Being healthy isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here are five things you can do now to improve your health and well-being.

1. Get to know your body.

At any age, when it comes to your health, it’s all about preventative maintenance. If we put as much time into taking care of our bodies as we do our cars, we’d all be in much better shape. Maybe it’s been a few years since your last physical. That’s probably a good place to start – but it’s the physiological equivalent of an oil change. There are plenty of other things that can go wrong. Don’t wait until your body is left broken down on the side of the road (metaphorically speaking). To really get to know your body inside and out, and to discover any potential threats to your health and well-being, you need to run a complete self-diagnostic check. Perhaps the best way to do that is with an intensive “executive” health screening.

While your health insurance provider might cover annual physical exams, executive health screenings are usually 100% out-of-pocket. That said, this might very well be the most important few thousand bucks you ever spend in your life. Seriously.

Unlike a physical, during which your primary care physician gives your body a quick once over (blood pressure, heart rate, and maybe the “rubber glove” treatment), an executive health screening is an intensive, day-long procedure. Whether you’re currently dealing with some sort of malady or are the picture of “perfect” health, executive screenings can detect many forms of disease in their earliest stages – while they’re still treatable. Plus, before the end of the day, your physician will help you come up with an overall wellness plan, tailor-fit to your body’s specifications.

So, what’s involved?

Most programs are very similar. The Cleveland Clinic offers one of the best-known executive screening programs in the country. Here locally, TriHealth has a well-respected Corporate Health team; UC offers a program as well. After an initial health assessment, including your family’s medical history, your physician will determine which tests are most beneficial to you. They usually include:

• Comprehensive lab testing: blood tests for cholesterol levels, certain pathogens; complete urinalysis for detection of diseases like diabetes, liver function, etc.
• A complete cardiac health assessment, including EKG and stress test (echocardiogram)
• Eyesight and hearing evaluations
• Chest X-rays and a total body scan (MRI) to evaluate lung, liver, heart and kidney function
• A “lifestyle coaching” session: to assess lifestyle risks, diet and nutrition, also exercise

Your hospital/physician may offer additional screenings as well; each program is tailored to the individual, based on medical history, family history and lifestyle assessments.

At the end of the day, your physician will review the results of every test done that day, and talk about ways to improve overall health and well-being. If anything comes up, your doctor will work with you and your primary care physician to plan the best possible course of action.

Executive health screenings give you a blueprint of your body and a roadmap to good health. Basically, you’re getting complete diagnostic test results in one day that normally take a couple of weeks to complete – including preventative, full-body scans that are usually only ordered when your doctor thinks something is wrong. They may seem costly, but consider the cost of not knowing what’s going on inside your body until it’s too late. In the end, can you really afford not to?

2. Remember: You get out what you put in.

There are a lot of fad diets out there, not to mention weight-loss pills and dietary supplements. By now, I’m sure you realize that taking a pill isn’t the key to losing weight.  You also don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on specialized “meal plans.” For most guys, the best way to “eat right” is to keep it simple: Eat like a cave man.

The so called “Paleo” diet (aka “Cave Man” diet, “Stone Age” diet, or “Hunter-Gatherer” diet) is simple. You limit yourself to eating naturally available meats, fruits and vegetables. While you don’t have to go all Ted Nugent-like and hunt and kill what you grill, you can “stalk” healthy foods at the grocery store.

One good way to eat healthy is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store; most processed foods are located in the middle of the store. Maybe you’ve noticed that the produce section, meat and fish departments, dairy and deli are all located around the outside of the store (granted, so is the bakery – but common sense should tell you to avoid that one). The essence of the Cave Man diet is to eat only foods that occur naturally – if you can’t grow it, harvest it, and/or hunt it, don’t eat it. There are countless studies online that link the chemical preservatives in most processed foods to many common ailments. If you think about it, it makes sense: what is our body made to process naturally: meat and vegetables or methylchloroisothiazolinone? (I’m no chemist, but I think I know which I’d rather ingest.)

Here at Cincinnati Profile, we’re not in the practice of recommending or endorsing any particular diet. Eating simple, healthy foods however, just makes sense. Of course, after completing your executive health screening, I’m sure you know which foods are best for you, anyway. Right?

3. The No Frills, No Gimmicks Approach to Working Out

“Slim fit” jeans and suits are all the rage these days. (Not that I’ve ever really been a fan of them, myself.) Maybe you’ve noticed that every pair of jeans in your wardrobe is starting to feel a little, well, “slim.” If your midsection looks like it could be sponsored by Dunlop (because your waist has “done lopped” over the top of your pants), maybe it’s time to put down the Funyuns and pick up some free weights.

