👋 Hey.
Welcome to issue #32 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter. Thanks for being here.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (3.5 min read):
🥦 Fibre for deep sleep
Deep sleep is 1 of the 4 stages of sleep.
It’s critical for performance and longevity. Specifically:
- 💪 Recovery and growth
- 🦠 Immune system function
- 💥 Removing toxins
- 🧠 Memory consolidation
Most need 1-2 hours of deep sleep each night.
My sleep tracker tells me I’m on the lower end of that.
Even if the tracker isn’t super accurate, there aren’t many downsides to chasing more deep sleep.
Unsurprisingly it’s the usual stuff that helps (good sleep habits, exercise, diet, stress, etc).
And interestingly there’s emerging research linking fibre intake with deep sleep.
Even if the research isn't conclusive, fibre is elite for our gut health.
In fact, a meta-analysis of over a million people found for every 10g increase in fibre, there’s a 10% reduction in risk of mortality.
We need at least 50-60g a day.
We get fibre from foods like fruit, veg, nuts.
Psyllium husk is a cheap and easy way to jack up our intake (you can grab it from the supermarket).
Throw a spoonful in a smoothie, shake or yoghurt.
An easy habit to start for our performance and longevity.
🚶 Podcast: The Ready State Podcast with Jason McCarthy
Jason McCarthy is the founder of a brand called GORUCK.
And in this 60-minute pod, he gives us a good intro into rucking.
Rucking is walking with weight on your back.
It’s the ultimate crossover of strength and cardio.
3x easier on the knees than running.
But with lots of the benefits:
- 💪 Strength
- 🫁 Cardio
- 🦴 Bone density
- 🚶♀️ Posture (which also improves your breathing)
- 🤕 Injury prevention
Carrying load was a primal part of life (carrying water, food, resources etc).
So no wonder we respond so well to it.
This has been my girlfriend and my version for the last few days 👇
3 days. 60,000 steps. 100’s of meters of elevation. 15kg on the back. All at altitude.
It turns everything on. From legs to lungs.
But you don’t need to travel to Guatemala or get expensive GORUCK kit to start.
Throw some kit in a backpack. Find a hike.
If you like the idea but need some motivation, there’s little rucking communities popping up everywhere.
(For our Sydney readers, The Barangaroo Rucking Club just got started, run by a good bloke called Chris Morgan).
Outside. Social. Moving.
Good combo.
You can listen to the podcast here.
🏋 Switch your grip
I’m aware this is niche. It probably won’t hit home for 99% of you...
But it might be a brain explosion moment for 1% of you (like it was for me).
Here it is:
If you use a mixed grip when deadlifting, switch your hand placement every set.
Otherwise it can cause some serious muscle imbalance.
Because there’s a tendency to twist slightly and engage different muscles. Which can lead to uneven upper back development.
Makes sense.
But I’ve never known or thought to do it (in 12 years of lifting).
And the asymmetry shows.
Which can lead to injury and decreased performance.
Time to start switching it up.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
P.s.
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