Hey friend,

I grabbed a drink with a friend last week who works in palliative care.

One of our friends joked about how they'd rather eat what they want and die at 69 than live to 78 lifting.

She didn't laugh.

She put her glass down and said,

"That's never how it works. You don't eat the donuts, ignore the gym, and then peacefully leave at 69. What usually happens is that modern medicine catches up with you before that happens. For 10, sometimes 20, more years, your quality of life is deeply affected"

She told me about people who can't walk to the bathroom on their own. Can't sleep through the night without pain. Can't remember their grandkids' names.

People who spent decades trading their future for convenience. And now they're spending those last years wishing they'd done it differently.

She said the hardest part of her job isn't the dying. It's watching people realize too late that the bill always comes due.

And this is one of the main reasons why I created this newsletter. It's so you can get older without letting aging slow you down.

Here's what caught my attention this week.

Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:

1. 6 Things People Do In Their 50s To Stay Strong, Sharp, And Independent In Their 80s

Something I tell my clients all the time is that what you're doing right now in your 30s, 40s, and 50s is setting up how you will look, feel, and perform in your 80s.

Well, Harvard researchers measured men at 50. Then went back at 80 to see who was thriving, who was sick, and who was already gone.

They found 6 things that separated them:

1. They kept a healthy bodyweight
2. They didn't abuse alcohol. They didn't abstain from drinking either. They took it in moderate doses
3. They didn't smoke, or they quit smoking when they were young
4. They got some form of regular exercise
5. They had a stable marriage and close relationships
6. They had a "mature coping style," Meaning when life hits, they didn't collapse, they adapted.

The people with five or six of these at 50, half were thriving at age 80. The people with three or fewer, none of them were thriving. They were also 3x more likely to die.

Something you'll notice from this list is it has nothing to do with supplements, and they are all within our control.

2. How To Grow Your Brain In Only An Hour A Week

Image courtesy of ​Frontiers​ 

Most brain health advice points to your head. They're telling you to do crosswords, puzzles, apps, you name it, but one study points to somewhere completely different.

Researchers tracked 324 female twins for ten years. They measured leg power at the start, then cognition a decade later. The twin with more powerful legs held onto more cognitive function. In a small imaging subset, she also had more grey matter.

Identical twins share genes and childhood, so when one pulls ahead, it points to something she did not do, not something she inherited.

Why the legs? Your muscle is the biggest sink for blood sugar. It handles roughly 80% of insulin-driven glucose uptake. More muscle means steadier blood sugar and better blood flow, which your brain runs on.

Also, there is the mental tax of having weak legs. As you age, if you don't maintain the muscle in your legs, you will decrease function. Every step you take will be met with a sense of fear and paranoia.

This creates a "mental tax" where your thoughts are more on making sure you don't hurt yourself as opposed to living life.

So whether you are a girl or a guy reading this, never skip leg day aka brain day.

❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week

For the past 2 years, I've gotten serious about tracking my habits, and the app I use is called ​HabitKit​. It lays out each habit as a grid, one square per day, and you just click to fill them out as you go.

If you look closely at the habit I have above in the image, you're going to see some dark squares, and those are the misses. These happen due to travel, dinners out, and nights when life happens, and I leave those there on purpose.

Most people quit tracking their habits the week they break the chain. One gap shows up, and they think that the whole thing is not worth it, and they just blow it up.

If I could get one thing through to you, it's that hitting the target 80% of the time is better than zero times.

What you see above is what habits look like in reality.

If you are trying to integrate a habit into your life, I would suggest getting this app. I have no affiliation with them. I just use it every day.

Check them out ​over here​.

Client Of The Week - Eric Bort, Entrepreneur

Eric is an entrepreneur who wanted to gain muscle and look buff in t-shirts.

In 16 weeks, he added 7 pounds of lean mass and started to see his abs for the first time since high school.

Here's how we did it:

• Increased calorie intake with an emphasis on eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
• Increased gym volume and focused on getting stronger.
• Improved his sleeping habits so he could let his body rest and build more muscle.
• Got his cardio in with walking.

Since working together, he's more confident in his body than ever before and loves strength training in the gym.

Are you an entrepreneur who wants to drop the fat, gain muscle, and boost energy? Click this link to apply for our coaching program.​ 

References

1. Vaillant GE. Aging Well. Little, Brown, 2002. Summarized in Harvard Magazine, "The Talent for Aging Well."

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.