Hi friends,

It’s been 25 days since I last worked out. But who’s counting? Recent health issues have kept me out of the gym. You can read more about that here.

Today, I want to talk about what I’ve experienced over the past three weeks of not being able to go to the gym. Everyone talks about the benefits of exercise, but not many talk about the effects of not working out.

Of course, I’ve started to notice my muscle mass decreasing and my body fat increasing; however, the biggest effect I’ve noticed has been a drop in my mood and energy level.

Ironically, not exercising has made me feel more tired and apathetic. It’s been harder to get out of bed, read, and get off to work in the mornings. I find myself more inclined to do low-yield activities such as scrolling on Instagram or going down the YouTube rabbit hole.

Physical activity has been an integral part of the human experience dating back 300,000 years ago to our hominid ancestors.

Our ancient genes aren’t made for the modern world. Hits of dopamine used to be reserved for accomplishing hard activities like getting a kill that feeds the tribe.

“We evolved for scarcity but live in abundance. There’s a constant struggle to say no when your genes always want to say yes.” — Naval Ravikant

Now, all you have to do is open a social media app to get an instant release of dopamine.

It boils down to humans are programmed to do hard things, i.e. lift weights, run, and experience discomfort.

Exercise is one of the greatest tools we have for boosting mood and elevating mental health. But if you don’t ever workout, you don’t know what you’re missing.

If it’s been days, weeks, or years, let this be your sign to exercise today. Go run. Walk. Or lift weights. Your body and brain will thank you for it.

Until next week,

Kevin

✍️ Quote I’m reflecting upon

“Humans were meant to move.”

— Daniel E. Lieberman, Exercised

❤️ Things I’m enjoying

1. Podcast - Derek Sivers, Philosopher Entrepreneur—The Greatest Year of His Life on the Tim Ferriss podcast.

2. Smart outlets - Kasa Smart Plug Outlets. These are something you didn’t know you needed until you have them. It’s so convenient to hook up Christmas lights to the smart outlets and turn them on/off with voice commands.

3. Playlist - Christmas Peaceful Piano. Shoutout to my PT school roommate Joe Wittmann for introducing me to this playlist a few years ago. Great for getting ready for work in the morning or bed in the evening.