Do This Every Day
Even if your physical situation is dire, if you adhere to the 6 things on this list each day you could be completely transformed into a walking symbol of masculine virility in less than a year's time.
Men,
Below is a 6 point adherence rubric to help hold yourself accountable and establish sustainable health habits.
Put this list which I will abbreviate at the end in your phone notes or write it down somewhere that you can easily check your adherence each day.
Get your scheduled training in. If no resistance training is scheduled for today, get 30 to 40 minutes of low intensity, low impact cardio in. Examples - brisk walk (walk like you are trying to get somewhere), incline treadmill, bike, rower, elliptical, etc. No one should lift everyday. 3 to 5x per week is all the lifting you should need if you are not training like a cream puff. But we should still live active lifestyles and getting your heart rate a bit elevated each day with a little cardio and/or recreation is highly encouraged. I want to be clear on this as sometimes when I tell a guy to lift only 3 or 4 days per week it is taken as if I’m saying that you should just sit on your ass the other 164 hours of the week. Be active! But your muscles, joints, and connective tissues need to recover from intense lifting. That’s a necessary part of the process.
Eliminate all snacking out of boredom. If you like to have a snack during the day, schedule it within your daily caloric intake and make sure there is protein involved. But catch yourself before you just grab something randomly.
Have at least 40 grams of protein with every meal. (This number may be higher or lower depending on meal frequency). Protein intake should be set at .7 grams to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. If you are very overweight (> 25% BF), set it at the .7g per pound. This is not hard at all. The only thing that is hard is convincing you that this is not hard. It’s only hard to meet protein requirements if you are filling yourself up with a bunch of chips and other indulgence foods. Also there’s this really cool new invention for increasing daily protein intake that is extremely convenient - it’s called protein shakes. Protein is the raw material for making new contractile proteins in your muscle tissue that makes them bigger and stronger.
Drink plain water to comfortable fullness before each meal. Somewhere around 24 oz. should do it. Here’s a study that backs this practice for increasing satiety in middle aged men - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19661958/ and in young lean males - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25893719/
Eat 3 to 4 servings of fresh fruit each day and 2 to 3 servings of fibrous vegetables. Get fruit in good variety to get a wide range of vitamins and minerals in. For veggies I recommend picking ones that don’t cause any stomach distress and bloat. Everyone will have different tolerances here. Personally I just stick with my daily athletic greens supplement and some cooked bell peppers and onions or steamed spinach and asparagus. My daily salads are mostly a thing of the past as since I cut back on raw veggies and replaced with fruit, my digestion and energy improved. But do what works best for you here. The point is to get in more nutrient dense whole foods.
Take a moment each day to think about why you are willing to make sacrifices to reach your health and fitness goals and the positive impact it will have on your life and the lives of those around you.
Every time you adhere to a daily action plan and follow through on promises you made to yourself, greater confidence is built and that can’t help but spill over into other areas of your life.
As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, this is probably the best investment you can make with the highest paying dividends.
Even if your physical situation is dire, if you adhere to the 6 things on the list above each day, you could be completely transformed into a walking symbol of masculine virility in less than a year's time.
Here’s the abbreviated version if you find this rubric helpful and want to copy and past it somewhere easily accessible:
Get your scheduled training in. If no resistance training is scheduled for today, get 30 to 40 minutes of low intensity, low impact cardio in. Examples - brisk walk (walk like you are trying to get somewhere), incline treadmill, bike, rower, elliptical, etc.
Eliminate all snacking out of boredom.
Have at least 40 grams of protein with every meal. (This number may be higher or lower depending on meal frequency). Protein intake should be set at .7 grams to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
Drink plain water to comfortable fullness before each meal. Somewhere around 24 oz. should do it.
Eat 3 to 4 servings of fresh fruit each day and 2 to 3 servings of fibrous vegetables.
Take a moment each day to think about why you are willing to make sacrifices to reach your health and fitness goals and the positive impact it will have on your life and the lives of those around you.