Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 145: 22 Tips & Tricks for 2022 (Lifestyle, Fitness & Growth)

Episode Date: December 13, 2021

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Welcome in everybody to another episode of the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. As always, I am your host, Danny Matranga. In today's episode, I would like to review 22 tips I have for you heading into the year 2022. Some of them are fitness and health related, and some of them are growth related. Things that I've picked up that I think are worth sharing, things that I've shared with my clients, both in person and online, that a lot of them have expressed were valuable. So I'm sharing with you things that I have picked up across the better course of the last year that I think are worth taking with you into the new year. I think there's a lot to learn in this discussion today, but like I said, we'll talk quite a bit about lifestyle, of course, fitness and nutrition, lifestyle meaning wellness, longevity, etc. Just priming you so that hopefully 2022 can be your best year ever. Before we get into that conversation,

I want to share some of my phenomenal sponsors, some of the products I absolutely love taking. The first is LMNT electrolytes. So LMNT electrolytes are a small packet that you mix in the water you're probably already drinking. So the best way to think about it isn't like a pre-workout, isn't like a creatine, but more something that's going to enhance your body's ability to uptake water, to uptake fluid. It will enhance your hydration through electrolytes, which of course in this case are sodium, magnesium, and potassium. If you are somebody who trains in a hot climate or a humid climate or somebody who sweats a lot, somebody who uses the sauna, somebody who's chronically dehydrated, maybe you're

somebody who's in a deficit and you don't salt your food very often because perhaps you think salt or sodium might be bad. And for some people, high amounts of sodium might not be ideal, particularly those with high blood pressure. But for active, healthy adults, having the right amount of fluid and the right amount of electrolytes is critical, absolutely critical for performance. So that's why I use LMNT electrolytes. And I use them every day when I wake up with a huge 32 ounce glass of water. I split a half a packet of either the citrus, raspberry, or mango chili. Those are my favorite flavors. Although I do enjoy the orange and watermelon quite a bit too. I'm not a huge fan of overly sweet drinks. It's actually something that I quite detest. So the fact that these have a slight salty mineral flavor paired with a really natural stevia sweet and fruit flavor, only 10 calories, no sugar, they're keto friendly if

that's your gig, they're paleo friendly if that's your gig, they work really, really well. So I start my day off with a packet of LMNT electrolytes, 50% of a packet, and I take the other half with me to sip on while I train because I want the best hydration and the best electrolyte availability possible because muscle contraction is contingent on minerals, and in this case, electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Additionally, as a big time proponent of sauna use, somebody who spends upwards of 60 minutes a week in a hot sauna, this is a sauna that is not infrared. So we're talking 180 to 200 degrees. I sweat a lot and I like to replace the electrolytes that I use and sweat. And LMNT is my go-to.

is my go-to. You guys can actually get a sample pack of all of LMNT's most popular flavors on me, my treat, at drinklmnt.com slash coach Danny. And if you are somebody who is so inclined as to purchase it, you want to get more, you can use the same link and just add some to your cart. There are no discount codes for this product, but again, the sample pack is entirely on me if you have not yet tried it. Additionally, in the supplement space, I am not a huge proponent of using a ton of different stuff, particularly if you are just new to things, you're kind of getting started. The noise, the clutter of the supplement space can really just provide a lot more stress than you might need. And I think some basic stuff really does the trick. So for almost all of my

clients and the clients we work with at Core Coaching Method, we're really, really big on making sure you hit your total daily protein intake, which oftentimes can be made easier by having a high quality protein powder on hand, getting some creatine in for performance, recovery, and cognitive health, as well as things like fish oil and greens powders for clients of ours who struggle to get their daily green-slash-vegetable-slash-fruit intake. And so my favorite products from Legion fall into these categories. I love the Whey Plus. It's a phenomenal grass-fed whey protein isolate.

Comes in a variety of amazing flavors. And if dairy and whey just aren't your thing, perhaps you're plant-based or you have dairy sensitivity, an isolate is about as good as it gets because we're removing lactose from the actual protein, but they also have a plant protein as well that is a nice blend of pea and brown rice. So you're getting that full spectrum of amino acids, but the absence of animal product. I love the recharge creatine. I take that after or in the middle of my workouts, depending on when I can remember it's right there on the shelf in my home gym. So it's very easy. And that comes in some amazing flavors. My personal favorite is, and you guys know this, if you've been following me for a while, the strawberry lemonade, but I just tried the blue raspberry, which is quite good. The Genesis greens powder

