Welcome back to this edition, this year is quickly wrapping up but we will keep the content coming thick and fast. A few key topics as we start to look back at your year in health and fitness and share many more exciting pieces….
What’s In Store
What’s In Store:
MOTIVATE: It’s performance review season, are you backing yourself in fitness the way you do (or don’t) at work?
THINK: VO₂ max sounds complicated, but it might be the most important number in your health.
LEARN: Can exercise actually reverse frailty? This study says yes - and here’s how.
PRACTICE: A different super-set for you to try
CURATE: Let’s travel the web again and bring you some curated gems from the fitness world.
MOTIVATE
(Straight up motivation to fuel your workouts)
Appraisals reveal how we back ourselves or (don’t) in all areas of our life….
The quote
"The real test is not whether you avoid failure… it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."
Barack Obama
Mapping this to performance appraisals…
In this quote, Obama wasn’t talking about quarterly reviews or bonus payouts, he was talking about resilience. But in a weird way, it maps perfectly onto the world of performance appraisals.
Every end-of-year review is a test of how much we own our impact, how we handle critique, and how willing we are to step up and say: “I did the work - and I’m proud of it.”
Why it matters for fitness
Let’s be honest: most people hate performance reviews.
They’re awkward. They dredge up every dropped ball. They shine a light on the parts of your work you’d rather fast-forward through. But here’s the thing… the real discomfort isn’t the feedback.
It’s the mirror. It’s having to confront whether or not you actually back yourself or… wether you did so throughout the year..
Backing yourself isn’t loud. It’s not posting your PR’s on Instagram or buying all the latest supplements.
It’s a quiet certainty. A belief that you have value, that your effort matters, and that you are worth investing in.
Think about the person who walks into a performance review with receipts. They know their numbers. They’re not hoping for validation, they’re expecting it because they’ve done the work - and that’s powerful.
Now ask yourself: do you walk into your workouts like that?
Do you approach your goals like someone who deserves to win?
Or are you stuck negotiating your worth every single time you fall short?
The truth is, if you don’t believe you’re worth backing, every rep will feel optional. Every habit will feel negotiable. Every stumble will feel like proof that you “knew you couldn’t do it.”
Backing yourself means betting on the version of you that hasn’t arrived yet.
And the only way that version ever shows up?
Is if you do.
So this week, let’s flip the script let’s turn from work to fitness and see which areas need work...
Practical implementation
Give yourself a performance review.
Below is a simple self-appraisal tool to rate your year in fitness, fill in the following template and take an average:
📌 Area | ❌ Needs Work (1) | ⚠️ Getting There (2) | ✅ On Track (3) |
|---|---|---|---|
Training consistency | |||
Sleep quality & routine | |||
Nutrition adherence | |||
Recovery (rest days, deloads) | |||
Progress tracking (strength/size) | |||
Mindset (self-talk, motivation) |
Scoring Guide:
6–9: You're in the game, but flying blind. Time to rebuild habits.
10–14: Solid base. Sharpen your system, double down on what’s working.
15–18: You're leading yourself like a pro. Time to set a stretch goal.
Bottom line?
If you’re not proud to fight for your progress, maybe it’s time to make changes that would make you proud.
Treat your fitness like your performance review:
Honest.
Measurable.
Worth defending.
Take this as a wake up call if you’re not at the level you know you want to be and can be at!!
THINK
(Your dose of critical thinking to bullet proof the mind)
VO₂ Max: The forgotten number in fitness?
Let’s talk about a metric that sounds like a robot’s license plate… but might be one of the most important markers of long-term health and performance.
VO₂ max.
It’s been making the rounds again thanks to fitness watches, elite endurance influencers, and podcasts that love citing it as a proxy for “how fit you really are.” But what is VO₂ max, where did it come from, and, more importantly, should you care?
Let’s break it down.
How We Got Here
VO₂ max stands for “maximal oxygen uptake.” It’s the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. The more oxygen you can utilize, the more efficient your body is at powering movement.
The idea was first formalized in the 1920s by British physiologist Archibald Hill (who later won a Nobel Prize for it). He was trying to understand human performance through the lens of oxygen, how fast the body could use it, and what that meant for endurance.
Over the decades, VO₂ max became the gold standard of aerobic capacity. Endurance athletes chased higher scores. NASA used it to select astronauts. The military tested it. And now, your Apple Watch tries to estimate it using your heart rate and step cadence.
