đź‘‹ Hey. Welcome to issue #153 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):
🏹 Signal hunting
The body is always right.
It's been evolving over hundreds and thousands of years.
If it wasn’t useful, it was eliminated.
It knows when to heal. When to fight disease. When to repair. It knows when we’re hungry. Full. Tired. Thirsty. Or straight up cooked.
And it’s sending signals all day long.
Achey > Move
Hungry > Eat
Cooked > Rest
The problem is that we ignore them... or... we can’t even hear them.
Because our lives are so full. Our environment constantly demanding our attention. Our days jacked with stimulus.
The signals get drowned out.
- đź“ş Eating dinner in front of the telly > can't hear "i'm full"
- ⌨️ Jamming the keyboard on a work deadline > can’t hear your back ache saying "move"
- 📞 We’re (2022) deep in the inspired unemployed’s insta page > can't hear "go to bed mate"
We’re distracted.
Then on top of that, we've subconsciously trained ourselves to fill every gap of the day with noise.
E.g. A previous version of me was a chronic: "cool I've got 2 mins, I can reply to that text or [insert to-do]"
But I've been trying to override the impulse to fill those little pockets of the day.
Close the eyes.
And just feeeeeeeel it baby.
To intentionally create space and silence for us to hear the signals.
Turn down the volume from life. So we can turn up the volume from the rig.
A few ways:
- 🚶 A phone-free walk
- đź‘€ Closing your eyes for 30 seconds before a meeting
- đźš˝ Not taking the phone to the loo
See, instead of looking for more data (wearables) or more doing (biohacks). Maybe we need to do less... More quiet. More pockets of nothing.
Then we’ll be less:
- 🍏 Agitated because we haven’t eaten
- 💦 Foggy because we haven’t hydrated
- 💤 Tired because we haven’t got out 8 hours
Or over time:
- 🤒 Injured because we haven’t listened to our aches
- 🔥 Burnt out because we haven’t listened to our stress
- 🪫 Flat because we haven’t listened to our hunger hormones
They’re magical things we’re getting about in. We just gotta listen.
đź’ˇ Next free pocket of the day, try taking a minute to do a bitta nothing (and listen).
p.s. for more on getting in tune with our bodies (and a charming tale about why a Polynesian sailor has his nuts out 🤨), see "train your coach" from newsletter #86)
p.p.s. for more on creating space in the day for our nervous system (sadly no fun stories in this one), see "slowing the steam train" from newsletter #87
đź“š The archives
How's this is newsletter #153...
Where'd that go?
If you wanna dive into nearly 3 years of archives, here you go:
👉 The everyday athlete newsletter archives
🔍 Pharmakon
In ancient Greek, the word pharmakon means both remedy and poison.
And I reckon it perfectly sums up modern health and fitness.
Take fasting. It’s a great tool for some people (improved energy, insulin sensitivity, weight loss). For others? It’s a shortcut to burnout, disordered eating, and cooked hormones.
Or high-intensity training. A magical cardio tool and stress-reliever in the right dose… or a nervous system bomb in others.
See, context changes everything.
Health advice is rarely good or bad in isolation.
The question is: does this fit your life, your stress load, your season right now?
Because the same thing that's helpful for your mate might harm you.
And similarly, the same thing that's helpful for you in one season (or one day, or even one time of day) might harm you in another.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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