Exercise and Fitness Habits

From: inteligencialtda

The program “Limited Intelligence” hosts discussions focusing on aspects of a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and fitness habits [00:00:14].

Clothing for Physical Activity

The host introduces a sponsor, Insider, which offers clothing made from Modal fabric. This fabric is described as:

• Super light and soft [00:03:54]
• Ideal for physical exercises [00:03:58]
• Breathable, preventing sweat from clinging to the body because sweat evaporates faster than with cotton [00:04:01]
• Anti-odor, as it prevents bacterial proliferation [00:04:13]
• Fade-resistant [00:04:17]
• Wrinkle-resistant, unwrinkling on the body itself [00:04:21]

Habit Formation and the Brain

Forming a habit, particularly for exercise, takes an average of 66 days [00:06:56]. This duration is necessary for the brain to learn that an activity is something you have to do [00:07:18]. This process involves two brain structures working together:

• Dorsal Striatum (orange jelly bean): Transforms what brings well-being into routine [00:07:39].
• Nucleus Accumbens (purple jelly bean): Realizes what brings well-being [00:07:37].

Habits can also form from repetition, even if they don’t immediately bring well-being [00:07:49]. The basic unit of memory related to reward is called an “engram” [00:08:18]. To form a new habit, one must expend energy to “destroy” an existing reward memory and rebuild a new one [00:08:36].

For example, to replace a smoking habit, a patient might be asked to run on a treadmill or use a bike for 30 minutes, or engage in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for 8 minutes [00:09:01]. This raises endorphins, providing an immediate reward feeling that helps the brain “forget” the cigarette [00:09:15]. The brain then learns to replace one pleasure with another [00:09:27].

The Craving Response

The amygdala (red jelly bean) is responsible for the “irritation of the sweet” [00:12:10]. It perceives discomfort and signals the medial prefrontal cortex (green jelly bean) to seek immediate reward [00:12:27]. When the medial prefrontal cortex is cancelled out, individuals seek 100% reward, leading to behaviors like overeating or drug use [00:13:03].

A craving typically lasts around three minutes. Waiting this period can significantly decrease the urge [00:11:39].

Exercise Types and Their Impact

• Aerobic Exercise: Often recommended for beginners as it causes discomfort earlier, leading to a faster production of endorphins and immediate reward [00:10:10], [00:11:20].
• Bodybuilding: Essential as a base for any sport, improving performance in any area [02:26:32], [02:26:41]. It also greatly assists with joint problems [00:15:55]. Body recomposition, exchanging fat for muscle mass, is a key goal [00:16:10].
• Martial Arts (Jiu-Jitsu): Improves social skills, pro-social behavior, and self-control, leading to greater self-confidence [02:29:11]. Combines well with bodybuilding, which can help break through physical limitations [02:27:44].

Lifestyle and Health Challenges

Modern life offers conveniences like food delivery apps, but healthy food is often more expensive than unhealthy alternatives [01:17:30], [01:17:35]. This contributes to a growing obese population globally [01:16:48], [01:17:48]. The only way out is to re-educate eating habits [01:18:57].

Physical activity, especially bodybuilding, was once seen as a niche pursuit for “weightlifters” [01:17:01]. Today, gyms cater to a wide range of people seeking aesthetics, health, weight loss, or muscle gain [01:17:17]. Body recomposition, losing fat while gaining muscle, is possible even in a calorie-restricted diet, particularly for beginners, through hypertrophy stimulation [02:29:56].

It is worse to abandon a previously active lifestyle than to have never engaged in physical activity at all [01:14:53]. Metabolism slows with age, and factors like testosterone production and joint problems become more relevant [01:15:35].

The Importance of Environment

Pharmacological technologies, such as GLP-1 analogues, are emerging to control appetite and improve conditions like type 2 diabetes [01:19:26]. However, these medications alone cannot solve the problem of obesity if the individual’s environment is unsupportive [01:26:06]. The people one surrounds themselves with, their activities, and even social media feeds influence habits [01:26:12], [01:28:24].

Food has a strong emotional and social connection, making it easy to fall into unhealthy patterns [01:28:50], [01:29:11]. A healthy lifestyle during the week allows for enjoyment of food on weekends without compromising progress [01:29:52]. The idea of a “garbage day” for eating is problematic if it’s treated as an emotional outburst rather than controlled indulgence [01:32:07].

Sleep and Health Impacts

The body has a metabolic clock, the circadian cycle, which dictates optimal times for waking, training, and eating [01:40:39]. Hormones responsible for sleep quality are produced as it gets dark [01:41:20]. Disrupting this cycle, for example, by sleeping late, negatively impacts hormone release (e.g., testosterone peak is 7-9 AM) and overall daily function [01:37:15].

