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“I Can’t Because I Have Bad Genetics”
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“I Can’t Because I Have Bad Genetics” 

When I first started my journey to learning fitness, I remember thinking “I wish I had his genetics”.

It’s a common thought among people, myself include.. and it’s complete bullshit.

Me believing my own bullshit put me in a mental box.

That mental framework would then tell my subconscious to look for clues throughout my day to reinforce my self belief.

Fact is, you might have bad genetics right now, but that’s because you habits, not your body. You can change your genetics.

Let me tell you a story about me and my roommate back when I was 21.

And how upon reflection, I discovered everything I just told you…

For the sake of privacy let’s just call my roommate Efron because that’s who he reminded me of.

The Mental Box

Me and Efron used to live in a house together. (3+ years) We would do similar things like drink on weekends together, do the same workouts, even eat the same dinners. (He would have extra desserts sometimes which was even more frustrating)

I remember thinking this isn’t fair,

how come he can do the same thing as me and get those results.. I said “well it has to be my genetics there’s no other rational explanation”

Ironically, this was true. He did have better genetics, but what I didn’t realize was the subtle things made him have better genetics than me. 

Yes. You can change your genetics.

(Sometimes I refer to this as hormonal profile.)

I’m not Bill Nye so don’t ask me about the science, I just talk about how fitness ‘feels’ .

Healthy is not a look, it’s a feeling.

I’ve proven to myself I can change my metabolism and hormone profile by my habits. I have better “genetics” at 29 than at 21. And it all comes down to my Open Source 4-rule framework.

So back to what my roommate was subtly doing that I didn’t pick up on even though I lived with him for 3 years… Again, the reason is because I was only noticing things that justified my own set of self beliefs. Here’s what was actually going on:

He took naps.. all the time

He would regularly lay down coffin style and be napping on the couch for 30 mins at a time. Sometime it would even be with a room full of friends. (I remember this vividly)

We would both go out drinking or stay up late watching tv but the next day I would say “I don’t need 8 hours I don’t feel tired”. He would. He would make up an extra 2 hours of sleep consistently.

Regardless of the situation, lack of sleep is a major factor in your hormonal profile. It can be tricky because I really do feel fine with about 5-6.. but make it a priority.

He cut lawns in the summer..

This has two key factors:

  • Walking (10k steps)
  • Sun

I never thought about steps counts. I thought it was negligible.

“What is walking going to do” so instead I would kill myself on the stair stepper at the gym. Why?

Because it felt so damn hard and I thought I needed to do more than Efron to catch up.

We’ll turns out I was depleting my body. It was hurting my hormones. Again, I saw that I was putting extra work and Efron never touched a stair climber in his life.. It’s not fair “he has better genetics”

So on little sleep, intense cardio, lower calories was turning my body into a middle aged man instead of a thriving 21 year.

All because I thought I had to do more not less because my mindset and lack of knowledge in fitness. 

Moral of this section is walking is all you need and all I ever recommend. You will maintain muscle, hormone profile resulting in fat melting away leaving people thinking you just have better genetics (which is actually true, but counterintuitive).

Sun 🌞

Sun gives you Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is damn near a steroid.

Sun regulates hormones.

It is pure energy to the body. Try to get an hour a day.

If not able to supplement with vitamin D, use red light therapy (either at gym or buy on Amazon for home) it’s the reason “farm strength” is a thing.

Sun regulates sleep.

Have you ever felt that “sun took it out of me”.. that’s the melatonin working.

Sun reduces stress.

Have you ever felt that “beach vacation” relaxation.. it’s not only get away from work but also the 8 hours in the sun. Try a stay at home vacation on a sunny weekend, similar vibes 1/10 the cost.

Winter causes depression.

You will feel the difference and you probably already do if you live in a place like me and have to hibernate for months at a time due to weather. It’s when I first started using red light therapy.

Recap.

I would kill myself to get results and he got amazing results from activities that were so subtle I didn’t even notice them while living with him. Hence why my open source fitness mantra is turn ordinary habits into extraordinary results. Make fitness effortless.

He would skip breakfast

Something I didn’t notice either because he’d be out the door before I woke up.

But at lunch time he say “ this is the first thing I’ve eaten” .

I remember thinking that was a negative to muscle growth. You need energy for the day right? You need protein to build muscle right?

That’s the Wheaties “breakfast for champions” marketing strategy working to a T. Legendary tag line. Terrible advice.

Limiting your body to an 8 hour or less eating window is something you should start today if you are not already. It will fix your hormones , gut health, brain fog, and actual suppress hungry after your body adapts.

Most people can eat from noon-8pm without even thinking about it. Our ancestors used to have to hunter for food meaning they would have to have mental clarity, sharpness, sprinting abilities, and strength in order to eat.

Again a bit counterintuitive, but once you feel the energy from fasting , you won’t go back. 

Thread below for more details.

Note:

When referring to fasting I mean intermittent.

Meaning at most 20 hours (4-hour eating window) while you can do over 24 or even 72 hours those will not fix your hormones IMO.

It’s like eating healthy for 3 days straight then going back to a shit diet thinking your problems are fixed.

