[Video] 3 most impactful things for energy levels and motivation

Submitted by 0mnipath t3_xwvy54 in GetMotivated

These might seem simple and basic but I bet most people neglect this: https://youtu.be/4EWOVS8ydIg

Summary:

-Get at least 10 minutes of sunlight right after waking up

-No bright light after 10pm(could use blue light blocker glasses for screens)

-Regular exercise routine consisting of 6-10 sets with 2 minutes rest in between and adjusting the weight so you always hit the 10 reps in each set

All this to optimize testosterone and dopamine production which are crucial to how we feel in general and how we approach tackling challenges.

1,131

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

theflappiestflapjack t1_ir8spbi wrote

Hard to get 10 mins of sunlight when u wake up hours before the sun.!!!

576

lankboiau t1_ir8u5w9 wrote

Andrew himself stated in a Q&A, that if you are unable to view or be in sunlight upon dawn then viewing the sun going down is viable as well, since it regulates your circadian rythym.

Edit source: https://youtu.be/3_auLYOilb8

107

iTzJdogxD t1_ir936a0 wrote

I was worried you were talking about the bad Andrew for a second

51

lankboiau t1_ir944xb wrote

Whom is this bad Andrew you speak of?

11

atomicalexx t1_irawy1i wrote

Based on the replies, there seem to be a lot of bad Andrews out there

5

Freebirdhat t1_iraid27 wrote

What if I'm at work when the sun rises and when it sets

3

Dull_Cartographer428 t1_ircivmr wrote

I wake up at 430am and go to bed at 8pm to be up at 430am. Both are impossible for me.

1

coolborder t1_ircjgnb wrote

And what do I do in an office job in the northern US mid-winter where it is dark when I enter the building and dark when I leave?

1

bcjh t1_ira4jgz wrote

What about watching it come up?

1

voodoo_magic182 t1_ir9pm2h wrote

Right like where I live for most of the winter months I am at work before the sun is up and it’s set before I’m out of work. Guess I’ll have to tell my job I need to change my hours because some guy on YouTube said I need sunlight

6

wrner t1_iraaxqc wrote

Dr Huberman covered this on his podcast, if I recall he said although they're not as effective as the sun, sunlamps are a pretty good at replicating the effects.

4

theflappiestflapjack t1_ira7uwb wrote

Hahahah yep I’m right there w ya… good ole Seattle winters can def bring on some seasonal depression..

2

ValyrianJedi t1_iraajqc wrote

This always gets me. I'm up at 4:45 to go to the gym, then shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast up at the club too, where the men's locker room and lounge are literally underground. So it's night when I wake up, and when the sun is coming up I'm underground with no windows so can't see it. It threw my mornings off for like a year before I finally got used to it.

2

theflappiestflapjack t1_iraff5u wrote

Yea winter time in the pnw can be hard to deal with for sure and adding a newborn to the mix and I feel like in need a nap before the suns up!! Keep up that early morning grind and gym time!!

2

Terrik27 t1_irac156 wrote

I use an insanely bright light mounted overhead after I wake up as I live far north. Has made a huge difference for me.

2

FishInMyThroat t1_ir9no6o wrote

Yeah I have to wait an hour or two for some sunlight usually.

1

MambyPamby8 t1_ir8xedn wrote

I live in Ireland.... I'm lucky if I get to see sun twice a year 😂

God bless those Vit D supplements.

149

Clear-Effective-8113 t1_ir8yv3r wrote

Here in Houston, TX, many folks are Vit D deficient even though it is so sunny. It's so hot that no one stays outside for long, go from house/apt to car, car to work or mall or whatever.

40

MambyPamby8 t1_ir8zs55 wrote

I don't blame ya..I've been to Nevada and California and my pasty ass skin couldn't handle more than a few minutes outdoors hahaha. It's no wonder the Mediterraneans have great skin and energy, they've got the perfect combo of sunlight and sea breeze + good food.

18

PresidentInferno t1_ir99sj6 wrote

Hello to my southern neighbour, it ain't much better up north... Today is a great example.

6

MambyPamby8 t1_ir9hokz wrote

Aye it's fecking miserable out there. Overcast and grey as bedamned. No wonder our little island is always miserable. We don't get much VIT D 😂

5

PresidentInferno t1_ir9mk57 wrote

Pretty sure it should be prescribed to the lot of us, might ease things 😂

2

avidvaulter t1_ir9uzn1 wrote

>Regular exercise routine consisting of 6-10 sets with 2 minutes rest in between and adjusting the weight so you always hit the 10 reps in each set

Fixed that for you.

