begin misfiring over time. Also consider the connection that your gut has with the rest of the body. Your immune system is located there, so is the vagus nerve, which pretty much acts as the information superhighway for all of the signals going to and coming from the brain. People with extended gut problems can easily find themselves in a dire situation once the vagus nerve becomes damaged.

Closing Words

I know there are people out there that are dealing with severe dysautonomia, believe me, I know how bad it can get. If any of you suffering through it happen to stumble upon this blog, just know there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. It gets better the moment you find whatever's causing that severance of communication between your body and your brain and deal with it. I've been working on healing through it for four months since the writing of this blog post, and I can definitely say things are moving in the right direction. It's not anywhere close to being fully healed, but at least it's manageable now. There's definitely hope that someday I could one day going back to living a normal life again, and that hope definitely wasn't there before the start of 2025.

For those who want to make sure that dysautonomia never rears its ugly head then eat right and exercise. It's cliche` and said to death but for good reason.

Anyone who has taken the time to read my past blog posts has gotten some insight on how my severe gastroinstestinal (GI) issues were affecting me both in the past and at the time of the writing of those posts. It's been years of worsening cognitive issues, ability loss, erratic blood pressure, vision and hearing loss, trips to the bathroom every fifteen minutes due to a loose bladder, disassociation, and much much more. 

If you've seen my more recent blog posts, then you can see that I've managed to not only stop the symptoms from worsening, but potentially get a chance to reverse them as well. This didn't happen from a regular visit to a hospital. I've seen my fair share of specialists, but conventional treatment and medicine dictate that there needs to be a structural problem for a solid diagnosis. If your readings, x-ray, MRI results come out fine, then there isn't much that can be done, no matter how you feel.

I've decided to revisit this series of posts about GI health, but from a different perspective this time. This is now coming from someone, after years of searching and fighting for having a normal life again, may have finally come across what they were looking for. 

What is the soul? The answers to that question seem to vary depending on what time period or culture you derive it from.

Varying Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain sources refer to the soul through the term आत्मन् (Ātman), which can translate to breath, or essence. While the three beliefs have very different perspectives on the nature of Ātman, there is a collective agreement that the soul refers to a sense of self, or being. That the distinction of Ātman requires a form of sentience, where the ability to think and feel are determinant of having Ātman. Another aspect of Ātman (at least from a Theravadan Buddhist perspective) is that it is ever changing, flowing, and ultimately impermanent.

Ancient Greek philosophers of the 5th or 6th century seemed to equate the soul with presence. The soul was referenced through the word έμψυχος (émpsukhos), meaning "animated" or in other words, having life or being alive. There is some irony in the word émpsukhos and it's translation of being animated, as early Greek philosophers like Thales would postulate that inanimate objects capable of animate action (like magnets causing objects to move) could be considered alive, and therefore have a soul.

Christian theology seems to reference the soul in many ways and make clear distinction that it is separate from the spirit, the heart, the mind, and body, but at the same time is in some form or way connected with them all. That it is our permanent material representation and being as we are alive, and our permanent immaterial representation after we depart.

Modern scientific scholars seem to have a different opinion altogether. Freud referred to the soul as the psyche, and how it regulated both our conscious and unconscious thought. Neil Degrasse Tyson stated in one of his interviews that the soul itself didn't exist, and that our sense of being is derived from the neurosynapses of our brain.

Where am I going with this? The title of this blog post is a follow-up to my previous post (https://www.globalfastfit.com/post/in-search-of-self) in which I reference the search for self as a retrieval of one's soul. That the ailments that come from what I now know as dysautonomia (https://thedysautonomiaproject.org/dysautonomia/), strip its bearer of that sense of self through a mental process called dissociation.

The medical help I've received and the lifestyle changes I've made have allowed me to regain some of my working and long-term memory back. More information can be processed with each passing day, and some day to day activities that were once difficult e.g. reading, writing, driving, etc. are now beginning to shift back to normal.  