is my favorite greens product on the market because it contains an actual dosage list on the back. Like your ingredient is not, your ingredient profile is not hidden behind a proprietary blend, which is so common and so frustrating. You know exactly what you're getting, but the star of the show for me is the three grams of reishi mushroom. That is a supplement that I tend to want to take for a long, long time because of its immune boosting effects, its tumor suppressing effects, its cognitive or mood balancing effects, paired with the fact that reishi mushroom is just something I'm unable to get in my diet. And I love the Triton Omega-3. If you are a pre-workout fan too, Legion has a phenomenal pre-workout called Pulse. And they have the

stimulant-free version, which is basically the same exact formula, sans the caffeine. So if you want the beta-alanine, the L-citrulline, the alpha-glycerophosphacoline, the things that can really help you, even betaine, help you perform in the gym, but you also enjoy your morning coffee and you don't want to go crazy with the caffeine, Legion's Pulse Stem Free is a great option. And the traditional pulse with caffeine just came out in two amazing new flavors, Arctic Blast, which tastes like the white monster and Frosted Cranberry, which of course sounds very festive and very holiday-like. So if you enjoy this podcast, if you enjoy the content I create, many of you have asked me, how can I support you? Well, this is probably the best way to do it. You can head over to legion.com, check out using the

promo code Danny to save 20% off your first order and earn double points on all future orders. If you sign up for the subscribe and save option, which is where these supplements will be delivered to you on a regularly scheduled basis, which I only recommend if you're somebody who consumes them fairly regularly, you can save additional money that way as well. So that's pretty cool. With all that behind us, guys, let's go ahead and get into my 22 tips and tricks for 2022. And a lot of these tips and tricks are not my own. Some of them are things that I've picked up and I've learned along the way. So whenever possible, I will try to give you credit or give credit to the person who taught me this,

to the person who kind of put this on my plate. And the first tip is to get out and get morning sun and morning movement. And this is from Andrew Huberman of the Huberman Lab podcast, which I recommend checking out if you are a fan of, let's call it, higher level scientific health, fitness, wellness, longevity information. It's really, really digestible. It can be a little bit, let's call it high level sometimes. It's challenging for people who are not scientifically literate, but Andrew does a phenomenal job of breaking things down. And one of the things I love is how much he focuses on circadian biology and optimizing our circadian biology for not just our longevity, but things like our mood and performance. And I mentioned that I start every day off with water and electrolytes, and I try to push my coffee off one, two, maybe even three hours after I wake up, which is something I also picked up from Andrew. But getting out, getting some early sun in the

morning, getting movement can help you feel more alert throughout the day. It can help to really lock in and set up your circadian rhythm so that your body knows, hey, this is the daytime. This is when I should be active, alert, driven, and it will help you with things like sleep, which so many people struggle with. So my number one tip moving into the new year, try to get some early morning sun, early morning hydration, and get on a walk, get moving, even if it's 10, 15 minutes, as soon as you can. And again, I know a lot of you wake up before the sun. There are things that you can do for that, whether it's a light box or just generally exposing your retina to light. But if you can't

do that, get out, get moving. You might still get some light as the sun starts to rise. Very, very important. Number two, we are going back in time. This tip is from Lao Tzu, of course, the ancient Chinese philosopher. You're probably familiar with his work, whether you think you're familiar with his work or not. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching or the Tao Te Ching, which is an ancient Chinese text, very wise man. You've heard the proverbs, many Chinese proverbs, such as the journey of a thousand miles begins with one simple step. That is Lao Tzu. That's from the Tao Te Ching. But this is a verse from the Tao Te Ching that I am a big, big fan of. To be as specific as possible, I would be able to

give you the actual verse. And I'm embarrassed to say I don't recall the verse, which one of the verses in the Tao Te Ching this is. But the verse is, nature never hurries, yet everything always gets done. And I think we live in a culture where things are very fast paced. We're very, very driven. We're very, very competitive. We feel the pressure to produce. We feel the pressure to create. We feel the pressure to be better. And I think all of that can be really, really valuable. But I also think there can be downsides. I think it can lead to things like anxiety, depression. It can create a lot of external pressure and irritability

because we want to be working all the time. We want to be doing all the time. We want to be going faster, faster, faster. And I am a victim of this myself. This is something that I do to measurably make my life quite a bit worse, is put a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, a lot of anxiety on myself to do things fast so I can move on to the next task and remain productive. not just the stoic philosophies of Socrates and Aristotle that, you know, have become more popular thanks to authors like Ryan Holiday, but, you know, really looking at how is it that our pace in life is affecting our ability to enjoy what's right in front of us. And I don't want to be some, you know, mid-20s guy lecturing you, giving you life advice. That's not what this podcast is about.

