First Year of Research

Here's to my first year researching the world of health and fitness! Here are all the books that I read related to this subject and this is only the start. I know it does not look like much for a year's worth but if you go to my About page, you'll see that there is much more that goes into the research than just the books. Plus many of these books are around 400 pages in length and I take notes while I am reading.

It's amazing how much these experts have to teach. They are not only experts in their field but leaders who have affected millions of peoples' lives while working their tails off creating content and helping their communities in all different ways. One of my main goals is to research experts from all different disciplines and focuses - from nutritionists to strength coaches/personal trainers to physical therapists so that I can get a full understanding and compare their beliefs and practices.

One amazing thing to me is how many similarities many (if not all of them) have that I think we can all learn from:

1. Sleep is possibly THE most important thing when it comes to building muscle as well as our general health. If you are working out multiple times a week, 7 hours a night of sleep probably doesn't cut it; aim for 9 or 10 in order to reap the benefits. If you do not work out regularly, at least shoot for 8 hours each night. A bad night of sleep sets your circadian rhythm and hormones like melatonin and seratonin out of whack, which has a large downhill effects.
2. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has several benefits. If you are a marathon runner/triathlete, rather than running dozens of miles at a time for practice, try utilizing HIIT to increase your VO2 Max and endurance without doing as much damage to your body. Kelly Starrett also says that doing HIIT between can help older athletes do heavy workouts and not get so sore.
3. This should be an obvious one but eating whole foods is the best way to optimize your nutrition. If you exercise regularly, worry less about limiting carbohydrates or fats and more about getting the calories you need through whole foods - fruit, vegetables, meat, anything that's not packaged/heavily processed.

Some of these experts are all about eating a high fat diet and being able to burn fat for fuel, some focus more on a plant-based diet, and some say you should focus on getting enough protein while eating a well-distributed mixture of carbohydrates and fats. None of these individuals are wrong - each side has its specific benefits and different diets work better for different people. Experiment with what works best for you and your goals. A lot of times, the best diet for you is the diet you can stick to. As I've said before, something these experts have taught me is how to live happily whether I am on a diet of 1,500 calories per day or 3,500 calories per day.

I look forward to continuing my research and experimenting more with different diets and exercise programs to really find what works best for me. To give a bit of a sneak peak, I'll let you know the expert I have started to research now - Greg Nuckols of Stronger by Science. Greg is a young expert and powerlifter who goes deep into the science of what works best for hypertrophy and strength training while also having plenty of anecdotal evidence by being a strength coach himself.

Lastly, I apologize for the delay in posts, I did not get to post last week so I need to make that up. I see many exciting things around Twelve Paths in the year to come!

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