132

afig24 t1_ira7ft7 wrote

Thank you for this. The greatest exercise you could ever do is the one you enjoy the most because that will be the one you will be the most consistent with.

50

agent_wolfe t1_irc1yb6 wrote

Is walking a brisk pace okay?

I really enjoy walking outside, I don’t enjoy the treadmill because it makes me feel like I should be jogging & injure my knees. I would use a Nordic Track (supportive jogging) but ppl are always using that machine when I get there.

2

Darkwing_duck42 t1_ircgwag wrote

I'd like to think so, try and walk pretty fast, I don't eat lunch so I go for hour walks at lunch and mannnnn can I hoof it

2

Least-March7906 t1_ir9vysl wrote

Exactly. As long as you’ve got a routine that works your body, you are good.

17

PTIowa t1_ir9x61y wrote

Yeah that is the strangest exercise advice I’ve ever heard. In fact it seems more likely to make you undertrain.

11

BastionNZ t1_irbfwv1 wrote

He has a podcast with a sports trainer (IIRC he works with UFC fighters) who explains 6 sets of 10 reps is the optimum for testosterone production.

I can't remember the exact details or science etc etc, but the 6 set/10 rep thing was discussed specifically and solely around testosterone production - nothing else.

3

wholesome_cream t1_irazrje wrote

That's undertraining? This shit would exhaust me

0

PTIowa t1_irb1ogv wrote

Well to me it sounds like you adjust the weight down to MAKE SURE you hit ten reps, not just going to fatigue which is what muscles learn from. It makes it sounds like the number of reps is the critical part

3

BlackSecurity t1_irbijbf wrote

Yea there's no specific one size fits all exercise routine. Just exercise at whatever fitness level you are at. Challenge yourself but also ensure you get proper rest.

2

skillerspure t1_ir8s9mq wrote

Carbs & eat before you need to exert energy.

40

DrummerSteve t1_ir8sgye wrote

Carbs yes or no?

11

Dheynk t1_ir8t2j5 wrote

Carbs yes for muscle growth

5

Nounuo t1_ir8v0v3 wrote

I'm pretty sure carbs are just for energy. Protein for muscle

30

molotov_billy t1_ir90w3l wrote

Carbs are needed for muscle growth and repair. It's called muscle sparing. When you exercise, glycogen (provided by carbs) is burned first for energy - without adequate glycogen, your body will resort to breaking down actual muscle. Downing massive amounts of protein won't compensate for that actual muscle loss.

Low carb is great for losing weight, but that weight will also include substantial amounts of muscle. To actually efficiently build muscle you'll need plenty of carbs both before and after working out.

7

huey231 t1_ir956in wrote

Negative. Carbs are not essential. Muscle glycogen is needed for energy and can be formed via breaking down protein. These proteins can come from an exogenous source (protein shake) and don't have to come from breaking down muscle. You're right in saying that protein from muscle is broken down when glycogen stores are empty, but glycogen can be made from exogenous protein via a process known as glyconeogenesis.

As for low carb and weight loss, it's a great way to stay in a calorie deficit, but not essential for weight loss. Calories in vs calories out rules above everything regardless of your diet 😎

24

mobofblackswans t1_ir9gfvl wrote

  • Carbs are important for serotonin production. In case anyone didn't know. Can google
4

plain_user42 t1_irahm0y wrote

Lots of optional things are important for seratonin. Not obligatory.

I was a zero carb power lifter for about 4 years before adding carbs back in. I had no issues. My SO runs cross country and was on the same diet as I was. No issues and regularly pushed PBs. Putting on muscle was even easier for me than a carb heavy diet. Higher energy levels too.

There are different ways to meet your chemical and nutritional needs that do not necessitate carbs. They aren't bad when consumed intelligently from healthy sources but they aren't required. Saying carbs are required is misleading.

1

molotov_billy t1_irag1aa wrote

Yep, and you'll have much better results building muscle with adequate carbs.

Calories in calories out - well no kidding, who said otherwise!

3

BlackSecurity t1_irbizoz wrote

Maybe not essential but carbs make the process easier. There is a reason big body builders eat shit tons of eggs (protein) and pasta (easy carbs).

