In the past, I found myself consuming a lot of interesting information in micro doses (a helpful Instagram post, a thought-provoking LinkedIn post, or 30 minutes of a podcast), but I didn’t feel like I was assimilating the knowledge or stopping to critically think about it. So this year, I created a personal curriculum. It’s split into three tracks: learning, doing, and publishing. 

• Learning: One topic I’m actively consuming (books, podcast, etc.) 

• Doing: Most often a physical goal such as becoming a faster runner, but could also be a habit change (i.e. eat fewer protein bars or be bolder…)

• Publishing: What I’m writing about on my blog

Each track goes at its own pace. A learning goal might last a quarter. A physical goal might be a 30-day challenge. A publishing goal is typically monthly (I’ve failed this track so far).

My rules: 

• All free time is dedicated to the goals. If I’m commuting, I listen to books / podcasts relevant to the goal. If I read a book, it must be on topic. I take notes as I read so the information is not lost (I learn by writing). 

• If I discover something new (i.e. a friend suggests a book), I add it to the backlog.  

• While the annual plan was established in January, I can make changes based on what I think will add the greatest value to me personally or to my work. 

With 5 months down, I confirm the approach is mostly working for me! Per usual, I was ambitious so I can’t say I’ve 100% nailed the program, but I’ve had a few significant wins that I wouldn’t have had without this plan. 

Most notably, I set out to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and recently achieved this goal!

Things I haven’t done well: 

• It took me 4.5 months, instead of my planned 3 months, to accomplish my first “learning” goal which culminated in passing the CSCS certification. 

• I haven’t been great about my publishing goals at all… 

Things I have done well: 

• I was ruthlessly focused on my learning goal and physical goals.

I spend at least 4 hours per week commuting to and from Boulder. Every single trip, I listened to an audio study guide for the CSCS certification. I studied flashcards while drying my hair. I didn’t allow myself to pick up a single book outside of Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning. 

Now, this might seem boring. But I am blown away by how a little bit of time most days added up to me passing one of the tougher certifications in my industry. When I look back on the last 5 months, would I have rather jumped from topic to topic … with little to show or little truly assimilated into my bank of knowledge…? Nope. The focus was worth it. 

Not every learning goal I have shall come to such a clear conclusion. So I’m curious to see how this process works as I move into the next phase, but I do think it will work. 

Much like I plan my training goals as if I were an athlete with “seasons”–working towards long term goals in 6-12 week chunks–I will continue to plan my learning goals in cycles for the time being. 

One thing really blew me away. 

I did not stick to a strict schedule. I don’t get up every day at 4am to read or write. I had weekends where I was only able to spend an hour on my learning goal. I still scrolled the damn gram. And I had commutes where I just needed to drive in silence. 

And yet, I succeeded. I cobbled together the in-between moments: a commute, 30 minutes in the morning, a Saturday afternoon, standing in line at the grocery store… 

To get all deep… do not underestimate the power of focus and consistency. A little bit of effort in a given direction everyday adds up to big results. Of course I have known this for quite some time. But it still amazes me. 

So what am I going to do with this certification? 

Keep learning. Put scientific principles to use in my own training which is currently focused on the Hyrox World Championships this Sunday!

Answer my friends’ questions about strength, power, and endurance with more confidence.

Along with my training partner, Peggy Nelson, help people get ready for their first Hyrox (let me know if you’re interested!). Spread the good word about palm cooling and how it accelerates gains in the gym. And hopefully one day, reach my goal of helping to inspire women to collectively gain 1 Billion Pounds of Muscle! 

As for my next learning goal, I’m going back to my professional roots and giving myself a crash refresher course on messaging. It’s one of the toughest, yet most important components of marketing, and it’s relevant to what we’re cooking up at Apex Cool Labs.

If building a new fitness habit is one of your goals in 2024, please don’t let your dreams die. The results you seek are much closer than you think and they likely require far less effort than you imagine. 

I would venture to say that starting small is the BEST way to get fitness results. But what does that actually mean? 

When it comes to gaining fitness there are two principles that really matter: 

• Consistency

• Progressive Overload

Consistency: If you showed up for a workout twice per week for the entire year, you will be fitter than if you go all in 7 days a week and burn out after January.  

Progressive Overload: Getting fitter is a response to the (good) stress we put on our system. But our system is smart. What stresses it today, won’t be that hard next time. So you have to increase the challenge over time.

If you keep picking up the same 10 pound dumbbells week in and week out, doing the same number of reps, you will hit a plateau and you won’t see results. Which will make consistency tough to maintain. The good news is that this progressive overloading is not the hellish spiral into oblivion (my husband’s words) you may fear – more on that later. 

More good news: You can make incredible progress in very little time. How little? 

Here are some examples supported by peer-reviewed research. 

Cardiovascular Fitness

10 Minute High Intensity Interval Workout

• Warm Up: 3 minutes

• Main Workout: Sprint for 20 seconds, rest with light activity for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat for a total of 3 rounds. 

• Cool Down: 2 minutes

A 2014 study showed that doing this workout three times per week for six weeks resulted in a 12% boost in cardiovascular fitness. These results are on par with what you could get from doing 135 minutes of traditional endurance training, but with only 30 minutes of workout time (of which 3 minutes is actually hard work). 

25 Minute High Intensity Interval Workout

• Warm up: 3 minutes

• Main Workout: Bike, Run, or Row hard for 8 seconds, then rest for 12 seconds. Repeat for 20 minutes (60 intervals)

• Cool down: 2 minutes

A 2012 study showed that performing this workout three times per week for 12 weeks resulted in a 15% increase in cardiorespiratory fitness AND body composition changes (people lost fat). 

If you would like to learn more about why interval training is so powerful, why these short workouts work, and get ideas for additional workouts, I enthusiastically recommend the book: The One Minute Workout by Martin Gibala, PhD. 

Building Muscle & Strength

It’s easier than you think to get stronger and gain muscle. You only need 10 working sets per muscle group per week to make great progress. What could that look like? 

Day 1 

• Squat: 5 sets (quad & glutes)

• Lat Pulldown: 5 sets (back & biceps)

• Romanian Deadlift: 5 sets (hamstrings, glutes, quads)

• Pushups: 5 sets (chest & triceps)

Day 2

• Deadlift: 5 sets (glutes, quads, and hamstrings)

• Dumbbell Chest Press: 5 sets (chest & triceps)

• Hip Thrust: 5 sets (glutes) 

• Seated Row: 5 sets (back & biceps)

You could spread these lifts over more days too – what matters is total volume per muscle group per week. Weight training is where progressive overload is king. You could do the workouts above every week for years and see incredible results. BUT, you have to up the ante every time you workout. This is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. Calm your nerves here. 

Where to Start

A lot of people get hung up on deciding if they should do cardio or weight training. If your goal is living well for a long time, the answer is both. If your goal is losing weight and improving your body composition, the answer is both. 

Both cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength and mass are correlated with longevity and looking good. 

So yes, in a perfect world, you would work on building muscle and strength, and improving your cardiovascular health every week. But you don’t need to start there. 

If I was starting from scratch, here is what I would do. 

Commit to EITHER three 20-25 minute HIIT sessions per week or two or three weightlifting sessions per week for 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks, you will have major wins under your belt. For the next 12-week period, you can either add in more sessions OR you can switch and focus on the other area. Accomplish that, and you will have been exercising consistently for 6 months in a manner that is scientifically proven to lead to results. 

Shit Happens, Stay Committed

Life gets busy, things come up. Workout anyway, no matter where you are.  

Stand up from your desk. 

Set a timer for 10 minutes. 

Do 30 seconds of jumping jacks to warm up. Then spend the remaining 9 minutes and 30 seconds alternating between 30 seconds of a bodyweight exercise (pushups, squats, etc) and 30 seconds of running in place. Voila. 

If you have a bike or rower at home, you could also warm up for 3 minutes, power through 4 minutes of hard work, then cool down and get back to your day. 

You don’t even need to change clothes and you’ve accomplished two things: 

1. You maintained your consistency streak

2. You made progress - even these styles of workout are proven to improve your fitness 

Last piece of advice from this chronically optimistic believer that everyone can achieve their fitness goals. If you miss a day, it’s ok. Get back to it asap. Don’t let one day become 365. 

You’ve got this!

*I had the day wrong and it was actually last Friday… it’s the second Friday of the year. Regardless, I think today (and any day) is a great day to start going for what you want!

Last month, it hit me, hard, that I had made that decision purely out of fear of failure. 

It was a painful realization. Painful in the sense that ”current me” felt so much sadness for “past me”. But not in a regret sort of way.  

Since that fateful decision, I have learned to push through fear. Although, pretty much every major life move has come with a hefty dose of anxiety. 

When I experience super deep anxiety, I feel as though my chest turns to stone, my body vibrates with a negative energy, and there is so much tension in my body, I feel like moving might break me. 

I would love to know my cortisol levels when anxiety is death gripping me.

Anxiety is top of mind because a month ago the immensity of cofounding a company set in. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I am doing. But all of the sudden, I was overwhelmed by an anxious fear of failure. 

In fact, it is probably because I love what I am doing so much that the thought of losing it to failure was more than I could bear. 

For a brief  moment, I wondered why do I have to want to do hard things? Why couldn’t I just be happy with where I was? Why do I have to take such risks? Can’t I just do the easy thing?

What’s funny is that what feels “easy” today caused similar anxiety 10 years ago. 

I truly don’t have regrets about my fear-based decision 22 years ago. I wouldn’t be where I am today without having made that choice. But, it did make me realize that whatever anxiety I’m feeling now is nothing but that fear of failure rearing its ugly head once more and as much as I don’t want to fail, I am not actually afraid of it. 

Serendipitously, while going through this moment, I happened upon a Tim Ferris’ interview with Jack Kornfield who told a story about Buddha. The whole podcast is worth a listen, but in short, the night before Buddha is about to do something important, the god of anxiety comes to visit and talk him out of it. In the face of such a demon, Buddha simply says: I see you. 

I was once again reminded that the goal is not to rid myself of anxiety since it appears to be part of the fabric of the human experience. My goal is to simply acknowledge that the anxiety is not me. 

But it still shows up from time to time so here is what has helped me reduce its impact and allow me to spend more time in a calm mental space that is driven by excitement not fear. 

Movement

Quite simply moving my body seems to work. It can be taking a walk or lifting weights. I think the hardest part about using this method to break a negative thought train is getting started. You have to make the first move. 

If this feels hard, treat it as a 1 minute task. I’m going to go for a one minute walk. Or I’m going to do one round of air squats, up downs and pushups. Chances are that a quick start is all you need to keep going. 

Breathwork

Breathing exercises are incredible tools for reducing anxiety. In a recent large-scale, peer-reviewed study, a 5-minute daily practice of cyclic sighing improved “positive affect” (the extent to which we feel positive moods) and reduced respiratory rate. 

People who had the greatest reduction in respiratory rate also experienced the greatest positive effect. It also showed that the impact of cyclic signing was greater the longer you do it. 

The mechanisms at work are suggested to be: 

• a modulation of vagal function which impacts heart and respiratory rate; and, 

• influencing cortical structures that regulate mood and emotion. Basically controlled breathing impacts areas of the brain associated with heightened arousal. 

What I love about breathwork is that:

• it’s quick. I don’t have to meditate for an hour to get the benefits. A quick 5 minute session is plenty and has lasting results

• it’s easy. I don’t have to learn a new skill. Not that I’m opposed to learning, but it’s nice to have such a quick fix to something that feels so deeply burdensome. 

YouTube

On a Friday evening, and ironically after (and probably because of) a huge win for Apex Cool Labs, I was experiencing a wave of anxiety. 

I did what any 42 year old grown adult does… I called my Dad. 

I’m incredibly fortunate to have a very wise father. Countless times throughout my life, he has sat with me during my toughest moments and provided very real advice that simultaneously acknowledges what I am experiencing while helping me find my path forward. 

I had tears flowing down my face (while stopped in traffic so I can only imagine what my fellow drivers thought) as he told me the story of how I learned to ride a bike. I went from sheer panic to extreme confidence in a split second. 

And he pointed me in the direction of Eckart Tolle’s YouTube, saying “Go watch something that resonates.”

I took about two seconds of scrolling to find: How do I Handle the Fear Inside Me? 

Again, it’s worth your own watch, but here are a few tidbits that helped me: 

• “What is happening in your mind is not useful. It is making you fearful and unhappy.”

• “It’s a total illusory realm that is making you suffer.”

• The assumption in the unconscious mind is that if you are not worrying about it, you are not controlling your life. Which is a delusion. 

• “If you fight it, you make it worse.”

He went on to drop this truth bomb that felt like a slap in the face: “It’s not by willpower that you can stop it.” Well, shit. 

The Smoothie

I promised you a smoothie recipe and I meant it. 

In one of my more high strung moments, my cofounder recounted an ancient story to me about a man fleeing from a tiger, hanging on a branch over a cliff. Certain death upon him. He sees a berry within his reach. He eats it and it’s the best berry in the world. 

