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WEIGHTLIFTERSSSSSSSSSSS!
MOUNT UP!
– Warren G (probably)
Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.
For today’s N.W.A. Newsletter, we’re going to give you a bit of a different format.
Today, we will be discussing Fatherhood, Dads, and what all Men need to do in order to be the BEST examples and providers they can possibly be.
Specifically, we’re going to be discussing alcohol and its pitfalls.
This topic is near and dear to my heart – and I have a big surprise for you next week.
We will be opening enrollment for a BRAND new course: The Chad Dad Blueprint.
The Chad Dad Blueprint will be a call to arms – for all Men/Dads.
But especially those Dads who are struggling with their health and their physical well being.
This course will be different… there will be no macro counting, and the workouts will be CHALLENGING (5 days per week for about 50 minutes).
We will be building ourselves up from the ground floor, and I’m fired up to get started.
I can’t wait for you to check it out!
If you’re a gal who doesn’t want to get the alerts about the course, simply click here and they won’t be sent to you (but you’ll stay on this list for the future).
I will also give you my single favorite piece of social media content from AF over the past week and link to it on either Instagram or Twitter.
Without any further ado… let’s get started, shall we?
N.W.A. Nutrition Tip Of The Week:
Today, I want to chat about one of the biggest reasons many Dads just can’t seem to get fit and stay fit: Alcohol.
Alcohol is one of the biggest problems in the world today, bar none, and it affects many Dads in a very negative way.
Alcohol is engrained into our culture.
It’s EVERYWHERE, and there’s no getting around it.
It’s tough to find a social event where alcohol isn’t woven into the very fabric of the event.
Christmas party? Jack and Jim, baby.
Pool or lake day? Margarita time!
Watching the game? 6 pack of your favorite IPA, of course.
Anniversary dinner? A few doubles of Johnny Blue to celebrate the occasion.
I’m not a wet blanket by any means – I enjoy alcohol myself.
I enjoy the taste, and the warm buzz it gives you is quite nice, especially after a long week of work.
But that doesn’t mean it’s “good” for me – far from it.
First, the obvious – alcohol is a huge source of empty calories.
There’s zero nutrition in alcohol; in fact, it’s a literal poison – drink too much alcohol, and you will die.
And when you’re buzzed up, you become RAVENOUSLY hungry (I know I do).
This is due to thirst, as alcohol dehydrates you, but either way, when your judgement is impaired, it becomes difficult to say no.
There are a LOT of negatives to drinking alcohol, and it’s not just empty calories.
- Alcohol affects the way your brain pathways work, making it more difficult to make intelligent decisions.
- Alcohol affects your mood negatively and makes you prone to mood swings in the days following consumption.
- Alcohol increases your resting heart rate and your blood pressure, 2 biomarkers for cardiovascular health.
- Alcohol weakens your immune system, making you prone to illness and disease.
- Alcohol decreases your testosterone.
- Any more than 1-2 drinks per week greatly increases your cancer risk over time.
For a dose of reality, here is an interesting study I found recently.
A few facts about alcohol in America:
- 30% of Americans don’t drink at all.
- Another 30% of Americans only have ~1 drink per week.
- The top 10% of American drinkers consume an average of 74 drinks per week; around 10 per day.
At first, these numbers shocked me.
But then, I started thinking about it a bit…
Let’s define “one drink” here and see how much this actually is…
One “drink” is defined as either:
- 12 ounces of “normal ABV” beer (3-4% alcohol)
- 1 ounce of hard liquor (80 proof)
- 3 ounces of wine
If you’re drinking 7% IPA’s, every 12 ounce “beer” is actually 2 beers.
Ever go out to dinner and get 2, tall IPA’s?
If so, you just drank the alcoholic equivalent of 8 regular beers.
Those drinks REALLY add up quickly…
A few “fingers” of whisky on a Friday night is likely 4-5 “drinks”, not the “one drink” you claim you had…
Many men should take stock of their alcohol consumption and do their best to curtail it.
I’ve personally done this myself – I need to occasionally “check” myself to ensure I’m not overdoing it.
I set simple rules for myself.
My wife isn’t much of a drinker; if she has 3 drinks per year, that’s a “heavy” year for her.
As such, I set a 1 drink limit when I go out to dinner, and I don’t drink at home by myself.
