DURABLE DAD

 #24 "What a blessing it is to be tired in the pursuit of a challenge of your own choosing" Fit Tip: There is No Specific Exercise You NEED Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned lifter, there is no one exercise that you MUST include. There are certainly exercises that are fantastic and may provide a lot more benefit than other moves. If these are intimidating and keeping you from lifting weights at all, then relax and forget about them. I also bring this up as a popular social media tactic is to post a short video with this kind of message: "The ONE exercise you need to be doing!" These kind of taglines can make you feel like you are far from optimal and maybe even wasting your time training. Remember, they are just fishing for clicks . If you simply have goals of getting stronger and healthier (aesthetics naturally follow) then no one specific exercise is going to keep you from that. Do what you are comfortable with for a while and progress to other moves as you...

 #23 "If you want something different, you have to do something different." Welcome back to another Friday newsletter. The theme this week is breaking away from the "norm." Normal is often a standard measured against everyone else, or defining what is typical rather than what is good. Is it exciting to hear you are normal when most, yes, most of the population is unhealthy? Now consider your behaviors. You may want to prevent becoming obese like over 40% of Americans, but are your actions different from the majority? If the majority is fat, weak, and poor, wouldn't you want to steer clear of what the majority is doing? America has become so unhealthy that you can be considered weird just for being healthy. For the sake of the following segment, normal will refer to a true normal or good standard. Let us consider what is common versus what is truly normal (a good standard.)  Common vs. Normal Common is eating from the cafeteria or grabbing fast food everyday whil...

 #22 It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Socrates Fit Tip: Strength is the Best Metric of Progress Even if you know this is true, it is easy to forget and get distracted by something like your weight on the scale. The scale can be so misleading as our weight fluctuates for reasons other than just fat loss. You wouldn't want to be dehydrated or lose muscle and mistake it as success when you step on the bathroom scale and that weight is lower. Also, not everyone's goal is weight loss, so it is even less effective then. Another mistake people make is placing value in the calories burned during their workout. Of course calories were burned, who cares? Are you fitter? Did your workout make you better at something or improve your long term health? This is why strength is one of the best ways to measure success in the gym . If you are able to lift more, or lift better, you have gained something valuable. If your str...

#21 If it's hard for you, it's hard for everyone. And most people avoid hard things, which is why you can beat most people just by trying. - Alex Hormozi  Tips for Bigger Arms 1. Pick the right exercises . To work a muscle group for the greatest hypertrophy, you have to achieve good tension in a fully stretched muscle. Standing bicep curls are a good example of a classic exercise that is a little underwhelming. At a full stretch (arms hanging down straight) there is hardly tension at all in the bicep. That first part of curling up is super easy compared to the rest of the rep. Try to replicate this with bands and again the tension is minimal at the bottom of the curl.  A little more complex but more effective move for bicep hypertrophy would involve setting up in a cable machine with two cable arms. Set the arms low, grab a handle in each hand, walk forward until there is tension with arms down and slightly behind you, like a standing bicep curl, but with your elbows a little ...

 #20 Comparison is the thief of joy. - Theodore Roosevelt If you are new here, welcome! Check out the link at the end of this newsletter if you want to catch up on some of previous newsletters. Also, don't be shy; shoot me an email of a topic you would like to hear more on. Same goes for the die-hards that have been subscribed since the beginning of the year. Let's go! Fit Tip: Do Not Compare Yourself to Others Whether someone is far ahead of you or way behind in their fitness journey, do not compare yourself to them. It simply is not helpful. It is easy to say, "at least I'm not as unhealthy as them " but that mindset is not useful; it keeps you from bettering yourself (which is always possible). The reverse is harmful too. Comparing yourself or your results to someone who has possibly been working hard for years longer is only going to discourage you. Maybe they even started the same time as you but they simply have habits, a brain, or genetics that allow them ...

 #19 Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Welcome back everybody! Whether you have just begun your fitness journey, have been at it for a while, or are beginning again for the 8th time, be patient . Take your time. It took time to get out of shape, it is going to take some time to get back. Don't believe any promises of a fast-track to health. Not only is slow and steady the best way to get healthy, it is the only way. Look closely for signs of improvement. Celebrate the small wins , whether that is a small increase in weight lifted, mastering a new skill in the gym, or just building a better eating habit. Consistency is the key to success in gaining health. Being consistently 'good enough' in your workouts and diet is still better than only occasionally killing it. Fit Tip: Master the Basics If one were new to the fitness space and looking to get started they could easily get a false impression of what is most important. When you look online or ...