Of course, I was like come the F on. I am not going to hang on the edge of the cliff and just accept death. Let’s figure out a way to save the poor fellow. And I don’t really think he should be taking a break to eat a berry. 

Upon further discussion, I have become more open to the lesson. 

All we have is now. And my “now” is pretty damn incredible. 

We’ve rewritten the story to be that we’re hanging on a branch and there is a tasty blueberry smoothie with 50 grams of protein nearby, which we enjoy while building a company from the ground up.

Here is that recipe. 

I am committed to leading a bold life. Apparently, along the way, I’m going to have to master anxiety. To be honest, I’m thrilled to have such simple and accessible tools to do it. 

What works for you?

Bare with me, this ties to warm ups. 

To bolster our resolve during these challenging moments, I developed a call to arms: 5 Minutes to Bliss*. Once uttered, my husband and I get to work doing whatever we can to clean the kitchen for no more than 5 minutes. 

The end result is that the dishwasher gets loaded, the counters are wiped down, stuff is put away, and we have a fighting chance of keeping the kitchen clean for one more day. 

Getting started on anything is tough. There is something about the transition from one task to the next that seems so monumental it holds some people back from becoming the person they want to be. 

Dramatic I know. But I believe that if we can master the transitions between one state and another, we’d all accomplish a lot more with less angst.

Examples: 

• From scrolling social media to writing an article 

• From responding to emails to articulating a strategy 

• From sitting on the couch to going to the gym 

• From doing something easy / comfortable / mindless to doing something hard / uncomfortable / meaningful.

All too often the divide seems MASSIVE, when it’s really just a quick transition. 

You’re usually only 5 minutes away from the bliss of doing what really matters to you. 

With that in mind, I want to share a few warmups that I rely on to transition from feeling unmotivated to energized. Because even though I absolutely love working out, it still requires making a choice to show up everyday. And some days my motivation doesn’t appear until 5 minutes into a workout. 

Lower Body Warm Up 1 

3-5 Rounds

• Kang Squats with Pause: 5 reps

• Surrenders: 10 reps

• Glute Bridges: 15 reps 

• Cossack Squats: 20 reps (10 per side) 

You could do round 1 with no weight, round 2+ with light dumbbells in your hands. No weight needed for the glute bridges. 

Demo video

Lower Body Warm Up 2

4 Rounds

• Spiderman Stretch with Twist: 10 reps (5 per side)

• Single Leg Box Squats: 10 reps (5 per side) 

• Steps Ups: 10 reps (5 per side) 

• Romanian Deadlifts: 10 reps

• Hip Thrusts: 10 reps

Full Body Warmup 1 

3-5 Rounds

Use a light plate or dumbbells.

• Squats: 10 reps

• Good Mornings: 10 reps 

• Ground to Overhead: 10 reps

• Bent Over Rows: 10 reps 

Demo Video

Full Body Warm Up 2 

3-5 Rounds 

• Kettlebell Deadlifts: 10 reps

• Kettlebell Swings: 10 reps 

• Kettlebell Goblet Squats: 10 reps 

• Kettlebell Gorilla Rows: 10 reps 

• Kettlebell Floor Press: 10 reps 

Demo Video

Upper Body Warm Up 1

3-5 Rounds

• Banded Pull Aparts: 10 reps 

• Push-ups: 10 reps 

• Scapular Pull-ups: 10 reps

• Shoulder Press: 10 reps 

• Face Pulls: 10 reps

• Up Downs: 10 reps 

If full push-ups are difficult, you can do one round with your knees on the ground, then another round where you do the lowering (eccentric) portion in the full push-up position, then use your knees to help you back up, or you can do these with your hands on a bench. 

Upper Body Warm Up 2

3-5 Rounds

• Banded Rows: 10 reps

• Banded Press: 10 reps 

• Kick Sits: 10 reps

• Dead Hang: 10 to 60 seconds 

Each of these warmups combines pushing and pulling movements, with at least one movement that will get your heart rate up. 

For leg day warm ups, I include a squat, hinge, and thrust movement which typically mimics my major leg day exercises. 

For upper body days, I endeavor to push and pull in at least two planes (vertical and horizontal). 

In all cases, I keep the equipment required to a minimum so I can stay in one place and get it done. 

95% of the time this is all I need to feel motivated to tackle the workout. Occasionally the slump lasts a bit longer, so I don’t want to over promise here, but generally speaking, I find I am never more than 5 minutes away from bliss. 

*When we are cleaning, we refer to ourselves as Clean Team Six. As such, my husband has petitioned to rebrand 5 Minutes to Bliss to 5 Minutes of Hell which I personally find a touch dramatic…

1. Demystifying fitness 

2. Bringing to life what I meant by “boring” last time

Every three months (or so… cuz… life), I set new fitness goals (or milestones towards bigger goals) and design a program to get me there. 

I’m not certified to do this, but I have read many textbooks on the topic (my favorites). My thirst for knowledge about strength, conditioning, and hypertrophy may never be quenched. 

(If you have any good reads, please do share – especially on conditioning.)

Set Goals

It’s very difficult to set the right number of goals. My tendency is to want to move the needle on  e  v  e  r  y  t  h  i  n  g  at once. Which of course is a disastrous idea. But as I ripen into the smarter decades of life, I’m getting better at scoping. 

Early July, these were my stated goals:

• Work towards a 300 pound deadlift. My current 1 repetition maximum (1RM) is 270 pounds. But I hadn’t been prioritizing deadlifts.

• Revisit the front squat. I realized it had been close to 4 years since I had done front squats. I was avoiding them because they are hard. I wanted to see if focusing on the front squat for one cycle would move the needle on my back squat. 

• Participate in Apex Cool Labs’ 6-week palm cooling and pull-up challenge. This involved doing 8 sets of pull-ups twice per week. Given this intense volume, I knew this would be my only back exercise. 

• Grow my delts. This goal might be on my list every day for the rest of my life. Shoulders are so cool. 

• Work towards bodyweight Bulgarian splits squats for 8 repetitions. This goal is so random. I don’t know why I care, but I do. 

The point is: work backwards from your goals.

The Program

Day 1: Leg Day

Front Squats: 5 x 5-7 reps

Hip Thrusts: 3 x 10-12 reps

Glute Bias Back Extensions: 3 x 15-20 reps

[Free Spot]

Day 2: Pull-Ups & Shoulder Press

Pull-ups: 8 x as many reps as possible (AMRAP)

Shoulder Press: 6 x AMRAP 

Day 3: Leg Day

Deadlifts: 5 x 5 reps* 

Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 x 6-8 reps

[Free Spot]

[Free Spot]

Day 4: Pull-Ups

Pull-ups: 8 x AMRAP

Day 5: Free day! 

I reserved one day per week to do whatever I felt like doing. It typically ended up being cardio. 

• Run 3 - 6 miles

• Do an Assault Runner Workout of the Week

• Row 5K 

• Rock climb 

I took two rest days per week.  

I try to walk at least 7,000 steps per day. I have met or exceeded that goal 60% of the last 45 days. Far from perfect but also not bad :) 

On rest days, I like to get in 10,000+ if possible.

On one of the rest days, I aim to do a long guided mobility session. I try very hard to get a second mobility session on a lifting day during the week but this is a 50/50 hit or miss.  

What’s up with the free spots? 

I have often struggled with coming up with an accessory lift plan. Doing the same accessory lifts for 12 weeks seems like a lot. Also, I was bouncing around between two different gyms. I never knew which gym I would be in on which day. And each gym has its own equipment and limitations. 

I feel like accessory lifts are a great place to provide some variety in an otherwise repetitive plan. I did track everything so I could progress the number of reps or the weight for a given exercise. 

Next time, I will craft my 12-week plan with core lifts remaining the same throughout and accessories shifting every 4-weeks. 

What’s with the rep ranges?

I like giving myself a range because sometimes when I increase weight, I can’t quite hit all sets at that new weight on the high end of the range. 

For example, with my front squat, I started the cycle at 5 x 7 reps at 115 pounds. By week four, I was ready to jump from 135 to 145. But I didn’t feel I could hit 145 for 5 sets of 7 reps. So I aimed for 5 x 5 at 145. The following week I did 5 sets at 7,7,6,6,5. The week after, I did 145 pounds for 7,7,7,7,6. The week after that I did 145 for 5 x 7 and felt good. On week 8, I moved to 150 pounds and dropped the reps back to 5 x 5.  

I like this approach because it gives me time to get used to a new weight, while still progressing, and improving form. 

Lower Body

Front Squat

For front squats, I’m less concerned with maxing out my strength and more concerned about building strength and hypertrophy (muscle mass). Hence, I chose a rep range of 5 - 7. This range is right in between the strength (1 - 5) and hypertrophy (6-15) ranges. Remember, this is a spectrum with no harsh cut offs (treat it as a guideline versus the law).

Both the front squat and back squat provide a similar stimulus to the glutes and quads, but the front squat requires more upper back focus which can be a limiting factor in back squats. Hence, I wanted to focus on front squats for 12 weeks and then go see how my back squat progresses. Here is a great video on the fantastic front squat. 

Deadlifts

For deadlifts, I Googled programs and got inspired by one called The Simple Deadlift Program. I particularly liked that it was a once-per-week deadlift program. And remember, my goal for deadlifts is to gain strength. That is why my rep range is 1 - 5 reps. This is the sweet spot for strength. 

Here’s that program: 

• Week 1: 5 x 5 x 70% (5 sets of 5 reps at 70% of 1RM)

• Week 2: 5 x 3 x 75%

• Week 3: 5 x 1 x 80%

• Week 4: No deadlifting, but feel free to do accessory movements like good mornings, weighted back raises, reverse hypers, or pull-throughs in the 10+ rep range.

• Week 5: 5 x 5 x 75%

• Week 6: 5 x 3 x 80%

• Week 7: 5 x 1 x 85%

• Week 8: No deadlifting, but feel free to do accessory movements. 

• Week 9: 4 x 5 x 80%

• Week 10: 4 x 3 x 85%

• Week 11: 4 x 1 x 90%

• Week 12: No deadlifting, but feel free to do accessory movements.

• Week 13: 3 x 5 x 85%

• Week 14: 3 x 3 x 90%

• Week 15: 3 x 1 x 95%

• Week 16: Retest

Given what I know about my own abilities, I made adjustments. 

1. I kicked things off closer to 5 x 5 at 75%. Women are known for being able to do more volume at a given percentage of their one rep max compared to men. 

2. I’m not taking the breaks every 4th week. I suppose this could backfire on me, but I haven’t felt like I need them. I’ll take a break at the end of 12 weeks. 

3. I’m not reducing the number of sets at a given rep range the deeper I get into the program. Again, I suppose this could backfire on me, but so far so good. I credit the fact that I use palm cooling with the Narwhals (Disclaimer: I’m a cofounder of this company). 

Here are my exact numbers: 

205 5 x 5 (76%)

225 5 x 3 (83%) 

235 5 x 1 (87%)

225 5 x 5 (83%) 

235 5 x 3 (87%)

250 5 x 1 (93%)

235 5 x 5 (87%) Everything from here on has been a PR in some way

250 5 x 3 (93%) 

270 5 x 1 (100%) 

250 5 x 5 (93%) I just finished this week successfully. 

260 5 x 3 (97%)

Test new 1 RM

Bulgarian Split Squats

Also known as rear-foot elevated squats, I’m obsessed with this movement because I swear I can feel my legs growing every time I prioritize them. They are incredibly difficult mentally. After each set, I feel like I’m dying (but nothing a 2.5 minute palm cooling rest can’t fix). 

I’m on a random quest to complete 8 reps per side at my bodyweight (135ish). I started this cycle at 95 pounds for 8 reps per side. I just hit 125 for 3 sets of 6 reps per side. Next week, I’ll go for 3 x 8 reps at 125 pounds. 

Similarly to the front squat progression, I often give myself two weeks at a given weight. Week one, I go for 3 x 6 reps. Week 2, I go for 3 x 8 reps. If I am successful, I move up in weight the following week. 

Remember, even an extra rep or two at a given weight is progression. 

Upper Body 

My upper body goals were dominated by a 6-week palm cooling and pull-up challenge in the middle of this cycle. So I’m freestyling it for the first and last few week of this 3-month cycle. 

Is this the most efficient use of my time toward building a bigger and stronger body? No. But it’s fun. 

Given the pull-up volume, I knew I couldn’t do other upper body pulling exercises during those six weeks but it was worth it. I increased my pull-up volume by 35% over 6 weeks. 

For shoulder press, I decided to pick a weight I could do for about 10 reps and stay there for the entire cycle to see how much I could increase my volume. Why? Because higher volume (6-15 reps) is better for muscle growth. And, I love big delts. 

The Point

In the midst of this cycle, I couldn’t stop thinking about how doing the same thing week in and week out probably seems boring to outsiders. But results happen in this repetitive grind. Hence, my plea last time to Fall in Love with Boredom in the Gym.  

All too often we are bombarded with novel, fast-paced fitnessing on social media. Or, we feel like fitness is confusing and our goals are out of reach. 

