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Welcome to The Movement Memo, a bi-weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips to help you live your best day ever, every day.
Today's Programming
Movement: 20-minute AMRAP
Quote: Ball on Regret
Lesson: 6 Insights From A Sauna Side Chat
Optimization: The most studied supplement on the market
Today's Movement
Compete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes (AMRAP):
150 meter row
10 bench press
50 double unders
♀ 95 lb
♂135 lb
Leadville 100 MTB training is in Full Swing! (Pueblo, CO)
Today's Quote
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”
One thing that I have been reflecting on a lot recently has been my first career out of college: selling property and casualty insurance in upstate New York. A lot of people seem to think I regret the years before I found my way passion in health and wellness.
The honest truth is I don’t.
These were some of the most formative years of my life.
During these early years, I got a crash course in business.
I learned how to sell and I was able to build a company that supported me (passively).
Without this, I wouldn’t have been able to take risks later on in my career and I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Often we cannot connect the dots in realtime, but perspective and time are gifts.
Our hardest days are when we are forced to grow.
And it’s where our best stories come from.
Today's Lesson Learned
Last week, I hosted a fireside chat at Upswell, a new wellness and recovery studio located in Denver, Colorado. We had an intimate group of 20 men and women come together for an evening of sauna, ice baths, and intimate conversations. I thought the topics would have been around recovery and health optimizations. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Because of the unique environment, we quickly broke the ice and pivoted to share actionable advice that the audience specifically asked for.
Here are 6 insights that came from the thought-provoking questions people asked:
Insight #1: You Have The Ability To Create Your Dream Life
In my first job out of college, I was selling property and casualty insurance to campgrounds in upstate New York; I put in more than 50,000 miles a year on my car for five years. I would work out (maybe) 3x per week, but never longer than 30 minutes. And if I did, it was only bicep curls and bench presses. I never did any aerobic or anaerobic conditioning.
I vividly remember walking into my dimly lit office in Syracuse, exhausted on a rainy winter night, and thinking to myself that I wanted more for my life.
It wasn't until I found exercise in my late 20s that I felt like I started to find my stride.
A Harsh Truth: Your entire life can change when you start waking up early and going to the gym.
Insight #2: Your Community and Environment Impact Who You Become
I’ve always been social.
As a kid, I had a ping pong table and a basketball hoop in the backyard, and the entire neighborhood would come over after school. When I was in college, I loved throwing the biggest parties. Now I host 6-10 people every night at my house in Denver for contrast therapy sessions.
The people who you surround yourself with, “your tribe”, directly impact who you become.
When I started to engage in communities that shared my fitness goals and actively chose to be in inspiring environments, I started to attract amazing people into my life.
Actionable Tip: Make a list of all the people with whom you interact daily. Break it into two groups:
• Energizers: the people who fill your cup, who you enjoy being around, and who help you become the person you want to be
• Drainers: the people who pull you back into bad habits and leave you feeling exhausted
Optimize for time-around energizers.
Avoid drainers at all costs.
Insight #3: Wellness as a Lifestyle, Not a Chore
I used to think of exercise the same as taking the trash out to the curb on Tuesday mornings.
Going to the gym was a chore. It was something that I had to do every week. But I was never excited about it.
Then I shifted my perspective.
When I began to view exercise as something that I “got” to do rather than something that I “had” to do, my life began to change.
I’ve realized language holds incredible. Both in how we speak to others, but also in how we think to ourselves.
Replace “have to” with “get to” and you will turn into who you are supposed to be, your authentic self.
Insight #4: Build Accountability Partners.
Life is hard. Trying to make big life changes is even harder.
In my experience, the only way that I have been able to make big changes has been by finding partners to hold me accountable.
When I first started trying to live healthier, it wasn’t until I hired a personal trainer that I was able to build the habit of going to the gym.
Because I was paying the trainer, and there was someone who was waiting on me, I was finally able to get out of bed when my alarm went off, lace up my running shoes, and get to the gym before heading to work.
When you want to make new changes in your life, build in accountability partners (friends, coaches, trainers) to keep you on track.
Insight #5: The Role of Consistency and Discipline
The single hardest workout in training is when a coach forces you to sprint when the distance is unknown.
But this is what it takes to become successful at sport, business, or life. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from my health journey has been the need to expand the time horizon.
The most successful investors, athletes, and entrepreneurs spend the majority of their time making sure they make the right decision. Then they act fast and wait for their compounding efforts to materialize.
Anything you want to learn comes down to sets and reps.
The more I’ve success I’ve had, the more I’ve come to believe you must master the skill of being a beginner; be willing to fail at something over and over again. If you can do that, then all you have you have to do is give it enough time and you will find success.
In other words, you have to be willing to sprint when the distance is unknown.
Practice discipline regularly. Avoid expectations of immediate results.
Insight #6: Follow Your Passions
In your 20’s, you probably don’t know what your passions are.
You’ll feel lost. You’ll feel behind. You’ll feel like everyone but you has it all figured out.
This was me when I chased designer clothes, expensive watches, and fancy cars.
The biggest mistake I made was doing what others expected of me, what society told me to do, rather than following my passions.
But over time, by choosing to place myself in uncomfortable situations, I was able to build confidence.
Eventually, I built up the courage to start sharing my journey with others.
Follow your passions.
Eventually, you will find a way to turn it into a livelihood.
Today's Optimization
I’ve been taking creatine every day for years, and recently I started taking Try Create Gummies.
We've said it countless times: creatine is one of the most researched and proven supplements on the market.
Most of the research shows positive results for all age groups – young and old(er) alike.
We dug through the research on all the studies to be able to provide you with insights on one of the most beneficial supplements out there: Creatine.
Today, we want to highlight key findings from a few studies:
Study #1: “Heads up” for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function
Key Takeaways:
Long-term high-dosage creatine supplementation increases brain creatine stores.
Creatine supplementation can improve cognition and memory, especially in older adults during times of metabolic stress.
Creatine supplementation improves aspects of recovery from traumatic brain injury in children and has the potential to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Study #2: Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old
Key Takeaways:
The well-documented benefits of creatine supplementation in young adults, including increased lean body mass, increased strength, and enhanced fatigue resistance are particularly important to older adults.
Subsequent studies have demonstrated that cognitive processing… can be improved with creatine supplementation.
Key Takeaways:
The purpose was to examine the effects of creatine supplementation during resistance training sessions on skeletal muscle mass and exercise performance in physically active young adults…
The study found that “creatine ingestion during resistance training sessions is a viable strategy for improving muscle strength and some indices of muscle endurance in physically active young adults.”
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Publisher: Eric Hinman
Editor-in-chief: Bobby Ryan