I can say without equivocation Man’s Search for Meaning is the most important book I’ve ever read. 

That’s a bold statement, I know. But Viktor Frankl’s book cuts to the heart of existential depression. Is there a meaning to life? Is there a purpose to our existence? Why do we suffer?

Any summary I could write would pale in the impact of reading the book for yourself. So I’ll just leave you with my favorite quotes from Frankl’s work and sincerely hope that you read this book for yourself.

“He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how.” – Nietzche

“The salvation of man is through love and in love.” – Frankl

“‘There is only one thing that I dread; not to be worthy of my sufferings.’ These words frequently came to my mind after I became aquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom-which cannot be taken away-that makes life meaningful and purposeful.” – Frankl

“Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.” – Frankl

“It does not matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us.” – Frankl

“As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus, logotherapy sees in responsibleness the very essence of human existence.” – Frankl

Life is cumulative. As long as you are a living, breathing, human being you have the ability to change the direction of your life for the better.

Arthur understood that all of life was cumulative. It was cumulative stress from jumping out of planes that injured his back. It was an accumulation of years of inactivity and poor diet that lead to his debilitated state. And it was an accumulation of daily disciplines that lead him back to health.

The greatest danger in depression is the loss of hope. Depression makes us look at life and all of the things that we can’t do. You’ll never get that girl, you’re too boring. You’ll never get that job, you don’t have the energy. You’ll never be happy, because look at how depressed you are now! All of those are true statements. But they miss the big picture entirely. You don’t HAVE to turn your life around in an instant! You don’t HAVE to accomplish all of your goals immediately, and you won’t! You only need to take very small steps each day. Each day be a little stronger. Each day be a little happier. And that’s it. Soon you’ll have built the life of your dreams through the accumulation of small daily successes.

Two Apps to Help Your Journey

Chains.cc – Write down goals and swipe them right after you’ve completed that goal for the day. The key to success here is to make it small enough that you won’t be too fussed about completing it. Since I’ve started using this method of daily goals I’ve meditated for 20 minutes every day, spent 5 minute cleaning up my room, and wrote 500 words for 24 days in a row now. All tasks that I previously struggled to complete. This is based on The Seinfeld Method.

Superbetter – “SuperBetter helps you achieve your health goals — or recover from an illness or injury — by increasing your personal resilience. Resilience means staying curious, optimistic and motivated even in the face of the toughest challenges.” While I haven’t personally tried it, I hear it’s awesome. Give it a try.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the title.

This “strange secret” is something I’ve recently rediscovered. It’s funny how often and quickly we forget the lessons that are most important to us. I digress.

This secret is subtle. It’s elusive. And it disguises itself as the truth. But once you become conscious of how it manifests in your life you will immediately see how it poisons every relationship and endeavor you undertake.

The secret that’s sabotaging your success: an unrestrained ego.

I’d like to think that I’m very qualified to speak on the subject of egoism because for all of my life I’ve vacillated between having no self-worth and feeling like I’m far superior to the “peasant sheep” around me. Now I can see just how much of an asshole I’ve been. I can also see how many opportunities and relationships were ruined as a result of this egomania.

But why is an overly large ego bad? Because the gurus say it is? That’s a nonsensical argument. The true danger in letting your ego grow out of control is that it blinds you to the truth. It blinds you to reality. It blinds you to good ideas. It blinds you to valid criticisms.

The best recent example of how much damage an unchecked ego can wreak can be seen in the conduct of the second Iraq war by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has been described by those who served under him as an egomaniac who couldn’t handle dissenting opinions and had no tolerance for criticism.

Rumsfeld ignored predictions that Iraq would need at least twice as many boots on the ground in order to have a stable post war transition by Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki.

In 2002 Rumsfeld, irritated by Shinseki’s insistence that American troops were stretched too thin around the world, had made Shinseki a lame-duck Army chief of staff by announcing his successor while Shinseki had more than a year left to serve.

In the spring of 2003 Shinseki chose, however, not to engage in a protracted war of words with Rumsfeld. Instead, he stuck to his position on what was needed in Iraq and waited until his Pentagon retirement ceremony in June 2003 to make his case that in the wake of 9/11, America needed more boots on the ground to meet its global responsibilities.

