Category: Daily

The numbers in your training program are not set in concrete. They act as a guide.

Your training program is ever-evolving. The exercises might stay the same. But the volume and the intensity shift based on how you’re feeling.

The goal of each workout is to nourish, not punish, your body. What feels nourishing on one day might be punishing on the next. Adjust accordingly.

It’s a skill that gets better with practice. If only because you’ll grow confident in knowing that the long-term progress doesn’t hinge on any single workout.

-J

Wine aficionados might toot their antioxidant horns, but regardless of the instrument you blow, alcohol is a toxin. And the science is very clear on that.

Strictly physiologically speaking, the healthiest amount of alcohol is no alcohol. Despite the popular “a glass of wine a day” recommendations you’ve seen.

But I wonder about the psychological and social benefits that often come with low or even moderate drinking habits. If a few drinks a week help you connect with others or even unlock some of your creativity, do those positive benefits outweigh the negative ones?

We know that psychological and physiological wellbeing are deeply connected. So is it possible that in some cases the positive mental benefits literally counteract the physical downsides?

I have no idea. I’d think it’s individual. Depending on genetics and personality and other factors. But I might also be completely off the mark.

For now, I’ll stick with my James Squire Zero.

-J

Sub-max effort (90%) HIIT followed by a recovery until the heart reaches 60%.

Develops eccentric heart. Builds muscle on the outside of the left ventricle. It teaches the heart how to beat faster. But also forces the heart to recover faster by letting the blood pool in the left ventricle.

When done correctly, the average heart rate throughout the session sits somewhere around 75%. Making the heart benefits similar to Zone 2 training.

Sub-max effort (90%) HIIT with recovery to 70-80%

Develops a concentric heart, similar to this. The recovery is not sufficient to bring the heart rate down to reap the eccentric benefits.

But also, as the rest is insufficient, can you really reach 90%? Or are you just getting tired for the sake of getting tired? With zero benefits.

Here’s where it’s at

For health, you want a strong eccentric heart with slow and long beats. Combined with concentric capabilities that allow the heart to beat fast when it needs to.

-J

Max effort (100%) followed by a recovery until the heart reaches its resting rate.

Develops concentric heart. Teaches the heart how to beat faster. Builds muscle on the inside of the left ventricle.

Crucial for any activity that requires a brief max effort. But also important for a day-to-day living so the heart knows how to deal with super high heart rates.

If this is all you ever do, over time the left ventricle can get too small. Which then elevates the risk of a cardiac event.

But for this to happen you’d have to ignore every other type of cardiovascular conditioning.

-J

Just starting out? Go slow and go long
Bike, walk, jog, row, swim, cut the grass… You can do this with anything that allows continuous, cyclical movement. Walking on the flat ground might not be enough, depending on your conditioning. If that’s the case, add a light backpack. Or a baby. If you can find one.

Go for at least 20 minutes while keeping your heart rate at around 65-75% of its max (220- your age). Or at around 5.5 of perceived rate of exertion (RPE)

Already have a decent aerobic base? Try 30s/30s or 15s/15s
Short effort, followed by a short rest. You can pick any activity. Including weights as long you go light. I like kettlebell cleans and swings here. Again, go for at least 20 minutes, but up to 40. Keep the heart rate around 65-75%. The goal is to make the last set exactly the same level of effort as the first set. While looking exactly as pretty.

More advanced and with zero underlying health conditions? Poke 90%, return to 60%
What most people would consider high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Get your heart rate to 90%, then rest until you get to 60%. Go again.

Steer clear of heavy weights as they spike your heart rate. And the spike is often related to the resistance from the weights, not from the heart working harder. Do up to 10 reps.

Even though the heart rate goes higher than 75% with each interval, you’ll get the heart benefits based on the average heart rate over the session. And that average sits somewhere between 65-75%

No heart rate monitor? Aim for 9 on RPE. Go again once you can talk comfortably.

Save the HIIT interval for the days you’re feeling fresh. And no more than twice a week.

-J

Having robust aerobic fitness allows you to put in more work and reduces your risk of injury. And it’s by far the best non-medical indicator we have of a strong, healthy heart.

Yet, aerobic fitness is often just an afterthought. Unless you’re an endurance fanatic, aerobic fitness is one of those things people trust takes care of itself. As long as we keep active.

