“It’s normal to feel pain in your hands and feet, if you’re using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for a human being to feel stress is normal—if he’s living a normal human life. And if it’s normal, how can it be bad?”
Marcus Aurelius
To feel stress is human. You feel stress, I feel stress. And no matter what happens in our lives we’ll all feel stress from time to time.
What matters is how we respond to stress, how we deal with it.
Maybe you were speaking to an angry customer at work, and they got you riled up. Maybe you got cut off in traffic and it pissed you off.
Whatever it is that’s got you stressed it’s important to have an outlet to get rid of the negative energy.
Here are some of my favourite things I do when I feel stressed.
Take a walk. (30 minutes will do).
Work out. ( It could be anything you like, weightlifting, cardio, whatever).
Meditate for 10 minutes ( Try and focus on your natural breathing rhythm, and every time your thoughts wander refocus on your breathing to break the negative thinking cycle.)
Focus on a project. ( This could be a blog or something to do with work/ business or personal project e.g. a hobby.)
Listen to music ( This is one of the easiest things you can do to boost your mood.)
Normal Stress And Too Much Stress
If you’re chronically stressed this could be a sign that you might need to change a few things in your life or at least how you respond to the challenges you face.
For example, if you’re unfit and this is causing a great deal of stress (maybe you have less energy than normal, or it’s harder to perform general tasks).
Then the solution would be to consistently work out 3-5 times per week, drink enough water, eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep.
If an unhealthy habit is causing problems in your life. And is causing you stress, then the best thing to do is break that habit, which will enable you to get rid of the unnecessary stressor.
Why You Need To Get A Handle On Your Stress
In the book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers By Robert Sapolsky, Robert explains how chronic stress can cause chronically high blood pressure and when blood pressure is chronically high over time it can cause cardiac problems. Such as heart disease.
The Bottom Line
To be chronically stressed is not good for us. If we don’t get a handle on it, our health and quality of life will suffer. And this is why it’s important to focus on removing unnecessary stressors in our daily lives. And practice behaviours that will help us reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Firstly a calorie is just a unit of energy and we all need to eat a certain number of calories every day to either lose, maintain or gain weight. So the answer to “how many calories should I eat?” Wholly depends on your specific goals.
Are you underweight and want to put some rock-solid muscle mass on your frame?
Or
Are you overweight and want to see your abs for the first time in your life?
The approach to each of these goals is different.
How To Know What Goal You Should Choose
Answer the following question below before making a decision on which goal you should choose:
Are you happy with your current body fat percentage?
If you’re happy with your current body fat levels and are comfortable putting on weight (50% of which is normally fat and 50% is normally muscle if you do things properly) then pick this goal.
If your current body fat percentage is too high and you’re not happy with your current body fat levels then there’s no point in gaining more weight because some of that will be fat. And if you pick the goal of gaining weight you’ll be even more unhappy with your body fat levels because you’ll ultimately be fatter which will result in you looking and feeling worse.
So first lose weight if you’re unhappy with being at a high body fat percentage and only gain weight when you’re happy with your body fat levels.
If you’re between a body fat percentage of 10-20% then you’re in a healthy body fat range. But only when you start to get above the 20% mark does it become unhealthy.
To read more about healthy and unhealthy body fat percentages click the link below:
From my experience the easiest way to work out how many calories you need to eat to gain weight is to:
Multiply your body weight in pounds by 18.
So a male who is 150 pounds would need to multiply 18 by 150 which equals 2700 calories. So if the 150-pound male ate 2700 calories per day they’d most likely put themselves in a calorie surplus (eat more calories than they burn) and gain weight.
Prioritise Protein
To ensure that the weight you’re gaining isn’t wholly fat you need to prioritise 4 things.
Eating a high protein diet ( eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight every day).
Strength train 3-5 times per week.
Prioritise getting 8 hours of sleep every night.
Stay hydrated. Drink 3-4 litres of water per day. If you live in a hot country and have an active job you may need to drink more. As a rule of thumb if your urine is clear or a wheat-like colour you’re hydrated but if it’s a dark yellow colour you need to drink more.
Going back to the example of the 150-pound male who wants to put on weight he would need to eat around 150 grams of protein per day which is around 600 calories. The rest of the calories (2100) can come from carbs and fats but try to limit saturated fat to no more than 10% of your calories per day.
Whatever the number of calories needed for you to gain weight is it’s smart to make sure that at least 70% of those calories are coming from healthy whole foods which include foods like:
Lean meats
Fruits and vegetables
Grains
Fish
Low-fat dairy
Nuts
And make sure that no more than 30% of your calories are coming from nutritionally bankrupt foods like:
Sweets
Full-fat dairy
Chocolate
Deep-fried foods
Pastries
Doughnuts
Sugary cereals
Biscuits
How To Track Weight Gain And What To Do If You’re Not Gaining Weight
First of all, you need to keep track of your weigh-ins so you know if you’re actually gaining weight or not. And that’s best achieved by weighing yourself periodically. Here are two options for doing that.
Weigh yourself Monday through to Sunday and work out a weekly average. Then use the average weigh-in as your overall weekly weigh-in number.
Weigh yourself once per week and compare it with the previous week’s weigh-in.
Note: When weighing yourself make sure you do it under similar conditions every day/ week. It’s best to weigh yourself first thing in the morning when you get up in your underwear on an empty stomach (when you haven’t eaten or drank anything).
A steady rate of weight gain is to put on between 0.5 to 1 pound per week, this is an ideal amount of weight to put on to maximise muscle growth while putting on a minimum amount of fat.
If you’re not gaining weight eating the initial number of calories simply add 150 calories to your daily limit and you should see the scale move up and your strength should increase nicely in the gym.
A Quick Method To Lose Weight
To work out the number of calories you need to eat to lose weight multiply your body weight in pounds by 11.
So if a 180-pound male wanted to lose weight he’d need to eat roughly 1980 calories per day.
This should put him in a calorie deficit of roughly 500 calories per day and should ensure he loses around a pound per week.
But if this individual wanted to make sure most of what he lost wasn’t muscle and was mostly fat he’d need to also do a few other things like:
Lift weights 3-5 times per week.
Eat mainly nutritious foods. I recommend that people who are trying to lose weight should eat 80% of their calories from healthy whole foods and allow themselves the freedom to eat whatever they like for the additional 20% of their calories.
Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated can help you feel full. And our bodies are made up of around 60% water so drinking enough water is essential to our bodies operating properly.
Sleep 8 hours per night, this will help you recover properly and ultimately lose more fat and less muscle.
If after a week you’re still not losing weight eating the initial number of calories you can reduce your daily calories by 150 and that should get the scale moving in the right direction.
If you’re still not losing weight you can simply reduce your calories again by 150 or do some extra cardio on your non-lifting days to widen the calorie deficit you’re in (eating fewer calories than you burn).
A Quick Method To Maintain Your Weight
If you’re happy with your current weight you can maintain it by multiplying your body weight in pounds by 14 and using the sum of that calculation as your daily calories.
So a 170-pound male who is happy with his weight and wants to maintain it would multiply 170 by 14 which equals 2380 calories.
When you eat at your maintenance calories which means roughly eating the same number of calories as you burn every day make sure you also:
Lift weights 3-5 times per week.
Eat a mostly nutritious diet and eat 80% of your calories from healthy whole foods.
Sleep for 8 hours every night.
Ideally, the individual who maintains is someone who has switched between multiple cut and bulk phases and is happy with his body fat levels, size and strength.
Why One Size Fits All Calorie Targets And Cookie Cutter Diets Don’t Work In The Long Term
There are many different diet approaches out there such as:
Low carb diets e.g. the keto diet.
Low-fat diets.
The Vegan diet.
The Atkins diet.
The Zone diet.
And more.
The main reason why diet approaches like the ones above generally don’t work in the long term is because they aren’t personalised to the individual.
We are all different shapes and sizes and have different activity levels. One diet approach doesn’t work for everyone.
The 2 Factors That Determine How Many Calories You Need To Eat
The 2 factors are:
Activity levels.
Body size and composition.
Activity Levels
If two individuals were both the same weight but one was sedentary while the other was extremely active, the more active individual would burn more calories and thus have to eat more calories for whatever their goal was compared to the sedentary individual.
Body Size And Composition
A bigger, stronger and heavier individual will burn more calories than someone who is smaller given that they had similar activity levels.
This is simply due to the fact that:
Larger individuals require more energy to move their bodies, so you’ll usually burn more calories at a heavier weight.
