Relativity makes us evaluate options in comparison rather than absolute terms. This mental pattern:<ul><li>Creates vulnerability to decoy options designed to manipulate choices</li><li>Shifts preferences when irrelevant alternatives are introduced</li><li>Works in multiple domains including products, dating, and job selection</li><li>Operates unconsciously without our awareness or permission</li><li>Can be weaponized by marketers through strategic pricing and packaging</li></ul>We lack internal value meters that tell us what things are worth. Instead, we focus on the relative advantage of one thing over another, comparing similar available alternatives rather than evaluating each option independently.

Relativity Trap

Anchoring shows how initial values disproportionately influence subsequent judgments. This effect:
<ul>
<li>Persists even when the anchor is completely arbitrary</li>
<li>Affects professionals including real estate agents, judges, and car dealers</li>
<li>Works with any number, not just prices or bids</li>
<li>Can't be eliminated through awareness or expertise</li>
<li>Creates opportunities for deliberate manipulation in negotiations</li>
</ul>
The first number functions as a starting point that the mind adjusts away from (usually insufficiently). This explains why car dealers start with MSRP, stores use regular prices, and negotiations improve with aggressive first offers.

Anchoring Effect

We don't always know why we do what we do, choose what we choose, or feel what we feel. But the obscurity of our real motivations doesn't stop us from creating perfectly logical-sounding reasons for our actions, decisions, and feelings.

The Zero Price Effect shows FREE! triggers an irrational positive response disproportionate to its actual value. This occurs because:<ul><li>FREE eliminates the risk of loss completely</li><li>Decisions involving FREE bypass rational cost-benefit analysis</li><li>Positive emotions are automatically activated by zero cost</li><li>We overreact to price reductions from small amounts to zero</li><li>We forget to consider opportunity costs when something is free</li></ul>This explains why we wait in long lines for free samples (ignoring time costs), collect worthless free items, and choose inferior products simply because they include something free.

The Zero Price Effect

Social and market norms represent two fundamentally different relationship systems that operate by distinct rules:<ul><li>Social norms involve unwritten mutual obligations without immediate accounting</li><li>Market norms rely on explicit exchanges with precise payments for specific benefits</li><li>Mixing the two typically damages the relationship and reduces cooperation</li><li>Recovery from market-to-social transitions takes substantial time</li><li>Organizations often confuse these norms to their detriment</li></ul>Relationships can operate in either mode but struggle when both are activated simultaneously. This explains why monetary incentives sometimes backfire, why mixing friendship and business creates tension, and why we're a family companies create resentment when making market-based decisions.

Social vs. Market Norms

Procrastination reflects our struggle between immediate gratification and long-term benefits. The research shows:<ul><li>We consistently prioritize present pleasure over future benefits</li><li>Self-awareness of our procrastination doesn't eliminate it</li><li>Commitment devices (self-imposed restrictions) significantly improve outcomes</li><li>External commitments work better than voluntary self-restrictions</li><li>Pre-commitment is most effective before temptation begins</li></ul>This explains why voluntary gym payments, deadline structures, and automatic savings plans work—they let our current selves restrict our future selves' freedom, bridging the gap between our long-term desires and short-term behavior.

Procrastination and Self-Control

Standard economics assumes that we are rational—that we know all the pertinent information about our decisions, that we can calculate the value of the different options we face, and that we are cognitively unhindered in weighing the ramifications of each potential choice.

The Endowment Effect causes us to value what we own more highly than identical items we don't own. This occurs because:
<ul>
<li>Loss aversion makes giving up items painful</li>
<li>Ownership creates immediate emotional attachment</li>
<li>Psychological ownership begins even before formal possession</li>
<li>Partial ownership through touching or imagining ownership increases valuation</li>
<li>The gap persists even among experienced traders</li>
</ul>
This effect explains why homeowners overprice their houses, why trial offers work, and why sellers and buyers often can't agree on fair prices—each side is operating from fundamentally different value perceptions based solely on ownership status.

Endowment Effect

Expectations don't just predict our experiences—they actually create them. This happens because:
<ul>
<li>Prior beliefs physically alter how we perceive taste, pain, and pleasure</li>
<li>Price signals directly influence product effectiveness and enjoyment</li>
<li>Brand names change the actual neurological experience of consumption</li>
<li>Expert opinions reshape our genuine perceptions, not just our statements</li>
<li>Blind testing reveals dramatically different preferences than known-brand testing</li>
</ul>
The brain doesn't simply process incoming sensory information—it actively constructs experience based on expectations. This explains the effectiveness of placebos, why wine tastes better from expensive bottles, and why brand-name drugs outperform chemically identical generics.

Expectation Effects

We usually think of ourselves as sitting in the driver's seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we make and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires—with how we want to view ourselves—than with reality.

The Cost of Zero reveals how free triggers irrational decision-making beyond the zero-price effect. Key insights:<ul><li>We neglect opportunity costs when facing free options</li><li>Rational cost-benefit analysis stops working when zero enters the equation</li><li>Fear of loss disappears completely with free offers</li><li>Accounting pain (the discomfort of spending) vanishes with free items</li><li>The effect works with time, effort, and other non-monetary costs</li></ul>This explains why we make financially irrational choices like choosing a free $10 gift card over paying $7 for a $20 gift card, or waiting in long lines to save small amounts on specific items while ignoring larger savings opportunities.

