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Hi there. I'm Steve.

I founded Nerd Fitness way back in 2009. Wherever you are coming from, I’m glad you are here. Every week, I send out a short email that’s guaranteed to make you live a tiny bit better, think a little deeper, and overcome the obstacles that get in the way.

Featured Post

The past isn't set in stone

To view this email as a webpage, click here I’m currently reading The Tainted Cup, a fantasy detective novel. Think “Sherlock Holmes set in Westeros.” The main character has this augmentation that allows him to absorb every single detail of every interaction, crime scene, and then recite back these exact details at a later date. I remember a horrifying Black Mirror episode about this very thing: being able to recall every fact of every interaction in the past. Here’s the thing: in all of...

To view this email as a webpage, click here I remember racing up the down escalator in Macy’s at the Cape Cod Mall. My mom, calmly riding the Up escalator like a regular human, would say I was going to hurt myself (possible) or I was making a scene (correct) or interrupting the people trying to get down the escalation (also correct). Sometimes I would be able to get to the top, exhausted and out of breath, while my mom would arrive at the same time laughing at how hard I had to work. Spend...

To view this email as a webpage, click here Have you ever heard of “Blue Zones”? These pockets of the world are known for having citizens who live exceptionally long, healthy lives. Some of these locations may sound familiar: Okinawa, Japan (home of Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid!). Sardinia, Italy. Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Icaria, Greece. These locations have a higher percentage of people who live longer due to their local-whole foods diet, high vegetable consumption, low instances of...

To view this email as a webpage, click here It’s been a while since I’ve felt this uncomfortable. I had an empty afternoon last week and saw Speak No Evil (trailer here), a horror/suspense film about a family who goes to visit another couple they met on vacation. And shockingly, things don't go as expected. If you saw the “Dinner Party” episode of The Office where Jim and Pam go to Michael and Jan’s house for the most uncomfortable house party ever, and thought to yourself… “What if this was...

To view this email as a webpage, click here I stumbled across a reddit thread that really grabbed my attention. Somebody asked “What was the ‘one thing’ that finally made weight loss work for you?” And this question had 5,400 replies (and counting). Some of the answers involved environmental changes or changing how they prepared their food: “Pouring snacks into little ramekins to eat them. Suddenly I ate a normal amount of snacks.” “I meal prepped my typical amount of food and instead of...

To view this email as a webpage, click here Last week, I flew to Massachusetts to visit my 94-year grandmother in the hospital. Let me tell you about this amazing woman. Barbara, Auntie B, or Gramma to us grandkids, was born in 1930 to first-generation Newfoundlanders. (No wonder I love the music of Alan Doyle (and Great Big Sea), it’s in my DNA!) Gramma was a preschool teacher for 22 years and has been an active member in her community for her entire life. She was a heck of a quilter and...

To view this email as a webpage, click here I know you’re overcomplicating things, because everybody does. Including me, the nerd who studies this stuff for a living. I shared a quick story the other day on Threads (and Instagram): A few thousand people resonated, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the replies. Magdalena jokingly said it best: When life asks me to juggle chainsaws and then sets those chainsaws on fire, I tend to get away from the things that keep me functioning as a fulfilled...

To view this email as a webpage, click here We have two choices for how we spend the rest of 2024: Path A: Coast and say “I’ll start back up in January.” Path B: Treat it like a Beta Test for 2025. Our brains are going to try and convince us to pick Path A. I want you to pick Path B. Here’s how Beta Testing works: We’re going to experiment with our lives and find out what we want to work on in 2025. We’re not looking to stick with the perfect workout, or trying to build a flawless streak of...

To view this email as a webpage, click here For the first time in 10+ years, I rewatched my 2012 TEDx talk: “Nerd Fitness and Resetting the Game of Life.” My first thought: “Whoa, Steve. Those are some EPIC sideburns.” My next thought: “Bold choice with the striped shirt, jeans, and flip flops!” Then I gave myself some grace. I’m deeply uncomfortable with the spotlight. I hate public speaking. It makes me want to vomit every single time. I also don’t like being on camera. And yet, I have...

To view this email as a webpage, click here For a long time, I took a lot of pride in never needing to rely on other people. I am a conflict-avoidant people-pleaser, so I would often pride myself on NEVER allowing myself to rely on others. I certainly wouldn’t let myself burden somebody else with my struggles. I jokingly shared how I felt about asking for help the other day on Instagram: I would gladly help others without a second thought. But saw it as a character flaw for myself (and ONLY...