Birthday Edition

John Welbourn used to put together amazing lists of his thoughts on his ‘Talk to Me Johnie’ blog. I figured, why not do a “32 for 32” in honor of my birthday this past week. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 32 thoughts/ideas/co...

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Leech Letters - Issue 5 - Birthday Edition

John Welbourn used to put together amazing lists of his thoughts on his ‘Talk to Me Johnie’ blog. I figured, why not do a “32 for 32” in honor of my birthday this past week.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are 32 thoughts/ideas/comments/theories for my 32nd birthday.

1. You don't need as much food as you think

Most people should start with getting their bodyweight in grams of protein per day. Add in some servings of veggies and a fruit and you're probably good for the day. Unfortunately, in America our baseline for consumption has slowly and steadily climbed without us even noticing it.

2. You can’t want it more than others want it for themselves

I can optimize your training program, put you on a custom meal and supplement plan, create all the informational flyers in the world, but until you’re willing to build the foundation of training (show up consistently for months, get 6-8 hours of sleep a night, eat appropriately for your goals, etc…) then all the extra work I’m putting in to you is wasted.

3. Adieu is a great first word in Wordle

Pair it with Storm and you'll be in a great position after the first two guesses.

4. Find your Misogi

Made popular by Michael Easter and Jessie Itzler, a Misogi is a planned physical challenge that defines your year. You should have a 50/50 shot at completing it, and it shapes your focus all year long. I'll share about my Misogi after I attempt it this year.

5. Take your mouth shut when you sleep

Most people will think you’re weird, but I’ve always felt well rested after a night of nasal breathing only. White athletic tape is cheaper and easier than any of the marketing gimmicks out there.

6. Progressive Overload is still the King

One of the beautiful parts of the Doug Young Program was how simple it was to get ridiculously strong. Keep adding 5lb a session until progress stalls, drop the rep range, wash rinse repeat. The problem is most athletes (and coaches) don’t have the attention span or willingness to follow such a mundane program for 6+ months.

7. Lactaid pills are legit

As someone who loves pizza, ice cream, and whey protein, having a Lactaid pill with them has allowed me to enjoy they things without the immediate regret later.

8. Leaders need to challenge their followers

Either through critical feedback or forced introspection, a leader needs to continually challenge their followers to grow and improve. If not, he’s doing them a disservice.

9. Zone 2 Cardio and Going Caffeine Free

Two health habits that everyone would benefit from that not enough people do. I think the issue with these habits is that the impact is hard to notice. I think building these habits in a 30-60 Day contest or streak is your best shot at getting enough days in to start to feel a difference.

10. Talk to yourself more and listen to yourself less

You can never overhype yourself with positive self talk. You can however spend too much time listening to your self-doubt. More hype, less self-doubt.

11. You can never go wrong finishing a workout with Heavy Sled Pushes.

You get to finish the session exhausted and with a great pump, with minimal eccentric strain on the body due to the nature of sled pushes.

12. During difficult moments, zoom out

There have been plenty of frustrations this year, whether it be an issue at work or a newborn that won’t fall asleep. When you zoom out, you realize it’s just a few minutes on the vast timeline of your life. This too shall pass.

13. Single Leg Squats are underrated

I have a Leech Letter coming out soon on this. The ability to load up an athlete with a similar amount of stress, without the systemic impact of putting a bar on your back, is very underrated when it comes to athletic development. Single Leg Squat heavy and you can usually bounce back quickly. Load up a back squat and often an athlete will feel that somewhere in their body for the rest of the week.

14. Follow Kevin’s Rule

Kevin’s Rule is when you put something on your calendar every other month that you normally wouldn’t do. It can be a race, going to a museum, a camping trip with your kids, a cooking class, etc.. At the end of the year, if you do this, you will have 6 mini adventures that you wouldn’t normally have. This is especially useful for couples.

15. AI is here to stay so you need to get up to speed

ChatGPT and Midjourney are two tools that I’ve purposefully learned more about this past year. They are powerful tools to make your life better. Adopt and integrate them before you get left behind.

