Buff on a Budget

 #36 9/5/2025


Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. - James Clear


Welcome back everyone. If you enjoy these newsletters and want an easy way to provide feedback, check them out on the online blog. https://durabledads.blogspot.com/ There you can leave comments and check out the previous newsletters. You can even search keywords for a topic you may have missed. Tell me what you appreciated and what you want to hear more about in the future. 

Fit Tip: Health Budget 

You might not have a literal line item on your budget for health and fitness, but I do believe in a general hierarchy of spending regarding fitness-related purchases. Rule #1 is to avoid justifying every purchase 'in the name of health.' Of course your health is important and of course it is worth investing in it. The reality is you can get pretty far without spending any money. Let me demonstrate:

Health and Fitness that is Free:

  • Walking
  • Running
  • Sunshine
  • Gravity
  • Not drinking sugar
  • Doing things for other people
  • Sleeping well
  • Putting your phone down
  • Making better food choices (wahh!, that IS expensive... fight me)
So before you go buying supplements galore or a program promising results, get your fill of these things. When you do have some spending money for supplements, get some dumbbells first. If you have dumbbells and you are still looking to spend on the next cheat code for health, still not supplements. Get a gym membership. If you can fork out $30 a month for fish oil and ashwagandha, you can get a gym membership. 
In general, you should be mastering the main building blocks before you are spending on other things. Eat whole nutritious foods and exercise regularly. Get good sleep and avoid alcohol. What's the point of the equipment or smart watch if you haven't mastered the habits yet? Why bother with supplements if you don't regularly eat well? Vitamin D and red light therapy might be good, but the sun is right there outside ready to power you up way more than those accessories. 
When you do have a good base habit built and are ready to build a home gym check out my guide: If You Build It


Meat vs Plants: The Superior Diet

Strong arguments have been made for both the carnivore diet and the vegetarian diet. Where I live, not eating meat is an offense. The pigs outnumber the humans and even the abundance of crops grown are mostly intended to feed our meat sources. If an Iowan says they love vegetarians, they are talking about cows. But Brad, I would hardly call Iowa's population healthy. Maybe meat is bad. Well, much like the hogs, there are about 7-8 cans of Mountain Dew for every human in Iowa. 

I joke, but it also serves as a decent illustration for either side of the plant vs. meat based diet argument. Whether the scientific method is used or simply a testimony from a friend, a similar effect has taken place that caused such a positive health benefit. An elimination diet. You see, both a carnivore and a plant-based diet have no room for Mountain Dew. Many a study have shown profound improvements in health after following a vegetarian diet. 1) The participants stopped eating garbage 2) the participants actually had some green vegetables for once. Of course they felt better and improved health markers. The same has been accomplished with a carnivore diet, the ultimate elimination diet. The difference between the 2 extreme diets is that carnivore at least offers adequate protein while still giving you almost all the vitamins and minerals needed. The side effect, you spend extra time on the toilet.

As you could have guessed, there is no choice to be made between meat or plants. Neither is bad, and neither is best alone. Eat them both! If you are concerned with choosing a healthier diet, limit the things that are not direct products of God's creation. What they have in common is that they are nourishing and are both to be "received with thanksgiving."

This may seem like an oversimplification of something debated so thoroughly. Multiple documentaries making convincing arguments for a specific diet exist. Some are genuinely pursuing health, some motivated by money, and others motivated by a misguided responsibility to Mother Earth. Did I oversimplify, or have many others overcomplicated food? 


September Challenge: Bodyweight Exercise

Time to put the work in, no more excuses. This month we are picking a bodyweight exercise to perform daily. This is the most accessible way to get into strength training. We will start with some bodyweight squats this week as we may have a head start on that from last months challenge to keep the hips mobile. Choose a reasonable number of reps to do each day; something that won't obliterate your muscles, but will still stimulate them a bit. If you think you already work out a bunch and don't need this lil' challenge, swallow your pride and do 10 squats a day. It will still feel good. 

Win the weekend!


Brad


Durable Dad Training

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