ONE NIGHT ONLY: Pro Wrestling VS Social Media

Photo Courtesy: WWE.com

Growing up I was a huge WWF-WCW pro wrestling fan. And while most kids would have been a huge Hulk Hogan fan (I kind of always preferred Macho Man Randy Savage over him) my all-time favorite wrestler was Bret "Hitman" Hart. His moniker was the excellence of execution, which I suppose would be a little foreshadowing considering how big I am on proper execution of all exercises. Aside from having an opportunity to use a photo of my favorite wrestler today, allow me to use wrestling to convey a much larger point that pro wrestling and social media have a lot in common. 

SPOILER ALERT! Pro Wrestling is not real. Not real in the sense that the outcome of the matches are pre-determined. I do however fully understand the massive damage these men and women put their bodies through, nothing but respect. Occasionally I'll catch a match and am still in awe of their athleticism, but gone are the days of hoping the good guy will somehow prevail. Now I simply sit back and try to enjoy it simply as entertainment and that is intertwined with a suspension of belief. 

Pro Wrestling works BECAUSE those who are participating and watching understand that it's not real. It works because we understand it's a show, it's all OK because it's a production! Just like your Instagram or Facebook feed is your own self produced wrestling show you broadcast out to the world. 

The biggest dilemma is when you don't know that pro wrestling is fake. You think it's okay to objectify women, settle disputes with violence and cheat to win which in the real world rarely ends well. We all know individuals who live in their own wrestling bubble.

These individuals live in a made up universe of who they think they are, a life they think they lead and portray a dream they aren't actually living. They would rather continue to portray this "life", believing that the real world is simply an unwelcome disruptor. Whether it's the endless selfies, new cars or stacks of money everywhere, it's not real life. The real world isn't built on angles and good lighting, but you still believe it makes sense to build a business off of this. Even worse you believe it's okay to sell this "dream" to other people, it's a scam. 

Don't you know? Every good champion has their run before they're scheduled for a big loss. 

Yes I'm quite aware that Hogan beats Savage on this night

More Protein? No Whey!

Photo by Celia Sun on Unsplash

Protein supplements and meal-replacement products containing proteins have four commonly used scientific measure of protein quality. 

1. Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) which is a measure of growth of animals consuming a fixed amount of dietary protein of a single type. Often considered less applicable to humans. 
2. Biological Value of a protein is a measure of the amount of protein that is retained from total absorbed quantity for body composition. 
3. Net Protein Utilization measure the amount of amino acids available by any one given protein source which are then synthasized in the body as a new protein. 
4. Chemical Score is a measure of the concentration of the nine essential amino acids from a single protein source. 

Whey

Whey protein is one of two protein types found in milk often during cheese making, the other being casein. The two type soft proteins are separated from each other and whey was often considered useless. It was discovered that it was a high quality protein. 

It is a complete protein and contains all 9 essential amino acids and rates well on all 4 measures for protein measures. 

Whey Isolate: Purest form (90-95% by weight) of whey that is great for those who are lactose intolerant as it has had all the lactose removed. 
Whey Concentrate: Most common form of whey protein (60-70% by weight). It is inexpensive and can easily be added to different types of products. 
Whey Hydrolysate: The protein has water added to the polymers breaking them down into it's individual amino acids. This is to help with the body's digestion and absorption. This is a more expensive form to produce. 

Casein

As I mentioned above, casein is distilled through the production of cheese. One for the most important differences in Casein from Whey is that it is an excellent source of glutamine. 

It has lower concentrations of BCAA's than whey and because of a higher lactose content can be problematic for those who don't digest the sugar well.

For many strength and physique athletes the slower digestion aides for longer periods of time when there will not be any consumption of food like while sleeping.

Soy

Rich in BCAA but contains only a small amount of methionine. Most forms of soy are highly digestible and absorbed quickly but for many it is considered a slightly inferior source of protein. 

Soy isolate is fortified with methionine which now makes it fairly comparable to whey and casein. One of the disadvantages are the isoflavones (anti-nutrients) which have been shown to have an estrogenic effect in the body.

Other Commonly Found Proteins

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Rice Protein

Gluten free, neutral tasting and very budget friendly. May be derived from genetically modified rice. 

