In today's fast-paced world, sleep often takes a backseat to work, social commitments, and other responsibilities. However, neglecting this essential biological function can have far-reaching consequences for our health and well-being. From physical performance to mental acuity, sleep plays a pivotal role in our overall quality of life. Let's delve into the science behind sleep, explore its benefits, and uncover strategies to optimize your sleep experience.

The Importance of Consistent Sleep
A recent scientific review (PMID: 33054339) underscored the significance of consistent sleep patterns. The study found that late sleep timing and greater sleep variability can lead to adverse health outcomes. Irregular sleep patterns disrupt the body's finely tuned biological rhythms, akin to a musician playing out of sync in an orchestra.

Conversely, maintaining a regular sleep schedule can have numerous benefits. The study also revealed that consistent bedtimes and wake-up times are favorably associated with better health. This regularity helps establish a healthy sleep-wake cycle, promoting optimal functioning.

Social Jetlag: A Modern-Day Challenge
Social jetlag, the phenomenon of significant sleep pattern shifts between weekdays and weekends, has become a common issue in today's society. Research suggests that social jetlag can have detrimental effects on health. By minimizing drastic shifts in sleep patterns, you can mitigate the negative consequences of social jetlag and improve your overall well-being.

For example, if you typically go to bed at 10pm on weeknights but may on weekends, you stay up until 2am going out with friends. This disruption to your sleep-wake cycle is similar to the effects of traveling across 2-3 time zones. Your body clock becomes desynchronized, making it difficult for you to fall asleep on Sunday evening. As a result, your sleep quality is disrupted, and you start the work week feeling fatigued and off-balance.

Sleep and Peak Performance
Beyond physical health, sleep is a cornerstone of optimal performance. A study conducted at Stanford University (PMID: 21731144) examined the effects of sleep extension on athletic performance, reaction time, and mood. Participants from the men's varsity basketball team extended their sleep duration to a target of 10 hours in bed each night, resulting in marked improvements in their performance metrics.

The results were compelling: athletes demonstrated faster sprint times and enhanced shooting accuracy, improving free throw and three-point percentages by 9% and 9.2%, respectively. Furthermore, their reaction times decreased significantly, and self-reported measures of mood and daytime alertness showed noticeable enhancement. This evidence underscores the critical role of sleep in enhancing not only physical capabilities but also mental sharpness, making a case for prioritizing rest as a strategy for achieving high performance in various domains.

The Role of Diet in Sleep Quality
Our dietary choices can significantly impact sleep quality. Consuming foods rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that aids in the production of serotonin and melatonin, can promote restful sleep. A study (PMID: 32230944) highlighted how participants consuming tryptophan-rich foods experienced improved sleep efficiency and longer sleep duration.

Incorporating tryptophan-rich foods into your diet can include:

• Turkey: Renowned for its high tryptophan content, turkey is a classic choice for promoting restful slumber.
• Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds are excellent sources of tryptophan and can support your body's sleep-regulating functions.
• Dairy products: Foods like yogurt and cheese not only provide tryptophan but also calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan more effectively.

Sleep Efficiency: A Measure of Quality
While sleep duration is important, sleep efficiency is equally crucial. Sleep efficiency is a measure of the quality of your sleep, calculated by dividing the total time spent asleep by the total time spent in bed, and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage.

For example, if you spend 8 hours in bed but only sleep for 6.8 of those hours, your sleep efficiency would be 85% (6.8 hours asleep / 8 hours in bed x 100 = 85%). Healthy adults should aim for a sleep efficiency of 85% or higher, as this indicates they are spending the majority of their time in bed actually sleeping.

Poor sleep efficiency, where you spend a significant amount of time awake while in bed, can lead to fragmented and disrupted sleep. Research has shown that low sleep efficiency, below 85%, is linked to diminished executive function - the cognitive abilities that allow us to plan, focus, and make decisions (PMID: 37957525). Over time, poor sleep efficiency has also been associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

By tracking your sleep efficiency and aiming to maintain it above 85%, you can ensure you are getting high-quality, restorative sleep that supports optimal cognitive performance and long-term brain health. Strategies to improve sleep efficiency include establishing a consistent sleep schedule, creating a relaxing pre-bed routine, and addressing any underlying sleep disorders or disruptors.

