🗣️ "The person who chases two rabbits catches neither." Ever heard this before? Probably, but anyone that may not have heard it or indeed has heard it but does not understand it I'll bring you up to speed. It's a cautionary tale for people to focus on one goal at a time and knock things off the to-do list methodically and systemically. I took this, and evaluated it in the context of fitness after experiencing a plateau and feeling like I'm just going through the motions during my sessions. I've alway been a fitness generalist and a hybrid athlete chasing many proverbial rabbits in the form of cosmetics, fat loss, strength and endurance all at the same time.  Frustration has pushed me to dial it back, and focus on one rabbit; endurance (muscular and aerobic). The rationale is simple, as mastery in it, in all likelihood gives me cosmetics and fat loss as a by-product. I'll lose strength, but I can live with that. Nobody cares how strong you are, but they care how strong you look. Here's my one-rabbit endurance playbook:

Training (AM)
I'll retain dual gym sessions, but the morning portion that's weights only has been revised to moderate that's challenging that involves high repetitions, supersets, giant sets and drop sets for a maximum of 1 hour, but preferably 45 minutes or less to minimize total systemic fatigue and muscle damage.

• High repetitions means 15 to 20 repetitions per set of whatever exercise I choose to do. Basically crank it till it burns 🥵. Weight selected must be reasonably challenging.
• Supersets are 2 different exercises done back to back without rest. e.g. triceps extensions to bicep curls.
• Giant sets are 3-4 or more exercises done back to back on the same muscle group, without rest. e.g Barbell bench press to dumbbell flyes to push ups.
• Drop sets are 2 or more sets of the same exercises done back to back, dropping the amount of weight each set with little to no rest. e.g. Bicep curls at 100lbs, 90lbs, 80lbs, 70lbs.

❗️When executed properly, you and the guy who went for a morning run 🏃🏿‍♂️ or opted to box 🥊 will be equally fatigued.

Training (PM) 
An hour of cardio regulated by heart rate. I wear a plain vanilla Garmin 55 ⌚️ to track my heart rate and to;

1. Evaluate my overall recovery. Is my high rate too high for level of activity I am engaging in?
2. Evaluate the level of perceived exertion against my heart rate. Aka am I being lazy?
3. Track my sleep. Have I slept for at least 7 hours?
4. Track my overall activity and steps. Have I hit my 10,000 steps target?
5. Tell me fitness reality (VO2 max, fitness age etc) as a supplement to my health and fitness model. 
6. Have as a log book for all my fitness activities. Am I hitting my daily fitness targets and can I see improvements over time?

If any of this interests you, ask your trainer how you can incorporate it into your program to spice things up.

This weekend freed up some for me for to go running 🏃🏿‍♂️ and as soon as I got done with that my fitness watch bombarded me with a whole bunch of fitness metrics. Stuff like "Ba Majula mwaume!", "Ba Majula mula butuka!" "Mr. Majula, you run these streets!", "Mr. Majula, you handsome savage!" There was more, but I'll stop here for the sake of progress. Some were useful, others less so. The experience made me wonder if others struggled to focus on the health and fitness metrics that, in my opinion, really mattered. I decided to rival my fitness watch and build my own fitness tracking model in excel (link below) for anyone with basic information about themselves to quickly decipher their health and fitness reality. I zeroed in on the following:

Body Mass Index (BMI) 
While it doesn't account for muscle mass for the gorillas among us, it does give a reasonable assessment of whether the nyama you're carrying around is fair for your height. The more mass you have the more stress you're placing your heart. The more stress you're placing on your the heart, the faster it depreciates. You understand how this ends, right? Check your BMI and get it under control or at least not too far out of the recommended ranges.

Ideal Weight 
Same reasoning as above applies, but with caution. Depending on your genetics and the activity you involve yourself in e.g bodybuilding, this may give you a lower result than might actually be ideal. Wisdom is not looking at this result in isolation, but alongside other metrics shared and your general sense of wellbeing. 

