The Human Operating Manual

Getting Started

The Quickstart Guide

The human body system, not too dissimilar to mechanical organizational structures, tends to display seemingly complex and disconnected errors when its maintenance is neglected. However, a trait that sets biological systems apart from mechanistic systems is the ability to self-repair. This is assuming that acceptable internal environmental conditions are met and cellular resources are aplenty.

Once self-repair is no longer “economically feasible”, biological errors (fatigue, injuries, or diseases, etc.) arise as a consequence of poor living conditions and infrequent maintenance (self-care).

Occasionally, these errors can lead to serious harm within the system and immediate therapeutic or medical intervention is required to prevent further dysfunction. If we’re lucky, the biological equivalent of turning the power “off and on again” is all the body needs to get back into self-repair mode.     

So… What might these theoretical “off and on again” methods be?

Step #1: Self Diagnosis

Use this list to assess areas where you may have unfulfilled psychological and physiological requirements, before proceeding to the next step, or attempting to use more extreme intervention. Typically, if you can honestly check off about 75% of the listed items, you should be capable of obtaining the benefits of the interventions in Step #2.

As the human body is biological, it is incredibly resilient and can handle a fair amount of neglect before things go wrong. Going through this list when you feel “down” is an effective way of identifying the origin of discomfort and to realign yourself before mental and physical ailments begin to take hold. 

Do you:

Step #2: Intervention

If you have checked off at least 75% of the items in Step #1, you should be capable of generating results from this section. These steps build resilience, potentially improving functionality within the body, and reducing the likelihood of suffering immune, physiological, and psychological dysfunction after exposure to mild stressors. 

We suggest only trying one of these methods at a time, for about 3-4 weeks (unless otherwise stated), before adding a new one. This helps to establish an isolated habit, prevents you from being overwhelmed, and allows a greater understanding of the specific intervention. The goal is to understand how each of these activities affects your body so that you can use them diagnostically.

Don’t forget that these activities induce mild stress, that may result in making health problems worse for the chronically stressed individual. It is also possible that the health benefits will feel almost miraculous. Increasing the likelihood of becoming obsessively reliant on the methods, rather than dealing with the actual cause of the original health issues.   

Try:

Step #3: Analysis

After going through the checklist in Step #1 and testing the methods in Step #2, you should be able to evaluate them subjectively. Think about what worked for you and why you believe they did. Could the effects from Step #2 be attributed to confounding variables?

By using the measurement techniques below, you should be able to find the right methods that help you to detect when your body is starting to go wrong and to reduce health issues in an effective manner.   

Try:

Summary

I’m sure it goes without saying that results will vary, depending on things such as your current lifestyle, health condition, medications, and program consistency. Also, you may have noticed that each suggestion on this page has a section of its own, listed somewhere in the drop down menu above.

If you would like to learn more about each section, pick and choose your own path from the menu. If you feel like you already have a solid background in health and fitness and just want a list of tasks to follow, click one of the cheat sheets below.

Alternatively, there is the option of choosing from one of the three different levels of comprehensive habit-based schedules on the home page. This option is the most effective way of integrating beneficial lifestyle factors consistently. Rather than the typical “Type-A” method of attempting to take on the burden of becoming an expert in each discipline. Learning is encouraged, but pain is unnecessary.    

The Ultimate
Cheatsheet List

***COMING SOON*** The no nonsense guide for those who already have the basics under control.

Vitamins, Minerals, & Supplements

The ultimate guide for understanding what those tiny words are on the back of food labels do.

Optimal Longevity: Performance Hierarchy

Movement principles for developing a strong and healthy body.

Chasing Longevity

Optimized lifestyle routines to live long and to live well.

N = 1

Health tests and guides for self-quantification and biohacking.

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