Sleep and Mental Health
Sleep plays a vital role in maintaining mental balance, particularly regarding mood and anxiety. A comprehensive systematic review (PMID: 39066098) examined the reciprocal relationship between daily sleep and affective phenomena, including mood, affect, and emotions.

The review found a clear bidirectionality in the sleep-affect association. Poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration were consistently found to influence both positive and negative affective experiences. In fact, sleep was more often a stronger predictor of subsequent daytime affect than the other way around. This suggests that prioritizing restful nights can have a profound impact on our emotional well-being.

This underscores the importance of not only tracking sleep duration but also focusing on sleep quality and efficiency. When we prioritize restful nights, we're not just enhancing cognitive performance; we're also fortifying our emotional resilience. By improving sleep, we can reduce stress levels, foster a more positive outlook, and bolster our overall mental health and well-being.

Overcoming Sleep Challenges
Many people struggle with sleep due to anxiety, stress, and a hectic lifestyle. Mindful breathing exercises can be a valuable tool for improving sleep quality and reducing insomnia. By incorporating these practices into your nightly routine, you can create a more conducive environment for restful sleep.

One effective technique is the 4-7-8 breathing method. This simple exercise works by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the body's rest and digest functions. Here's how to do it:

1. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
2. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of 4.
3. Hold your breath for a count of 7.
4. Exhale completely through your mouth to a count of 8, making another whoosh sound.
5. Repeat the cycle 3-4 times.

​The 4-7-8 technique helps slow your heart rate, lower blood pressure, and induce a state of relaxation - all of which are conducive to falling asleep more easily. Regular practice of this method can also help manage anxiety and stress, two common culprits behind insomnia.

Another effective mindful breathing technique is box breathing, also known as square breathing. This involves inhaling for 4 counts, holding for 4 counts, exhaling for 4 counts, and holding for 4 counts - creating a square-like pattern. The even, rhythmic nature of this exercise can have a calming effect on the mind and body, preparing you for restful sleep.

Regardless of the specific method, the key is to practice mindful breathing consistently as part of your nightly wind-down routine. By taking just 5-10 minutes to focus on your breath, you can activate the body's relaxation response and create the optimal conditions for high-quality, restorative sleep. Over time, these breathing exercises can become an invaluable tool in your sleep optimization toolkit.

Conclusion
Sleep is not merely a luxury but a necessity for optimal health and well-being. By understanding the science behind sleep, embracing consistent routines, making informed dietary choices, and prioritizing mental well-being, you can significantly improve your sleep quality and unlock your full potential.

The clock strikes 5pm, colleagues or client personnel around you start packing up and heading home, while you’re staring at your screen wondering where the day just went. Bouncing between meetings and responding to “urgent” emails, it feels like you haven’t done anything of real value yet today.

Sounds familiar?

Back in my Accenture days, depending on the client and phase of the project, this was certainly not uncommon for me. The problem (aforementioned meetings and emails, colleagues asking for “just a minute” here and there and a host of other focus-interrupting elements) often meant a whole day could pass without the chance to get into the sort of concentrated mindspace necessary to tackle challenging tasks and important work.
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It might feel like all of these things reside outside of your control, and you are resigned to doing your focused work in the evenings and nights. And while I won’t promise that I can eliminate all overtime needs for you, there are some things you can do to guard your mindspace and set yourself up to ensure you can actually do some real, deep work in your working hours, and don’t always have to go beyond them.

Schedule fixed chunks of no-internet time
The power of always being connected to a world wide web of information and people is great, and a lot of what you do and how you do it wouldn’t be possible without it, but when it comes to trying to focus on ONE THING, it’s a terrifying hurricane of distractions.