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
BMR is the amount of calories you burn essentially doing nothing and just staying alive. If you're meticulous about your approach to fitness then knowing your BMR is the foundation of calorie tracking. Useful method for the calorie warriors among us. Use it alongside apps like my fitness pal or nutrionix to get your nutrition dialed in.

Body Fat (Waist to Height Ratio)
While many body fat calculation methods exist out there, for most people a simple waist to height ratio will give you a body fat reality check because when it comes down to it, the hips truly don't lie. ​Make use of the waist to height ratio to establish potential health risks.

Hydration 💧
It's easy to overlook hydration, but it comes with a whirlwind of problems from fatigue to headaches to constipation. Drink up, track consumption and make adjustments where necessary. You'll look and feel better.

Vo2 Max 🫀🫁
Your VO2 max refers to how well you can utilize oxygen during exercise. It is the gold standard of fitness. The higher it is the bigger your aerobic engine.

Resting Heart Rate
Measures how effectively your heart is at pumping blood. The heart is a muscle, the stronger it is the better and it shows in your resting heart heart. Barring a medical condition, the lower it is, the better.

Upper Body, Lower Body and Core Strength
It all consists of push ups, deadlifts and planks. Plug your numbers into the model for a dose of truth serum.

Mental Fitness
Last, but not least is the mental fitness test. While I don't have a model built to assess this, the test is simple, just answer this question: "Are you reasonably happy?". Answer yes and you're certified, by a me, a bush doctor, mentally fit. Answer no, and you've got some work to do. Life is too short to be anything less than happy. My advice? Start putting people KU WIRE. You'll feel better 😊

🔗 Heath and Fitness Model Link:
Link to Downloadable Excel Model

👨🏾‍💻Download and stress test it.

I recently touched base with a fellow gym rat, and noted a significant downsizing that basically turned this lad into a lean, mean looking gorilla! I went straight to it: 🗣️ "What did you do?". His response: 🗣️ "One meal a day my guy. I only eat at 18 hours and I feel phenomenal!" 🤯. 🤔Challenge accepted. Summer's around the corner, I might as well start cutting now. This is my revised training and nutrition protocol:

Nutrition
Uncle OMAD (One Meal a Day) until further notice. Well, more like one eating session with various small meals comprising of the following:

• One small bowl of muesli, with natural yoghurt and dried cranberries or raisins.
• One avocado 🥑 and banana 🍌 smoothie  (1 avocado, 2 bananas, 1-2 tablespoons of honey 🍯, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 250 mls of milk 🥛).
• Rice/Potatoes/Nshima with tbone, chicken or fish with vegetables on the side.

To be consumed in the order presented above.

Supplements

• Multivitamin 💊. Dieting can create nutrition deficiencies, a good multivitamin can help plug the gaps. I stick to Wellman Multivitamin. Cairo Chemist is my plug. 
• Pro nutrition's Pump n Cut. For an enhanced strength training experience and small boost to my metabolism in the morning.

Training

• 1 hour of strength training in the morning, every morning.
• 1.6 - 3.2 kilometer run in the evening, every evening.
• 10, 000 steps daily. Without fail.
• 7 hours of sleep daily. Without fail.

Additional items:

• Chapstick. No food for prolonged periods + cold weather = crusty lips.
• Sugar free gum. It can help take your mind off food, keep your mouth busy and temporarily suppress your appetite.
• Sparkling water. Sparkling water can't be quickly consumed and offers a more exciting alternative to plain old water.
• Warm lemon water 🍋 💧. This can help give your body a bath on the inside and will likely stimulate bowel movement. Great addition for those whose stomachs can handle it.

This is my blueprint for the next couple of weeks. The idea is when I get to the summer, nobody should call my phone for a party... unless it's a pool party 😌.

⚠️ Proceed with caution. Uncle OMAD might not be a welcome relative at your family reunion. 

