After doing a bit of research on Google, I settled on FitnessGenes.com – from their own words:

At FitnessGenes, we use the combination of your DNA and relevant lifestyle data to make evidence-based recommendations on the type of diet and exercise strategies that are most likely to be effective for you. Looking to shed fat or build muscle? Our scientific approach to optimal fitness can help you to personalise your plans and can help you reach your goals easier and faster.

If it’s something that interests you, and that you can afford (it’s not cheap, I paid $379 CAD for mine), I recommend trying it out. In this long Fitness Genes Review, I’ll explain what FitnessGenes is and does and talk about my results.

Please note that the article contains affiliate links – basically if you decide to try FitnessGenes by clicking a link on this page, I’ll get a small commission for the referral. Thanks.

So, what the heck is FitnessGenes?

FitnessGenes offers custom fitness and nutritional programs based on the results of a DNA test. You must first submit a saliva sample that provides the DNA for extraction and analysis.

In my case, I purchased their “FitnessGenes Muscle-Building System” on October 20. My “kit” was shipped the next day, and I received it a few days later, on October 25.

The kit is essentially a lab tube that you must fill out with your saliva. It comes with instructions about how to do it – it’s very simple.

I shipped back my sample, and got a confirmation from FitnessGenes that they received it on November 14.

My Results was finally ready on December 1^st. All in all, the process took about 1 month (in part due to me shipping my sample from Canada to the UK).

FitnessGenes DNA Results

In my case, FitnessGenes provided an analysis and my results on 41 genes that they say directly influence my response to exercise and diet.

I can access a summary of my results in a user-friendly dashboard that explains in plain English how the genetic data can be best used for choosing a fitness and nutrition program. The dashboard also includes an individualized action blueprint listing more specific strategies for training and nutrition.

As you can see from the screenshots below, the report includes detailed descriptions of each gene analyzed and how it contributes to my overall performance and dietary needs as well as explanations of how combinations of genes can interact to enhance or inhibit exercise benefits.

The report also includes full citations of scientific evidence.

To be honest, it was a bit overwhelming at first. That said, I then spent a bit of time each day to read on 2-3 genes at a time and it was very interesting.

For instance, some genes and explanations confirmed things I suspected. For example:

• My genes correctly reflect my ethnic background and my eye color;
• My genes confirmed that I am lactose intolerant;
• My genes show that I’m less prone to over-eating, which is spot on.

The result also includes a plan for what is the best workout for my profile. My genes suggest:

• I do resistance/strength training;
• I do high-volume when I workout;
• I mix in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
• I eat less frequent but higher calorie meals;
• I avoid refined grains and sugars;
• There a number of other specific recommendations for me…

Indeed, this can vary from one person to the other. Some personal genetic makeup is best served by longer workouts of lower intensity. Another genetic marker is for appetite and some people should time their meals accordingly.

Other FitnessGenes Features

Since this a FitnessGenes review, I’ll talk a bit about the general features they offer.

The Member Area includes a library of e-books complete with images and videos showing how to do different exercises and a glossary to assist users with scientific terminology. It also provides links to each of the FitnessGenes training plans. For example, if you don’t want to pay as much as I did, there’s a “starter plan”.

FitnessGenes offers several different fitness plans to choose from. All plans are gender specific, and plans are categorized by general fitness goals. Those who are interested in slimming down can choose the “Fat-Loss” or “Bikini Body” program.

For those who wish to bulk up, FitnessGenes offers a general “Muscle-Building” plan, the one I picked, as well as an option designed by fitness expert Scott Herman.

Once a general plan is chosen, professional trainers and nutritionists at FitnessGenes incorporate our genetic data to make the plan truly specific to our goals, current level of fitness, and genetic makeup.

All plans provide a weekly overview and clear instructions on the genetically optimized exercise routines suggested for each day. It is very detailed.

The Plans also give individualized tips on how our genetic makeup can enhance or inhibit a workout. For example, a plan may offer suggestions for increasing testosterone levels, decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or utilizing caffeine for maximum gains.

The Plans also include a nutrition calculator to suggest the number of calories and proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fat that should be included in our daily meals and offers data-based suggestions on the timing of meals throughout the day. FitnessGenes suggests dietary supplements to mitigate vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by particular genes.

My Personal FitnessGenes Review Summary

FitnessGenes provide a lot of info. I’m still digging through mine, and I haven’t really started implementing their training guide. Nutrition wise, their recommendations seem spot on for me so far.