Ideally, you can disconnect fully (e.g. turn off your wifi) and concentrate only on the task at hand, such as writing that report or presentation, reading that white paper, etc. But if that’s not possible, at least disable all chat and email notifications and/or use site blocking apps like Freedom to limit what can distract you.

Plan out and schedule your deep work tasks first
Planning what you need/want to work on and attacking these tasks proactively, instead of reactively letting your inbox run your schedule, should sound like a good idea to everyone. Start by making a list of your main targets and tasks, and estimating the complexity and need for deep concentration for each one. Deliberately schedule tasks that require deep concentration first (e.g. in the morning) when your mental energy is still high.

You’ve probably seen this advice before and might be doing it already, but the next part is equally important: at the end of the day, reflect on how well you were able to execute on your plan. Were your estimated task durations accurate? Did you over (or under) estimate the complexity of any task?

Use these insights as you plan the next day, and gradually devise a system that works for you. The duration of a time block can be very individual, so figure out what allows you to concentrate best. Over time, you’ll also get better at estimating how much time you will need for a certain type of task, and this enables you to more accurately schedule your deep work sessions. Completing a task as planned gives you a natural good feeling - hello dopamine! - so your deep work doesn’t only allow you to get stuff done, it also feels great!

A bit of pressure can be helpful
This may seem a little counterintuitive at first, but setting yourself a (slightly aggressive) deadline can be helpful for focus. Let’s say that the sales report is due at the end of the month, but instead you pretend you’ve only got until the end of the week to complete it.
As the saying goes, “pressure makes diamonds”, and sometimes putting a bit of artificial pressure on yourself - rather than postponing the work until the real deadline is looming! - can be beneficial to unlocking your best work.

(Note: this may not work for everyone and in every situation, but give it a try and see if it can help you get into a flow state of deep concentration, or whether it just makes you sweat profusely and bite your nails!)

Set up your environment for success
This is an absolutely critical yet often overlooked piece of the deep work puzzle. I’ve talked about environmental cues and their relevance for habit creation before, and it’s equally essential for facilitating deep work.

Just as chat notifications and certain websites can be total focus breakers, so can cluttered desks and messy work environments. If you’re working in an open plan office where colleagues are talking, laughing and passing by all the time, and your desk is buried under notes, printouts and other things that constantly pull your mind away from the task you are trying trying to work on, it’s hardly a wonder that you can’t get into a deep work mindspace, is it?

So, grab your laptop, a notebook and a pen and find a quiet, undisturbed space. Put the phone on silent and close all apps and tabs that are not relevant in the moment. I bet it will make a world of difference!
What’s the notebook for? Whenever something pops up in your mind that is not relevant to the task at hand, make a very quick note as a reminder for later, but don’t allow your mind to start “working on it” right now. 

The following post was first shared in my monthly newsletter, the Kinsei-Do Fitness Nuggets, back in March 2022. With the calendar turning another page recently, some people - perhaps you too! - will have made resolutions to live healthier, eat better, exercise more, etc etc for this year, and this advice is likely to be helpful!


According to James Clear, habit expert and author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits - a personal favorite of mine and one of my most-gifted books to clients and friends - whether you succeed in achieving your goals and desired behaviors has almost nothing to do with your willpower, or how much you think you want it.

Surprised? I certainly was at first.

So what is it then that determines your likelihood of success? Your environment.

Consider this cheeky yet so true statement, also known as "Berardi's First Law", after the co-founder of Precision Nutrition and coaching guru Dr John Berardi:​

This post was first published in my monthly newsletter, the Kinsei-Do Fitness Nuggets, in May 2023. If you like this and find it useful, please sign up for the Fitness Nuggets here.

 
"Gee, you're such an idiot, how could you let XYZ happen?"

"Ungh, look at that guy, he must be so lazy / stupid / shortsighted / ...!"

Ever found yourself saying things like this about yourself or other people, be it out loud or just in your head? Beating yourself up about a mistake you made, or (silently) judging yourself or another person for the way they look, dress, speak, move, etc...

