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!
Thanks to all of you who ordered Barbell Apparel gear through my link last week! With your support, I advanced through the initial onboarding and made it to the next level of ambassadorship… if that’s a word.
To celebrate this, I’m doing a giveaway! If you purchase ANYTHING from the Barbell Apparel website between now and March 1st through this link, you will be placed in a raffle to win a $50 gift card to the site. Please forward your confirmation email to me (Zach.griffith1@gmail.com) to enter!
I truly appreciate your purchases – they help me out tremendously!
2024 Mindset: Micro-Changes
Although many people aren’t, I’m a huge advocate for New Year’s Resolutions. Want to eat less calories and lose weight? Awesome. Read more books? Perfect. Consume less sugar? Splendid.
The problem is that most people who set goals like these go to the extreme and then burn out when they realize they’re not sustainable.
We’ve all heard them.
Shedding 25 pounds in 12 weeks’ time. Reading a book every month for the entire year. Cutting out all sweets. Limiting screen time to an hour a day.
Fill in the blank.
The problem with these goals isn’t that they’re not attainable. In fact, there’s a select population of people who could stick it out and achieve them, however, I would consider those people the exception rather than the rule.
What I’m advocating for this year are ‘micro-changes’. And when done consistently, this will lead to macro changes over time.
Let me illustrate this point.
Say you drink a single 12-ounce regular soda per day.
Any guesses on the number of calories you’d eliminate in a year by a simple switch to a zero-calorie diet soda?
57,750 to be exact.
Keeping in mind that 1 pound equates to roughly 3,500 calories, this would be equivalent to 16.5 pounds over the course of the year.
Heck, even drinking a regular soda every other day instead of every day would equate to over 28,000 calories.
I think you’re getting the gist but let me hammer this home.
Instead of a book a month, focus on 5 pages every night before bed. Result? 1,825 pages read for the year or a handful of 300-page books.
Rather than drastically shifting your screen time, how about cutting your daily 2023 average by 30 minutes? This would free up nearly 11,000 minutes for the year. That’s over 7 and a half days(!) worth of time.
What about an extra 1,000 steps per day? Doing so would tack on about 180 additional miles to your pedometer for the year.
Reiterating, it’s these micro-changes done consistently that lead to major breakthroughs in the long haul.
What I’m Trying to Do More Of: Low-Stakes Activities
Speaking of resolutions, one of mine is to engage more frequently in activities that are less goal oriented.
My standard weekly fitness routine entails lifting 3-4x, engaging in cardiovascular exercise 2-3x, and filling in the gaps with mobility work. Although I have no issue with this structured plan, I’ve discovered recently that engaging in ‘low-stake activities’ has even more benefits.
Enter pickleball.
Although of course the goal is to win, pickleball is a low-stakes game which offers an unpredictable aspect that typical cardiovascular exercise (e.g. incline treadmill walking) doesn’t.
Even more, I typically get a better cardio workout by playing an hour of pickleball than I do from jogging while also finding it much more enjoyable.
There’s something else to be said about the social aspect of playing with friends, having a little competitive spirit, and seeing your skills improve over time.
Tying this to the scientific realm, there was a podcast (Huberman Lab) released last year that discusses the plethora of benefits ‘unstructured play’ has on the brain. While the details aren’t important, the benefits include an enhanced ability of the brain to adapt to new experiences and positive implications on mood through impacting neurotransmitter release.
Although I bring up pickleball, which is a physically demanding example, there are many other forms of low-stakes activities to choose from that are less physically oriented or not at all.
Enter shooting baskets, playing chess, puzzling, yoga, pilates, card games, and the list goes on.
According to the research, an hour per week is all you need to reap the benefits!
Improve my brain by playing ping pong? You won’t hear an argument from me!
Content Creator I’m Enjoying: Sam Sulek
If you haven’t heard of him or seen any of his clips, Sam Sulek is a 21-year-old fitness enthusiast who is quite a physical specimen to say the least. He’s currently sitting at nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube and continuing to trend upwards.
Although Sam’s style of training is completely different than what I do personally or advocate for most people, it’s his mindset and straightforward approach that has drawn me to his content.
He focuses on ‘majoring in the major’ and keeping the minor the minor.
What I mean by this is that Sam focuses on training hard, fueling himself properly, and giving his body time to recover.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Instead of looking around and trying to do what everyone else is doing, he does what feels right for him. This is rare nowadays especially for someone his age.
Sam also shares valuable lifting advice for amateurs and advanced lifters alike… particularly for those looking to add muscle.
Fair warning, his videos are NSFW so keep this in consideration! If you’re a serious weightlifter and don’t mind a little profanity, give his channel a glance!
What else
A personal training client of mine, Valerie, released a testimonial post recently that I thought I would share here. I currently have openings for two new clients if you or someone you know may be interested!
I’ll be releasing a post next week on the difference between nasal and mouth breathing. Not to spoil it, but the contrast is striking.
Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.
Buy some Barbell Apparel fitness clothing through my link here!
If you enjoy this weekly bite of information, please share it with a coworker, friend, and/or family member!
DISCLAIMER
- This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.