The Minimum Effective Workout for Achieving a Peak Physical State | ECE Ep 004
- By Erin Cobb
- •
- 10 Oct, 2017
In Episode #004, The Minimum Effective Workout for Achieving a Peak Physical State, I detail my minimum personal training regimine for effectively building muscle and slimming down in less than 20 minutes per day. I also discuss our subconscious self-perception and how physical fitness can shape others' perception of us.
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
Show Notes:
Internal physical state dictates your energy level, mood, overall health.
Treat yourself like you're somebody worth taking care of, most people treat other people really well, but don't do the same for themselves. You're a person whose worth going to the gym for and eating healthy for.
Over time you will subconsciously begin to value yourself more highly. When you've put time and effort into something you value it more highly.
Working out and eating healthy comes FIRST. Energy comes second.
Dont wait for explosive energy, it has to be cultivated.
Getting enough sleep sharpens our memory,
Eating the proper nutrients which helps balance our biochemistry
Living an active lifestyle so your immune system is robust.
Inner and outer confidence comes from the feeling of self worth, and the only way you can feel fulfilled is by deciding you're someone whose worth sacrificing for. Its a subtle force that can change your life. But it's hard.
Your internal physical state is going to determine how much energy you have, your mood, and your overall health.
External physical state dictates what people think of you and your own self perception.
Taking good care of yourself sends a message. So does being tired and overweight.
Your external physical
state is going to determine what people think of you (and based on their response to some degree what you think of yourself)
When looking in the mirror is will also subtly (or not so subtly) influence your own self perception.
Being in a peak state sends a message to the world that, “I care about myself and I work hard”. You can’t buy a good body at the store and you can’t pay anybody to do your sit-ups. A good, healthy body is earned through consistent effort and people respect that. Try to evaluate yourself the same way you evaluate others and think about what your physical appearance is really saying.
Working out breeds confidence.Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.
How is my physical fitness effecting the way people perceive me?
How is my physical fitness effecting the way I perceive myself?
When you work out consistently and don’t take short cuts you begin to respect yourself more. As you begin to respect yourself as someone who is first rate in all things, ...doesn’t take shortcuts, puts in the work etc. It will begin to positively effect your relationships. Like I mentioned before, people respect others who take care of themselves because they know you VALUE yourself, which makes them value you too.
Take care of yourself my friend, and consider making a few changes to your habits.
Make it Easy (Reduce Friction)
The
best way I've found for getting in great shape and feeling good about
myself is by reducing friction towards good activities and increasing
friction for bad activities that I shouldn't do.
I try to limit the
number of steps or decisions I have to make to do the right thing.
Whether that is setting my gym clothes out the night before or
pre-making healthy meals so they are the easiest option when I'm
hungry.
In psychology there exists the idea that humans tend to take the path of least resistance. By eliminating friction and offering "1-click checkout" Amazon has made billions. You can use this to hack your psychology. Set out your workout gear the night before, join a gym near your house, maintain a consistent workout routine. According to psychologists, decreasing friction will significantly increase the odds of you getting your sweat on.
The
key to beating decision fatigue is to eliminate your choices and
develop solid easy to follow routines.
Make it Effective
Short, hard workouts are much more effective and take less time. To this end, I recommend a book by one of my favorite authors, Tim Ferris. His book, the Four-Hour Body is a godsend for people who want an easy, effective program that creates massive results.
The MED is simply the smallest dose that will produce a desired outcome and anything BEYOND the MED is wasteful. For example, water boils at 100°C at standard air pressure. Water is not “more boiled” if you add more heat. You would save money on your gas or electric bill if you didn’t continue to increase the temperature of the water – thereby conserving resources for something else more productive.
The same goes for weight loss. It’s more time and resource-efficient to know the MED for actions required to trigger removal of stored fat.
This is a useful concept not only for weight-loss clientele, but also for athletes looking to get leaner without adding a lot of volume to their training program. Focus on the type of training you do rather than the amount as some exercise routines elicit much more significant results in a shorter time.
Burning Fat (Cardio) (HIT)
Everyone
is waiting on a magic bullet
or a Quantum Leap.
That one simple tip or trick to lose weight. The
big break that puts them on the map. The one article that finally
motivates them to raise their standards and stop accepting anything
less that their best. Our culture popularizes this kind of narrative,
but the reality is that's not how it usually works.
Sprint Training:
- Warm up Jog + Dynamic Stretching
- (2) 80% 100 yard sprints
- (6) All Out 100 Yard Sprints with 4 minute rest
- Work more muscle groups in 1 routine than basic cardio
- Squat Thrust (10x)
- MountainClimber (10x)
- Squat Jump (10x)
- Repeat until you hit 100 TOTAL (Not Each ie 3 1/2 times through)
- How to Video by Mike Chang's cousin
- medicine ball v-up/slow crunch (fully
lengthen, touch med ball to toes)
- actual V up, roll to upper shoulder kick feet in air
- How to Video by Mike Chang
I'm here to tell you what all the great masters already know. It is through disciplined, consistent daily actions over time that bodies are toned, skills are honed and fortunes are made.
Building Muscle
Force Multipliers
Finding the smallest changes that produce the biggest results. Below I suggest a few exercises from The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferris (another book I highly recommend) That help people to get big results with minimum input
Workout A two rest days. Workout B two days rest.
Workout A:
- 2x 60 kb's
- myotactic crunch
- torture twists
- cat vomit
- Video Example
Workout B:
- Chest press
- Lat pull down
- seated row
- overhead press
- Video Example
Exercise
helps you think better and gives you MORE energy.
Many studies have shown a strong link between exercise and cognitive function so I won't bore you with the details. When I exercise I feel much more positive and mentally alert. It seems counterintuitive, but firing up your body for a good workout (especially cardio) will make you feel MORE energetic not less.
Sources
The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
I've been working out my whole life, reading countless blogs, books etc and frankly don't remember where a lot of this information came from. My sincerest apologies.
Remember: I don't have all the answers, I'm not a guru. Just a companion on the path.
What should I talk about next? Please let me know in the comments below.
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