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If you lift, then you probably want to look like you lift. And for many gym-goers, looking the part includes owning a pair of arms that put the seams of your sleeves to the test. Aesthetically, big arms are imposing and signal to others that you do indeed hoist iron. Functionally, bigger and stronger arms help you bench press, overhead press, and row more weight; they’re not just the end; they’re a means to another end (lots of strength).

And while most folks think hammering out close-grip bench presses and standing curls is enough to target the smaller arm muscles, there’s a science to building up your arms. But there are four fundamentals you need to wrap your head around to comprehend how to build bigger arms fully.

Arm Training Tenants

• Muscle Mechanics: That is, how your muscle move your joints. To fully develop your biceps and triceps, you must know how they move so you can select the right exercises for the job.
• Training Volume: Volume — meaning how many total reps you perform — has a dose-response relationship with hypertrophy. More training volume equals more muscle (assuming you don’t exceed your ability to recover).
• Progression: The best progression model to use if you haven’t used one before is double progression. Simply put, double progression is where you increase the weight within your exercises only when you hit the upper limit of a given rep range across all of your target sets. 
• Training Frequency: A comprehensive meta-analysis concluded that twice per week is better than once per week for maximizing growth, while frequencies of three or more may or may not be better. (1) Because the biceps and triceps are two of the smaller muscle groups you can train, they’ll recover faster. Training your arms three times per week isn’t unheard of. And if you’re at a point volume-wise where you’re pumping out 15 to 20 sets per session, it may make more sense to break those sets up into two to three separate eight-set sessions.

Muscle Mechanics

It’s essential to understand the biomechanics of the arms before understanding how to train the best. So first, we need to cover their basic anatomy quickly.

The Biceps

The upper arm consists of three muscles in the anterior compartment. However, we will only need to focus on two of these muscles: 

• Biceps brachii
• Brachialis
• Coracobrachialis 

Biceps Brachii

The biceps are composed of two heads: a long head commonly thought of as the “outer” and a short head referred to as the “inner.” Both muscle heads originate at the scapula and insert on the radius bone of the forearm. The biceps crosses both the elbow and the shoulder and can flex both the elbow (aka curl) and the shoulder (aka front raise).

Brachialis

The stronger of the elbow flexor is the brachialis. It originates at the upper arm’s humerus bone and inserts on the ulna bone of the forearm. The brachialis isn’t involved in shoulder movement; it only flexes the elbow. 

The Triceps

There is one main muscle in the posterior compartment of the upper arm: the triceps brachii. The triceps muscle has three heads: 

• Long head
• Medial head
• Lateral head 

The long head is the thicker or more dense muscle, which can be seen in poses such as a double front biceps. The lateral head or the “horseshoe” muscle is what you see most visibly in the side triceps pose, and the medial head is a deeper muscle that isn’t as noticeable on the surface as the other two.

The primary function of the triceps is elbow flexion. All three heads cross the elbow joint and insert it on the ulna bone of the forearm. The origin of the lateral and medial heads are both on the humerus bone of the upper arm, with the long head crossing the shoulder joint to originate on the scapula.

Additional Considerations

Both the biceps and triceps are involved in pulling and pushing movements, respectively. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to hear that back and chest exercises are enough to stimulate the bis and tris. And there are several studies have shown pull-ups and rows elicit high levels of biceps activation, and that horizontal presses bring the triceps into play (2)(3)(4). However, pulling and pressing exercises alone may not be enough to maximize biceps and triceps development.

When you rely on indirect movements exercises to engage the arms, the biceps and triceps only receive a portion of the tension. That said, your arms do get hit when your work the chest and back, and it’s essential to keep this in mind when training. If you train your back hard twice per week, you probably don’t need two to three dedicated biceps workouts.

Instead, it’s probably wise to focus more of your sets on moderate (8-12) and high (12-20) rep ranges for recovery purposes and for the sake of avoiding redundancy. Because the triceps are also targeted with any heavy vertical or horizontal pressing movements, it may be wise to focus more of your sets on moderate (8-12) and high (12-20) rep ranges for recovery purposes.

The Missing Link

Ok, now that you have a firmer grasp on those arm training fundamentals, let’s circle back to a big issue in arms training: exercise variance. You may think that simply curling and extending is enough to stimulate the muscles, but there’s more nuance to arm training. Your arm muscles will travel through different ranges throughout the entire range of motion.

To stimulate our muscles throughout their entire contractile range we must be challenging them at these three points:

• Mid-range: barbell curl, close-grip bench press
• Lengthened (stretched position): incline dumbbell curl, French press
• Shortened (contracted position): high-cable curl, cable pushdown

“Fine, then I’ll just make sure to lift with a full range of motion (ROM) for every movement,” you say. Well, hold up. Lifting only with a full range of motion is a great move (so kudos), but you still need to select movements that engage the muscle the most during each of the three ranges listed above. A worthwhile arm training session aims not to complete a movement using a full ROM but to be challenged throughout the entire ROM.

Putting it all Together

Ok, so where do you go from here? You’ve probably already peeped the charts below and noticed that there’s a lot of work to be done. Don’t freak out just yet. Look closer, and you’ll see that most of the movements below are done for just two high-rep sets. The program’s goal below isn’t to decimate your biceps; it’s to partition a moderate amount of work (10 sets for each muscle group) among all three ranges of motion. 

Training Explained

There’s nothing complicated about this routine. First, you’ll select a primary movement for your biceps and one for your triceps. These exercises preferably target the lengthened or shortened range since these are the ranges most folks ignore. You’ll perform the primary exercise for four sets of six to eight heavy-ish reps, using a tempo of 3-0-1-0 (lowering phase-pause at bottom-lifting phase-pause at top).

After that, you’ll blast your arms with a circuit of three movements, known as a triset, each of which targets the mid, lengthened, and shortened ranges. The trisets are marked with the same letters (“A” and “B”). Think of this as a template to guide your sets, reps, and exercise choices. If you want to sub out the movements below for others, that’s fine, but make sure you’re hitting each ROM. 

Pay attention to the tempo within each exercise especially the triset sequence as you will notice a pause in the shortened position (contract hard) exercises and a pause in the lengthened position (full stretch), if you take these into consideration your arms will be pumped like you have never seen.

While you most certainly could complete this three-times per week, focus on quality over quantity at first. Whereby you focus on the quality of work given within the workout twice per week for six weeks before taking its progression to the next level by completing it three times per week.