For the past couple of weeks, as I already mentioned in last month's Fitness Nuggets, I've been studying the work of Shirzad Chamin and Positive Intelligence (PQ), and while a high IQ and EQ are certainly valuable and very important to be successful in life, it appears that the secret ingredient for being happy in life is your PQ. And surely, as a reader of this newsletter, you're someone who is looking for both, right? 

According to the theory of Positive Intelligence - and using their terminology - all of us have a wise and kind "person", a Sage, inside us, but we also have one or more less savoury characters, the so called Saboteurs, in our heads. The Saboteurs, characters such as the Judge, the Avoider, the Restless, the Hyper Achiever, etc, have developed in us when we were children, and they helped us to understand the world and how it works. You can go to the Positive Intelligence website if you're interested to find out the why and how.

Now, I know that all of this may sound a bit wishy washy, and not very scientific or rational at all, but here's where all of it falls into place: you can train your mind (to make the Sage stronger and the Saboteurs weaker)!

That's right, just like you do sets and reps in the gym to train your physical strength, you can also train and improve your mental fitness through - no surprise - PQ reps.
 
Take Action

Your Saboteurs - there are ten in total, but the degree and strength of their appearance is very individualized - typically show up in situations that are associated with negative emotions: stress, anger, disappointment, etc.
Let's say you're in a work meeting and someone says something that doesn't make much sense, or goes against what you want and believe. Your typical reaction will probably be to judge this person for what they said, either out loud or just to yourself. "That guy is so stupid!" or "Why on earth would she say that?"
Often, this happens almost automatically and within milliseconds, and - the research has shown this - will set you on a spiralling path of more negative thoughts and emotions. 

So what can you do instead? PQ Reps!

1. As soon as you realize your Judge Saboteur (or any of the others) has kicked in, reel that bad boy back in by calling him/her out in your head. Simply noticing negative-loop-reinforcing thoughts already greatly weakens their disruptive and destructive powers.
2. Next, focus your attention on the present moment, e.g. on your breath, or an ambient sound, a smell, etc for 10 seconds. This too weakens the impact of the negative thought, as it takes your mind away and brings it to focus on something physical, something neutral.
3. Finally, and this is already somewhat advanced and requires more practice, think to yourself how the Sage, instead of the Saboteur, would have reacted. The Sage is wise, kind and empathetic, what would he/she have said? Perhaps "I wonder why he said something like that, maybe he's having a very stressful day" or something to that effect?

Let this sink in, and I hope you'll give it a shot. Depending on how strong your Saboteurs are, and for how many years you have (unwillingly) trained them, it will take more than a couple of days or even weeks to take hold, but trust me, once it does, its impact is truly astonishing!

Have you ever

💊 watched an ad for a health supplement and thought that this little pill was it, the magic bullet to cure you of all your ailments?

🤸 been to the gym and seen some ridiculous well built guy or gal do a fancy looking exercise you’d never seen before, and thought you need to that that exact exercise to your training routine to get their amazing physique?

😴 felt the need to get the latest sleep gadget to finally cure your insomnia and improve your sleep quality?
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The bad news, if you’ve answered yes to any of these, is that you’ve fallen into the “sand before rocks” trap. The good news is you’re hardly the only one!

Question: How do you fill a glass jar with as many big rocks, medium sized pebbles and tiny grains of sand as possible?

Answer: You put the big rocks in first, then you add as many pebbles as will still fit in the gaps between the rocks, and then - and only then - do you pour in the sand so it can fill up all remaining gaps and cracks.

Try it the other way around - filling the jar up to say half with sand - and you’ll find not as many pebbles and hardly any rocks will fit in.
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The answer seems obvious, right? And yet, when it comes to health and wellbeing, we often go try to go about it in exactly this wrong sequence!

So, the next time you are looking for that magic bullet, that secret little extra, take a look at your jar first, and ask yourself if you've put all the big rocks in place already.

Not sure what those rocks should be? Or feel like you're doing it all already but are not progressing? Well, that's when you reach out to people like me!

Ever wondered why your performance in the gym decreases as your session goes on?