The Cost of "Free"

Dishonesty follows predictable patterns that challenge our self-image as moral beings. The research reveals:
<ul>
<li>Most people cheat a little when they can</li>
<li>Very few people cheat to the maximum possible extent</li>
<li>Moral reminders dramatically reduce or eliminate cheating</li>
<li>Distance from money increases dishonesty (e.g., taking pencils vs. cash)</li>
<li>Watching others cheat increases our own cheating, especially if they're part of our group</li>
</ul>
We maintain our self-image as honest people while still benefiting from dishonesty by creating just enough psychological flexibility to rationalize small transgressions. This fudge factor explains why conflicts of interest are so dangerous—they exploit this moral flexibility.

Dishonesty's Flexible Boundaries

Hot-cold empathy gaps reveal our inability to predict behavior across emotional states. The research shows:<ul><li>We cannot accurately predict decisions in emotional states while calm</li><li>Similarly, we cannot predict calm-state decisions while emotional</li><li>The effect applies to hunger, anger, fear, sexual arousal, and other visceral states</li><li>Advance preparation is critical, as in-the-moment rationality often fails</li><li>This explains protection avoidance, addiction relapses, and impulsive purchases</li></ul>This empathy gap means our multiple selves don't communicate well. The rational self makes plans, but the emotional self makes in-the-moment choices without consulting these plans. Each state genuinely cannot comprehend the other's decision-making process.

Hot and Cold States

Ever wonder why you buy things you don't need, procrastinate despite knowing better, or choose the medium popcorn when you wanted small? This eye-opening book reveals that our irrational behaviors aren't random mistakes—they're systematic and predictable. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely shows through clever experiments how our decisions are repeatedly and predictably irrational in ways we can anticipate. Best part? Once you understand these patterns, you can adjust for them and make better choices about money, relationships, and life.

<ul> <li>Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin? </li> <li>Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught? </li> <li>Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?</li> <li>Why do we go back for second helpings at the unlimited buffet, even when our stomachs are already full?</li> <li>And how did we ever start spending $4.15 on a cup of coffee when, just a few years ago, we used to pay less than a dollar?</li> </ul> When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same types of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. Predictably Irrational will change the way we interact with the world—one small decision at a time.

Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University. He also holds an appointment at the MIT Media Lab where he is the head of the eRationality research group. He was formerly the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management.Dan Ariely grew up in Israel after birth in New York. He served in the Israeli army and when 18 suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body from an accidental magnesium flare explosion during training.Ariely recovered and went on to graduate from Tel Aviv University and received a Ph.D. and M.A. in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in business from Duke University.

Dan Ariely

Predictably Irrational

First, know that receiving a Job rejection email doesn’t mean that you’re worthless. You’re way more valuable than you think.At the turn of 2020, when all hopes were hinged on the anticipation of what could be the best year of most people’s lives, the surge that swept across the globe rendering many people jobless would kill such hope — the covid-19 pandemic.While people moaned and lolled in dismay at the misfortunes triggered by the pandemic, some people took the opportunity of remote job hunting.

It's Okay To Get A Rejection Email

Remote job hunting has been the trend since 2020, but the agony it comes with when your job application is unsuccessful can be more stinging than death.“Thank you so much for taking your time to apply for the role of a content writer at Blez company. We know how much time and energy a job application takes. After carefully considering your application against the requirements of the role, we’ve decided not to take your application further. We wish you success in your future endeavours”.

That Sinking Feeling

“Thank you for your interest in the position of social media content manager at Glaspin company. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application, but we appreciate your time and interest”.These messages can be very demoralising, and when you receive more than 20 of these messages in a month, you would feel as if you’re the definition of worthless.You’re not!

You Are Not Worthless

When you get a rejection mail, you can raise the bar of your curiosity by replying to the rejection mail immediately. This would help you inquire why you didn’t get picked from the company. Most times, if not all the time, you won’t get any response from them.But replying to the rejection mail will make you let the bad energy and shock received by the mail flow out and give you that relief needed to remind yourself that it’s just a little stain, nothing too serious.

Reply to The Rejection Mail Immediately

Talking about the mail rejection with someone with in-depth knowledge about the job and its basic requirements will help you not feel too bad. It might even be of great help to you in the future.How?When we receive job rejection emails, sometimes it’s due to our fault. We may have the experience required, but we do not have a properly drafted résumé that serves as proof that we match the job description.

Talk About It with Someone Who Has Higher Experience than Yourself

When you receive the pop-up notification and realise it’s one of those insignificant job rejection mail, start laughing.  Start laughing. If you’re with a friend, make a joke about it. If you’re not with a friend, place a call to a friend and crack a joke.Jokes make you feel at ease.

Joke About It with A Friend

Another piece of advice is once you receive that insignificant email, don’t ever let it cool off your steam. It is meant to galvanise you to reapply for another job. There are a host of companies out there looking for your unique services. Don’t let one insignificant email kill your spirit and make you lose that opportunity to land your dream job.

Reapply for Another Job Immediately

“– You are to deliver between 2 to 3 articles a day– You are to deliver between 1000 and 1500 words of each article– You will be placed on a fixed payment of ₦20,000 ($50)”Sometimes reading the job description again is a good idea, but try to find a fault. It always helps.