But they aren’t! 

It is my hope that by breaking down what I do in the gym, it demystifies the “secrets” to results. 

What questions do you have? What holds you back from lifting weights? 

No quarter was the same. But, there was a rhythm to it which could be perceived as boring. And yet, I was not bored.  

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the repetitive nature of lifting. 

There are moments when I feel my gym life gets stale. And I have to ask myself why do I feel this way? Is there really something that needs changing? 

Or am I failing to find joy in the repetitive work… that ultimately leads to the win? 

Specifically, I wonder if the repetitive nature of lifting holds people back from sticking with it long enough to achieve meaningful results. 

Nothing makes me sadder than seeing someone who is trying to make progress towards their fitness or physique goals, but is failing because they don’t understand how progress happens.

Most people want results. 
Most flashy workouts you see on Instagram won’t get you there. 
Most lifting programs will work. 

And most results come from sticking to a program and respecting progressive overload (which my husband calls progressive overlord…). 

That’s my point. You can stop reading now, but I hope you continue.  

If lifting seems boring… I challenge you to flip the script: 

• Progression is interesting. 

• Grinding through something session after session, week after week, month and month… is empowering. 

• Results are thrilling. 

I suppose I can see how it may seem boring. 

My average workout has 14-18 working sets. If my average set is 1 minute long… that’s 14 minutes of work and 42 minutes of (palm cooling) rest. For someone who doesn’t “do well relaxing”, it’s a miracle I enjoy this part. 

If you are after strength and physique changes, the path is straight-forward. 

• Squat

• Hinge

• Thrust 

• Push

• Pull

• Carry

• Abduct

• Adduct

Pick an exercise or two in each category and progress it over time. Progression comes in many flavors. 

Some weeks, my progression is better form. 

Some weeks, it’s more weight on the bar.

Some weeks, it’s more reps. 

Some weeks, it’s more sets. 

Some weeks don't go to plan, but I keep showing up.

Variety is the spice of life

But your plate isn’t 90% spice… 

I learned to lift via CrossFit. 

The definition of CrossFit is: constantly varied, functional movement, done at high intensity. 

For the first 7 years of my adult fitness journey, variation was literally in the name of the game. 

People either love or hate CrossFit. I’m in the love camp.

I love CrossFit because it’s where I learned to lift and where I became comfortable in a gym. Not to mention, it’s one of the only sports that has paid women equally from the start.

I can walk into any gym now, and even if I’m the only woman, I’m not intimidated. 

Today, I focus my training 90% on getting stronger and bigger (aka toned, aka hourglass figure, aka nice booty). And that involves less spice and more repetitious grind. But I still throw in a spicy “wod” (CrossFit speak for workout of the day) most weeks.

This essay is not a knock on variety. Variety of movement is vital. And I’m learning more about that everyday by following the great people behind Aprios and Beard The Best You Can Be. 

But for certain results–I want to look good, be stronger, gain muscle, develop a bootylicious booty, etc.–pick a program and stick with it.

For how long? 12 weeks is a great place to start.

Transparently, when I choose a goal, I do feel a sense of loss for the other goals I can’t simultaneously work towards, but it’s easy to live with that loss in exchange for the results.

Next week I will share my current 12 week program with notes about why I chose the lifts, sets, and repetitions ranges.

I leave you with a poem.

Repetitive, monotonous 
Perfecting a movement
It’s a rare moment of peace 
My brain is off / or is it on / it is focused 
Separate from the work ahead
Approach each rep as its own 
Not looking ahead
It will be done when it is done
At the end of the day, deep satisfaction awaits
Over time, you are transformed

Every day, I’m learning how to do new things. For example, I can now operate a bandsaw and I know how to buff and polish heat pipes. (Hold your applause!) 

Every day we are figuring out the path forward for Apex Cool Labs. 

For example, I recently built my first financial model. 

Building this model has been one of the most thrilling things I have done in a long time (yes, I find finance thrilling!) and it got me thinking about doing hard things, especially for the first time. 

I’ve written about doing hard things before – I may be obsessed – but this time I want to dissect my process because it’s fresh. Not to mention, it went well. 

When embarking on doing something hard or doing something for the first time, the natural tendency is to look for examples of how it was done before.

There is nothing inherently wrong about this urge. But if left uncontrolled, it can pull you down an unproductive, uncreative, and un-innovative rabbit hole. 

This idea that somebody else has the answer (and you don’t) can lead to endless hours Googling for the magical framework, reading far too many self help books, or frantically combing through a competitor’s website. 

Yes, there is a time and place for seeking advice and doing research, but I find that the magic comes when I focus on the opportunity and use my brain to suss it out. 

This got me thinking about how to approach the various phases of doing something for the first time. 

Time to absorb

This is the time to gather information. In the case of building the business model for Apex Cool Labs, I wasn’t even sure what was supposed to be in the model in the first place. Fortunately, I have friends who’ve done this before who graciously pointed me in the direction of examples, or took the time to show me how they approached their own models. 

I had also gotten very interested in understanding finance. This is one of those things I can only chalk up to cosmic intuition. At some point earlier this year, I got sick of not fully understanding a P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement. 

I had a basic understanding but not enough to look at these types of statements and read them like a book telling me what the heck was going on in a business. 

So I picked up ​​Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean and consumed it almost as eagerly as I did the Arnold Schwarzenegger Netflix documentary. 

Between these two activities: reading and speaking to more experienced people, I had a decent foundation to attempt my own business model.

Time to produce

When I sat down to produce our business model, I was 100% focused on building it. I started mapping out how we acquire customers, identifying our key assumptions, and exploring our likely expenses. 

When questions bubbled up, I thought them through. I fought the urge to look up the answers in the moment. If I really felt I needed to validate an assumption, I made a note, and did it later. I did everything I could to stay in the flow, minimize distractions, and trust myself. 

During this phase, I had plenty of moments when my inner critic would scream, “you’re doing this wrong” or “you’re wasting time on a dead end road”. 

My default is to seek productivity at all times. So potentially wasting time playing out a potentially bad idea, can cause me significant anxiety. 

I want to know upfront that whatever I’m playing out now is going to work. Obviously, you can’t know and this line of thinking can cause you to freeze or worse, never start. 

But this time, I did a great job of sitting with the frustration of not knowing how to do things. I was able to identify - hey frustration - I see you. But then dissociate from it. It’s like I’m in a superposition where I’m both freaking out and calm as a cucumber. 

Honestly, it’s a really cool feeling. 

I also gave up the need to hit “accomplishment” milestones early in the process. If I’m too focused on completion, then I find the angst bubbles up more. During the early phases of doing something hard, I do my best to embrace a mindset - it will take the time it’ll take and done is not the goal right now. Just explore. 

What’s key is to clearly separate these two very distinct phases: absorb time and produce time. 

If you allow yourself to bounce between them, you end up in this negative space where you’re looking for the “one to one” answer - the exact solution to your challenge - which ultimately prevents you from creating value. 

Rather, give yourself time to build context outside of your time to create. 

Growth Mindset: Finding purpose in the effort

While working on the model, I happened to listen to the Huberman Lab episode on growth mindset. 

In a nutshell, a growth mindset means we believe we can get better at something with effort. 

To cultivate a growth mindset, it’s better to encourage others and ourselves by focusing on the effort put forth versus the state of being good at it. 

Huberman talks about using verbs to praise effort versus nouns to praise identity. Some examples:  

• Nice job pushing through when the project started to stall versus you’re an excellent project manager. 

• Way to show up every day in the gym versus you’re a great weightlifter. 

People who receive (or give themselves) encouragement that focuses on the genuine effort they put into something end up performing better than people who receive encouragement for being good at something.

I could have easily said, I’m not good at financial modeling… which more or less was true a couple of weeks ago… because I had not put in the effort to learn it. Instead, I found myself acknowledging my effort on this model. Specifically, how well I focused when working on it, how calmly I allowed myself to play out scenarios without fear that I was barking up the wrong tree, and how patient I was with myself when I had to start parts of it over from scratch. 

I’ve got nothing but uncharted territory in front of me, but I’m wildly confident. For many reasons. One of which is that I’ve learned to lean into doing hard things and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it.  

See you in two weeks for more musings on building physical, personal, and professional strength!

From the archives

Thermoregulation, and specifically palm cooling, is the next frontier in human performance and we’re here to lead the charge.

But first let’s talk about *taking the leap*, because WOW was it a mental roller coaster!

You could say my process started a year ago when we began dreaming up Apex Cool Labs, but I actually think it’s been 42 years in the making.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to build a company. As a kid, I would pretend to be a CEO, giving presentations in my mom’s boardroom.

But as my career began, I felt lost.

I can’t count the number of times I sat down to “figure out my passion”. Yet, nothing came to me. The frustration was painful.

Despite this dilemma—and via the most atypical path—I became the CMO of a software company. And I was darn good at it.

So when the opportunity to cofound a company materialized, it felt like I had so much to lose…

What if I fail? What if I can’t make money? What if I have to “go back”? What if I can’t get back? Shouldn’t I wait until I am more successful?

Last December, I was hiking up a snow covered mountain, a brutal wind trying to blow me over, and I had an epiphany.

“I would rather try and fail than not try at all.”

As this not-so-deep thought took shape in my mind, I couldn’t stop smiling. Despite being quite cold.

It would be another 6 months before I would take the leap—I had work to finish at Traackr and milestones to hit at Apex Cool Labs—but my fear of taking the leap had been swept away.

Along the way, there were people who helped me process my leap. They met for coffee, went for walks, and got on Zooms. They shared advice, helped me see my own strengths, and made me laugh at my fears. To all of you, thank you!

I am also forever grateful to Pierre-Loïc Assayag and Emily DeMelo, CEO and CFO of Traackr, who created a company and culture where I could grow so much over the last 6 years. And to the marketing team, the Tigers, it was an honor to work alongside you. I’m leaving well equipped to take on this new chapter.

Do the fears still bubble up? Sure.

But they have very little power over me. In part, because I constantly remind myself of Arnold Schwarzenegger's rules of success. Among my favorites: trust yourself, don’t be afraid to fail, and work like hell.

It’s a dream come true to dedicate myself 100% to Apex Cool Labs.

The last 6 months have been extraordinary! We're blown away by the caliber of our customers: NHL coaches and players, D1 athletes, competitive climbers, youth athletes, elite fire departments, and—near and dear to my heart—the everyday athlete who trains like their life depends on it (because it does).

If you’re curious about our palm cooling devices, fondly called the Narwhals, or if you’re considering taking a leap and want to talk it through—hit me up!

This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

I feel this way about a time management book.   

I've often thought my superpower is getting things done. I can handle complexity. I can handle big projects. A blank page doesn't scare me.

My getting shit done muscle is strong AF.

But recently I've been feeling overwhelmed. (Hence the break from writing.)

Time has felt outside my control. And despite prioritization, it wasn’t feeling better. 

This bothered me. 

I wondered if I needed a refresh on time management protocols so I did what any productivity obsessed individual would do: I googled “best time management books” and picked one from the pack.

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals is quite possibly the best "self help" book I've ever read.

It's certainly the most thought-provoking one of late, not to mention, a joy to read.

It starts by confronting some hard truths. 

Our lives are short, productivity–as it is typically touted–is a trap, and the day we will have everything under control will never come. Never. Never.  

The book didn’t leave me hating this unavoidable factoid. Rather, now I see how I can take my superpower too far. It left me asking myself how I can nurture my focus, without attempting to master my time (which again is a trap). 

Chapter after chapter, I found myself practicing what author Oliver Burkeman preaches. 

For one, I had no attachment to finishing it. 

I let myself relish every second, not for the future benefit, just for the moment of it. 

The happiness I felt reading it brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. 

And remember, we’re talking about a time management book. 

Since reading it, there have been very real shifts in how I live my time as of late:

• Laughing at a stream of problems at work and finding calm as I worked through them, even though my default would have been to get angry about the "wasted" time.

• Sitting down to read when there were more “productive” things to do or lists to check off and not feeling guilty.

• Finding myself wanting to rush through a set in the gym because I wanted to be done, but resetting my focus and enjoying each rep.

• Hell, I (almost) found joy in dealing with AT&T customer support. 

Despite such wins, I know I'm far from enlightenment. But my paradigm has shifted and I won’t go back because the time management game has new, more fair rules.

Clearly, I recommend you read the book, especially if you constantly feel stressed, constantly pulled in too many directions, and constantly behind. 

But for my sake as much as yours, I pulled out some highlights by chapter. 

Chapter 1: The Limit-Embracing Life

A lot of this book is about confronting our mortality. 

The problem with feeling like we never have enough time isn’t limited time, it’s the set of rules we have blindly accepted about how to use our time. 

In our productivity obsessed world, it has become “difficult not to value each moment primarily according to its usefulness for some future goal, or for some future oasis of relaxation you hope to reach once your tasks are finally out of the way”.  

I am guilty of this future focused living. I’ve dreamt of achieving a state where every second is used perfectly, never wasted. Maybe you can relate? 