1

Weisenkrone t1_irblru8 wrote

Proteins take roughly 20-30% of the calorie input to digest, carbs are closer to 5-10% and fats are 0-3% to digest.

And atop that, you are tangling up more energy and resources to trigger the glyconeogensis process, so you are at even lower efficiency.

Low carb, low fat diets work incredibly well because of that. Aside from protein being hard to digest, you also expend energy to turn it into glycogen.

Good for weight loss, awful for muscles.

1

huey231 t1_iri9r3k wrote

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8838503/

Here's a recent study showing no significant difference in high carb vs low carb for weight loss and body composition. In the study they note that the high carb group lost significant amounts of body mas, aswell as the low carb group. No significant differences were found when comparing the low carb group to high carb.

The deciding factor for weight loss?

Caloric deficit.

1

Weisenkrone t1_irih2zn wrote

Your calorie intake is the amount of calories you consumed, subtracted by the calories needed to digest that.

That's what I'm trying to say.

At the end of it, yes it boils down to the caloric deficit - but the caloric deficit is the result, it's not the process.

If these two groups had the same calorie intake, then the study went off effective calories not the numbers on the label of whatever you ate.

Additionally, when people reduce carbs usually they just increase fat which digests even easier then carbs.

2

huey231 t1_irii249 wrote

Sorry I misread what you were trying to say. Yes you're 100% right regarding the thermic effect of food on your overall caloric intake!

1

Weisenkrone t1_irij27h wrote

Not just thermic effect, glyconeogensis is also is a notable impact.

Carbohydrates can be directly digested directly into glucose, if you do not have enough carbohydrates in your diet, your body can synthesize it.

We're not talking a massive expense, but it's still there.

1

Hungshlung t1_ir9krl4 wrote

I like your part about not needing carbs for muscle growth because I am currently doing keto, have lost weight and feeling great! I’m also working out to build muscle and eating ample amounts of protein daily. What I don’t like is your “calories in vs calories out” argument. I tried that in the past which also included consuming carbs at the time and I lost very little weight very slowly. Keto has taken my fat loss to a whole new level, which I’m usually eating less than 20 carbs a day.

−5

aim_so_far t1_ir9u8p6 wrote

A high fat diet impacts satiety greatly, meaning u feel less hungry (i.e., fuller) more often. This means u ultimately eat less... so calories in vs calories out is still the deciding factor

3

Least-March7906 t1_ir9vs9p wrote

Yeah, not sure how he can try to argue against the calorie deficit theory. Unless he is stating that his body magically produces extra calories

3

iCan20 t1_ira2nz3 wrote

Conservation of mass/energy is somehow tough for some people. It's like they aren't rooted in reality. Granted, I was a high school wrestler so understanding weight / metabolism is second nature.

2

TheBertinator3000 t1_ira962c wrote

There's something else, often overlooked when talking about keto.

Being a highly restrictive diet, keto also forces you to cut out most of the highly processed junk food (if you're doing it at all correctly). A low junk food diet is great for improving satiety, regardless of your fat/carb balance.

3

Hungshlung t1_irebmdl wrote

Not really… I eat about 2500 calories daily on keto

1

Nounuo t1_ir92ceu wrote

Well it sounds smart for sure. And I don't know enough about science to dispute you

2

NeedleworkerHairy607 t1_ir9l5e0 wrote

It's not true. If it was, then people on keto diets would just shrink and waste away to nothing, and they don't. They can build muscle just fine.

Anyone who speaks about fitness in absolutes like that, doesn't know what they are talking about.

4

NeedleworkerHairy607 t1_ir9kr7q wrote

If this was true then people on keto diets could not build muscle and are constantly losing it, and this is obviously not the case.

1

molotov_billy t1_iracfqw wrote

Not true, it isn’t binary, but they would build muscle faster without keto.

2

NeedleworkerHairy607 t1_iranry0 wrote

So... That directly conflicts with your last post where you said you need to eat carbs or else "you will lose substantial amounts of muscle."

1

molotov_billy t1_iraqb1y wrote

If you're losing weight, ie a calorie deficit. Keto is great for losing weight, not necessarily for building muscle. If your primary goal is to build muscle then carbs are an important part of your diet.

2

Angelobo t1_ira67ew wrote

I put sugar (lemonade) in my yoghurt to indeed get some carbs in after a workout, sugar are "carbs" right?
Asking for a friend obviously

1

scatterbrain-d t1_irb2v15 wrote

The body doesn't jump straight from carbs to breaking down your muscles. There's also fat, and ketosis is kind of central to the keto diet.