This is a health and fitness podcast for sure. But these are things that I find valuable with regards to your health and fitness. And so nature never hurries. Everything always gets done. What does that mean? To me, that means that if you look outside in the natural world and you look at things that aren't human or aren't, you know, operating with such a developed cognitive capacity, like even look at your dog, you know, look at fish. The incessant desire to rush and to hurry seems to be inherently human. And if we can slow down, enjoy the moment that we're in, understand that things will unfold at the pace they will unfold at, and even then lean into patience, lean in to things being allowed to take time. I think that will help you with your

fitness. I think that will help you with your health. I think that will help you with your performance. I think that will help you with your relationships. And if you're somebody like me who struggles with anxiety, and I know many of you do because mental health is something we don't talk too much about, but I'm aware that pretty much every single young person I know is dealing with some form of anxiety, some form of depression, some form of stress that is making their life tougher or harder than it has to be. To acknowledge that slowing down is okay can be really, really powerful. So tip number three for 2022, and this is from Oliver Berkman's new book,

4,000 Weeks Time Management for Mortals, is a little bit of a scary one. And that is that you only live, if you're lucky, as a healthy adult. And this is equating for gender globally. If we're talking about men, the number will be smaller. If we're talking about women, the number will be larger, but that would be dependent on where we are talking about. But that is that you only live, if you're lucky, for about 4,000 weeks. And I want you to think about that because we often frame our life as being, I don't know, 100 years. I used to do this. I used to say, yeah, I'm going to live to be 100. That's not particularly true, especially as an American man. Now, I take very good care of

myself, but the statistics show that men in America don't live to be a hundred years old. And so on average, you live to be about 4,000 weeks old, or you spend about 4,000 weeks on this planet. And if you are 20, you've already spent about a thousand of them. If you're 40, you've already spent about 2000 of them. So we often spend all of our time thinking about where we want to be in the immediate future. I will be happy when I get here. I will be happy when I get here. We play the destination happiness game or we do the opposite. I'll do that next week. I'll put it off till next month. I'll do it next year. I'll get to it when I have time. And I think that these are dances that we do to acquiesce and cope with stress in an extremely challenging world.

But I think it's very, very good to keep in mind that you only have 4,000 weeks. And this isn't to scare you. This isn't to make you feel bad. This isn't to make you confront your finitude on this planet. No, none of that. This is to just be straight with you, to shoot you straight, to be 100% honest. You and I and everybody else has a finite amount of time on this planet. And when you think about it as 100 years, it sounds like a big number. When you think about being young and I'll never get old, it seems super far away. But when you break it down into a week figure and you acknowledge, wow, I only have 4,000 weeks to do and accomplish what I want to accomplish, it makes for a good kick in the pants. So I really,

really wanted to share that from Oliver Berkman. I thought that was phenomenal and I've really enjoyed the book. Number four, and again, we're not to the fitness stuff yet. So bear with me or fast forward to maybe around the 25 minute mark. I'm recording this live and I'm terrible at doing show notes, but this one is from The Market Hustle, one of my favorite pages on Instagram, another younger content creator who I really think does a phenomenal job. And I think that finances are a source of tremendous stress and tremendous anxiety for many people. And some people are more fortunate than others, but finances are the number one cause of stress. They're the number one cause of divorce. They tend to be the number one cause of anxiety. And so we live in a, at least here in America, I know many of my

listeners are not America or not in America or not American. We live in a very capitalistic, materialistic, consumption driven society and money is at the absolute center of it all. And while I definitely think that being so consumption driven and so materialistic and so greedy is the source of so much of the world's problems, it's also the same innovation, the same desire to create, the same desire to build that has created innovation that is changing the world for the better. And so we're not just going to get away from that. Unfortunately, we're going to have to have a very, very, at least here in America, we're not just going to get away from that. Unfortunately, we're going to have to have a very, very, at least here in America, we're going to have to have a very,

very real talk about what it is and what it means to live in a capitalistic society. And right now, it means you're going to have to have a pretty tight understanding of how your finances work. So my fourth tip for 2022 is to audit your finances. Take a look at your spending. Take a look at your subscriptions. Take a look at your debt. Take a look at your investments. Have a plan. If you have debt, work to pay down that debt. Make a plan to pay down that debt in the same way you might make a plan to lose body fat. If you want to invest, make a plan to invest in the same way you might make a plan to gain muscle. If you are kind of just going through life thinking and putting off the finance stuff for a while, I think it

will contribute to additional stress. And if you're able to play the long game, I think with some of the investment products we have now, the ability to buy fractionalized shares on various different brokerages, wealth creation is accessible to a lot more people than it used to be. And I won't say it's accessible to everybody because I know that not everybody has the privilege to be able to invest enough money to build generational wealth. But we are in a unique financial time right now with a lot of anxiety, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of scarcity. We're coming out of a pandemic. We're coming out of a pandemic-driven recession. There is inflation. There is, at this point, a pretty considerable job recovery. Unemployment is reaching lows that we haven't seen in quite some time, which is very encouraging. But if you