Go Through the Job Description to Belittle the Job

It might seem depression is creeping in when you’ve received up to 15 rejection emails in a month. This is because you have chosen to let such insignificant emails get the best out of you. To free your mind, go out and enjoy your beautiful time.You’ll forget about it when you start having a good time.

Go out And Have Some Fun

This strategy works best for people who love to plan their life. If you’re a proper planner, then before you click “apply”, weigh the chances of getting the job on a scale of 10. That way, you won’t feel dispirited if you don’t get the job.Some advice: always go below a 5 on a scale of 10. And never raise all hopes, even if you’re the best fit for the job in your books.

Pre-Determine Your Expectations

Lastly, When you get insignificant emails, 99% of the time, it is not because you’re not good enough. It’s because you applied late, and someone else has already been onboarded to fill that position.Sometimes, you might see over 200 applications for a job requiring only two persons.And even when most companies assure you that they review all applications, in all honesty, they don’t.It’s not easy to review over 1000 applications, especially in a short time. So why let it weigh you down? Move on!

Move On! Don’t Think Much About It

I struggled to stay positive when I received my first job rejection email till I adopted some intelligent strategies that helped me overcome job rejection

career

Career

mentalhealth

Mental Health

How to Handle Job Rejection Email

The 12-3-30 workout is a treadmill-based workout routine that claims to boost weight loss and burn calories. The workout on the treadmill involves:<ul><li>Walking at an incline level of 12</li><li>The speed setting of 3 miles per hour</li><li>Lasting 30 minutes</li></ul> The idea is to get your heart rate up without running using the incline setting and a moderately paced walking speed.

The 12-3-30 workout

<ul><li>Improves health as with any form of physical activity.</li><li>May build some lower body muscle. You could build some lower body muscle and increase strength. Walking at an incline activates your hamstrings, quads, glutes, hip, knee, and ankle flexors.</li><li>Increases daily energy expenditure. Each 1% incline grade burns about ten additional calories per mile for a 150-pound person.</li><li>Provides a joint-friendly and low-impact alternative cardiovascular workout.</li></ul>

Benefits of the 12-3-30 workout

<ul><li>The 12-3-30 workout is low-risk for those who are active already. However, ensure you are cleared for basic exercise by your doctor.</li><li>When using a treadmill, attach the safety strap in case of falls. This strap will pull out a key that stops the treadmill if you fall.</li><li>Warm up before the workout by walking at a slower pace and lower incline.</li><li>Never push past pain.</li></ul>

Risks of the 12-3-30 workout

The 12-3-30 workout is popular for a good reason. It is easy to remember and follow. Find out more about potential benefits and how to do it.

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

sports

Sports

Why the 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout is Taking Over Your Social Media Feed

With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic now plausibly in sight, 70% of Britons say they hope to eat a healthier diet, lose weight and exercise more. But how? Every year, millions of people vow to be more physically active, but the vast majority of these resolutions fail. We all know what happens. After a week or two of sticking to a new exercise regime, we gradually slip back into old habits and then feel bad about ourselves.

Another Failed Resolution

Most adults in high-income countries, such as the UK and US, don’t get the minimum of 150 minutes per week of physical activity recommended by most health professionals. Everyone knows exercise is healthy, but prescribing and selling it rarely works.We all believe we should exercise more. So why is it so hard to keep it up? We list the most common and unhelpful workout myths.

Too Rich To Exercise

Exercise is a voluntary physical activity undertaken for the sake of fitness. You may think exercise is normal, but it’s a very modern behaviour. Instead, for millions of years, humans were physically active for only two reasons: when it was necessary or rewarding. Necessary physical activities included getting food and doing other things to survive. Rewarding activities included playing, dancing or training to have fun or to develop skills.But no one in the stone age ever went for a five-mile jog to stave off decrepitude, or lifted weights whose sole purpose was to be lifted.

Myth 1: It’s Normal to Exercise

When food is limited, every calorie spent on physical activity is a calorie not spent on other critical functions, such as maintaining our bodies, storing energy and reproducing. Because natural selection ultimately cares only about how many offspring we have, our hunter-gatherer ancestors evolved to avoid needless exertion – exercise – unless it was rewarding. So don’t feel bad about the natural instincts that are still with us. Instead, accept that they are normal and hard to overcome.

Myth 2: Avoiding Exertion Means You Are Lazy

Let’s not demonise a behaviour as normal as sitting. People in every culture sit a lot. Even hunter-gatherers who lack furniture sit about 10 hours a day, as much as most westerners. But there are more and less healthy ways to sit. Studies show that people who sit actively by getting up every 10 or 15 minutes wake up their metabolisms and enjoy better long-term health than those who sit inertly for hours on end. If you work all day in a chair, get up regularly, fidget and try not to spend the rest of the day in a chair, too.

Myth 3: Sitting Is the New Smoking

A common myth is that people uncontaminated by civilisation are incredible natural-born athletes who are super-strong, super-fast and able to run marathons easily. Not true. Most hunter-gatherers are reasonably fit, but they are only moderately strong and not especially fast. Their lives aren’t easy, but on average they spend only about two to three hours a day doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. It is neither normal nor necessary to be ultra-fit and ultra-strong.