Well d'uh, you'll say, it's because the muscles are getting fatigued from the previous work, and you won't be wrong...but there's more to it, and with today's nugget of fitness wisdom, you may be able to do something about it!

As you move and exercise, and your muscles repeatedly contract to perform work and overcome resistance, they get hot. And it turns out, they don't like that very much. Or to put it a little more succinctly, excessively hot muscles have an impaired ability to produce force.

So, if you can manage to cool your (working) muscles' temperature down (e.g. between your lifting sets), you'll be able to produce more force (i.e. do more work) again in the next set, and in the next, and so on.
Of course you could take a cold shower or hop into a tub of cold water between sets, but that wouldn't be very practical, but actually there's an easier way.

You see, the way your body "gets rid" of excess heat is through blood circulation. The blood in your working muscles takes up some of the heat, and then disperses it to other parts of the body to cool off. Thus, if you can get your blood to cool down, you'll be able to get rid of more heat from the muscles more quickly, thereby recovering faster and working harder again in the next set!

As it turns out, the skin of the palms of your hands has certain vascular structures that make them effective at regulating the body temperature. So if you can cool down your palms (or rather, the blood that is running through the vessels in your palms), that (cooler) blood will quickly help to bring your working muscles' temperature down.

It's important to mention that it's not a case of the colder, the better. Why? Because you don't want your blood vessels to constrict, as then the nice, cool blood won't get to your working muscles.

Rather, it seems that 15-16 degrees would be the temperature at which you get the optimal performance enhancing effect. 

How can you achieve this? Perhaps holding on to a bottle of cold water, or running your hands under the tap of cold water for a couple of seconds is probably the simplest and most cost effective way.

Give it a try the next time you're going for a heavy lifting session, or an interval based workout, and let me know if you feel the difference!

This post was originally written for and shared through my Kinsei-Do Fitness Nuggets newsletter in February 2022.

Not everybody may have the desire to live well into their 80s or 90s - I sure do! - but I can't imagine anybody would not want to be healthy and well until kicking the bucket. And thus we keep looking for the secret weapon, the magic pill or whatever, that will keep us healthy into old age.

Well, guess what, this secret weapon already exists, and it's so simple that it's dismissed or ignored by many, especially in the "modern" world:

It's called walking.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers observed a representative sample of American adults over 40, and found that those who took an average of 8000 steps a day had a 51% lower risk of all cause mortality compared to those who only got 4000 steps a day!

Hiking that number up even further to 12000 steps further decreased the mortality risk, but not in a proportionate amount. And as someone who usually gets 7000 to 8000 steps a day quite easily, and 10000 steps with a bit more deliberate effort, I can tell you that getting those additional 4000 steps a day regularly and consistently will - if you work a typical desk job - be quite challenging!

The good news however is that the pace of these steps doesn't seem to matter very much, so you don't need to be jogging or going on strenuous hikes if that's not your cup of tea. What counts is that you move it, move it!

And if that's not enough reason for you, or you're wondering when you should squeeze a 20-30 minute walk per day into your busy schedule, how about right after lunch?
Not only will doing so help you to get to your 8000 steps, but there's also a host of other benefits:

• Burn off some of the calories you just consumed
• Improve and speed up your digestion
• Help you manage your blood sugar levels and insulin response
• Prevent or drastically reduce the impact of the post-lunch energy dip

Happy walking, my friends!

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Let's take a lead from good old Cristiano Ronaldo today, and let's talk about hydration, specifically water.

Most of the time when people (and coaches) discuss nutrition and the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, we are thinking about calories and macronutrients (carbs, proteins and fats). And that, of course, makes sense, because your brain and your muscles need energy (typically derived from the carbs and fats you consume) to do what they do.

However, there is another important factor in our body's ability to perform - water. Although water has no energy, it is essential for our body to function properly.

What's the big deal?

Our bodies' cells consist mostly of water, and thus having too little of it will have an immediate and significant impact on your performance and health. If you are even mildly dehydrated, problems arise such as:

• Regular and essential biochemical processes are interrupted
• ​Physical and cognitive performance is impacted, e.g. brain fog

  
Tell me what to do, Coach!