don't have your finances in check, you might be in trouble. So I know that you didn't come here to get talked to about your money because this is a fitness podcast, but I strongly recommend checking out your finances, doing everything you can to set yourself up for success financially. Even if it's small, there are no steps too small in fitness. And I truly believe that there's no steps too small in finance. So thank you to the Market Hustle for that one. Okay. Number five, this is another lifestyle one. the market hustle for that one. Okay. Number five, this is another lifestyle one. It's the 80 20 rule. Just try to focus on the 20% of the work or the 20% of the focus, the 20% of the relationships, the 20% of whatever that yields the 80% of return, right? We so often get stuck in the minutia, we get stuck in the small shit that yields the small return,

but become a master of the 20% that yields the 80% of return. So what do I mean by that? Well, what I mean from a training standpoint is, do you want to focus the entirety of your attention on small shit that is very negligible in terms of its ability to create change? Like, do you want to spend all of your time focusing on things like supplements? Do you want to spend all of your time focusing on things like whether or not your Apple watch steps or where they need to be? Or do you want to focus your time on getting your nutrition dialed, getting your sleep dialed, getting your training dialed? That's the 20% of shit that's going to yield the 80% of your results. And so I challenge you to take that lens and apply it to everything that you do in this life. And I've been

working on this myself. I'm trying to do the best job I can, the absolute best job I can of being honest and transparent with where I fall short. And I have been working really, really hard and really, really diligently to apply this rule into some areas of my life that fucking hurt, including my drug consumption habits, including the relationship I have with the people, relationships I have with the people closest to me, my effort, my energy, my intention. And it's challenging, but I have decided to use this 80-20 rule to really make sure that I'm focusing on the right things, the things that are going to get me to where I want to get, the things that are going to take me to where I want to be in life. And that's not easy to do, but I challenge you to do the same and look at those big rock, big habits that are going to help you really accomplish what you want. Number six on our list of 22 tips for

2022 is to be honest about what you need to outsource and be honest about what you need to be held accountable for. This is something, again, kind of piggybacking off the last point. I'll make this brief. If you know you are not good at something and it needs to get done at a high level and you are over leveraged, don't be afraid to outsource or ask for help. If something is important to you, whether that is your fitness, your performance, your relationship, your career, your mental health, and you really, really, really know you want to make a change, get some accountability. So if you've been spinning your wheels in the gym, I want to compete in bodybuilding. I want to build some muscle. I want to do this,

that, and the other thing. You know how people have a tendency to be. We're all fucking talk, right? If you really want to accomplish something, go get a coach, right? If you want to be better in the gym, you want to finally lose that body fat, you want to be done talking about it, pay somebody to hold you accountable. If you are anxious, if you are depressed, if your relationship could be better, hold you accountable. If you are anxious, if you are depressed, if your relationship could be better, pay the damn therapist to help you find the path out of it. Or find a friend who will help you for free that will talk to you, that will support you. If you're like me and you're somebody who loves cannabis, I've grown it for years. I enjoy the plant. I'm able to have a

relationship with it where I can stop on a dime. I'm not addicted to it in the way somebody might be addicted to heroin or cocaine. But when I got deep into the pandemic and I was dealing with something pretty stressful with regards to a relationship, pretty hurtful with regards to a relationship, I was dealing with a lot of pain. I started to consume cannabis at a rate that I did not think was aligned with my long-term goals. I started to use it to escape from pain. I started to smoke weed more than I wanted to smoke weed. And I know this is a fitness podcast, but I want you guys to listen to this. And I went to a close friend and I said, hey, my habits around this drug are not aligned with the man that I want to be in one year, five year, 10 years time. Can you have my back on making sure that

my habits are better? And what I mean by that is if we go golfing, that might be a time where I can get a little blasted or blazed. If we watch some football, that might be a time where I can get a little blazed. But if we're just hanging out in the middle of the day on a fucking Tuesday afternoon and I show up blaze You got to check me. I want you to check me I want you to hold me accountable And I saw a tweet once that said if you don't have friends that you can ask to hold you accountable Then you don't have any friends. And so I know that you guys do have those people. Maybe they're not your peers

Maybe they're not your co-workers. Maybe they're your friends. Maybe they're your cousins. Maybe they're your parents But if you need help with something, build in that layer of accountability. I promise you it is life-changing, positive, positive stuff. Hey guys, just wanted to take a quick second to say thanks so much for listening to the podcast. And if you're finding value, it would mean the world to me

if you would share it on your social media. Simply screenshot whatever platform you're listening to and share the episode to your Instagram story or share it to Facebook. But be sure to tag me so I can say thanks and we can chat it up about what you liked and how I can continue to improve. Thanks so much for supporting the podcast and enjoy the rest of the episode. Number seven tip for 2022 on our list of 22 tips. We only have three left before we get to the fitness stuff, guys. I promise. And this is piggybacking off the last one as well. This is from Anna Lemke's book, Dopamine Nation. It is the best book I have read this year, and it might be the best book I have ever read.