Another aspect of progressing this plan is to change the primary exercises from a lengthened to a shortened focus and the same to be done in the triset exercises. After at least 2-3 rotations of this you can then start to reintroduce the mid-range exercises as a primary focus while the others take a back seat. Here is how it should look:

Nutritional Considerations

To maximize your muscle growth, you need to eat within a caloric surplus then you cannot expect to be building any significant amount of muscle mass. With that being said here some recommendations regarding your nutritional intake:

• Eat 5-10% above your maintenance (Caloric Surplus).
• Eat four to five times per day. This his could be three meals plus two shakes or four meals plus one shake. Make sure it is suited to your lifestyle and daily schedule but keep your protein feeding times frequent.
• For your macros aim to eat 35% protein/35% carbs/and 30% fat. Say you’re eat 3,000 calories per day, that comes out to 262.5 grams of protein, 262.5 grams of carbs, and 100 grams of fat.
• Excessive supplementation isn’t necessary to grow. Your standard multi-vitamin, fish oil and probiotics will provide a great base of support.

References

1. Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(11):1689-1697. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. 
2. Youdas JW, Amundson CL, Cicero KS, Hahn JJ, Harezlak DT, Hollman JH. Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. J strength Cond Res. 2010;24(12):3404-3414. doi:10.1519/ JSC.0b013e3181f1598c. 
3. Snarr RL, Esco MR. Comparison of Electromyographic Activity When Performing an Inverted Row With and Without a Suspension Device. J Exerc Physiol. 2013;16(6):12-22. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/Russell.pdf. 
4. Barnett C, Kippers V, Turner P. Effects of variations of the bench press exercise on the EMG Activity of 5 Shoulder Muscles. 1995:222-227. 

Featured Image: Paul Aiken/Shutterstock

The post The Definitive Guide on How to Build Big Arms appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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Next time you want to sip on something warm and comforting, try a London Fog Latte. I’ve been hooked ever since a friend encouraged me to order one at a local coffee shop. As soon as I took my first sip, I was determined to figure out how to make them myself.

A London Fog Latte is now my go-to drink whenever I need a hug in a mug. Start-to-finish, it takes about as long as brewing a cup of coffee, and you probably have all of the ingredients on hand right now.

What Is In a London Fog Latte?

In its most basic form, a London Fog Latte is Earl Grey tea flavored with vanilla and lavender, topped with frothy milk, and softly sweetened. Recipes vary, but the predominant ingredients in a London Fog Latte include:

• Earl Grey tea (black tea flavored with bergamot)
• Vanilla
• Lavender (optional)
• Steamed and frothed milk
• Sweetener

How to Make a London Fog Drink at Home

Makes: 2 tea lattes

Time in the kitchen: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz. hot water
• 2 Earl Grey tea bags
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• A few drops of liquid monk fruit sweetener or stevia, to taste
• 6-8 oz. milk of choice (I used a full-fat almond milk)
• 1 scoop collagen peptides (optional)
• Pinch of fresh lavender buds (optional)

Directions

Grab two mugs and place one tea bag in each. Top with hot water and allow to steep for three to five minutes – longer for a stronger tea, shorter for a weaker tea. For a more floral drink, you can throw a pinch of lavender into the water while the tea is steeping.

While the tea steeps, warm your milk in a saucepan. Add the vanilla extract. To froth your milk, you can use an immersion blender, froth wand, or a french press. To froth using a french press, pour warmed milk into the french press. Aggressively agitate the milk by moving the plunger halfway up the french press and then back down about 10 times or so. You will see the milk expand as it becomes foamy.

Remove the tea bags and strain out any lavender buds if you used them. If you are using collagen peptides and sweetener, mix them in now. Pour your frothed milk on top.

Just add a fluffy blanket of foam, plus an optional sprinkle of lavender buds if you’re feeling fancy. Enjoy!

How to Customize Your London Fog Latte

• Make it decaf: A typical London Fog Latte contains caffeine. Earl Grey tea has a moderate amount of caffeine, around 30 to 60 mg per cup depending on how you brew it. For comparison, an 8-ounce cup of coffee contains around 100 mg. If decaf is more your speed, look for decaffeinated Earl Grey tea bags.
• Make it dairy-free: London Fog Lattes are equally delicious whether you use full-fat milk or cream, nut milk, coconut milk, or other dairy-free options.
• Keep it keto-friendly by using monk fruit or stevia, or opt for honey or the sweetener of your choice.
• Serve it over ice: To make an iced London Fog Latte, brew the tea with 4 ounces of water per mug instead of 6 ounces. After it steeps, add the sweetener and collagen, then let it cool for a few minutes. Pour the tea into a cup of ice. Top with foam.

You may also like:

• Creamy Turmeric Tea
• Matcha Collagen Latte
• Savory Bone Broth Lattes, Two Ways
• Dairy-free Dirty Chai Latte

Print

London Fog Drink – Earl Grey Tea Latte Recipe

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• 
  Author: Mark’s Daily Apple
• 
  Total Time: 5 minutes
• 
  Yield: 2 servings
• 
  Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

A London Fog Latte is made with Earl Grey tea, gently flavored with vanilla and lavender, and topped with warm frothed milk. It’s a delightful change from your usual coffee or tea that you can prepare in the same time it takes to brew a cuppa.

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Ingredients

12 oz. hot water

2 Earl Grey tea bags

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

A few drops of liquid monk fruit sweetener or stevia, to taste

6–8 oz. dairy or non-dairy milk of choice

1 scoop collagen peptides (optional)

Pinch of fresh lavender buds (optional)

---

Instructions

Grab two mugs and place one tea bag in each. Top with hot water and allow to steep for three to five minutes – longer for a stronger tea, shorter for a weaker tea. For a more floral drink, you can throw a pinch of lavender into the water while the tea is steeping.

While the tea steeps, warm your milk in a saucepan. Add the vanilla extract. To froth your milk, you can use an immersion blender, froth wand, or a french press. To froth using a french press, pour warmed milk into the french press. Aggressively agitate the milk by moving the plunger halfway up the french press and then back down about 10 times or so. You will see the milk expand as it becomes foamy.

Remove the tea bags and strain out any lavender buds if you used them. If you are using collagen peptides and sweetener, mix them in now.

Pour your frothed milk on top. Optionally top with a sprinkle of lavender buds. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition info calculated using Cronometer with 8 ounces almond milk and 1 scoop Primal Kitchen Unflavored Collagen Peptides.

• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Beverage

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 mug
• Calories: 40
• Fat: 1 gram
• Carbohydrates: 2 grams
• Protein: 6 grams

Keywords: London Fog Tea Latte Recipe, London Fog Drink, Earl Grey Tea Latte, Homemade London Fog

The post London Fog Drink – Earl Grey Tea Latte Recipe appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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#kettlbell has accumulated north of three million posts on Instagram. Your favorite fitspo is probably (most definitely) swinging and hoisting kettlebells overhead, and you’ve been officially convinced to swing and hoist kettlebells. If that sounds like you, you probably have run into an annoying and unexpected problem: Your grip sucks. 

