Really happy with myself today for ending the week with a completed workout routine, which was a deep surprise to me because this week I was having terrible stiff neck pain and was struggling with some personal mindset struggles about work and life in general. I’m glad I made it, small wins and I’m grateful.
So I was reading about Andrew Huberman’s guide to muscle building using heat therapy and I attempted it over the weekend. The idea is that you stay in a sauna and repeat in 3-5 times, cooling yourself off in between. I did infrared sauna and stayed for cycles of 15 minutes each, which to me were quite a challenge since I have a really high metabolism and I sweat profusely in the sauna room.
I think the best thing I got out of this was not the muscle building aspect that Andrew Huberman recommended, but the mental feeling of euphoria and brighter thoughts. Something to do with dynorphin and endorphin release, where dynorphin gives the feeling of agitation and discomfort while in the sauna, and then endorphin takes over after the sauna to make us feel euphoric and relieved.
Which makes me think, we’ve got to struggle and feel pain in life to be able to enjoy. It’s simply life’s balancing equation. A core memory of my days in army cropped up, where we would have a really tough day lugging our weapons and backpacks to do shooting drills up a hill, all while under the sweltering hot sun. I would be dripping wet underneath my army long fours each time, and when we got a chance to rest under a shaded tree finally, the sheer sense of relief and euphoria was so immense. Little comforts like a shaded tree where we would never bat an eye for, turns out to become such a relief. That’s the same feeling I got again after doing the heated sessions in the sauna.
Shall pull through the coming weeks maintaining the tips that Andrew Huberman shares and make the weeks to come mindful and meaningful. He’s really such a good mentor to my life and I appreciate him for it.