And yet still, one does wonder if the end of this journey to recovery is enough for the solace I seek. Does it return to a point where I can become who I once was? Will I be the same person who enjoyed the things that I did, or are those lost forever? Are they lost because of the illness itself, or the journey it put me through? Is that journey just an aspect of Ātman? Or should I just be thankful that my existence has émpsukhos. Do I have to wait until I depart to get my answer? Or is there nothing in the end, but neurosynapses that just may or may not function effectively again?

One does wonder.

I've been purposely silent for the past few months. Mainly because my past blog posts have painted a rather bleak outlook on a progressively worsening condition affecting my ability to live a normal life. I had decided that one of two things would eventually happen:

My condition would deteriorate to the point that I'd no longer be able to put up a coherent blog post, or I'd finally be able to turn things around and at last will be able to write about having a newfound lease on life. 

I am most fortunate and pleased to say that I'm writing this blog post because I've managed to achieve the latter of that statement.

On January 14th of this year, I visited a functional specialist. It was the first time I had seen a doctor since having my appendix removed after it burst at the beginning of last year. It had become incredibly tiring having a plethora of what many practitioners considered symptoms of potentially debilitating syndromes and diseases only for them to find nothing. I no longer found seeing doctors to be a prudent use of my time and money, and I received no peace of mind from those visits. The change of heart of seeking medical attention while trying something much less conventional proved to have a far more fruitful outcome.

Functional specialists differ from traditional medical practitioners by observing how the body operates as a whole in order to find the potential causes for chronic diseases. After going through my medical history and observing the different reported symptoms I've dealt with, it became immediately clear to him that I had developed a severe form of dysautonomia. Dysautonomia can refer to a variety of different disorders that are related to the nervous system that deal with the autonomic processes within the body. These are the processes that the body can normally regulate on its own, but when there are issues with the central nervous system, the organs connected through it can no longer communicate to the brain.

As you can imagine, everything is connected via your central nervous system, and everything is managed and communicated to/from the brain. Things such as breathing, having to use the restroom, food digestion, temperature control, and much much more. It can be difficult to diagnose by traditional medical practitioners who are fixated and taught to observe structural integrity as opposed to functional integrity.

Since January 14th, after learning about dysautonomia and how to manage it, I've seen my condition improve considerably. While I'm still very far from an ideal stage of recovery, I am absolutely recovering and am far ahead from where I was pre-treatment/lifestyle changes.

I'll be updating again soon if this trend continues. Hope you're all taking care of yourselves and treating your bodies with the respect it deserves!

My last blog post covered some of the very serious digestive system issues that I deal with and how they not only affect my physical health, but also my cognitive and executive function as well. These issues developed over time, and they weren't always this serious. They began as lapses that I started having a decade ago, small things such as withdrawing money from an ATM machine, and then standing there wondering when it would return my debit card. After assuming that my card was swallowed, I resorted to calling the bank to cancel my card and was left wondering how their machinery could malfunction in such a way. It came to my surprise that it wasn't the ATM machine that had malfunctioned, but it was my ability to form new short-term memories. The card was already in my wallet and had been there the entire time.

The reaction I had at that very moment was extremely similar to that of drinking to the point of being black out drunk, it's not the case of being knocked out and forgetting what happened, it's the brain no longer 'recording' what's going on.

While these incidents were seemingly isolated at first, they began to increase in frequency and variety. I made the cardinal sin of believing this to be related to work, or worse yet, believing that it was related to age so I put it off. It couldn't possibly get worse, right?

Just over five years ago, I was walking down a street that I lived on for almost a decade. I know the street intimately, where absolutely anything and everything is. I knew the various stalls, the different vendors, the numerous office workers going up and down the sidewalk, the shoe cobbler sitting alongside the road, the scabby stray dogs and cats, etc. What was meant to be a typical routine stroll ended up becoming a walk down amnesia lane. I was no longer in a place I recognized, but something was still telling me that I should be capable of recognizing it.

Having had a grandmother who had Alzheimer's, I knew well enough to quickly duck into the nearest restaurant, order something to eat, and ask for a pen and paper. I made an extremely pathetic attempt to draw a clock which proved to be wholly unsuccessful.

