The Journal #18
Hormesis. Train. Quiet. Sourdough.
01. HEALTH - Joe Gaunt
Understanding Hormesis - Part 6 of 6
Note *As always, please take professional advice on any of these steps before starting, with consideration to any pre-existing health conditions or concerns.
Moderate Alcohol Consumption: Navigating the Balance
As a Psychologist working with many people with alcohol challenges I want to emphasis this piece is just about insight within the context of exposure and hormetic stress response and in no way am I encouraging drinking alcohol for health benefits.
That said, whilst excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous health risks, moderate alcohol intake has been linked to certain health benefits, primarily cardiovascular in nature. Red wine, in particular, contains polyphenols such as resveratrol (specifically highlighted by Dr Tom Little in a previous NXT45 community masterclass!), which exhibit antioxidant properties and may help protect against heart disease.
However, it's essential to emphasise moderation, as excessive alcohol consumption can negate any potential benefits and increase the risk of addiction, liver disease, and other adverse health outcomes.
Recommendations:
If you choose to consume alcohol, do so in moderation, following recommended guidelines. Be mindful of individual tolerance and avoid excessive or binge drinking.
This wraps up our mini series on hormesis and I hope it has been insightful and helpful. To conclude, hormesis offers a less well known lens through which to view the complex relationship between stress and health.
By embracing behaviours that induce hormetic responses, such as fasting, exercise, hot and cold exposure, and moderate alcohol consumption, we can harness the power of adaptation to promote resilience, vitality, and longevity.
However, it's crucial to approach these behaviours with a one size fits one approach (again, understanding our bodies and any pre-existing health conditions) moderation, listening to our bodies and seeking balance in our pursuit of optimal health and wellbeing.
02. TRAINING - Jonny Grayshon
Welcome to my 4 week mini series: How to build the perfect training routine
Week 1 of 4 : Where to start!?
When it comes to designing a perfect workout programme it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the info out there.
The first things to consider are:
Is it a gym based programme?
If so, how long is the commute?
Do you stick to home workouts?
Should you use barbells?
Are resistance bands and good?
Is body weight effective?
What are me time restraints?
Any existing injuries / limitations to consider?
You want to maximise return on investment, right? So what is the right way to do it?
First we need to consider your lifestyle and goal.
An effective training programme needs to be complimentary to your existing routine, not a hinderance.
The less friction you have associated with your workouts, the more likely you’ll stick to them.
This equals sustainability.
And given a healthy lifestyle should be for life, it needs to be sustainable!
You’re better training once a week, for ever, instead of 5 times a week, for 2 months, and then sacking it all off!
All or nothing mentality is not the one or you’ll forever yo-yo with your health and fitness.
The most common goal is fat loss and improved well being so let’s assume you want to design a programme for this.
By the way, hypertrophy should be top of the list as its paramount we maintain, at best, muscle mass as we age, for longevity.
Now we need to consider limiting factors.
Time?
Do you work long hours or travel a lot mid week?
Are you managing a young family?
As a rule of thumb, the less training sessions you can do a week, the more of the body you need to work in 1 session.
If you can only get to the gym 3 times a week or less I would recommend doing a full body routine every session.
Even if time isn’t an issue, this level of training is great for a beginner as we don’t actually need a huge level of stimulus to improve when we are new to resistance training.
To maximise time during each session I would pair an upper body with a lower body exercise (superset) and do 3 sets of 8-20 reps on 3 different supersets. Rest for 1-2 minutes between each set.
Example : Squats x 15 in to press ups x 10 with a 90 seconds rest. 3 times.
Supersets allow you to cover more work in less time.
By pairing an upper body exercise with a lower body exercise, this will make the heart redirect blood and oxygen from upper working muscles to lower working muscles which means you’ll elevate your heart rate, burn more calories and work your cardio vascular system, all at once.
Now for the equipment?
Can you get to a regular gym or does it need to be home / hotel based workouts?
Resistance is resistance, so it doesn’t matter if you have a kettlebell, a band, a barbell or a tin of beans!
This is reassuring for anyone on the move.
