👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #117 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):
🍑 Blame it on the booty
There’s a stat going around social media you may have seen:
After the age of 30, we can lose up to 10% of muscle per decade.
With faster decline as we get older. After 60, it can ramp up to 1-2% per year.
Sad given muscle is linked to life quality.
Muscle mass benefits everything from our mental to our metabolic health.
But particularly as we age it:
- 🤕 Protects us from falls
- 🚶 Gives us independence to get around day-to-day
- 🏄 Do the things we love, longer—like surfing, hiking and playing with kids/grandkids.
See after 30, our muscles become less responsive to training and protein.
It’s called anabolic resistance. And it’s a drama.
There are a handful of things going on that cause anabolic resistance. Like:
- 🧬 The deterioration of our cells
- 💥 Chronic low-grade inflammation (known as inflammaging)
- 🧪 Changes in hormones like estrogen and testosterone
- And more
But…
The beautiful thing is that these processes can be slowed (and in some cases, stopped or reversed).
As they are enormously influenced by our lifestyle choices.
In fact, research suggests the biggest cause of anabolic resistance is the fact that we just become less active as we age.
The biggest cause.
Use it or lose it kinda thing.
Look, some things we can't change (as much as the longevity influencers flogging their new rare herbal supplement will tell us different).
But it seems we can put a serious handbrake on anabolic resistance.
- 🏋️ Strength training: 3x 30-minute sessions a week, lifting at 60-80% of our max, i.e. heavy
- 🫘 Protein: 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight (the higher end the older we get)
So maybe we can take heed from the Jackson 5.
Don’t blame it on the sunshine. Don’t blame it on the moonlight. Blame it on (your lack of training) the boogie booty.
Keep pushing it up.
P.s. Set realistic goals though. Old girl up top is not real life
🧑🍳 Cookbook: 5 Ingredients Mediterranean
Earlier this year I was putting together the nutrition resources for Hexa Life.
I researched dozens of cookbooks. Trying to find something that hit the following criteria:
- Fast
- Easy
- Simple steps
- Simple ingredients
- Minimal ingredients
- Mostly whole food ingredients
- High protein
- High fibre
- Delicious
- Substitutes for different dietaries
No luck.
So we made our own.
Then, a few weeks ago I got Jamie Oliver's, 5 Ingredients Mediterranean.
And, tell you what, it ticks nearly every one of those boxes above.
The book's subtitle is: Simple Incredible Food.
And it's spot on.
Some of my favourite parts:
- 🥫Simple, convenient ingredients like heaps of canned stuffed
- 🧑🍳 The cooking steps are super logical and well-thought-through
- 🤤 They yum
Recommend.
☀️ Vitamin B3 for reducing skin cancer risk
Vitamin B3 (niacin) can help reduce the risk of skin cancer.
Especially in people who are at high risk (e.g. previous skin cancers, fair skin, high sun exposure).
500mg, twice a day for 12 months. Was shown to reduce the rate of new non-melanoma skin cancers and actinic keratoses (scaly patches of skin that can turn cancerous) by 23%.
We get some B3 from food. But nowhere near 1,000mg.
So it’s a supplement job.
Niacin is the most accessible form of vitamin B3. Though if it causes flushing (😳), try nicotinamide.
If you have sun damage or have it in the family (ahem, Aussie readers), it’s some cheap prevention.
P.s. Thank you mum for this intel.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
📬 Did someone forward this to you? I send an email like this every week. Join free here.
👇 If these emails aren't for you anymore you can unsubscribe below. No stress, they're not for everyone.
Want more? Check out the Everday Athlete Toolbox and Elite Sleep Audit
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.
0 comments