Egg Protein

Fat free, contains a full spectrum of essential amino acids. May cause upset stomachs. 

Milk Protein

Often seen as Calcium casein ate. High in BCAA's, contains lactose which may or may not cause upset stomachs. 

Hemp Protein

Great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Provides fiber as well. 100% plant based protein. 

Which Protein should you take?

Well that would vary depending on your goals and dietary preferences. But first and foremost is making sure that you're getting the majority of your protein from whole foods and less processed animal and plant based sources. They're called dietary supplements and shouldn't be considered a main staple of your daily intake, rather in addition to. 

Variety is Overrated

Sort of wish we still had these old-time looking weights

Fads come and go but cornerstone principles stand the test of time. The concept of variety is grossly overrated in business and in life. Lets use exercise and using a barbell as an example. 

A Little Background on Barbells

One of the earliest recordings of the barbell came in the 19th century where the oldest types of barbells were simply hollowed globes filled with lead shot or sand. It was in 1865 that an American physician, George Barker Windship, presented a practical graduation to the dumbbell.

It was a plate loaded barbell which was made out of 8lbs cast iron shaft with the option of adding 22 plates ranging from a half pound to ten pounds. The maximum weight for the early barbell was 101 pounds. This was the first known incarnation of what we now know as the modern barbell. 

So why is this important?

Because the barbell has stood the test of time. We've used barbells for years to get in shape and will continue to do so in the future. How do you get in shape? Lift dumbbells, kettle bells, barbells, push sleds, and throw medicine balls. You know what won't work for you? Only using "As seen on TV" fad products and the like, without naming any in particular.

Will squats get you in shape? Definitely.
Bosu ball single leg squat juggling with 3 inferno bowling pins while watching Insanity? Not so much. (let that image settle into your mind for a moment lol)

Squats work thus it makes complete sense that people have been performing them FOREVER. It's not gimmicky, just a core movement that works. No useless informercial product here.

This same concept applies to nutrition.

Beef Chuck Chili > Ground Meat Chili

Believe it or not unless you are a talented home cook if you want to look as lean as possible, a lot of your meals will be both boring and repetitive. Very few people have a few hours a day to dedicate to cooking elaborate meals, so most meal prep often includes boiled/steamed vegetables and stir fried ground meat. It's not sexy but it is what you need to be consuming if you want to get shredded, lean meat and vegetables.

Day in and day out almost every day is going to look similar. Put in the work, grind it out at the gym, meal prep, cardio, then rinse & repeat. It's boring, but it works.

No 21 day juice cleanse.
No 14 day shred diet.
No gimmicky teas or protein shake only diets

Focus your attention on time tested ways to get strong and fit.  Once you stop looking for the short cut and commit to consistency will you achieve the goals you've long desired. When life gets hard, when parties get in the way, are you up to the challenge? Will you stay the course when everyone else around wants to try the latest (most likely useless) fad exercise/nutrition protocol?

If you want to get in shape and you're reading this, I have the utmost confidence that you will

Catalysts For Change

What's something you say you want to do but don't actually do?

Why do we fail to follow through on many things that we should be doing; one that many will bring up revolves around becoming more active. 

I want to run 3x a week

I would recommend starting with once a week.

Once a week?! thats not going to do anything!

Therein lies the problem many fall prey to into thinking it's an all or nothing proposition. We'd rather dream about running three times per week instead of actually following through on once per week.

If I get my mind right, then I'll be able to do it

We have it backwards: First change your behavior and the attitude will follow. 

We want to wake up early and hit the gym or get out for a morning run. Change the focus from "I need to wake up to go to the gym" to "how can I create an environment for success". It can be as simple as laying out your clothes the night before and pre-making your breakfast shake. For others it might be getting to bed at a reasonable time. Those are three examples of behaviors you can adopt that will facilitate change. 

What do you consider success?

We want to go 0 to 60 overnight. We want those 6 pack abs and shapely glutes fast, but fail to acknowledge that one month ago you didn't go to the gym period and now you hit the weights three per week and perform cardio twice a week as well. Results take time and consistency. 