Your body takes time to adapt so I’d recommend intermittent fasting Monday-Friday for 3 months.

Think about it. That’s only 90 days and most people have been spiking their insulin every few hours for DECADES.

Body needs time and 3 months is a short spam. After the 3 months I doubt you will ever go back. I found this out 3 years ago and only I’m only trying to further my eating window to 6 or 4 instead of 8. 

Click: Intermittent Fasting Thread

Recap

Let’s compare our two days between me and Efron. 

I would work remote from home get 2-3k steps in a day , get no sunlight on most days, and consistently 6 hours, eating before bed and a few hours after waking (eating in a 16 hour window instead of 8)

He would get 10-20k steps , 3-4 hours of sun, 8+ hours daily. 8 hour eating window. 

We would both eat similar meals, workout using similar weights , go to bed a similar times. For the longest time I just thought he was lucky to have good genetics but couldn’t of been further from the truth.

Higher-level Recap

  • I wanted to look like Efron
  • But I was limiting my beliefs by saying “ I have bad genetics”
  • I went through my day only allowing myself to see what I wanted to see
  • After years of struggling I found out it was my habits not my body
  • Upon reflect I realized the subtle differences that create good genetics
  • Use the 4-rule framework blueprint as a workbook + this 8 week transformation as a guide on your path because you will come across hard times (mental games) bookmark this email and revisit old letters that resonated with you.
    • (All letters are linked at the bottom of this post. Also here’s the PDF link https://tinyurl.com/2p8989aj — pass it along to friends and family it’s Open-Sourced)
  • You can make changes to your body, don’t fool yourself.

Now when I look at people in elites shape. I find 99% of them use similar framework. Example Mark Sisson who is 69 years old (bottom right).

I eventually came to realize after 9 years of trying to figure out the game called fitness. 

It all comes down to ..

  • 10k steps
  • 8 hour eating window
  • 3x workouts a week
  • 1-ingredients foods. 

I would rank them in two tiers:

Tier 1: Walking & Fasting

  • are must and should be done immediately after reading this 

Tier 2: Workouts & Food

  • tend to have a bit more friction so if not already doing so, skip the gym for a month or two. Get really good and comfortable with fasting, walking , cleaning up diet, then tackle the gym.

Notice 3 out of the 4 rules are outside the gym not in it.


I’d say if a person is only walking, fasting, eating whole foods vs a person who just lifts and only counts calories and protein… I’m putting my money on the 1st guy on who looks superior and is healthier. 

All 4 rules are important but momentum is a funny thing…

I tend to have an analytical mind so I am prone to analysis paralysis. I can’t gain momentum if I don’t start. I have a problem with starting small, but I actively work on it knowing it is a weakness of mine.

That’s exactly what my Open-Source Fitness: Alpha Blueprint is for. It’s 100 pages showing you how I implemented these 4 frameworks in a way that feels effortless. 

A good book is like a good friend. It will stay with you for the rest of your life. When you first get to know it, it will give you excitement and adventure, and years later it will provide you with comfort and familiarity. And best of all, you can share it with your children or your grandchildren or anyone you love enough to let into its secrets.”

Charlie Lovett

Well that’s all folks, that’s the 8 week transformation. But there more…

Track Progress:

Download the PDF here, you will automatically get emailed this transformation sequence.

#1 Fitness is actually really easy. Hard part …

#2 Write These On Paper and Put on Nightstand .. for real

#3 I eat like a Joey Chesnut on Birthdays and Holidays

#4 HAVE A PLAN

#5 “After weeks of work the fat seemingly did nothing, then all of a sudden gone. Poof. Then comes hard, dense look. ” – Austin 28 days ago

#6 Listen to Your Body

#7 Most People Don’t Play the Right Games

I’m heading to Miami to enjoy the Bitcoin Conference. I hope to see some of you there!

When I get back it’ll be hormone optimization summer.

I’m building a powerpoint to help you with the next part of the journey.. the gym.


Me 2 years ago..

I used to hate hitting plateaus in the gym.

So I would try to run straight though the wall.

It wasn’t until later I found out, it wasn’t my training that was the problem.

It was my body’s potential. Aka genetics.


So I built a framework called Structure Intuition to optimize hormones in a workout plan.

I’m building out a PowerPoint to help give more insights to each of the 4 frameworks. Gym was the one I talked about the least in the transformation because it wasn’t the gym sessions over the last 8 weeks that made to difference.

But it will make the difference on how much progress I make from here.


P.S.

Sign Up for a free 15 minute call if interested in working with me to get you, your transformation.

https://opensourcefitness.carrd.co

Everything I learned over the last 9 years I put in here. Open Source: ₿lueprint:

https://5454373977697.gumroad.com/l/rhbif/vhhkzvb

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Follow Austin Herbert on Twitter. https://twitter.com/_AustinHerbert

Open Source Fitness offers supplements that Support the Bitcoin Economy. They’re 100% sourced from grass-fed cattle. Use the coupon code LOVEISBITCOIN for 10% off https://loveisbitcoin.com/opensourcefitness

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