👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #107 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):
😥 Intensity of training may influence anti-depressant effect
I came across this giant review of over 218 studies on the treatment of depression symptoms.
It compared different types of exercise to other common drug and therapy treatments.
Unsurprisingly, it found exercise is a really effective anti-depressant.
But maybe most interesting, they found:
The more intense the exercise, the bigger the effect.
So, if your feeling a bit low, consider doing a super high-intensity "mental health" training session. Think HIIT, hills, Barry's or any type of training that feels really hard.
A good way to measure intensity is RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion or “How hard out of 10 is this?”.
And for those "mental health sessions", aim for an 8+.
P.s. In no way am I making light of clinical depression. Just a tool for low mood ✌️
😴 Scandi sleep method
Most hetero relationships seem to have a common theme.
One is an ice machine in bed and the other is a living, breathing, sleeping furnace.
Honestly, if I eat close to bedtime I feel like my mac when I have photoshop, imovie and a million chrome tabs open at the same time.
Compared to my partner who seems to fill her socks with ice cubes.
And given what we know about the relationship between temperature and sleep (see hunter-gatherer sleep schedule from newsletter #72), this can be a drama.
There are elegant solutions to the problem, like the $6,000 Eight Sleep temperature-controlled mattress. And there are simple solutions, like "chuck a leg out".
The Scandi Sleep Method probably sits somewhere in between.
Here it is:
Two separate doonas/blankets tucked into each side of the bed to keep them in place.
So simple. So genius.
It feels like an old el paso kid moment.
Literally, why can't we have both?
Not only for temperature control but also for sleep disturbances — prevent those midnight doona wars.
Por qué no los dos?
🏋️ Inter-session recovery differences
I do love a minimalist gym program.
Maximum results. Minimum time.
And for the women out there who feel the same, you're gonna like some of the research coming out at the moment.
One study compared trained men and women.
Exercise = bicep curls
Sets = 4
Weight = 50% of one rep max (the most weight you can lift for one rep)
Rest = 2 mins
The results:
Women did more reps and had less strength reduction than men.
Obviously, this is only one study focusing on an isolated upper-body movement.
But it indicates that women recover faster inter-session than men in the gym.
And don't need to rest as long.
As a rule of thumb:
For strength, we want to rest 3-5 mins between sets.
For building muscle, we want to rest 1-2 mins between sets.
We can probably look at the lower end of that range for single-joint movements (like a bicep curl). And the upper for our more fatiguing multi-joint movements (like a squat).
Then on top of that, it seems women can scale it down, and men may need to scale it up.
Either way, I'd use those time frames above as a guide. Then self-regulate within that (i.e. go when you feel ready).
P.s. more strength training principles in the everyday athlete strength training handbook.
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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