Three books I have recommended most since finishing a book, meaning like if I finished a book within 30 days, how many times, how many people did I recommend this to? This is at the top of the list. And this was a question that she worked through with the people that she works with as a psychologist. These people are battling addiction. And I won't spoil the book, but I did talk about this in a previous podcast. She had a patient who was struggling with her consumption of a particular drug. And she asked this patient, does your consumption of this drug, and if you continue to consume this drug at this rate, does this position you to be the person you want to be in one year's time, five years time, and 10 years time? And I want you guys to ask that question,

not about your drug consumption. Perhaps if you do consume a lot of a particular drug, it might be worth it. Whether that be alcohol, pornography, your cell phone, because I think your cell phone is a drug, junk food, you name it. Ask yourself, does my consumption, does my habit, does my behavior in any area, is what I'm doing going to build me, help me become, create what I want in one year, five years, and 10 years time? Ask yourself that question. It's a fucking hard question to ask, but it's very, very helpful. And then tip number eight on our list, ask yourself, what are the daily, weekly, and monthly habits that will help me become the person I ultimately would like to be in one year, five year, 10 years time? That's really powerful. A lot of this stuff

that I'm sharing with you guys is a journey that I'm on in my growth and in my maturation as a young man. And I want to be a better person as I continue to grow. I don't want to be stagnant. I want to be a better friend. I want to be a better partner. I want to be a better dog owner. I want to be a better coach. And to become that, I have to acknowledge that I'm imperfect. We're all imperfect. But just ask yourself, where do I want to be in one, five, 10 years time? What are these habits that are holding me back? And what are the habits that I need to replace them with to be ultimately where I'd like to be? Which brings me to my last point. This one is from James Clear,

Habits, Atomic Habits author. You probably already know that because who the fuck at this point hasn't read Atomic Habits? And that is to stop telling people what you're going to do and start doing what you want to do. I have always loved this from this book. It's one of my absolute favorite takeaways. And that is that when people start running their mouth about the shit that they're working on, the shit that they want to accomplish, it gives them a false sense of accomplishment. And hear me out.

If you haven't built in that layer of accountability and you're telling a friend, hey, I really want to accomplish this. Can you hold me accountable? That is very different from running your mouth to all your friends about all the stuff you're working on that you never fucking get done. Because what happens when you don't get that done, you start to build self-doubt. But if you start telling people all the stuff you're working on, you get a literal false sense of accomplishment. So those big things that you're working on, share those with people who will hold you accountable,

but very few other people. Keep that private. Keep that personal. Write that down. Put it where you see it. Work on that in private. Go ghost. That has worked unbelievably well for me. When I launched Core Coaching Method, I didn't tell anybody except my girlfriend and my best friend that I was working on this project. And it's been an unbelievable project. Since our launch six months ago, we've onboarded a number of clients. I'm not going to just drop numbers because I do think some of that stuff has to be private, but a number of clients that have changed my life as a coach that have just been unbelievably, phenomenally amazing clients to work with. Some of the best clients I've ever had. And I love for the most part, almost every client I've ever worked with. Even if it was somebody back when I trained at 24 hour fitness that I used to dread when they would come in for a session because it just wasn't

something that clicked. Those people taught me so much. They taught me how to be patient, but that was a project that I worked on in private. I worked on it until I thought it was perfect. I launched it and it has really catapulted my career and helped me reach some amazing people, but more so it is attracted an unbelievable amount of incredible clients. And if you guys are looking to improve your health and fitness in this new year, but also with what we have left in December, I have a few roster spots left, but coach Matt and coach Sylvia, my amazing co-coaches, also have some roster spots available for full online coaching, nutrition coaching,

personal training on Zoom, personal training in Sonoma County. Basically, any kind of fitness, nutrition coaching help you might need, Core Coaching Method can offer that and tailor it exactly to your situation. So guys, we are going to move on to part two in our 22 tips for 2022. We are getting into the health and fitness stuff. So this is what you really came here for. This is what really matters to you guys. So I do appreciate you bearing with me. And so we are going on to tip number 10 on our list, which is spread your protein out across the day for performance, for fat loss, and for satiety. You've heard me talk about this ad nauseum, but there are no shortage of scientific studies showing that protein helps with recovery,

