4 Minute Fridays: The Best Workout Shoes On The Planet, Using The Phone At Night May Lead To Depressive Symptoms & How I'm Building Stronger Knees
Aug 04, 2023
4 Minute Fridays
By Dan Go
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The other day I interviewed the man who helped Kobe Bryant create his Black Mamba identity.
His name is Todd Herman and he's a best-selling author but most importantly he's a good friend & mentor.
The book he authored is called The Alter Ego Effect and it's about using the power of an Alter Ego to unlock new levels of performance.
What you may not know is that there is psychological power in creating another version of yourself.
Kobe did it with the Black Mamba. Beyonce did it with Sasha Fierce. There are many such examples of high performers creating an alternate version of themselves to perform at the highest level.
As Todd would say,
"An alter ego is a persona that you create for yourself to help you overcome self-doubt, fear, and other obstacles that may be holding you back. By adopting this persona, you can tap into a more confident, capable version of yourself."
In my view, having an alter ego is not being fake. It's about accessing the hidden parts of yourself that are already inside.
The cool thing about the interview was having Todd help me create an alter ego of my own. You could see the exact process he uses with high-level athletes and entrepreneurs.
When the interview comes out I'll share it with you. It was one of my best ones yet.
That being said...
Here is your 4 Minute Friday:
1. The Best Shoes For Working Out
The shoes you're wearing may be making you weaker without you knowing it.
Almost every exercise you do in the gym starts with your feet first. But what most people don't understand is that your toes should be able to freely spread out to get the most out of your foot.
Modern-day footwear like running shoes and dress shoes (don't get me started on heels for women) box in the toe, which ends up weakening the foot.
On the left is a foot where the toes are boxed in and on the right is how the toes should spread.
This is why, for the past year, I've been wearing barefoot shoes to the gym.
Barefoot shoes mimic the sensation of walking or running on bare feet while providing some protection to the feet. Proper barefoot shoes have a bigger toe box, which allows the toes to spread out.
One of the main benefits of barefoot shoes is improved foot strength. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that individuals who wore minimalist shoes had greater foot muscle strength compared to those who wore traditional shoes.
Other research-based benefits of barefoot shoes are reduced risk of injury and increased balance.
My personal experience with wearing barefoot shoes is that they give my toes the freedom to spread instead of being boxed in. I've also found that my toes are better able to spread out when I'm walking barefoot.
If you're in the market for new workout shoes these are worth giving a shot.
The brand I use is called Vivo Barefoot but I've also heard great things about Xero shoes as well.
2. Phone Usage At Night May Cause Depression
Researchers have found that looking at your phone screen during the hours of 11 pm to 4 am activates a specific circuit in the brain area called the Habenula.
This lowers dopamine and creates a sense of disappointment, which can lead to depression in the waking hours.
Exposure to artificial lights after dark (with the exception of candles and fires) will end up disrupting our ability to get good sleep, and ultimately our mental and physical health.
One way to battle this is to wear blue light blockers. These prevent the blue light you get from screens from penetrating your eyes.
The most effective way to prevent this is to avoid screens altogether when it's time to sleep at night.
The blue light blockers I wear are called Swannies.
3. How To Create Strong Knees
One of the areas of the body I'm focusing on as I age is the knees.
The knee is responsible for walking, running, decelerating & absorbing impact.
This is why knee pain becomes more common as we age. Your knees take on 1.5x your body weight in pressure. This wears on them especially if the muscles & ligaments get weaker over time.
Weakness in the vastus medialis oblique (VMO), is a common cause of knee pain & instability. The common causes of patellar tendinopathy are weak quadriceps, hamstring, & glutes. And the tibialis can strengthen the muscles around the knee joint.
So here are 5 exercises I'm doing to create stronger knees:
5 exercises I'm doing to build stronger knees: pic.twitter.com/35Hsic0CJS
— Dan Go (@FitFounder) May 13, 2023
If you can't access that link on Twitter you can use this one.
Client of the week - Colin, Entrepreneur
Colin is an entrepreneur who wanted to lose weight and get healthy so he could become a better example to his kids.
His main goal was to drop the weight (especially around the belly) and take off his shirt at the pool with confidence.
In 6 months he's dropped 54 lbs while fitting into his old suits he used to fit in 10 years ago. His kids told him that he lost his tummy and he's feeling confident at the pool again.
Our Strategy:
- Get into a calorie deficit while upping his protein intake
- Do some form of cardio that he enjoyed, which was kickboxing
- Incorporated a cool-down practice after work so he could avoid stress eating and spend more present time with his family.
One Quote to Finish Your Week Strong
Each time I've leveled up in life I've had to do 2 things:
1) Let go of the person I was before.
2) Act as if I was the person I was trying to become.
You can't start a new chapter if you're always looking back at the previous one. Let go and start acting as the person you were meant to become.
- Dan
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
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→ The Lean Body 90 System: Transform your body with the Lean Body 90 system. This comprehensive course will teach you the system I use to help my clients become lean and energetic in 90 days in only 90 minutes a week. Join 1000+ students here.
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