As far as I can tell, the jury's still out on exactly the effects of prolonged ketosis on muscle gain and loss. Although I will agree with you that if you're in shape and your goal is to build muscle, you will definitely want carbs in your diet. But I think your claim that low carb diets always lead to notable muscle loss is disputed by some studies.

Here's a pretty decent article summarizing what we know about the relationship: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724590/

But this topic is concerned more with exercise for the purpose of mood regulation/energy levels, and different people may prefer different "secondary benefits" such as losing weight or gaining muscle mass.

1

BlackSecurity t1_irbinmg wrote

Look at what those massive body builders eat. Protein is important yes, but they also load up with shit tons of carbs.

1

TheBertinator3000 t1_ira8sa1 wrote

Meh. That's pretty dependent on the person. Most days, I work out great on an empty stomach.

0

L00PIL00P t1_iran7bj wrote

Impactful? Definitely. Most impactful? I doubt it.

When my energy levels were highest in my life, it was because every day I had something I genuinely looked forward to. I was frequently working on projects that allowed me to "be in the flow". I would often think about how to further progress with these projects even when I wasn't actively working on them, and it wasn't because I worried about not meeting the deadline. I was confident in my ability to finish the projects on time. It was out of passion.

The advice here is definitely valuable and should not be disregarded, but I think it is invaluable to find something that you genuinely enjoy doing and to do it regularly. This is way easier said than done and I unfortunately don't have much advice on how to find something like this, but I promise that it will be worth the effort.

9

0mnipath OP t1_irhagwm wrote

Without energy I can't bother to do anything I'm passionate about. So by most impactful I mean essential.

2

L00PIL00P t1_irhaqrt wrote

True, but on the flip side, without something to be passionate about, all my exccess energy is just spent worrying and being anxious.

1

YoungEscapist t1_ir9c406 wrote

I guess it depends on your fitness level, exercise goal and training schedule (intensity, frequency) but 6-10 sets of 10 reps each seems way too much sets to be optimal for muscle and strength growth?

5

yasumasa t1_ir9gdwl wrote

3 exercises with 3 sets each are 9 sets which is normal imo Also op wants to optimize motivation not necessarily muscle or strength

9

YoungEscapist t1_ir9h4ni wrote

Ah like that, I was thinking 6-10 sets per exercise which seemed excessive. Thank you for the clarification!

4

ShvoogieCookie t1_ira5g00 wrote

I don't think he means per body part which makes this advice even more confusing. 6-10 sets divided over the whole body is nothing. Cardio is more important anyway for longevity, so I'd rather people get their 10k steps a day in than follow OP's workout advice.

3

inwert1994 t1_ir9gsxk wrote

i dont see sunlight until 8am after waking up at 5. guess ism screwed 😂🙈

5

zwhit t1_ir9x9u4 wrote

  1. Sleep
  2. Sleep
  3. Sleep
4

Klea6 t1_irb4da0 wrote

Lol, these are very kind recommendations, but where I live the sun goes up while I'm in school and by the time I leave, it's dark again (in the winter). I can literally only get sun on the weekends. How am I supposed to not feel depressed?

3

[deleted] t1_ir99967 wrote

[deleted]

2

FartyPants69 t1_ir9crjq wrote

Yes, why wouldn't it be?

4

SilentNinjaMick t1_ir9iiwu wrote

"...optimize testosterone..."

8

JayRich4321 t1_ir9l2v4 wrote

Women need testosterone just like men. And the things AH mentions aren't to give you a surplus of testosterone, it's to optimize it within your body naturally. So it's great for women too

15

TheBertinator3000 t1_ira9mgl wrote

Women need about 1/20th the testosterone that men do, so it's a valid question.

That said, "improve your sleep, diet, and exercise", is great advice for anyone, for a variety of reasons. No need to even narrow in on testosterone specifically.

0

FartyPants69 t1_irao1ob wrote

Again, the keyword is "optimize." You can't over-optimize.

2

TheBertinator3000 t1_irax5zz wrote

You sure can overdo attempts at optimization! That's why a lot of people fail drastic life changes. If you go too hard, trying to optimize every little detail to the n-th degree, you tend to crash and burn eventually. It's not sustainable.

Start with the basics, then build on them once they become second nature. Optimization means nothing, if it's not sustained.