Myth 4: Our Ancestors Were Hard-Working, Strong and Fast

Until recently just about every weight-loss programme involved exercise.  The truth is that you can lose more weight much faster through diet rather than exercise, especially moderate exercise such as 150 minutes a week of brisk walking. However, longer durations and higher intensities of exercise have been shown to promote gradual weight loss. Regular exercise also helps prevent weight gain or regain after diet. Every diet benefits from including exercise.

Myth 5: You Can’t Lose Weight Walking

Many people are scared of running because they’re afraid it will ruin their knees. These worries aren’t totally unfounded since knees are indeed the most common location of runners’ injuries. But knees and other joints aren’t like a car’s shock absorbers that wear out with overuse. Instead, running, walking and other activities have been shown to keep knees healthy, and numerous high-quality studies show that runners are, if anything, less likely to develop knee osteoarthritis. The strategy to avoid knee pain is to learn to run properly and train sensibly.

Myth 6: Running Will Wear out Your Knees

Despite rumours that our ancestors’ life was nasty, brutish and short, hunter-gatherers who survive childhood typically live about seven decades, and they continue to work moderately as they age. The truth is we evolved to be grandparents in order to be active in order to provide food for our children and grandchildren. In turn, staying physically active as we age stimulates myriad repair and maintenance processes that keep our bodies humming. Numerous studies find that exercise is healthier the older we get.

Myth 7: It’s Normal to Be Less Active as We Age

Many medical professionals follow the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise for adults. In truth, this is an arbitrary prescription because how much to exercise depends on dozens of factors, such as your fitness, age, injury history and health concerns. Remember this: no matter how unfit you are, even a little exercise is better than none.

Myth 8: There Is an Optimal Dose/type of Exercise

Most people don’t like exercise and have to overcome natural tendencies to avoid it. For most of us, telling us to “just do it” doesn’t work any better than telling a smoker or a substance abuser to “just say no!” To promote exercise, we typically prescribe it and sell it, but let’s remember that we evolved to be physically active for only two reasons: it was necessary or rewarding. So let’s find ways to do both: make it necessary and rewarding.  For example: if you agree to meet friends to exercise regularly you’ll be obliged to show up, you’ll have fun and you’ll keep each other going.

Myth 9: ‘just Do It’ Works

Let’s not oversell exercise as medicine. Although we never evolved to exercise, we did evolve to be physically active just as we evolved to drink water, breathe air and have friends. Thus, it’s the absence of physical activity that makes us more vulnerable to many illnesses, both physical and mental. In the modern, western world we no longer have to be physically active, so we invented exercise, but it is not a magic bullet that guarantees good health.

Myth 10: Exercise Is a Magic Bullet

We all believe we should exercise more. So why is it so hard to keep it up? Daniel E Lieberman, Harvard professor of evolutionary biology, explodes the most common and unhelpful workout myths

health

Health

Just don’t do it: 10 exercise myths

<ol><li>Pick your palette. Stick to either warm or cool colours or various shades of the same colour.</li><li>Look for one to two types of greenery with different textures and three to four types of flowers: A filler flower, a flower with some height, the "star" flower to grab attention, and a more complex flower such as berries.</li><li>Look for healthy flowers. The flowers should have green stems and firm petals.</li><li>Prep your plants. Cut stems at a 45-degree angle and remove leaves that will be below the waterline in the vase.</li></ol>

Find the right flowers

Put your vase on a lazy susan so you can spin it as you work.<ol><li>Start with the greenery</li><li>Then add your filler flowers</li><li>Next, add the tall flowers to create a high point</li><li>Then add the "star" flowers</li><li>Finish off your arrangement with the dainty flowers</li></ol>Ensure your bouquet has different layers of height and feels full and balanced all around.

Build your bouquet

Whether you forgot to order flowers for that special occasion, or you just want to flex a new creative muscle, here's how to DIY a professional-looking bouquet with grocery store flowers.

How to arrange supermarket flowers like a pro : Life Kit

Iñigo San-Millán, Ph.D. (@doctorinigo) is an internationally renowned applied physiologist. His research and clinical work focus on exercise-related metabolism, metabolic health, diabetes, cancer metabolism, nutrition, sports performance, and critical care  Iñigo San-Millán returns to The Drive to take a deep dive into Zone 2 training. He and Peter Attia breakdown metrics and levers of elite athletes, how to assess Zone 2 threshold, training levels for optimal health, and touch on learnings gathered from studying the mitochondria of long COVID patients in the ICU.

