FML9: Should You Do Cardio, How to Earn More & Being the Lighthouse
ALCHEMIZE FML
Newsletter #9
Weekly Tips, Tools & Strategies to Alchemize your Fitness, Money & Life
“Emotions are just a guidance system.”
— Carly Lyn Wise, Coach & EFT Practitioner
Greetings my fellow Life Alchemists!
International Women's Day was this past week & I had the great privilege to release a new podcast episode with one of the most powerful women I know--Carly Lyn Wise (aka The Phoenix, aka my Wife). Tune in to learn how to use your Emotions as a Guidance System, Tap into your Manifestation Powers & much more.
Without further ado, let's FML! Your weekly dose of actionable tips, tools & strategies to Alchemize your Fitness, Money & Life to the Next Level!
FITNESS: Cardio before strength training? To do or not to do.
The most recent scientific research on whether or not doing cardio immediately before hitting the weights will negatively effect your muscle gaining efforts shows that as long as you're not doing too much cardio beforehand it will have no detrimental effect on your strength-gaining & muscle-building efforts. In my own experience, I've found that doing 10-30 minutes of the Stairmaster or walking uphill on a treadmill at 15%+ incline actually gives me a better strength training session as it warms up my body, gets my heartrate up & ultimately empowers me to burn more overall calories due to having my heartrate elevated for more of the strength training session. Additionally, two of the most muscular & lean people I know (both natural bodybuilders) pretty much always do 10-30 minutes of cardio before weightlifting & they stay camera-fit-ready year round. This is what I do as well whenever I'm prepping to lean out for the camera, when Spring/Summer is around the corner, or when I have an upcoming vacation or special event that I want to look especially good for. The full truth is that you can do your cardio whenever you want. It can be done before hitting the weights, after, or even somewhere within your strength training session. Like just about everything, the key is consistency. If you find that doing some cardio before weight training makes it more likely to be more consistent then do that. If you find that doing it after is better for you then do that. Ultimately, your heart is the muscle that pumps fuel to all your other muscles so just make sure you're training it every week.
MONEY: Earn more money.
Two of the easiest ways to earn more money are to: (1) Ask your boss what things you would need to do in the next 6-12 months to get a raise & grow your career, write those down & then get after them. Be sure to thoroughly document each accomplishment. (2) Apply for a job at another company. One can easily achieve a $5K-$50K+ salary increase just by switching to another company and asking for higher compensation before accepting the new job. You can then take this new offer back to your current company and see if they will meet or beat it if you wouldn't mind staying where you are at. There is nothing wrong with finding out what your updated market value is and then asking your current company to get onboard. BONUS TIP: If you already have a documented proven track record of accomplishments in the last 6-12 months all you may need to do is ask for more money. Your compensation is ultimately your responsibility. Take ownership & be proactive about growing it.
LIFE: Be the lighthouse, not the tugboat.
How many times have you tried to get your partner or family member to improve some aspect of their life where they have unrealized potential (money, fitness, health, communication, etc) only for it to be met with resistance, resentment or completely blow up in your face with an ensuing breakdown in the relationship? And how many times have you resisted good advice from family members only to read it somewhere or hear it from a friend and then take action on it to the chagrin of your partner or family member? I'd venture to say that none of us are guilt-free of this dynamic on either side. So unless you're being paid to coach someone or they specifically ask for constructive feedback it is much better to lead by example. Shine so bright that they can't help but ask you what you're doing. Then share what you are doing when they ask. Don't tell them what to do. None of us like to be told what to do unless we have decided to seek out advice/coaching and are truly open to it.
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Sending you all lots of Energy & plenty of Dragon Magic!
Justin "Dragon" Carl