Kettlebells aren’t the easiest tool to grab, and the ballistic nature of many kettlebell movements makes them even harder to hang onto. What’s more, your ability to grip, and grip tightly, actually facilitate stronger and more powerful lifts. And it all starts with your muscle fascia.

The Importance of Grip

The fascial lines of the body are many and varied. This article isn’t intended to be a primer on fascia but on better understanding it to enhance our training. The arm lines are particularly relevant to our grip needs. There are four of these lines, and all play some part in grip and its effect on supercharging our performance.

This experiment uses the principles of irradiation of muscle tension to demonstrate just how vital grip is:

1. Let your arms hang loosely by your side and notice where there is tension. Now make a fist. Notice it’s not just the muscles of the hand that are tight. The tension travels up your forearms.
2. Now grip even harder. Notice the abdominals engage. Observe how the tension is now not just in your shoulders but also the muscles within your shoulders. How you grip grip has the potential to activate every muscle in your body.

Let’s try our experiment again, this time to demonstrate the importance of the arm lines:

1. Grip as hard as you can, but focus on squeezing the thumb and index finger the hardest. You should feel the pec and delt engage forcefully.
2. Now focus on gripping hardest with the little and ring fingers. This time you should feel the muscles in the back — the lats, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles — engage.

Applying this knowledge to exercise is common sense, yet few people do it. The conclusion to make from these tests is that if the body is ready for pushing (via the pecs and delts being engaged), your grip needs to have the index finger involved. The opposite applies to pulling motions, where we want to make sure that the pinky and ring finger are in direct contact with the bar or bell.

Hand Position for Smarter Grip

The most common hand position when using kettlebells is a grip that slides the wrist into the corner of the bell where the handle and body of the bell meet. This allows the handle of the bell to run diagonally across the hand and minimizes discomfort on the back of the wrist.

Then, most folks will close their index finger and thumb around the handle. You may mistakenly believe this grip is acceptable. It’s not acceptable. This grip will actually decrease performance while increasing injury risk. 

Here’s why: During pressing, you need to address not only shoulder flexion but also shoulder stability. If the pinky doesn’t grip the bell, the rotator cuff won’t be fully engaged. And when it comes to swinging or pressing a heavy object overhead, you definitely want all the musculature of your shoulder to be engaged.

A better way to grip a kettlebell for pressing (or get-ups or snatching) is with the handle of the bell going directly across the hand, in line with the calluses. This grip allows both for use of the prime movers and for optimal function of the stabilizers.

Stronger Grip for Better Movement

If we extrapolate this for other kettlebell exercises, such as squats or swings, we can see these fascial lines connect the fingers to the muscles around the shoulder and also become muscles of the trunk on both sides. The front and back functional lines create two large Xs, one on the front of the body and one on the back.

The correct use of grip will switch on our postural control muscles and enhance all of our bigger lifts. For kettlebell squats, the flat grip is once again the better option (as opposed to the diagonal grip), since it activates the most support muscle.

Once you’re used to gripping this way, you’ll find your performance improves while your injury risk decreases. Changing your hand placement will perhaps make a difference in how much load you can move, but that shouldn’t be a concern unless you’re a powerlifter. Focus on how well your body can move and function as a unit.

More on Breaking Muscle:

• Get a Grip: 3 Ways to Grip a Deadlift and How to Get Your Grip Stronger
• More Insight Into Developing Grip Strength: Your Hand Digits
• Beyond the 2-Handed Swing: 5 Effective Kettlebell Movements You May Be Neglecting

The post This Kettlebell Grip Cue May Change Your Training for the Better appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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Hi folks, we’re excited to have Board-Certified health and wellness coach Erin Power back to break down the emotional and psychological reasons we crave comfort foods. If you’ve vowed to stick to a Primal diet this year, you’ll definitely want to check out this week’s post. Got a question for our health coaches? Head over to our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group or ask it in the comments below.

Luke asked:
“I’m a few weeks into eating Primal and I can’t seem to shake my cravings for comfort food. You know, mac ‘n cheese, beer, ice cream. I really want to stick to healthy eating this time and can’t understand why it’s always such a struggle.”

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that sugar is highly addictive. And that includes foods that turn to sugar in the body, like mac ‘n cheese, beer, crackers, cereal…you get the picture. But what you may not realize is that when you consume those foods, you experience a temporary rise in serotonin levels and then a fairly drastic crash. That’s why sugar gives you such a high. And then leaves you craving more once you get those cranky, hangry withdrawal symptoms.

Do Fat and Carbs Cause Cravings?

The macronutrients fat and carbohydrates are two of the main components of comfort foods. Fat and carbs aren’t inherently bad, but when combined they tend to pack a punch, metabolically speaking. As I mentioned, carbohydrates raise the feel-good neurotransmitter, serotonin, while fat has the phenomenal ability to soothe. In fact, this study found that when participants consumed saturated fat, they became less emotionally affected while watching a sad movie or listening to sad music.

That’s why certain foods are so addictive. And the situation gets worse when you’re under stress.

Not only that, research shows that the areas of the brain triggered by cravings (the hippocampus, caudate, and insula) are the same as those implicated with drug and alcohol addiction. These are the parts of the brain associated with our reward system and the emotional connection we develop every time we repeat a behaviour.

Eat and Repeat: Creating Neural Pathways

Every time you repeat an action, whether it’s one you want to keep doing or not, you reinforce your neural pathways. These are pathways that send signals from one part of the brain to another. Eventually, those actions become automatic.

It’s like if you took the same route to work every day. After a handful of times, you wouldn’t have to think about it anymore. Your brain automatically knows where to go. The same thing happens with cravings. When you reach for a big ole bowl of mac ‘n cheese each time you feel low or stressed out, you engage in the process of continuous reinforcement. The emotion (feeling low or stressed) triggers the action (eating), which elicits the reward (feeling good). Basically, it’s not your fault that you have cravings. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck with them though.

Cravings can also be a sign that you aren’t supporting your body properly in other ways. Lack of protein, poor sleep quality, and chronic stress play a major role too. Listen, it’s not about willpower here. Cravings are often a purely physiological response. That means with the right changes, you won’t feel as tempted to dive headfirst into a pint of rocky road or bowl of grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.

