This is a week of celebrating and giving thanks to friends, family, and those who came before us. While we often do this while sharing a meal (i.e., breaking bread) together, it’s good to remember what allows us to get here in the first place: our health and wellness.

So, for this Thanksgiving edition, we’ve included two articles about keeping fit while enjoying yet another serving of pumpkin pie. And…with that, I am tremendously thankful that you are here, with me, on this journey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Motivation (Thanksgiving Edition)

How a 1-minute Thanksgiving Workout Will Help You Enjoy Your Feast Even More Than You Already Do!

Most of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday. Sitting around a table or various chairs in a living room or common space, we’ll share a veritable cornucopia of delicious food with our family, friends, loved ones, and perhaps even acquaintances. Though I am a BIG believer in taking a break from exercise to simply enjoy life – food being one of many things to enjoy – I’m also cognizant of the slugginess I often feel at the end of a HUGE carb-filled meal. For my family, Thanksgiving meals are exactly these.

That being said, there is something simple you can do to not only reduce the sluggishness but also to nudge your body to use the food you just ate more efficiently. 

You may already know that after an intense workout, your food is less likely to be stored as body fat. Here’s a simple explanation: when your muscles are depleted of glycogen, the calories you eat right after a workout often go straight to refueling those muscles rather than being stored as fat.

What I didn’t realize, though, is how little exercise it takes to trigger this effect.

The life-hacking, bestselling author, Tim Ferriss, discovered that even just 60–90 seconds of the right kind of exercise can make a big difference. Doing a brief workout before a meal helps direct calories into muscle cells rather than fat storage.

How It Works: Insulin and GLUT-4

Exercise increases something in your body called GLUT-4 (glucose transporter type 4). GLUT-4 makes it easier for insulin to shuttle energy into your muscles. As Tim explains: “The more muscular gates we have open before insulin triggers the same GLUT-4 on the surface of fat cells, the more we can put calories in muscle instead of fat.”

In The 4-Hour Body, Tim references a study comparing two scenarios: 280 seconds of intense exercise vs. 6 hours of low-intensity exercise.

The results?

• 280 seconds (less than 5 minutes!) of intense exercise increased GLUT-4 in muscle by 83%.

• 6 hours of low-intensity exercise increased it by 91%.

So in terms of GLUT-4 activation, 280 seconds of intense effort delivered almost the same benefits as 6 hours of slow and steady work. Pretty wild, right?

Tim’s Advice: 60–90 Seconds of Exercise

Tim suggests keeping your pre-meal and post-meal exercise short—just 60 seconds before eating and another 60–90 seconds about 90 minutes after eating.

Why 90 minutes after a meal? That’s when your blood glucose levels tend to peak, making it the perfect time to use exercise to help direct those calories into your muscles.

It’s a simple, time-efficient way to optimize how your body handles the food you eat—and it only takes a couple of minutes!

What Exercises Work Best?

Though just about any exercise can work here, the best exercises to do before and after you eat are ones that you can do anywhere and that engage the most muscles. These might be air squats, wall presses, pushups, banded chest pulls, or just about any other exercise that gets your heart pounding while engaging multiple muscle groups.

After enjoying a hearty Thanksgiving meal, a quick 60-90 seconds of exercise could be the perfect way to help your body shuttle those extra calories into your muscles rather than storing them as fat. Whether it’s a set of air squats or a brisk walk, this simple habit can make a big difference and keep you feeling energized. So, before you settle into the couch for a post-turkey nap, consider a quick movement boost to maximize your feast!

Motivation (Thanksgiving Edition)

The 5-move Routine that Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink Uses to Live a Longer, Stronger Life!

Jocko Willink, a retired Navy Seal, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and an outspoken health and wellness spokesperson, has been front and center of the social media sphere for several years. In some ways this makes sense. In his mid-fifties, he looks like a superhero and the kind of guy you want at your side.

To me what’s more interesting is that Jocko isn’t big on radical new forms of exercise, as part of his health and wellness regimen. Rather, much like we discuss in this newsletter, he’s all about “Going back to the basics and doing things that have been used for decades is a solid way to go,”. Going on to say, “You can never go wrong with those."

So…whether you’re prepping for your big Thanksgiving feast or on the tail end of it, trying to ward off the turkey-induced sleepiness, here are five core exercises Jocko (and Ruckr) recommends to build strength, muscle, and longevity without a gym:

Body-weight Exercises

If building strength and muscle is your goal, bodyweight moves like pull-ups, push-ups, and dips are hard to beat. They hit the major muscle groups in your upper body and core, boost stability, and require little more than a hanging bar, a bench, or a chair.

Knock out enough reps, and you’ll get your heart rate up for cardio benefits. If you’re just starting out, you can scale push-ups to make them more beginner-friendly, and if pull-ups feel out of reach right now, working on eccentrics is a great way to build up to your first full rep.

Squats

Squats are a powerhouse move for stronger legs and overall fitness. They work your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and core, all while improving your stability. Plus, squats can boost mobility—using a full range of motion helps keep your hips, knees, and ankles strong and healthy.

What’s more, whether you’re doing a pre or post-meal 90-second air squat workout or a multi-set workout while wearing a weighted rucksack, because your legs house some of your largest muscles, squats are a terrific way to burn calories while building muscle, flexibility, and longevity.

Burpees

For many people, burpees are more of a menace to deal with than a fun exercise to look forward to. Why? Because burpees work…everything all at once!

Burpees are a crushing full-body exercise that builds strength, and endurance and gets your heart pumping. To do them, start standing, drop into a squat, and place your hands on the ground. From there, jump your feet back into a plank—keep your core tight—then optionally throw in a push-up to hit your chest and arms. Jump your feet back to the squat position, then explode into a jump, reaching your arms overhead. They’re tough, no doubt, but burpees hit your legs, core, and upper body all at once, burn a ton of calories, and give you a serious fitness boost in no time.

Intervals (of any kind!)

Interval training is one of the best ways to build fitness and burn calories fast. It’s all about alternating short bursts of intense effort with periods of rest or low-intensity work. Whether you incorporate short bursts of sprinting or even speed walking into a regular walk or job, this approach pushes your body to adapt, improving both your cardiovascular endurance and your ability to recover quickly. Interval workouts are efficient, too—you can get a killer workout in a fraction of the time compared to steady-state cardio. Plus, the afterburn effect keeps your metabolism revved up long after you’re done…which is perfect for this time of year.

Rucking (our favorite)

As a military veteran, Jocko is a big fan of rucking. As “the simplest movement that humans do”, rucking is also one of the most effective full-body workouts to incorporate into your regular schedule.

Whether you do as I do, donning a weighted rucksack while walking your dog, or scheduling a regular hike, stair climb, or ruck-based workout, rucking will at once push you to your limits, while also burning a ton of calories, building strength, and fortifying your skeleton. 

Plus…a weighted rucksack is so much easier to bring with you to a Thanksgiving meal than a set of dumbbells.

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