Upgrading Your Hardware

What do you do when the number of users accessing a web application exceeds the system’s capability? You can scale up (improve the hardware of a single computer) or scale out (add more computers). When it comes to your body’s ability to meet the demands of daily life, you have only one option: scale up.

Scaling up your body requires pushing yourself to uncomfortable limits, but as with most discomfort in life you can’t simply describe this as pain. Exercise—especially at the levels we are about to discuss—can improve mental health, happiness, and general mood. It can also reduce stress (or improve your tolerance for stress, depending on how you look at it). In any case, exercise requires that you think beyond the immediate ...

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