Unfortunately, this is futile. We have a mere 4,000 weeks on this planet (on average) and no matter how hard we try, we can’t optimize ourselves into immortal beings. 

The time we are here is all we have.

Chapter 2: The Efficiency Trap 

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by a long list of things to accomplish, this chapter will change your life. 

Simply put: “It’s irrational to feel troubled by an overwhelming todo list.” 

Why? Because you can’t do more than you can do. 

Let that seep in. Maybe reread that last part. 

“Once you stop investing in the idea that you might one day achieve peace of mind [by cramming more in], it comes easier to find peace of mind in the present, in the midst of overwhelming demands, because you're no longer making your peace of mind dependent on dealing with all the demands. Once you stop believing that it might somehow be possible to avoid hard choices about time, it gets easier to make better ones.” 

Some moments in life require you to push hard to get more done, but Burkeman advocates for us to stop letting this be our default. And the reward for letting go is that you might actually have time for the things you care about most. 

Chapter 3: Facing Finitude

Ok, so let’s assume we’re along for the ride. Well, that means we have to make hard choices about how we spend our time. Burkeman encourages us to embrace the “joy of missing out”. 

By being deliberate about how we live our time, we inevitably must accept that we can’t do it all. But do not despair! 

“It’s not that we’ve been cheated out of an unlimited supply of time; maybe it’s almost incomprehensibly miraculous to have been granted any time at all.”

Chapter 4: Becoming a Better Procrastinator 

My favorite takeaway from this chapter is: “The real measure of any time management technique is whether or not it helps you neglect the right things.” 

Burkeman describes “The Art of Creative Neglect”: 

• Pay yourself first. There is no future moment when you will have done everything you need to do, leaving you time to do what matters most. Start with what matters most to you. 

• Limit your work in progress. Fix a hard upper limit on the number of things that you allow yourself to work on at any given time. 

• Resist the allure of middling priorities. He recounts a Warren Buffet story.
  Make a list of the top 25 things you want in life. Arrange them in order from most important to least. The top five should be how you organize your time. The remaining 20 are not second tier priorities. They are what you should actively avoid because they are “insufficiently important” yet “seductive enough”.

Throughout this book, I find a repeated calling out of the status quo. At first, the advice is anxiety inducing (I don’t want to let go of the idea I can do it all). But quickly that dissipates into a peaceful flow of freeing acceptance. 

One such moment comes at the end of Chapter 4 when Burkeman explains the “inevitability of settling”. I’ll let you discover that one directly. 

Chapter 5: The Watermelon Problem

This chapter is about distractions. Yes, the digital ones, but also anything that takes you away from what you value. 

I read this book in the midst of reading several books about our society’s shrinking ability to focus. Some come down hard on technology’s role in usurping our attention. Others advocate for more individual control. 

Burkeman articulates a rational middle ground. Yes, digital technologies are powerfully engineered to distract us. But, “something in us wants to be distracted, whether by our digital devices or anything else–to not spend our lives on what we thought we cared about the most”.

In what ways have you avoided doing what you value most? 

Chapter 6: The Intimate Interrupter

Here we look into why we allow ourselves to be distracted from what matters most to us. 

The reason: Distraction is relief. 

Paradoxically, we experience discomfort when we focus on what matters most to us. (Heck, I feel uncomfortable, or rather anxious, sitting down to edit this post…) 

Burkeman attributes this to our desire to “flee a painful encounter with our finitude”. When you commit to doing something that matters to you, you open yourself up to the risk that it doesn’t work out. 

I’ve read this chapter three times because the message hits hard. 

I’ve spent years avoiding the things I cared about most out of fear of failure. When I finally started doing them, I would get through them with a knot in my heart, forcefully keeping my focus on the task at hand, and actively separating myself from the desire to get distracted. 

Burkeman makes the point that it’s not hard to listen to another person because we’re checking our phones. We’re checking our phones because listening is hard.

“Distractions aren’t the ultimate cause of our being distracted. They’re just the places we go to seek relief from the discomfort of confronting our limitations.”

And I’m sorry to say, there isn't an easy fix. 

The solution is, and here I paraphrase Burkeman, to accept that unpleasantness is simply what it feels like for a human to commit to a demanding and valuable task. 

I’m cool with this. 

Chapter 7: We Never Really Have Time 

We don’t “have” time. We can’t possess it. And our anxiety to control it comes from our desire to know that our plans will be successful. 

Which of course we can’t know. 

Burkeman offers some solace:

“We successfully arrived at this moment without having the certitude that we would so we will likely be able to weather what comes at us in the uncontrollable future.” 

Chapter 8: You Are Here

This one is particularly deep, especially if you’ve ever had the thought–and who hasn’t–that “when I finally” do X, I’ll be happy. 

In short, Burkeman explains, we are instrumentalizing time. That time is only valuable in so far as it makes some future state desirable. 

Now, Burkeman acknowledges that there are very undesirable situations where focusing on getting out makes sense. But why is it that those who are purportedly doing what they want, spend so much time wishing for a future state?

It’s this “waiting to start living” mentality that is so commonplace, yet so absurd when you stop to think about it. 

He goes so far as to purport that our obsession with personal productivity is about not wanting to die… 

…And yet, trying to live in the moment can be almost as detached as living for the future if we are trying too hard. 

This chapter is full of seemingly doomsday statements like: 

“Life is nothing but a succession of present moments, culminating in death, and that you’ll probably never get to a point where you feel you have things in perfect working order.” 

But it is uplifting if you open yourself to his message. 

Chapter 9: Rediscovering Rest 

Rest is something I struggle with. I’m not convinced I know how to do it. 

(Please leave any book recommendations on this topic in the comments.) 

Chapter 9 explains I am not alone. Many people see rest as a way to recover so we can do more work versus rest for the sake of rest or feel guilty about not using the time to improve ourselves. 

Burkeman speaks of atelic activities–ones you do merely for the sake of doing them. An example given is walking. Another example would be a hobby. One you do for its own sake, without concern for results. 

Over the last 18 months, I’ve been going for walks almost every day. During this time, I have also become a happier person…

Chapter 10: The Impatience Spiral

Here we are reminded how futile impatience is. 

Honking won’t get us to our destination faster. Nor should we be upset when obstacles slow us down at work. The fact is things are the way they are and we can only control ourselves. 

But the world keeps speeding up and Burkeman makes a convincing case that we are addicted to this fast pace and it’s only getting worse. 

“As the world gets faster and faster, we come to believe that our happiness, or our financial survival, depends on our being able to work and move and make things happen at superhuman speed.”

This leads to rushed work, constant checking of our phones, and the urge to move faster in hopes of controlling time. 

But we can’t. 

Things take the time they take. If we can surrender into this reality, the impatience melts away. 

I’ve experienced this many times. A daunting project in front of me. I get so annoyed and stressed. But then I accept that it is what it is and somehow it becomes enjoyable (and gets done). 

Apparently this is what it means to be patient. 

Chapter: 11 Staying on the Bus

Here we go deeper into patience. I appreciate that he first calls out the wrong kind of patience. The one “ to help you to resign yourself to your lowly position” while waiting for something better. 

Instead, he paints a picture of what it can mean to find power in patience. 

“In a world geared for hurry, the capacity to resist the urge to hurry–to allow things to take the time they take–is a way to gain purchase on the world, to do the work that counts, and to derive satisfaction from doing itself, instead of deferring all your fulfillment to the future.”

He shares three Principles of Patience: 

• Develop a taste for having problems. You can’t deal with everything and get to a point where you have nothing left to deal with. Life is dealing with problems. 

• Embrace radical incrementalism. Make small but consistent progress. This could not be more evident than in the gym… 

• Originality lies on the far side of unoriginality. Your early forays into something will likely be down a beaten path. By staying the course you give yourself a chance to push beyond the end of that established trail into the new. 

Chapter 12: The Loneliness of the Digital Nomad

Have you ever felt burdened by the demands others place on your time? 

Sure, it would be simpler if our significant others, friends, coworkers, and family members didn’t mess up our ideal schedule. But would a life without others be worth it? 

Burkeman points out how “digital nomads” are not nomadic at all–to be so would require them to travel with a community instead of solo globe trotting, which turns out can be a very lonely experience for many. 

Productivity literature often encourages ultimate control over your schedule. 

“To be free from other people’s intrusion into your precious four thousand weeks”. 

But Burkeman encourages us to fall into rhythm with others or “to be free to engage in all the worthwhile collaborative endeavors that require at least some sacrifice” of your time. 

Chapter 13: Cosmic Insignificance Therapy

When the pandemic hit and lockdown went into effect, we were abruptly forced into a period of pause. If there was a silver lining to be had, it was how the “great pause” shocked us into living our time differently. 

As one of the truly fortunate (I stayed healthy and I had a job), I experienced this pause as one of the greatest gifts. I remember loving the quiet. Not traveling. No commutes. Long deep discussions with nowhere else to be. I had more time to cook and eat healthy.

It definitely set me on a course I wouldn't have found had the pandemic not happened. For many, it was a forcing function in grappling with the question of what really matters to us. 

But when you start to ask those types of questions, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of feeling like our lives must be wildly remarkable to be worthy. So then we become frozen. 

Cosmic insignificant therapy is a reminder that:

“When it comes to how you're using your finite time, the universe absolutely couldn't care less.”

Like with most points in this book there is a seemingly depressing theorem thrown out, that when you unpack it, offers a sense of calm and surrender. 

Burkeman is prodding us to let go of absurdly unrealistic goals such as “putting dents in the universe” and in doing so create space to experience our finite time just for what it is. 

Last year, I read another book called The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope. If you struggle, as I have, to bring your dreams to fruition because they don’t feel “big enough”, I highly recommend it. 

Chapter 14: The Human Disease 

“Embracing your limits means giving up hope that with the right techniques, and a bit more effort, you’d be able to meet other people’s limitless demands, realize your every ambition, excel in every role, or give every good cause or humanitarian crisis the attention it seems like it deserves.”

It means giving up hope of ever feeling totally in control. 

In the Appendix, Burkeman provides 10 tools for “embracing your finitude”. In the ultimate click bait move, I’ll leave them for you to discover if you chose to read the book. 

I hope you do because it's freaking mind blowing. It’s not the message we are fed day in and day out. 

This book turns time management on its head. 

Burkeman’s goal isn’t to defeat you. It’s to defeat the impossible standards we’ve set as our time management ideals and in doing so empower us to embrace our finite time, do more of what matters and feel fulfilled. 

I’ve read it twice. 

It’s a trip. 

Also, hello, and thank you for getting all the way here.

I took a few months off writing because I had to neglect this part of my life while other things took front and center. Having read this book during that time (and learned a few things), I can honestly say that even though I am not thrilled to have lost my publishing rhythm, I am crystal clear on why I didn’t write and I don’t feel bad about what I would have considered a lack of productivity before. 

Anyways, I’m back now with 3000+ words on strengthening your time management skills! 

I can not finish this article without addressing one more thing. This book is not about giving up your dreams. It’s not about shying away from hard work. Quite the contrary. This book is a roadmap for actually doing the things you really want to do. 

Four Thousand Weeks may seem depressing on the surface, but I found it freeing. 

I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. 

Accept that motivation will never be your primary driver

It sounds cliche, but it’s the raw truth. Motivation is fleeting. If you’re counting on it to get you to the gym, you will likely fail. 

I'm rarely motivated the moment I walk into the gym. But I'm committed to consistency. And I’ve learned, as explained to me in countless self-help books, that motivation really does follow action. 

Hence, I’ve developed the ability to move through the lack of motivation. I mentally detach from the dread, acknowledging that it’s there, but not letting it take over. 

Fortunately, the dread usually dissipates within 5-15 minutes.

Always have a plan and a backup plan 

It is essential to have a plan for several reasons. 

First and foremost, you need a plan because you want results. If you show up without a plan, you will likely waste time, fail to progress, and lose momentum. 

A plan will also help you transition through the first phase of most workouts when motivation is low and you're fighting the urge to walk away. 

In addition to my actual training program, I always have a plan for warming up. 

Warmups help me get past the nagging dread of working out. They don't need to be complicated and long. Typically, my first 10-15 minutes in the gym consists of: 

• 3-5 minutes: dynamic stretching (deep lunges, downward dogs, etc.)

• 3-5 minutes: getting my heart rate up with rowing, running, jump roping or moving through the next phase with increasing speed

• 3-5 minutes: lightweight / bodyweight movements that mimic the patterns I’ll be lifting shortly. Squats, pushups, good mornings, band pull aparts, etc. I start slow in the first round and build up speed as I go.

I also have a plan for when things don’t go to plan.

All too often, something happens and my dedicated window for working out slips or shrinks. Instead of letting such hiccups throw me off completely, I have ways of adapting on the fly. 

The easiest way to work around a tight schedule is to use an AMRAP formula. 

AMRAP stands for as many reps (or rounds) as possible. Whatever amount of time you have, pick 3 to 6 movements, set a timer, and cycle through. 

I typically will treat the first few rounds as a warmup and increase my weights as I go. 