protein helps with building muscle, protein helps with fat loss. But a lot of people are unaware that if you can spread your protein out evenly across three to four meals, four to five meals, you'll get even better results. You'll get even better recovery, even better muscle growth, and even better fat loss. So remember, there is an order of operations here. First order of business is getting enough protein. But once you've done that, you can really bump things up 10, 20% throwing arbitrary numbers out here by spreading that out into four to five feeding. So I strongly recommend checking that out. My 11th tip for 2022 or in the halfway point here is take less supplements. I know that I started this episode with a supplement plug and I know you're thinking, what the fuck? How did this guy 180 this? No, no, no. I'm not telling

you to spend less on supplements or to take supplementing your diet less seriously or to take your desire to be better any less seriously. But I think most people take way too many supplements. I think there's a short list of stuff that you can make an argument for taking. If you don't have any acute stuff going on, I think if you have specific things you list of stuff that you can make an argument for taking if you don't have any acute stuff going on I think if you have specific things you're working on you can get pretty into the weeds With supplementation and if you're getting reputable shit, you can make a really big difference But for just general population people who want to be fitter healthier and live longer we're talking creatine. We're talking fish oil We're talking multivitamin, maybe a greens powder, maybe magnesium

Electrolytes if you're an athlete. I think those are great, but the list is short. A lot of the shit that you're going to see on the shelf, in bodybuilding magazines, on Instagram, people shilling, I don't think you need it. And so I would recommend spending more money on higher quality supplements, upgrading the stuff that you're taking every day, and taking less of the stuff that doesn't really work or hasn't been proven to work. My 12th tip for 2022. If you're training six days a week and not getting where you want, try training four or five. And if you're

training three or four days a week and you're not getting where you want, you might want to try five or six. I know that you're like, wait, how can both of these things be possible? Well, we all have a different level of recoverability. And I think that for many people, they get stuck in a trap of either training as often as possible or as minimally as possible. And if you don't love lifting, training as minimally as possible while still driving results makes sense. And if you love training, going to the gym a lot makes sense. But for some people, they train because they want to change how they look. And if you train six days a week, and that's beyond what you can recover from, dialing that back will be better.

And if you're only training three days a week, but you can recover from more, doing a little more might be better. So in the same way I asked you to audit your finances, I would encourage you to audit your training program as well. Tip number 13, try to drink less caffeine if you can. And if you're a coffee drinker, this is something that's worked incredibly well for me, switch to espresso. Switch away from the sugary, fatty drinks with a ton of dairy and added calories, right? There's nothing wrong with dairy,

but usually we're talking about adding fat, which adds calories, adding sugar, which of course has calories and sugar in large amounts is probably not good for you. But these huge calorie-laden, caffeine-dense drinks that we bomb our system with every morning aren't helping as we battle things like stress, anxiety, and improving our sleep and wellness. But I do think coffee can be generally good for you because it's rich in antioxidants, as is tea. So if you can switch from sugary coffee drinks with a ton of caffeine to things like espresso or tea, where you can even more accurately gauge your caffeine intake, that's what I would do. And for my coffee drinkers out there, because I have taken note over the years, most of you prefer coffee to tea, switch to

espresso. Get yourself an espresso machine. You can get a pretty good one now for under 200 bucks. I don't have a sponsor for that. If I did, I'd plug it. Espresso, hit me up. But seriously, get an espresso machine, make your coffee from home if you prefer. It's definitely better for you from a financial standpoint. But start with double and single shots of espresso. If you're drinking multiple large cups of coffee in a day and your caffeine intake is exceeding, you know, getting to really high amounts or you're drinking multiple energy drinks or lots of pre-workout, you can get into a habit where you're quite addicted to caffeine and caffeine is a drug. So something that I think you can do to handle this a little bit better, if something that's worked extremely well for clients is to just switch to single shots of

espresso and space them out as needed, cutting your caffeine off between 11 a.m. ideally and 1 p.m. at the latest. That's something that I find works really, really well. Okay, tip number 14 is position carbs around your workout, particularly for those of you who think carbs are bad. If you can have some carbs between, say, 120 and 90 minutes prior to training, so one and a half to two hours before training, that'll elevate your insulin level, which will help with protein sparing and mitigate excessive muscle protein breakdown. It will give you some fuel. It will give you good pumps.

And then on the other end of your workout, again, working on that same timeframe, but maybe shortening up a bit, going for maybe 60 to 90 minutes. After your workout, again, we're going to get that protein sparing effect. We're going to top off glycogen, which probably isn't depleted that much, but you'll get that protein sparing effect. You'll help replenish glycogen. You'll help stay hydrated because carbohydrates help you with water retention. And generally you might metabolize those carbohydrates better because your resistance training, which opens the glUT4 protein, which helps bring carbohydrates and blood sugar into working tissue.