4 Tips for Conquering Cravings

1. Notice what triggers you. Are you hungry, tired, stressed out? Become aware of what sets you off. Research even shows that seeing food on TV can make you eat more of it. And not the healthy kind.
2. Eat more protein. Things like beef, fish, eggs, and chicken can help you feel full and have fewer cravings. That’s because protein reduces the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and improves dopamine production – one of the hormones involved in cravings.
3. Get more sleep. Studies prove that skimping on sleep can make you crave sweets and other comfort foods.¹ So make getting quality shut-eye a priority and follow Mark’s tips for manufacturing a great night’s sleep here.
4. Decrease your stress. Our friends over at myPrimalCoach are sharing simple ways to relieve your stress in this post — everything from breathing techniques to taking a quick walk.

Try these for a week and see what happens. Managing cravings is easier than you think when you have the right tools.

Mihir asked:
“How do I get rid of my food addiction (cravings for junk food and other tasty food)? I’m not looking for medical advice, but if you have any tips for beating cravings for good, can you let me know how to do it?”

The emotional reasons we crave food (and have food addictions) are often stronger than the physiological ones. Since you’re up to speed on the temporary hormone changes that occur when you eat hyper-palatable food, I’ll cut right to the chase.

I don’t think there’s a single person out there who doesn’t have some emotional connection to food. Mind you, it doesn’t need to be a negative experience to count. Were there certain foods you enjoyed growing up? Did your parents treat you to sweets when you got hurt? Or rewarded you with junk food for good grades? Maybe a certain dish reminds you of when things were simpler, without bills and jobs and adulting responsibilities. This is all normal and extremely common.

Mindfulness and Emotional Eating

Practicing the act of staying present (also known as mindfulness) can help you learn to hold your ground when faced with the urge to eat. Instead of avoiding the feeling or binging on processed junk, mindfulness allows you to acknowledge the emotion without judgment. And researchers agree. Sarah Bowen from the University of Washington teaches a method called Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention. It was designed to help those struggling with substance abuse; however, her method helps all types of people with addictions learn how to become aware of the emotional sensations of their cravings and meet the experience with compassion, rather than giving in to their craving. Being mindful also helps you put a name on the emotion you’re experiencing.

When you’re stressed out or sad or feel isolated, and not legitimately hungry, be aware of what you might really be craving. It could be that you have an unmet need in one or more areas of your life.

We all have basic human needs, including:

• Certainty
• Uncertainty
• Significance
• Connection
• Growth
• Contribution

Your junk food cravings might bring you a sense of security that makes you feel grounded and safe. Or, they might feel wildly exciting, proving a much-needed blast of uncertainty. You might be feeling socially isolated (and really, who isn’t right now) due to the pandemic and look to food to help you cope.² Or you might feel stuck in your current situation use junk to self-sabotage.

Find Alternatives that Empower You

Once you’ve honed in on what you need, take steps to find more empowering ways to get that need met. This is a fantastic exercise I use with my own health coaching clients to help them get started: Jot down 5 non-food ways to meet each of these basic human needs.

List 5 ways to meet your need for certainty.
You might read your favorite book or listen to a song that brings back good memories.

List 5 ways to meet your need for uncertainty.
Why not make a recipe you’ve never tried before or style your hair in a new way?

List 5 ways to meet your need for significance.
Being a role model for your family is a great way to meet this need.

List 5 ways to meet your need for connection.
Call a friend or play ball with the kids at the park.

List 5 ways to meet your need for growth.
Consider taking a class, learning a language, or checking out a new yoga video.

List 5 ways to meet your need for contribution.
This could be supporting a local cause or just being present with your family.

Now, here’s the important part: Have this list ready before you need it. That way it’s just as easy to go for a walk or call a friend as it is to order a large deep dish with pepperoni. And if you want more hands-on advice, feel free to check out the new myPrimalCoach program. You can even work with your own health coach one-on-one.

Now it’s your turn. Have you struggled with cravings? If so, what’s worked for you?

The post Ask a Health Coach: More of Your Cravings Questions Answered appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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As strength coaches, an athlete’s health should be the top priority. The role of a strength coach is to prepare athletes to play their sport and compete through strength and conditioning programs that are developed to elevate athleticism.

More importantly, a coach’s job is to help reduce injury both on and off the field. New York University Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Assistant Athletic Trainer, Joe Mosher (M.Ed, ATC, CSCS, USAW) feels that:

“We have a duty to our athletes to provide them with a program that not only helps enhance their athleticism but also, and maybe more importantly, provides them with a higher level of injury resilience than they had before. I base everything on the idea that if my athletes are healthy and can compete, then they have at least some chance at winning, regardless of who we play. If they are injured and cannot compete then they have zero chance of winning. Even a one percent chance of winning is still better than a zero percent chance at winning.”

No matter how much stronger, bigger, and faster your athletes are compared to the opposition, if they aren’t healthy, they don’t play. Add these five exercises to your programming to give your athletes the best chance at staving off injuries and staying in the game.

Disclaimer: The content on Breaking Muscle is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn’t take the place of advice and/or supervision from a medical professional. While many of our contributors and experts have respected certifications and degrees, and while some are certified medical professionals, the opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis and/or treatment of health problems.

Eccentric Hamstring Slide

• What: Hamstring eccentric strength and posterior chain engagement.
• Why: Whether you are an athlete, runner, or fitness fanatic, your hamstring health plays a pivotal role in performance. The hamstrings are a critical component of force development for jumping, running, pulling, Olympic weightlifting, and strength training. Additionally, the hamstrings work to decelerate and absorb muscular force throughout the landing phases of the running/gait cycle and help to stabilize the knees and hips during open chained activity. Without proper hamstring health in both the concentric and eccentric phases of muscle actions, you could be leaving your athletes and clients open to nagging injuries, such as muscle pulls and strains and loss of training development.
• How: Perform this exercise either in the corrective or accessory segment of the workout. The key to doing these is to have controlled lengthening (eccentric) of the muscle, keeping tension and full range of motion (ROM) throughout the movement. Try adding these into your training regimen twice per week, for 2-4 sets of 10-20 controlled (2-3 second eccentric) reps.

90/90 Breathing

• What: This diaphragmatic breathing technique from the Postural Restoration Institute is great for teaching athletes and clients correct breathing and bracing during lifts and in life. Poor breathing techniques can create stiffness and pain in the neck, shoulders, pectoral muscles, lumbar, and anterior hip. This stiffness, combined with intense exercise, can lead to serious injury if left unnoticed.
• Why: The ability to brace and breathe through the diaphragm and abdominals is key to more stability and joint function in the hips, shoulders, and spine. By teaching athletes how to breathe under both non-stressful and stressful situations, they can improve performance and decrease the likelihood of injury during running, contact sports, overextended and rotational movements, and life.
• How: Perform this breathing protocol in the warm-up routine prior to resistance training. This exercise is a great way to mentally prepare athletes and clients to become more in tune with their breathing. More importantly, it gives them the core stabilization they need to perform optimally and safely.

