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Happy Mothers Day
"Why have I nominated you, lady, to bear up beneath this most terrible of trials, you and your sisters of the Three Hundred? Because you can...No longer may you be the wife to Olympieus or mother to Alexandro, but must serve as wife and mother of our nation. You and your sisters of the Three Hundred are the mothers now of all Greece, and of freedom itself." Roughly 2500 years ago 300 men were chosen to defend a narrow strip known as the Hot Gates. This fight became known as the Battle of Thermopylae where sadly, all 300 Spartan soldiers perished. In the lead up to this battle, the wives and mothers were asking their king why send their loved ones on a suicide mission? His response to why should they bear the burden was "because you can". He knew these strong women would be able to handle the loss of their loved ones and continue to live and lead their communities. He knew it was the mothers who raised strong boys and strong girls. He knew it was the mothers who shaped society and their communities. I agree with the King! I want to thank and wish all the Mothers of the world a Happy Mothers Day! Fitness Tip of the Week I do not know if there is a better example of a "win-win" situation than performing cardiovascular training first thing in the morning. Actually, this could be one of those rare "win-win-win" situations that are about as likely as getting a perfect March Madness bracket. Win #1: For decades, the bodybuilding community has used fasted morning cardio as a way to burn off excess body fat. These men and women are the best resource here as nobody understands fat loss quite like bodybuilders. If you want to improve body composition, this could be the answer! Win #2: A few months ago I read a book titled Breathe, and in it the author cited the Framingham Study and wrote "the greatest indicator of life span wasn't genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise as many had expected. It was lung capacity". If you want to live longer, take care of your lungs and you should be rewarded. Win #3: A 1999 study titled SMILE by James Blumenthal states that every 50 minutes of exercise that you partake in results in a 50% reduction in depression. This mood boosting ability, especially first thing in the morning, results in an energized and excited mindset that continues on throughout the day. Who wouldn't want that? What I've Been Watching... Inventing Anna on Netflix (trailer here) This series takes a look at the life of Anna Delvey, a German twenty something who rose to prominence with the New York elite. Over the course of 9 episodes, a journalist attempts to get to the bottom of this story and determine whether or not Anna is an audacious entrepreneur or a con artist. As I watched this, I kept thinking about how one can create a persona that can fool or manipulate the masses. Anna had a strong following on social media, hung out with the right people, told the right stories, and in the end, almost became the person she claimed to be. Unfortunately for her, this persona collided with her reality and she was eventually exposed as a phony... even if she swore otherwise! What I've Been Listening to... Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell This book and the Anna Delvey story share a similar theme in the sense that we, as human beings, do a really poor job of understanding strangers that we encounter in our day to day lives. Gladwell does his usual story telling as he ties in a wide range of topics including Amanda Knox, Jerry Sandusky, Brock Turner, Sylvia Plath, and the death of Sandra Bland. This is a great book that, like all his other books, makes you think as he takes a view that may go against the common narrative. Quote of the Week "It is a corrupting thing to live one's real life in secret. One should live with the stream of life, not against it" -- George Orwell I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck
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