All good stuff. So if you're not positioning carbs around your workout, that's something that I find works really, really well. Tip number 16 is to add supplemental electrolytes into your regimen. You heard me plug these at the beginning of the episode from our sponsor over at LMNT, who I love. But if you have not yet experimented with supplemental electrolytes and you don't have any contraindication for adding sodium, magnesium, or potassium to your diet, I cannot recommend this enough. You will get better pumps. You will recover a little bit better. You'll have fuller muscles. You'll be more hydrated. And again, you can go to

the LMNT website and get your own, just grab them, check them out. I do not have a code for you on that. Um, but if you have not tried these yet, and it's something that you're like, Hey, I kind of, I'm a guy who, or, or gal who's inclined to try before I buy, you can use the link in the show notes to actually just get a sample of all the flavors and see which one you like. And after you've determined that, then you can get like a box. But I would recommend trying the sample pack and figuring out which flavors you like. Mine are citrus, raspberry, orange, and mango chili. Occasionally I'll roll a watermelon in there, but it's just

watermelon and me have never gotten along. Okay. Number 16, habit stack in the sauna, bring your book into the sauna. I know you're like, what the fuck, dude? I don't even like the sauna, but hear me out. I have been doing 20 to 30 minutes on a sessions two to three times a week for the past two, three years. And I can tell you from experience that the sauna can be fairly uncomfortable for people who are new to it. And whenever I've had to take a hiatus and go back to it, I know how uncomfortable it is. And so with all of the craziness going on before I left for Cancun a couple of weeks ago, and with my recent kind of taking up of golf, which I'm now like abandoning like crazy,

which is disappointing, but I'll get back to it. Uh, I, I took a brief hiatus from the sauna and you know, three, four weeks ago, I went in there and I was dying for 15, 20 minutes. I was miserable. And I was like, okay, that was tough. I clearly became deconditioned. I clearly lost some resilience. I kind of got fragile with regards to that kind of heat. And so I went back in there and I had a book. I was reading Ready Player One, one just such a good book if you're a fiction fan or a gamer, a nerd like me. And I was like, damn, I've read 22 pages. How long have I been in here? And I checked the timer and I was like, I've been in here for 19 minutes. And so what I found was being in there with a book, even though I was drenched

in sweat, even though my book had quite a bit of sweat on it, it made it go faster. And many of you have reached out because you know how big of a fan I am of sauna use. You hear me talk about it all the time and you go, I want to do it. I want to like it, but it's just so hot. I would recommend bringing something in there with you that can distract you. And if you're reading, you're also habit stacking. So you know me, I'm a huge fan of that. Tip number 17 on our list of 22 tips for 2022, log your training. You guys, please, please, please start doing this. Bring a little binder with you to the gym, a little notepad, whatever, an app, you can use the strong app. That's a very popular app. Just start logging your stuff. Just start

paying attention to what your weights are. I have a client who I've been working with now for, gosh, almost a year. Her name is Amanda. She is unbelievably strong. She's the definition of a natural when it comes to, uh, resistance training. Um, like I, I think the first time we ever did a hex bar deadlift, she'd never done a hex bar deadlift before she hit a 200 pound hex bar deadlift or 185 pound hex bar deadlift. She's a beast. She's awesome. And she trains at a gym in my local community. And then she comes to the studio at my house, which is, it's such a luxury a luxury. Being able to train from home is so phenomenal. But when she first came to me, she was like, you know, I actually have no idea how much

weight that is. And I was like, dude, that's 135. It's a 45 pound on each side of the bar. And she's like, oh, I actually don't know how much I lift on anything. And I was like, how? And she was like, I don't know. I just go and I lift. And I was like, how? And she was like, I don't know. I just go and I lift. And I was like, I wonder if other people do this. And so I started finding out that a lot of people

just kind of arbitrarily and randomly select weights. So if you're newer to this, or if you're even advanced, there are a lot of benefits to knowing where you were at in your previous workouts. So pay attention to that at the very least. But if you want to take your training to the next level, I would recommend taking some form of notes and gathering some data around your training. Okay, guys, we're getting into the final five tips I have for you for 2022. Starting with number 18, we're shifting out of the fitness and health category into what I would call the personal development, personal growth, challenging yourself, pushing yourself out of your limits category. Number 18 is put the phone away

for at least one hour a day, somewhere out of reach, somewhere where you're not inclined to use it. If you literally cannot leave your phone in another room without touching it, go on Amazon, spend $60 on a K-safe, put your phone in the K-safe and lock it for one hour. You will Amazon, spend $60 on a K-safe, put your phone in the K-safe and lock it for one hour. You will not be able to get into the K-safe without breaking

