The BASICS of Health
What does this even mean?
As GLPs and peptides have taken off in popularity (join the telegram if youre curious about them), there has been pushback from fitness people that the general public is neglecting “the basics”. You can also substitute basics for fundamentals, or foundations
You’re ignoring the BASICS
You’re not even doing the FUNDAMENTALS
People are forgetting the FOUNDATIONS
These kinds of warnings lectures make for easy content and scolding, but I dont think they are helpful.
Maybe you agree.
The reason I find them facile…
What is the Meaning of the “Basics”?
Now, another fitness person might say Im overcomplicating, but Im not asking this question to be pedantic.
My professional career and all my work has been written for the general public.
My audience has always been “average joes” who want to become fit joes, maybe “jacked joes”.
Despite the proliferation of health knowledge, the “average joe” does NOT possess clear, articulate understanding of “basics”.
The concept of “basics” comes from fitness professionals, who possess far greater experience, education, and immersion.
"The Basics” is coming from people who dedicate their lives to be authorities, and then they presume that what they know must be simple and obvious to everyone.
This is the Expert Blindness Fallacy
What is familiar and seems simple to an expert is unknown and complex to the uninitiated
The truth is that even in the fitness world, there is no such thing as “Basics” that could even be agreed upon.
Are we talking about resistance training, aka lifting weights?
I can find 10 different opinions on how weights should be lifted, from reps, to sets, to rep speed, to exercises, and programs. Are you asking a powerlifter? A bodybuilder? A former D1 athlete who became a trainer? A running coach who advocates supplemental strength training?
I can say “lift weights with progressive overload, its so BASIC”
But theres multiple way to apply progressive overload.
Does the listener even know what progressive overload is? Have they heard this sequence of words before?
Are we talking about diet?
I can find 10 different opinions on diet, high carb low carb, food choice, protein intake, primal paleo pescatarian whole food vegetarian, seed oils no seed oils, raw is law, raw milk, probiotics, soluble fiber, gut health
The “average joe” doesnt know how calories work, how to calculate maintenance calories, how protein fat carbs different in calorie amount and thermogenic cost.
How is this “basic?”
Are we talking about sleep?
We might have some consensus here. If were fully deprived of sleep we eventually collapse from exhaustion and can die.
”Get enough sleep” is about as close as you will get consensus and simplicity.
What about CARDIO?
Again, I can find 10 different opinions on aerobics, anaerobics, HIIT, steps, steps are made up, but do steps, 10k steps, 8k steps, Zone training, running walking sprinting assault bike rower kettlebells jump rope
The proposition that there are “basics” which are commonly agreed upon and easily learned and everyone should know them is a fallacy
Its only in the broadest terms that you could get health authorities to concur that
-Exercise is important, you should exercise
-Diet is important, eat healthy food
-Sleep is important, get enough sleep
But these are also vague, contain no clear guidance, and as soon as you attempt to draw out details, you get competing answers and opinions and protocols and programs and recommendations.
Yelling at people that they cant use GLPS without doing the BASICS is pointless
The truth is that you can start a GLP before you get dialed in/optimized/locked in. The whole point of the GLP is to make the process of becoming healthy easier by reducing the mental stress that normally accompanies dieting.
Now that weve got that out of the way, what are the habits, actions, and practices that you should be doing?
These are my Defined Non-Negotiables
This is how I would train someone if they wanted to lose weight. Every coach will have their own preference. This is where I would start, and this assumes the person is fully committed to the gym.
Resistance Training
Lift weights 4 times per week. Focus on compound exercises first, then isolation exercises. I would program 8-12 reps for the upper body, 10-20 for the lower body. I would keep it SIMPLE and do a push pull legs split, with one day repeating each week. I would do 2 sets per major muscle, 3-4 sets per exercises, and pyramid up in weight on most sets (while going down in reps).
I’d keep running this program for as long as it produced results and the trainee enjoyed it.
Nutrition
Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight from whole sources every day. If you fall short, dont worry about it. Keep that the target. If you are very obese, aim for 1 gram of protein per lab of estimated lean mass.
Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, dairy if tolerated. Time most carbs around training for performance and recovery, rice, potatoes, oats. Vegetables at every meal. Fats from olive oil, ghee, coconut oil. Calorie control through food quality first with protein.
As the GLP will affect appetite, Id have them drink protein shakes to get in the necessary protein.
If low energy is an issue, have carbohydrate snacks. Fruit works great.
Adjust based on results: scale weight, measurements, how clothes fit, training performance.
Daily Movement
Walk 30 minutes minimum a day. You can include this in a step count, but walk 30 minutes straight. This does not need to be a workout, its simply walking continuously.
Cardio
Once a week, get on an airbike. Pedal hard for 20 seconds. Rest for 1 minute. Repeat this 10 times.
Sleep
Enough to feel rested. Id put the minimum at 6 hours. Ideally more.
Supplements
At this point the only real “MUST HAVE” supplement I think everyone should daily is magnesium. Mag glycinate, mag malate, mag taurate all work. So long as its not magnesium oxide
If you are using a GLP though, you will be excreting more sodium and potassium
Ive learned this because I have 6000 people in my biohacker group (FREE TO JOIN) and everyone who uses a GLP benefits from this and notices an immediate difference.
I recommend SPORT DRINK.
10 grams of creatine monohydrate. People who are older tend to notice creatine more. 10 grams is where i notice it. I think 5 grams is too low. I also dont think you need more than 10 grams daily.
Neurovolt or whatever nootropic you want to use.
Stress Management
This is different for everyone. If you need a “destress” activity like yoga, deep breathing, stretching, DO IT.
Personally I dont do anything for stress beyond sitting in a Sauna. (Contact High Tech Health and mention AJAC for your own)
The goal with all of this would be IDENTITY CHANGE
I hate the term “Lifestyle change”.
Lifetyle change fails because behavior always reverts back to identity.
You can force yourself to train five days a week for three months, and if you still see yourself as a man trying to get in shape, month four is when you quit.
This last piece I would consider the most important; you must take on the social life and adventures of someone who is PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY HIGH ENERGY AND STRONG.
This is the hardest part of course, but its possible. You will need to change your social activities, social circle, and probably redo some relationships in your life. But you will be a NEW you. And that new life will be ongoing.