“Beware the 12-division strategy for a 10-division Army,” Shinseki told his Pentagon audience and then went on to compare America’s war in Iraq with the war he knew as a junior officer in Vietnam. “The lessons I learned in Vietnam are always with me,” Shinseki stressed, “lessons about loyalty, about taking care of the people who sacrifice the most.”

Both President Bush and Rumsfeld made a point of not attending Shinseki’s retirement ceremony, and the New York Times buried its account of Shinseki’s retirement speech on page 32 of the news section. – Source

The arrogance and ego of Donald Rumsfeld lead to a mistake that cost thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives. All because Rumpsfeld thought he was smarter than his generals. Because he heard what he wanted to hear and ignored every valid criticism.

We as humans have a tendency to find fault and ignore the advice of others on subjects which we consider ourselves “experts.” My biggest ego flaw comes in the arena of nutrition and exercise. I’ve found that rather than seeing what I could learn from other trainers I instead immediately go into critique mode. I’ll try to find every little fault I can in their training methodology and then pat myself on the back. I tell myself, “see, look at all these things he’d doing wrong. I’m much more knowledgeable.”

This makes my ego very happy. But it can also make me an unbearable asshole. It keeps me from picking up new ideas and new knowledge. I firmly believe that there is at least one thing we can learn from each person we encounter. So by letting our egos run wild we are missing daily opportunities to learn and to expand.

Different combinations of macronutrients in different ratios can have dramatic impact on your body composition and overall energy levels. It’s important to understand the fundamentals of how your body utilizes different macronutrients because without this fundamental understanding you won’t be able to make informed decisions about what to eat.

Protein

Primary Function: To build and repair body tissues and structures.

• Protein has been shown to induce a satiating of hunger greater than its caloric content alone. In other words eating more protein helps you to feel more full.
• Protein is broken down into amino acids and then used in various functions of the body depending on the body’s needs.
• Amino acids will be preferentially shuttled to the repair and building of new body tissue(muscle) as long as the body is in a positive energy balance(i.e. you’re not starving yourself).

Protein Rich Foods: Meat, fish, eggs, nuts

Recommended Daily Intake: 

• .7g/kg for inactive individuals
• 1.0g/kg for moderately active individuals
• 1.5-2g/kg for highly active individuals

If you aren’t recovering from workouts then a lack of protein could be at cause although more commonly improper rest, lack of carbohydrates, and improper periodization of training is to blame for lack of recovery than lack of protein.

Carbohydrate

Primary Function: To fuel the body’s metabolic needs.

• All carbohydrates are broken down in the body as glucose(except for fiber which is not digested at all).
• The difference between a simple carb(sugar) and a complex carb(starch) is the speed at which your digestive system converts them into glucose.
• The glycemic index(GI) is a measure of how quickly different foods raise the blood glucose(or blood sugar) levels. A higher GI indicates a faster digesting carbohydate.

Recommended Sources of Carbs: Yams, squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, oats, bananas. For a more exhaustive list click here.

Recommended Daily Intake: 

• 15% of daily calories for inactive individuals
• 25-40% of daily calories if your goal is to gain weight
• 5-20% of daily calories if your goal is to lose fat

Fat

Primary Function: To fuel the body’s metabolic needs.

• The body can switch between primarily burning fat for fuel and glucose(carbs) for fuel. The body can survive without any dietary carbohydrates but cannot survive without dietary fat.
• Use fat to “fill in” calories that you need after budgeting for your proteins and carbohydrates.
• The amount of fat you eat should be tied directly to your level of carbohydrate intake. The more carbohydrates you eat the lower total percentage of calories you should get from fat. Conversely the less carbohydrates you eat the more percentage of calories you should get from fat.
• On a cutting diet high levels of fat(>50% of your total caloric intake) will help keep your body from converting protein into glucose for fuel(aka “burning” muscle).
• Seek to strike a 1:1 ratio between Omega-3 fatty acid and Omega-6 fatty acid intake. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, free range eggs, and grass fed meats. They exhibit anti-inflammatory actions whereas Omega-6 fatty acids exhibit pro-inflammatory actions.
• The majority of your fat intake should be in the form of saturated fats. No, saturated fats are not bad for your heart.

Recommended Sources of Fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, grass-fed meats, fish, fish oil, nuts, free-range eggs

You’ll notice the heavy recommendations of free-range and grass fed. These contain optimal balances of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acid profiles whereas farm-raised animals and eggs contain almost exclusively Omega-6 fatty acids.

