Motivation Monday: Not So Average Rob, Early Birds, & Alzheimers

Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, where we are now soccer fans because of Lionel Messi. We will now refer to soccer solely as fútbol and WE WILL correct you if you say it wrong.

You: “Did you watch the football game last night?”

Us: “American Football? Or the world’s game? You know, this is my problem with Americans…”

What’s the point in being a fútbol fan if you can’t also be obnoxious? It’s at least half the fun. The other half being drinking too much and going full send on the Olé chants.

Let’s dive in!

Bodybuilding & Alzheimers

In a recent study, beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate showed promise in treating and slowing the negative effects of Alzheimers. By supplementing mice with advanced signs of Alzheimers with HMB, they found a decrease in plaques and an improvement in memory function.

What is beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate? It’s a metabolite of leucine, thought to be the most anabolic of the essential amino acids. It’s a fairly well studied supplement with no known side effects, but how/why it may work to improve muscle growth/fat loss isn’t really well understood.

We’ve been saying it for years. It’s well past time to get granny jacked. Although we’ll see how

1 Step Closer to Androids

Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden announced last week that the first human with a full arm amputation has been outfitted with a prosthetic that allows them to manipulate each finger individually.

The problem with amputations is that the closer you get to the hand, the more individual muscles you have. Were you to lose a hand at the wrist, you would retain most of the muscles responsible for manipulating your hand & fingers. It’s much easier for surgeons to reconnect nerves to these muscles and allow for a prosthetic that can do most of what a hand can do.

However, amputations above the elbow present unique complications. You don’t flex your bicep when you want to pick up a pencil or point your fingers. Your bicep really just allows you to hinge at the elbow and your tricep is there to straighten it back out.

By implanting directly into the bone, rewiring nerves, & implanting sensors into the surrounding muscles, engineers were able to relay neurological signals through an AI algorithm that deciphered intent. The incredible thing about this breakthrough is the more the patient used the hand, the better the motor control became.

Wild.

The Early Bird Gets the Clean Bill of Health

A recent study of 100,000 French people spanning 7 years found that those who ate breakfast after 9am were nearly 60% more likely to contract type 2 diabetes than those who ate it before 8am.

About 1% of the participants contracted Type 2 Diabetes over the 7 years and those who ate an early breakfast and early dinner appeared to be much less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes.

We’re not going to write about the scientist’s takeaways because this is the type of science we always caution readers about. Talk about confounding variables. Our goodness.

Imagine for a second your friend who is super into health and fitness. The one who gets up early, works out, and eats a healthy breakfast before work. People who workout and are health conscious are more likely to get up early, but they aren’t healthier because they ate before 8. They just happen to do that.

Now think about your friend who stays up too late and goes out drinking regularly. They’re not eating breakfast before 8am. They’re likely not even up yet. But again, they aren’t unhealthy because they waited to eat breakfast. The friend banging down pizza rolls at 2am while gaming isn’t unhealthy because they’re eating after 10pm. There are other factors at play here.

Sigh.

This video is amazing. If you need a little pick me up on this Monday morning afternoon, look no further.

@averagerob

THE DAY I BECAME AN IRONMAN! 🥹 Still can’t believe it. Thanks everybody for all the support ♥️ So proud of u @arnothekid #ironman #klagenfurt

Does it make us want to complete a triathlon? Kinda yea. But a short one. That marathon at the end is honestly just a deal breaker for us.

8 months of training isn’t a ton, but it’s enough. As the announcer quipped in the video, not sure Rob can call himself average anymore.

One of the best ways to stay committed to a huge goal is to document it. What better way to get it done than to diary your progress every day on Tik-Tok? Getting other people involved keeps you committed & the positive feedback can’t hurt right?

Have a big goal? Why not announce it to the world and use that to keep you honest? If you’re not ready for that big of a step, feel free to tell us your big goal. We’ll cheer you on.

Have an amazing Monday fam! Hope you crush your goals, or if you don’t have one, we hope you set a big one today. There’s still 5+ months left to make this year the best one yet!

Come back on Wednesday for some grade A weight loss advice.