Why Men Usually Burn More Calories Than Women
This primarily comes down to the fact that men are bigger than women, and a bigger individual needs to eat more calories to maintain his or her weight.
But this isn’t always the case, for example, a female who lifts weights 3-5 times per week, has an active job, performs cardio multiple times per week and has a decent amount of muscle on her frame will burn more calories than a sedentary male of average height and weight.
Does My Metabolism Slow Down With Age?
As we get older more people tend to become sedentary. And this can result in:
A loss of muscle mass (sedentary people don’t tend to use their muscles much and remember if you don’t use it you lose it.) If you lose muscle your metabolism slows down. This is because muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in our bodies.
Activity levels decrease ( if activity levels decrease you burn fewer calories which can make gaining weight easier). And the more overweight you get the harder it is to move and stay active and so you’ll lose even more muscle and be less active. And because you’ll have less muscle on your frame you’ll burn fewer calories and you’ll be less active so you’ll burn fewer calories in general from exercise.
So in fact someone can maintain a high metabolism in old age by:
Lifting weights 3-5 times per week will help build and maintain muscle mass.
Staying active will help you burn more calories so you’ll need to eat more calories to gain weight which will make gaining weight harder.
How Many Calories Should Children Eat?
I don’t recommend that children count calories. It’s normally too much of a hassle and often ends up being counterproductive for them.
Instead, encourage them to eat mostly nutritious foods and to keep active. Make sure to save the cheat foods for special occasions.
I have a great strategy for people who want to lose weight without counting their calories.
In the United Kingdom, the recommended daily calorie intake is to eat 2000 calories per day for females and 2500 calories for males (these figures are to maintain your weight).
These intakes most likely work for a lot of people. But there are a lot of people these general calorie intakes wouldn’t work for.
For example, a larger than average male in weight and height is going to need to eat more calories than the recommended daily intake.
And the smaller than average female in weight and height, and who is less active than the average female will need to eat significantly fewer calories to maintain her weight. Otherwise eating 2000 calories per day will be too much and lead to excessive fat gain in the long term.
How To Count Calories For Beginners
Calorie counting is actually very easy, all you need to do is download the app my fitness pal which is free and then plug in how many calories and protein you need to eat for whatever your goal is
My fitness pal has an extensive database of any food you could ever think of, so it’s extremely easy to track your calories using this app.
The Bottom Line On How Many Calories Should I Eat? (A Quick Guide)
Whether your goal is to lose weight or gain weight the number of calories you need to eat has to be personalised to you.
Cookie-cutter nutrition programs and dieting methods don’t work in the long term. You need to customise your nutrition to you.
Thank you for reading, if you want to work out a slightly more complicated but slightly more accurate method to gain weight and lose weight read the articles below.
When we spend our time doing hard things we get into a flow state.
A flow state takes occurs when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
When our bodies and minds are stretched to there limits to achieve something difficult we stop focusing on the past or future.
The difficult task at hand (whatever it may be) forces us to be so present in the moment that it creates for us as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the author of flow says an “optimal experience”.
Doing Hard Things Makes Us Happier Individuals
When we push our boundaries, we get a deeply satisfying feeling.
And I honestly believe that if we’re not improving in our lives we’re almost certainly getting worse.
I’ll give you some examples:
Going to the gym and working out is a hard and uncomfortable thing to do compared to sitting on the sofa watching tv with a bag of crisps.
But even though you may not feel like going to the gym and end up going anyway, 9 times out of 10 you’ll always feel glad you went. In other words, you’ll never regret going to the gym to push your boundaries and improve yourself physically.
On the other hand, if you planned to go to the gym but didn’t go and instead watched tv on the sofa while eating a bag of crisps, you’ll feel a sense of dissatisfaction and guilt because you didn’t achieve anything meaningful.
I get this same feeling with writing, sometimes I dread writing but I’m always glad that I’ve written something.
The truth is spending our time on meaningful activities or projects fills us with a sense of achievement and happiness, whereas sedating ourselves with tv, food, drugs or porn fills us spiritually with guilt and leaves us feeling empty.
” Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV, And you think you’re so clever and classless and free, But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see”.
Regarding religion, I’m indifferent to what John says there because I believe that religion should have the primary goal to make man better and improve society as a whole and any religion that does that is a net good in the world.
But I do agree with the rest of what he says, there are a number of distractions and sources of instant gratification in this world that make doing hard things and getting into the flow state difficult.
If we focus on pleasure over meaningful action. Then we become a slave to our instincts.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi puts what I’m trying to say well in his book flow:
” The person who cannot resist food or alcohol, or whose mind is constantly focused on sex, is not free to direct his or her psychic energy. “
If we become a slave to consumer culture how can we seriously control our psychic energy on meaningful tasks and get into the flow state which inherently is what leads to happiness?
The answer is if we become a slave to consumer culture putting our energy into meaningful tasks becomes harder and harder to do.
Being In The Flow State Embodies Virtues
When we put our energy into doing hard and difficult tasks, these tasks embody virtues. For example, putting your time and effort into building a healthier and stronger physique embodies virtues like self-control and courage.
Reading a difficult book requires self-control, and resolution. Climbing a mountain requires courage, self-control, and resolution.
In other words, doing hard and difficult things make us more respectable individuals. The people that we look up to in this world are generally people who have done amazingly hard and difficult things.
And pushing our boundaries physically and mentally makes us stronger individuals. As Friedrich Nietzsche says “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
A List Of Difficult Tasks That Help You Get Into The Flow State And Achieve Happiness
Below is a list of activities that should help you get in the flow state. And as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says a flow state is an optimal experience of ultimate happiness.
Hiking.
Weightlifting.
Reading.
Writing.
Sports and extreme sports.
Meditation.
Work.
Any activity can help you get in the flow state if you become completely immersed in what you’re doing. But the easiest way to get into a flow state is to satisfy the below criteria.
For a flow state to occur you need to:
1. Push yourself either physically or mentally so you’re completely immersed in what you’re doing.
2. Have a clear goal in mind.
If I take each of the aforementioned activities you’ll see how they satisfy the flow criteria, but ultimately any activity can satisfy the criteria of being in a flow state.
Hiking And Walking
When you go on a hike there’s always a clear end goal. Climbing the summit of the mountain or reaching your desired destination. Each step of the way you’re covering new terrain and testing your limits totally absorbed by the scenery.
Those who have hiked mountains will know this unique feeling of being in a flow state.
Heres an excerpt from the book flow of a mountaineer describing being in the flow state:
“When you’re [climbing] you’re not aware of other problematic life situations. It becomes a world unto its own, significant only to itself. It’s a concentration thing. Once you’re into the situation, it’s incredibly real, and you’re very much in charge of it. It becomes your total world.”
Just like an Olympic athlete breaks their own records and is wholly absorbed by the goal at hand in their given sport, we can break our own records in whatever given sport we pursue.
Weightlifting provides one of the most tangible mediums to express our physical potential.
When you deadlift ( or perform any other exercise) and achieve a new personal record you’re always pushing your limits and not focusing on the past or future just the goal at hand.
This is what causes the flow state. And enjoyment occurs because when we push our limits we have to be fully immersed in the experience. And when we’re so fully in the moment negative emotions cease to exist.
Reading And Writing
Reading is a good way to push ourselves mentally rather than physically. Understanding new words, ideas, and concepts help us enter the state of flow because at the moment we are immersed in the book past and future cease to matter and we’re totally absorbed by the task at hand.
Writing is similar to reading because a decent chunk of time that you spend writing you spend reading.
Its also harder than reading, it takes more effort, but that’s part of why I love writing.
Writing immerses me more in the task at hand.
Sports And Extreme Sports
Competing against others in all sorts of sports forces us to be at our very best, and to be at our best we need to be fully immersed in the task at hand.
Why do you think climbing rock faces, bungee jumping and sky diving are activities that some people enjoy doing?
It’s because these activities force individuals to be present and fully immersed in the task at hand and enter the state of flow.
Meditation
The better you get at meditation the more control you have over consciousness. And being in full control of consciousness can immerse us deeply in the present moment. Thereby allowing us not to focus on the past or future but help us become deeply rooted in the present moment.
This full control over consciousness and becoming fully present can help us dissolve our egos and help us get into the flow state.
The goal of meditation is to create a duality of body and mind and have full control over consciousness. The more we do this the better we get in our spiritual endeavours.
Work
In any sort of work, we can always push our boundaries to improve. Just like the athlete focuses on improving his time at the 100m sprint, the production line worker can improve his speed and efficiency at the job at hand or position in the hierarchy.