But VO₂ max isn’t just about marathons and Ironmans.
It’s a strong predictor of all-cause mortality. In plain English:
Higher VO₂ max = lower risk of dying early.
(Yes, even more than cholesterol or blood pressure.)
How to Shift or Improve Approach
Let’s cut to it:
What’s a “good” VO₂ max?
General benchmarks:Men: 40–50 ml/kg/min is decent. Elite endurance athletes? 70+.
Women: 35–45 is solid. Above 60? World-class.
How do you measure it?
Gold standard: A lab test with a mask, treadmill, and gas exchange monitoring.
Practical option: Fitness wearables (like Garmin or Apple Watch) give rough estimates via heart rate modeling. Not perfectbut useful for trends.
How do you improve it?
There are two main tools:Zone 2 training (steady-state cardio where you can still talk but feel worked)
High-intensity intervals (short bursts at near-max output with rest between)
There’s also the Norwegian 4×4 method:
Both work. The combo? Magic.
If you train nothing else, doing 2–3 cardio sessions a week (1 long slow, 1 interval-based) can dramatically increase your VO₂ max over time.
So… is it the end-all-be-all of fitness?
No. A powerlifter doesn’t need a VO₂ max of 65. And you can’t deadlift oxygen.
But for general health, longevity, and everyday performance, VO₂ max might be one of the most underrated numbers in your arsenal.
Final thought?
You can’t out-hack bad conditioning.
Your muscles might win today, but your lungs win the long game.
LEARN
(Top tier research broken down to better understand fitness and health)
The link between exercise and frailty - it literally prolongs your life (but you knew this already)…
Core research question
How can exercise be prescribed and implemented as a therapeutic tool to prevent, mitigate, and reverse frailty in older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and what strategies are most effective to improve function, quality of life, and independence?
Research methodology
Type: Narrative review of recent clinical trials, guidelines, and meta-analyses (not a single experiment).
Scope: Examines evidence linking exercise to prevention and reversal of frailty across both acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions.
Sources: Includes hospital-based and community studies (e.g., REHAB-HF, SPRINTT, HF-ACTION) and evaluates how exercise affects frailty, heart failure outcomes, and quality of life.
Focus: Synthesizes models of frailty, exercise mechanisms, and strategies for individualized exercise prescription in older, frail CVD patients
Key outcomes
Frailty is reversible: Regular, structured, multicomponent exercise (strength, balance, endurance, mobility) can shift patients from frail to more robust states
High-intensity resistance training is especially effective improving strength, mobility, and functional independence. Gains occur even in patients >75 years
Balance and mobility training lower fall risk and enhance daily functioning
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs that include tailored exercise reduce hospitalization and improve HRQoL (e.g., REHAB-HF: +1.5 SPPB points, +34 m on 6-minute walk test)
Barriers include poor referral, fear of exercise post-surgery, lack of supervision, and limited CR access in low-income settings
Solutions: Automated referrals, patient education, e-health tools, and caregiver involvement improve adherence and outcomes
Figure 5 (page 7) visually summarizes optimal exercise prescription:
Resistance: 2–3×/week, 1–3 sets, 8–12 reps at 70–80 % 1RM
Balance: 1–4×/week, progressing difficulty
Aerobic: 3×/week, moderate intensity, 5–30 min sessions
Practical takeaways
Exercise should be treated as medicine, not optional advice especially in cardiology and geriatrics.
A comprehensive multicomponent plan (strength + balance + aerobic + mobility) is the gold standard.
For frail older adults with CVD:
Prioritize resistance training first, then layer in balance and endurance work.
Progress intensity gradually (aim for 70–80 % effort).
Use simple tools (chair stands, step-ups, resistance bands).
Monitor perceived exertion using the Borg scale (15–18 range).
Early intervention during hospitalization preserves independence and reduces post-discharge disability
Study limitations
As a review, it synthesizes existing data but doesn’t provide new experimental results.
Many cited studies are short-term (< 1 year) or exclude the very frailest patients.
Adherence remains a challenge only ~12 % of adults >75 years meet strength-training recommendations
Implementation barriers persist in low-resource and outpatient settings.
My takeaway
This review makes a powerful case that exercise is the single most effective therapy for frailty linked to heart disease. What stands out is how progressive, resistance-focused training can rebuild strength and independence even in the oldest, sickest patients. I found it compelling that the authors treat exercise not as an accessory but as a core clinical intervention, equal in importance to medication or surgery.
