A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

“I don’t want to lift weights, it will make me bulk up!” This is a common mindset in women wary of starting a new training routine. Even a quick Google search will reveal that it's an incredibly popular area of interest on bodybuilding blogs and fitness forums. Women enter the gym to improve a healthy inside and outside, and, sometimes, building a bulky exterior doesn’t align with their goals.

The truth is, merely taking the next step in your gym routine won’t automatically result in bigger muscles. And yet, this misconception can unfortunately impede women from entering the weight room. But in fact, the body of research showing resistance training's diverse benefits (particularly in women) continues to grow. So before you shy away from the weight room, here are some science-supported facts about weight lifting for women.

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Like many other biomarkers, age is a contributing factor in how our sex hormone levels change. Males experience a more gradual change throughout their lifetime, while women have a more abrupt change during the years leading up to menopause. Although we can’t stop the biological clock that dictates some of the changes to our hormone levels, we can alter some lifestyle factors in order to slow the process.
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When Joe Rogan speaks, people listen. But when Joe Rogan's guests speak, people sit up and take note. The renowned comedian and MMA commentator is perhaps best known these days for his wildly popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience – which boasts over 4.6 million subscribers and features guests ranging from celeb astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson to global icons like SpaceX and Tesla founding tycoon Elon Musk. That's why we were thrilled when David Sinclair, PhD, Chairman of the InsideTracker Scientific Advisory Board, appeared as a guest on Rogan's show a few weeks ago to dish on why he tests his blood regularly in an effort to optimize his own healthspan.

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Humans are diurnal animals, meaning we work during the day, and sleep and restore (both physically and mentally) at night. But things like technology, long work days, and even light bulbs have drastically expanded what we consider ‘waking hours’ compared to those of our evolutionary ancestors. For most of history, when the sun went down, our bodies knew it was time for bed. But now, most of us couldn't possibly imagine sacrificing those extra few hours between sunset and bedtime!

So if we're not relying on light as a cue for day and night, what do we use? Well, the overwhelming answer is food! The first bite or sip of anything other than water in the morning kicks your metabolism into gear for the day ahead. But recent research shows that hacking this system by limiting how often we eat can improve multiple different facets of health. Here's how to biohack your body clock.

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Did you know the most common risk factors for health, disease, and mortality worldwide actually has nothing to do with lifestyle or genetics? It has to do with chronological age. (So, don't blame the family tree just yet) Chronological aging, the number on your birth certificate, is inevitable. But healthy aging, or biological aging, is within your control. The good news is that there are many ways to modify how your body ages biologically.

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When we think about healthy aging, most people picture going to the doctor once a year to get a clean bill of health, maybe minimizing age-related illness or any disabilities that might arise as the years start to add up. Entering your golden years healthy and happy are all that most people can ask for. Well, not if you’re the three-time defending CrossFit Games Champion in the 60+ age group. Dave Hippensteel is just that, and his goal is to crush anything in his path looking to slow him down. To Dave, age is just a number, a number he’s aiming to lower year after year.

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Getting older is scary! With each birthday, we venture further into the ‘unknown’ that is older age -- further into the territory of “can my body still do this?” Our physical abilities change as we age; it’s natural, inevitable, and predictable. Our hormone levels shift, our bones get less dense, our dietary requirements recalibrate. But certain changes are (at least in part) avoidable. Muscle wasting is one of them; by making health-oriented choices, you can stay strong, even into your later years. Here’s how.

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