In every gym when someone decides to place an unreasonable amount of weight on the bar you'll get an increased viewership 👀. People quietly doubt that you can move that weight and will simply hover around, pretend to be practising active recovery while sneaking in a few gawks until you make them believers. I love that feeling, but to get it you have to actually BE strong enough to pull it off. This is how I go about it:

Go hard, then go soft 
Weekly cycling of heavy lifting with lighter, more 'pump' based lifting optimizes your strength potential. The reasoning is simple, the different stimulus forces adaptations while allowing you to recover sufficiently before going BIG again. I used to lift heavy every chance I got until I plateaued. I was both mentally and physically cooked. I switched it up, enjoyed my sessions, recovered better and started increasing how much weight I could move. This is the general outline of my programming for compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press).

Eat big, to lift big
I'm a committed intermittent faster and during my eating window I eat BIG,  with particular emphasis on carbohydrates (bananas, berries, rice, oats and sweet potatoes) to top off glycogen stores and protein (animal meats, eggs, cow milk) to facilitate muscle recovery. Any downward adjustment in food intake i.e. low carb diet will make heavy lifts difficult. You have to put in what you want to get out.

Creatine and caffeine
Probably the only two things a natural, recreational strength athlete needs to get a small boost in lifting capacity. I take them as a basic strength supplement stack and it works well for me. 

Mental recalibration
Ever gotten under a bar and worried about not getting back up if you go down? It's common with high risk lifts like bench press and squat. If you're smart about your lifting and you opt to progressively overload then that gradual progression can help you eliminate any fear of a mishap. You have built yourself up to handle that load so fear not.

Get ugly, get aggressive
Max lift, pretty face? Unlikely. Heavy weight, composed approach? Not a chance. When you're churning out maximum output you have to, quite literally, get ugly and aggressive. Embrace your inner savage to get the most out of your lifts.

The Blue Zones - Ever heard of them? Perhaps you've vaguely heard of the book 📕that popularised the concept of it all? Blue Zones are areas in the world where people live the longest and I've long been fascinated with the idea of extending my checkout time. A podcast 🎧 I listened to recently helped me better understand the life extension hacks, which I refined and adapted to fitness. This is what I summarized:

Your environment determines your behavior
Behavior follows your environment, and not the other way around. This was the key takeaway for me. It's not about discipline or mental resilience, it's all about your environment.

Beware of the see-food diet 👀 🍰
You see, you eat. That's the see-food diet. Adapt your environment to simply have the things you should be putting in your mouth and none of the things you shouldn't. Don't buy chocolate 🍫, place it in the fridge and test your ability to resist it. This applies to drinks as well. You like a tot or two 🥃, keep your house clear of alcohol. If your weakness is bread and juice simply don't buy it for your pantry. Make your environment inconvenient and unsupportive of your 'bad habits'.

Kitchen free from technology 📺 📻
TV, radio, and other gadgets 🤳🏿 all have the potential to display content that's upsetting. This raises stress levels and the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn adversely affects digestion. You don't want that, so take a caveman approach to meal settings. The only visuals and audio should be your natural environment and conversation.

Keep your movement natural and frequent 🚶🏾‍♂️
​You don't have to have a whole fitness regiment, you just have to move and move often. Many of us drive to places we could walk to. Many of us take the elevator 🛗 under the guise of being in a hurry. Many of us stayed glued to our computer screens 💻 because we've decided to be very busy and what we do is very important.

Purpose 🎯
Longevity and purpose are intertwined. One seldom exists without the other. What's your why? Fitness largely has two motives; cosmetics and performance. Some want to perform like a ferrari (athletes) while others simply want to look like one (models). Some people want both. Clarity on what it is that you want and why will keep the engine running. Oftentimes what you want is moving target, because first you'll just want to lose weight, then you'll want a 6 pack then you'll want other things. The hunger for more sustains purpose.

Eat with family 🧑‍🧑‍🧒
If you’re blessed with family one of the best things you can do for your health is prioritize family meals. More often than not you’ll be eating a home cooked meal with proper vegetables on the side. Families that eat together stay lean together.

Chinjeni abanandi (Change your friends)
Socialize with people that already have the health habits that you would like. Good habits are contagious, go catch them.