X-Band Walk

• What: Glute activation, hip external rotation, and hip/knee/ankle stability.
• Why: Glute development is critical for hip health, which is a key player in deadlifts, squats, Olympic weightlifting, jumping, landing, and running, as well as power production and injury prevention. Additionally, the glutes stabilize the hip and knee joints, which tend to be susceptible to injury without adequate stability.
• How: Perform this movement either in the corrective or accessory segment of the workout. Depending on the band thickness and the position of the straps, the difficulty can be altered based on the athlete. The farther the bands are from the hip joint, the more resistance. Start with a few sets of 8-10 steps per leg, focusing on strong, controlled steps.

Marches and Skips

• What: Running, jumping, sprinting mechanics and leg drive technique.
• Why: The ability to create force is one thing, but most fitness enthusiasts and even some athletes fall short on the ability to apply maximal force using efficient movement mechanics. The result is decreased running speed, economy, wasting of energy, and an increased risk of potential injury. By understanding and engraining sound marches, skips, and running drills in warm-up sets and pre-competition drills, you can teach athletes to not only run faster, but also safer and more efficiently.
• How: Perform these drills in warm-up sets and/or pre-competition drills. It is imperative to teach the athletes to not allow knee extension as the leg drives upwards, and to maintain proper alignment of the base leg under the torso. Additionally, be sure to have the athlete actively pull the heel to the glutes with the hamstring, and drive his or her foot directly under the center of mass.

Arm Bar

• What: Scapular stabilization, rotator cuff stability, and shoulder awareness.
• Why: Whether you are a throwing athlete (baseball, football, softball, volleyball, tennis), weightlifter (snatches and jerks), or avid fitness enthusiast, scapular and shoulder stabilization are critical for optimal force development and injury prevention. The ability to anchor the posterior shoulder will increase the amount of force than can be controlled, decelerated, and ultimately produced at the shoulder joint. Additionally, Mosher states: “[T]he arm bar is a great shoulder disassociation exercise. It teaches the body to move around a stable shoulder. It also trains the rotator cuff in its first actual role of centering the joint as it moves through a full ROM. Lastly, it allows the athlete to develop thoracic mobility at the same time as teaching the shoulder joint to pack tight but still move independently.”
• How: Perform arm bars either in the corrective or accessory segment of the workout. The key to doing these is to have controlled stability of the shoulder as you turn your body. Make sure to keep the shoulder blades and abs tight, as you stay “stacked” through the upper/mid back. Try these out for 8-10 repetitions per arm, focusing on a brief pause at the top of each repetition.

The Proactive Approach

Take the time to address your athletes’ needs by including these fundamental exercises in their programming. This proactive approach will bulletproof your athletes from injury and keep them on the field and in the gym for years to come.

Learn more about injury prevention:

Programming for Injury Prevention: How to Keep Your Athletes Healthy

The post 5 Exercises to Help Athletes (Possibly) Prevent Injury appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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For several years, at four different universities, I beat my brains out, attempting to find the ultimate training plan. Independent of any particular sport, I sought the most logical means of addressing all athletically desirable goals:

• Muscular strength and power
• Hypertrophy
• Fat loss
• Cardiorespiratory endurance
• Speed, quickness, and agility
• Joint flexibility and stability
• Injury prevention

How can all of those be addressed within limited training time, unmotivated athletes, and limited resources?

Programming Is More Than Sets and Reps

Let’s break these goals down into their fundamental requirements:

• There must be a well-planned program that addresses the desired qualities.
• There must be an overload effect from applied stress.
• Time must be allowed for proper nutritional intake and healing for adaptation to that overload stress.
• The plan must be progressive, increasing the overload over time as the body adapts to existing levels.

So far, so good. However, recovery can throw a wrench in the works. Without as much attention placed on it as the workouts themselves, overtraining can rear its ugly head, leaving you with athletes who have:

• Difficulty progressing in workouts
• Increased potential for injury
• Increased risk of illness
• Decreased performance in competition
• Apathy toward training

In short, lack of proper recovery or too much training volume destroys everything else you’re trying to do.

Recovery Factors to Consider

Let’s consider some other factors in programming to ensure adequate recovery:

• Training components are normally scheduled within the five-day workweek at the college level.
• The imposed overload must be strong enough to create a demand on the system(s).
• Energy is required to meet that overload, then to recover from it. Many coaches forget that second part.
• Athletes also have other daily commitments, and are usually on their own when it comes to proper nutrition and rest (sleep) habits.

Adequate recovery from stressful exercise sessions does not necessarily conform to a 24-hour day, or a five-day work week. The greater the volume of work, the greater the recovery time required. Dig a deep hole, and it will take more time to fill in. Energy stores are depleted that must be replenished; muscle tissue is damaged that must be repaired.

When multiple adaptive responses are desired from one body (i.e., strength, endurance, speed) even more logical planning of the training stresses is required. The athlete doesn’t go to a closet mid-day, pull out a new body, and toss the fatigued one in the laundry basket. It’s the same body that needs to deal with all imposed stresses that day, until there is time for recovery. There is some overlap there, as some training components address multiple qualities simultaneously. For example, increased muscle strength can lead to improved running speed, all other factors remaining equal.

Even the average Joe Sit-at-a-desk-all-day requires recovery from a less-than-demanding lifestyle to do it day after day. How much more so, your hard-charging athletes?

And recovery isn’t just day-to-day. How long do your athletes rest between sets? Between interval runs, agility drills, and speed work? What work to rest ratios are needed? Moreover, what about two-a-days? Do you program strength training and conditioning on the same day? Speed work on a leg strength day? Which one to address first?

Say that your athletes have total body fatigue from a Monday workout. What should you do on Tuesday? Complete rest? But wait, that leaves only three more days to squeeze in more strength training, endurance running, speed work, etc. Help!

Programming Tips to Ensure Recovery

Don’t panic. Remember, the strength and conditioning coach at rival State U is dealing with the same dilemma. We know that rest days are just as important as work days, and that all training components require energy and create a recovery demand.

Take advantage of that training component overlap. Performing speed and agility work creates fatigue (a conditioning effect). Leg strengthening exercises in the weight room indirectly help running speed, and contribute to injury prevention.

