Hola from the MSP airport, where your fav nerd is about to board the flying germ tube screaming toward Reston, VA to hang out with a bunch of other super nerds hosted by Coach Kav and Kane.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I turned 52 years young.

Which seems completely crazy.

I was thinking about how I took my first Anatomy and Physiology class in 1992 — shout out to Dr. C at St. Scholastica. At the time, I had zero idea I would eventually spend my life working in a field directly related to it.

Fast-forward 34 years, waaay too many college courses spread across roughly 18 years, several degrees, countless research papers, hundreds of clients and athletes, gallons of coffee, and an unreasonable amount of time thinking about physiology…

…and here I am.

Being 52 and increasingly decorated with gray hair makes me feel like I should impart some grand piece of wisdom.

Maybe some profound secret I uncovered after three decades of studying physiology and digging around in all the weird corners of human performance.

But the more I thought about it, the more that felt trite.

Maybe the actual lesson is much less sexy.

We spend an enormous amount of time hunting for the next profound thing that will completely change our fitness universe — the new peptide, magical supplement, recovery device, secret training split, or whatever weird molecule Peptide Polly is screaming about on Instagram this week.

Meanwhile, the same boring $hit keeps working.

Lift heavy things, do your conditioning, eat enough protein and mostly decent food, get your sleep, recover when you need to, and then show up and do it again.

The basics executed with violent consistency are still undefeated.

That doesn't mean fancy stuff is useless.

Hell, I love fancy stuff and am constantly playing with new things. This week I spent time in a full body CO2 suit, shout to Ross at AEIR.

I've built a career poking around the weird edges of physiology and asking whether we can squeeze out another few percent.

But those extra few percent matter a hell of a lot more once the boring foundation is already handled.

A peptide can't rescue crappy training, a supplement isn't going to magically erase chronic sleep deprivation, and the fanciest recovery gadget on earth can't compensate for showing up whenever the planets happen to align.

After 34 years of studying this stuff, maybe that is the wisdom.

Get really, really good at the boring things first.

Then earn the right to get weird.

There will always be another shiny object coming down the fitness highway at 900 miles per hour promising that everything you knew yesterday is suddenly obsolete. Some of those new ideas will be useful. A few might even be amazing.

None of them replace doing the work.

So if you are waiting for the perfect program, the perfect time, the perfect supplement, or some giant flash of motivation to descend from the heavens and smack you in the face…

Screw that.

Take the next step.

Then take another one tomorrow.

As the great Hunter S. Thompson said:

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

It's go time.

Send it!

Much love,

Dr. Mike

________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.