Enhancing Mobility, Heat Exposure & Managing Your State
Happy Thursday from Cusco, Peru! I hope you’re having a lovely week. Here are three things I’m exploring in the realm of healthy longevity this week. I hope you enjoy and apply what you find to be useful. Let’s dive in. 🫀 Live LongerFlexibility vs. Mobility (And Two Killer Mobility Exercises)Christopher Sommer (@GymnasticBodies), former U.S. National Team gymnastics coach and founder of the GymnasticBodies training system, has a wonderfully clearcut distinction between mobility and flexibility:
Here are two exercises to take your mobility to the next level: Jefferson Curl (J-Curl)The J-Curl is a controlled, slowly rounded, stiff-legged deadlift. Here’s the step-by-step:
That’s one rep. Complete 5-10 reps total. Start with 15 pounds and progress slowly with the end goal of having your body weight on the bar. This exercise is fantastic for thoracic (mid-back) and hamstring mobility. J-Curl advice from Sommer:
Sommer recommends performing J-Curls at the beginning of each workout. I advise finding a frequency that you can sustainably maintain. Pike PulsesThe difficulty of this seemingly simple movement (just like L-sits) will leave you shocked and second-guessing the well-roundedness of your training routine. Here’s the step-by-step:
💪 Feel HealthierUsing Heat Exposure to Improve Endurance and Increase Growth HormoneAlthough I do not consider heat and cold exposure a core tenet of longevity, they are a powerful tool to maximize the benefits of your training. Here are two heat exposure protocols from Dr. Rhonda Patrick (@foundmyfitness):
If you don’t have access to a sauna (like me), hot baths are an effective alternative to increasing GH over baseline in addition to causing a large release of prolactin which helps to heal wounds. Tim Ferriss stays in a hot bath or sauna for around 20 minutes. This is generally long enough to significantly increase his heart rate and make him feel dysphoric (but NOT dizzy or lightheaded) and want to get out (this coincides with dynorphin release). Once you get out, cool off by drinking ice water or with an ice bath or cool shower. He repeats this cycle of heating and cooling 2-4 times. Note on Cold Exposure TimingStudies have shown that cold exposure (entering an ice bath or cold plunge, but probably not a cold shower since it is not cold enough) can interfere with progress from muscular and cardiovascular training. Try to perform cold exposure on a rest day or if on a training day as many hours apart from your training session as possible. 🧠 Cultivate PurposeManaging Your State and Emotional Reactions and ActionsLast Wednesday I had an extremely stressful 12-hour journey from San José, Costa Rica to Santa Cruz, Galápagos. I’ll spare you the details, but it involved three flights, two buses, one ferry, and much worry over country entry requirements, delayed flights, and tight layovers (all of which I was sleep deprived for). In the end, luck was on our side and everything turned out alright. But it led me to reflect on the importance of being able to manage your headspace and emotional state. It’s easy to slip into a worried frenzy and let stress spiral you into a state of reactiveness when things don’t go to plan or unexpected events occur. But the ability to rise above, remain calm, and effectively handle both yourself and the situation is critical to your performance and the length and quality of your life.
Learning to manage your state regardless of external influence will help you live longer by managing stress (a silent killer) thus keeping your cortisol levels in a healthy range. The ability to effectively control your headspace also enables you to be happy without depending on anyone or anything―no one or nothing can rain on your parade if you’re able to make your own sunshine. So, what’s the practical takeaway of all of this? Three things come to mind. Takeaway #1: It’s critical to engage in daily activities that train you to be aware and in control of your mind and body. For me, that means meditating and journaling on a daily basis in addition to maintaining proper exercise, sleep, and nutrition practices. Takeaway #2: On top of these daily habits, carving out regular intervals (monthly, quarterly, annually) for self-reflection provides the space and time you need to see where you are coming from, where you are, and where you are headed. If you want to consciously shape the person you become and the life you create, reflection is a necessary practice.
Takeaway #3: And when all else fails, chill the f**k out. Ranting, raving, yelling, ruminating, and otherwise working yourself up when something doesn’t go to plan only shaves time off of your life by unnecessarily spiking cortisol and unquestionably reduces the enjoyability of your day as well as those subjected to your Tasmanian devil-like behaviour. None of those actions will make the situation better. Stay calm, put a smile on your face, and walk forward while reminding yourself that life is short and should be savoured in every moment. And, as always, please give me feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Just hit reply to this email and let me know. Much love to you and yours, Jack P.S. If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, follow me @jackrossdixon on Twitter for daily tweets and threads on how to live longer, feel healthier, and cultivate purpose while living simply. If you liked this post from Longevity Minded, why not share it? DISCLAIMER: I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on the Internet. Speak with a medical professional before doing anything medical-related. |
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