Not So Normal Health Habits

We all have habits.  Some of them are good habits, some of them are bad.  I use to have a bad habit of eating a big bowl of ice cream every night of the week.  You can imagine how well that turned out.  I have good habits too.  I have always exercised at least three times a week to maintain my weight and health.  I am sure you can easily come up with some bad habits you are guilty of and some good habits that have improved your life.  But can you come up with some not so normal health habits?

What do you mean, “Not so normal health habits?”

I am talking about the kind of things that are good for you that few people do or even know about.  I am talking about the things that you have learned, either through experience or reading, that can improve your health, but most would view as not so normal.  The majority of people would call them strange or weird.  Perhaps these are things you tell people you do, but maybe you don’t.  Either way, they help you with your health.

These things could be just a mantra you say that keeps you focused.  For example, “I exercise 3-5x a week to keep my body strong.”  They could be actions you take daily that help you improve, like brushing your teeth a weird way that provides some great benefit.  These weird habits could also be actions or activities you avoid doing, like no food after 6pm at night.  These are the kind of things that if you told your friends, they would probably say that’s weird, different, or not so normal.  They may even ask, why would you do that?  Why would you want to be a little weird?

Go Against The Grain

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”—Mark Twain

“Look at what the majority of people are doing, and do the exact opposite, and you’ll probably never go wrong for as long as you live.”—Earl Nightingale

These are two pretty smart men saying to do the opposite.  In a sense, go against the norm, against what the majority of people do.  Most of the time it is the people who go against the grain who end up wildly successful.  

Think of it this way.  If you do what everyone else is doing you will end up where the majority of people are.  If they are in a good spot, maybe you want to follow that action or activity, but if they are mediocre and you want to be better, it is time to go against the grain.  Going against the grain will make you seem weird or different, but I view that as a plus.  I want to stand out, do things differently.  Otherwise, I am just like everyone else.  Not that being like everyone else is a bad thing.  I just want to push myself to new limits.  In order to do this, I have some not so normal health habits that can be seen as weird.  Allow me to share.

The 5and2Guy Not So Normal Health Habits

I have plenty of health habits that are considered normal.  I exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, and avoid the bad things in life like drugs and cigarettes.  But I have a few things that I do, for my health, that most people would see as weird or not so normal.  Here are the habits that may make you say, “What???”:

Drink Apple Cider Vinegar Daily

Throughout a lot of my readings and viewing of health videos on YouTube, I always heard about how I “should” be drinking apple cider vinegar daily.  So I did a little research and sure enough, there are tons of health benefits you can get from it.  Here are a few benefits that convinced me to drink it daily:

1. Increases your good cholesterol which is important to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.
2. Regulates your blood sugar
3. Lowers blood pressure
4. Supports weight loss.
5. Helps prevent osteoporosis

There are many more benefits as well.  As a matter of fact, let me google that for you: 

apple cider vinegar benefits

I drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, mixed with eight ounces of water each day.  It can be a little hard to get use to at first, but you can add more water to it to make it easier.  I find that eight ounces of water works for me.   If you want a great brand to purchase, you need one with the “Mother.”  Oh yeah, the “Mother.”  You can pick up the brand I use from Amazon.  Just click on the image:

A Cold Shower

Yuck..a cold shower.  Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds.  I love my hot water and a hot soaking bath, but I end it off with a cold three minute shower.  I hop out of the hot bath right into as cold as possible shower, where I rotate hitting all the areas I can hit.  There are tons of health benefits to taking a cold shower:

1. Improves immunity

2. Stimulates weight loss

3. Eases stress

4. Speeds up muscle soreness and recovery

There are many more benefits as well.  As a matter of fact, let me google that for you too:

cold shower benefits

It’s only three minutes, but it’s a long three minutes.  Well, it is at first, but it gets easier.  Trust me it does and the benefits are awesome.  If you want to give this a shot, don’t start out at three minute cold showers, unless you feel like punishing yourself.  When you first start, make the cold shower only 30 seconds.  Do that for a week, increasing by 30 seconds every week until you hit three minutes.

I really like this practice for a few reasons:

1. All the benefits and more listed above.
2. It really cools me down after taking a hot bath or shower.
3. Psychologically, when I push through this, I feel like I can get through anything.  I can face anything.

I bought my shower timer on Amazon.  Here is the link if you decide you want to pick up this habit and need a waterproof timer:

Morning Exercise Set

I know what you are thinking, “there’s nothing weird or abnormal about exercising in the morning.”  I agree, millions of people do, but I am not talking about an exercise routine in the morning.  I am talking about one set of an exercise every morning as soon as you wake up.  I have implemented in my morning routine one set of an exercise to help wake me up and improve my health.

I typically will do a set of 50 push ups, 50 crunches, or 40 squats.  I get out of bed, go in the bathroom, and knock out this one set first.  Well, not first.  (Actually I use the bathroom first, but that may be a little too much info…sorry.)  I typically rotate each day of the week between the exercises I listed.  It really gets the blood flowing, helps me wake up, and enforces my discipline.  This is a very easy way to reap some great benefits with about 30-60 seconds of exercise first thing in the morning.

Discipline yourself to perform this exercise every day, even the weekends.  I know I am the 5and2Guy but this one I do every day.  I do these exercises when I am on vacation, sick, or simply have a day off.  I do them every day and have a streak of 1391 days straight, as of this writing.  Give it a shot and see how it changes your life.

Final Thoughts

It is okay to be a little weird…a little not so normal.  It’s the little things we do that can differentiate us and make a big difference in our life and our health.  You don’t have to do the things I do.  Perhaps you have your own things that are considered not so normal.  If you are so brave to share a few, please leave them in the comments.  Otherwise…

It’s okay to not be so normal!!!

Share with your friends!!!