Many things also have drastically diminishing returns on investment, the more you optimize them. At some point, the meager results are just not worth all the time and effort you have to put in.

1

FartyPants69 t1_irb792f wrote

Again... your body is doing the optimization here. It's not a conscious process. It won't produce more testosterone than it needs. You give it adequate building blocks, it takes it from there.

2

TheBertinator3000 t1_irbgc1s wrote

I'm not saying more optimization is bad for the body. I'm saying it's a bad idea, from a psychological standpoint, to overthink optimization too much. A lot of those small details don't matter until you get pretty deep into your chosen sport.

The KISS method is a good approach for beginners in weightlifting, and a lot of other sports. Don't worry about stuff that's not worth your energy to worry about, when you're first starting out. You will not notice minute differences in testosterone levels using his method, versus any other halfway decent workout routine.

2

ShvoogieCookie t1_ira505p wrote

Getting sun early is difficult when you live further North or in winter. You can supplement with vitamin D.

But why aren't you mentioning proper nutrition? Cutting out ultra processed foods and consuming nutritious whole food is doing wonders for energy levels.

2

A_goat_named_Ted t1_irayf8k wrote

Ive been having a difficult time this summer due to work conditions and personal life. Working out was the first thing that fell off when stress and anxiety took over, then unhealthy eating. After a couple of weeks I had no energy or motivation but to repeat the work-home cycle, which then leads to depression. After a couple of weeks of being my own enemy I got a workout in and felt so much better the next day, and for a day or two after that too. Now Im back on the upswing of taking care of myself again and getting at least 2 workouts per week, its incredible the difference that it makes. Im sleeping better, I feel accomplished, I have more energy, I dont hate looking in the mirror. Cant recommend workout highly enough to state the difference theyll make in your life. Dont have money for a membership or equipment? Look up body weight workouts on youtube, dont worry about nailing it, just.dont.quit.

2

CS20SIX t1_ir9emyd wrote

Best podcast out there! Gotta love Huberman Lab!

1

AlienBeingMe t1_irarvfi wrote

I read that those blue light blocking glasses were found in studies to do nothing. A gimmick.

1

NeedleworkerHairy607 t1_ir9qmme wrote

Unfortunate how everyone is talking about the sunlight part, which is highly questionable, and nobody talking about the exercise, which definitely will work.

0

StrangeArugula1066 t1_ira6sid wrote

This is a good idea also drinking more water a lot of us are dehydrated.

0

Tahoeclown t1_ir9mbcx wrote

Can we not promote the latest guru of the month secret to life bs on here

−1

Angelobo t1_ira6jm8 wrote

This ain't nothing new pal, there's books from the 70's that claim the same thing. Sunlight, good food and exercising will help your mental health. The science has been proven right many times

3

ValyrianJedi t1_irab2dn wrote

That BS works for more than enough people to make a post worthwhile.

1

Kinenai t1_ir9ie6g wrote

I just plain despise sunlight. I feel much more energetic on cold dark cloudy days.

−6

KyeGen t1_ir95ss7 wrote

You always need more protein than carbs to build muscle and for satiation.At least 50g of Carbs must be taken with less than 100g of protein! Not the other way around because as humans we always take more carbs than protein for energy.If u eat more than 200grams of protein every day u will develop uric acid poisoning.A Carb protein balanced breakfast - Example : two slices of toast for breakfast, have only one instead with grass fed butter or a high protein nut nutter, and have a plain 150g of yogurt not a flavored one for the protein.If u don't like yogurt as protein,boil two 50g eggs instead.If u must have ur cereal,or more carbs for energy, eat 50g of bran flakes instead because there's at least 16grams of fiber in every 100g of bran flakes. That way ur also getting ur fiber. For extra protein take about 150g of whole milk with the cereal.U should have plenty protein & fiber there for breakfast while keeping ur carb intake low.Do not have more than 800 calories for breakfast? If ur a coffee drinker, don't drink instant coffee, it's not real coffee? Drink black ground coffee or bullet proof coffee instead for the instant hit, coffee also satiates ur hunger in the morning. But do not drink more than three 250g to 300g cups of coffee a day. It is a powerful addictive drug with more than twice the amount of caffeine than instant coffee. Don't pour in boiling water into ground coffee either,wait just 5mins to cool a little and use only hot water.Otherwise if u pour boiling water straight into ground coffee U will boil all the caffeine & oils out of the coffee and u will make it even more bitter! I hope this helps? 🙏

−12