The New York Times Said I'm Right
Full disclosure. Here comes a "THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING!" moment.
The New York Times recently published an article that mentions a few key things I've discussed in this blog.
This is completely a win. I want to share key points from that article. To do that, I'm going to through the article line by line. If you wish to read the article in all of its glory check it out below.
By
If you can't access this article drop me a line and I can gift it to you as a subscriber.
The Opener
Sports have always been a big part of Ciarán Friel’s life. Before he became an exercise physiologist at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York City, he was a physical education teacher and a Gaelic football coach. He has always been active. But now that he has a desk job, he said, it’s hard to find time to work out.
I can confirm the above. Once I switched to a desk job from training full-time I got saddled with more or less the same challenges as anyone else that's trying to either get or stay in shape. I'm literally living this man's life. If you're reading this, chances are high that you are too.
Additional Points
It’s not clear when the ideal time of day to exercise is.
I haven't written about this point specifically. However, there are plenty of articles and studies out there that try to confirm if there is a "best" time to work out. Even if there is an optimal time for working out, it's not like everyone can just alter their entire lives to accommodate that. Still, this is one of those persistent questions people ask. The honest answer is to exercise whenever you can.
Now, the article does mention that working out in the morning is likely a better option for most people. But it has nothing to do with the physiological benefits of exercise. The simplest reason to exercise in the morning is that there's less stuff for you to do at that time of day.
Despite the challenge of waking up early enough for a workout, Dr. Friel said, mornings are better for most people because they have more control over their time before the commitments of the day kick in.
This is a good point. Look, there's no getting around the fact that waking up at the ass crack of dawn to go do unpleasant things to yourself is something most people would happily skip until they die of natural causes. And, in fact, many people do just that. They don't skip it directly. They just allow other things to get in the way. Or perpetuate bad habits such as going to bed too late.
Speaking of - it isn't a surprise that exercising in the morning requires you to go to bed earlier. However, apparently, it isn't just about altering your sleep schedule. The article mentions the following:
To wake up earlier and start a morning exercise routine, “what we’re trying to do is not just shift your bedtime, but actually shift your entire circadian clock to be earlier,” said Kimberly Fenn, a cognitive neuroscientist who studies sleep and learning at Michigan State University. “That’s the ultimate goal.”
This is news to me. What I always assumed was a fault in scheduling really involves hacking your body's clock in order to adjust your wake and sleep cycles. Apparently, the optimal way of doing this is by gradually going to bed earlier each day until you find your sweet spot.
I will need to implement this and report back on my findings.
Moving onto the next point...
In the summer, your best bet for feeling energized might be to step into the morning sunshine right away, but in the winter, you will probably be rising before the sun. In that case, you’ll need some bright artificial light to wake your body up.
You need bright light in the morning to help train your circadian cycle.
I've heard of this before. Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology at Stanford, has done a pretty good job of discussing getting enough light in the morning. I highly recommend checking out his video on this below.
If you aren't able to get in natural light when you first wake up one of the recommendations is to blast yourself in the face with a therapy lamp as soon as you can get out of bed.
I haven't personally tried this. Candidly, this entire thing is new to me but as someone that does struggle to wake up energized in the morning, I'm going to see how much of this I can incorporate into my routine.
The next points from the article coincide with a closing point from one of my earlier posts which you can view below.
Andrew Vazquez
I know it's maybe a little pompous to quote myself in comparison to an article from the New York Times but I'm gonna let it fly anyway.
The point I made in the above post:
All things said, focus on one small goal, be real about the likely problems related to that goal, and keep chipping away at it. The achievements will compound over time.
What the article had to say:
Choose a realistic goal and anticipate obstacles.
Once you’ve got a plan and a schedule that makes sense, it’s time to think of what else might get in the way. For example, if you’re planning to run outside at 6 a.m. in January, you may need to make sure you have warm, reflective running clothes.
I. Was. Right. 🤯
Another final point from the article:
He suggested avoiding performance-based goals when you’re first starting out.
Yes. Yes. And yes.
It feels good to be right. But on a final serious note, everything quoted in this post is directly attributed to the article that I've linked and is not a result of my own work.
Cheers!