Around here, we celebrate all of the milestones, as they are all part of the process. Today is a fun one with our tenth volume of The Superset!

Yesterday we enjoyed a great as always Masters Sunday, and I had to rewrite the intro to this, because of a storyline I felt compelled to share.

Max Homa, a former #1 amateur in the world and multiple-time winner on the PGA Tour, has become a public figure for behind-the-scenes access to the mind of a professional golfer, primarily the struggles and highs and lows the game induces.

Max has been a public advocate for journaling (and all other mental health measures), and as he sat tied for the lead on Friday, he mentioned a passage he had written in his journal Friday morning:

“However good I am is however good I am. I don’t need to try to be better than I am, and just see where that takes me.”

He went on to elaborate that in the past, when in contention, he would find himself trying to be and play like a player he was not, and hit shots that he wouldn’t normally hit. His commitment to himself this week was that he trusts the work he has put in to get him here, he is going to stay present over every shot and try to hit the best shot he can. At the end of the week, if a win is the result or another finish is in the cards, he feels comfortable with that being how the week played out. Not a one-time determination of the state of his game or ability.

I think we can all take a lot from that mindset. There’s only one you - you know your capabilities. Lean into getting better, but understand you are where you are because of the work you have put in. Be proud of that, and if you still feel you have room to go, put the work in, don’t attempt to be something you’re not. Let’s have a week -

Brain - Action Cures Anxiety

I’ve mentioned in previous editions that many of my larger breakthroughs mentally have come from ideas shared by a business coach / therapist figure in my life named Tim. One of the things Tim has been instrumental in is helping me find the root cause for periods where I don’t feel like I have my A game.

What I have found through honest reflection with myself (and him) is that any moments where I feel stressed, nervous, anxious, etc. - the root cause tends to be that I am avoiding some type of work, activity, or conversation I know I should be doing / having.

I also tend to err on the side of over-analyzing, which I have been told is not uncommon. I like to do things well, the first time. Sometimes that leads to moments where I spend too much time thinking, and not enough time acting.

These are both root causes of the same solution - action cures anxiety. A blanket term that encompasses that (speaking for myself with the inclination this is similar for most) the majority of the time, your answer to your problems is making a decision, and taking action on that.

Stressed about an outcome at work? Have the conversation you know you’ve been avoiding. Feeling overwhelmed and buried? Stop wasting time you could be spending dwindling your to-do list. Not confident in your body? Meal prep your food this week and get a workout in, today.

Take action, and if you still feel the underlying feeling, figure out what the next action is. Get some momentum headed back your way and get in a groove. And if the action cures the feelings - remember it for next time you feel the same way.

Body - Incline Treadmill Walking

One of the mental barriers to some for getting in shape is the incorrect assumption that to lose a bunch of weight, you have to exert a crazy amount of effort in the gym. As science and research progress, we are continuing to find that, especially for beginners, there are a number of effective exercise alternatives that have reduced impact on the body yet can provide a great platform to build on.

One of the things I learned early on in my bodybuilding stint was the power of walking on an incline on a treadmill, specifically for fat loss. This is a VERY popular cutting tool in the routine of most professional bodybuilders. Watch any Youtube video on a professional in a cutting phase, and you will probably find some footage of them with a hoodie on, following the belt of the treadmill for 30 - 60 minutes.

If you are looking to shed a few pounds for summer, incline treadmill walking is a great way to get started, or to jolt some new progress. Put the treadmill on a 7 - 10 degree incline, between 2.7 - 3.5 mph, and just walk. You will be engaging many of the larger muscles in your lower body, while not overexerting yourself to the point of extreme soreness or fatigue. This will allow you to put in more time in an elevated heart rate state, which will help increase the amount of calories you burn.

Some incline treadmill facts / stats:

• Studies published by Gait & Posture found that walking at a 9% incline (around level 18-20 on Lifespan Fitness’ Treadmills) increased muscle activation in the calves by 175%, as well as 635% in the quads, and 345% in the glutes. (compared to walking flat)

• If you’re a 160-pound body weight person walking on an incline for one hour, you can expect to burn 400 - 500 calories.

• Cardiovascular exercises like uphill walking have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. This is due to an exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain. Following on from this, uphill walking can improve mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative moods.

Try a popular this version a few days for yourself this week - 12-3-30. 12 degree incline, 3 speed on the treadmill, for 30 minutes

Book - Slow Productivity Update

I am spending a good amount of time with this new Cal Newport book, Slow Productivity. Any time I find myself in a book packed full of recommended actions that are calling my attention, I feel obligated to put serious thought into how they would look applied in my life, and what are the important ones I most definitely want to immediately put into practice.

Slow Productivity has been one of those books. It’s speaking to my desire to find a sustainable rhythm for work where I can both set the bar high for accomplishment and activity, yet also maximize the time I am working, and likewise, time when I am not. It is a delicate balance that is hard to achieve.

Here are a couple new passages I found worthy of sharing from this week’s reading:

• On the Pandemic Effect - “When the shift toward remote work began in the spring of 2020, many knowledge workers had already pushed their workload right up to the threshold of the overhead tax tipping point, the maximum possible amount of administrative overhead that still allowed them to more or less keep up. All that was required to destabilize their professional lives was a final unexpected push”

• “The shift to remote work also made collaboration somewhat less efficient, increasing the time required to satisfy the demands of this new overhead tax. If you’re working in the same building, and I have a question for you about a project, I can wait until your office door is open and swing by. If I’m working at home by contrast, we might schedule a Zoom meeting, which due to the setup of most online calendars, will require we set aside 30 minutes”

• A work trends report published by Microsoft revealed that time spent in meetings had increased by 2.5X factor in the first year of the pandemic

• Principle 1 - Strive to Do Fewer Things:

  • Strive to reduce your obligations to the point where you can easily imagine accomplishing them with time to spare. Leverage the reduced workload to more fully embrace and advance the small number of projects that matter the most