It’s a simple way to set things up for success, and to keep myself off the sauce, so to speak.
If you’re serious about becoming the healthiest version of yourself you can be, it’s quite obvious… you’re going to need to cut out the booze.
It’s a bummer, I know, but there’s no way around it.
In The Chad Dad Blueprint (enrollment opens next week), we will have a daily Chad Dad Habit Checklist – and one of our Chad Dad Habits is to cap your alcohol consumption to 1 night per week and 2-3 drinks, maximum.
Come join us – we’ll be clean and sober for our 6 weeks together – you’ll be amazed at how incredible you’ll feel.
N.W.A. Training Tip Of The Week:
One of the worst parts of alcohol is how much it affects you in the gym.
This only gets worse as you age.
If you’re in your 40’s like I am, you’ll feel the effects of just a few drinks for the next few days, if not longer.
When you’re training hard, every morsel of food you eat is going towards your training energy, or your recovery.
And when you’re drinking alcohol, all metabolic processes STOP on a dime.
Your body treats alcohol like a literal poison; it does everything it can to rid itself of the alcohol in your blood stream.
This means fat loss stops.
As does muscle protein synthesis…
But worse than that is the moodiness you experience after you’ve had a few drinks on the weekend.
Anecdotally, even just a few drinks over the weekend will make me sluggish and lethargic on Monday.
I end up grumbling and in a negative mood, not wanting to go to the gym – at ALL!
I have to force the action to get me there, and that’s not like me whatsoever.
Technically, you can lose fat even if you have a few drinks per week.
And technically, you can gain muscle if you have a few drinks as well.
But let’s not kid ourselves… considering the negative impact it has on our body’s functions, as well as how negatively it affects sleep, it’s best to minimize or eliminate alcohol entirely if you’re serious about your results.
The benefits are enormous:
- Improved digestion.
- Improved sleep quality.
- Improved hydration.
- Improved cortisol and stress levels.
- Improved mood.
- Improved heart rate and blood pressure.
- Increased testosterone.
We held a “Sober October” in our client group, and the reflections were amazing from our community.
There’s not a single negative to not drinking alcohol… except for the fact that you can’t drink alcohol…
N.W.A. Attitude/Mindset Tip Of The Week:
And now, the toughest part of not drinking…
If you’ve made consuming alcohol a part of your weekly routine, how do you eliminate it?
This can be tough – very tough.
For many of us, drinking alcohol on the weekends is a habit we pick up in the later years of high school or college.
We became used to “partying” on the weekends (and a few times per week as well).
Habits are difficult to break, even if we know they’re bad for us…
This can be especially tricky when there is alcohol all around us as well.
There’s social conditioning and peer pressure involved, and it can be hard to say no.
Can you imagine going to a football tailgate and drinking a Diet Coke?
It feels “weird” to do something like that when everyone around you has a beer in their hands.
Here’s a simple tip that can help, if you want to stay on the straight and narrow.
Instead of saying, “I’m not drinking today”, say “I’m staying sober today”.
Those 2 phrases mean the same thing, but they have a much different feel to them.
“I’m not drinking” sounds like you “can’t” for some reason.
It feels like you really want to, but you’re just not allowed to drink.
But “I’m staying sober today” sounds like you’ve made a proper choice, and you’re going to stick to it.
You’re in control, and you’re taking care of business.
If you say “I’m not drinking”, my guess is you may be met with resistance.
One of your buddies might start giving you crap, or putting negative peer pressure on you.
But when you say “I’m staying sober today”, your statement will likely be met with a nod and a “fair enough”.
Don’t let your friends influence you negatively – they’re simply projecting their own insecurities on you.
Get involved in a group of like minded men who can help and support you to stay on track with your drinking.
There’s no time like the present to make a positive change in your health and your life.
One Favorite Social Media Post Of The Week:
Fitness doesn’t cost a lot.
Push ups are free.
Pull ups are free.
Sprints are free.
Lunges are free.
Walking is free.
The only thing fitness costs is your effort.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Anyman Fitness N.W.A. Newsletter.
I’ll be back next week.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Coach J
Anyman Fitness
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I like rap songs that are real… and “Drank” by Kendric Lamar is my favorite song about the dangers of drinking… (NSFW – lyrics)