Life in Plastic, It's Fantastic

 #35  8/29/2025


A healthy person has a thousand wishes, a sick person only one. - Agnes Karil-Schwester


Fit Tip: Need Motivation to Train? Train

Tips and tricks will only get us so far. At some point you just have to embrace the suck. You won't always feel motivated to train, and building the discipline is hard. You say you want to do this thing, but you can't bring yourself to put the work in unless all the stars line up just right. The really fit people train even when motivation is dead, not because they are in love or addicted to it. 

Every time you workout, you most likely feel a sense of accomplishment and a revival of your ambition. The best motivation to workout more, is to workout. Get your exercise in even when you really don't want to. Ignore the excuses in your head. Settle for a suboptimal workout, that's fine, just get it done so you don't fall off the wagon. Ideally you learn to love the process more than the goals, but you won't always love the process. It's ok to enjoy some workouts and hate others. Keep training. Stay consistent. Fan those flames. 


Microplastics

If you watch the news or are on the internet at all, you will receive something new to panic about on a regular basis. One of this year's trending fears is the prevalence of mircoplastics in our lives and bodies and how it might be affecting our health. Advancements in being able to detect mircoplastics have allowed them to be discovered in various body organs and even in breast milk. Should you freak out and eliminate everything made of plastic from your life, or not care at all? As usual the answer probably lies in the middle. 

Start with the easiest and most impactful changes: Do not heat food with plastic. Leftovers microwaved in a plastic container or plastic water bottles left in the hot garage are some of the worst offenders. I recommend having a set of glass containers. Bonus: they don't turn orange from spaghetti leftovers. Also you could select one of your trendy metal water bottles you have neglected rather than plastic ones.

Using a wood cutting board rather than plastic makes sense to me. I haven't heard this from any popular source as a major offender but you can literally see all the cuts in the plastic cutting board and those little bits had to go somewhere. As a bonus you will feel more like a real chef cutting on fallen tree instead of some Little Tikes chopping block. 

Another commonly mentioned risk is touching receipts. Usually influencers go a little overboard with this one because it is easy to get people worked up about. The waxy paper receipts are made of have a coating of harmful chemicals, such as BPAs, that can be absorbed by the skin and even disrupt your hormones. I know, I know, those are the influencer fearmongering buzzwords. But, it is kinda bad, and we touch them all the time. Just let the poor cashier put it in the bag for you, try not to handle them so much, or wash your hands after.

If it helps you relax a bit, your liver can break down and detox your body of some of these microplastics. It certainly helps to be proactive and prevent exposure somewhat. At this point our lives are pretty well infiltrated by plastic, but we could at least stop reheating things in our Dutch Tupperware. 

Here is a podcast that breaks it down in more detail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfRtLI6cJrk&list=RDvfRtLI6cJrk&start_radio=1


August Challenge: Hip Mobility

We all sit too much and it's hard to avoid. Let's wake those hips back up with 2 minutes a day dedicated to some mobility drills. We have practiced the 90/90, the couch stretch, and the Cossack squat so far. This week let's combine those three! Try picking the one you struggle with the most.

Don't forget to also do some daily squatting. Find every excuse to get down in a deep squat and hang out. 

Win the weekend!


Brad


Durable Dad Training

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