For the writer, there will always be something to write about and the skill of writing can always be honed.
The delivery driver can focus on being as quick as he can (within reason) by finding the quickest routes and taking in whatever scenery may abound.
When we voluntarily push our limits and focus fully on our work we can enter the flow state quite easily.
As long as we’re open to it, we can enter the flow state in all situations in our daily lives. But difficult tasks are usually the best at helping us enter this state. They also genearly provide the largest rewards and benefits.
The Bottom Line On Why You Should Spend Time Doing Hard Things
Engaging in difficult activities that push our limits help us experience true happiness by allowing us to enter a state of flow.
Spending time on shallow activities like watching tv and browsing social media is okay in moderation but try to fill most of your day engaging in activities that help you get into a flow state (most activities can help you enter this flow state).
This article was inspired by the book Flow which I’m currently reading. I’ll probably do a book review on it in the near future.
Does spending your time on difficult but meaningful activities enhance your feelings of happiness? Let me know in the comments below.
Our ability to relax can have far-reaching effects on how enjoyable our lives are in general.
If we fail to regularly give ourselves the opportunity to relax we’re more likely to be chronically stressed which can have some consequences like:
Our bodies age faster.
We’re always in a high alert fight or flight state of mind.
We experience higher levels of systemic inflammation.
We become more susceptible to disease.
Whereas if we look after ourselves and give ourselves time to relax every day we can reverse these unwanted consequences.
Here are some time-proven tips on how to relax your muscles and mind:
1. Take Actions To Solve Deep-Rooted Problems
I start with this because things like drinking green tea, meditating, and listening to classical music won’t help you relax completely if your deep-rooted problems that are causing stress don’t come any closer to fruition.
For example, if you inherently dislike your job and dread going to work then the solution to reducing your job induced stress would be to find another job.
Or if you’re stressed because you are in a lot of credit card debt then your first port of call would be to start making monthly payments to your credit card.
Or if you’ve neglected your health for the past few years and feel self-conscious and unhealthy and this problem is causing most of your stress then improving your diet and regularly working out is what you should focus on to get healthy and solve your problem.
2. Listen To Relaxing Music
Classical music is perfect for relaxing your body and mind. Research shows that classical music:
My go-to classical music choices are Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.
Although you may find that other musical genres may help you relax. For example, listening to a wide variety of music can help me relax and uplift my mood.
There was a large study that included 42,093 Japanese Individuals and showed that drinking green tea was associated with lower levels of psychological distress.
Meditation is often made more complex than it needs to be. You don’t need to go on a Buddhist retreat to learn how to do it. You can do it anywhere here’s how you meditate:
Take 5-10 minutes to yourself and make sure you go somewhere where you won’t be distracted.
Then simply sit on a chair with an upright posture, close your eyes and focus on your breath for the whole 5 -10 minutes.
Once you’ve gotten better at this, start focusing on how each body part feels for 15 seconds per body part.
Also instead of focusing on your breath or each body part, you can just watch your thoughts.
Meditation is deeply satisfying and helps you develop a feeling of equanimity.
The billionaire American Investor Ray Dalio is an ardent fan of meditation and has been doing it since the 1960s.
Doing something for someone else, becoming a giver is deeply satisfying and can provide you with a sense of calm and achievement.
Just the feeling of being productive can have its own benefits. For example, I personally feel a lot better if throughout my day I have done something that matters or I’ve come a bit closer to my goals.
7. Breath Deeply
Breathing deeply can help you get out of your own head and reduce your stress levels in difficult situations.
Breathing deeply has almost identical benefits to meditation. If someone or something is getting to you and you feel overwhelmed with stress take 10 deep diaphragmatic breaths (not shallow breaths into the chest).
Once finished you’ll feel calmer, more present and less overwhelmed by daily stressors.
8. Have A Good Pre Bed Routine And Focus On Getting Good Quality Sleep
Ever had a bad night’s sleep and been cranky and irritable the next day? Yes, you have? me too. When we have a poor night’s sleep our bodies create more of the stress hormone cortisol.
To become calmer and avoid this spike in cortisol, focus on having a regular sleeping routine and ensuring that you get good quality sleep.
Here are some actions you can take to improve your quality of sleep:
Avoid looking at screens an hour before going to sleep. (The blue light from screens can mess with our sleeping patterns and thwart a good night’s sleep). Or you can use f.lux or the night shift mode (on apple devices) which reduces the blue light from electronic devices.
Have a reasonably firm mattress ( having a firm mattress can help our spines stay in proper anatomical alignment, thereby helping us sleep in a more natural and comfortable way).
This study shows that individuals with cancer who practised PMR had a greater perceived quality of life.
This study also shows that PMR can reduce feelings of anxiety and improve sleep quality.
PMR is relatively straightforward to do. Here’s how you do it:
Take 10 minutes out of your day and either lie down or sit somewhere where you won’t be distracted.
Then either sitting with an upright posture or lying down, focus on each body part.
You’ll first start with your feet, and focus on tensing your feet as hard as you can for 15 seconds and then relaxing, once you’re finished with your feet go to your calves, then quads then hamstrings all the way up to your face and forehead.
Again focus on each body part for 15 seconds and upon finishing you should feel a sense of calm and relaxation.
As long as you’re tensing each body part for 15 seconds and then relaxing you should feel the benefits of PMR.
PMR was invented by Edmund Jacobson and he believed that physical relaxation gives rise to mental calmness.
10. Get A Massage
Getting a massage can relax your body and mind for different reasons.
Using the aforementioned advice is all well and good but if you don’t know what the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are and how they relate to your life, you won’t be able to make relaxation a fundamental part of your life.
The Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system is what triggers a fight or flight response. Next time you get a fright/ shock from someone or something and feel the sudden unease and alertness the fight or flight response has been triggered.
Generally, when we spend more time in a fight or flight state we find it harder to relax because the fight or flight response is typically activated by a stressor.
Of course, we need both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in this world, but too much time spent in sympathetic system over drive can have many consequences such as :
A suppressed immune system.
Excessive oxidative stress.
Raised blood pressure.
Persistant inflammation.
Higher risk of diabetes.
Promote atherosclerosis.
Accelerate the onset of heart disease, kidney disease and dementia.
Ideally, we want a good balance between the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
The Para Sympathetic Nervous System
This nervous system is primarily activated in rest and digest conditions and all of the 10 tips I have mentioned in this article have a positive effect on activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
As a rule of thumb the more time we spend in the parasympathetic state the more relaxed we’ll be.
And the more time we spend in the sympathetic state the more stressed we’ll be.
My favourite ways to get into the parasympathetic state are deep breathing, reading, drinking tea and listening to music.
How To Relax Your Muscles And Mind: 10 Proven Strategies That Actually Work
Being in a chronic state of stress can give rise to a whole host of ailments.
Whereas spending more time in a relaxed state can make life more enjoyable, make us more productive and help us sleep easier.
Our ability to relax has a significant impact on our lives. If we regularly carve out time in our days to relax, our lives will be more enjoyable.
What are your favourite ways to relax? Let me know in the comments below.
This means subjecting our muscles to more mechanical tension over time.
The best way to subject our muscles to more mechanical tension is to add more weight to the bar for the same amount of reps.
For example, if one week you barbell squat 80kg for 3 sets of 5 reps.
Then next week if you squat 85kg for 3 sets of 5 reps you’ve subjected your muscles to more mechanical tension and thus your body will build muscle (hypertrophy) because of this.
The powerful signal of lifting progressively heavier weights acts as a stimulus for our bodies to build muscle.
And then next time we train, the recovered and newly built muscle can help us send an even more powerful muscle-building stimulus to our bodies by enabling us to lift even more weight. And again our bodies will build even more muscle. It’s hard and it’s tough, but it’s a virtuous cycle when done properly.
At the heart of this virtuous cycle is progressive overload.
Pump training is effectively training your body to get blood flow to your muscles. Pump training is most often achieved by lifting weights in the 10-12 rep range with short rest periods of a minute or less.
Training for the pump feels good and the pumps can make it look like you’ve built more muscle than you have for a short period, but over time if you don’t focus on getting stronger (progressive overload) your results will stagnate.
The Pump Should Be A Side Effect Of Proper Training
Subjecting your body to more mechanical tension requires you to contract your muscles under increasingly heavier loads.
This way you’ll build more muscle and your muscle will look fuller and denser than if you focused your workouts entirely around getting a pump.
The Mind Muscle Connection And The Pump
The good thing about getting a pump is that it helps you to build the mind-muscle connection.
More blood flow in your muscles can help them become easier to feel during your workouts and easier to contract.