Here is a 35 minute AMRAP workout example. Here is a 40 minute AMRAP workout example. 

You can either pick lifts you would have done that day or take a full body approach by picking one pushing movement, one pulling movement, one knee bending movement, one hip hinging movement, and one ab exercise. 

You can also do the same thing but EMOM style. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute. Instead of continuously moving, you work for 30-50 seconds every minute, using the down time to rest and move to the next station. 

On these days, the goal is to move and maintain consistency. 

Give yourself grace for a day, but not for two days

This is surely an unpopular opinion, but it works for me. If shit happens, it’s ok. I just do everything in my power not to let it become two missed days. Obviously, if I’m sick this doesn’t apply. 

Track everything

I track everything I do in the gym. I commandeered my partner’s iPad Pro and use Google Sheets, but you can use a notebook or app. 

Typically, I have my plan in the spreadsheet and I write down exactly what I lifted and if needed, notes about what I should do next. 

For example, I'll track:

• Deadlifts: 6 x 10 reps at 190. Form was sloppy - stay at 190 for another week

• Back Squats: 5 x 8 reps at 150. Next time try 155.

• Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 x 10 reps at 35. Next try 3 x 12 reps at 35.

If you don’t track, it's too easy to forget and fail to respect the principle of progressive overload which is critical to progress and results.

I also keep myself on task by using a running clock (again on the iPad) to ensure I rest properly between sets. Without the clock, it’s too easy to either rush to my next set or get distracted and waste time. 

Remember how little time you spend in the gym

In terms of pushing hard, it helps to contemplate just how little time you spend in the gym, but how impactful it can be.

I always think about how I'm spending 60-90 minutes in the gym. That's 1/24 of my day. I've already done the hard work to get my ass in the gym and warm up. So I owe it to myself to get the most out of it.

Along the same lines, if you lift 3 times per week and aim for 15-25 working sets per session, that's 75 sets per week max that you need to push. Assuming every set is 10 reps and each rep takes 5 seconds, that's a total of 62.5 minutes of work in a week.

I’m always so excited to back squat the night before leg day. In the morning, it’s inevitably daunting. Then, I remember I only get ~40 working reps in a week so I better make them count.

And why make them count? Because results require pushing close to maximum effort.

I also highly recommend not looking at your phone during your workouts. It’s a sure fire way to lose steam and waste time. 

In the last 2 years of working out alone and programming for myself, I can count on one hand the number of times I've cut a workout short because I just didn't want to finish. I just don’t want to be that person. 

Of course, there are times when you should not push because you are truly exhausted. One of my favorite gym mottos is: Life to train another day. 

It takes time to learn the difference between laziness and fatigue. But, if you’re tired, adapt your plan. 

Use mental tricks for getting through dips in your willpower 

When the going gets tough, take one set at a time. 

I do my best not to worry about all the work left to do. This is especially useful when doing 5+ sets of something. My mantra is often: nothing but the rep in front of you. 

When you're close to the end and you want to quit, I tell myself to keep pushing for one more song. Sometimes I do this for 5 songs. 

I think this technique is the temporal equivalent of narrowing your visual focus, which is a proven technique for pushing hard. In a recent Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Emily Balcetis, explains how runners who repeatedly focus on visual milestones like a tree up ahead, run faster than those who don’t do this. 

Embrace the fear of failure

When I'm lying in bed, not thrilled about waking up at 5am to work out, I imagine how shitty I'll feel at 7am when I sit down to work without having worked out. I don't want that feeling... so I haul myself out of bed. 

It turns out that fear is more motivating. In another Huberman Lab podcast, Andrew Huberman explains that we are better at moving away from fearful things than moving towards things we want. 

Apparently visualizing failure, versus visualizing success, can double the likelihood that you will reach your goal. If you don’t have time to listen to the full two hour podcast, listen to this clip. 

Identify as a lifter

I got this from the book, Atomic Habits. If you want to be something, tell yourself you are that. 

As opposed to outcomes-based thinking (I want to lift more), try identity-based thinking (I'm a lifter so I lift). This technique has helped me change my life in many ways, including becoming a writer. 

When you're sitting at your desk, with the choice of working more, or ditching out on the workout to get a drink, or otherwise relax, repeat: I'm a lifter so I lift.

That’s what I do: 

• Accept that motivation will never be your primary driver

• Always have a plan and a backup plan

• Give yourself grace for a day, but not for two days

• Track everything

• Remember how little time you spend in the gym

• Use mental tricks for getting through dips in your willpower 

• Embrace the fear of failure

• Identify as a lifter

I don't know if it ever gets easier. 

I supposed it does in the sense that I love how I feel and look and I don't want to lose that. But motivation is fleeting and workouts are always hard. 

I often think about how I have to prove myself to myself everyday. It’s daunting, yet quite cool to consistently achieve such goals. 

What other techniques have worked for you? I’d love to know how others keep themselves focused and committed over the long haul.

A note on programming 

If you want to write your own program for general strength and physique training, I highly recommend reading The Glute Lab by Bret Contreras and Glen Cordoza. Despite the name, it's well-rounded. I describe it as an approachable textbook on programming.

As for apps, I've never used one, but these are three I would consider based on feedback from friends and / or following their social content.

• Juggernaut AI 

• Sweeny Fitness

• Functional Bodybuilding

To the women out there: don't be turned off by the manly muscly images on some of them. These all offer great lifting programs for strength and physique development. 

The truth is consistency is king for developing strength and muscle. Variation has its place. But, programs tend to work best when you stick to them for some time.

“Some time” could be a month, or 6 weeks or 3 months… some would say, go as long as you are still progressing on the program.

This leads to some repetitive days in the gym. Normally I don’t mind.

There is something meditative about meticulously moving through your reps. Increasing the weight on the bar or the quality of movement week after week. Sometimes I see it as a dance. A choreography to master. 

And as we all know far too well, results don’t show after a day or a week. 

Again, normally I don’t mind. I’ve come to enjoy and trust the process. 

But occasionally, I get bored and anxious about what I’m doing and if it’s working. 

When this happens, I try to push through. Sometimes the boredom fades quickly. Or I’ll give myself some freestyle days, but return to the plan quickly. 

A month ago, none of that was working. 

Then I got sick and went 10 days without lifting. As if the universe was saying… oh, you're bored? Let me remind you of what it’s like to not be able to lift.” 

I’m being dramatic. Yet, it was a great reminder that I love lifting and movement in general and it’s a damn treat to do it. 

Being sick also gave me some down time to reflect on why I was feeling lost. 

I listed my problems and came up with solutions: 

1. An optimizer at heart, I was constantly worried my program wasn’t perfect. So I decided to stop worrying. Check.

2. I admitted I couldn't do it all at the same time. I picked a primary goal and got comfortable with secondary goals taking a back seat. Yes, I want my “engine” to stay strong and I want to get stronger. But what I really want is bigger muscles: bigger shoulders, bigger legs, bigger abs. If I had to pick one goal to rule them all right now, well, I have to admit, I’m in BRO MODE. 

3. With that said, I do want to optimize my program for general health goals. I’ve heard too many researchers express the benefits of touching your max heart rate at least once per week so I make this a priority. Not to mention I truly enjoy conditioning work. 

4. Which leads me to the fourth issue. I was trying to cram everything I needed into a 7-day cycle.  So I googled why we have a 7 day week and couldn't find any compelling biological reason so I’m now on a 9-day cycle. 

5. The day before getting sick, I had listened to the Huberman Lab podcast on the importance of play. I realized I don’t explore enough. So I added in a new hobby for novelty: artistic jump roping! 

6. Lastly, I acknowledged that building muscle takes time and instead of asking my partner if my delts looked bigger today (as opposed to yesterday when I last asked), I decided to get Dexa scans so I could stop second guessing if I’m actually building muscle.

To summarize. 

My primary goal right now is hypertrophy. I want more muscle. I do enjoy a good long conditioning workout regularly. And I need more play in my life. 

I started scaffolding out a program to meet these needs. 

• Four lifting days: 2 upper body and 2 lower body + shoulders

• I led with upper body so I can do back to back lifting days. If I started with leg day, I would probably need a rest day on day 2. 

• My rep ranges and volume are high which is required for muscle growth. Everything is 6+ reps. I shoot for at least 20 sets per muscle group per week. 

• I paired shoulders with legs so I can train them more frequently. I also skew at least one of my conditioning workouts to be very shoulder intensive (grow delts grows). 

• I did my best to ensure I’m bending my knees, hinging my hips, pushing, pulling and generally moving in most planes. I could be better here. 

• I make my conditioning work high volume, muscle endurance style circuits to give my legs and shoulders more attention. I have fun dreaming these up.

• On rest days (and most days), I try to walk at least 30 minutes if not longer. 

What does this look like in practice?

Here’s a downloadable look at the program. Or follow along on Instagram.

Lifting Program: Summer 2022 Cycle

48.9KB ∙ PDF File

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Every week I go up in weight, sometimes reps, or if needed, I stay put and clean up my form. Progressive overload for the win. I’m also continuing to use palm cooling to increase my performance - I intend to write a follow up on this very soon.

I use my conditioning days to freestyle a bit. While I have a rough set of them mapped out, I adjust weekly based on how I’m feeling. Here are a couple recent examples.

If you think I’m missing something or you have better ideas, please do share! 

I’m three weeks into this program. Barring insightful commentary from the ether, I’ll stick with it for 6 weeks before shifting around movements. I’ll get another Dexa scan at the 6 and 12-week marks, and will report back progress. 

If I may, I’ll leave you with these lessons that I am taking away from this self-reflection: 

• Be clear on your goals and their order of importance. 

• Build a program based on scientifically-proven principles. 

• Incorporate what brings you joy. 

• Break a few rules. 

• Add in some play. 

• Track and measure progress. 

💪 Thank you for reading.

When I quit, it felt impossible. 

I can barely remember it now, but I know it was painful. 

Particularly the mental anguish of giving up something that I enjoyed. How could I ever enjoy a break from work, a party with friends, a walk, a drive, or a cup of coffee without my beloved nicotine?

I wish I could remember every moment of those first couple of months. I kick myself for not writing down my thoughts then. 

I quit cold turkey. 

It was the third time in my life I quit, and thankfully, it was the last time. 

I smoked my last cigarette in the designated smoking area outside of a hotel in San Francisco on a Friday night. I’m sure I was both savoring it and damning it. I remember getting into bed that night disgusted by the smell of smoke in my hair. 

The next day I drove to Carmel with my mom and proceeded to daydrink my way through my first 24 hours. I can’t say I recommend this approach, but it did work for me.

I woke up the next morning having survived a day without a cigarette. 

I went for a run. I could tell I was on the road to freedom.

When I think about why I finally quit, I do remember this one public service ad.

It called out how frustrating it was to be beholden to this substance. How it dominated your thoughts. How annoying it was to be doing something you enjoy, but mentally calculating when you could get your next cigarette. 

This resonated with me profoundly. Yes, I didn’t want to die. Yes, I didn’t want to look prematurely aged. Yes, I didn’t want to smell of smoke. But most of all, I didn’t want to be controlled by something. 

Sometimes, even 10 years later, I’ll remember what it was like to shape every hour of my life around getting in a cigarette and I shudder.

When I see a smoker contemplating how they will get their next cigarette in, I feel so hard for them. I wish they knew how close they were to a better life, but I also know it can’t happen until they are ready. 

I can’t even remember why I started smoking. I don’t remember why I felt I had to smoke. But along the way, it became a part of me, and then took years to unravel. 

While I technically quit cold turkey, I think the act of quitting was really several years long, both leading up to and after the last cigarette was consumed. 

To be honest, I don’t even know if I ever smoked “freely” aka without thinking about–at least in the back of my head–the harm I was causing myself. 

Which leads me to believe I was working up the courage to quit from more or less the time I started smoking “full time” when I was 18 years old. 

Between 18 and 31 I did have a couple of non-smoking years, but for the most part, I was a smoker. And as I continued puffing a pack a day, year after year, my smoking friends all quit, laws changed to prevent smoking in bars and restaurants, and the price of these freedom killers skyrocketed. 

There became a time when I started hating that I was a smoker. 

I was shackled to someone I didn’t want to be, but didn’t know how to leave. 

I remember reading The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr. It was motivating but I didn’t quit while reading the book. I think, but can’t remember, that it took me another couple of months to decide to smoke my final cigarette. 

One technique that helped me get through the early days and weeks was to observe my urges to smoke as an outsider. I’d be sitting at my desk working and the urge to smoke would take over.

I’d tell myself to wait 5 minutes and see how I was feeling then. Most often, the urge would have dissipated. I had to do this at least 1680 times before it started to feel easy. That’s 20 times a day, seven days a week for three months.  

I don’t actually remember when I had my first “hell yes, I love not being a smoker” moment, but I am grateful everyday I broke those chains. 

About 8 months after I quit, I inquired at the CrossFit gym across the street. Since walking into that gym 9 and half years ago, I haven’t looked back. Fitness, while always sort of in my life in some way, became a defining cornerstone. 

So did celebratory cakes! 