6 months off my 2024 summer 6 pack challenge and I’m already upping the ante 🌡️. I’m in my bag and pulling out all sorts of tricks. Here’s what I’m doing and why:

Hydration 💧
5 litres of plain water daily. Primarily to keep my joints lubricated and improve digestion.

Sleep 😴
7 hours of daily sleep, preferably on the floor with a sleep tracker (via Garmin 55) activated to monitor sleep quality. I have an alarm for both bed time and waking up time, and the more consistent I am with following this structure the easier managing my sleep tends to be. I wake up most mornings without any weird aches and strains and reasonably recovered. When I can  I sleep more, usually over the weekend.

Gym 🏋🏿‍♂️ 🚶🏾‍♂️ 🚴🏿
2 hours of daily activity split between 1 hour of heavy lifting and 1 hour of cardio (30 mins indoor cycling + 30 mins uphill treadmill walking). EVERY DAY. This keeps me built like a brick house but with a resting heart rate of 58 BPM. ⚠️ This is not for the faint-hearted.

Fasting 🍲 🕰️
16 hours of intermittent fasting. I don’t eat anything until 1 PM. Everyday. And then I stop eating at 9 PM. I drink nothing but water and green tea during my fast. My wife indicates that this approach may not be ideal for women, based on her and her friends' experiences, but for me it’s working wonders and would likely do the same for others (read males).

Food 🍝
When it’s time to eat I keep it simple by avoiding sugary drinks and fast food. For most people simply choosing water, and only water as their primary beverage will yield tremendous results. I eat everything else that I feel like during my eating window that moves directly from a non-commercial pot to a plate. The only thing that I’m very intentional about eating is a serving of muesli and yoghurt mainly to develop and maintain a strong relationship with the bathroom 💩.
​
Supplements 💊 
I use them and I like them. Currently stacking them for maximum benefit:

• Multivitamin. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies don’t always get in your face, they often just leave you feeling suboptimal. I take them because I’d rather attribute a crappy feeling to something else.
• Psyllium husk. It’s soluble fiber that I’m currently running with bucket loads of water to ensure that what I swallow finds its way on the other side, expeditiously.
• L-tyrosine. Inexpensive ‘limitless’ supplement for drive and motivation. A morning dose gets me ready to attack the day! Another benefit that might be unique to me is appetite suppression, at least for a few hours after ingestion.
• CLA. Known for its ability to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. The benefit obtained is likely minor, but I still take it because every little advantages helps.
• TNT Mercury Magma Burn. Off the shelf fat burner (caffeinated). I sweat a great deal and generally feel ‘charged’ throughout my session and day when I take this. It helps me shed water weight while giving my metabolism a little boost.

🔌 The local plug as always is Supplement World Zambia while the international plugs are Xtreme Nutrition in South Africa, and Bulk Powders in the UK.

My final trump card will be elimination of alcohol at 3 months out.

Ozempic - Ever heard of it? A groundbreaking weight loss drug 💉 that's taken the world by storm. It made me wonder why... Do we not know what's required to manage our weight? That's not it 🤔 we know because it's simple, but it's not easy. I'm writing to aid the implementation process:

Shopping Malls 🛒
My suggestion? Don't go there unless you absolutely have to. Don't escort a friend or colleague to the shops, let them go by themselves. Don't take a 'health walk' there neither. This is my version of staying away from temptation because when you go to the mall you'll smell all sorts of things that will stimulate hunger 🍟, you'll hear all sorts of things that will bring back BBQ memories 🍖, you'll see all sorts of colorful sugar bombs that excite your reminiscing taste buds 🍫 🍬🍭. Don't test your capacity to endure temptation; avoid it entirely.

Eat From Your Pot 🥘
​You'll be amazed at what happens to your waistline once you commit to eating only that which is made in your kitchen. But if you've differed with the madam and she's left you to fend for yourself the next point below is for you.

Turn to the Streets 🥜 🍌 🍊 🍉
Feeling hungry? Take it to the streets. Buy the snacks on offer in the form of fruits, roasted maize, nuts, avocados etc until you find your way home to have a proper meal. I haven't found any man attributing their big belly to street food.

