Coach AA's Sunday Newsletter

You don’t need superfoods. You need a system. Last week, I watched a group of brilliant developers sip sugar water laced with chia seeds—and call it healthy. This is what happens when we outsource health to buzzwords. “Is it good for you?” is the wrong question. If you haven’t mastered vegetables, water, protein, sleep, and movement—you’re not ready for chia seeds. Forget hacks. Build your Boring...

I SUCK Your glutes didn't fire properly during that deadlift. You didn’t go as heavy as you’d liked. You were leaning back on the swing. Your hip snap was not as good as it could’ve been. You huffed and puffed your way around the streets for 30 minutes. You barely ran 4 kilometres. You feel gassed out. You were once running 10k in under an hour and could’ve run 10k more. That's just data. But how...

I couldn't run 500 meters. But someone said I'd run a half marathon in a few months. So I showed up. Again and again. And they were right. The First Step Is Rarely Clear When I joined a running group, I wasn't a runner. Not even close. But the group didn't treat me like I was broken. They simply said: *"Show up. Four times a week. Trust the process."* It was the first time I saw how powerful a cle...

Imagine you're about to buy a house. You put down a down payment, and the bank loans you the rest. You agree to repay this loan over the next 20 years. When you total up the repayment, it's a lot more than the original loan amount, but that's how loans and interest work. You're okay with it because you get the house today, which you couldn't afford to pay for in full. This is instant gratification...

Empathy the ability to take on another's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience Is it possible to be empathetic? To understand and feel what they are feeling? In any field of play, empathy is touted as a master quality. If you can put yourself into another's shoes, then you will be able to write about their conditions better. Design a product that is t...

Addictions From Wikipedia , A state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite adverse consequences and characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behaviour that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences ... perpetuating cravings. weakens self-control. I don't know about you but I have a few addiction...

Vaccines The road to robustification starts with a modicum of harm– Nassim Taleb You are innately familiar with this concept. You got vaccinated as a kid against a bunch of diseases. What goes in a vaccine? Well, a bit of the infection which the body can overwhelm. And thus build an immune response. You stress the body. The body responds by getting stronger. The body responds by owning that stress...

Obviously harmful We all kinda sorta know of the obviously harmful. For example, we know smoking cigarettes is terrible for health. Right? No one is smoking under the impression that it is a net positive. We also have a few things that are harmful but not immediately. And (my opinion) the effects are filtered down invisibly, the tentacles reaching out into the physical, mental, and psychological t...

In the day-to-day, you often find yourself tangled in a labyrinth of complexity. It's like trying to traverse a maze, where every twist and turn holds a new secret or challenge or a dead end. The amount of information you hold in your hand is at once too much and too little. You cannot see too much ahead. And you also have guidelines and rules and advice and books and how-to's and well, an overloa...

In a world where humour can often mask many underlying negativity, we sometimes need to shift focus. But how can we alter ingrained tendencies and embrace positivity? I've found three incredibly effective habits to make positivity my second nature. This road to self-improvement may not always be smooth, but it’s a journey which promises personal growth and mindful existence - far beyond the fleeti...

Premise In the fitness world, we often find ourselves chasing after the next big trend. The media and so-called experts feed us what we crave, what sells. Instead of providing the insight we desperately need . Method after method is proclaimed as the Holy Grail. The one ring to rule them all. What you've been searching for. Behind this door lies salvation. They tell you you need to do a few things...

It is a fun question to ask. If you could do something over, what and how would you go about it? If I could have a do-over for my fitness journey, how would I go about it? First, I am StrongFirst Elite .And the founder of a popular fitness company that's grown organically for over a decade. So, I obviously have my stuff together, right? I am constantly at sub 10% body fat. My cholesterol levels ar...

Think about the word "change". It's an intimidating concept, often prompted by its notorious partner in crime, failure. We've all experienced the stinging slap of failure, that harsh call from the universe implying that change isn't desired, but needed. Yet, amid this turmoil of failings and the consequent evolution, there's a silver lining. Through these punctuated instances, we reinvent ourselve...

