Fitness

Whether it’s a morning routine, bedtime routine, or meal prep routine, I think the routines we build play a significant role in our health and happiness. But I’ve recently discovered something that I now believe should be incorporated into everyone’s morning routine. Something that kickstarts our day into peak alertness, clarity, and energy. And something that will downregulate our body at nighttime for optimal sleep. And it’s not only free but accessible to everyone. Let me introduce you to… the morning walk. Now I know you were probably expecting something cool like a superfood energy supplement or a Bikram yoga power flow but let me explain why the morning walk is all that and more. All of us have a circadian rhythm which is like a 24-hour internal clock. And based upon the time of day, our circadian rhythm will regulate our… Read More

I always used to think that sauna users were just lazy gym goers who didn’t feel like lifting weights or crushing cardio. Instead, they’d rather sit down in a nice warm and cozy sauna, and pretend like they’re losing weight… which obviously would be gained back with the next bottle of water consumed. But, after spending a week going through much of the scientific literature and attending four sauna sessions, my perspective has done a 180. Can sauna usage be used for lifespan extension? Disease prevention? And improved immunity? And if so, what are the appropriate parameters for optimal sauna usage? Well, I got the answers. Let’s get into it! Many places that offer sauna sessions often promote a multitude of benefits ranging from detoxification, skin rejuvenation, and weight loss, all the way to improved cardiovascular function, improved… Read More

We’ve made it to the final post in the series of what I learned in the emergency room. First, I discussed how nutritionally poor the food is in hospitals. Second, I talked about how misdiagnoses can happen and how you can prevent them. And third, today, I’m going to cover three more essential topics in health and wellness, and how they were affected by my emergency room visit: Sleep, Physical Activity, and Finances. Let’s get into it! Did you know that people who live next to airports have significantly lower quality sleep than those who don’t? This is because the noise at night from the planes overhead can disrupt sleep cycles even if they don’t wake us. Did you know that people who live in the city that keep their curtains open and let streetlight in their bedroom have lower quality sleep than those who don’t? This is because even dim light in our… Read More

In my second year of college baseball, I suffered what ended up being a career ending injury. During an outdoor fall practice, I was making lengthy throws from the outfield to home plate. They were long throws that put a lot of stress on my arm. On top of that, it was about 40 degrees outside, and my body wasn’t fully loose. Then all of the sudden when making one of the throws, I felt a ligament in my elbow tear. One MRI later and it was confirmed I had torn the ulnar collateral ligament in my throwing elbow. It wasn’t painful and I knew it was mostly fixable through surgery and a year of rehabilitation, but it was surely disappointing and there was a long road ahead. I ended up getting the surgery shortly after where they took a ligament from my leg to replace the torn ligament in my elbow. Pretty weird, but also pretty cool. 😎 And then the long road to… Read More

Whether it was fitness programs I was provided in high school and college sports, or fitness programs I created myself, they all had common movement patterns. They all contained squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead shoulder presses, bicep curls, sit-ups, and many other well-known movement patterns. And because these movement patterns were well-known, commonly taught, and frequently practiced exercises, I figured those were the main exercises if not the only exercises needed to get fit and healthy. But after years of focusing primarily on these exercises, I’ve still had a fair number of injuries, posture misalignments, muscle imbalances and back pain. How could it be that the consistent training routines I was provided and recommended through fitness professionals and coaches weren’t keeping me fit and healthy? How could it be that I was still injury prone… Read More

The average person in the United States walks about 6,000 steps per day and has a high risk for heart disease and mortality. The people in Tsimane, a small village in Bolivia, walk about 17,000 steps per day and are known for their extremely low risk of heart disease and mortality. This correlation between physical activity (steps) and risk of heart disease or mortality has been cited a number of times in scientific literature. Therefore, we’re confident that being active helps produce a healthy lifestyle. But, with the current coronavirus lock-down measures in place, most of us are confined to our own homes all day. I’ve noticed my average steps per day declining to around 5,000 per day when I workout and 3,000 per day on rest days. This is far less than the 25,000 steps I average on a typical workday… Read More

According to Charles Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit, keystone habits are “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.” One example of a keystone habit for almost everyone is exercise. Once a person introduces exercise into their daily routine, they start to unintentionally adopt other new healthy habits too. This new routine of exercise tends to trigger people into eating healthier, sleeping better and smoking/drinking less. Not only does this keystone habit of exercise trigger additional healthy habits, but it also is correlated with a host of other benefits too. In this post I’ll detail the benefits of regular exercise, how to structure your exercise program, and debunk a few common myths. Let’s get started… Read More

About five years ago, I remember hearing of a study that was published about a fitness test that could predict your longevity. And the test was pretty simple. Could you go from a standing position, to sitting on the floor, and back to a standing position without using your arms to assist? If so, your risk of death was significantly lower than those who couldn’t. The leader of the study, a Brazilian physician Claudio Gil Araújo, said that “It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and co-ordination are not only good for performing daily activities, but have a favorable influence on life expectancy.” I thought this study and fitness test was pretty cool but it was only performed on people between the ages of 51 and 80. So it got me thinking, are there similar tests that could be performed to predict your longevity for ages ranging outside this category… Read More

Before January of this year, I had never tried yoga. I knew it wasn’t going to help me develop the strength I desired or the endurance I wanted. I knew it was predominately performed by females and never performed by any of my close friends. And, I knew it was performed mostly in silence, without shoes or socks. Which seemed kinda weird. So, I just assumed there wasn’t a whole lot of benefits that I could reap from it and that it didn’t fit my health and fitness goals. Therefore, I kind of discarded the idea of yoga from my head. That was until the sixth date I had with my girlfriend earlier this year… Read More

With the holidays around the corner, I thought I’d come up with a list of my favorite gift ideas that’ll help make you happier and healthier. Each idea is intended to help optimize your fitness, nutrition, sleep, cognitive health, or financial independence. I also focused on products or services that’ll have lasting benefits and aren’t the typical use once, and throw in the closet gifts. I hope you find benefit in these ideas and I’m excited to know which one’s are your favorite! Let’s get to it… Read More