Don’t be afraid to take what the calendar gives you. It’s okay (and necessary) to plan occasional complete rest days during the training week. They’ll give your athletes a chance to look after their academic commitments, and a day off can create greater enthusiasm when returning to training. Take advantage of scheduled school breaks (i.e., spring and between-term breaks) to ramp things up. In the offseason, you can challenge your athletes with more volume, and the net positive effects will carry over into the competitive season, when volume must decrease for game-day preparedness.

Example Training Plans for Planned Recovery

I recommend a maximum training segment duration of 8-10 weeks. Below are some example 10-week out-of-season training plans, broken down in terms of stress exposures and recovery time. I’ve laid out two traditional and three non-traditional plans for five days per week, and one non-traditional approach for seven days per week. Strength training (ST) is any weight room work. Conditioning (Cond.) would include any interval running, agility drills, or speed work.

Traditional Five-Day Plan #1

• Number of strength training sessions: 40 (20 each upper and lower body)
• Number of conditioning sessions: 25
• Total number of exercise sessions: 65
• Number of total rest days: 25
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 45:25

Traditional Five-Day Plan #2

• Number of strength training sessions: 30
• Number of conditioning sessions: 25
• Total number of exercise sessions: 55
• Number of total rest days: 20
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 50:20

Non-Traditional Five-Day Plan #1

• Number of strength training sessions: 20
• Number of conditioning sessions: 20
• Total number of exercise sessions: 40
• Number of total rest days: 30
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 40:30

Non-Traditional Five-Day Plan #2

• Number of strength training sessions: 30 (15 each upper and lower body)
• Number of conditioning sessions: 15
• Total number of exercise sessions: 45
• Number of total rest days: 40
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 30:40

Non-Traditional Five-Day Plan #3

• Number of strength training sessions: 15
• Number of conditioning sessions: 15
• Total number of exercise sessions: 30
• Number of total rest days: 40
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 30:40

Non-Traditional Seven-Day Plan

• Number of strength training sessions: 18
• Number of conditioning sessions: 17
• Total number of exercise sessions: 35
• Number of total rest days: 35
• Ratio of actual work days to total rest days: 35:35

Training Plan Comparison and Discussion

If 10 sessions each of quality strength training and conditioning will result in good progress, imagine the results possible with the number of exposures offered in the non-traditional training formats above, especially coupled with a greater number of recovery days.

For example, the 15 upper body and 15 lower body strength sessions in the second non-traditional plan are plenty of opportunity to induce strength gains in a single out-of-season period. Also, 15 conditioning sessions are more than adequate to increase cardiorespiratory fitness. Note that 40 complete rest days are scheduled here to facilitate recovery from the 30 actual training days, making this a sound training plan.

The 7-day example uses 18 full-body strength training sessions and 17 conditioning sessions coupled with 35 complete rest days. Again, a more-than-adequate number of exercise exposures with plenty of built-in recovery time to allow for optimal adaptation.

Compare these to the traditional examples. In the first, 40 strength sessions and 25 conditioning exposures, but only 25 complete rest days in the 70-day plan. Overtraining may be more likely here. Similarly—and possibly quite worse than #1—example #2 is characterized by 30 full-body strength sessions, 25 conditioning workouts but only 20 complete rest days.

More is not always better when it comes to physical training. Properly planned overloads in the weight room and on the track must be logically placed over a training period, along with built-in recovery days. Train your athletes hard, but also train them intelligently. 

Featured image: VK Studio/Shutterstock

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Research of the Week

Humans gained energy surplus by getting better at acquiring energy, not conserving it.

Another protective gene variant against COVID has been found.

Cheese is great for gains.

Hormesis is universal.

New Primal Kitchen Podcasts

Primal Kitchen Podcast, Episode 14: Meditation Hacks, Habit Stacks and Yoga Pants with Todd McCullough

Primal Health Coach Institute: Erin Power.

Media, Schmedia

Turns out some of the numbers were wrong.

A “greenhouse gas guru” who defends meat.

Interesting Blog Posts

Beware the nocebo effect.

Interesting post on the lab leak hypothesis.

Social Notes

Stalin liquidated the dairy-farming kulaks to make way for soy production.

Road Warrior: great movie, great workout.

Everything Else

Turns out your skin can take care of itself if you treat it right.

A space plane would be cool.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Powerful piece: From Dr. Malcolm Kendrick.

Incredible case study: 19 year journey of ketogenic diet in GLUT1 deficiency, from neonate to teenager.

I would buy property next to this highway: A bee highway.

Interesting link: Linoleic acid and depression.

Was that so crazy?: 16 year olds used to be able to drive buses in the Carolinas.

Question I’m Asking

How are you?

Recipe Corner

• Singapore noodles. Thai basil really is incredible. Highly underrated.
• Dutch oven chicken, ideally with real fire and coals.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jan 15 – Jan 21)

• Carniflex: The Carnivore Diet with Strategic Leniency — A better way.
• How to Use Collagen Powder: 12 Interesting Uses That go Beyond Smoothies — This is how to do it.

Comment of the Week

“On cats direct-registering, the blog is incorrect. Camels and giraffes are not the only other animals that move in such a factor. Foxes and coyotes are a very notable examples, as are bounders like the fisher and other mustelids.

As the winter grows it gets more difficult to find motivation to get outside and enjoy the woods, but there is no better season for following various animal tracks.

*Incidentally, you’ll be hard-pressed to find fisher tracks near bodies of water – they weren’t named for their tastes.”

-Thanks for the info, hate_me.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 162 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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This week, Board-Certified health and wellness coach Chloé Maleski is here to answer a few of your questions regarding New Year’s Resolutions, specifically why starting them is such a challenge. If you’re struggling to get going, you’ll definitely want to check out Chloé’s recommendations in today’s post. We love getting your questions, so drop them in the comments below or in our Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group.

James asked:
“I’m committed to eating healthier this year, but if I see pizza, corn chips, or cookies in the pantry or fridge, I can’t resist. I’ve tried keeping fresh veggies, bison burgers, and salmon on hand, but I always give in to the junk food first. Got any tips for staying on track?”

If you want to start eating differently, you have to set your environment up for success. Think about the foods in your pantry and fridge right now. Does keeping pizza, corn chips, and cookies on hand get you closer to your results or further away? Sure, buying fresh produce and protein-rich foods is a great place to begin. But if you really want to get off on the right foot, you’ve got to purge the junk, especially if they’re a trigger for you. People tend to believe that their healthy habits are formed by motivation and willpower. It’s actually your environment that pulls the biggest lever.

According to habit expert, James Clear, “If you want to maximize your odds of success, then you need to operate in an environment that accelerates your results rather than hinders them.” That being said, my first recommendation is to do a pantry purge.