Podcast Introduction

<ul><li>Tadej Pogačar’s unique characteristics: can sustain high amounts of power output over long periods of time, recovers well, highly trainable.</li><li>Functional threshold power (FTP), lactate measurements, and watts per kilo predict performance – you really know where you stand before the race.</li><li>The Tour de France is won and lost in minutes when your ability to put out power really sets you apart.</li><li>Algorithms and metrics that work with the general population don’t always translate as well into professional athletes because they can mentally ignore a lot more.</li></ul>

Insights From Work With Tour de France Winner Tadej Pogačar

<ul><li>The sport of cycling has changed over time: watts and power output have decreased from the era drug use were rampant.</li><li>It’s feasible that the future of cycling will include real-time physiology & output metrics of riders.</li><li>Tour de France racers like Tadej spend 70-80% of the time in zone 2 training during winter months and increase intensity as the race nears.</li><li>Each energy system has a time in the calendar to achieve the desired output.</li></ul>

The Sport Of Cycling

<ul><li>Zone 2: the exercise intensity at which you are stressing mitochondria and oxidative capacity the most.</li><li>Tenants of zone 2 training: recruits mainly type I muscle fibers, mobilizes the highest amount of fat oxidation, and stimulates bioenergetics (fat & glucose in mitochondria).</li><li>Lactate is the preferred fuel for most cells in the body.</li><li>Lactate is oxidized in the mitochondria back to energy.</li><li>The purest way to estimate zone 2 training is indirect telemetry which will give us information about fat oxidation.</li></ul>

Zone 2 Training

<ul><li>Hook the device up to yourself then ride a bike or machine and gradually increase the intensity, measuring VO2 and VCO2</li><li>Consumption of oxygen production of carbon dioxide – which tells us total energy consumption (in kcal per minute).</li><li>Ratio of VO2 and VCO2 tells us how much energy comes from fat oxidation and how much is glycolytic.</li><li>In a more glycolytic state of fatty oxidation state, you still consume oxygen but don’t produce as much CO2.</li></ul>

Indirect Telemetry

As exercise intensity increases, you need more oxygen so VO2 increases then you give off more CO2 – you are recruiting type II muscle fibres, using more glucose for energy, consuming more oxygen, and producing more CO2.Mitochondria oxidize fuels differently at different exercise intensities – an elite athlete can still recruit slow-twitch muscle fibres at high intensities and rely on fat to produce energy while the average person fully relies on glucose (instead of fat) to sustain the effort.

Increase In Exercise Intensity

<ul><li>The independent variable is workload (in watts); the dependent variable is blood lactate.</li><li>People with metabolic syndrome have high resting lactate (almost 2 mmol) – it’s possible that resting lactate will eventually be a tracked biomarker (the same way we use blood glucose).</li><li>Once lactate exceeds 2 mmol you are leaving zone 2 and entering zone 3.</li><li>A healthy person starts with a lactate of about 1 mmol; an elite athlete starts at lactate of about .5 mmol.</li><li>The fitter the individual, the higher the absolute capacity for fat oxidation.</li></ul>

Muscle Physiology, Lactate, & Fat Oxidation

The metabolic stress of an elite athlete is not the same as a recreational athlete or layperson at the same blood lactate – 2 mmol of stress in an elite athlete might be higher than 2 mmol of stress in the average person because of the intensity it takes the elite athlete to get to 2 mmol in the first place

Metabolic Stress

<ul><li>The lactate in the blood reflects mitochondrial oxidation: someone with high power output who needs a lot of glycolysis to produce energy will produce lactate.</li><li>Lactate is the byproduct of glycolysis – the higher the glycolysis, the higher the lactate.</li></ul>Two routes of lactate: <ol><li>From fast-twitch muscle fibres to slow-twitch muscle fibres; </li><li>Export to blood.</li></ol><ul><li>Every time you use glucose you produce pyruvate; every time that pyruvate will be reduced to lactate.</li><li>No matter how fit you are, at some point, you have to produce lactate.</li><li>When lactate can no longer be oxidized it’s transported to the blood.</li></ul>

Producing Lactate

<ul><li>A reasonable measure of how zone 2 should feel: you can carry out a full conversation, maybe not as comfortably as if you weren’t exercising, but still without much strain.</li><li>You want to know your actual maximum heart rate – zone 2 will be about 70-80% of your realized maximum heart rate.</li><li>Zone 2 will depend on fatigue as well – heart rate variability will be lower on days you are tired or didn’t sleep well.</li><li>Heart rate variability is actually a strong indicator of how hard you should push or back off exercise.</li></ul>

Identifying Your Zone 2 Level

<ul><li>Zone 2 really involves steady-state, sustained cardio.</li><li>If you only train once per week, you will deteriorate overtime – two days per week you might maintain what you have – three days or more, we see improvements.</li><li>Ideal parameters of zone 2: ideally train 1 hour-1.5 hours, 4x per week.</li><li>If it’s difficult to start out with one hour, start with less and work your way up.</li><li>If you look at the workload of an elite athlete, most sessions are of lower intensity – it’s not all about intensity and interval training.</li></ul>

Starting With Zone 2 Training

You can accomplish very important mitochondrial adaptations and very important metabolic adaptations by exercising for one hour…3-4 days per week.

