Happy Sunday, my beautiful nerd-herders.

Your favorite science geek is back home after a whirlwind tour of familial bonding, corgi zoomies, and existential reflection brought on by a dog named Bella with the legs of a loaf and the spirit of a Viking.

Saturday? Full rest day.
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Sunday? Rowed myself back to baseline like a Viking with a PhD and a grudge. hahah

Yes—I loaded the sacred Concept 2 Rower into the back of Black Sunshine (my GX 460 vehicle, not a Rob Zombie album… although now that I think of it…) and hauled its awkward metallic ass northward.
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Because as much as I’d rather get a face tattoo from a blindfolded raccoon than do cardio, it makes me feel so much better.

Ditto for all my M3 online clients - as much as they dislike doing it too.

And that brings us to today’s flaming hot internet trash fire: seed oils.

Cue dramatic music.
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Cut to some shirtless bro on IG, screaming that a single molecule of canola oil will nuke your metabolism, incinerate your testosterone, and erase your ancestors from the fossil record.

Let’s pump the brakes there Doomlord 471.

Should you be guzzling jugs of bargain-bin soybean oil from the back aisle of the Dollar General?
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Hell no.

...But should you also be terrified that a sprinkle of safflower oil is going to reduce your mitochondria to radioactive sea sludge?

Also a hard no!

If your VO₂ max is 25 ml/kg/min, your top speed is “sloth in quicksand mode,” and you're sweating bullets just tying your shoes—you don’t have a seed oil problem. You have a cardiovascular system begging for mercy problem.

That’s what needs fixing.

But here’s the truth bomb: People - especially the PF crew - love to obsess over the small things because it lets them avoid the hard things.

Seed oil hysteria is a distraction from the real work:

• Like lifting heavy ass weights with intention.
• Walking more than 800 steps per day - ideal is closer to 8K
• And not making your heart tap out like it’s stuck in a full Nelson (haha see what I did there), every time you jog to your car.

Your body is wired for efficiency.
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It wants you to be lazy in the short term.
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It’s designed that way.
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...But succumbing to that wiring leads to long-term physiological debt—and that’s where the interest rates will murder you.

So no, your mitochondria aren’t crying over the extra five grams of omega-6 in your stir-fry. They’re crying because many haven’t done a single set of cardio in months with the idea of recovery is doomscrolling memes until midnight while smashing protein bars made of air and regret.

I know you are not that person - way too cool and informed since you are reading my ramblings here- but those people are out there in droves.

Here is the boring AF truth. ​
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Keep the main thing the main thing or as Dan John says "The goal is to keep the goal, the goal."​
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​You get there by crushing the big rocks with violent, joyful consistency.

Much love and cardiac horsepower,
Dr. Mike

PS – Yes, Flexible Meathead Cardio Level 2 is still happening!
New start date is August 11 because July turned into a meat grinder of travel, teaching, and heavy a$$ eccentrics via the Beyond Power Voltra 1 device--wahooo!
_____________________

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 Ph.D. 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.

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