On my one year anniversary of no smoking, my partner sent me the most delicious cake. And he has kept at it every year (although I’m waiting for the 10-year cake which is delayed due to a party we’re having later this summer if I can get around to planning it). 

Every year has been quite the treat.

Over the last decade, I’ve changed a lot about how I eat, how I do fitness, what I drink, how I sleep, how I work, and how I relationship. 

Unlike quitting smoking cold turkey, the vast majority of my changes have been slow evolutions. They start with a desire to change and usually come with a side of fear that I can’t do it. 

But I keep pushing. I usually read a lot about whatever it is I want to change. I make little tweaks. Sometimes I go into “extreme mode”, but most often the changes are slow. 

Like becoming a morning workout person. That took me months of dedicated effort and a lot of failure and it’s still not easy. 

The two books that have helped me make changes are:

• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

• Atomic Habits by James Clear 

The Power of Habit explains the dynamics of a habit and thus how to undo or replace them. Atomic Habits translates the science of habits into a practical handbook.

The three pieces of advice that stuck out to me most across these two books are: 

• You’ve got to have a plan. Write down how the habit happens. Explain all the places you can break down. And develop strategies in advance for each one. This helped me stop the destructive habit of midweek takeout that was hurting my nutrition goals. 

• Act as if you are who you want to be now. I was afraid of starting a blog for years until I decided, I am a writer and writers write. 

• Start small, so small you can’t fail. This worked for me as I slowly cut my alcohol consumption from daily to once per week. 

If you’re trying to quit smoking, starting small might seem impractical. I know for me I was either a non-smoker or a pack-a-day smoker. But if I had to do it again, I’d think of start small as a mindset for surviving the micro moments. Take the pressure off quitting forever. Just get through the next urge. 

In many ways, that’s why I like pushing myself in the gym. I like to practice being uncomfortable. Even a decade into my fitness journey, I still get nervous before workouts. But I always do, and that daily dose of managing discomfort gives me the confidence to do it elsewhere in life. 

So maybe that is my big lesson from 10 years smoke-free: the crutches are chains and being comfortable with discomfort is freedom. 

If there is something you want to change about yourself, I hope you’ll see that it's possible. The time you spend thinking about and wanting to change is part of the process. Sometimes this phase is very long. Sometimes people never break out of it. But many people do and I believe you can too. 

Thank you for reading.

It came after remembering how impactful the book, Algorithms to Live By, was for me. 

That book taught me that there was no good reason to organize things that I use daily. 

As a result, I don’t fold my laundry. There are 39,613 unread emails in my inbox right now. None of them cause me stress. My pots, pans and Tupperware live in complete disarray in their respective cabinets and 99% of the time, I can find what I need in 10 seconds. 

I wanted to read another book that might transform some other element of my life. 

I remember someone (but now can’t remember where or who) suggest Words Like Pistols by Sam Leith. At the same time, a friend, Andrea Wildt, the cofounder of Harlow, an app for freelancers suggested, You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy.

It wasn’t intentional, but somehow I started reading these two books at the same time: one on how to persuade and one on how to listen. 

I would have thought that the book on rhetoric was going to be my favorite, but it turns out the listening one struck a bigger chord. 

The book opens: 

“When was the last time you listened to someone? Really listened, without thinking about what you wanted to say next, glancing down at your phone, or jumping in to offer your opinion? And when was the last time someone really listened to you?”

My response:

“Oh shit. I don’t listen.”

I am a queen of productivity and efficiency. 

The other week I orchestrated takeout for a large group in 14 minutes from choosing a restaurant to placing 11 different orders. I can launch something in one month that would take most people three months. And I don’t get stressed until I’m juggling more than 15 projects at the same time. 

But the skills that drive me to get shit done, also mean that when you’re talking to me, I’m simultaneously (trying to) listen, planning the next steps for something in my head, and maybe even writing an email about some other project too. 

You might say, who cares, what’s the big deal? 

But it dawned on me that I am missing out on a lot and probably hurting relationships that matter to me. 

Without listening we are doomed to be lonely

In a 2018 survey of 20,000 Americans, almost half said they did not have meaningful in person social interactions on a daily basis. In 2020, another survey found that over 60% of young adults feel lonely. Loneliness was prevalent before the pandemic and it’s only gotten worse. 

One of the culprits is often assumed to be the digital world: our phones and social media. Although this has not been proven, it resonates with me. I am happier and calmer when my phone is out of sight and I’m deep in conversation with someone. 

When Murphy explains what listening really is, it made me stop in my tracks. 

“Listening is not about teaching, shaping, critiquing, appraising, or showing how it should be done [...]. Listening is about the experience of being experienced.”

Let that settle for a moment: Listening is about the experience of being experienced. 

What we crave is to be heard. To be seen. 

In absence of being heard, we begin to feel inadequate and empty. 

It pains me to realize I have likely made people feel empty because my listening skills are piss poor. 

I am guilty of listening to someone, trying to quickly dissect their problem, and efficiently provide the solution. I quickly extrapolate where they are going and start problem solving for them in my head before they have even had a chance to say everything and… most importantly… felt heard. 

We’ve all been taught at some point about the importance of active listening. 

But Murphy calls out that this practice, as widely taught today, is mostly optics.

Active listening emphasizes how you should look and act in the face of a speaker. Allowing the person to complete their thought. Then jumping in with yours.

This is not actually listening. 

And yet, listening makes us more persuasive 

At one point, Murphy describes the research of Ralph Nichols, who was a professor of rhetoric at the University of Minnesota (my alma mater). Nichols realized that debate students were more persuasive when they listened well. Ironic, no? 

By well, he meant listening to understand if people’s messages are valid and trying to decipher their motivations for telling you whatever it is they are telling you. 

I particularly enjoyed Chapter 7 in the book, “Listening to Opposing Views”. 

The title is enough to make my heart race and anger levels spike… a sign that I may not be listening.  

It turns out that there is “an inverse relationship between amygdala activity and activity in areas of the brain involved in carefully listening”. The amygdala is what makes us run from a threat. It also blocks our ability to listen and think carefully.

My family has diverse political beliefs. There are many topics on which we don’t agree. But I have found that if I approach a conversation about a hot-button topic such as vaccination in the spirit of true curiosity, things go much better. 

Being a good listener requires being OK with contradictory ideas. This is called negative capability or cognitive complexity which is associated with creativity, better judgments and sounder decisions. 

Given how polarized our world is today, I wish everyone on the planet would read Chapter 7. 

Plus, listening makes us more interesting

At work, where I am a marketer, I’m constantly wondering how we (our marketing) can be more interesting. In most industries, there is a field of competitors out there, ripping off each other’s messaging, speaking more to each other than they do to their customers. 

On top of that, content has become the dominant currency of marketing. We’re all out there clamoring for your 7 seconds of digital attention in an endless ocean of content. 

I recently started interviewing customers monthly in a live event format. And I became acutely aware that no matter how much I prepared, the conversation would be boring if I couldn’t release my grip on my notes and allow myself to truly listen to the guest’s responses. 

In Chapter 12, “Supporting, Not Shifting, the Conversation”, Murphy explains how we can train ourselves to listen to bring forth clarity. She says:

“Good listeners are good questioners”

Since I read that, I’ve noticed how the people I admire most, ask the best questions. They don’t come from a place of showing you up. They come from genuine curiosity, and as such, the conversations and stories that flow are much more interesting. 

Early on Murphy writes:

“Bad listeners are not necessarily bad people.”

Thank the gods. 

I’ve been actively working on my listening skills for the last two months. My partner has noticed a change so I’m confident I’m making progress. 

As recommended in the book, I’m treating listening as meditation. I focus on the other person, like you focus on your breath. If a thought bubbles up, I let it go. I try not to let my brain guess where the person is going. 

Murphy explains that if you don’t walk away from a conversation with answers to the following questions, you probably weren’t listening.

• What did I just learn about that person?

• What was most concerning to that person today?

• How did that person feel about what we were talking about? 

I find it helpful to keep these questions top of mind. 

I’m far from perfect. At least several times per week, I have to admit to others that I wasn’t listening because I was doing something in the background or my thoughts were elsewhere. 

But I am determined to strengthen my listening skills as much as I am determined to strengthen my glutes. 

👂 Thank you for listening. I would be happy to listen to you. Please share your stories! Email replies come to me or write in the comments.

👋 All links to books go to my Bookshop.org shop. If you purchase through one of these links, I get a small commission. Even if you don’t use one of my links, I suggest using Bookshop.org because they support local bookshops!

This week I was asked to do a talk about… you guessed it… resistance training!

You know you are crazy about something if you can easily stand up and speak about it for 30 minutes without no stress. I probably could have gone on for 60 minutes had they let me! 

My goal was to explain the concepts that made no sense to me for so long. I figure one of the main reasons for not resistance training is simply not understanding how it works.

So in lieu of a long-winded story this week, I want to share the deck I created for the team. 

It regroups a lot of what I’ve written about in the past in a hopefully more digestible format. You can view it online or download this PDF. 

Resistance Training Presentation

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An overview of key principles and how resistance training programming works.

Download

If the presentation inspired you, I highly recommend checking out these admirable fitness voices on social media. These are people I learn from and respect for their scientific approaches, honesty, body positivity, and effective programming. 

• Bill Campbell, PhD (Physique Science)

• Brad Schoenfeld, PhD (Hypertrophy)

• Bret Contreras, PhD (Sports Science - Glutes)*

• Dr. Stacy T. Sims (Female Physiology)

• Andrew Huberman, PhD (Neuroscience Professor) 

• Dr. Aaron Horschig aka Squat University (Physical Therapist & Lifter). His book and YouTube are amazing for navigating injuries.

• Sam Sweeney (Personal Trainer)*

• Marcus Filly (Personal Trainer)*

• Molly Galbraith (Personal Trainer)*

*These people sell programming / have apps that I would use.

On a personal level, I set some new personal records (PR) this week!  

I like to test my max lifts every 3 months or so. This week I squatted 205 pounds (+5 over my last max) and I deadlifted 275 (+15).

My last three months of programming have been focused on these two lifts and it’s thrilling to see such results! I will also test some upper body lifts but that will happen after I send this newsletter. 

In even more exciting news, I know THREE other women who set deadlift PRs this week! Honestly, I could cry with joy. Congratulations Andrea, Denise and T! It’s super fun watching and hearing about your adventures in strength. 

Next week, we’re headed in a more subtle direction to talk about strengthening a skill I have long struggled with…

Until then, share your thoughts and questions!

A couple of months ago I was listening to the Huberman Lab podcast where Dr. Huberman explains that cooling your palms between exercise sets dramatically improves work volume and strength training response. 

He described the work of Dr. Craig Heller and Dennis Grahn, biologists at Stanford.  

The results he describes were staggering. 

We’re talking about being able to perform 200-600% more volume–repetitions of resistance exercises–in a span of 6 weeks. 

My eyes were wide open. I might have been drooling. 

How do I do this novel palm cooling?

Gaining muscle is hard work. 

There are very few shortcuts and those that exist will probably kill you. 

Worse… after a few years of training, it becomes even harder to build muscle and gain strength. 

This doesn’t bother me… but if there is a way to improve more faster in a safe way… I’ll take it! 

Let’s step back for a moment. 

Why in the heck will cooling your palms help you get stronger or do more lifting volume than you could otherwise? 

In turns out, there is an optimal temperature for muscle function. When our body heats up, the contractile force capacity of muscle decreases rapidly. 

It’s very difficult to quickly change our temperature. But there are special parts of the body that are able to transfer heat fast: our cheeks, bottoms of the feet, and palms. These areas–known as glabrous skin–contain arteriovenous anastomoses (AVA), which are direct connections between small arteries and small veins. 

In several studies–here is one–Dr. Craig Heller and team demonstrated that extracting heat from the body between exercise sets increased work volume (the number of reps performed) by 144% (pull ups) and increased strength gains by 22% (bench press) over 6 weeks. 

We’re all drooling right? 

So how do we do this?! 

In the podcast, Huberman describes the “protocol” aka how to do this palm cooling. 

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as sticking your hands in cold water between sets. If you plunge your hands in cold water, those AVA will vasoconstrict–tightening to the point where blood will not flow well.

And even if you have the right temperature, if you were only to stick your hands in a bucket, a temperature barrier would form that would prevent the offloading of heat from your palms into the water. 

In the lab, they built a special device to cool people’s palms–which I believe they are commercializing. 

However, in the spirit of zero cost education, Huberman and Heller hypothesized that you could hack this at home by getting a bucket of correctly cooled water and moving your hands through it constantly to prevent the barrier from being formed. 

I tried this. And naturally, I tweeted about it too in October 2021. Complete with a video in which I also demonstrate my unique sense of fashion. 

I didn’t think I was doing it right. Life got busy and the potential for safe, yet staggering gains slipped my mind. 

Flash forward to February, I got a reply to said Tweet from a Physics PhD who had built his own palm cooling device and had been seeing great results.