It’s a reminder that “doing less” to protect frail patients can actually accelerate decline what they need is smarter, guided movement. If health systems integrated exercise as a default part of cardiovascular care, we could dramatically reduce disability, re-hospitalization, and loss of autonomy in aging populations.
Link to the paper below:
PRACTICE
(Weekly practical workout, diet and health protocols)
The 6-12-25 Method: Charles Poliquin’s Shock Protocol for Serious Gains
Let’s be real: most training “finishers” are just fluff.
But every now and then, a protocol comes along that makes you rethink hypertrophy entirely.
Enter: 6-12-25.
Originally created by the late strength coach Charles Poliquin, this tri-set protocol doesn’t just leave you with a massive pump—it hits every major growth stimulus in a single savage burst:
mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscular fatigue.
This is not for beginners.
It’s for lifters who want to level up volume, density, and muscular endurance—all while building serious size.
What You Need
One target muscle group per tri-set (chest, back, legs, etc.)
Three exercises: heavy → moderate → light
Dumbbells, barbells, cables, or machines
3–5 total tri-sets per muscle group
3 minutes rest between rounds (you’ll need it)
How To Do It
Each tri-set follows this structure (exercises are done back to back with no rest - the only rest comes after one entire tri-set (or round) is done):
Exercise Type | Reps | Load | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
Heavy Compound | 6 | 80–85% 1RM | 10 sec (technically just transition time not rest) |
Moderate Isolation/Support | 12 | 65–70% 1RM | 10 sec (technically just transition time not rest) |
Light Isolation/Burnout | 25 | 40–50% 1RM | 3 min |
All three moves are done back-to-back with no rest between.
Sample Chest 6-12-25 Set
Barbell Bench Press – 6 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press – 12 reps
Incline Dumbbell Fly – 25 reps,
3–5 rounds, rest 3 minutes between rounds
Back example:
Weighted Pull-Ups → Bent-Over Rows → Face Pulls
Legs example:
Back Squat → Romanian Deadlift → Cyclist Goblet Squats
Final Tips
Choose the right exercises. Think: compound → support → isolation.
Leave your ego at the door. Loads must match the rep ranges, don’t sabotage your 25-repper by going too heavy.
Cycle it in. Use it 1–2x/week per muscle group as a finisher or growth phase tool.
You will be sore. Plan accordingly.
Bottom line?
This isn’t a trendy burnout set.
It’s a time-tested hypertrophy hammer.
Volume. Density. Pain. Progress.
Charles didn’t call it a shock method for nothing.
CURATE
The roundup (a collection of some of the latest and most useful content from around the internet):
We have 4 great pieces for you this week:
Brad Schoenfeld on bone structure and muscle growth
Brad Schoenfeld shares new research indicating that bone structure has little to no influence on early increases in muscle mass from resistance training. The study highlights that muscle adaptation depends more on training consistency and progressive overload than on skeletal shape or build, challenging the idea that certain body types inherently grow faster.
Read here
Dr. Pak on why you’re not jacked
Dr. Pak delivers a reality check for lifters chasing unrealistic physiques shaped by lighting, genetics, and social media filters. His post emphasizes that long-term consistency, not minor technique tweaks or supplements, drives real progress. The message: physique inflation is real, stop comparing yourself to illusions and focus on stacking years of disciplined training.
Read here
Peter Attia on longevity, alcohol, and the cholesterol paradox
Peter Attia revisits some of his most impactful newsletter topics in his “Oldies-But-Goodies” series, touching on alcohol’s role in cardiovascular health, the paradox of cholesterol, exercise duration, aging bursts, and hormone therapy. The compilation distills years of nuanced insight into how small lifestyle shifts compound into long-term vitality.
Read here
Layne Norton on redefining masculinity
Layne Norton takes aim at modern fitness culture’s bizarre rebranding of masculinity, where tanning, bitcoin, and biohacks overshadow values like consistency, hard work, and integrity. His message: the real “1% man” isn’t chasing fads but mastering fundamentals, lifting, eating well, living honestly, and loving deeply.
Read here
To everyone that keeps reading and keeps helping to grow this newsletter I truly appreciate you. If you know of anyone in your immediate circle that may enjoy this newsletter please just forward this newsletter to them and tell them to subscribe at the link below:
Wishing you all the best in your fitness journey
The FitnessHacker