To avoid these impacts and hydrate optimally, aim to drink about 2 to 2.5 liters of water during the first 10 hours of your day, which comes out to about one glass per hour.

Personally, I like (and feel as if I need) to get two or even three big glasses of water in my system immediately after waking up, as I always feel very thirsty after not drinking anything for the 8+ hours of time in bed, but you may have different preferences, so as long as you aim for getting in 2 or more liters by mid to late afternoon, you should be fine.

Why the first 10 hours? Why not anytime in the day?
During the first 10 hours after waking, the kidneys filter fluids efficiently, whereas later in the day the output is reduced, so you might find yourself waking up in the middle of the night to…you know.
If this is a frequent occurrence, try to hydrate during the day, limit fluid intake 2-3 hours before sleep, and if drinking at night, sip slowly. The rate and amount of fluid can influence the need to urinate.

Do you need to drink more when exercising and/or in hot weather?
The obvious answer is: yes. But how much more exactly?

In addition to the 2+ liters mentioned earlier, as a guideline while exercising, use the Galpin Equation:
Consume your body weight (in kg) × 2 in mL every 15-20 mins. In hot temperatures or while sweating, increase the amount by 50-100%.

So a 75kg man (e.g. me) should consume about 150ml for every 15-20 minutes of exercising, or about 500ml per hour.

Are there any other factors that impact hydration needs?
There certainly are plenty, but one that is probably relevant to a lot of people out there is caffeine intake.
Caffeine is a diuretic, so rather than aid in your hydration, it dehydrates your body. Thus, aim to drink 2x the amount of water (if possible with electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium) as caffeine you consume to prevent dehydration. For example, for every cup of coffee, drink two glasses of water with low/no-sugar electrolytes, or add a pinch of salt.


And so, while the debate over whether Ronaldo or Messi is the greatest football player in the world may rage on, there really should be no debate about throwing out the Coca Cola and reaching for the Agua!

Source: Huberman Labs

This post was originally written for and shared through my monthly newsletter, the Kinsei-Do Fitness Nuggets, in January 2022.

I'm sure you're familiar with the phenomenon of jetlag, and have sure experienced its annoying effects before. But did you know you don't have to leave your time zone or travel anywhere to be hit by jetlag? In fact, more likely than not, you are experiencing jetlag symptoms far more often than you think, and not only that, you're voluntarily causing your body to have them!

"Social jetlag" occurs when you sleep and wake up on a (very) different schedule on weekends compared to regular weekdays - or when you engage in shift-work - and it can really mess your body and brain up!
Let's say you typically go to bed around 10pm and wake around 6am to go to work or school, but on Friday and Saturday nights, you "live it up" and instead go to bed at 1am or 2am, and then sleep in until 10am the next morning... well, you're essentially putting your body through a four hour time zone shift (as much as if you were to travel from Indonesia to the Middle East, or from the West Coast of the US to the East Coast!).

Needless to say, this can be detrimental to your health, with sleep disorders and digestive issues some of the first problems to show up. So what can you do about that?

Ideally, you try to avoid putting your body through this shift as much as possible, by sleeping and waking on a relatively consistent schedule, regardless of whether it's a working day or a weekend.

But if that sounds utterly uncool and "what's the point of having a weekend"-ish to you, there are still things you can do to help your body deal with the adjustment better:

1) See and avoid light at the right times: expose yourself to (natural, if possible) light in the morning as soon as you can after waking up (on a Saturday and Sunday). But also avoid looking at bright lights (including screens) late in the evening, thus trying to keep your body clock to remain in its "weekday time zone".

2) Eat and exercise at the same times as you would on weekdays, so that means taking your breakfast soon after waking up on Saturday and Sunday, and not having your dinner (much) later than you would on a regular weekday.

Give it a try and you should find that Monday mornings will perhaps get a little bit easier!

We've probably all been there before: you start a well structured, progressive training plan (either given to you by a coach, or an app, magazine, etc), you stick to it for a couple of sessions, but then...

