[antifragile 4 🔥] stop looking at health and performance differently, an unsolicited generational opinion, a Japanese first step, on staying in motion
#7: a weekly newsletter on leveraging fatherhood into massive personal growth. on being the fire and wishing for the wind.
Welcome to the 7th edition of The Antifragile Dad’s newsletter, the antifragile 4 🔥.
It’s a weekly 4-item newsletter on leveraging fatherhood into massive personal growth. Expect it every Friday.
Here’s this week’s antifragile 4 🔥:
a podcast 👟 to change how you view athletic performance in middle age (especially if you don’t consider yourself an athlete).
an unsolicited opinion 📢 on our kids’ generation.
a Japanese concept 🇯🇵 to help you take the first step to what you want.
a quote 💬 about staying in motion.
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1.) a podcast 👟 to change how you view athletic performance in middle age (especially if you don’t consider yourself an athlete).
I’ve been enjoying Perform by Andy Galpin. He’s an athletic performance trainer to MLB MVPs, NBA All-Stars & Olympic Medalists. The episodes are long, Andrew Huberman-esque, and chock full of value.
In his first full episode, How and Why to Strengthen Your Heart and Cardiovascular System, one thing he said stuck with me as profound:
“Stop looking at health and performance differently”
Dr. Andy Galpin [around 13:45]
This was said in the context of teasing several studies that showed VO2 Max as one of the (if not the) most highly correlated lifestyle variables to longevity.
Higher VO2 Max = Longer Life.
Lower VO2 Max = Shorter Life.
This isn’t to say that normal, low-intensity healthy activities like getting your steps in, stretching, yoga, walks, doing pushups etc aren’t valuable.
But it does say that there’s tremendous upside in working to maximize your athletic performance - no matter your age, no matter your activity level.
And especially if you don’t consider yourself an athlete.
👉 Because the better your performance, the healthier you are and the longer you live. It’s as simple as that. 👈
This idea has lit a fire under me. Prior to this, I had been very content to stay in “pretty good” shape. Got some runs in, some weight training, stretching/rolling on the diabolical Rumble Roller. But just aimlessly going about it.
Now? Now it’s about performance. I have a triathlon coming up, plus several next year.
I won’t win them. But that doesn’t matter. Because I’m going to bust my ass to perform at my very best in them. And even better the next time.
Performance is something that looks different for every single person.
But the bigger my athletic dreams, the more detailed my plans, the better my diet, the harder my training, and the better my performance - the longer I get to be around for my little boy and wife. And I just might set a better example along the way.
🚀 What does performance look like to you? Does this concept make you think about it differently?
2.) an unsolicited opinion 📢 on our kids’ generation.
You thought you could just come, read my newsletter, and not get unsolicited opinions? You thought WRONG baby.
So here it is…
🐂 I’m very, VERY bullish on our kids’ generation (Gen Alpha).
Why?
Millennial parents are the greatest parenting generation this world has ever seen.
Our kids will have learning resources other generations couldn’t even dream of.
This is an unprecedented combination.
As parents, we’ve seen the damage social media & technology can do to kids and will not let it happen to our own. Poor Gen Z got run ramshod by technology because no one understood what it was doing to them.
We also have more quality parenting resources than any generation of parents before. The culmination of parenting knowledge is at our fingertips every second and if you know how to find it and (more importantly) know how to sort through the crap, it’s an order of magnitude ahead of any other generation.
Plus many of us millennial parents had the opportunity to experience more of what the world had to offer than previous generations (travel, music, etc).
On top of this solid foundation, our kids are coming of age in a world where they may have the opportunity to learn skills a decade earlier than previous generations could - thanks to advances in education technology (namely AI).
Am I biased? MAYBE. But again, my newsletter buddy.
Put all this together and you have some mentally sound kids with incredible skill sets and nearly limitless resources. Say what you want about where the world is heading, but I am ALL IN on Gen A.
3.) a Japanese concept 🇯🇵 to help you take the first step to what you want.
One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer.
The Kaizen Method is simple - huge change comes from consistent, often tiny, incremental changes over time. It’s highly applicable to business and personal life alike.
Maurer writes a short, little book that gets right to it. Highly actionable, highly recommended.
4.) a quote 💬 about staying in motion.
“Dads in motion, stay in motion.”
Dave Dillon, Chase the Summit YouTube Channel
Dave is a friend of mine - he’s an ultramarathoner, former engineer, and full-time YouTuber who also happens to be a husband and father of FOUR kids.
I think about him sometimes when I claim to be busy 🤯
Stay in motion, my friends.
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With love,
Chris