Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, where we’re becoming more and more convinced by the day that good vibes are the fountain of youth.

Every one of the studies today can be boiled down to “good vibes led to a better outcome”. And we can’t say we’re all that surprised. In fact, the deep dive could fit in that same category…

Which is why we’ve really gone all in on the Meme Monday theme. Because what’s better for the vibes than memes?

Let’s dive in!

Power of the Mind

Two studies this week beg the question - Are vibes more important than data?

First, the University of Warwick hit us with a truth bomb - it's all about how we feel about our ZZZs, not what the tech tells us. They put over 100 folks to the test, for two whole weeks. Guess what they found?

You wake up feeling like you've conquered the Sandman? You're all good vibes and life's a peach! Regardless of what your wristband has to say about it.

But if you feel like you've spent the night wrestling insomnia, it doesn’t matter if your sleep tracker reports a good night of sleep. You’re going to be channeling your inner grumpy cat today.

Researchers from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) shed new light on why we’re so interested in keeping up with the Joneses.

Two regions of the brain work together to interpret rewards: The medial prefrontal cortex (aka social network headquarters) and the lateral hypothalamus (the hub of social reward valuations).

Our cheeky test subjects, macaque monkeys, couldn't care less about their pal's rewards when these two brain regions were disconnected. It's like they went from keeping up with the Joneses to being blissfully ignorant!

In layman’s terms? The hypothalamus is a real petty bitch and will kill your vibe if you let it. The good news is that you can change this.

It’s all about interrupting the knee jerk responses our brain is programmed to give us.

• Step 1: Interrupting the negative response

• Step 2: Consciously choosing a different emotion

• Step 3: Repeat until it becomes unconscious

Fun Mental Hack

As founding members of the Danny Ocean fan club (we watched Oceans 8 last night), we appreciated this study out of Duke last week.

Participants in a study who were told to walk through a museum while imagining they were casing the joint for an upcoming heist performed better on a memory test of the paintings they saw than the group who performed a simulated heist in the same museum (in a computer game).

Our intentions matter and it turns out we’re in a more creative headspace that is more conducive to learning when things aren’t quite as urgent. Urgency & adrenaline are not good vibes when it comes to learning. Who knew?

This likely explains why we struggle to retain information we learned while cramming for a test the night before.

Breaking Free: The Shackles of Health and Fitness Expectations

There’s nothing we love more in sports than a hard nosed, gritty team that never gives up. Even when things don’t start their way, they scrap and come back and find a way to win.

Because what’s more American than the scrappy underdog? But when it comes to our own lives, and more specifically our health and fitness pursuits, we tend to not see things the same way. When the day doesn’t start how we wanted we are way too quick to chalk it up as a loss and go off the rails.

It's not a lack of commitment or willpower. It's the weight of unrealistic expectations, rigid rules, and unforgiving self-critique that sabotages our progress. When it comes to health and fitness, the secret to success might not be in the 'perfect' diet or the grueling workout plan, but in a mental shift towards flexibility, resilience, and acceptance.

Challenging Our Beliefs

Many of us fall prey to the notion that for weight loss, carbs are the enemy. This results in a vicious cycle of deprivation, guilt, and overindulgence. But the truth is, no food group needs to be entirely eliminated from your diet. Eating in moderation and focusing on whole, nutrient-rich foods can lead to sustainable weight loss and better health outcomes.

This allows you to free yourself from creating fear around certain foods. The understanding that you can & should enjoy your food is truly a game changer.

The same applies to exercise. You might believe that unless you're drenched in sweat, panting, and near-collapse, you haven't had a good workout. This belief can hinder your progress and enjoyment of physical activity.

Remember, whether your goal is performance based or visual based, progressive overload is what truly matters for building muscle. And hitting your macros is what matters for fat loss.

These are not rigid goals. There’s so many ways to skin this proverbial cat. God that’s a bad metaphor. Why did we start saying that?!

Embracing Imperfection

Let me share an example to illustrate how our perceptions can warp our reality. Consider this goofy day in the life of our editor, Colin:

• Colin meal prepped on Wednesday - Good.

• But, he mistimed the slow cooker, and had to stay up till 1 am to put the pork shoulder away - Not Great.

• Despite this, he managed to get 8 hours of sleep - Good.

• But this meant he didn't have time for breakfast and ended up chugging half a carton of egg whites - Not Great

• But that meant hitting his protein target - Good 

• For lunch the only option was fried fish - Not Great.

• However, by the end of the day, he’d managed to hit his macros and snuck in 5 servings of fruit and veg - Good!

So, was this day a success or a failure? Well, that depends on your perspective.

Some people might shake their head and wonder why this guy is so messy. Other people might point out that despite the rough start, he hit the following:

• 8 hours of sleep

• 2,400 Calorie goal met

• 190g Protein target achieved

• Had a great workout

• 5 servings of fruits and vegetables

It was an imperfect day to be sure. Or was it a scrappy Tom Brady like performance where he managed to turn a messy day with a rough start into a win and a green checkmark on the calendar?

What would the point of beating yourself up about that day be? Because it wouldn’t look good on a ‘Day in the Life’ Instagram Reel? Who cares?

Ask yourself if your day had started that way, would you have salvaged things and still hit any or all of your goals?

Or would you have chalked it up as an L in the morning and gone off the rails? The theme song from Annie playing in your head…

Changing Your Perspective

Believing in perfection is a trap.

It's a merciless standard that we can't possibly live up to, and it discourages us from recognizing and celebrating our actual progress. Some days will be better than others, and that's okay. Even on the goofy, haphazard days, you're likely doing better than you think. It's important to look at the bigger picture and to give yourself credit for the steps you are taking.

Isn’t an 80% better than a 0?

Remember, your fitness journey is your own. It's not about scoring perfect 10s every day. It's about being flexible with what life throws at you and finding ways to get it done. It's also about enjoying the journey, forgiving the slip-ups, and celebrating the small victories.

Break free from the shackles of unrealistic expectations, rigid rules, and harsh self-judgment. Embrace the freedom that comes from accepting yourself and your efforts as they are. Fitness is not a destination. 

It is a lifelong journey of learning, growing, and becoming the best a better version of yourself. So, stop taking singular days or meals so seriously. Laugh at the mishaps, shrug off the slip-ups, and keep moving forward.

Life is too short for perfection. Free yourself. Live it up and enjoy the process.

Happy Monday everyone! We hope you made it to the end of this rather long Monday Newsletter! As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on what you liked and didn’t like.

If we don’t hear from you we’ll just plan on meeting back here on Wednesday at the normal time!