• ...you don't immediately see or experience the results you hoped, and/or
• ...you get bored of doing the same exercises time after time again, and/or
• ...you see someone else doing some fancy routine and think it must be better.

So you abandon your well structured plan (and ignore your coach), and go back to "program hopping". 

Sounds familiar? Don't feel too bad or guilty about it, because - in spite of knowing better - I too am guilty of such "chase the new shiny thing" behavior.

Which is why I'm tell you that, for the past six weeks, I've been able to beat this urge and stick to my "boring" and repetitive (read: well structured) training plan, and it's paying off nicely!

I've been focusing primarily on getting stronger in a very small number of movements, namely squats, deadlifts, pullups and overhead presses, and am starting to move loads that would have made me pretty nervous a few months ago with confidence!

I've set myself the goal of hitting a 100kg back squat by mid of next year - I have never achieved more than 90kg before - and I feel I'm on a good way.

My Training Plan

I chose an 8 week training block duration as an appropriate mesocycle length, something that would allow me to incorporate progressive overloading, while at the same time not being too long so as not to lose sight of the end.

With the goal being to increase my absolute strength, I broke that down into 4 blocks of 2 weeks each, with 2 training days per movement as follows:

• Day 1 and Day 3: Back Squat and Pullup
• Day 2 and Day 4: Deadlift and Overhead Press
  

Next I planned out the approximate loads I would use for all the movements except pullups in each of the 4 blocks:

• Week 1-2: Foundation (50-65% 1RM)
• Week 3-4: Building Strength (70-75% 1RM)
• Week 5-6: Strength Development (80-85% 1RM)
• Week 7-8: Peak Strength (85-90% 1RM)

And finally, using my best guess current 1 Rep Max (1RM) numbers, I converted the percentages to actual kilogram values, so I wouldn't need to think or break out the calculator once I hit the gym.

Week 1-2: Foundation

• Back Squat: 55kg - 3 sets of 5 reps
• Pull-ups: Body weight - 3 sets of 5 reps
• Deadlift: 78kg - 3 sets of 5 reps
• Overhead Press: 27kg - 3 sets of 5 reps

Week 3-4: Building Strength

• Back Squat: 68kg - 4 sets of 4 reps
• Pull-ups: Body weight - 4 sets of 6 reps
• Deadlift: 96kg - 4 sets of 4 reps
• Overhead Press: 31kg - 4 sets of 4 reps

Week 5-6: Strength Development

• Back Squat: 76kg - 5 sets of 3 reps
• Pull-ups: Body weight - 5 sets of 7 reps
• Deadlift: 104kg - 5 sets of 3 reps
• Overhead Press: 36kg - 5 sets of 3 reps

Week 7-8: Peak Strength

• Back Squat: 81kg - 5 sets of 2 reps
• Pull-ups: Body weight - 5 sets of 9 reps
• Deadlift: 108kg - 5 sets of 2 reps
• Overhead Press: 40.5kg - 5 sets of 2 reps

And voila, I've stuck to this plan pretty closely - of course I have missed a session here and there occasionally, life happens after all! - and as of the time of writing this, I am in Week 6 and hitting all of the numbers with confidence and consistency!

Can't wait for a "test week" at the end of Week 8 to see how my strength has developed, but I'm quite confident there will be new PRs (personal records) in at least 2, if not 3 or even all 4, of these lifts!

The following post contains several questions from an interview with Kinsei-Do's founder, JC, run by www.bookmyfit.com.

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​Functional Fitness is definitely a trend or buzzword in the last couple of years, when all it really means is to have the ability to move as intended by nature. This sounds so simplistic and generic, but the inactive lifestyle, constant sitting (at the desk or in the car) and working on computers of the modern age has rendered most of us completely dysfunctional. We have bad posture, severely limited mobility (usually in the hips and shoulders), extremely weakened core muscles, and most of us will pay the price for this somewhere down the line.
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Having Balanced Functional Fitness or being functionally fit refers to a state of physical capability that allows you to do the things you want to do, like running around with your children, playing football or tennis with some friends, or just moving around in your house or garden without feeling tired or in pain.

