Hello and welcome to 4-Minute Friday where I share, in four minutes or less, the latest things I’m doing to enhance my health, save money, and make day-to-day life easier and more enjoyable.
All comments and follow-up questions can be posted directly below, on my Facebook page or emailed to me at zach.griffith1@gmail.com!
Last week to ask a question!
Enter 18455 as the code to submit your questions to my completely anonymous Q & A page! Topics including but not limited to health, fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle are on the table! Visit the link here!
What I’m Doubling Down On:
Zone 2 Cardio.
For those not familiar, “Zone 2” cardiovascular exercise is of light-moderate intensity and has profound impacts on our health.
First, it’s important to discuss how you know if you’re in the Zone 2 range.
There are two simple ways to check this and the first involves your maximum heart rate (maxHR). If you don’t have a documented HRmax (as most don’t), you can calculate your projected max via this equation: 220 – age.
To be in Zone 2, you should maintain a HR during activity that is within ~60-80% of your HRmax… calculated simply by multiplying it by 0.6 and 0.8. This range is broad because it’s highly dependent on your current fitness level which is why the next assessment may be more appropriate.
The “Talk Test”.
During activity, if you are able maintain a conversation but it takes extra effort to get words out, you’re likely maintaining a Zone 2 intensity. If you can easily talk for multiple sentences in a row or can only get out a few words before gasping, you’re probably on the lower and upper end of this threshold, respectively.
Zone 2 cardio is crucial for multiple reasons.
First, it profoundly increases our ability to utilize fat as a fuel source (i.e., burn fat) … who doesn’t want that? It also has huge implications on cognitive health so much so that it’s currently being researched as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Even more, it plays a significant role in boosting mitochondrial health and preventing chronic disease onset.
The question then turns to how and how much?
Find an activity you enjoy doing whether that be brisk walking, jogging, biking, or even swimming at a pace where you can maintain a heartrate within the zone 2 range. The enjoyment part can’t be overstated here!
Dr. Peter Attia recommends starting with two 30-minute sessions per week and building up to three hours per week as your endurance increases.
This may sound daunting but it’s not so much when you consider briskly walking for 30 minutes every day gets you beyond that point.
And, Zone 2 cardio is a great time to dive into a podcast or even catch up on a Netflix show if you choose a stationary activity.
The benefits are well worth it. Don’t wish you had in 20 years!
Mindset Shift:
Win or Lose → Win or Learn.
All too often in the current day landscape, we get sucked into the mentality that the actions we take result in a narrow, binary outcome.
Either we win (succeed, advance ourselves forward) or we lose (fail, experience a setback).
But what if these aren’t the only options?
Instead of thinking in these terms, I’ve recently discovered a mindset shift that’s served me incredibly well these past couple of months and has made it much easier for me to lean into and deal with challenging situations.
With every action or decision there comes an outcome and it’s often our subjective appraisal of the outcome that determines how we move forward.
Let me illustrate.
I interview for a job and do very poorly during the interview; they turn me down.
Win or Lose Mindset:
I lost. I’m not a good interviewee and it’s going to be extremely difficult for me to get a job like this one. I’ll stay where I’m at.
Win or Learn Mindset:
Yep, I didn’t do great. However, I can lean into this experience and grow from it by polishing up my interview skills, searching out more opportunities, and beginning a journal on the actions I can take to ensure this doesn’t happen again. I realize the only direction from here is up and I’m going to embrace the journey.
Although both individuals experienced the exact same outcome, there’s a stark difference on their potential trajectories solely because of the mindset they put into practice.
Although this is one example, it can be applied to a seemingly endless number of daily activities from simple conversations you wish you’d handled better to a project you didn’t complete to your boss’s standards.
With these challenging events, the mindset of feeling in the dumps is understandable but it’s not serving anyone… certainly not yourself.
If you go there, make it a quick trip.
Recognizing that failing and learning from your failures is the only way for growth to happen is a powerful realization.
Take this with you when things get tough.
Low-Carb Wrap I’ve Been Enjoying:
Pita Bread.
I’m dumbfounded by how I only recently discovered this, but pita bread is not only incredibly tasty and versatile, but rather healthy as well.
Having less than 100 calories and 15g of carbohydrates as well as ~5g of protein in most varieties, a serving of pita bread is a fantastic addition to nearly every meal. Of course, they serve as a great delivery vehicle for food (whether that be stuffing the pita or consuming like a gyro), yet they’re also not too shabby as a standalone side dish.
If you’re a bread-lover and/or are in search of an upgrade to your carb options, look no further! There’s also a plethora of whole-wheat pita varieties for those overachievers out there.
Relatively cheap, healthy, and great tasting. I’ll take it!
What else?
Heck of a win for Illinois basketball last night — this team is incredibly fun to watch! Tune in to TBS tomorrow at 5pm (Central Time) to catch their Elite 8 matchup against UConn. It should be another dog fight!
I’ll be releasing a post next week with answers to all the questions submitted to the anonymous Q&A page. Submit your questions before Sunday to have them featured in this post! I’ll be answering them all!
Win or learn. The only way to grow is to fail, learn from it, and keep going.
Buy some Barbell Apparel fitness clothing through my link here!
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DISCLAIMER
- This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.