👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #104 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🏊 Essay: The mundanity of excellence
Between January 1983 and August 1984, Daniel Chambliss had an all-access pass to some of the best swimmers in America (from amateurs to professionals).
He travelled with them. Lived with them. Interviewed them. Observed trainings, competitions, meetings.
Then wrote an essay on what made the best, the best.
In this essay, he argues it’s not just about the "quantitative" differences between good and great.
Yes, Olympic Gold medalists probably train more than others.
But they are also "qualitatively" different.
They live in a different world.
Breathe different air.
Chambliss breaks the qualitative differences down into three areas:
- 🏊 Technique: the styles of strokes, dives and turns
- ⌚️ Discipline: doing the little things right (the “boring” stuff) like getting to training on time, doing their prep, recovery, eating well, sleeping regularly, and focusing their energy
- 🧠 Attitude: enjoying tough training sessions, looking forward to challenges, and setting difficult goals e.g. what others find boring — following the black line for 2 hours — they find peaceful or even “meditative”
Chambliss argues quantitative increases in training (i.e. doing more) are how an athlete gets to the top of their "world" (local, regional, state, national, international).
But improvements in the qualitative things are how an athlete moves up into a new world.
There's plenty more gems in there.
I deadset highlighted half the thing.
But do note, it's not a short read.
More of a sunday morning coffee job.
But a great one if you choose to.
😴 The link between sleep and male fertility
More and more research is being published on male fertility (e.g. the link between alcohol and sperm quality from newsletter #83).
Another study found guys who got 6 hours of sleep a night were 42% less likely to get their partner pregnant than fellas sleeping 7-9 hours.
Wow.
🖥️ Website: Consensus
Consensus is an AI-powered search engine.
It helps you find and understand the best science, faster.
Pop in your question.
And it'll spit out a summary of the best scientific papers.
My favourite part of it is their "consensus meter". It's like a forest plot that shows where the majority of the research on the topic sits.
Particularly in a world where research papers are cherry-picked and bent to fit whatever agenda or product a social influencer wants to flog.
This gives us an easy-to-understand snapshot of the scientific consensus.
It still lacks some nuance that science is built on. Though it's a good place to start when you're confused about something.
Free version is all you need.
Try it next time you wanna know, say, if seed oils are unhealthy...
Might shock you that some of the biggest voices online are full of it.
Hint:
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service and is not a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information given in this email is general in nature, written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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