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Hey Legacy Lifters,

Welcome to another edition of The Standard: The Disciplined Road To Building Stronger Kingdom Men.

It's not enough to wait until the time is right to start getting ready.

If you're waiting to get ready, it might be too late when your opportunity comes.

The standard is to stay ready: physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Below you'll see this covered across the physical - mental - spiritual pillars as BUILD - RENEW - TRANSFORM.

Neither one is enough on its own. Yet it's also impossible to have one without the other.

If you're ready to stretch yourself to a higher standard, stick around to answer that call alongside other growth minded men looking to do the same.

All it takes is one decision to change the future for yourself and your family.

Read it. Pick one thing that resonates. And go take action on it ⬇️

💪 BUILD [Well That's NEAT - An Overlooked Strategy To Accelerate Fat Loss 🚀]

Do you want to know one of the secret weapons to being lean all year round?

I'm going to share one of the most overlooked strategies to stoking your metabolic fire 🔥

It has nothing to do with HIIT workouts, taking a supplement, or consuming more 'superfoods'

It's called Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or NEAT for short

As the name applies, NEAT involves the calories you burn with non-exercise activities. This can include:

• Commuting or running errands by bike
• Taking calls or doing computer work while standing
• Pacing around the office while talking
• Parking further away
• Taking the stairs
• Playing with your kids
• Getting up and moving around
• Fidgeting, tapping your feet, 'talking' with your hands

Believe it or not, NEAT can make up 10-15% of calories you burn throughout the day.

Exercise, on the other hand, typically only accounts for 5-10% of calories burned throughout the day.

NEAT (the calories you burn while NOT exercising) can burn 2-3x more calories than what you burn while actually exercising 🤯

Calories burned while fidgeting and moving around can range from 100-800 calories per day.

If you're on the low end of that, imagine what you could do with an extra 300, 500, or 700 calories a day?

That's significant.

While some parts of fidgeting are out of your control, there are several things you can do to increase your NEAT.

Here are just a few 'low hanging fruits' to help boost your NEAT:

1. Spend less time sitting (obese individuals average 2 hours more sitting per day compared to lean individuals)
2. Spend more time sitting on the floor instead of sitting on the couch. You'll be amazed how much more you naturally move around when you're not glued to a comfy recliner
3. Increase daily steps by wearing a pedometer or tracking on your watch/phone
4. Take the stairs, park further away, and try walking or biking for your commute
5. Set a timer reminding you to move throughout the day (have lots of 'movement snacks' 🍿😋)

This stuff seems overly simple - but the data is clear on how impactful this can be on your daily and weekly calorie burn.

This is especially relevant if you're busy and don't get paid to workout for a living.

Working out 2 or 3 times is more than enough when you can take advantage of other high leverage activities like NEAT.

This is one of many fat burning strategies I leverage with clients that are trying to get lean on a busy schedule.

Fat Burning Secret = Move More > Exercise More

🧠 RENEW [Knowing What To Do And NOT Doing It]

Do you ever feel like you know the right thing to do, but you find yourself not doing it?

I was at the gym last week, and I had someone comment on how they could tell I was leaning up

This isn't someone I talk with a bunch, but it's someone I see in the gym regularly

We've talked about cutting weight and leaning up several times before

In fact, he's mentioned wanting to lose weight in the majority of conversations I've had with him.

When he commented on it, he asked what I was doing.

Before I could answer - he answered for me: "You just keeping an eye on your nutrition and calories?"

I said I was, and mentioned a couple other things I was doing for it, and asked where he was at on his goal to lean up.

He said: "Dave - I can listen to all the podcasts. I KNOW what I need to do. I'm just not doing it."

Knowing what to do is a dangerous place to be.

You can remain in a place of knowing for a long time without any results.

No judgment against this guy at the gym - I've been there plenty of times on my own.

This guy has the knowledge but looks roughly the same as he did 3, 6, and 12 months ago.

Despite having a desire to get leaner and cut some weight.

Maybe you read the BUILD  section each week.

Some of the stuff in there seems obvious.

Well duh, of course I need to eat less and workout.

Knowing all the physical strategies won't get you all the results you desire.

As the saying goes, if that were true, there would be a lot more millionaires walking around with bricks for abs 🧱💰

Moving from knowing to doing is what stops most people from even getting close to reaching their goals.

Every action you take (or don't take) confirms your identity.

If you continually tell yourself you want to lose weight, get healthy, workout more, etc - but you don't do it - you're confirming your identity as someone who won't follow through.

Psychology calls this Cognitive Dissonance

This is the discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs.

If you say you value being healthy, and don't follow through, your mind is going to be filled with guilt, shame, fear, and decreased confidence. 

Because you know what to do but simply won't do it.

You have the power to combat that with taking consistent action that aligns with the values you say you have.

No matter how small the action is, each action towards the person you believe you want to become will build confidence, results, and momentum.

If you know there are 10 things you need to do, pick ONE.

If that one thing even seems like too much, break it down further to one action step you can consistently do each day or each week.

What's ONE THING you know you need to be doing, but aren't currently doing? Start today.

⚔️ TRANSFORM [Intentions Matter]

Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reasons?

I've been implementing weekly 24 hour water fasts for the last 9 months.

Before I go on - this is not the BUILD section. I am not fasting for health reasons, weight loss, or anything like that.

Nor is 24 hour fasting my recommendation if your goal is to get as physically healthy as you can get.

I actually think it's counterproductive from a health standpoint for several of the goals I have.

But I was challenged and reminded 9 months ago about the importance of fasting as a spiritual discipline.

One of the mindsets I have that sets me up for success and sets me up for failure is my willingness to jump all in.

I was challenged through a sermon on a Sunday, and that very next week I started my weekly 24 hour fast rhythm. 

And I haven't missed a week over the last 9 months.

I haven't made a big thing about it or shared much about it, because that defeats the purpose.

The Bible says, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:16-18

By telling others that I'm fasting, my fear is that I'll have already 'received my reward in full'

Yet I share today to make a point that it's easy to do the 'right' things with the 'wrong' intentions.

Very few people across all the major religions would argue that fasting is not a beneficial practice.

It's a practice used throughout the Bible and several other religions.

The problem is not whether it's the 'right' thing to do, but what the motives are behind doing it.

I brought my same 'get it done' mentality to a spiritual discipline that involves surrender, not control.

I've lost sight of why I'm doing what I do.

I've taken something that's purpose is to draw me closer to God, and instead I've robotically turned it into a weekly routine that I simply execute - like any other fitness or business plan.

When that realization hit over the past couple of weeks, all I could say was 'ouch.' 🤕

The truth hurts when it hits you in the forehead.

Be aware of the habits you have and the actions you take throughout the week.

It's probably obvious, but I'll say it anyways - find ways to get rid of any habits or actions that are blatantly negative, self-sabotaging, or keeping you from where you want to be.

But maybe you find yourself 'living a good life'

You've already cut out most of the bad.

If you're in that spot, the same spot I find myself in many times, then you're next level will come from identifying your real motives behind all the 'right' things you're doing.

It's not enough to be good to your wife, to your kids, to workout, to volunteer, serve, or give back if your heart is selfish, prideful, or resentful.

100% easier said than done. But 100% worth it if you can start to change the heart behind your actions.

Be The Standard,

Dave

P.S. If you have someone you know that would benefit from reading this, it would mean the world to me if you sent them this link and encouraged them to sign up. If you received this email from a friend, click that same link and get yourself signed up.