DURABLE DAD

 8/8/2025 #32 It's the job that's never started that takes longest to finish.  - J.R.R. Tolkien I hope you are happy, nerds, I have quoted Tolkien to try to motivate you. Last week I said, "don't stop," this week I say "START." ( Assuming you haven't yet.)  You have been here. You are reading some newsletters, learning a bit about fitness, doing a few things to be healthier, but haven't quite jumped in yet? You know what you must do, you are just afraid to do it.  Next up I give you the basics. Do this for a few weeks and you are on the path to a great level of health and fitness.  Fit Tip: Getting Started 1. Eat hearty, nutritious, filling meals a few times a day and just skip the snacks . Aim for 30-40 grams of protein per meal. 2. Eat your fruits and vegetables. You've heard it a thousand times since you were a kid and for good reason. You need these foods in your diet if you want a healthy body. It's not just the vitamins (don't j...

 #31 There is no shortcut, there is no hack. There's only one way so get after it . - Jocko Willink Welcome to August: the month you realize you were way too late for your summer beach body and may as well start now on a Christmas reunion cut. I don't care what date it is, just put the work in. Do it because you know you will feel better. Do it because you know you could be better. Self-improvement is indeed a lofty goal that some misconstrue as merely a form of dissatisfaction with self - me .  Don't forget to share this blog with a friend or family member who could benefit.  Fit Tip: Do Not Stop There are a lot of mistakes to be made when it comes to taking good care of your body, but the only mistake that will cause you to fail is to stop . It is hard to get fit and it will take longer than you think. It is easy to overestimate what you might accomplish in a months time and become disappointed. Instead, don't underestimate what you could accomplish in a year's ti...

 #30 "Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." - Mark Twain Fit Tip: Food Timing How do I time my nutrition around my workout? Do I need to rush to get protein right after working out? There are lots of questions about how to best time your nutrition, but it need not be overcomplicated. As far as weight loss/gain is concerned, your overall calorie intake matters most. The timing of ingestion is insignificant. If working out on an empty stomach (fasted) you might literally burn more fat as fuel, but research shows you do not actually lose fat any quicker compared to fed-training . In most cases you are better off having some fuel for your workout. You will have more energy for a better workout and prevent any muscle loss that can be sped up from an intense workout. That leads me to the next most popular debate around nutrition timing: post workout nutrition . Again, hitting your overall protein targets and getting proper nutrition over the course of the...

  #29 If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! -  Pink Floyd Fit Tip: Learn to Cook I have given cooking tips and even shared recipes before, and for good reason: you must learn to cook to some degree in order to obtain health . The exception being you are wealthy enough to hire a chef or order prepared healthy meals, but I don't think I have reached that demographic with my newsletter... yet. I work with what I affectionately refer to as "the general public" at my place of employment and you would be shocked how often I discover people only know how to make zero or one subpar meal themselves. If you are surviving on packaged or fast food it will be almost impossible to win. Freezer meals and fast food will always be very high in calories and low in protein and nutrients. You will not feel your best and you will not perform your best. Even the more convenient home cooked meals tend to be lacking; you boil some pasta, throw in the sauce and are left ...

 #28 " Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."  - Will Rogers Fit Tip: Make it Part of Your Life, Not Your Life You may have reached your previous fitness goal. Maybe you have even passed up the average person in your fitness level. You still don't get to stop. Fitness should always be part  of your life, but not consume your whole life. You do not need to obsess, but you do need to pay your dues. Move every day. Love your body. You can improve yourself without smashing a record. Simply maintaining your health and athleticism as you age is a good goal, but even maintenance requires work, so keep at it.   How and Why to Be a "Morning Person" Let's start by dismissing the idea that being a morning person is some genetic trait you either have or don't. It is part of an established routine, often out of necessity. Kids will make you a morning person the same way a grizzly bear will make you a runner . You don't h...

 #27 Life has many good things. The problem is that most of these good things can be gotten only by sacrificing other good things. - Thomas Sowell Fit Tip: Benefits of HIIT Workouts High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a style of training in which you simply alternate periods of high intensity with low intensity for recovery. This can be accomplished while running, biking, swimming, or any aerobic-based activity. You might see HIIT style workouts that involve weights, but keep in mind that has now turned weight training into an aerobic activity rather than an anaerobic, muscle-building activity. If you applied the HIIT style to a running workout, you might have periods of an almost all-out sprint for 20 seconds followed by 2 minutes of jogging and repeat this several times. On the other end of the interval intensity spectrum is the Norwegian 4x4 protocol that calls for 4 minutes of a 90-95% effort followed by 3 minutes low to moderate effort for four rounds. I don't recomme...