To prove this point, next time you work out your arms (mainly your biceps and triceps) try tensing them during or slightly after your workout. And then the morning after try tensing your arms again.
You should find that it’s easier to contract your muscles during/ straight after your workout.
Why Pump Training Doesn’t Yield Good Results In The Long Run
Pump training merely focuses on getting blood flow into the muscles. This by itself does not cause muscle growth.
Applying more mechanical tension to your muscles (progressive overload) does cause muscle growth and that is what you need to be focusing on to see results.
This one study had two groups of adults perform 2 different types of resistance training.
1. Group one performed 4 sets of 10-12 reps (pump style training) with short 1 minute rest periods.
2. Group two performed 4 sets of 3-5 reps focusing on strength with 3 minute rest periods.
Each group trained for 8 weeks and the results found :
” It appears that high-intensity resistance training stimulates greater improvements in some measures of strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men during a short-term training period. “
Note: High-intensity training means using heavier weights. It also means using weights that are a greater percentage of your one-rep max ( the heaviest weight you can lift for one repetition).
So If you can bench press 100kg for a one-rep max. Performing sets with 90 kg means that you’re training at a higher intensity than if you were performing sets with 80kg.
The study clearly shows that strength training (lifting heavier weights for fewer reps and having longer rest periods) increases muscle mass and strength, especially when compared with higher rep pump training (training with higher reps and having short rest periods).
Why Having Longer Rest Periods Is Important For Better Muscle And Strength Gains
If your training consists of compound exercises like barbell squats, the bench press, overhead press and the deadlift (like it should) It makes sense to have longer rest periods of 3-5 minutes.
Having longer rest periods gives your muscles a chance to reduce fatigue before you perform your next heavy set or sets.
Whereas performing higher reps and having less rest in between your sets will increase the amount of lactic acid in your muscles and you’ll be more fatigued for your following sets which will result in you lifting the same amount of weight for fewer reps or even having to lower the weight all together.
Whereas if you just implemented longer rest periods to your training you wouldn’t have to lower the weight or reduce the number of reps you perform.
This is one of the reasons why the individuals in the study who lifted heavier weights for lower reps and implemented longer rest periods had better results.
The Most Muscular Guys And Gals Have Admirable Levels Of Strength
Everyone who has developed a decent amount of muscle mass has also developed an admirable level of strength.
Progressively overloading your muscles (getting stronger) is the best way to build muscle.
There Are Multiple Ways To Apply Progressive Overload To Your Training To Increase Muscle Size And Overall Strength
1. Lift more weight for the same amount of reps. (Linear progression)
2. Lift the same amount of weight for more reps then add weight when you hit the top range of your rep target e.g working in the 4-6 rep range (double progression).
1. Use better form with the same weight for the same number of reps. When the weight feels easy, add weight to the bar or use heavier dumbells. ( A more subjective and intuitive way of applying progressive overload to your training).
Real-Life Examples Of The Different Ways To Progressively Overload Your Muscles
Example 1 ( Linear Progression)
Here’s an example of using linear progression to get stronger at barbell squats (all examples are for barbell squats):
Week 1
Set 1 80kg x 5 reps
Set 2 80kg x 5 reps
Set 3 80kg x 5 reps
Week 2
Set 1 85kg x 5 reps
Set 2 85kg x 5 reps
set 3 85kg x 5 reps
Week 3
Set 1 90kg x 5 reps
Set 2 90kg x 5 reps
Set 3 90kg x 5 reps
Example 2 (Double Progression)
Week 1
Set 1 80kg x 6 reps
Set 2 85kg x 4 reps
Set 3 85kg x 4 reps
Week 2
Set 1 85kg x 5 reps
Set 2 85kg x 5 reps
Set 3 85kg x4 reps
Week 3
Set 1 85kg x 6 reps
Set 2 90kg x 4 reps
Set 3 90kg x 4 reps
Example 3
This way of progressive overload is quite subjective. If one week you’re squatting 80kg for 5 reps and it seems hard. But the week after you are squatting 80kg for 5 or more reps and your form is pretty much perfect and the weight feels easy then progressive overload has occurred and you’re ready to either increase the number of reps you perform or the weight you’re lifting.
What Comes First Muscle Or Strength
When you lift sufficiently heavy weights you provide your body with a stimulus to build muscle.
When you leave the gym and focus on proper recovery, your body will adapt and you’ll build muscle.
The recovered bigger and stronger muscles cause you to display greater levels of strength in your next workouts.
So in fact the strength comes second to the muscle we’ve built. It’s the mixture of progressively lifting sufficiently heavy weights, utilizing proper recovery methods and nutrition that helps us to build muscle in the long run.
These are the laws of muscle growth and if anyone deviates from these methods be very sceptical.
Rep Ranges And Muscle Growth
Just because I’ve mentioned lower rep training doesn’t mean that I think it’s superior to higher rep training.
You can build muscle using higher and lower rep ranges so long as you’re utilizing progressive overload, performing an equal amount of sets and putting in a comparable amount of effort.
But just focusing on getting the blood flow into your muscles without emphasizing progressive overload is missing the forest for the trees.
The Bottom Line On How Important Is Getting A Pump For Building Muscle?
Getting a pump really isn’t that important for building muscle. If you’re following a properly structured strength training program, getting a pump will be the side effect of performing and getting stronger at the exercises within your workout plan.
As long as you’re getting stronger in your workouts you don’t need to worry about training solely for the pump.
The 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson has sold 5 million copies. And for a good reason. Jordan’s advice is helpful.
The reason it’s helpful is because Jordan Peterson is a clinical psychologist and he’s worked with many people to help improve their psychological well being.
We all have a psyche, and if any advice can help us improve our lives I think we should take heed.
For the rest of this article, I’ll be summarising the 12 rules for life as concisely as I can.
Rule 1. Stand Up Straight With Your Shoulders Back
Jordan puts forward the point that to stand up straight with your shoulders back is to face the world in a courageous manner.
Whereas being hunched over is a sign of defeat and helplessness symbolic of a prey animal.
Jordan gives the example of lobsters having a fight, and explains the different outcomes.
For example, a lobster who wins a fight has higher levels of the feel-good neurotransmitter chemical serotonin.
Because of this the winning lobster develops a confident yet aggressive stance and goes on to win more fights.
Thereby climbing up the lobster hierarchy ( the lobster world). And becoming more attractive to female mates.
Whereas the defeated lobster has lowered levels of serotonin, is likely to lose future fights and lives a wretched existence.
Even when free moving lobsters are injected with serotonin they develop more aggressive and confident postures similar to animals.
The bottom line of this rule is if we develop a good posture by standing straight with our shoulders back. We face the world in an optimistic and courageous manner.
To quote an interesting study that was done on 74 participants who developed an upright or a slumped posture. During the experiment the results found:
” Adopting an upright seated posture in the face of stress can maintain self-esteem, reduce negative mood, and increase positive mood compared to a slumped posture. Furthermore, sitting upright increases rate of speech and reduces self-focus. Sitting upright may be a simple behavioral strategy to help build resilience to stress. The research is consistent with embodied cognition theories that muscular and autonomic states influence emotional responding. “
The Reason Jordan compares lobsters to humans is because like us lobsters exist in hierarchies and have a nervous system that adapts to status.
The higher the lobster climbs the hierarchy, the more the brain makes serotonin available.
Rule 2 – Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible For Helping
In this rule, it basically means if you were someone else, and you were responsible for helping the person that is you. How would you go about it?
Obviously, there’s no simple answer for this. But there are general things that can improve our lives no matter what.
Some things include:
Eating a healthy & nutritious diet.
Exercising multiple times per week.
Getting a good amount of sleep.
Reading 30 minutes per day.
Improving in our careers through hard work.
Not smoking.
Not drinking alcohol in excess.
Why We Care About Others More Than Ourselves
Jordan gives the example of someone with a sick dog, the individual would need to feed the dog medication so it can get better. Apparently, most people would do this no questions asked.
But when it comes to looking after ourselves, we don’t fare so well. Many people neglect things that help them and instead replace healthy productive behaviours with unhelpful ones.
Why is it that some people would devote themselves to others ( and even animals) yet neglect themselves?
Why We Should All Treat Ourselves Like Someone We Are Responsible For Helping
When we help ourselves to become healthier, stronger and better individuals, we in turn help others become better as well.
There are a few different ways we can do this:
If we help ourselves and set a good example others may follow, and without knowing it we might just help them to improve their own lives.