There are countless gyms, fitness programs and gimmicks out there. Which is right for you? What really works? Rich Vos is owner of CrossFit Hustle in northern Kentucky. If you lack motivation, and need a no-frills, no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners approach to physical fitness, he’s got the place for you.

CrossFit is all about the basics. When you look around Rich’s gym, you won’t see any fancy Nautilus machines, treadmills, or other high-tech equipment; just some free weights, pull-up bars, and Olympic rings hanging form the ceiling.

“Simply, you take running, gymnastics, rowing, lifting, power lifting and put it all together in a way that everyone gets pretty good at everything,” Rich says. “We create well-rounded athletes.”

Everyone from professional athletes to beginners looking to get into shape come to CrossFit Hustle. “Everything is scalable,” says Rich. “I have a mother-in-law who can’t deadlift 225 pounds, so we’ll use a piece of PVC pipe, or maybe 25 or 30 pounds.”

Make no mistake: CrossFit is intense. It’s all centered around the “workout of the day.” Rich’s favorite is called the “Angie.” Basically, it’s 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats, done in the least amount of time possible. Some people can do it in 20 minutes, others take an hour or so to finish. You have to complete one exercise before moving on to the next. Sounds pretty intense, and it doesn’t even use weights. I ask Rich if beginners feel intimidated by CrossFit’s intensity. His response? “No, absolutely not. One, it’s fun, Two, it works. And it’s infinitely scalable.”

While there’s a sense of competition in some of the classes, Rich says it’s all about the individual. “You’re working against yourself, ultimately.”

(For more on CrossFit  and CrossFit Hustle, be sure to watch the complete video interview with Rich Vos below!)

4. Relax.

Stress can be a killer. Literally. The therapeutic and holistic advantages of regular massage are many. Locally, check out places like The Garage Massage Therapy and Bodywork – where you can give your body the “tune-up” it needs. A quality, licensed masseuse can work wonders for your body, mind and soul.

Whether it’s intense sports massage to relax your muscles after an intense workout (see above), or just clearing your mind with relaxing Japanese Reiki (if you haven’t tried it yet, do it now. Trust me.) turning your body over to the capable hands of an experienced professional can work wonders. It can clear your mind, reduce tension, and work out muscles affecting things like proper posture – that could lead to medical problems in the future.

If the executive health screening was your diagnostic report, think of massage as a regularly scheduled tune-up.

5. It’s All About Relationships.

Allow time for the things in life that really matter to you; or maybe take the time to notice things you’ve been overlooking. Find joy in the simple things. For me, it’s a question of faith: I believe in Dog.

No matter what’s going on in my life, no matter how stressful work might be or what’s happening outside my door, I know that once I come home, there will be one little guy who is always excited to see me: my dog, Dino. If you have never known the unconditional love and adulation dogs give their owners, you need to look into it. Seriously.

Not only is he the perfect companion for walking, jogging or hiking out at our family farm, he’s a love glutton. They say dogs are a lot like their owners; I couldn’t agree more. Sometimes spastic, full of energy, loves to play, maybe a little ADD, and sometimes perfectly content to just lay on your lap and watch TV – Dino is very much like me and my wife, Amy. (Although she would argue the “laying around” part is all me. Totally not true.) Dino provides endless hours of entertainment and affection.

Of course, there are plenty of other places to get a healthy dose of bonding time: your girlfriend or spouse (FYI studies show married men live longer), family members, or your buddies. Unless you’re like Paul Rudd in “I Love You, Man,” you most likely have a pretty reliable support system of male counterparts. If not, go get one.

There’s something to be said for enjoying the finer things in life with a like-minded group of male cohorts: your buddies. And sometimes, the more diverse the group, the better (and more entertaining). My friends and I recently celebrated a buddy’s birthday in Nashville, Tennessee. Eight guys with similar interests, some of us in our 30s, some our 40s, some in their 50s, all enjoying a steak dinner and a night on the town. Some of us are married, some single but dating, and some confirmed bachelors. It makes for a great mix. Good food, hilarious conversation and the chance to just be regular dudes. Every guy needs that.

When you add it all up, that’s really what it comes down to: being happy. Our health is a big part of that. We can take control of our physical and emotional well-being. If it seems like one or the other (or both) is a little out of whack, maybe you should assess the situation and see what you can do to improve your own. Now is the perfect time to start.