Great Articles I Read Last Week

I’ve been gone for a minute now I’m back with the jump off.

I’ve been visiting the land of Knowledge Bombs, reading books, watching DVD’s, listening to some audiobooks.  I’m trying to capture as much of that information as possible, and that’s why you’re here.You’re here to learn.  That’s what you’re about to do. I’m going to share some links with you of some great pieces that I’ve read over the last week, along with some ideas that can fuel our own desire to improve on a regular basis.

Let’s start with a section of an interview that Simon Sinek did for Capture Your Flag.  Simon’s thoughts have been a huge influence on me in the past year, and his thoughts are elegant and exciting:

Brad Pilon echoes the same sentiments in a in a recent blog post called “There Is No Substitute for Hard Work” , where he reminds us that dreams don’t work unless you do: “You have to make work fun, if you can do that it’s ceases to fell like work, it just becomes what you do, simply because you feel fulfilled and satisfied doing it. Most successful people don’t work for an hour then take 4 days off. They don’t work a little bit. They never stop working, because they enjoy it.”

Ironically I just finished the expanded and updated version of “4 Hour Work Week” on Audible, and while I love many of the streamlining skills that Mr. Ferris discusses, I’m not enthralled with the idea of a 4 Hour Work Week.  Find something that you LOVE to do, and it won’t feel like work.  Easier said than done, but important to note that difference.  In the same vein, here’s a related thought from Gary Vaynerchuk:

Learning is a huge part of killing it to me, more than technical mastery, but learning the nuances at delivering the facts so that they’re aligned with what your intended target needs to hear and wants to hear.  This is something that I’ve struggled with in the past and I’m working to develop that skill. 

The first example I’d like to share with you does that incredibly well.  In “The Deficit”, Leigh Peele discusses How We Lose Fat.  It’s a concise explanation of metabolic factors, and a sensible explanation about what you can do to manage and maintain your fat loss.  Read it HERE.

While we’re discussing nutrition, calories, and macro nutrients, let’s check out a piece that JC Deen wrote for Andy Morgan’s website, called “Is Clean Eating a Scam? – Clean Eating vs. IIFYM”  In this post JC discusses the the apparent and subtle differences between eating “clean”, which seems to be socially defined as organic, paleo, unprocessed, foods, or eating foods that meet the ratios of protein, fat, and carbs that you’ve selected to follow.  Read about that HERE.

We’re taking one step further into NutritionNation and discussing sugar.  Specifically, how “Your Problem With Sugar Is THE Problem With Sugar.”  Alan Aragon edited this luxorius (read: long) piece that Joy Victoria published that touches on the psychology of sugar consumption, both before and after.  Get on the education express right HERE.

That’s a lot of learning so far, ain’t it?!  I know exactly what you’re thinking:

Take a drink of water, give me an overhead reach and a breath or two (make it three) and let’s move on.  My economist friends will notice that we just did inputs, so let’s get on to some outputs.

The likelihood of seeing a “perfect” exercise program is less than the chance you’ll see Sasquatch, a Unicorn, the Loch Ness monster, and a dragon having an princess tea party.  (Somewhere in the world, a conspiracy theorist is Googling that.)

Perfect programs don’t exist.  At any given time, a workout is simply a snapshot of your training career; and there always variables to modify and adjust.  That being said, everyone should train with integrity, be honest about their individual needs, and regularly practice full-body strength exercises.  If we don’t focus on that, or if we turn ‘on’ and we don’t turn ‘off’, problems arise.

I believe that the biggest benefit from exercise is the mental benefit, but if your brain is working against you, your efforts may be futile.  “One of the most influential reasons why you’re probably not getting the results you want is because you’ve become a prisoner to your own brain’s primary ways of processing and filtering information. Let’s talk a little science, shall we?”  Kyle Langworthy does just that in his piece 3 Reasons Your Brain is Working Against You right HERE.

Regardless of where we come from, many of us who are training end up in the same place.  We’re in the gym.  We bring the brains to the dumbbells.  According to NYC based trainer and Fitocracy Ambassador Mike Vacanti, “The gym brings people together that simply wouldn’t meet in the real world. Something about the atmosphere makes the invisible borders that guide our real life interactions – class, status, gulp, race – nonexistent in the gym.”

Hell yes it does.  I’ve long thought that politicians should have more workout meetings than working lunches.  Imagine if the UN had meetings at squat racks instead of desks?  Stronger bonds across the world, I say!  Read Mike’s full article HERE.

We don’t want your brain to bust you up, and we want you to make friends and learn in the gym.  It’s a lot more fun that way, isn’t it?  It’s also fun to see results, get stronger, and feel like a total badass.  We know that squatting can do all of that, and John Phung has 5 unexpected side effects of heavy squats right HERE.

(I especially like this list because my favorite jeans don’t fit.)

That’s it.  We’re finished. Six sweet morsels of knowledge to help you reach your goals, learn about your body, enjoy it in the process.  I hope you find those pieces as interesting as I did, and if you enjoyed them, please share them with your friends and family; I promise they’ll appreciate it.

I leave you with this quote from Jim Rohn.  It’s something I really believe it.  What do you think?