It turns out Ariel Paul lives an hour away from me and was happy to share how it works. 🤯

A Trek to Boulder In Search of Gains

A week ago, we went out to meet him. He set up V2 of his prototype for me in his home gym and left me to do my thing while he and Dane went off to build another version of the prototype … get this… for me to take home!

For 1 hour and 22 minutes, I worked through 10 sets of pushups and 10 sets of pullups. 

Between each set, I sat calmly on a bench holding the cooling device gently in my hands for 3 minutes pondering how wild this whole thing is… and just how much I love Twitter.  

My results shocked me. 

Pushups: 20-20-20-20-20-17-15-15-12-10: 169 rep

Pull-ups: 7-7-7-7-6-6-6-6-6-6: 64 reps

While I realize I should have tested without the palm cooling before, I didn’t. But I did redo it this week sans cooling just to see. 

Pushups: 20-20-20-19-18-16-16-15-13-12: 169 reps

Pull-ups: 7-7-6-5-6-5-5-5-5-5: 56 total reps

My pushup rep count was the same. However, it is possible that the one palm cooling session helped me over a plateau. I’ll never know and can only see where I go from here and how fast I improve. 

But woooow. I did 14% more pull ups with the cooling. That is incredible. Yes, one data point, but exciting nonetheless. 

So here’s my game plan.

Next week, I’ll do a 1 rep max test on a bunch of my lifts to set my baseline. 

The week of April 4th, I’m traveling so it’ll be a deload week. 

Starting April 11 for at least six weeks, I’ll follow this program, inspired by the studies. I’m prioritize strength in some lifts and work volume in others.

In all cases, I will rest for 3 minutes while holding the device. 

Monday

Back Squat: 

• Set 1: 10 reps at 40%

• Set 2: 7 reps at 60%

• Set 3: 4 reps at 80%

• Set 4: 2 reps at 95% (if successful - all goes up next time by 5#)

• Set 5: 5 reps at 60%

• Set 6: 10 reps at 40%

Pull-ups: 

• 10 sets to failure 

Accessory Work: 

• Quads 

• Core

Tuesday

Deadlift: 

• Set 1: 10 reps at 40%

• Set 2: 7 reps at 60%

• Set 3: 4 reps at 80%

• Set 4: 2 reps at 95% (if successful - all goes up next time by 5#)

• Set 5: 5 reps at 60%

• Set 6: 10 reps at 40%

Pushups: 

• 10 sets to failure 

Accessory Work: 

• Hamstrings 

• Glutes

• Shoulders 

Wednesday

Run

Thursday 

Off

Friday

Repeat Back Squat & Pull-Up Day

Saturday

Repeat Deadlift & Push-Up Day

Sunday

Run or Row

In the subsequent 6 weeks, I plan to do upper body strength work (bench press and shoulder press) and lower body volume (squat and deadlift).  

Phew! If you’ve made it through this post, thank you and  👏. 

You can rest assured I’ll keep you posted here and on www.instagram.com/thepleasantbox. 

Coolest Person of the Year Award goes to Ariel for making me my own palm cooling device. I’d like to write more about how it works in the future. 

But for now, let the gains begin!  

I want to lose some body fat while maintaining my lean muscle mass. 

Summer is coming and I want to see my abs. 

In a world that glorifies diet culture, I’m hesitant to share my process. Not least because I don’t want anyone to think that visible abs equate to self-worth. 

I realize many people struggle with body image. I have witnessed the devastating impacts of anorexia on friends. I myself have faced some of these demons. 

But today, I’m grounded. I respect my body. I appreciate food. And I have a deep understanding of nutrition. 

If this topic is a trigger for you, please delete this email or close this tab. 

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I do believe that physique goals are worthy goals.

It’s natural to want to look good. 

And it’s possible to achieve a well-defined body while nourishing yourself appropriately. 

Yet, it’s confusing to figure out how to achieve a toned physique due to all the bullshit information “out there”. 

Which is why I want to share my approach because it’s not magic. 

My Approach to Cutting Body Fat, While Maintaining Muscle

In order to lose weight, you must be in a caloric deficit. 

Slow and steady is preferable because it's sustainable.  

For the next 8-12 weeks, I’ll be in this mode. 

I’ll assess my energy levels, weight, and body comp changes as I go. 

My goal is to reveal a little more of that hard earned muscle I’ve built over the last year. 

I’m starting out at 135 pounds. At 5’ 7”, I’m already lean. 

I don’t have a target weight goal. In fact, I don’t care to drop more than 5ish pounds.  

Here’s what I’m doing.

• I established my target daily calorie intake.

  • 1800 calories 

• I identified my daily protein goal. 

  • 145 grams which is 580 calories 

• The rest of my 1200 calories will come from carbs and fat. I’m not precious about the split. 

• I’m increasing cardio from very little–I’ve been in hibernation mode–to at least 30 minutes a day. 

  • Most days it’s walking (thanks to my new pup Ranger this is easy)

  • 1-2 days a week I run for 30ish minutes

  • 1 day a week I row for 30ish minutes

  • Most days are steady state cardio

  • Once per week I aim to do high intensity interval training

  • For the week, I’m looking for about 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardio and 120-150 minutes of low intensity walking

• I continue to strength train 3-4 days per week.

• I’m minimizing drinking to no more than one drink per week. 

• I avoid takeout but if it happens because… life… I have a list of go-tos choices that won’t throw me off track. 

• I know I will eat out with friends several times during this cut. I will enjoy those meals but will skip extras like appetizers, desserts, and drinks. 

• I will have to travel during this cut. I will bring protein bars and a lot of beef jerky. I will order salads with dressing on the side in most places. If I’m stuck in a situation with limited choices, I won’t beat myself up. 

What does a typical day of food look like? 

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt blended with milk, berries, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and topped with ½ a serving of Fruit Loops. 

• Lunch: Some sort of stew with ground chicken, spinach, peas, carrots and tomatoes, topped with a serving of cheese. 

• Snack time: Protein power, milk, a slice of Dave’s Killer Bread, and peanut butter. 

• Dinner: Chicken and vegetables, a handful of almonds, maybe ½ a serving of rice, depending on calories remaining.  

If I’m really hungry, I add in a beef jerky snack along with ½ a serving of almonds. 

I drink a ton of coffee, water with Nuun or Kool-Aid water flavor enhancers (0 calories), and the occasional Diet Dr. Pepper. 

How I prepare for the week of food

I’m not a meal prepper but I do prepare. 

I make sure I have enough Greek yogurt, frozen berries, fresh berries (if possible) and a box of cereal. I stock up on chicken breasts, broccoli, carrots, and lots of frozen vegetables. 

On Sunday, I whip up 6 servings of the stew I will eat for lunch all week. 

I ensure the kitchen is stocked with my “back up” meals in case I need options. 

• My backup breakfasts: 

  • Protein powder, milk, toast and peanut butter

  • A Built Bar if I am very pressed for time (not my ideal) 

  • Eggs + egg whites, mushrooms, frozen peas, pizza sauce, cheese and toast 

• My backup lunches: 

  • Canned tuna, green beans and a slice of bread with either peanut butter, cheese or cream cheese 

  • That goofy egg and pizza sauce option from breakfast

• My backup dinners: 

  • Choose from the backup breakfasts

  • Order a chicken and vegetables dish from a favorite Chinese place or a chicken salad from my favorite Mediterranean place 

  • Repeat stew for dinner 

Every week I try to switch up the core meals. 

I realize this is boring, and from a foodie perspective, unacceptable. 

I wish I had the time, patience, and cooking skills to have more variety during the week. 

But this works for me. 

I believe that the weekends deserve their own discussion, so I’ll come back to that in a few weeks. 

It’s not easy and it’s not required

Precision Nutrition has a fantastic infographic detailing the cost of getting lean. The leaner you want to be, the harder it is. So if this is your goal, and it doesn’t have to be, it’s important to understand what it takes. 

Including snacks, I eat about 28 meals per week. I have very little room for going outside the plan. I don’t mind the challenge because I’ve gone through this before and I know what to expect. 

I’d also say I am a little better now at sacrificing short-term enjoyment for a longer term goal. But it’s taken me some cycles to get here. 

If you’re looking for help, I suggest the following nutrition coaching options: 

• Precision Nutrition 

• RP Strength

• Working Against Gravity

I’ve written more on this before: 

• Losing Weight is Hard

• Snooze the Booze

• Sweet Sweet Cravings… Under Control

And I’m sure I’ll write more on it in the future. 

Thanks for reading. Please share questions and comments - it really makes my day! 

While many principles and techniques have been well studied, there are plenty that remain inconclusive. 

While the general rules for what is effective in the gym are straightforward, there are infinite ways to implement them. 

While most people can benefit from a general lifting program, there are reasons to try new formats and approaches. 

There are a lot of people who make money from selling fitness programs. 

And there are a lot of reasons to buy said programs. But one of them should not be because you think they have magical knowledge that you don’t have and thus you need their program to be successful.

I post my full workouts, with sets and reps detailed, as my way of rebelling against a fitness industry that has thrived on secrecy and misinformation. 

I want everyone to feel welcome in the gym. 

I want everyone to know that the strength, physique and mental fortitude they desire is within reach. 

I want everyone to feel equipped to make the gains they want to see in themselves. 

I want everyone to have a basic working knowledge of how fitness is achieved. 

Apparently this is the hill I am willing to die on. 

I say basic knowledge because as with most subjects in life, the more you learn, the more you realize there is more to learn. 

I’m not advocating for everyone to spend their life studying strength and conditioning science. 

But with a little bit of knowledge, you can go far. And more importantly, feel empowered to achieve your goals. 

So with that preamble… 

In 2018-19, I really hit a strength plateau, especially with my squat. I just could not add weight. I tried taking a break from CrossFit to just do strength training. That didn’t work. 

I got a personal trainer, and while my physique improved, my squat wasn’t moving up a ton. 

Then there was 2020. 

With few exceptions, I didn’t have access to heavy weights from March to November… I saw a squat rack once in seven months. 

So in November 2020, The Pleasant Box was taking shape and I decided to learn how to program for myself. 

I’m embarrassed, but willing, to share that most of the terminology confused me.

Even though I had been lifting for 10 years. 

What is the difference between strength and hypertrophy? Which style of training should I use? Can I combine them? 

Here are some term that describe physical attributes that can be improved via lifting: 

• Strength: increasing the ability of a muscle to produce force

• Hypertrophy: increase in muscular size achieved through exercise  

• Power: the ability to overcome resistance in the shortest period of time

• Muscle Endurance: ability of a muscle to sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period of time.

Ok ok we’re getting somewhere. Next laundry list of questions.  

What style of lifting gets me stronger? What style helps me look good? What style is best for longevity? How does strength training differ from bodybuilding? Why does CrossFit work since it’s so different from all of the other “traditional” forms of weightlifting. How do you pronounce hypertrophy?  

Let’s level set on a few more terms: 

• Resistance Training: Use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles. Also called strength training or weight training. 

• Strength Training: Involves the performance of physical exercises that are designed to improve strength and endurance

• Bodybuilding: a sport involving strenuous physical exercise in order to strengthen and enlarge the muscles of the body.

• Powerbuilding: a combination of two different training styles: powerlifting and bodybuilding. It uses three compound exercises — the deadlift, bench press and squat — to build strength, while bodybuilding exercises help grow muscle size and definition.

• Powerlifting: a sport involving three tests of strength: the bench press, squat, and deadlift

• Olympic Lifting: a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead (Clean & Jerk and Snatch) 

You can see why it’s so confusing! 

What I’ve learned is there are different programming techniques for each goal or sport, but as with the terminology above, there is a lot of overlap. 

If you are searching for general strength and physique benefits, a blend of lifting techniques is great. 

The general guidelines stipulate that: 

• To build muscle strength, do sets of 1-5 reps at 85%+ of your max. 

• To build muscle (hypertrophy), do sets of 6-15 reps at 65%-85% of your max

• To build muscle endurance, do sets of 15-100 reps at bodyweight–30% of your max

However, it’s best to visualize these guidelines as a spectrum where each category blurs well into the next. 

Hence the number 10 being in a good sweet spot. 

But there isn’t anything sacred about 10 reps. 

It could be 8, 9, 11 or 12. It could be more if you only have access to dumbbells. It could be less because you lift a bit heavier. 

Over the last 15 months, I’ve written five major lifting programs for myself. Each one lasts about three months. I make small changes month to month, but mostly there is a deliberate choice of exercises, sets and rep scheme that carries me.

Let’s focus on the squat. That pesky lift that was very stuck for me. 

I tried cycles where every week I squatted for: 

• 3 sets of 5 reps

• 5 sets of 3 reps

• Twice per week with both 3 x 5 and 5 x 3

• 1 heavy set of 20 reps 

• Tempo squats (slowly lower down, pause at the bottom for 3 seconds, explode up) for 3 sets of 6 reps 

• 4 sets of 5 reps, then reduce weight (~12%) and do 3 more sets of 7 reps.

Across all of this, I discovered that I make the biggest strength (and booty) improvements when I increase my volume or when I slow down the reps. 