Water 💧 💩
Drink lots of it and do it early. Staying properly hydrated provides a myriad of benefits and key among is easing any potential constipation by keep things moving along. Think of water as a poop softener. The more you poop the better and lighter you'll feel, at least that's the case with me.

Get Active 🚴🏿‍♀️ 🏋🏿‍♂️ 🏊🏿‍♂️ 🤸🏿
My advice? Win the morning because you have less control over the rest of your day. If this is impractical, whatever alternative time of day is convenient you better get the job done with no excuses. For those that don't have the self-drive to get active I recommend that you consider hiring a trainer. You eliminate the thinking and simply focus on execution. Most trainers offer a trial workout and it's enough for you to decide if you enjoyed the session enough to show up again the next day. Whatever you decide, expose yourself to as many different things (boxing, aerobics, running, weights etc) to discover the kind of exercise you enjoy.  You'll likely be consistent with an activity that's fun for you.

Coffee ☕️
A strong cuppa Joe early in the day tends to help a great deal with appetite suppression. Try it. Another side effect, at least for me, is it stimulates bowel movement.

Mind Your Liquor 🥃 
You'll probably cut a ton of weight by simply turning a drink offer down, but for those that can't opting for lite beers and plain water mixers will make a huge difference in the long run. ❗️Hangover tip: a glass of water, a banana 🍌 and multivitamin💊 right before bed can help suppress hangover symptoms you might experience the next day.

I recently signed up for the project fit marathon after gentle encouragement to do so from family. I was initially resistant because I didn’t feel particularly ‘fit’ but I jumped in it anyway and realigned my focus to measuring progress in my real life fitness project and answering the question "how do I objectively measure fitness?".

Resting heart rate
The heart is a muscle* and your resting heart rate is usually an indicator of how strong that muscle is. In general, the lower it is the better. You can use technology to get reading via a smart fitness watch or blood pressure machine, or you can manually estimate it placing two fingers between the bone and the tendon on an artery located on the thumb side of your wrist. When you feel your pulse, count the number of beats for one minute. ❗️Readings are best taken first thing in the morning before anyone has had an opportunity to frustrate you.

*The heart muscle of athletes is larger in size than that of ordinary, sedentary people due the physiological response it has to exercise.

Excellent Fitness Rating

• Males = anything less than 50 beats per minute (BPM).
• Females = anything less than 55 BPM.

Above Average Fitness Rating

• Males = anything between 50 and 59 BPM
• Females = anything between 55 and 65 BPM

Average Fitness Rating

• Males  = anything between 60 and 70 BPM
• Females = anything between 66 and 76 BPM

⚠️ If the reading obtained is less than what's outlined above then your fitness rating is poor.
​
12 minute Cooper test
It’s simple - Run as hard as you can for 12 minutes on a measurable track or treadmill. Once done check the categories below for a fitness rating.

Excellent Fitness Rating

• Males aged 20 to 39  is anything > 2.8 Kilometers. ||| Males aged 40 to 49 is anything > 2.5 kilometers.
• Females aged 20 to 39 is anything > 2.7 kilometers ||| Females aged 40 to 49 is anything > 2.3 kilometers.

Above Average Fitness Rating

• Males aged 20 to 39  is anything >= 2.4 to 2.8 Kilometers. ||| Males aged 40 to 49 is anything between 2.1 to 2.5 kilometers.
• Females aged 20 to 39 is anything between 2.2 to 2.7 kilometers ||| Females aged 40 to 49 is between 1.9 to 2.3 kilometers.

Average Fitness Rating

• Males aged 20 to 39 is anything between 2.2 to 2.4 Kilometers. ||| Males aged 40 to 49 is anything between 1.7 to 2.09 kilometers.
• Females aged 20 to 39 is anything between 1.8 to 2.19 kilometers ||| Females aged 40 to 49 is anything between 1.5 to 1.89 kilometers.

⚠️ If the distance covered is less than what's outlined above then your fitness rating is poor.