To be able to do all this takes more than just lifting weights in the gym, or doing long steady state cardio (e.g. jogging). It takes a combination of different training methods to improve strength and endurance, but also maintaining or increasing flexibility and coordination. Kinsei-Do considers all of these physical aspects and molds them into a combined program, and that's what makes it holistic.

We typically start (after properly warming up, of course) with drills and games for Power and Speed/Agility, such as jumps and shuttle runs. It's important to train these two pillars when the body and mind is still fresh, because the intensity is high and requires the practitioner to be very focused.
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After these drills, we move on to the Strength and Flexibility/Mobility part. Here we alternate classic strength building exercises like pushups and sit-ups with yoga-like static flexibility movements. At this point the body is fully warmed up and the muscles are receptive to being stretched, and at the same time the static stretches serve as active rest periods between the strength exercise sets.

Last but not least, we end each session with a short but high intensity Endurance workout. These are usually between 7 to 15 minutes and come in three different difficulty levels, so there is something for everyone!

As beginners or first timers, you are encouraged to just join in and follow along. Where applicable, the coach will adjust the difficulty of certain exercises according to the individual needs, e.g. substituting pushups with knee pushups or modifying certain Power exercises. That said, the sessions are very beginner friendly and no one should be afraid or embarrassed to try it out!

Variety is definitely extremely important. First, as already explained earlier, training all aspects of fitness is critically important for actually being fit. If you only do weight lifting, you are definitely going to be strong, but your muscles may be tight and shortened, and your mobility is limited. Similarly, if you only go running, the muscles of your upper body will not be as well trained as your lower body, and again you will be limited by imbalances. That's why a holistic training approach is so important, and whether you cover all your bases by practicing Kinsei-Do, or instead prefer to go for HIIT bootcamps for endurance training, then yoga classes for the flexibility training, is a matter of personal preference. 

Secondly, why do we work out at all? Most of us don't do it because we enjoy strenuous or high intensity cardio and weight-lifting. Most of us do it to a) look good or b) be able to perform better at activities we enjoy, like being faster on the football field, to jump higher on the basketball court, etc. There is no better way to increase that overall performance than through a varied training!
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Last but not least, for many people the thought of going to the gym 3x per week or running 5km every other day for many months is just mind-numbingly boring, so variety is also key to keeping things interesting and staying motivated in one's training! I am generally open and interested in almost all sports, and love to try out new things!

Focus - that means put your phone away. Concentrate on what your goal for the workout is, and then put all your physical and mental energy to it. You will be done much faster and feel more accomplished after a 30 minute workout like this, than after a 2 hour session in the gym where you have spent half the time on Facebook...

Always warm up - this ensures your body is ready while at the same time prepares your mind for the workout ahead.
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Set ambitious, difficult long term goals, but realistic and achievable short term goals - goals keep you focused on your fitness journey and motivated when you hit bumps and setbacks. Know where you want to go, but also know that anything worth achieving takes dedication and time, and will not happen overnight.

Actually, I personally find that the opposite is true: a good workout in the morning is the best way to start the day, and often leaves me more energized than before, and also more motivated to get on with work. Of course I do not have the time or the energy to go through 90 minute high intensity sessions in the morning, but a combination of stretching, strengthening and balance work is ideal to wake up the mind and body.

As it is a matter of personal preference however, I believe there is no "best" time. Or rather, the best time is the time that works for you, the time you can commit to regularly. Regularity is so important because humans are creatures of habit, and it takes time to establish a new habit and get into the rhythm of training at a certain time. I also believe it is better to do some kind of activity or training for 20-30 minutes every day, rather than trying to do a 1-2 hour training once or twice a week, to establish this habit, and to get results.
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Due to my job in consulting, there isn't a typical daily routine that I have been able to follow for months or years, however ideally my day starts with a workout. Not only do I need that to energize me for the day, it also makes me feel like no matter what else the day will bring, one good thing has already happened, so it sets me in a positive mood.