Today’s healthspan sampler includes why you should have a workout accountability partner, why alcohol is horrible for fitness, and facts about the guy who went 382 days without food.
Workout Accountability Partners
Starting and keeping a consistent with a workout routine is a challenge. According to a 2019 study done by Strava, most people quit their fitness New Year’s resolution by January 19th, which they call “Quitter’s Day”. That’s a little over 2 weeks!
One way to increase your chances of success is to find a workout accountability partner. Here’s why:
- By simply telling someone your goal your chance of success increased 65%
- If you committed to meeting up with that person for that goal, your chance of success increased to 95%!
So rather than keeping your fitness goals to yourself you should not be afraid to tell others and even better find other people with similar goals. Even better, find an accountability partner either through work/family/friends or meet them in gym class. Make it official!
Alcohol: The Ultimate Performance REDUCING Drug
Here’s why alcohol for fitness is bad:
- Dehydrates you
- Inhibits muscle growth
- Disrupts sleep
If you are working hard on your fitness goals it’s best to avoid alcohol. However, if you MUST drink, start early, and end early. Plus, day drinking is awesome!
382 Days with No Food
In 1965, Angus Barbieri, at the age of 27 years old, fasted for 382 days. That means he didn’t eat for over a year!
Here are some additional interesting facts about him and his fast:
- Started at 456 lbs and dropped to 185 lbs
- Set out initially for a 40 day fast, but felt so good he decided to keep going
- Was medically supervised during his fast and took yeast and some vitamins
- Set the Guinness Book of World Records for longest survival without food
- Died in 1990 at age of 51 at weight of 196 lbs (unfortunately we don’t know his cause of death)
Overall, this is an amazing story and highlights how fat really is stored energy and how fasting can be used as a potential weight loss tool.
For more information on the benefits of fasting look into the content put out by medical doctors like Jason Fung, Volter Longo, or Peter Attia.