2.4 kilometers test
In this test, individuals run a distance of 2.4 kilometers as fast as they can. The time taken to complete the run is used as an indicator of cardiovascular endurance.

Excellent Fitness Rating

• Males = 9 minutes or less.
• Females = 12 minutes or less.

Above Average Fitness Rating

• Males = Less than 10 minutes.
• Females = 13.5 minutes or less.

Average Fitness Rating

• Males  = 12 minutes or less.
• Females = anything between 13.5 and 15 minutes.

⚠️ If the time obtained for distance covered is less than what's outlined above then your fitness rating is poor.

VO2 max
VO2 max is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute of activity your body can use. To measure it, you can either use technology in the form of a smart fitness watch to estimate this value or manually calculate it from running a predetermined distance. For simplicity purposes, If you perform the cooper test or the 2.4 kilometer tests outlined above then the following formulas are applicable:  VO2max = (22.351 x kilometers) - 11.288 for the cooper test, and VO2max = (483 / time) + 3.5 for the 2.4 kilometer test. The other albeit unrealistic option for the majority of my readership is a lab test.
❗️Quick tips to improve this metric are weight loss and high intensity interval training.

Excellent Fitness Rating

• Males aged 18 to 35  is anything > 60. ||| Males aged 36 to 55 is anything between 51 to 59.
• Females aged 18 to 35  is anything  > 56. ||| Females aged 36 to 55 is anything between 45 to 55.

Above Average Fitness Rating

• Males aged 18 to 35 is >= 52 to 59  ||| Males aged 36 to 55 is anything between 43 to 50.
• Females aged 18 to 35 is 47 to 56. ||| Females aged 36 to 55 is anything between 39 to 44.

Average Fitness Rating

• Males aged 18 to 35 is anything  >= 42 to 51  ||| Males aged 36 to 55 is anything between 35 to 42.
• Females aged 18 to 35 is is anything between 38 to 46. ||| Females aged 36 to 55 is anything between 34 to 38.

⚠️ If the rating obtained is less than what's outlined above then your fitness rating is poor.

The relevance of fitness testing is measuring your baseline so you can easily observe improvements or deterioration in fitness. Train, recover, eat and sleep well consistently and fitness takes care of itself. I personally use a Garmin 55 to tell me the truth about my cardiovascular fitness reality.

Last weekend I found myself dragged into a discussion about the gym and some of the messy situations people find themselves in. I was asked for my take as ‘Ba Yama’ ku gym.

🗣️”I don’t care how far someone pushes their chest out or how often someone flicks their hair, the gym is the one place that consolidates people that want to be better. People that want to look and feel better. And because there’s a baseline people are trying to build on, insecurities, if left unchecked can creep in and nothing feels better than words of affirmation in times of self-doubt.” The unscrupulous among us speak this love language fluently in environments where the volume is never loud enough for the recipient not to hear, but for the civilised folk it’s fuel and encouragement. I’m drawn to the positives of any situation so for a better gym experience I encourage the lingo. To be clear, it's the simple English, no code, no hint hint or requirement to read between the lines kind of lingo. 

See someone looking good? Tell them they look good without any extras (😍 ❌) . You’ll make their day, I promise.

See someone showing up everyday? Tell them you admire their consistency. You’ll be the reason that they show up again the next day, and the days after that.

See someone in your space? Smile 😊, greet them 👋🏿 and keep it moving. You’ll help them feel warmth and friendliness. We all need more of that in a world where everyone is too gangster or too much of a 'somebody' to greet those around them. Be kind, it's contagious, so spread it every chance you get.

See someone changing the temperature in a room? Tell them they're on fire 🔥. You'll help yourself by finding inspiration to light your own match and push through your workout.

Why? 🦁
Because when you are affirm others you often identify the traits you would like to have, and if you’re someone with a basic desire to improve, these are the things you’ll gradually develop. If you stick around lions long enough you’ll forget you’re a vegetarian and develop a killer instinct. 

Note: These aren’t one-off events. Nobody ever got tired of compliments.