<ul><li>Four pillars of fitness: (1) stability; (2) strength; (3) “low-end aerobic” or zone 2; (4) high intensity/anaerobic capacity.</li><li>VO2 max is highly correlated with longevity.</li><li>Longevity is also highly correlated with mitochondrial function and metabolic health.</li><li>High-intensity training is not sustainable over time, the same way extreme diets are not sustainable over time.</li><li>High intensity is critical for sustaining glycolytic capacity, especially as we age – but thankfully it can be improved in just a few months.</li></ul>

The Four Pillars Of Fitness

<ul><li>Some studies point to elevated lactate levels in patients on metformin</li><li>Metformin carries a lot of potential long term benefits but it’s difficult to parse out effects on mitochondrial function</li><li>NAD levels decrease with ageing, but many other metabolites are also downregulated with ageing</li><li>Taking NAD is not going to increase longevity, I don’t think so, that’s my opinion because longevity is not just one supplement or two or three or four or five, it’s a compendium.</li><li>NR &NMN are precursors to NAD – but we should be cautious when considering – a lot of fads come and go in longevity research</li></ul>

Supplements and Use Of Metformin

<ul><li>Patients with long COVID, even if previously healthy, end up looking mitochondrially like patients with type 2 diabetes in terms of fat oxidation and lactate production.</li><li>Metabolic test results of patients with long COVID often have normal pulmonary function tests and normal cardiac function – but they struggle to go up a flight of stairs at 50 years old.</li><li>It’s suspected that COVID produces a global insult to mitochondria (maybe in skeletal muscle) and leads to severe mitochondrial dysfunction, even one year later.</li></ul>

Patients With COVID in The Long Form

<ul><li>The brain dies if the liver can’t produce glucose continuously</li><li>Muscles deplete glycogen because of high utilization but the liver has plenty of glucose because of gluconeogenesis</li><li>It’s plausible that muscles eat themselves to feed themselves and the rest of the body – so getting some sort of load-bearing training (even moving extremities in bed) and supplementing with amino acids could improve outcomes</li><li>Two main parameters that are predictors of mortality in ICU: (1) high cortisol levels; (2) high lactate levels</li></ul>

ICU Patients: An Observation

You’d much rather err on the side of hyperglycemia than hypoglycemia under a period of stress

 View the Show Notes Page for This Episode  Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Episode Description: Iñigo San-Millán is an internationally renowned applied physiologist and a previous guest on The Drive. His research and clinical work focuses on exercise-related metabolism, metabolic health, diabetes, cancer metabolism, nutrition, sports performance, and critical care. In this episode, Iñigo describes how his work with Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar has provided insights into the amazing potential of elite athletes from a performance and metabolic perspective. He speaks specifically about lactate levels, fat oxidation, how carbohydrates in food can affect our lactate and how equal lactate outputs between an athlete and a metabolically unhealthy individual can mean different things. Next, he discusses how Zone 2 training boosts mitochondrial function and impacts longevity. He explains the different metrics for assessing one’s Zone 2 threshold and describes the optimal dose, frequency, duration, and type of exercise for Zone 2. Additionally, he offers his thoughts on how to incorporate high intensity training (Zone 5) to optimize health, as well as the potential of metformin and NAD to boost mitochondrial health. Finally, he discusses insights he’s gathered from studying the mitochondria of long COVID patients in the ICU. We discuss:  The amazing potential of cyclist Tadej Pogačar [3:00]; Metrics for assessing athletic performance in cyclists and how that impacts race strategy [8:30]; The impact of performance-enhancing drugs and the potential for transparency into athletes’ data during competition [17:00]; Tadej Pogačar’s race strategy and mindset at the Tour de France [24:00]; Defining Zone 2, fat oxidation, and how they are measured [26:45]; Using fat and carbohydrate utilization to calculate mitochondrial function and metabolic flexibility [35:45]; Lactate levels and fat oxidation as it relates to Zone 2 exercise [40:00]; How moderately active individuals should train to improve metabolic function and maximize mitochondrial performance [51:45]; Bioenergetics of the cell and what is different in elite athletes [57:30]; How the level of carbohydrate in the diet affects fuel utilization and power output during exercise [1:08:30]; Glutamine as a source for making glycogen—insights from studying the altered metabolism of ICU patients [1:15:00]; How exercise mobilizes glucose transporters—an important factor in diabetic patients [1:21:00]; Metrics for finding Zone 2 threshold—lactate, heart rate, and more [1:25:00]; Optimal Zone 2 training: dose, frequency, duration, and type of exercise [1:41:15]; How to incorporate high intensity training (Zone 5) to increase VO2 max and optimize fitness [1:51:15]; Compounding benefits of Zone 2 exercise and how we can improve metabolic health into old age [2:01:45]; The effects of metformin, NAD, and supplements on mitochondrial function [2:05:15]; The role of lactate and exercise in cancer [2:13:30]; How assessing metabolic parameters in long COVID patients provides insights into this disease [2:19:00]; The advantages of using cellular surrogates of metabolism instead of VO2 max for prescribing exercise [2:25:45]; Metabolomics reveals how cellular metabolism is altered in sedentary individuals [2:33:45]; Cellular changes in the metabolism of people with diabetes and metabolic syndrome [2:39:15]; and More.   Sign Up to Receive Peter’s Weekly Newsletter Connect With Peter on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