I know I was as guilty of this as anyone. But instead of hoping, it’s worthwhile to look at the actual numbers.

Measure your resting heart rate, fresh out of bed, for a month. If you average over 60-63 beats per minute, it’s a sign that your aerobic fitness needs improving.

-J

Fitness revolves around one’s ego. Training for looks being the prime example. But training for strength and longevity isn’t that far behind. 

Sure, the latter two have a bigger impact on the well-being of others compared to the obsessively blind chase for six-pack abs. Both in terms of how much your capabilities positively contribute to those around you, and because you’re less likely to be a burden to the medical system.

But. Most of that is still a side effect of an otherwise selfish pursuit.

To add more selflessness to our fitness, we can look for opportunities to get our daily dose of physical activity while improving the lives of others.

Chopping wood or shovelling snow for the elderly neighbour. Mowing the lawn for that single mum with three kids. Helping a diarrhea-ridden friend move the grand piano because apparently it really needs to be done today. 

We already do some of that because, well, it’s a nice thing to do. And it has nothing to do with our fitness. But by fine-tuning our antenna for these opportunities, we’re likely to find more of them.

And if you’ve exhausted all the traditional, selfish sources of motivation to improve your fitness, coming at it with the selfless point-of-view is worth a try.

– J

You know this already. It’s impossible to get all the benefits of strength training from other activities. 

No sport I can think off delivers what we can get from resistance training. The upsides for bone and joint health. The boost on lean muscle mass, power and strength. All the things that make us more resilient for life.

And we definitely don’t get these benefits from any typical day-to-day activity. I mean, carrying bags of groceries is great. But unless you’re hauling cat litter or tins of baked beans with an alarming frequency, it just won’t cut it.

The closest I can think of is a job that involves a lot of manual labour. Old-school farmer maybe. Doing things with hay, and… stuff. And even then, any job is likely to have a one-dimensional aspect to it. Which then requires purposeful strength training to balance it all out.

But you know this already. This is just a tiny reminder to keep going.

– J

ps. Yes, it’s Monday. I am trialling daily (Monday to Friday) blogging for a month. To see if a daily deadline can spark some new valuable ideas for both of us. Some days are the length of today’s post, some are longer, and some might be just a paragraph. 

If the thought of getting an email from me five days a week gives you all kinds of anxiety, feel free to unsubscribe below. In fact, some might say it’s the only reasonable thing to do.

But I do hope you’ll stick around.

From I have to do this, to I get to do this. Whatever this is. 

For most of us, it’s unlikely to be a permanent shift. It comes and goes. Sometimes this feels like the last thing you want to be doing. And other times, you feel privileged to do this. 

It can last for years. Or it might only be around for a day.

The point is to not force the “I get to do this” feeling. But to trust that the feeling will eventually return. 

In the meantime, keep at it as if it’s already here.

—

I’ve got two spaces available for new coaching clients

Since you’re already subscribed to my newsletter, you get the dibs before I blurb it on social media next week.

If you’re ready to rediscover your strength and energy, despite your injuries, this might be the nudge you need to get started.

Just hit reply to find out if and how my online coaching program might be a good fit for you.

– J

We know it’s true with food. Nutritionally poor diet not only has a negative physical effect on us. But a heavy diet of onion rings and Cap’n Crunch also acts as acid for our thinking. Information is no different.

We become what we consume.

When we live off cheap and clickbaity content, it’ll end up eroding our thoughts. The more we consume this cheap and addictive information, the more we believe it. The more vigorously we nod our way forward.

If most of the content you read and watch are the promises of quick fixes and express gateways to results, it’s a big ask to appreciate an offer that asks for a delayed gratification. Why put in the work when you don’t have to? I

It’s no surprise that the wolf of instant gratification runs rampant in our society.

This leaves people jumping from diet to diet and never sticking to a training program. It’s the same reason people fork out cash to go on grapefruit juice detoxes and green coffee bean fat loss programs.

Most of us find these offers ridiculous. Deep down, we know they can’t be true. Yet we keep falling, falling, falling for them. Because of the instant gratification fast food information diet, we keep searching for an impossible answer.

O’Brien was onto something when he said, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” I’d add, who controls your present controls your future.

One addictive click at a time.

– J