A simple system is to shrink the change: 

The 5 Minute Rule

Example: If you've been putting off cleaning a room forever, set a timer for 5 minutes and pick ONE spot in the room to tidy up. Once the timer goes off, if you still don't feel like cleaning, you're done. I'm going to take a shot in the dark that once you get going you're just going to keep going. 

In psychology this is known as "Attribution Theory" which is our way making sense of our choices and behaviors. This "explains" to yourself that you are choosing to clean this room of your own free will and thus you wind up cleaning the whole room. You ignore the fact that you set up a timer to give you an out at 5 minutes. This can apply to every facet of your life. 

We Never Question the Stories We Tell Ourselves

"I can't lose weight because of my metabolism"

"I'm not a morning person"

Are these statements actually true? Ask yourself is this really who I am?

If you tell yourself these stories enough, soon they become a self fulfilling prophecy. You won't be a morning person. You won't ever lose the weight. We can live our lives for years and never question these invisible scripts.

Take control of your life, DECIDE that you want to be a morning person. DECIDE that you will no longer lean on your supposed slow metabolism as a crutch for the inability to lose that weight. You will not be the kind of person who allows these self imposed limitations to hold them back any longer. 

I Don't Have time

Every day we each have a decision to make, how to spend the 24 hours in our day. Answering that differs from person to person. 

Where does the time go!?

The notion of not having enough time is simply an excuse we tell ourselves to avoid the uneasy truth: It simply wasn't a priority. It wasn't as high of a priority, fun, distracting, profitable or urgent enough to make it to the top of the to-do list. Your priorities dictate your schedule. If you're unhappy with how your schedule looks, I would reorder your priorities.

This of course need not apply to people who actually have no extra time like the single parent working two jobs to support their family and spend what little free time with them.

Time is a finite commodity. People are constantly deciding what appointments to honor, how much time to dedicate to TV shows, and to go or not to go to the gym. The solution won't be solved by giving someone more time (impossible) but by creating a greater sense of urgency. 

Every minute needs to count. Well they need to count if you feel like you weren't able to do everything you wanted to do. Need to take a break? Hang out at the bar? Play on the softball team? There's absolutely nothing wrong with those things, so long as you're not complaining about not being unable to accomplish other goals in your life.

Those activites are the types of things that need to be sacrificed in order to get other things done when time is tight. And speaking on the topic of sacrifices, how about we talk about money, specifically your job.

The job you do takes up the majority of your day. Combine that with the 8 hours of sleep you should be getting and we're left with 8 hours a day, 56 hours per week. 56 miscellaneous hours a week for family time and your other goals is more than enough, so what exactly isn't getting done? Sometimes it's a matter of evaluating your happiness versus money.

Here's a real example:

John (not really his name but lets just use John) LOVES basketball. Any free time John has he's playing pick up basketball at the park and plays in two leagues during the week. John also works 40+ hours at an office job he greatly dislikes.

He would always say if he could leave his job and coach basketball while working a part time job he thinks he could be much happier. Unlike the other regulars at this park who told him he'd be dumb to leave a $60K/year job for $40k/year, I asked him would he realisticly be able to live off that? John said he'd have to get rid of his BMW and scale back in a few places but yes he could. I went a different route and said to him, your happiness is worth more than $60k/year and a BMW combined. I told him to be smart, but ultimately to follow what would truly make him happy.

I recently saw John and asked him how things were going. He's made a business out of coaching youth basketball skills and is making a little less than he did at his job (49k/year) but he's immensely happier with his life.

What do you want to do every single day?
If you could do one thing for 12, 15, 18 hours a day and truly be happy, what would it be?
One day you will wake up and it's going to be your last day on this planet. Will you look back happy with the life you lived? Or one mired with regret.

I look back on who I was one year ago and am proud of how far I've come but also ashamed that I had allowed myself to get that low. I borrowed money to make rent. I maxed out multiple credit cards to live. And I could easily blame my business not working or the economy but in reality I simply was not using my time effectively. I wasn't working hard enough. I wasn't making the necessary sacrifices to succeed. I was simply NOT HUSTLING, not prioritizing the things I didn't want to do but needed to do.  

I now live my life according to this quote: 

“Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it away from you.”- Mark Cuban

Now get back to work.