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!
Post #100 coming soon which means another round of Q & A. Use this link and code 16392 to submit! As you can already tell, it’s a free-for-all in there so ask away!
Can’t put into words how much I appreciate the ongoing support.
Fitness App I’m Using:
Strava.
It’s basically social media for people who workout – pretty cool if you ask me.
Strava is an app designed for you to post your exercise statistics straight from your wearable device, phone, or however you track your workouts.
Storing all your workout sessions in one place is convenient but the real fun comes when your friends join and you build a network of individuals on the app.
It’s fun because you get to see the results of their workouts on your dashboard, including the route and distance of their runs, their pace, and overall performance metrics.
Especially when you have friends like mine (shoutout to Chris Chin) who are regularly posting 20+ mile runs before the sun has had the chance to peek above the horizon, it’s quite motivating.
You can like and comment on others’ workouts as you would on a typical social media platform which makes it highly interactive.
Although I only share my runs on Strava, you can post any type of exercise activity imaginable from a leisurely walk to an open-water swim.
One strong piece of advice I’ll give – don’t let it pull you into the trap of comparison!
Each person has individualized goals so there’s no reason for it. Instead, use it as a motivator – or just for fun and to stay in touch with friends.
In my humble opinion… Strava > Facebook.
What I Learned This Week:
Although I’ve been slacking lately, I hopped back on the Huberman bandwagon this week and listened to one of his most popular podcasts after seeing multiple clips come across my social media.
On this 3-hour episode, Huberman sat down with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.
Dr. Lyon is a physician who trained at Washington University specializing in both geriatrics and nutrition.
With this background, there are two things she makes crystal clear.
Resistance training and protein intake are CRUCIAL for maintaining muscle health and living a longer, more healthful life.
Hopefully you’ve heard that a time or twenty by now.
I couldn’t recommend this podcast more strongly for females who find resistance training challenging to adhere to and instead prioritize cardiovascular exercise.
There are a couple nuggets in this podcast that intrigued me.
One is that the amount of protein consumed in a single meal has a major impact on muscle protein synthesis. In fact, Dr. Lyon shared research that confirmed for muscle protein synthesis to occur, we must consume ~30+ grams of protein at one time (think 4-5oz. steak or chicken breast).
This is even more pronounced for the aging folks as we lose the ability to break down and utilize protein over time.
She also facilitated a discussion on what she termed “high ground” vs. “low ground” exercise movements.
Unfortunately, the lack of understanding around fitness leads individuals to claim that “functional movements” are the only exercises that should be done because they apply more to daily life.
And while functional movements (think squatting, lunging, pressing, pulling) are important, this often leads to amateur resistance trainers doing things that cause more harm than good due to poor technique and higher injury risk.
Movements such as the barbell back squat are considered “low ground” movements because there are fewer contact points with the earth for stability – which is totally fine if you can handle it.
Compare this to a “high ground” exercise like the seated leg extension where you’re placed in a machine and if you were to fail, it’s incredibly safe to drop the weight.
While one exercise may be better on paper, it’s important to consider the individual doing it rather than just the movement itself.
Both will assist in muscle health/size and at the end of the day, that is priority number one.
How I’m Saving Money:
Buying in bulk at Costco.
If you eat large amounts of food (like I do), buying in bulk at a place like Costco or Sam’s pays dividends.
Not only do you save a little money doing so, but you also save the time and effort of going to the local grocery store every week… or twice a week.
I just bought nearly 15 pounds of ground turkey that will last me a couple months.
Not sure why I felt the need to share that.
Especially if you have a large freezer, loading up on meat and frozen veggies is an incredibly efficient way to make sure you stay on top of your nutrition.
Not to mention Costco’s rotisserie chicken that must’ve been given whatever Barry Bonds was taking. Coming in at $5 and lasting 5+ meals? Count me in.
They also have premade meals at a slightly higher price point if you’re tight on time.
I highly recommend buying a Costco card.
(Or mooching from a family member)
What else?
My 8-week summer personal training bundle is still available… reach out if you or someone you know may be interested!
I’ll be releasing a post next week reviewing a list of books that have had a major impact on me in how I approach life!
TLDR: Eat protein and resistance train… even if that means bodyweight only.
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
Hello! Zach! Can you remind me, and others, of the daily protein recommendations for women please. I guess you can throw men in there too. 😊