I’ve also found success in focusing on making all reps at a given weight look good and feel smooth before moving on to a higher weight. While this means I don’t get to add weight to the bar every week, I am (at last) seeing strength gains faster. 

A smoother rep is a form of progressive overload and when I finally embraced that, I started winning. In fact, I’ve already added 10 pounds to my 5 rep max squat this year and I still have another 3 weeks left on this cycle! 

This is me. You might be different. My point is simply that there are good guidelines, but there isn’t one way, and progress takes time.

Three (working) sets of 10 is a very reasonable place to start. 

It is my hope that anyone reading this is a little less confused. However, despite this newsletter being very long, I don’t feel like I’ve said it all. 

Please let me know if you have questions by replying or commenting.  

I’m writing from a fairly exhausted state of mind on a morning where I had to trade working out for writing, which I don’t like to do. 

In fact, yesterday I was half inclined to skip publishing this week but there is something very painful about letting yourself down so here I am. 

One of the hardest things to do in life is start. 

And of course we must “start” everyday… 

• Start a workout. 

• Start a project. 

• Start an email.

• Start a process. 

• Start a change. 

I’m constantly telling myself and others to just “throw some paint on the wall”.

It’s a technique I have come to rely on, but I don’t think the original meaning was quite as romantic as I imagined.

Apparently–Google really let me down on this one–the saying originates from some proverb about “if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick”.

It refers to “experimenting in a haphazard or random manner with the hope that some amount of success may be encountered”.

I’d like to believe that what I do is not haphazard or random, that the ideas flowing from my brain are organized and purposeful, but the longer I visualize myself holding a fistful of mud and staring at a wall taking shape before me, the more I like it. 

The act of creating–the body you want, the career you seek, the relationships you desire–is messy.

A muddy mess or a streaked painting is a very good analogy. 

To master the art of throwing paint on the wall is, in my opinion, one of the greatest skills in modern life and work. 

Let’s say you have an idea for improving a process. 

You might talk about it with a few folks. They might be excited. You might want them to take it on. But nothing happens. 

Or god forbid, you end up in endless meetings just talking about it and then it dies. 

Now, you might not have the “authority” to make the changes happen. But that should not stop you from moving forward. 

This is where you flex your skill in throwing paint on the wall. 

You face a blank wall and instead of running away you chuck some paint (or mud) on it.

It might feel painful. It might feel futile. You might cry your way through it… but know that you are doing what so many people never do. 

Whenever I don’t know what to do or how to start, I write. 

It is not prose.

I write questions and answer them. 

What am I trying to do? Why am I trying to do that? 

What is the problem at hand? What is the ideal end state? 

What do I know today? What don’t I know today that I should figure out?

Here’s a concrete example.

In marketing, when we are dreaming up events, we rarely have a speaker secured. 

Instead we write up an invitation to the event as if we had all the information.

• What cool things will you learn? Answers to pressing questions we know our audience is asking. 

• Who will you hear from? Our wishlist of top tier speakers. 

• When will it happen? Some stake in the ground date that feels reasonable at the moment.

Then we go make it happen.

More often than not the final paint on the wall ends up being close to where it was originally thrown. 

I can’t tell you how many times I see people stall out because they can’t bring themselves to take 10 minutes to envision a future state. 

It’s easy to talk without getting into details. 

It’s easy to bash ideas, never offering solutions. 

It’s easy to procrastinate for hours, days, weeks, months, and years. 

But taking the first step? That’s hard. 

If we want to get philosophical–and I do–life is nothing but a series of first steps. Hence why I feel so strongly about this topic.

What’s humorous is that I would probably suck at actually painting a wall, but that is outside the scope of today’s post. 

Whatever I am trying to do–and I would venture the same is true for you–getting started is the hardest part.

But if you can embrace the haphazard and random (and sometimes exhausted) start, you’ll be surprised at the success that unfolds. 

I’m always here for questions, comments, and your favorite YouTubes (thanks Michelle!). If you reply, I get the email.

If getting started with fitness is hard for you, here are some posts to help you throw paint at the gym wall:

• A Basic Home Gym Within Reach

• Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, Bingo

• Mindset Hacks to Make Room for Fitness

• Powering Through

Carbohydrates, fat and protein–the three nutrients we need in the largest quantities–all deserve reverence for the life-giving energy they provide… despite each being attacked by headline pandering media and snake oil peddling diet gurus at various moments in our nutritionally complex past. 

But if forced to pay homage to only one, it would be protein.

Why is protein special?

Unless you are in a fasted state, the body doesn’t use protein for energy the same way it does carbohydrates and fat. Instead protein is used to build muscle, bone, hair, skin, hormones, and enzymes. 

It makes you feel fuller longer and reduces cravings.

This is partly because protein reduces your level of the hunger hormone ghrelin and boosts a hormone called peptide YY that makes you feel full.

While protein contains 4 calories per gram, just like a carbohydrate, the thermic effect of protein is significantly higher.

This means it takes your body more energy to digest protein than it does carbohydrates or fat. 

For many of the reasons above, especially its role in muscle synthesis and controlling hunger, protein has also been shown to improve body composition, when combined with resistance training.

Interestingly, the body can’t store protein.

When its needs are met, the excess amino acids are converted into energy and stored as fat if not used. So, while this macronutrient is quite impressive, it is possible to overeat protein so don’t think it’s a free pass.

What is protein? 

Proteins are large macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acids. There are about twenty different amino acids, nine of which are considered essential amino acids (EAA).

EAA can not be created in the body. They can only be supplied by food. 

When you hear someone say that beef, chicken, or eggs are a source of complete protein, that means that they contain all nine of these EAAs. 

There are complete plant sources too: quinoa, buckwheat, and tofu for example.

But, while other grains might be low in one or two of the EAAs, you can usually get full coverage by combining two sources (i.e. rice and lentils, or rice and beans). 

How much should you eat? 

Dietary Reference Intake–what the U.S. government recommends for healthy people–for protein is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight.

However, for people doing high intensity training, protein needs can go up to .64-.9 grams per pound.

If you engage in resistance training and you are focused on body composition, even more protein may make sense. 

I tend to eat about 1 to 1.1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. For me this is ~135 grams of protein. Significantly more than the 49 grams that are required for basic needs. 

Despite bad press, high protein diets are not bad for your kidneys if you are healthy. In fact, as we age, we all face sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss. Increasing protein intake can offset the impact.

But remember, we can’t eat our way to muscle. You have to lift weights and eat enough protein to get results. 

In the words of Ryan Andrews, a registered dietician and strength coach, “we need a small amount of protein to survive, but we need a lot more to thrive.”

Timing is also important. 

Remember the body can’t store protein. And it needs time between eating meals to process it. 

It appears that splitting your protein consumption over 3 to 5 meals per day is best for muscle protein synthesis. 

In my case, I typically eat 4 meals per day so I aim for about 35 grams of protein at each meal.

If you want to go deeper, follow Bill Campbell on Instagram where he produces handy analyses of studies on these types of topics.  

Favorite Foods and Snacks

When we think about health and fitness, many people jump to supplements. But, study after study has shown that most supplements are not required. 

I can get my 135 grams everyday with food alone. I enjoy protein shakes so they do figure in my regular diet, but I don’t need them to hit my protein goals.

My favorite sources of protein are: 

• Yogurts

  • Fage Greek Yogurt

  • Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt

  • I eat 1.5 servings as a breakfast most days - that’s 27 grams right there.

• Chicken

  • I always have frozen chicken burgers on hand for fast lunches. 

• Steak

  • Skirt steak is a staple around here for fast weekday stir fry dinners. 

• Eggs

  • I eat a lot of egg whites mostly because I prefer to get my fats from other sources. But a whole egg is great too. 

  • Yes, I like peanut butter and egg white sandwiches. 

• Tuna

  • I’m a huge fan of Safe Catch brand tuna because it is sustainably caught and rigorously tested for mercury. 

• Beef Jerky

  • I wish it was socially acceptable to eat this on planes… 

• Protein powders

  • My go-to for taste, texture and nutritional profile is Unico’s Apollo protein (I haven’t met a flavor I don’t like).

  • I like to mix the powder into a pudding-like paste with milk and top it with whipped cream and Reese Pieces cereal. 

If tomorrow I was forced to become vegetarian, I would lean into lentils, rice, and beans. Maybe one day I’ll try… but this feels very daunting to me. 

Before we get to the poem, a final word.

I do my best to eat lean protein and fruit or vegetables at every meal.

But sometimes life is a shit show.

Jerky, popcorn and almonds can be lunch. A protein shake with an English muffin and peanut butter can be breakfast.

Perfection isn’t the goal. But eating enough protein is. 

With all that said, here is my Ode to Protein.

Oh! To be so strong! 
Tear down first to build back up
Blocks unite in strength

The magic happens 
When kitchen and gym unite
Work hard, replenish

Real food is better  
Get some protein every meal
Stay satiated 

If you want to deep dive into nutrition, these are some of the resources that have helped me the most: 

• The Zone Diet

• The Precision Nutrition blog

• RP Strength blog (more athlete focused)

Here are a few past articles also on nutrition:

• A Hopefully Helpful Rant on Food Marketing

• Losing Weight is Hard

• Sweet Sweet Cravings… Under Control

I love dissecting questions and researching responses. Let me know what’s on your mind! 

I don't want anyone to be in pain. But can you grow without the emotional turmoil of your twenties?

Maybe you can and we have become obsessed with the “no pain no gain” philosophy, but let’s assume that like building muscle, building character requires stress for adaptations to occur.

When I was 28 years old, I was living in France, married to a nice person, but the wrong partner for me.

I smoked a pack of Camel Lights every day.

I didn't work out.

Heck, I still wore color. 

I was so indecisive I couldn't pick a book to read.

If I had to do something new, I would Google for hours looking for the answer instead of slowing down and thinking.

I barely had savings because I had been working in Sierra Leone for one-third of the entry level salary I had been making a few years before that in Washington, DC.

I was finishing a grad school program in marketing because I couldn't find a job in France in biodiversity conservation, which was my first profession. 

Even if I could have found a job in that field, I felt so jaded after working in the international aid industry, all I wanted was to join the private sector.

I found living in France to be harder than living in Africa. 

It took me time to put my finger on why this would be, but ultimately I decided it was because when a Minnesotan goes to Africa, it is expected to be very different. But when she goes to France, everything and everyone is similar enough to fool you into thinking it's the same, but it's not. 

There is this subtle undertone of not fitting in that just sits there below the surface all the time.

Despite being afraid of everything, I would still jump head first into opportunities even if it meant barely being able to breath before a presentation or crying myself to sleep because I was worried about failure. 

I credit this ability for much of my success. However, I wonder just how much more I could have accomplished between then and now if I didn't dwell so hard on the angst.

Looking back, I see everything in discrete chunks. 

I was a kid. I became a stressed out young adult. I got over it. 

As if one day I woke up and knew what I wanted and how I wanted to be in the world. 

That didn't happen.

Things remained emotionally rough into my thirties.

I moved back to the U.S., got divorced, pushed myself professionally, met my life partner, found CrossFit, and mastered proper nutrition. 

All of those changes were gradual. Nothing came easy. 

They all involved many deep discussions, lots of starts and stops, and emotional processing. 

I don’t pretend to have it all figured out but a sense of calm confidence has emerged.

It’s common to hear people say your 30s are better than your 20s and your 40s are better than your 30s. 

Are we saying, “just muster through until you are older and then life is better?” 

That’s not right. 

The biggest difference between my 28-year-old self and me today is that I’ve learned how to do hard things gracefully. 

Hard things don’t feel easier today, rather I have learned to separate the emotional turmoil of doing something from the act of doing it.

How? Here’s my attempt at explaining what I do when something feels hard: 

1. I let go of the feeling that I would rather be doing something more enjoyable.

2. I accept that whatever I am doing will take longer than I want it to.

3. I put a box around the thing I’m trying to do and forget about all the other things that will be waiting for me when I get done with the thing I am focusing on now.

4. I attack the problem by listing out the questions I need to answer and I start chipping away.

5. I throw paint on the wall, but I'm not overly committed to form. 

6. I ask for help when I need it. 

Was that helpful?! 

So I promised a letter to my 28-year-old self… 

Dear Evy, 

This life thing is tough and you've got to learn a lot. 

You'll continue to experience pain, frustration and fear. 

You’ll also develop your voice and find your direction. 

It doesn’t get easier per se. But you will get better at living. 

You will develop pattern recognition and skills that help you navigate situations that stress you out today more gracefully. 

You’ll get more practice under your belt and this will give you confidence.  

Try writing it all down. It sounds cliche but I wish I would have journaled more regularly.

It gives you an outlet to express all the things in your head.

It helps you process faster.

It shows you progression over time.

It helps you laugh at yourself when needed.

Keep pushing. Keep learning.

With confidence, 
Your wise future self who finally started a blog when she was 40. 

Phew, that was deep.

Next week I promise to bring this back to something less esoteric… like how to eat more protein.

Some of my favorite past posts:

• Losing Weight is Hard

• Learning to Lift at 56 Years Old

• A Basic Home Gym Within Reach