If we help rather than denigrate ourselves we’ll be happier individuals. Thereby becoming a nicer more pleasant person to be around. Who knows your presence might make someone’s day better.
If we help ourselves we’ll become more productive individuals. This will help us take a step closer to our realised selves, and hopefully, improve the world for others.
When we treat ourselves like someone we are responsible for helping, we make better decisions for ourselves and in the long run, these decisions improve our lives.
Rule 3 – Make Friends With People Who Want The Best For You
At the heart of this rule, we need to have friends who want the best for us.
For example, if you’re trying to quit smoking because you know how bad the long term implications of smoking are and your friend knows you’re trying to quit, yet offers you a cigarette. That friend does not want the best for you.
Or if a friend becomes spiteful when you start to do well, that’s another red flag.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that if a friend is going through a difficult time in their life and isn’t exactly a positive influence (which is understandable), to kick them when they’re down.
We should be the type of friend that we’d like to have. But if a proposed friend takes more than he or she gives and doesn’t, necessarily want the best for you, find new friends. There’s plenty of people out there.
This rule also applies to family members and associates throughout our lives. Not everyone wants the best for us (sorry for sounding sceptical) in fact some people want you and me to fail.
But there is a subset of people that want you to succeed as well and I promise they are out there if you look hard enough.
And going back to the second rule, psychologically sometimes we don’t want the best for ourselves.
When we engage in unhealthy behaviours and avoid the important things we ought to do. Self-sabotage is real.
But if we can make friends with people who want the best for us and if we can treat ourselves like someone we’re responsible for helping. Life can work for us rather than against us.
Rule 4 – Compare Yourself with Who You Were Yesterday, Not With Who Someone Else Is Today
The Entrepreneur and Investor Naval Ravikant Says:
” One day, I realized with all these people I was jealous of, I couldn’t just choose little aspects of their life. I couldn’t say I want his body, I want her money, I want his personality. You have to be that person. Do you want to actually be that person with all of their reactions, their desires, their family, their happiness level, their outlook on life, their self-image? If you’re not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100% swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous. “
Comparing ourselves to others is completely futile.
When we compare ourselves to others we see only one perspective of their life, not the truth.
For example, In fitness, it takes a long time to get the physique of a fitness model ( roughly 3-5 years).
But if at the very beginning of your journey you’re comparing yourself to individuals who have been training for 5, 10, or even 20 years, then the journey can seem overwhelming.
Instead of comparing yourself to others focus on the process and improving just a little bit every day.
And even if we compare ourselves to a particular part of someone’s life whether that be their physique, wealth, car or whatever. Other parts of their lives may be in a neglected state.
For example, the wealthy individual might have very little family time and his relationships with his wife and kids may be neglected.
Car Jung Says:
” The shoe that fits one person pinches another ; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.”
Why would we compare ourselves to others when we’re all different?
All we can do is focus on improving ourselves one day at a time.
And each day we make progress toward our goals should provide enough motivation for making more progress tomorrow.
Rule 5 – Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything That Makes You Dislike Them
I personally don’t have children. But what I get from this rule is don’t let your children do anything that makes you dislike them because it will sour your relationship with them and turn the parent’s and children’s lives into a sorry state of affairs.
Because if you allow your children to do things that make you dislike them. There’s a good chance other people dislike them as well.
And likeability is an important trait in order to get on life.
On the other hand, Jordan says if you allow your children to do things that make you like them and don’t let them do anything that makes you dislike them.
You’ll be able to turn your relationships with your children into something special to be cherished.
I suppose you could take this rule for people in general. If a trend or social custom that individuals engage in is ugly and bad for humanity as a whole call it out.
Or if a friend or family member is doing something that makes you dislike them, tell them your concerns in an open, but not condescending way.
As Marcus Aurelius puts it:
” If they’ve made a mistake, correct them gently and show them where they went wrong. If you can’t do that, then the blame lies with you. Or no one. “
Rule 6 – Set Your House In Perfect Order Before You Criticise The World
This isn’t the first time this pithy piece of wisdom has manifested itself.
Confucious said over 2000 years ago:
“Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbor’s roof when your own doorstep is unclean.”
Almost 2000 years ago Marcus Aurelius said:
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
Think of the successful and effective people of this world. People like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Martin Luther King Junior etc.
It’s not what these people say that makes us look up to them, it’s what they do. And how they do it.
Complaining in general is a waste of mental energy. It doesn’t really achieve much especially when actions aren’t taken to resolve whatever you’re frustrated about in the first place.
Before we criticize the world we first must as Mahatma Gandhi says ” Be the change we wish to see in the world. ”
Rule 7 – Pursue What Is Meaningful (Not What Is Expedient)
Carl Jung said in the book Modern Man In Search Of A Soul:
“The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.”
To pursue what is meaningful is to as Viktor Frankl Says in Man’s search for meaning:
” To live is to suffer , to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is a purpose in life at all then there must be a purpose in suffering and dying. But no man can tell another what this purpose is. Each must find out for himself and must accept the responsibility that his answer prescribes. If he succeeds he will continue to grow in spite of all indignities. Frankl is fond of quoting Nietzsche “he who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”
One way Frankl prompts us to find meaning in the suffering is to ask ” why do you not commit suicide?”.
Everybody has some form of tragedy in their lives. No matter how rich or poor you are.
But in all of our lives, we have things to be grateful for. And things that make life bearable.
Some things that help me find meaning.
Spending time with family and friends.
Reading, learning for its own sake.
Writing, I also like doing it for its own sake and I always learn more about whatever I write about.
Working out, getting stronger and seeing your body change in a good way is cool.
Watching/playing sport, playing is always enjoyable and watching athletes of the highest level is fun and inspiring.
Walking in nature.
Helping others.
Eating and cooking good food.
Everyone can find meaning in their lives in different ways. So try and pay attention to the things that you enjoy (the things that make life worth living).
Rule 8 – Tell The Truth – Or At Least Don’t Lie
For me, this is probably the most important rule. Honesty is a virtue worthy of respect. To lie is to go against yourself.
For me, I just can’t lie. It makes me feel bad. And if we get into the habit of lying to others, we get into the habit of lying to ourselves. Which can make life more complicated than it needs to be.
The key is to be an honest person. This way we can live life how we genuinely want to live it. Being an honest person also helps us to build and maintain relationships with others becasuse no one likes a lier.
Jordan also mentions that we can’t know the absolute truth about everything all the time, there’s just too much to know and the world is too complex.
But we all have the ability to not tell a lie.
What Jordan proposes we do is:
Not say or write things we intentionally know are false.
Think of getting on in the world like following a map. If your map is full of lies and is incorrect you won’t get to your destination.
Whereas if the map is based on truth and is made correctly and honestly you’ll get to your destination.
Being an honest person above all knows him/ her self. And can make decisions and act accordingly to their honest values and self.
In Stoicism honesty is one of the four greatest virtues that Marcus Aurelius practised.
Also, one of the 13 Virtues that founding father and polymath Benjamin Franklin practised was Sincerity.
Practising the virtue of sincerity is defined as:
” Sincerity is the virtue of one who communicates and acts in accordance with the entirety of their feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and desires in a manner that is honest and genuine. “
Jordan says that telling lies is dangerous and he wholeheartedly advises against telling them.
Rule 9 – Assume That The Person You Are Listening To Might Know Something You Don’t
What I take away from this rule is:
Learn what you can from others.
In general, we should be humble individuals willing to learn. And as we go through this life we should learn from the people we meet. Chances are they probably know things that we don’t.
In the book, Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher he says to become remarkable in any field, you should read 500 books on a subject or have one great mentor.
We never know what we can learn from the people we meet. And that’s why it’s important we keep our ears wide open and be generally interested in people.
If we can stay, humble, and curious and can become good listeners we can learn a lot from other individuals.
Marcus Aurelius the Roman Emperor in his outstanding book Meditations says:
“Practice really hearing what people say. Do your best to get inside their minds”.
And if we’re doing things in an inefficient way that we could do better, it’s best to listen to the experts so that we can take their advice and improve.
We should also listen to enemies/competitors because unlike our friends, enemies/ competitors don’t care about our feelings so there’s no filter with them, and they’ll tell us some important things about ourselves that may be harsh but true that our friends are too nice to say.
I remember when I first started this website, I emailed Andy Morgan from rippedbody.com and told him I’d recommended his books (the muscle and strength pyramids) on my website.
And he got back to me, grateful of course that I recommended his books. But he also gave me some helpful criticism on some of the not so good things I was doing on my website.
But he also gave me tangible tips on how I could improve my website.