Throw a resistance band in your overnight bag and get to work in the hotel room if needs be.
Be mindful of the rep range to suit the resistance, as it’s not the number of reps that are important, it’s the intensity.
8-15 reps is an ideal rep range but if you are limited for resistance then you may need to do more reps to cause sufficient muscular fatigue.
The intensity, or burn, is what will trigger a physical response and force adaptation. Aka you’ll improve!
For example, a gym based dumbbell goblet squat will offer enough resistance to do 8-10 hard reps where as a hotel room based body weight or resistance band squat may need sets of 20-30 to achieve the same result.
Injuries?
Use common sense.
There’s no need to avoid exercise all together. You can always work around an injury and training unilaterally (1 limb at a time) is perfectly normal in this situation.
In fact, due to the nervous system, when training 1 side, you’ll automatically get around a 20% carry over to the other side, which will help limit strength and muscle mass loss on the injured side.
Key points :
Find a time in your diary that allows a solid 30-60 minute routine 1-3 times a week. Sustainability is key!
Any resistance is resistance. Do what you can with what you have.
Work the full body each session for 3 sets of 8-20 reps. Superset upper and lower where possible.
Focus on preserving or building muscle.
Work around injuries until you can train that area pain free.
Tune in next week to learn how to progress this to the next level.
03. WELLBEING - Mike Bates
I’ve been home alone all week. My family jetted off as soon as the school half-term began in search of some much deserved Mallorcan sun.
I didn’t go because I had hoped that my book would be published around this time. As those close to me will know, my former employer (MoD) is refusing to authorise my manuscript which I feel is unjust (given previously authorised material), personal (they don’t like that I have a small audience and would prefer former covert colleagues remain in the shadows for life) and is being used as a tactic to frustrate, delay and make difficult my ambition to help others through my own personal experiences. I remain committed to challenging their position as I know it to be wrong.
The hunter has become the hunted…I’m ok with that.
I had the right to be pissed off that I remained home in the rain whilst my wife and kids and extended family enjoyed creating memories in the sun.
I chose to find the positives instead.
I’ve used the week alone to focus on three specific things.
First, I wanted to train really hard and hit some PBs on my lifts. I usually have less time with the family around but I could focus on just myself for a change, plan an optimal routine for the week and it was a great opportunity to do just that.
Second, I wanted to push forward with a number of professional challenges that required my immediate attention. We’re in a better place as a result of my team and they will have benefitted by my availability and complete focus.
Third, I wanted to enjoy the quiet and use the absence of my loved ones as a time for recovery. I could be somewhat selfish and that’s ok occasionally. I’ve enjoyed watching the TV on an evening and reading books and walking the dog and I definitely feel better for it. My HRV has been trending 10% higher as a result of the quiet (perhaps my family are bad for my health???) and my sleep has been deeper (now I know why some choose to sleep in separate beds to their partners).
It’s another timely reminder that we all need time for us, to focus on what we need at that time and to fill up our own cup.
My cup is now full and I can’t wait to go all in on time with my family when they return.
Time spent improving oneself can be an act of unselfishness.
Be the very best you in the time you have with your loved ones.
04. QUOTE
"You can’t pour from an empty cup. Look after yourself first"
Anon
05. TIP
Here’s a game changing tip I discovered this week.
We eat a lot of sourdough in our house and prefer it to any other bread due to its unique texture and taste. We also like the fact that it contains less preservatives than shop bought bread and contains higher amounts of protein due to the longer duration of fermentation.
We store ours in a cloth bag as keeping it wrapped up in plastic often results in it going mouldy due to the trapped moisture.
The downside is that the lack of preservatives often lead to your sourdough loaf going rock hard within a few days.
Don’t throw that hard block of bread away though, here’s how to bring it back from the dead.
Pre-heat your oven to 220 (bread baking temperature).
Run the loaf under a cold tap and rub water into the structure of the bread until soaked.
Place the soaked lof onto the rack in your oven for 15-20 minutes, be careful not to burn.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
You now will have a brand new loaf with that freshly baked taste and smell ready to throw some eggs and avo on top of.
The Journal by NXT45