podcasts

Podcasts

 View the Show Notes Page for This Episode  Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content Episode Description: Iñigo San-Millán is an internationally renowned applied physiologist and a previous guest on The Drive. His research and clinical work focuses on exercise-related metabolism, metabolic health, diabetes, cancer metabolism, nutrition, sports performance, and critical care. In this episode, Iñigo describes how his work with Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar has provided insights into the amazing potential of elite athletes from a performance and metabolic perspective. He speaks specifically about lactate levels, fat oxidation, how carbohydrates in food can affect our lactate and how equal lactate outputs between an athlete and a metabolically unhealthy individual can mean different things. Next, he discusses how Zone 2 training boosts mitochondrial function and impacts longevity. He explains the different metrics for assessing one’s Zone 2 threshold and describes the optimal dose, frequency, duration, and type of exercise for Zone 2. Additionally, he offers his thoughts on how to incorporate high intensity training (Zone 5) to optimize health, as well as the potential of metformin and NAD to boost mitochondrial health. Finally, he discusses insights he’s gathered from studying the mitochondria of long COVID patients in the ICU. We discuss:  The amazing potential of cyclist Tadej Pogačar [3:00]; Metrics for assessing athletic performance in cyclists and how that impacts race strategy [8:30]; The impact of performance-enhancing drugs and the potential for transparency into athletes’ data during competition [17:00]; Tadej Pogačar’s race strategy and mindset at the Tour de France [24:00]; Defining Zone 2, fat oxidation, and how they are measured [26:45]; Using fat and carbohydrate utilization to calculate mitochondrial function and metabolic flexibility [35:45]; Lactate levels and fat oxidation as it relates to Zone 2 exercise [40:00]; How moderately active individuals should train to improve metabolic function and maximize mitochondrial performance [51:45]; Bioenergetics of the cell and what is different in elite athletes [57:30]; How the level of carbohydrate in the diet affects fuel utilization and power output during exercise [1:08:30]; Glutamine as a source for making glycogen—insights from studying the altered metabolism of ICU patients [1:15:00]; How exercise mobilizes glucose transporters—an important factor in diabetic patients [1:21:00]; Metrics for finding Zone 2 threshold—lactate, heart rate, and more [1:25:00]; Optimal Zone 2 training: dose, frequency, duration, and type of exercise [1:41:15]; How to incorporate high intensity training (Zone 5) to increase VO2 max and optimize fitness [1:51:15]; Compounding benefits of Zone 2 exercise and how we can improve metabolic health into old age [2:01:45]; The effects of metfo

Expert insight on health, performance, longevity, critical thinking, and pursuing excellence. Dr. Peter Attia (Stanford/Hopkins/NIH-trained MD) talks with leaders in their fields.

The Peter Attia Drive

#201 - Deep dive back into Zone 2 | Iñigo San-Millán, Ph.D. (Pt. 2)

The fix: You’ve got plenty of time; the trick is being intentional about how you use it.There are 168 hours in a week. Even after you subtract 56 hours to sleep and 50 for work, you’re left with 62 hours.We have the power to fill our lives with the things that deserve to be there.If you truly want to start working out, you must place it high on your mental to-do list. Then you need to put it in your physical schedule, by planning your week before you’re in it.

Excuse #1: “I don’t have the time to exercise.”

The fix: Put yourself in the future.When it comes to temptation, we humans are engaged in a righteous struggle between our present self and our future self. Our future self knows it’s in our best interest to exercise, but “it’s an unequal battle” between the two selves.The present self is present. It’s in control. It can easily put donuts into your mouth. The future self is not even around, and so the present self can trounce all over its dreams.Engage in mental time travel.   Picture yourself in 20 or 30 years if you don’t start exercising.

Excuse #2: “I’m just so comfortable at home right now; I’ll start exercising next week.”

The fix: You can do both at the same time.Make it a rule that you can consume your favourite stories (Netflix/novel/podcast/news) only while exercising. “Temptation bundling” is what this pairing of a pleasurable activity with a desired habit is.

Excuse #3: “I’d much rather listen to This American Life/watch Netflix/catch up on the news"

The fix: People will judge, but you don’t need to be one of them.We live in a culture where being fat is seen as being a bad person — lazy, greedy, unhealthy, irresponsible and morally suspect. And we tend to see thinness as being universally good.Rather than seeing exercise as a way to punish ourselves for not being “perfect,” it can be a way for us to take care of our bodies.Reclaiming yourself can be one of the most gorgeous acts of self-love and can look like a million different things, from hairstyles to tattoos to body contouring to hormones to surgery and, yes, even weight loss.

Excuse #4: “I feel like I’m out of shape, and I dread going to the gym with all those workout fanatics staring at me.”

The fix: Take a tip from top athletes, and imagine a different scenario.You’ll frequently see Olympians frown right before they compete. Most of them are not worrying about the event (even though that’s what it looks like they’re doing). They’re engaging in imagery — visualizing what’s to come. Imagery is a mental rehearsal. This exercise is very effective: If you’re going for a run, what obstacles (bikers, traffic) will emerge? Picture yourself navigating around them.   Try to see every step as if you’re watching it in fast forward. Then take one last breath, open your eyes, and go.

Excuse #5: “When I think about working out, I picture myself panting, red-faced and in pain, so I find something else to do.”

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

How to exercise when it’s the last thing you want to do

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get a good workout. However, finding the time to go to the gym can be difficult and stressful. Studies show that the best way to lose weight and burn fat is using an exercise routine that incorporates multiple muscle groups and spike your heart rate. If you want to burn fat and lose weight in a short time, try resistance training.