Why are people that have reduced cognitive ability asked to draw a clock? It's due to the amount of detail and intricacies that are involved on a clock's face. If you were asked to draw a clock that showed the time being half past one then you'd need to first draw the face, place the numerals for the hours, line out the minutes, and correctly draw where the short and long hand point. When cognitive function becomes impacted, something that would seem like a simple task becomes needlessly complicated.

That was when I knew something was seriously wrong, and it was the start of what would become an endless amount of hospital visits where misdiagnoses and incorrect medication made the problem far worse (not to mention my own stubbornness in sticking to the right lifestyle changes, but that's another blog post entirely).

So that was essentially my biggest scare, and the most indicative event that told me something was seriously wrong. I'd taken for granted being healthy all my life, and my hubris and obstinance guaranteed that those issues weren't going away anytime soon. There were other events after this that shot up my health anxiety, such as having a dinner meeting and having no idea where I was and who was around me, seeing shapes, lights, movement, that were never there (I got so used to it at some point that it stopped bothering me), and so on.

Also if you must know, I drew the 1 where the 12 should've been for the clock test that day.

As I've gotten older I've become more and more fascinated by the concept of the soul. In theology, the soul tends to be immaterial, and immortal; an essence of ourselves that represent our individuality and is a piece of our being that extends beyond the body it's housed in. The reason for this fascination has been a culmination of struggle and loss, and what is hopefully not a futile way to come to terms with what's gone.

It's been nearly a decade long battle with my gut issues, admittedly prolonged and worsened by a very steadfast stubbornness against making the right consistent lifestyle changes to combat it.

I've taken a brief hiatus from Global Fast Fit in order to focus on dealing with these issues. I can't represent a global health initiative when I'm teetering on the precipice of ego death and potentially worse.

I've made a few blog posts already on how a broken digestive system can affect your overall well-being, but here's a few personal examples of some of the things I've already dealt with when a flare up occurs:

• Having no working or short-term memory; I'll be told or will see something and have zero idea about it five seconds later (Was I just imagining things?)
• Long-term memory erasure, there end up being these strange gaps in my own personal history, not to mention a deficit in the amount of information I can remember (Who was I? Who am I?)
• Losing the ability to speak, listen, read, write coherently, no longer being able to mentally perform simple mathematics, this one is probably the most common amongst people with digestive issues and is easily the most destructive when it comes to leading any kind of social life (All of you are talking and yet I have no idea what any of you are saying and how to respond to it.)
• Total loss of executive function; everything's connected, but the why's and how's of anything are no longer there (Autopilot is on, I do these things because something is telling me to, but I don't know why.)
• Loss of reaction speed/reflexes, this has unfortunately made it incredibly dangerous to drive, especially when I'm with someone or if I have the radio on; it's also near impossible to multitask 
• Perception and cognizance loss, a good example of this is if I want to do pull-ups and need to jump to grab the bar; I can no longer judge or gauge the distance that I need to jump to reach it
• Disassociation and disinterest, things once enjoyable are now completely mundane; humor begins to fade, sadly, anger and frustration does not (Was I really actually interested in this before?)
  

It's a longer list, but I don't care to continue it. I don't wish to give any more care or power to something that should've been gone years ago.

There have been some extremes and some outright scares throughout the years, but overall it's beginning to improve. The start of 2024 was awful, but there had been some significant progress as it came to a close. Some of my working memory began to return at the end of November, and I've also begun to find entertainment in books again, which is fairly difficult when you can't immerse yourself into the world you're reading about. This is absolutely reversible, but to what extent, I don't know yet.

The blog posts I'll be making moving forward will detail the progress (or regression) I've made in dealing with these issues along with the methodology in that progression/regression.

So here's to 2025, the year I reach the point where I never need to deal with this again. The year I get my soul back.

A study in a Lancet Rheumatology journal revealed that in 2020 over 619 million people suffered from lower back pain and that by 2050 we can expect to see that number increase to 843 million. What's causing so many people around the world to experience it?

There are a lot of varying causes that can lead to lower back pain. Some of the extreme cases for it can come from an issue with an internal organ like a kidney infection, worse yet it could be a tumor, or cancer. Other issues from it may result from a natural irregularity such as scoliosis, or an injury like a herniated or ruptured disk. However, while more than 7.5% of the world's population can't all be suffering only from organ damage, or severe injury. What else is causing so many people to have it? Why is it so prevalent?

