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, develop a better mindset, make day-to-day life easier, and other shenanigans.
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A Good Reminder:
It’s impossible to “spot reduce” fat loss.
Our bodies are incredibly complex, and we all have a unique system of holding onto, gaining, and losing stored fat based on our activity levels and nutritional intake.
Calories in and calories out to be precise.
So no, doing 500 sit-ups 2x per day (like I used to do as a young teenager) will not give you that 8-pack you dream of. Rather, you must address a few essential variables: energy (calorie) intake, energy output (“burn”), and the amount of resistance training you are doing.
When calories in are less than calories out and you are putting stress on your muscles by lifting weights, most of your weight loss will come from stored fat.
Locationally where that happens within your body is highly individualized and of course everyone wishes they could lose fat in a different area than they do… and faster.
Which is how the term “stubborn fat” ties into the situation.
But understanding this concept should help with the consistency side of things – just because you aren’t seeing fat loss in a particular area DOES NOT mean you aren’t making progress.
With a process-oriented long-term mindset, you’ll understand that over time and consistent effort, you WILL get the outcomes you are so eagerly seeking.
A sprinkle of patience and a lot of delayed gratification goes a long way.
Cardio Training Hack:
I’m a huge proponent of allowing cardiovascular exercise to be a time of complete introspection. No music blaring, no podcast in the background – nothing besides you and your thoughts. You’d be surprised the things that come up and get resolved when you allow room for it.
Sounds psychotic but take my word for it and give it a try.
With that being said, we all have those days when putting on our running shoes seems about as easy as solving the Worldle in a single try. It just isn’t going to happen.
This is when using what I’ll call “distraction” can be an incredibly potent technique.
Your distraction might be a Netflix show, swiping Tik Tok, deleting old photos, literally whatever it takes.
Of course, safely with the form of cardio you choose.
A distraction I’ve recently discovered to be effective is reaching out to a friend or family member for a phone call.
We all know we should be staying in touch with friends/family more often than we do and what better time for it than when you’re grinding through a cardio session?
In my experience, it makes minutes seem like seconds.
While also helping ensure you stay within your Zone 2 threshold for those lower intensity workout days.
3 birds with one stone? I’ll take it.
Recent Advisory to be Aware Of:
In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General put out a 65+ page advisory discussing the value of social connection and community.
But more so, it emphasized the harm in a lack thereof.
Titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”, it delves into all things from increased risk of cardiovascular and infectious diseases to depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
At this point, I think we all can agree how important having a close social network is to our health and well-being… but we still far-too-often neglect it.
Partially because of the shear convenience technological advancements provide.
You can get all your groceries for the week, eat three meals, and even finish a week’s work without opening your mouth and/or looking another human in the eye.
Which would’ve been a radical idea not too many years ago but is something I’d argue as a net negative… no matter how convenient DoorDash is.
Just a little food (homemade, of course) for thought.
TLDR: Schedule dinner with a group of friends this weekend.
What else?
The evenings are getting longer and the weather is slowly (knock on wood) warming up. Those outdoor walks no longer seem so insane to fathom – get ahead of the curve by starting while it’s still February!
Long-term consistency = controllable and highly effective.
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DISCLAIMER
This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.