Having a mentor, taking an active interest by learning foundations, and working on mastery of the skills is the way to empower yourself for your long-term health and wellness. Let's talk about this in a bit more depth, shall we? Goal setting Embarking on your fitness journey can be overwhelming. Especially when you're trying to determine the most effective approach for yourself. Often, we're incli...

Not everyone needs to be switched on while doing some physical activity. Some of us just want to zone out and get some time for the brain to work on other things. This is why you see a lot of people talk about taking long walks and coming back with a solution to whatever was bothering them. The time and space given to the brain to float around seems to do some magic. It allows us to relax the brai...

It's exhilarating to announce that it's never too late to embark on your fitness journey! The beauty of fitness is in its simplicity! It's not about a complicated, researched workout routine – it's about doing those simple things that you know to be true. It's about movement, about feeling alive and energetic! The prospect of starting a fitness journey can seem daunting, but once you understand th...

Rewinding back to 2011 when I packed my bags to start The Quad with Raj , it wasn't the unfamiliar terrain that gave me jitters. Instead, it was the gnawing fear of missing out on knowledge from top-notch Strength & Conditioning coaches. Yet, hurdles are there for us to leap over, right? StrongFirst - a world-acclaimed strength and conditioning establishment helmed by Pavel Tsatsouline who lit the...

Weight loss can feel like a triumphant victory, but maintaining that hard-won success often proves to be the real battle. Most of us fall victim to the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting, where we lose weight just to pile it all back on soon after. It's a frustrating and demoralising process. So how do we break free from this relentless cycle? In this article, we will explore the mindset required for...

You f**k up your diet. Again. Your gym membership is for the year but you stopped going many months back. Once more, you take responsibility for what has happened. Laudable. You have encountered failure before. You draw motivation from the people you know who have successfully transformed their unhealthy habits into much healthier ones. Next time, you think, you can crack it. But why do you find m...

Introduction to Healthy Weight Loss In my previous article , I wrote about the importance of fat loss vs weight loss. If you used the calculator I linked to, you know what your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) was, as well as what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) was. They are nothing but what your body needs to run itself at rest (BMR) and then add up your walking around during the day and do...

Fat Loss 101 Embarking on a fat loss journey can often seem like navigating a labyrinth full of myths and misconceptions, but it doesn't have to be! Welcome to Fat Loss 101, your comprehensive and basic guide to understanding and successfully managing fat loss. I am not going to dive deep into the science - that won't be a 101 post. I want to explain some fundamentals that will help you understand...

I waltzed down the track and flicked the first ball for four. They immediately pushed the field back. I kept taking singles and rotating the strike. A couple of overs later, they'd get impatient and pull the field back in. And sure enough, there'd come a loose ball and I'd hit it for four. Immediate reaction - push the field back. I was in the zone. I knew what they would do, and how I could manip...

Peak potential Just like a car that’s not necessarily broken down, but isn’t performing at its peak potential. It's not spewing smoke or refusing to start, so it doesn't command immediate attention like a car with an obvious mechanical issue. But the engine is not as efficient as it could be, the fuel consumption is higher than it should be, and the ride isn't as smooth as it once was. Those "in-b...

Introduction to starting a fitness journey after 40 If you are approaching 40 and concerned that you have not had time to dedicate towards fitness consistently, this article is for you. You can get fit at any age. You can get fit regardless of where you are currently. But. There are some rules/conditions that you need to accept. No, it is not your current fitness levels or your genetics or access...

Sleep is undoubtedly one of the most essential aspects of our lives, but it is often underrated and overlooked. In today's fast-paced world, our priorities are often skewed towards productivity, and sleep is frequently sacrificed for the sake of getting more done. However, the importance of sleep cannot be stressed enough, as it plays a pivotal role in our overall health, recovery, mental health,...