And I gladly listened to his advice and took it on board.
Always Learn What You Can From Others, Even If It Shatters Your Previous Paradigms (Mental Models).
Rule 10 – Be Precise In Your Speech
Carl Jung said in the book Modern Man In Search Of A Soul:
” It is probable that one form of neurosis is conditioned by the predominance of secrets, and another by the predominance of restrained emotions. “
To get where we want to go in life, we must describe what it is we’re feeling, what problems we have and where it is we want to go.
Only then when we have a clear view of the problem and the solution can we develop a clear plan on how to resolve it so that it ceases to be a problem.
Socrates said:
“The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms”.
The key is to capture whatever it is we want to say in a precise and truthful way. So that we can Say What We Mean And Mean What We Say.
The more we read and actually understand each word as fully as we can. The more we can be precise with what we’re saying. And the more precise we can articulate ourselves the easier it will be to get on in this world.
Rule 11 – Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skate-Boarding
Carl Jung said in his book modern man in search of a soul:
“Man is completely human only when he is playing “.
Most of life’s joy and happiness comes from what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defines as being in a flow state.
Mihaly says in his best selling book flow:
” The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. “
This rule essentially means we need to immerse ourselves in activities that push us to get into that flow state.
I remember when I was a kid, I used to ride a BMX and me and my friends at the time would try to master different tricks for hours each day we went to the skatepark.
Time goes by so quickly when you’re in this flow state.
Essentially this flow state that I’m referring to is one that athletes, composures, and artists immerse themselves in.
A lot of happiness comes from activities that help us enter this flow state.
For children to do difficult, courageous and sometimes dangerous things like skateboarding requires them to be in a flow state.
We should encourage children to do difficult and hard things that push their abilities and fully immerse them in consciousness.
We should also try our best to immerse ourselves in this flow state as much as possible in our daily lives.
Being in the flow state is part of why I write this blog, why I read books, and work out at the gym. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi proposes that being in the flow state is the key to happiness.
The more we’re engaged in activities that get us into a flow state the better our lives will be.
Rule 12 – Pet A Cat When You Encounter One On The Street
This rule essentially means:
We need to pay attention to things in our lives that are good for the soul.
This could mean petting your cat, or dog, or even just enjoying nature in general by going for a walk.
For example, in the book, Man’s Search For Meaning By Viktor Frankl (which is essentially about Viktor’s experiences in a concentration camp) Viktor would pay special attention to the beautiful sky at the crack of dawn and be in general awe of the beauty of nature during some of the most horrendous experiences you could imagine.
On the front cover of the book theres a beautiful robin amidst the suffering of a concentration camp.
Which carries an important message:
Essentially life is suffering and we must pay attention to the things that make it worthwhile.
My Favourite Jordan Peterson Quotes
“We experience much of our positive emotions in relation to goals. We are not happy, technically speaking, unless we see ourselves progressing. And the very idea of progression implies value.”
” We must have something to set against the suffering that is intrinsic to being.”
“Dominance Hierarchies have been an essentially permanent feature to which all life has adapted.”
” If you present yourself as defeated, then people will react to you as if you are losing. If you start to straighten up people will look and treat you differently.”
” How could the nature of man ever reach its full potential without challenge and danger? “
Each of us should ask ourselves:
“ What might my life look like if I was caring for myself properly?”
On helping someone who doesn’t want to be helped:
“Maybe instead of continuing our friendship I should just go off somewhere, get my act together, and lead by example.”
On the importance of gratitude in our daily lives:
“Gratitude is great protection over the dangers of victimhood and resentment.”
“The past Is fixed but the future- it could be better by some precise amount. The amount that can be achieved within a day with some minimal engagement. The present is eternally flawed. But where you start isn’t important as where you are heading. “Perhaps happiness is always to be found in the journey uphill, and not in the fleeting sense of satisfaction awaiting at the next peak” much of happiness is hope no matter how deep the underworld in which that hope was conceived. “
The importance of the rules of religion and virtues to achieve our goals:
“You cannot aim yourself at anything if you are completely undisciplined and untutored.”
On the importance of being present:
“Take therefore no thought for tomorrow. For tomorrow shall take thought for things of itself.” – Jordon quotes Matthew 6:34 The Bible.
On the importance of discipline in parenthood:
” Nature and society will punish in a draconian manner whatever errors of childhood behaviour remain uncorrected if the parent Forgo’s discipline. “
On the importance of delaying instant gratification:
” That something better might be attained in the future by giving up something of value in the present.”
“There is little difference between sacrifice and work.”
” The successful among us delay gratification. “
The Bottom Line On 12 Rules For Life By Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson’s work ( especially his lectures and his books) provides pithy nuggets of wisdom. His reading list has also changed the way I look at the world. I highly recommend you read the 12 rules for life. And listen to Jordan’s lectures. I always come away with something.
Eating a diet high in added sugar is definitely not the best for you. Added sugar is nutritionally bankrupt. So eating lots of this sweet nutrient can result in nutrient deficiencies, and impact your health negatively. But can sugar cause anxiety? That’s what I’ll be addressing in this article.
Eating a diet full of whole foods is one of the most important things you can do for your health. When you swap out the whole foods for the added sugars, your health can suffer and if your health suffers, that can take its toll on you and cause anxiety (anxiety, and health anxiety).
What Do The Facts Say?
A 2017 study where data was collected on 23,245 people showed that men who had a higher sugar intake had a 23% greater chance of developing common mental disorders after 5 years. These common mental disorders include anxiety and depressive disorders.
Another study that was done in 2019 on 1128 adults shows that diets that are higher in refined sugars and saturated fat were associated with higher levels of anxiety in individuals.
There was a meta-analysis ( a study of studies) of 23 studies. And this study was made up of children, some normal and healthy and some healthy but autistic, and they ingested either sugar or a placebo (which was aspartame). The children and researchers were unaware of what they were given.
The results found that:
” The meta-analytic synthesis of the studies to date found that sugar does not affect the behaviour or cognitive performance of children.”
So the belief in sugar rushes and crashes isn’t as clear as commonly thought. Sugar rushes and crashes rarely affect the generally healthy individual. But they could indicate that an individual is pre-diabetic or diabetic.
You Shouldn’t Have To Worry About Sugar Too Much Unless Intake Is Excessive
Eating too much added sugar can leave you swapping healthy foods for less healthy foods. But unless this is taken to the extreme ( eating the majority of your diet from added sugars) then it shouldn’t cause you a problem.
Sugar And Obesity
This study which was conducted by the sugar bureau, shows:
” Evidence showed that higher intakes of sugar were related to leanness, not obesity, and had no detrimental effects on micronutrient intakes in most people.”
Sugar isn’t the main cause of obesity. Eating too many calories is. But many high-calorie foods that are more likely to result in overeating and weight gain are made up of sugar and fat.
These foods include:
Donuts.
Cakes.
Twinkies
Biscuits
Chocolate
Other popular desserts
Although the evidence suggests that eating sugar isn’t associated with obesity. It can definitely be one of the factors causing obesity if you were to regularly overeat foods like the ones above.
Obesity And Anxiety
If high-calorie foods like the ones above are consumed excessively they can quite easily result in weight gain.
And studies show ” a moderate level of evidence exists for a positive association between obesity and anxiety disorders “.
Soft drinks are also very high in calories and if drank in excess alongside the aforementioned high-calorie foods and an excessive amount of dietary fat, can also cause obesity ( if you eat more calories than you burn). Which can inherently cause feelings of anxiety.
Because how we feel and look can affect how we think about ourselves. And feeling unhealthy and unhappy with our appearance can definitely impact our mental health negatively.
Limits For Sugar Intake To Avoid Any Issues
You have no need to worry about your added sugar intake and any issues. So long as you consume it as part of a nutritious diet.
A good rule of thumb is to limit added sugar to around 10-20% of your diet.
This way your diet will be mostly made up of 80-90% of nutritious whole foods.
And if your diet is mostly made up of nutritious whole foods, then this amount of sugar won’t leave you nutrient deficient. Because most of your calories will be coming from nutrient-dense foods.
The Difference Between Sugar From Fruit And Added Sugar
Added sugar includes things like table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, these are not the only types of added sugar but they are some of the most common types.
Chemically speaking the sugar from an apple and the sugar from a mars bar isn’t different.
But the fruit contains much more micronutrients ( vitamins and minerals ) compared to the mars bar.
And that’s why most of your sugar intake should come from fruit. It’s also very hard to overeat and gain weight eating fruit whereas it’s much easier to gain weight eating chocolate, desserts, candy, and drinking sugary soft drinks. And if weight gain occurs and health suffers this can cause anxiety.