One additional perk I found very useful is the private Facebook group all the members have access to. The CEO and co-founder of FitnessGenes, Dr. Dan Reardon, answers questions directly and offers tips and recommendations both for workouts and nutrition.

At the end of the day, I’m happy I did the DNA test – I learned a lot. If you can afford it, I recommend you try out FitnessGenes.com.

How much sugar did I add to my cup of coffee?

Or

How many donuts did I eat?

The problem is that sugar is currently found in almost every food imaginable; even those that we might not immediately equate as sweet. For example, ketchup, bread, sports drinks, salad dressing, oatmeal, fat-free foods are all loaded with sugar.

This means that giving up sugar may not be as easy as it sounds. Although difficult, it is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. Here are 7 reasons why quitting sugar will make you happier.

1. Losing Weight

Without a doubt, losing weight is one of the biggest advantages of giving up sugar. People who indulge in high sugar diets are always hungry and constantly experience cravings. This is because sugar is quickly processed and converted in the body leading to a perpetual feeling of hunger.

By cutting out sugar of your diet, it becomes easier to control your cravings, what you eat, and by extension your weight. By losing weight, health is improved and there is nothing more important in determining happiness than one’s health.

2. Less Irritable, Anxious and Moody

If you find yourself irritable, anxious, and moody, the reason could be the sugar in your diet. The body is very sensitive to changing glucose levels. The term sugar high is used in everyday language in a jocular manner, but it is a proven scientific fact. When fed sugar, the body releases endorphins giving the feeling of a high. However, this only lasts for a short while before eventually, a crash occurs, leading to fluctuating moods.

Giving up sugar will re-establish the hormonal equilibrium in your brain and thus reduce these changes in mood.

3. Stop Hurting Your Body

You will stop exposing your body to sugar and harmful preservatives. Gary Taubes, the author of the book “The Case Against Sugar” goes so far as to describe sugar as a toxic substance. As extreme as this may sound to some, it is difficult to argue with his assertion when some studies have shown sugar has the same addictive qualities as cocaine and heroin.

People who quit sugar actually liken their symptoms to having withdrawals.

4. Better Sleep

You will sleep better and longer. High blood sugar levels are a leading cause of insomnia. This is because sugar has the effect of keeping you up. Therefore quitting sugar will help improve your sleep patterns.

5. Improved Lifestyle

There can be a renewed focus on a healthy, wholesome lifestyle. Giving up sugar requires a dedication and single-mindedness. It means a conscious effort to educate oneself, read food labels, cook from scratch, change diet, and avoid certain foods altogether. In other words, it requires a commitment to a total lifestyle change. Thus you will join the category of people living happy, healthy, holistic lives.

6. Look Your Best Self

The old adage “Looking good is feeling good“, applies in this case simply because sugar has such a detrimental effect on one’s appearance. People who give up sugar report clearer skin, healthier hair, stronger teeth, and of course weight loss. A better appearance leads to improved feelings of self-worth.

7. More Productive

Improved productivity, memory, and alertness. Those who consume a lot of sugar are prone to peaks and slumps of energy throughout their day. Cutting out sugar helps increase focus and this is beneficial to daily life in work and school.

The benefits of giving up sugar far outweigh those of keeping it in your diet. Quitting sugar is the first step in taking charge of your health and overall well-being. Not only will your body improve, so will your mind.

Sources and Further Reading on Sugar:

• The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes
• The growing concern over too much added sugar in our diets
• Sugars, Added Sugars and Sweeteners
• Science Confirms Sugar the Culprit for Weight Gain
• How Giving Up Refined Sugar Changed My Brain

Good communication requires good listening, but good listening isn’t easy. No doubt you’ve been on the receiving end of a poor listener before. Have you ever poured out your heart to a friend, only to have her completely misunderstand you? Can you recall conversing with someone who only used the time that you were speaking to plan what he was going to say next? Have you ever felt like talking to your partner is like talking to a brick wall?

It’s hard to talk to people who don’t listen well, but to be honest, we’re all guilty of poor listening at times. This is a problem because poor listeners are more likely to end up in conflict. They are also less able to de-escalate a situation and more likely to feel undervalued in relationships.

Often, bad listeners are not even aware that they’re bad, in part because our communication habits are deeply ingrained in us from our childhood. Our habits are a mishmash absorbed from our own personalities, the people we are around, the conflict we witnessed and the ways of communicating we became habituated to. This makes it difficult to identify a bad habit and even harder to break one.

