The Stoic life centred around habits and routines — practices in which they engaged daily, from their waking moments until going to sleep, that provided the structure necessary for a day lived well. These practices can provide a blueprint for us, to help us to lead good and happy lives. This article outlines these practices, and how you can structure your day like a Stoic thousands of years later.

“Assemble your life… action by action. And be satisfied if each one achieves its goal… No one can keep that from happening…Action by action.” — Marcus Aurelius

Morning

Wake up early

“The day has already…

Detoxing is like a spring cleaning; it removes all the unwanted substances from your body. These include heavy metals picked up from our environment, various toxins, and metabolic waste.

Although we have built-in detoxification mechanisms such as the liver and kidneys, the amount of toxic substances we are exposed to now is a lot higher than when these processes evolved.

Back when we were living on the savanna or in the jungles we weren’t exposed to pollution, pesticides, or heavy metals. Toxins can be found everywhere, from non-stick cookware to the fire retardants put in mattresses.

Signs your body needs a detox

Do you experience any…

Recovery is critically important for your health and fitness goals. However, not all recovery strategies are beneficial and appropriate for every situation. In fact, some recovery tactics can actually hinder your progress and leave you worse off than you would have been had you done nothing at all. Therefore, it’s important to understand how recovery works and to ensure you’re using the right strategies for your goals.

In this article, I will explain the importance of muscle soreness and inflammation for muscle growth, outline the recovery strategies that can inhibit progress, and then outline some more universal recovery protocols.

The role of muscle soreness and inflammation

Exercise…

I recently went on a Think Day; a whole day of solitude to reflect on the past year, plan for the next year, and to become more aware of what is valuable and meaningful in my life. It’s a practice that I highly recommend one do regularly.

The clarity of thought that comes with such a practice is profound. …

Athletes are always looking for better, simpler, and more effective ways to put on muscle and recover quickly. We want to increase our muscle mass and increase our strength, but this process does a lot of damage. So, we also want to be able to recover quickly so we can get back into the gym or back on the track or back in the pool in order to keep growing and improving. We likely take various supplements to help us with this process.

However, one such supplement may often be overlooked: omega-3 fatty acids. We know that eating fish is…

How do we find meaning and joy in our lives, every single day? Many say gratitude — be grateful for all that you have and all that you are. Some say to find your purpose, or your Why, and align your life with this.

I advocate highly for both of those things, and every single day I practice gratitude and I revisit my reason for being.

But I think there is something else that is even more important, and a lot more practical to carry with you through your day, to achieve optimal levels of both happiness and health.

Intention.

…

Most of us would probably like to reduce our body fat percentage. However, fat loss is confusing and there is a lot of misinformation that exists in the health, fitness, and nutrition realms. Fortunately, there are small steps we can take each day that will take us down the path of fat loss. One such small step is a simple, 2-step protocol. Here, I will outline what this protocol is and how you can implement it into your daily routine.

The protocol

Caffeine + fasted morning cardio.

Caffeine

When you wake up, drink a cup of coffee, green tea, or black tea, without…

I’m a huge advocate for practices and rituals. I believe the structure and routine they provide in our days is the key to living a successful and happy life. And the morning is a great time to incorporate these practices. The morning sets us up for the day, and therefore ultimately, our life. It’s like the Lemony Snicket quote, “How you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”

Therefore, it’s important to include valuable practices in our morning that will benefit our lives. …