Sleep debt is cumulative; losing one hour of sleep per night means owing a full night’s sleep per week [01:38:07]. Sleep restriction is a significant factor for developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes [01:38:32]. Athletes, in particular, need sufficient sleep for body repair and maintenance due to high performance demands [01:46:08].

Polyphasic sleep, though practiced by some historical figures, is generally not recommended as a healthy lifestyle choice for most people, but rather a survival mechanism in extreme situations [02:31:37].

Nutrition and Dietary Habits

Many people lack basic knowledge about nutrition, such as sources of protein, carbohydrates, or fiber [02:02:50]. For example, beans have fewer calories, more protein, and more fiber than rice [02:03:16]. The combination of rice and beans is excellent for vegetarians/vegans as it provides all essential amino acids [02:05:07].

Food Choices

• Whole foods: Rice, beans, vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken, and eggs are considered natural, real foods [01:51:43].
• Processed Foods: Many processed foods contain chemical substances for preservation, consistency, or appearance, sometimes more than “unhealthy” items like soda [01:48:40], [01:51:56].
• “Organic” Foods: The organic market in Brazil is still embryonic, leading to many people paying for organic labels while receiving normal products [01:46:21]. Large-scale organic production is almost unviable due to high operating costs and pest losses [01:47:06].
• Protein Consumption: It is important to consume enough protein, ideally at least 1.6 times body weight daily [01:56:08]. Protein provides satiety, aids in burning calories through digestion, and stimulates thyroid function, contributing to a feeling of fullness [01:55:54].

Eating Habits

• Meal Timing: Eating every three to four hours helps maintain balance and avoid extreme hunger [02:06:27]. Waiting until extreme hunger hits can lead to overeating and poor food choices [02:07:03].
• Order of Eating: Consuming protein before carbohydrates can lead to greater satiety and less fluctuation in blood sugar levels [02:12:43]. Eating vegetables first also helps fill the stomach, leading to less consumption of higher-calorie foods [02:11:39].
• Portion Control: It’s better to leave food on the plate and remember to serve less next time than to force oneself to eat everything [02:10:55].

Supplements and Hormones

• Whey Protein: This is not just a sports supplement but a food source used in various nutritional contexts, including for patients with serious illnesses like cancer or digestive problems [01:59:04].
• Anabolic Steroids: Using anabolic steroids compromises health regardless of the hormonal load [02:22:11]. They can lead to side effects, injuries, and fat gain, especially if the user lacks proper training mastery or underdeveloped androgen receptors in muscle tissue [02:22:45], [02:23:09]. Oral hormones generally have greater toxicity, impacting organs like the kidneys and liver [02:27:00]. Hormones are accelerators and should only be considered after mastering training, diet, and fully utilizing the body’s natural potential [02:25:29].
• Hormonal Imbalance: Any hormonal imbalance, including unregulated thyroid or sex hormones (like testosterone and estradiol), can significantly impact hunger [02:11:57], [02:21:21]. Estradiol, produced secondary to testosterone aromatization in fat cells in men, also plays a role [02:11:02].
• GLP-1 Analogues: These medications decrease the feeling of hunger by influencing neurological pathways, reduce gastric emptying, and increase insulin action time in the central nervous system, which is satiating [02:22:57]. They also control endogenous glucose production by the liver [02:23:51]. These are primarily for patients with glucose uptake diseases, diabetes, or insulin resistance, or for obesity [02:25:11].

Training Principles

• Cadence: Refers to the speed at which an exercise is executed, whether resisting gravity (eccentric phase) or fighting against it (concentric phase) [02:18:55].
• Intensity: Can be increased through weight, interval between sets, cadence, exercise combinations, and enhancing exercises with more or less load within the same set [02:17:56].
• Isometry: Especially in shortening (maximum muscle contraction), improves contraction signaling and coordination [02:19:47].
• Partial Repetitions: Allow for working with a larger load but require mastery of the load [02:20:51]. Shortening (end phase) is preferred over the initial (stretching) phase to decrease injury risk [02:21:11].
• Machine vs. Free Weights: Machines aid beginners by simplifying exercises and reducing the risk of incorrect execution, while free weights offer greater variety [02:01:35].
• Muscle Activation: Understanding which muscles are being activated during exercise is crucial; without this knowledge, steroids will only lead to side effects [02:25:10].
• Rest between sets: Varies from 30 seconds to 2-3 minutes for heavier sets, longer for those without good conditioning [02:17:32].

The Role of Physical Activity and Diet in Brain Health

The interaction between physical exercise and cognitive functions is significant. Habit formation involves specific brain structures (dorsal striatum, nucleus accumbens) [00:07:23], and exercise can alter reward pathways in the brain, helping to replace negative habits like smoking [00:09:15]. Nutrition also plays a direct role in regulating hunger signals in the brain via hormone production and receptor activation [02:19:51].