the glass. I know this sounds crazy, but this is an extremely advanced tool for habit formation, for addiction mitigation that I got from the Dopamine Nation book and for clients of mine who have really, really struggled with not drinking, with not using particular foods and compulsive overeating ways, this is something that you could use. You could say, hey, I'm going to lock those fucking cookies. I'm going to have one cookie and then I'm going to lock that box for 24 hours. And tomorrow after 24 hours, I'll let myself have another one. You can't get into the safe. I bring it up because it's almost meme-like, but seriously, put your phone away. Leave it in another room for one hour a day. Your phone is a drug, okay? It is our connection to the outside world. I get it. Some of you might

not have this luxury because you have children, because you're a caretaker. You can't get through your day without having it. But if you have the opportunity to leave it outside of your sight and not touch it for one hour a day, I would recommend doing this. Tip number 19, pick a new skill, a new hobby that challenges you. Last year I picked up golf and I'll be honest, I fucking hate it. I don't really like it that much anymore because my ability to consistently hit the golf ball is all over the place, as is the kind of entire point of the sport. It's hard. Golf is hard. Some people call it God's game though, because it is incredibly rewarding and I have been struggling with it immensely. But every once in a while, I'll go out there and absolutely fucking lace a 300 yard drive

and I'll feel amazing. And I'll be like, holy smokes, I smashed that. I love golf. And right now I'm in a lull where I hate it. And such is the challenge of picking up something new that you suck at. But I would strongly recommend in the new year, picking up something that you're not good at, that you would like to become good at, and working towards getting better at it and mastering it very slowly. I have the rest of my life to get good at golf, so I don't feel a tremendous amount of pressure, but I would encourage you to pick up a new skill, a new habit, or something that you enjoy and that makes you happy. Okay, tip number 20. We only got three tips to go, 20, 21, and 22. Find three forms of media that make you better. Okay, so this can be something like a podcast. This can be something

like audiobooks. This can be documentaries. This can be things like books. Hopefully that's something you're interested in. It can be magazines. But find three forms of media that make you better and expose yourself to more of them. Tip number 22 or 21. You probably know where I'm going with this. Find three forms of media that make you worse and cut them out. That includes things like pornography. That includes things like social media. Try to reduce your exposure to media that makes you feel less than, that makes you feel inadequate, that makes you have compulsive consumption habits. Try to increase your exposure to media that makes you happy, that makes you excited, that makes you

learn, that makes you better. And my last tip for 2022, and you guys will laugh at me because when I ordered this list, I went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. So I skipped 10. And I realized when I got to 11 that I had one missing. And so I spent the entire time recording this podcast, like, what the hell is that last tip going to be? What is it going to be? And I go back to this Dopamine Nation book, and I go back to something that Dr. Anna Lemke said was absolutely imperative for people who are recovering from addictions. And that is to practice radical honesty. And I think that that is a great tip in the new year. And for all of the content I've made, for all of the people I've connected with, for all of the clients I've worked with, for all the friends

that I've had, one of the main critiques I've been told is that I'm brutally honest and that sometimes that can be a lot, that can be a little bit abrasive. And so I am trying to polish that up. But one thing I'm also trying to do is extend that honesty into how I audit my behavior. I try to extend that honesty to my friends, to my relationships, and to really lead with that. And that might be something that comes a little more easy to me than some people. But I strongly, strongly encourage you to practice radical honesty. Tell people how you're feeling. Tell people what you want. If you and your husband aren't getting along, tell them that it hurts your feelings. Tell them why it hurts your feelings.

Tell them what you want. If you and your boyfriend want to get in shape together and you're not, tell them, hey, we're fucking up. We can do better. We got this. If you want a promotion at work, walk right into your boss's office and say, I want a promotion. What do I need to do to get promoted? Be more honest. Put that out there into the world. Those are my 22 tips for 2022, guys. I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, please do me a favor. Subscribe to the podcast. If you're a listener on iTunes, throw me a sub over on Spotify. If you're a listener on Spotify, but you have an iPhone, please subscribe over on iTunes. If we're talking iTunes, you do have the opportunity to leave a written review and five-star review. Those two things, a five-star review plus a written review, are the best things you can possibly do to help a podcast

grow. And my growth is entirely dependent on you guys, my phenomenal audience. I know we're all looking forward to the new year, to our new goals, but by the time you hear this, we'll still be not even halfway probably through the month of December. So I want you guys to think, what can I do with the next 15, 16 days to finish this year 2021 strong? Can you implement this shit now? So you hit the ball rolling next year. That's my challenge to you. Thank you all so much for listening and I'll catch you on the next one.