There was a study conducted by the University of Hawaii which included an extensive review of the literature on sugar and found:
“It is important to state at the outset that there is no direct connection between added sugars intake and obesity unless excessive consumption of sugar-containing beverages and foods leads to energy imbalance and the resultant weight gain.”
So Can Sugar Cause Anxiety?
There’s definitely a correlation between a diet high in added sugar ( and just a poor diet in general) and anxiety. There’s also evidence to suggest that obesity can cause anxiety.
Although as part of a healthy diet, added sugar is unlikely to be a problem for you. If you overconsume added sugar and eat too many calories resulting in weight gain, this could lead to feelings of anxiety.
Added sugar isn’t nutritious. And eating a poor diet that includes lots of added sugar, and other nutritionally bankrupt foods isn’t going to be great for your health.
And if your health isn’t as good as it could be you could easily develop feelings of anxiety.
So yes, in a scenario when someone eats a poor diet regularly including high amounts of added sugars and saturated fats and eats very few or even no nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables and also overeats.
They are likely to be unhealthier, lack important nutrients and feel uncomfortable at a higher body fat percentage which can lead to feelings of anxiety.
But if you eat a diet that includes 80-90% of whole foods and include added sugar in moderation and also exercise a few times per week.
Then consuming added sugar is not very likely at all to affect you in any way.
The Bottom Line On Can Sugar Cause Anxiety? Here Are The Cold Hard Facts
Sugar is unlikely to cause anxiety when consumed as part of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle.
Sugar is likely to cause anxiety if you’re overeating in general, eating too much added sugar, not eating enough nutritious whole foods and have a sedentary lifestyle resulting in weight gain and diminished health.
Did you enjoy this article? Let me know in the comments below.
In the Little Black Book Of Workout Motivation By Mike Matthews, he advocates that every Monday you should take a cold shower to get out of your comfort zone. Following this challenge, I took a cold shower every week for 3 months and here are the benefits.
1. They Increase Wakefulness And Reinvigorate You
The science on cold showers indicates that they don’t do anything special.
But the cold showers definitely shocked my body into waking up. Because the water was so cold ( the lowest setting on the dial) it resulted in me deep breathing which left me feeling awake, invigorated and full of energy.
The cold water also constricts your blood vessels and causes blood to move to your organs to keep them warm.
If you have a cold shower then a warm shower alternating between the two you can improve your circulation.
Because heat opens up your blood vessels and promotes blood flow. Heat also helps sore and tightened muscles relax.
If you alternate between the two you’ll get the best of both worlds.
2. They Teach You How To Do Hard Things
If left to our own devices jumping into an Ice cold shower would be something that we have an inherent dislike for.
The reason being is that it’s hard and uncomfortable.
But having cold showers is one way to force ourselves to do hard things even though we don’t want to.
And this can help with many things.
Because many activities that are hard but can also improve our lives are inherently uncomfortable.
Such as:
Working out (it’s hard and uncomfortable).
Working on a project that needs your best effort ( it’s hard and uncomfortable).
Reading books (especially harder to read books such as classics).
Building a good life for yourself and your family (obviously no easy task).
To achieve many important goals, and build the lives we want at times will require the ability to do hard and uncomfortable things even when we don’t want to. Cold showers are good for training this ability.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, ” Nothing worth having comes easy”.
And if we can train ourselves to do hard and uncomfortable things, when we face hard and uncomfortable problems in our lives we’ll be better prepared for them.
3. They Can Help You Breath More Deeply
During our hectic lives, most of us don’t really focus on our breathing. It’s easy for our breathing to go unnoticed because it’s automatic, so why should we focus on it?
But not breathing deeply is a big mistake. The good thing about cold exposure is that it stimulates your body to take deeper breaths, which decreases the levels of CO2 throughout your body and helps you to concentrate.
Whereas shallow breathing can trigger anxiety and cause dry mouth.
Different Civilazations And Cold Showers
Arguably the toughest soldiers in history, the Spartans had a disdain for hot water. They thought hot water was for the weak and unmanly. They would only use cold water.
There is a tradition in Finland where you first go into a sauna for several minutes and then cool off in an ice-cold lake.
Japanese people also have a ritual called Misogi. Where they effectively douse themselves in water under a waterfall.
Wim Hof’s Proposed Benefits Of Cold Showers
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably heard of Wim Hoff. He’s basically made cold exposure and deep breathing almost mainstream.
I agree with most of Wims proposed benefits of cold showers such as:
Reduced Stress levels
The nature of deep breathing when taking a cold shower can definitely lower the stresses in our daily lives.
Deep breathing has been found to do this on its own. But due to the uncomfortable nature of cold showers, they can make normal life seem quite nice in comparison.
Higher Level Of Alertness
There’s no doubt about this one. Taking a cold shower is an excellent way to wake up in the morning and increase your levels of alertness.
Increased willpower
Again, cold showers are hard and uncomfortable and if we can train ourselves to do hard and uncomfortable things when we don’t want to, the better our lives will be.
Other Claimed Benefits Of The Wim Hof Method
Stronger Immune Response
Essentially the Wim Hof Method Is just deep breathing with some cold exposure. There is a study on his site that indicates people who performed the Wim Hof method have a better immune response to pathogens.
This might be true or it might not be.
But I think the increase in immune response would be marginal compared to if you did things like:
Exercised Reguarly
Slept 7-9 hours per night
Limited alcohol intake
Reduced your stress levels
Ate a healthy diet
Yes, you could add the Wim Hoff method into your regimen as well. But focusing on breathing techniques and cold exposure without focusing on the fundamentals ( the list above) is putting the cart before the horse.
Weight Loss
Cold exposure probably does increase your metabolic rate ( how many calories you burn when you do nothing) but again it would be marginal.
Cold exposure is definitely not the main thing you want to focus on if you want to lose weight.
Here’s what you want to primarily focus on:
Eating in a calorie deficit ( eating fewer calories than you burn)
The book is just an elaborated version of the graduation speech.
Here are my 5 Takeaways:
1. Nothing can replace the strength and comfort of one’s faith, but sometimes the simple act of making your bed can give you the lift you need to start your day and provide you the satisfaction to end it right. If you want to change your life and maybe the world—start off by making your bed!
In order to do the big things in life right, it’s best to start with the small things. The simple task of making your bed ensures that you start your day with one completed task.
And performing this simple task over and over again creates discipline. And discipline can help you achieve many things in life.
Making your bed is a small task. But it’ll ensure you start your day in a satisfied and disciplined manner. So as William says, If you want to change the world start by making your bed.
And hopefully, this one completed task to start your day can trigger a chain reaction of other completed tasks throughout the rest of your day. But if not, no need to despair, you’d have come home to a made bed.
2. ” No SEAL could make it through combat alone and by extension, you needed people in your life to help you through the difficult times. “
Benjamin Franklin once said, ” Man is a sociable being ” and I believe it’s true. Isolation is dangerous and we must try our best to help and serve others.
Think about it, the self-made man is utter hogwash. Histories greatest figures had mentors and teachers to help them fulfill their greatest ambitions.
For example:
Alexander the great was mentored by Aristotle.
Mark Zukerburg was mentored by Steve Jobbs.
Bill Gates was mentored by Warren Buffet.
Kanye West was mentored by Jay Z.
Harry Potter was mentored by Albus Dumbeldore (fictionally speaking).
As Aristotle says ” society precedes the individual “. Humans need other humans to get on in this world. Man cannot get very far in this life alone.
William also says in his book:
” You cannot paddle the boat alone. Find someone to share your life with. Make as many friends as possible, and never forget that your success depends on others. “
I believe this is true. Because by being a positive influence and helping others, we also help ourselves.
As Benjamin Franklin said in his biography:
” To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine “.
3. ” Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on. “
In navy seal training if a recruit doesn’t make their bed or sort their uniform out up to certain standards ( basically perfection) some recruits become sugar cookies.
In the United States military, a sugar cookie is when a recruit runs into the ocean and then rolls around in the white sand becoming covered from head to toe with sand. Resulting in the recruit looking like a cookie covered in sugar.
But no matter how well a recruit made their bed, wore their uniform or prepared their equipment, recruits would be chosen as sugar cookies anyway, just to wear them down physically and mentally.
In life, we all become sugar cookies. Unfortunate things happen to us when we don’t deserve it, but that’s just the way life is.
But we have 2 options:
We can complain about the undesirable things that have happened to us and blame our misfortune on others.