Step 1: Purge your Pantry

With a pantry purge, you clean out any foods you don’t want to be tempted by. That means tossing or donating all the processed foods, sugar, and industrialized oils from your cabinets, fridge, and freezer. When you remove the foods that tempt you, and replace them with ones that support your goal, you have the best possible chance of succeeding. So, take this opportunity to design an environment that makes it easy to make smart decisions.

To avoid getting overwhelmed, do this task when you won’t be disturbed and start with one area, like the fridge. Begin on the top shelf and work your way down, reading labels and setting aside foods that don’t fit into your healthy eating plan. Keep in mind that doing a pantry purge when you’re hungry is a recipe for disaster, so fill up on protein and healthy fats first.

Step 2: Toss, Donate, or Place Out of Sight

You can donate your purged foods to a food bank or dump them in the trash or compost and recycle the containers. Dead set on keeping certain foods around? Your best bet is to place them out of your direct line of sight. That’s because foods that are placed at eye level tend to be eaten more frequently.

Ever wonder why grocery stores put candy and other processed convenience foods at the check-out line? It’s based on a concept known as decision fatigue. Psychologists found that the more decisions you’re faced with, the more fatigued your willpower becomes. And the more you open your fridge and see leftover pizza, the less likely you’ll be to cook up a pack of bison burgers.

Step 3: Replace with Healthier Foods

You don’t have to fill your cart with 100% organic, grass-fed foods. Just buy the foods that support your health goals and make you feel energized. And here’s the kicker, don’t purchase that junk food again. Even for “just in case” reasons. If you don’t want to be tempted by it, don’t buy it in the first place. Full stop.

I’m not one for meal plans and recipes, but Mark has a fantastic Primal Blueprint shopping list you can refer to. As you might imagine, it’s filled with meat, fish, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fruit. And, obviously, no corn chips.

Lory asked:
“I’m not off to a great start as I’ve already missed my first workout this year. How likely am I to stick with my new exercise routine if I can’t even complete Day 1?”

You’ve probably seen the stats on New Year’s resolutions. An estimated 80% of people give up by the second week of February, and most don’t even make it that long. In fact, Strava analyzed user data from more than 800 million logged activities and found that the average date people dropped their fitness-related goals was January 17.

How to Foolproof Your Workouts

It’s not just about the workout, it’s about creating the habit of working out. See the difference? It’s easy to get discouraged when you think, “All I had to do was exercise, and I didn’t even do it!” But you’re creating a new routine in your life and in your daily schedule — and that takes mental and physical effort. And because the brain likes to keep things simple (and keep you in your comfort zone), it takes less effort to do what you’ve always done versus trying something new.

Whenever I’m coaching clients who are new to working out, I focus on helping them take actionable steps so that exercise becomes a non-negotiable part of their day. For you, this might look like:

• Deciding when you’ll exercise (what days and what time of day)
• Figuring out what kind of workout you’ll do (and where you’ll do it)
• Blocking off time on your calendar
• Setting out exercise clothes and shoes (and equipment if necessary)
• Finding an accountability buddy to help you stay on track
• Discovering your “why” (why is exercising important to you?)
• Getting clear on the consequences of not completing your workout

Let me elaborate on that last one a bit. It’s easy enough to miss one workout. And honestly, not a big deal in the general scheme of things. But what happens when one workout becomes two, and then you decide you’ll start again next week or next month, suddenly, it’s New Year’s Eve 2022 and you’re making the same resolution all over again?

The Psychology of Creating Habits

Look at this a different way. Let’s say you normally brush and floss your teeth at night, and then one night you’re so exhausted that you decide to skip it. Do you get frustrated with yourself and decide to skip brushing for the rest of the week, month, or year?

No, you brush them when you wake up in the morning.

And then you do it again that night. And if you forget or are too exhausted, you do it when you can, or you adjust your schedule so that it becomes a priority. American philosopher William James had the theory that habits are a result of repeating the same action over and over again until they’re automatic.

Tending to your oral hygiene is an important part of your overall health (and generally makes you feel good). The same thing goes for working out. You don’t need to beat yourself up if you miss one day. You just need to pick up where you left off and then keep going. Or in your case, you just need to start.

Start Small (These Exercises Count Too)

Remember, exercise doesn’t have to look like an epic run, 90-minute boot camp class, or two-hour bike ride. It could be as simple as:

• Taking the stairs instead of the escalator
• Walking around the block
• Doing tricep dips or squats while you’re waiting for your Zoom meeting to start
• Holding a plank while you’re waiting for the next Netflix episode to load
• Parking in the furthest spot from the store
• Gardening, dancing, or playing with your pet
• Any form of microworkout (these are workouts you can do in 2 minutes or less)

Every form of movement counts. So, start small, be consistent, and before you know it, exercise will be as automatic as brushing your teeth.

What’s been your biggest obstacle to getting started?

The post Ask a Health Coach: Why Starting is So Hard appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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I’m not a productivity hack guy. I’m not a “hack guy,” at all, for that matter. My mind doesn’t really operate on the hack wavelength. When I want to do something, I do it. There’s no benefit to trying to “trick” myself into being more productive.

Now, maybe that would have been different if I were doing something I hated. If I were forced to work on things I didn’t care about at all, I might have to employ some of the productivity hacks I see people advocating and using. So for today, I’m going to talk about those. I’m also going to give my tips for productivity that don’t qualify as “hacks” per se.

My Productivity Method

For me, I follow a simple process that’s never let me down.

1. Write down the tasks that need to be completed.
2. Complete the tasks.

This is a remarkable method. It’s simple (just two steps) and it’s foolproof (following both steps as laid out improves productivity every time).

Note: it’s crucial to follow every step to the letter. This method doesn’t work if you don’t.

In my experience, however, this first method doesn’t work for everyone. I strongly suspect they’re just not following the protocol to a tee, but just the same, I’ve come up with some more specific recommendations for unique productivity deficits.

Slackline

My favorite productivity tool is the slackline. Yes, that long strip of flat webbing hung between two anchor points that you use to balance, walk, jump, and play. There’s something unique about what five to ten minutes on the slackline does to your brain. To me, it feels like a reset. It feels like the brain floods with blood and clears out all the competing desires and circular thoughts that keep a person from stay on task and on target. The sensation of being on a slackline is so alien to most people—you’re balancing, you’re bouncing, there’s some tension but not enough to truly be stable—that it’s a totally novel input that forces you into the immediate moment. Then, when you get off, your brain feels looser and your muscles feel energized and pumped, and you sit down and get right back to work.

