💪 The everyday athlete newsletter #83

👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #83 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):

🏊‍♂️ Junk metres

I used to think any kind of slow running we’d do on the footy field were “junk metres”. No benefit. Wasted energy and load.

I’ve definitely come around on it as I’ve learned more about the benefits of building a bigger aerobic base in Zone 2.

But what I’ve never really considered is how these lower-intensity sessions can improve our movement efficiency (i.e. our technique).

See typically, the everyday athlete doesn’t pay too much attention to technique.

We tend to focus on metabolic improvement—becoming fitter, faster, stronger through physical adaptation to training.

But the following story may highlight how important technique may really be…

Researchers put two world-class athletes in a swim tunnel (the water version of a wind tunnel).

One guy was a triathlete.

The other guy was an Olympic bronze medalist swimmer.

Both guys would have what we'd consider the gold standard in heart health and VO2 max (i.e. fit as fuck).

They swam at the same pace in the swim tunnel.

But the Olympic swimmer used nearly 25% less oxygen than the triathlete.

Remember, the triathlete isn’t some bum who can't swim—it’s a third of his sport. A sport he is world-class at.

But compared to a specialist swimmer, he used 25% more oxygen!

How’s that for the importance of movement efficiency...

Which is mostly developed doing lower-intensity training.

Olav Aleksander Bu is an internationally renowned sports scientist who coaches world-class athletes in a range of sports.

He puts it like this:

“When you’re doing the lower intensity [sessions], it allows you to have the cognitive reserve to use your senses to give you better biofeedback and learn what you can improve. Which you don’t have the cognitive reserve to do when you do the more high-intensity workouts because you're focusing on surviving.”

He goes on:

“It allows you to be very mindful… [to] build a better feeling for how [you] are moving through the landscape more efficiently… to evaluate yourself, to feel yourself, to be aware of the surrounding… you’re basically programming the position into your backbone that this is more efficient…so when you go out for a race, you have trained that position so deep into your body”.

So, maybe they’re only junk metres if we let them be...

If we're mindful during our training, they could be some of the most important sessions we do.

Something to keep in mind for your cruisey Zone 2 work.

🔍 Study: Alcohol and sperm quality

Interesting study on the relationship between alcohol and fertility in guys.

It found that having a few drinks a day can affect the RNA (similar to DNA) of sperm up to three months before conception.

Before wigging out, note the research used models—so we can't be sure about cause and effect.

And the negative affects were seen in guys who regularly had a few drinks a day. So drinking occasionally might not have the same impact.

Food for thought though.

⏰ The myth of intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting can be an effective fat-loss tool.

But not in the way most people think...

It's believed when we fast, we deplete our body of glycogen and start to use fat for energy. This is true. But the process generally takes about 72 hours.

A common intermittent fasting protocol is not eating for 16 hours, and eating in an 8-hour window.

But this isn’t enough time to see any kind of significant impact on fat utilisation.

“Research showed that intermittent fasting isn’t superior to other styles of eating when calories are balanced.”

– Adam Bornstein, NYT Bestselling Author

The reality is, intermittent fasting can help to achieve or maintain a healthy weight when it reduces the amount of calories eaten.

So rather than having breakfast, lunch, dinner and a couple snacks, we might have two meals and a snack.

It’s the caloric intake that causes the change.

So the biggest benefit of intermittent fasting appears to be the structure it gives us.

But let’s be clear, it only works if it’s easy for you to do.

Because the best diet is the one you can stick to.

Intermittent fasting, keto, paleo—it doesn’t matter.

A recent review found the people who improved their health markers the most were the ones who stuck to their plan.

And it’s the same with most things.

Want to get fit? Doesn‘t matter if we run, ruck, swim, cycle, us cardio machines, or play sport. All that matters is we do something consistently.

Want to get strong? Machines, free weights, body weight, gymnastics, rock climbing.

Want to down-regulate? Breathing, binaural beats, tech-free walks, yoga-nidra.

It doesn't really matter.

Because when we stop optimising for fast progress and start optimising for sustainability, we'll get where we wanna go (and stay there).

The best measurement of any program or intervention can’t just be “is it effective?”.

We also have to consider, “how long can i do this for?”.

Otherwise, we’ll fall off and end up right back where we started.

Find what works for you.

✌️

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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.