4 Reasons why I'm working out this year
I want to become a chad (with brains) this year. Here are the 4 reasons why I am going back to the gym.
I half-jokingly wrote that I planned to become a chad (with brains) in a previous blog post about my 2024 goals. I was actually serious about it. This year I’m getting stronger, and fitter.
Last year I neglected going to the gym for months on end because I dedicated all my spare time to turning things around for my business EnVsion. This didn’t work out; I’m now in the process of closing down EnVsion. This means that I have the opportunity to recalibrate my lifestyle this year prioritise my health again.
I don’t lead an unhealthy lifestyle, but I can certainly live a much healthier one. And since 2024 is the year of rebuilding for me, it’s about damn time I rebuilt my body. In this short post, I want to share the reasons why I am going to spend more time exercising regularly in 2024 (and I hope beyond this year).
1. Prevent muscle loss with age
From age 30, men who are not physically active can lose as much as 3% to 5% of muscle mass per decade. This is a natural phenomenon called sarcopenia. In fact most men will lose about 30% of their peak muscle mass during their lifetime. For the etymologically curious out there, the term sarcopenia is a combination of the Greek words sarco, which means flesh, and penia, which means loss or poverty.
Having less muscle mass means you are more fragile and less mobile. These weaknesses may increase the risk of falls and fractures.
There is still ongoing research to understand why sarcopenia happens. One theory is that it is caused by a decline in testosterone. Testosterone is a vital hormone that stimulates protein synthesis and muscle growth.
It turns out that the most natural way to combat sarcopenia is to do progressive resistance training (PRT) - essentially lifting weights and progressively increasing the heft of the weights, the number of sets, and sometimes the number of reps too. Since I want to stay strong and mobile for as long as possible it makes sense to resume going to the gym to pump some iron.
Diet plays a very important role alongside working out in slowing down sarcopenia. Indeed, as you age, you should actually increase your intake of protein. The suggested intake is 1 to 1.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for adults who do resistance training. I’m about 70kg, and I currently consume less than 70g of protein a day. So I’m going to consume more protein as I intensify my workout regimen.
2. Get stronger
I don’t only want to stymie sarcopenia, I aim to reverse it.
I plan to become much stronger than I currently am this year. My plan resolves around simply doing more exercises with the barbell, such as squats, deadlifts, bench press and much more. This means I will rarely use machines, which anyway don’t put as much stress on the body than free weights, and thus lead to lesser muscle growth.
I also want to retain agility and explosivity, so I will continue doing my calisthenics exercises at home and in the gym. Doing exercises that don’t rely on anything but one’s own body weight is a great complement to the heavier workout routine of free weights.
Besides, I want be able to carry my daughter for as long as possible, so I better make sure to have a strong body to support the family :).
3. Mental Discipline
The body is the temple of early strength, while the mind is the cosmic palace of fortitude.
I believe that lifting weights, and pushing through these physical obstacles steels my mind. Not only do I get stronger physically, but this strength trickles into the mind too. Knowing that I can move iron mountains gives me extra confidence to face other challenges in life.
While it’s true that the mind controls the body, I believe that the body can also strengthen the mind. Putting the body through the stress of an intense workout forces the mind to unlock higher levels of strength, perseverance, and even transcendence.
Additionally, sticking to a workout routine, even on days when you don’t feel like it, teaches the mind to become more disciplined. This discipline will pervade into other areas of your life to help you get things done even when the obstacles seem unsurmountable.
4. Look better
This is probably the most obvious one so I won’t elaborate on this point too much.
Exercising provides many anti-aging benefits, and as a result enables one to look young and stay vigorous for a longer period of time.
For instance, look at Jeff Bezos now vs before. I certainly prefer the chad version now.
“Looking better” be a pure vanity metric for many, but it’s a visually pleasant one.
Besides I believe looking better improves your self-esteem (not that mine is low) and thus enhances your confidence.
And of course being more confident means you can get more out of life and business, even if you’re not more competent :).