Working out at home

This seven move, full-body resistance workout requires some extra resistance. Instead of hand weights,  you can use a can of baked beans or coconut cream, a pile of books or a basket of washing. 1. Alternating lunge and press2. Squat curl and press3. V-sit overhead boxing4. Row and press (left side)5. Row and press (right side)6. Front raise into side raise7. Running arms

Full body resistance workout

For this workout, you'll need a baby or and other cute resistance you have at home. Do each of these seven exercises for 30 seconds each, and repeat the sequence four times. <ol><li>Reverse lunge (right side)</li><li>Reverse lunge (left side)</li><li>Squat and press</li><li>Kneeling push up and kiss</li><li>Plank</li><li>Sit up</li><li>Baby kayaks</li></ol>

Home resistance workout with baby

<ol><li>Burpees</li><li>Jump squats</li><li>Split lunge jumps</li><li>Push-ups</li><li>Mountain climbers</li><li>Plank up-downs</li><li>Bicycle cruches</li></ol>

Fat burning HIIT in 7 moves without equipment

<ol><li>Mat jumps (side to side)</li><li>Mountain Climbers</li><li>Squat Jumps</li><li>Box & Jump</li><li>Split Lunge jumps</li><li>Ducking Squats</li><li>Burpees</li></ol>

Fat-burner routine

<ol><li>Swing Sit-Ups</li><li>Toe Taps</li><li>Kneeling Plank</li><li>Lying Leg Raise – Left Side</li><li>Lying Leg Raise – Right Side</li><li>Supported V Sit</li><li>Alternating Kneeling Shoulder Touches</li></ol> Beginners can start by doing 30 second of each of the seven exercises with 30 seconds rest between each exercise. As you become stronger, work your way up until you can do a minute of each exercise.

Home workout to tone your abs

<ol><li>Squats (20 reps)</li><li>Forward-back lunges (10 reps each leg forward and back)</li><li>Calf raises (20)</li><li>Static lunge (10 each leg)</li><li>Squat Jumps (10)</li><li>Side lunges (10 each leg)</li><li>Side Leg Raises (10 each leg)</li><li>Repeat 3-4 times</li></ol>

Home workout to tone your legs

<ol><li>Renegade row (10 reps each side, 20 in total)</li><li>Push-ups (20 reps)</li><li>Curl & Press (20 reps)</li><li>Arm Curls (20 reps)</li><li>Overhead tricep extension (20 reps)</li><li>Lat raise (20 reps)</li><li>Side Plank with Resistance (hold 30 seconds each side)</li></ol>

Home workout to tone your upper body

Multiple workout exercises you can do at home.

How to Exercise at Home Without Equipment – 28 By Sam Wood

"Ah yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”

"Learn from every mistake because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to teach you and force you into being more of who you are."

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”

“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect... Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.”

<ul><li>A mistake is an error in judgment, misunderstanding, or misguided action. You won’t always have poor intentions when making mistakes — in fact, many mistakes are accidents.</li><li>Alternatively, failure usually comes from a lack of success, or an inability to meet expectations. Everyone’s definition of failure is different. </li></ul>Several consecutive mistakes could lead to failure, but the terms aren’t synonymous.

Mistakes and failures

<ol><li>The first step to achieving growth is admitting when you’ve done wrong.</li><li>Changing your perspective is the second step to the learning process.</li><li>Take the time to consider what led up to the mistake, including errors you made along the way. </li><li>Put the lessons you've learned into practice.</li><li>Review your progress. </li><li>Recognize that it's okay to feel vulnerable.</li><li>Remember that we can't avoid making mistakes. It’s impossible to anticipate everything that will happen; all we can do is try our best, ask for help, and support others.</li></ol>

The art of making mistakes

How you see yourself and view your actions is a significant aspect of handling any errors you make. Your mindset is everything. It may seem small, but showing compassion toward yourself does wonders for your self-esteem.

Be compassionate toward yourself

A brief guide to the benefits of making and learning from your mistakes. Plus, take a look at inspirational quotes to help you bounce back when those mistakes happen.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

Learn From Your Mistakes: Master This Art to Achieve More

The G8 summit or the Group of Eight is the annual meeting of the world's top economic leaders, happening since 1973. In 2013 it became the G7 due to the removal of Russia, due to their invasion of Crimea.
The G8 is more like a club of the world's most powerful people, where the leader of the group changes annually, and there is no legal or political authority.
The Original Eight countries are the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the UK.

The Great Eight

Originally called the G6, the first summit took place in France in 1975 and added Canada a year later to become G7. Russia was added in the year 1997.There were various informal group meetings in the 70s, discussing serious concerns, like the mid-east oil crisis.

Origins Of The G8

The G8 also acted as a planning and discussion forum for the bigger G20 event, which was formed in 1999 and added Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the EU to the existing list of countries.The G8 is starting to look irrelevant after the formation of the G20, which proved its worth by handling crucial issues like the 2008 economic crisis. To remain relevant and useful, the G8 should address problems that affect developing nations.

G8 to G20

The G8 was conceived as a gathering of world economic powers to discuss global issues. But since the creation of the G20, it has become less relevant.

Predictably Irrational

How to Handle Job Rejection Email

Why the 12-3-30 Treadmill Workout is Taking Over Your Social Media Feed

Just don’t do it: 10 exercise myths

How to arrange supermarket flowers like a pro : Life Kit

Liza Mills