Or we can take responsibility, and try to do our best in any given situation. We can do this by focusing on what we can control, and developing an optimistic outlook.
In my opinion and from experience, the first option is virtually useless. The second is far more effective.
4. ” Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever-present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life. “
The more you fail the more likely you are to succeed.
In order to succeed you need to at least try. There’s no success without effort, that’s a given.
In order for us to realise our full potential, we must first dare greatly, only then can we see what’s truly possible in our lives.
Remember : Who dares greatly wins.
5. ” In life you will face a lot of Circuses. You will pay for your failures. But, if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and strengthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life’s toughest moments. “
The German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said ” That which does not kill us makes us stronger.“
If we can look at the hardest moments in our lives and face them head-on with optimism and courage, then these hard moments can forge our character and our will, so that we can deal with life’s hardest moments.
Just like weightlifting can make our muscles grow bigger and stronger, overcoming difficult situations can help us build ever greater mental fortitude, and can help us become more resilient.
Some More Takeaways From Make Your Bed By William H. McRaven
” Remember … start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up—if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better … and maybe the world! “
” Life is full of difficult times. But someone out there always has it worse than you do. If you fill your days with pity, sorrowful for the way you have been treated, bemoaning your lot in life, blaming your circumstances on someone or something else, then life will be long and hard. If, on the other hand, you refuse to give up on your dreams, stand tall and strong against the odds—then life will be what you make of it—and you can make it great. “
” At some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best. “
The Bottom Line On Make Your Bed By William H. McRaven
This book provides practical advice on how to get through life, from a military veteran with 37 years of experience, who served in some of the most difficult operations in military history.
If this advice has served an extremely successful military veteran well during his life. It can definitely help you and me navigate this complex world.
Have you read Make Your Bed By William H McRaven? If you have, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.
In this article, I’m going to be giving you my best tips on how to track your workouts in the most effective way possible.
Because without tracking your workouts ( and improving on them) you won’t’ make any substantial long term progress in the gym, it’s as simple as that.
In order to develop a more muscular physique, it’s important to build strength. This is called progressive overload.
Without progressive overload, your body stays the same. There must be a stimulus for growth to occur because your body needs a good reason to change.
If you don’t track your workouts it’s impossible to know if progressive overload is occurring.
What To Use For A Workout Journal
Some people like to use a notepad or a purpose-made workout journal but it really doesn’t matter what you use. Because as long as you’re striving for progress in your workouts by getting stronger, any option will do.
For a long time, I’ve just used my notes app on my iPhone. There are also purpose-made apps such as the app strong which I’ve used before and found to be useful.
How I Journal My Workouts
I plan my training in 8-week cycles and after every 8 weeks, I have a week off from the gym. This is called a deload week. And it can be very productive for the next training cycle.
Every 8-week interval is called a training phase and typically I complete 6 training phases in a year.
I make my yearly training phase in advance on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet although you can also use google sheets.
And each week I track my workouts on the notes app on my iPhone. And every Sunday I add the week’s worth of workouts that I’ve completed to my spreadsheet.
An Example Of One Weeks Worth Of Workouts For A 3 day Push Pull Legs Program
Monday: Push Day
Barbell bench press 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Dumbbell shoulder press 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Dumbbell bench press 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Standing lateral raises 8 -10 reps for 3 sets
Cable crunches 8- 10 reps for 3 sets
Wednesday: Pull Day
Barbell deadlift or barbell row 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Seated cable row for 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Lat Pulldown for 8 -10 reps for 3 sets
Dumbbell row for 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Cable crunches 8-10 reps for 3 sets
Friday: Leg day
Barbell squat for 8 – 10 reps for 3 sets
Romanian deadlift or hamstring curls for 8 – 10 reps for 3 sets
Leg press for 8 -10 reps for 3 sets
Calf raises for 8 – 10 reps for 3 sets
Warm Up Sets
It’s very important to know that you must perform warm-up sets before you perform the first exercise of each workout.
For each workout warm-up for the first exercise only, although the push day is the only exception to this rule.
Monday ( Push workout) warm-up for the barbell bench press and shoulder press.
Wednesday ( Pull workout ) warm-up for the deadlift.
Friday ( Leg workout) warm-up for barbell squats.
Once you’ve warmed up for these compound exercises your muscles will have an increased blood flow and your body temperature will be higher which will reduce the risk of injury.
The reason you don’t have to warm up for the rest of the exercises in your workouts is because the compound exercises such as the barbell squat, deadlift, bench press and shoulder press target the muscle groups you’ll be using in the other exercises in the workout, thereby already warming them up. So its not necessary to warm them up again as they’ll already be warmed up.
A Simple Warm Up
Set 1 warm-up with 50% of your working weight for 12 reps.
Set 2 warm-up with 70% of your working weight for 4 reps
Set 3 warm-up with 90% of your working weight for 2 reps.
Next sets: perform with your working weights.
Here’s what your warm up sets might look like for barbell squats if your working weights were 100kg.
Set 1 50kg for 12 reps.
Set 2 70kg for 4 reps
Set 3 90kg for 2 reps.
Next sets 100kg for 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
How To Find Out Your Working Weights And Warm Up Set Numbers
All it takes to find your working weights is a bit of trial and error. I recommend starting off light. This way you won’t hurt yourself.
Once you’ve had a reasonable but conservative guess of your working weights you can calculate your percentages off that.
Alternatively, if you’re just starting to work out as a beginner or after a long lay off you can just start off using the bar for 3 warm-up sets of 12, and then you can add 2.5 or 5 kg for your working sets. And just work up from here.
How To Track Your Workouts An Example:
Here’s a 4-week example for progressing on barbell squats although you can use this method of progressing on all of the exercises in the example program.
Barbell Squats
Week 1
Warm up sets x 3
Set 1 – 100kg x 10
Set 2 105 kg x 8
Set 3 105 kg x 8
Week 2
Warm up sets x 3
Set 1 – 105kg x 9
Set 2 – 105kg x 8
Set 3 – 105 kg x 8
Week 3
Warm up sets x 3
Set 1 – 105kg x 9
Set 2 – 105kg x 9
Set 3 – 105 kg x 8
Week 4
Warm up sets x 3
Set 1 – 105kg x 9
Set 2 – 105kg x 9
Set 3 – 105kg x 9
Week 5
Warm up sets x 3
Set 1 – 105 kg x 10
Set 2 – 110 kg x 8
Set 3 – 110 kg x 8
The Truth About Tracking Your Workouts
There’s no one best system for tracking your workouts. The most important thing is that you know how much you’re lifting and improving on that, by doing things such as:
Increasing the number of reps you perform with the same weight.
Using better form with the same weight.
Lifting a heavier weight for the same number of reps.
Lifting the same amount of weight with shorter rest intervals between sets.
Using Google Sheets On Your Phone Or Tablet
One great way of tracking your workouts is to use the same principles as above but track your workouts on google sheets/ excel on a tablet or on your phone when you’re at the gym after each exercise.
Rest Intervals
For the example workout program above I recommend you have 2-3 minute rest periods in between sets. This way you’ll be able to give each set everything you’ve got without being extremely fatigued like you would in a circuit style workout program.
You can also update your workout journal on your app, notes on your phone, notepad or even a spreadsheet on your phone or tablet during these 2-3 minute rest intervals.
Add A Notes Section To Your Journal
This is optional. But it can definitely help to make notes on how you were feeling during your workouts and how they went. For example, if you were squatting and you feel like you didn’t squat low enough. You could make a note in your journal to squat lower next time.
Or if you felt like you were lifting the weight too fast and less controlled (thereby increasing the risk of injury) you could put ” slow tempo down so that my form is more controlled next time ” to get a better mind-muscle connection with the same weight and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Optional Addition To The Workout Journal
For me, it really helps to record my workouts when I can, and I recommend that you do it as well. More specifically try to record compound exercises like the barbell squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press.
Because naturally compound exercises are more complex and watching your form on a video recording and improving your form when appropriate can help you perform exercises better and result in your workouts being more effective.
The Bottom Line On Hacking The Workout Journal: How to Track Your Workouts in The Most Effective Way Possible
Tracking your workouts is needed for you to make progress. Without tracking you won’t know if you’re improving. So whatever your method may be, make sure you track your workouts and focus on slow progression.
Theres no one best way of tracking your workouts. As long as your progressing from your previous workouts you’ll do well.
Simply just tracking your sets, reps, and how you’re feeling each workout and then trying to improve on yur previous numbers is a timeless way of tracking your workouts. It’ll never become out dated.
henrypaget.com 