Eight Practices to Make You a Good Listener

It is possible, however, to make a few simple changes to your communication style. If you want to be a good listener and improve your conversations and relationships, you’ll need to intentionally adapt the way you interact with others.

1. Use “Peak Listening”

“Peak Listening,” according to Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson’s The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success, occurs when you have broken through your own defenses and can listen to someone under the assumption that they’re right. Often, poor listeners are quick to feel threatened by a speaker’s tone, words or attitude, and they become eager to defend themselves. Unfortunately, defensiveness stops a conversation from progressing, and both parties leave feeling frustrated and unheard. To achieve “peak listening,” you will have to ignore your feelings of being under attack, even if you are, and engage the other person with the intention that you will find some point on which you can agree. Not only can this technique be disarming to someone who is angry or hurt, but it ensures your own response is based on what the other person said rather than how you felt about it.

2. Don’t Think About Your Response While Listening

One bad listening habit that most people struggle with is planning what they will say while the other person is still talking. Thinking about how you will respond rather than concentrating on the other person’s words is a big problem. It trains your focus on your own thoughts and feelings rather than on the speaker’s. It might make you excellent at speaking your mind, but all the other person will hear in your response is what you missed.

Are you thinking about your next story? Or planning how to phrase your advice? Remind yourself that you’ll have plenty of time to respond once the other person finishes. You can even make space in your conversation for you to collect your thoughts by explaining to the speaker, “I want to think about what you just said before I respond.” This ensures you are giving enough consideration to your answer while assuring your friend that you are being thoughtful rather than zoning out.

3. Ignore Distractions

Distractions can come upon you without warning, and it is often those impromptu distractions that shift your intentional focus away from the speaker. Some people can be distracted by the way a person looks or speaks. Others struggle with distractions in the form of their cell phone going off or a notification scrolling by. Anytime you, as a listener, break eye contact to check your phone, you have just made yourself seem disinterested in the person talking.

If this is something you struggle with, plan to silence or put away your phone to have a conversation. And if something about the speaker is distracting you, focus instead on something neutral so you can continue to hear their words rather than your own inner commentary. Giving the other person your full attention is the basis for any productive and meaningful interaction.

4. “Listen” Nonverbally

As speakers, we naturally look for signs that our listeners are paying attention. Someone whose attention starts to wander or who begins fidgeting or who sits with arms crossed is sending clear signals of disinterest or disagreement. Be sure that these signals are not coming from you. Being a good listener with your nonverbal means making eye contact when necessary, having open body language with head, feet and torso pointed toward the other person and maintaining careful, neutral expressions.

Don’t roll your eyes, cross your arms, turn your head, pull up your nose or smirk while you listen. This negative behavior will make you seem judgmental, condescending or disinterested. If you catch yourself giving a negative nonverbal cue, counteract it with a positive one. Smile, nod your head, open your hands or lean forward. Maintaining your physical interest will also help you stay mentally engaged with the speaker.

5. A Good Listener Asks Clarifying Questions

Sometimes people have difficulty expressing themselves correctly. Other times we do lose focus on what is being said and may not remember well. It’s important to ask questions to clarify what was meant in these cases. The following are examples of good clarifying questions.

“When you said ___, I didn’t understand. Can you explain what you meant?”

“You said ___. Can you provide a specific example?”

“Will you repeat the part about ___ for me?”

Questions like these give the speaker a chance to address the gaps in their own communication while assuring them you want to understand their perspective.

6. Paraphrase What The Other Person Tells You

Repeating what the other person says is another great technique for avoiding misunderstandings. Similar to asking clarifying questions, paraphrasing is more focused on what was said rather than on what you didn’t understand. Sometimes, a person can be saying one thing while you are hearing something completely different. So if you fail to clarify what you hear, you risk a major miscommunication. Paraphrasing is an especially good practice in close relationships or in those that are prone to conflict. Examples include the following.

“I heard you say ___. Is that what you meant?”

“I just want to be sure I understood you. You think that ___.”

“So what you’re saying is ___. Did I understand that correctly?”

7. Be Interested In The Other Person – Don’t Fake It

A good listener believes that others are worthy of their time. If you don’t actually believe this, even your best attempt at good listening will be betrayed by something involuntary. For example, a glance at the clock or an impatient eye roll. If you don’t feel interested in the speaker, find something about them that you like and focus on that. This will help you stay truly engaged as a listener instead of as someone who is faking it.