Recommended Daily Intake: Fat should be used to “fill in” the missing calories based on your goals and daily needs.

Myth 1: You need to eat every two hours.

Meal timing is largely irrelevant to body composition and gaining weight. You should focus on getting enough total calories in and meeting your macros for the day. For optimal nutrient partitioning I would try to eat the majority of my calories and carbs post workout but if you can’t it’s not the end of the world.

Visit www.leangains.com and you can find hundreds of people who have successfully put on 2lbs or more of lean body mass per month while fasting for 16 hours each day.

Myth 2: You can eat whatever you want.

Don’t use bulking to justify poor eating habits.

For each pound of fat you gain during your bulk you’ve added an extra 7-10 days of cutting in order to reach your ideal physique. So it’s up to you. Eat twinkies, donuts, fast food and get fat. Or maintain some discipline and get jacked.

Myth 3: You need to spend a lot of time in the gym

Your workouts should be focused on quality and not quantity. The guy who spends 45 minutes on compound movements(presses, squats, deadlifts, pullups, rows) will make more gains in both strength and size than the guy who spends two hours doing isolation work(bicep curls, etc.).

As a natural athlete trying to put on weight you need to focus on heavy compound full-body workouts. Starting strength 5×5 is a fantastic program and I recommend it for everyone that’s getting started in the gym.

Compound movements produce far more “bang for your buck.” They will ensure that you develop a well-rounded and solid foundation of muscle. They also elicit positive hormonal changes(increase in testosterone and more release of growth hormone). More hormones, more muscle.

Myth 4: You need a protein shake post workout

Protein shakes are a godsend for those who find it difficult to hit their daily protein goals through solid meals. They are also useful as a meal substitute when you’re short on time.

Supplement companies would have you believe that if you’ll go catabolic if you don’t immediately drink whey protein post workout. The truth is that while the post workout meal is still important it is not nearly as catastrophic to miss as supplement companies would have you believe.

Physiologically there is a window of a few hours post workout where nutrients that you take in get preferentially partitioned to your muscles. This means that amino acids and glucose eaten post workout will be more likely to be used to repair and replenish your muscle stores rather than being stored as bodyfat. This is why good trainers will tell you to fit a large portion of your daily calories into your post workout meal.

The only people that truly need to drink fast digesting protein and high GI carbs immediately post workout are those who need to replenish their muscle glycogen as quickly as possible. These people generally fall into the category of competitive endurance athletes. Endurance athletes who may need to perform back to back glycogen depleting exercises.

For those of us that have 24+ hours to recover from our workouts the speed of digestion of our post workout meal really has very little impact on our recovery. Therefore if it’s convenient for you drink some protein. If not don’t worry about it. It is by no means necessary.

Myth 5: Cardio will hurt your gains

Let me preface this by saying that this subject is complicated. The type, duration, and intensity of the cardio you’re doing combined with your quality of rest and nutrition all determine whether or not the cardio portion of your workout will hinder your gains.

Let’s focus on how to integrate cardio into your workouts in order to maximize your gains.

First you need to ensure that your cardio isn’t interfering with your weight lifting sessions. For example you wouldn’t want to run 5 miles the day before a heavy squat workout. The running would compromise your leg strength. This loss of strength would cause you to perform poorly in your squat session thus leading to less strength gains and less hypertrophy overall.

The best time to fit cardio in is immediately after a weight lifting session.

Be creative. Focus on high intensity interval training(HIIT). HIIT is superior to steady state cardio(jogging) across every measure of fitness. HIIT improves your VO2 max, your aerobic fitness, and your anaerobic strength. It also burns up to eight times more fat than steady state cardio. CrossFit has a great variety of high intensity interval circuits you can perform in 4-8 minutes that will improve both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

Myth 6: You just “can’t eat enough.”

This is just an excuse. And a bad one. Man up. Eat more!

If you’re not gaining weight then it all comes down to the fact that you’re not eating enough. Eat more!

Adding just one tablespoon of peanut butter three times a day will add 300 calories to your day. You can make a meal replacement smoothie to add an extra 500-1000 calories. Or just make each of your meals a bit bigger. You can do it. It might not be easy or comfortable but you can do it. So stop it with this bullshit excuse and EAT. MORE.