16. Put yourself out there

Share your thoughts. Post that training video. Highlight what you’re working on. Do it for your own benefit, and the people that resonate with you will respond, reply, and share. The people that don’t will simply keep scrolling.

17. We are in Time Crisis

In the book The Scent of Time it is discussed how everyday hyperactivity depletes people's lives of all ability to linger and be contemplative. Technology certainly doesn’t help this. Try keeping your phone in your pocket when you’re in a waiting room and embracing that opportunity to slow down time and contemplate.

18. Stop putting serious effort into menial tasks

Stop putting time, energy, effort, and brainpower into things that involve minimal activity. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to my staff this year, “We’re thinking way too hard about this, let’s just move forward”. More often than not, good enough is the exact answer the task requires.

19. Dish out 1 extra compliment a day

Someone this year told me that my teeth were whiter than the pearly gates. I can’t stop thinking about that random compliment months later! You never know how powerful of an impact one purposeful compliment can have.

20. Find out why you’re holding yourself back

We tend to make our own prisons in life, regardless of how much we want to blame others around us. Last year, I was afraid to spend $150 on a business course. I spent weeks mulling over the decision. When I finally took the course and completed the lessons, I made double my money back on the first day. Find out what is causing your fear or apprehension and work to move past it.

21. Sleep is the #1 Performance Enhancer, and it only gets stronger with age

College athletes can get away with an all-nighter here and there, but the older you get the more valuable sleep becomes. I’ve always said the hours before midnight are worth double the hours after midnight. I also believe a nap between 1-4pm is a game changer if you can take it.

22. It's almost impossible to overfeed a baby

When your pediatrician says your baby is gaining weight too fast, take it with a grain of salt. They're in the biggest bulking period of their life and they're consuming the greatest protein shakes on Earth. An extra bottle of milk can never hurt.

23. Coaches vastly underestimate the conditioning of fast players, and grossly overestimate the speed of conditioned players

A team that prioritizes speed above all else will certainly look in shape on gameday. The hard part for coaches is the fear of losing being they did not do enough. We need to get past that fear.

24. Keep Wonton wrappers in the fridge

Leftovers packed in a wonton are 100% more appealing than leftovers on their own. Especially at Thanksgiving. Thank me later.

25. Write or Journal Daily

I’ve talked about it in a previous Leech Letter, but there’s value in challenging yourself to put thought to pen. Besides, what would you normally do with that time, more scrolling on social media?

26. Fatherhood is an incredible responsibility

Not only do I feel the immense pressure of being a role model to my son, but I also feel tremendous guilt leaving him and my wife to go to work daily. Those feelings get easier to deal with in time, but for new dads, those feelings are real and they’re strong.

27. I don’t mind sore losers

At least shows that you have passion and care. The worst are the people who lose and act like it doesn’t bother them. The too cool kids. Give me fire and passion over being cool any day.

28. There’s more out there than Lofi Beats to Study to

Weather Channel Vaporwave and Mallsoft are my new go to background sounds / music. If you grew up in the 90’s, let that nostalgia fill you up with joy.

29. You should warmup harder

5 hard minutes on an assault bike is better than 20 minutes on a foam roller.

30. There Is No Tomorrow!

One of my absolute favorite movie lines. As soon as you think you can postpone something or save it for another day, you’ve already lost. All we have is today, so put your best effort into the task in front of you. RIP Carl Weathers.

31. Intent is hard to teach

It’s physically and emotionally exhausting to slam a medball with high intensity each time. To depth jump aggressively. To sprint with full effort. It takes a lot to coach athletes to give that every time. But do yourself a favor and prescribe appropriate sets and reps to allow them to do so. You put 10 slams or jumps on a sheet and an athlete will always settle into a cruising effort.

32. Practice Grace

No one knows everything that is going on in your life. And you don’t know 1% of what’s going on in the lives of others. In the Venn Diagram of life, we all just barely cross over each other’s circles. Practice some grace when it comes to working with others. You just don’t know what else they’re going through.

If any of these stuck out to you, please let me know! You can reply to this email, or DM me on Twitter or Instagram. Until next week.

Stay strong,

- Leech

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