I've learned when it comes to health but also any other subject or topic, reading is important but at the same time only a part of the equation of acquiring knowledge. Reading is an amazing tool for learning and exploring the experiences and knowledge of the world's great minds. Reading also allows us to expand our consciousness and imagination, and get a deeper understanding of the world, all the while giving us the opportunity to contemplate the past, tap into the present, and peak into the future.

However, I believe the act of reading alone does not make one knowledgeable on any given subject. It it is an immensely powerful tool towards developing knowledge but one must take action and experiment themselves after reading in order to truly acquire the potential knowledge embedded inside whatever text was read as well as discover whether or not the text is in fact truthful and accurate. All too often, are there those who read a book or two or worse yet skim an article or social media post and all of a sudden think they've mastered the topic completely. I too am at times guilty of regurgitating the words I read to my peers in an effort to sound smarter than I actually am. I believe to an extent this is how modern academia functions (or disfunctions) as well. Students are taught to become regurgitating robots and to mindlessly memorize text purely for the sake of memorization and to pass a paper test instead of learning proper application.

Earlier I stated some of the benefits of reading, but on the other end there are clear cases of social conditioning, corruption, and manipulation that can be instilled through reading. This is another reason as to why it is important to read, reflect, and then to apply whatever was read to your actual life, instead of just taking whatever was read as gospel and truth. At the end of the day, true knowledge can only be acquired after we put our own skin in the game and experience whatever it is that is meant to be experienced ourselves.

With that being said, I've been reading a book titled "What Doesn't Kill Us" by Scott Carney. The book basically covers the power of hormesis in particular through the usage of the Wim Hof Method, which is a method that utilizes the power of conscious hyperventilation and cold exposure. Carney records his interactions with Wim as well as with other individuals who have been influenced by Wim's method and have turned their lives around. Among the people Carney interviewed, many of them have claimed that doing the hyperventilation (or superventilation as some refer to it as) has allowed them to tap into physical abilities that they would have never imagined they had in them. And being an athlete myself, reading such stories and claims piqued my interest, so I decided to put it to the test.

I first tried it out for my short distance sprints which is an anaerobic activity but nonetheless a few short superventilations prior to the sprints allowed me to hold the high intensity for longer through the whole sprint. I also felt a lot more amped up and ready to sprint in comparison to when I don't do the breathing technique. The experience was quite similar when I did my heavy lifts in the gym. I would take a powerful deep breath in followed by a passive exhale, repeat that 4 to 5 times, and then engage in my lift and I would feel like I had more power and strength, and lifts felt much easier.

The ultimate test was when I used the breathing technique during my VO2 max training. I've been implementing longer duration high intensity interval training where I would go 90 - 95% effort for 3 to 4 minutes, followed by low intensity recovery for the same amount of time, and do this for 4 rounds. These absolutely suck and are not fun, however, when I did the superventilation right before I would start each high intensity round and during the 3 or 4 minutes of near maximal effort, I could immediately feel myself able to push harder than in the past. They still suck, but I was able to enjoy the suckiness instead of just despair the whole time through.

This test was only a one time experience thus far so it could have purely been placebo, but I do intend on continuing with the experiment and application in order to see for myself whether or not there is some truth and validity to what I have read in this book. I learned and was intrigued by something I read in a book. I applied it into my own life. And now I have acquired a bit of knowledge that I can share and pass on to others. I am in no way a master of this topic, that can only be reached with consistent effort and continued proof of work, but I would say I am more knowledgeable than my prior self before reading this book.

What are some recent books that inspired and motivated you to apply what was read into your own life? Did applying and experimenting yourself based off the intentions and ideas of what you read validate or disprove the text?