👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #78 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Some news: I’m opening a training studio in Woonona, NSW. Nearly two years in the making! Currently waiting on DA approval so probably still a couple months off. You can stay updated on Instagram if you want.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (3.5 min read):
🎙️ Bullshit detection
In newsletter #60 I wrote about how a professor of genetic epidemiology was spinning some absolute bullshit on one of the world's biggest podcasts.
And since then, I’ve noticed more and more of it on my favourite shows.
The DOAC show titles particularly have been doing my head in:
- "Eggs Are Making You Fat", "Stop Eating Cheese!"
- THIS Food Is Causing The Mental Health Crisis!
- “Fasting Cures Obesity!”, This Controversial New Drug Melts Fat, Fasting Fixes Hormones! Skip Breakfast!
Jesus...
Where do we start?
Demonising foods and behaviours.
Outrageous generalisations.
Conflicting advice.
Bullshit claims.
You could debunk every single one of those sentences…
Then the algorithm gods served me up a video from a bloke called James Smith.
He gives us a rundown on how these top podcasts are more concerned about running their shows as businesses than being a place of factual information.
Prioritising the quality of the headline over the quality of the guest.
😮 Shock, clickbait and controversy (sounds like the news).
💵 More clicks. More views. More ads. More money...
As Smith says:
“People will see something someone says in 90 seconds, said with enough conviction people think it’s true… When so much info is contradicting, people stop living to any of it.”
Look, I still listen to them. But I’m conscious that just because someone says it on a podcast doesn’t make it gospel.
A nudge to take everything with a grain of salt. Even from some of the most trusted sources. This newsletter included. If something doesn’t sound right, have a dig around.
🎥 James Smith on priorities
After getting fed the podcast video from above, I went down the James Smith rabbit hole.
Some good stuff. This one's a 60-second video on priorities.
How some will do a 72-hour fast but will spend 5 minutes reverse parking into an impossible spot to save themselves walking an extra 40m.
Good reminder to ask ourselves if there's a more bang-for-your-buck approach.
For more, read majoring in the minors from newsletter #25.
🏃♂️ Soak it up
In newsletter #60, we compared the 23-year-old Kelvin Kiptum’s insane new marathon world record pace to the average Joe.
But in some shattering news, last week in Kenya, Kelvin died in a car accident.
This hit hard. His humbleness combined with his rapid rise at such a young age had every Kenyan and plenty more worldwide behind him.
At 18, he won a half marathon in a borrowed pair of shoes because he couldn’t afford any.
At 22, he ran his first marathon in 2:01:53 (fastest debut marathon in history).
And then a few months ago at 23, he practically sprinted 42km and broke the world record. (nuts when you think most distance runners peak in their 30s)
“A world record wasn’t on my mind today”, he said after breaking it. How’s that for process-orientated thinking...
What a lad.
Life’s short. Soak it up.
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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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