8. Do Not Judge – Keep An Open Mind

Being a good listener requires keeping an open mind. Now, having an open mind does not mean that you automatically agree with what the other person is saying. However, it does mean that you are willing to listen to everything they are saying and to consider the issue from their point of view.

A lot of times, we are unwilling to fully hear the other person out because we are afraid that they will perceive our listening as an endorsement of their behavior or response. The problem with this viewpoint is that unless a person feels heard or understood, they are not likely to listen to any advice or correction. When we start with an open mind and a determination to understand, even if we don’t agree with how someone might feel such a way, we are more likely to listen better. Judgment is the last thing we want to feel.

The above list is not comprehensive, but it can serve as a good beginning for improving anyone’s listening skills. You’ll need to start with an open mind and a willingness to fully understand another person’s perspective. This mindset will be a strong foundation for you to build on as you add other good listening behaviors into your communication skill set. Chances are, you’ll need to be very intentional about breaking poor listening habits as you work to establish good ones.

References & Further Reading

To become a better listener, make sure to read the following reference materials that inspired me to write this article:

• The excellent 3-part “Listen Up!” series on ArtofManliness.com: Part I, Part II, Part III
• 5 Tips for Becoming a Better Listener by Gretchen Rubin
• Farnam Street first introduced me to The Plateau Effect book via its Peak Listening article

Even if your work mostly involves manual labor, with a clear cut-off time, it probably still occupies your mind after your shift is official over. Whether it’d be because you’re thinking about the things you have to do the next day or about co-worker interactions, work has a tendency to weigh heavy on the mind.

I’ve recently been exposed to the idea of shutting down at the end of the work day, to be more fully engaged in our personal life and responsibilities once we live the office. I’ve implemented it and it has had a great impact.

What’s a shutting down ritual

I first came into contact with the idea in Professor Cal Newport’s excellent book, Deep Work. Deep Work essentially champions the idea that any important, meaningful activity, professional, creative or otherwise, should be performed during periods of distraction-free concentration. In the future, I’ll write more about some key concepts of the book and of Professor Newport’s ideas, particularly scheduling and time-blocking.

But back to the topic at hand, in one chapter of the book, Professor Newport describes the importance and benefits of having a shutdown ritual to ensure that when your work day ends, it really ends:

Another key commitment for succeeding with this strategy is to support your commitment to shutting down with a strict shutdown ritual that you use at the end of the work-day to maximize the probability that you succeed. In more detail, this ritual should ensure that every incomplete task, goal, or projects has been reviewed and that for each you have confirmed that either (1) you have a plan you trust for its completion, or (2) it’s captured in a place where it will be revisited when the time is right. […] When you’re done, have a set phrase you say that indicates complete (to end my own ritual, I say, “Shutdown complete”).

As you can see, the concept revolves around performing a work brain dump at the end of day and making sure that any lingering tasks or to-do is planned for or scheduled at a specific time in the future.

How I do it and how you can too

I started implementing a shutdown ritual to the end of my current day job (I’m a lawyer) about two months ago, and it’s been great. The most visible impact it has had on me is that I rarely feel the need to recheck my work emails late at night, because I know that anything that needs to be taken care of is planned or scheduled and will be dealt with at some already decided point in time.

The way I do it is simple: 15 minutes before leaving work, I’ll stop working and go over my to-do list for the day and calendar for the week/month. Anything that’s left on my to-do list for the day or that was added to it during the workday is scheduled in a time slot for the next day(s) or simply discarded if it’s not important. I will then complete a quick and concise to-do list for the next day, which I will usually review and adjust the next morning as part of my morning ritual (more on that in other article). To complete my shutdown ritual, as I walk away from my office, I’ll say my own personal cheesy shutdown sentence “Shut you down.” (I say this as if I was signing the hook of an old school rap song from The Alchemist).

And that’s it.

I strongly recommend you try it too at the end of your school or work day:

• Review the remaining tasks and upcoming tasks you have to do;
• Discard the ones that have become unnecessary;
• Schedule the ones that need to be taken care for specific times in the next day(s);
• Write down a quick version of tomorrow’s to-do list in your notebook (I use this one, I like to use a notebook since I’ll review it in the morning at home before heading to work);
• Say a set (cheesy) phrase that marks the clear ending of your working day.

Do you have a shutdown ritual? What else do you do to strictly end your school or work day? Let me know in the comments.

You should read Professor Newport’s Deep Work.