Talking Philosophy in Fitness

In this episode of Talking Philosophy in Fitness, I use the algebraic function y=mx+b to remind us that if we feel a certain way, say, tired and sluggish, perhaps we should stop focusing on that as the output and being to pay attention to what we input. If we understand the very basic premise of a line, we can understand that we are responsible for the input that propels the line of our life's progression towards a desired end as opposed to a passive miserable one. The "slope" of our lives if you will depends on the quality and quantity of our actions. Grade school may be a bust in most respects, but don't underestimate the value in simple things like a line. You want to change the direction of a line, well Y (you) = (are) the result of the input into the equation (mx+b).

Stoicism is a very powerfully lifestyle philosophy but sometime we hide behind its wisdom and pretend like more things are out of our control than is actually the case. When this happens we effectively twist the words of the great stoic thinkers and hurt ourselves in the process. 

In this episode I talk about Socrates idea that to fear death is to act from conceit of knowledge because when we act as if we know, when it is clear that we do not, we act in unreasonable ways. In the context of fitness, this means that we are often far too quick to say, I can't, that doesn't work, it won't work for me...etc. etc., before even trying or knowing much about that which we are closing our selves to. 

In this episode I claim, following an idea proposed by Franz Rosenzweig, that the future is an experience of our thinking and not an experience of time in the same way that we experience the present. According to this interpretation, by talking about the future, we effectively by pass the present 's power to create a future- if and only if- we talk about the future passively. The practical takeaway is that we should learn to see the future as the direction of our actions such that we focus on present activities that ultimately move us to the future and are eventually made into the past. Our focus as fitness enthusiasts should always be the present since the past is only a story of what we do in the present and the future is only an expectation. 

Hi everyone, 

In this episode I use Hegel's interpretation of stoicism - as a historical philosophy - to show that consciousness must move beyond the benefits of stoics virtue. We appreciate stoic virtue because it apparently gives us a sense of freedom from the external world, you know, those things we cant control. Hegel, however argues that such independence is merely the concept of freedom "in thought" and to move beyond that means to go out and affect the world or risk becoming an unhappy consciousness.  

I hope you enjoy this monologue and if you are interested in weekly philosophy quotes with a small reflection please visit my discord at : https://discord.gg/EEbwxet

I am also uploading a large part of this podcast on youtube (my channel is not exclusive to this podcast however), you can visit me and subscribe here: 

https://youtube.com/user/1204omoreno

In this episode I describe the ethical theory of Hedonism and Naturalism, two forms of ethics which can be understood from the perspective of Epicureanism, to explain why avoiding too much pain and chasing too much pleasure actually give us the opposite of our desired effects. When we avoid the pain and discomfort of exercising and eating following sound nutrition principles, we cause a decline in the other areas of our lives because everything besoms either less pleasurable than it can be or simply we have to put up with more pain. Exercise is the perfect concept to demonstrate what Epicurus meant when he said we must use good judgment when deciding which pleasures are not worth their associated pains and which pains are worth enduring because of their associated pleasures. 

In this episode I discuss Historian Y.N. Harari's idea (From his bestseller 'Sapiens') that humans created for themselves a history distinct from one determined by our biology. In the context of fitness, this means that when we believe an "imagined reality" i.e., what we want to be, look like, and how we want to feel, we are able to create for ourselves a history that is not determined by "our natures." Given that position and the claim that fitness allows us to change our natural urges, I suggest that sharing a vision with others--like fitness community or a literal family--we are able to achieve things we might have believed were impossible. 

Hi guys, in this episode I talk about some of the consequences of the ideas in episode 3. In today's episode, we discuss what it means to see your will and your motivation as two separate but interconnected things. Understanding Hegel's idea that the will is nothing but thinking with a drive to become actual and that you can develop an emotional response to your will, will help you use motivation when its positive and ignore it and get to work when motivation is no where to be found. Let me know what you think if your outlet allows you to comments, if not find me on IG @o_moreno1202. 

In this episode I resist my first attempt at discussing Aristotle's virtue ethics because I Felt like somethings were left on the table. After re-reading and thinking about the meaning of some of the things Aristotle says, I realized that I myself too over indulge or avoid discomfort, often times keeping me from being great coach or philosopher. I encourage everyone to listen to Episode one of this show to see how the show is transforming and if I am taking this in the right direction. I have a IGTV post about this episode on my IG @o_moreno1202 and would love to get your feedback there if you want to share that with me. Thank you! 

The question of motivation in the context of fitness is a fair one. The short answer, always, is “fuck motivation, fitness takes discipline.” Although true, that isn’t the point...we enjoy doing things with a happy attitude but that isn't always the case. In this episode I discuss the way in which I see motivation so as to always LOOK BACK and see that I was motivated! The key is to learn to distinguish between your feelings and your will. You must allow yourself to identify the difference between feeling motivated and having the will to do something. This lesson uses some of the points form episode 3 on Hegel and the will so I want to encourage y'all to check that out too. Please, if you enjoy this, or not, leave me a rating/feedback so that I can get this podcast to the point where it is helpful and enjoyable. Leave me a comment on Instagram at @o_moreno1202! You can find the essay for this episode on medium looking up the episode title.