Here’s a good overview of slacklining.

Alarm clock

Set the alarm to go off every thirty minutes or so, and use it as motivation to get up and do a set of pushups, pullups, and/or squats, just to keep active throughout the day. If you sit a lot at work (or even if you’re a standup workstation superstar), using a basic alarm clock to keep moving every hour (at least) should keep some of the negative health effects of sitting at bay while improving your ability to focus. You know you shouldn’t be sitting for that long, and the clock is free, so you really have no excuse.

Use your mouse with your off hand

This is a very niche, esoteric tip I picked up from a friend of mine. He was doing an experiment trying to develop more fluency with his off hand. Right-handed, he would brush his teeth with his left hand, cook with his left, and do all sorts of basic functional movements using his left hand instead of his dominant right hand. After using his left hand to control his mouse on the computer, he noticed something really interesting: he was far more productive that way and far less distracted by extracurricular websites. Although he was a little more clumsy with the left hand, he found he wasn’t clicking on social media sites or any of the other computer activities he’d frequently use to distract himself from the work.

If you have trouble with distracting websites, try using your non-dominant hand to use the mouse or scroll the track pad. Using the “other side” of your brain in this manner might get you out of the neuronal grooves responsible for distracting yourself.

Work outdoors

I don’t mean go get a job on a farm (although that’s great, too). I mean take your work outside. If you work on a laptop, you can definitely do this outside—weather permitting—and the benefits to productivity, not to mention happiness, are huge. When you’re outside:

• You’re breathing fresh air.
• You have full spectrum natural light entering your eyes which increases alertness and energy.
• You’re reducing stress and cortisol, which burn energy and make you lose focus.
• You’re restoring your attentional capacity—the amount of “focus” you have in your tank. Research shows that spending time in nature is one of the best ways to restore this capacity to pay attention.¹

Working outside just works. Here’s how to do it.

Take a “sprint vacation”

Sometimes we simmer in non-productive work mode for too long. We sit in front of the computer doing nothing at all, really, convincing ourselves and our nervous systems that we are “working.” It’s miserable and it’s how a lot of people spend their days at work. It’s also very non-productive.

Not everyone can swing this, but I highly recommend taking a “sprint vacation”: getting away for 3-10 days to just hit a project (creative or otherwise) with everything you’ve got as hard as you can. You don’t have to do it in an expensive getaway location, although that can be nice if it’s possible. It can also be tough with young children at home. But even if it’s just renting a modest cabin somewhere in the woods for a few days to go write or code or plan, it can really pay off.

Deload

Just like you need to deload from physical training every now and again, just like refraining from lifting any weight at all for a week can make you stronger in the long run and when you return, deloading from work for a day or two or seven can make a huge difference in your productivity.

Just don’t do anything for a few days or longer. Nothing work related. Take walks, go swimming, have dates with your spouse, take your kids somewhere fun, do puzzles. Workout. Just do anything unrelated to work and take a total break from it all.

Energy break

You’re in the midst of work. Things are slowing down. You’re slowing down. Energy lags. You’ve already had coffee, tea, all that. How can you get a little boost?

Hold your breath and jump in place as long as you can. Other movements work too, like squats or pushups or burpees. But just hold your breath and do a movement rather intensely. Breathe in when you must, and feel the energy flow through you.

These are the productivity “hacks” I, as a guy who recoils from the idea of hacks, find to be most useful and promising. What about you? How do you like to hack productivity?

Don’t Break the Chain

Jerry Seinfeld used this method to become one of the most prolific and successful comedians in history. It’s very simple: every day you do the required amount of desired work or activity, you cross that day off on the calendar. If you keep making progress each day, you get an unbroken chain of Xs across the calendar. Don’t break the chain and you’ll ensure you stay productive.

This is probably one productivity hack I’d actually be willing to try. It’s low-tech. It’s simple. It provides instant, tangible, visual feedback.

Kanban Board

Kanban is a work-flow method developed by an engineer at Toyota to improve productivity and organize project progress in the plants. It’s very simple, especially used for general productivity. You get a large board with three columns: To Do, Doing, Done. You write all your “to-dos” on magnetic or sticker squares. As a particular task, project, or goal progresses from “to do” to “doing” and finally “done,” you move it to the correct column.

Here’s a Kanban board you can buy.

Use the Pomodoro technique

With Pomodoro, you do focused work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. Download an app like this one that lets you organize your to-do list and reminds you to stop for a breather. Use those breaks wisely:

• Drink some water
• Make a cup of tea or coffee
• Go outside
• Take some deep nasal breaths
• Run a sprint
• Swing some kettlebell
• Stretch or do a two-minute microworkout
• Browse social media
• Listen to a song, either a calming one or a pumping-up one
• “Brain dump” in your journal for a few minutes to clear your mind
• Get a hug
• Give a hug
• Pet an animal

The post 10 Productivity Hacks That Really Work appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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Research of the Week

Omicron outcompetes Delta in hosts with previous COVID immune history..

Locating a forest outside a prison improves mental health and behavior inside the prison, even if the prisoners can’t see the forest.

Lower blood insulin levels, lower chance of getting COVID.

What you believe about aging might affect how you age.

A gene that reduces sugar absorption.

New Primal Kitchen Podcasts

Primal Health Coach Institute: Laura Rupsis.

Media, Schmedia

Short sellers target Beyond Meat.

Sensible.

Interesting Blog Posts

Sounds like this guy returned to a childlike state of engagement.

How cats move.

Social Notes

Did you remember to resolve for more?

New exercise just dropped.

Everything Else

Young women are eating too little meat and dairy.

Joe Rogan goes meat+fruit.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Essential: Physical activity makes your brain more resilient against degeneration.

Imagine what it does in unhealthy adults: Nocturnal light exposure impairs circadian rhythm and energy metabolism in healthy adults.

Are you next?: The Matrix for cows.

Interesting potential: Insufflated supplementation.

Not surprised: Common pesticide found in children’s cerebrospinal fluid.

Question I’m Asking

Would you eat Matrix-fed beef?

Recipe Corner

• Thai basil chicken. Thai basil really is incredible. Highly underrated.
• Senegalese chicken (just sub avocado oil).

Time Capsule

One year ago (Jan 8 – Jan 14)

• That Time I Got COVID — How it went.
• Low Carb Vegan: Is Plant-Based Keto Possible?— Well, is it?

Comment of the Week

“”Did their hearts skip a beat seeing a human skull, mouth agape, raised off the floor by an unearthly force and welded into a pink stalagmite?’

Regarding Horror & Prehistory … I know mine would!”

-Indeed, PaleoProgressive.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 161 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.