Is it psychosomatic? Are people just imagining that they have back pain? While it's possible that there are cases for people to have phantom pain it's likely going to be an outlier toward the extreme minority. The reason for this is due to how easy it is to actually have lower back pain. So let's look at some of the more common causes of it.

We're now living in an era where it's easier to encounter someone who is either overweight/obese, living a sedentary lifestyle, or is constantly in a seated position whether that be due to work or the aforementioned sedentary lifestyle. Many of these factors can lead to lower back pain because of the imbalances that they cause, such as having excess bulk putting too much weight on the spine, inactivity leading to muscle weakness, poor posture causing misalignment, etc.

Another issue is the lack of awareness of how these habits lead to lower back pain. For instance, someone who is living a sedentary lifestyle may not have the understanding that their underutilized muscles is causing their back pain. Worse yet, they may not have access to someone who is capable of diagnosing and dealing with these problems. Issues from all over the body can lead to lower back pain, hence the title of this post. Maybe the hip flexors are weak, maybe their range of motion is poor, perhaps the groin is tight? Even if you fix these issues, it isn't guaranteed that the problems end with them because the issues don't even need to be near your back for there to be pain. Maybe ankle mobility is poor leading to muscular compensation and imbalances that end up leading to lower back pain, or maybe it's somewhere in the upper body such as the scapula no longer being utilized, also causing imbalances that again end up leading to lower back pain.

Just by these examples you can see how there'd be a snowball effect of how problems can worsen over time making it harder and harder to deal with lower back pain. But why do these problems lead to that one specific area? The musculoskeletal system is all interconnected, with muscle groups working together in harmony to support or alleviate the workload of other parts of the body. When something has become unused, strained, weak, misaligned, etc., then it forces other groups to pick up the slack and work harder to compensate. Using the example that was given about the lack of ankle mobility, poor ankle flexion could lead to the calves becoming tight, which moves upward into the hamstrings, up through the glutes, and into the lower back. Someone who becomes aware of the tightness in the areas leading to the lower back may try to release tightness by stretching the muscles near it, but may fail to find the actual source of the problem, which in this case would be poor ankle mobility. The same applies to the upper body.

What about people that are performing physical labor for a living? There are still plenty of people around the world that aren't working desk jobs, why do they have back pain? The answer is also imbalances caused by the repetitive movements, along with the weighted loads that they have to move or carry. Being able to lift heavy doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to avoid these problems, especially if lifting heavily reinforces a poor posture.

So if you're someone that's dealing with lower back pain that's coming from one of the more severe potential causes like a kidney infection, then of course seek medical assistance. If it's from an injury then again, seek medical assistance. However, if it's from one of the more common causes such as weight management, a sedentary lifestyle, poor posture, too much sitting, etc., then there are plenty of other ways to address the issue. Lifestyle changes are always the best start; it's also incredibly helpful to find a physio or trainer who specializes in mobility to help with stretching and strengthening weak and underused muscles. If that isn't available then all of this falls on you to do your homework, to read, watch, and listen to as much as you can, and start going through what the potential problems are. There's plenty of material available online for research, but never immediately believe what you find, and always test out what works for you. If it eases the pain in your lower back then you're moving in the right direction, but just remember that there are a million and one reasons why it's there and it's on you to go through each one to solve it.

Finally, there's one last solution and that's to just move. Global Fast Fit is an excellent avenue towards this. There's a misconception that Global Fast Fit is only some interval training routine but in reality it's meant to be much more than that. It's a full-body workout that can be done at your own pace without any equipment. By own pace that means that if you can't complete the full routine then it isn't necessary to do so. As mentioned in my previous blog posts, I only just realized that certain exercises like pushups weren't accomplishable by everyone and that's ok. There are ways of building yourself up so that you can correct weaknesses and imbalances before getting to a point of being pain-free. Take a look at this particular case study to see how Global Fast Fit can help people get the functional strength that they need: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvZAMziGCns