It’s the second Friday of the month, so it’s time for our monthly Gear Not Stuff episode—the internet’s no-BS dive into gear. Today’s Gear Not Stuff will help you not die.

We’re covering 11 pieces of gear that can save your life. You should keep them at home, in your car, and take them with you while traveling (even into places you think are safe).

Don’t overlook these items. When traveling abroad, gear can determine whether you get home in the plane’s cabin in seat 27C or its cargo belly in a bodybag. Even at home and in cities we believe are secure, having the right gear and using it well can prevent assaults, home and hotel break ins, and more.

Have fun, don’t die, buy gear, not stuff.

During the 2008 Olympics, many outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post reported that Michael Phelps was eating 12,000 calories a day.

The problem: It wasn’t true.

But it highlights one of the largest problems in nutrition, which is that we suck at knowing how much we ate.

Today we’re providing a solution. We’ll cover:

* The science of how incorrect we are when we estimate what and how much we ate.

* Who is most likely to be most wrong in their eating estimates.

* The three reasons we tend to get food estimates wrong.

* Why knowing your intake matters.

* A skill you can use to know what you really ate.

* How to use the information so you can lose weight, gain it, maintain your current weight, or fuel a workout.

Become a Member to access the entire episode and get access to the entire Two Percent universe.

Michael spent years covering the Olympics for Men’s Health. Olympian nutrition was always one of the most fascinating parts. This episode covers:

* The surprisingly wacky diets of the athletes at the Paris Olympics.

* Why unpacking why Olympians eat the way they do can help us understand:

* How to eat to fuel different levels of exercise/activity.

* When to eat junk food and how much of it to eat based on your activity level.

* A fundamental underlying cause of metabolic diseases.

* Why overly restrictive and finicky diets can backfire.

Have fun, don’t die, become a Member of Two Percent at TWOPCT.com.

Two Percent is holding its second Don’t Die retreat in Las Vegas on November 2nd and 3rd.

This month’s Burn the Ships workout is inspired by some of the fitness tactics we cover and practice at the Don’t Die retreat.

It’s a hard-and-fast practicum of training in a way that makes us perform better and remain resilient if our goal is to … yeah … not die.

* It builds the physical skills needed to survive an emergency at home or abroad.

* It’ll help you perform at your peak on trips deep into the wilderness.

* It’ll improve your day-to-day life by boosting your healthspan.

And it’s not what you might expect. Typical fitness programs get this type of fitness totally wrong.

We’ll cover the workout and explain why doing one tough workout a week is important for health, VO2 max, and more.

Become a Member to access the full podcast, get video of all the exercises, and see the workout in written form.

Michael recently drove 5,011 miles—from Las Vegas to New Jersey and back.

Seventy-two hours of sitting in a car gave him way too much time to think, learn, and observe.

Today’s post covers 11 brief lessons, tips, and ideas from the voyage. Topics include:

* Travel gear insights.

* Thoughts on the nutrition of a nation and downsides of the Paleo movement.

* How to offset excess sitting.

* My favorite magazine story of all time (which occurred in a place I drove through).

* How to combat back pain.

* What we lost when we became able to travel anywhere quickly.

* Reclaiming your attention in a world of tech.

* How I eat on the road (and thoughts on hunger).

* An uncomfortable but fruitful way to improve relationships.

* Two useful tips for traveling with dogs.

Become a Member of TWOPCT.com to access the full episode and all of our leading health and wellness content (plus epic bonuses).

Michael recently spoke with Tim Mak. Tim runs The Counteroffensive, a publication on Substack that covers the war in Ukraine in ways you won’t see in mainstream media.

Tim landed in Kyiv right as the war started and has (mostly) been there ever since.

In today’s episode, Tim and I discussed:

* The wild story about how Tim ended up covering the War in Ukraine.

* What war can teach us about meaning and how we spend our time.

* What failing out of the Green Beret pipeline taught Tim about strength and intelligence.

* Safety skills that every person should have. They’re critical for war zones and home.

* How Tim approaches fitness in a war zone.

* My thoughts on putting together an exercise routine when you have limited time and equipment.

* How a hilarious insult from a Ukrainian doctor led Tim to change his nutrition habits in the Ukraine.

* My thoughts on alcohol and health, whether moderate drinking is healthy, and how that can guide our decisions around other “bad” habits.

* The gear Tim brings with him when he’s reporting stories on the frontlines.

* The gear I bring with me when I’m reporting stories in austere environments.

* What motivates me to publish Two Percent.

* My response to Tim challenging the thesis behind Two Percent.

* What Tim and I do to get a break from work.

To get full access to all Two Percent episodes, become a Member at TWOPCT.com

Substack recently asked the Two Percent community to beta-test their live video feature—so we decided to use the new feature to do a live AMA.

Today’s episode features the audio from that AMA plus some special bonus content to deliver more context and actionable information to the answers.

We’ll answer the following questions from Two Percent readers:

* What are some core Two-Percent activities I can do to improve my health?

* Does rucking build muscle, and is it more of a strength or cardio activity?

* Are greens powders like AG1/Athletic Greens worth it?

* What do you think of balance tools like balance boards and slack blocks?

* I have trouble gaining muscle. What are the fundamentals of building muscle?

* Are you working on another book?

Check out TWOPCT.com to watch the video and get all the resources mentioned in the episode.

On Friday, we covered how 50 minutes of running a week reduces the risk of death from any cause by 27 percent.

A Two Percent community member asked how 50 minutes of running would translate to other activities.

Today’s episode answers that question. We’ll help you figure out how long you’d have to do 41 different exercises to get the same health benefits and boost your performance.

That is to say, you’ll learn how long you’d have to do (insert activity) to get the same benefits you’d get from 50 minutes of running. We’ll cover:

* Rucking

* Swimming

* Cycling

* Weight lifting

* Kettlebell workouts

* Walking

* Sports like golf, tennis, and basketball

* Yoga

* Everyday activities like cooking, yard work, etc …

* … and much more.

Become a Member of Two Percent to get full access to this episode.

We recently held the first Two Percent Don’t Die retreat.

Our next Don’t Die retreat is scheduled for November 2 and 3 in Las Vegas. Join here.

Today we’re covering three important lessons from that event—tactics that anyone can use to stay safe at home and abroad. You’ll learn:

* How to build an plan to avoid danger, whether traveling or at home.

* How to move from point A to B (escape, driving/car skills, walking cities).

* How to avoid being targeted at a hotel and make your hotel room safer.

Learn more about the event below.

The Expedition rounds up all the worthwhile and useful stuff I’ve encountered in the last month.

This month, we’re covering:

* Numbers on:

* Processed meat consumption and health risks.

* A minimum effective dose of running.

* Couples who sleep alone.

* The drop in violent deaths.

* Women’s sports.

* How long rice lasts in the fridge.

* Social media and democracy.

* An important phone number.

* The easiest way to become a millionaire.

* A graph on the history of income and happiness levels.

* A graph on what helps you prevent getting cancer.

* Results from a survey of what supplements feel like they work.

* An insane travel trend (that my wife was way ahead of the curve on).

* A mindfulness podcast I appeared on.

* How to get organic food for 66% off.

* A wonderful, tough, supremely functional workout I did—that you should do, too!

* My insane friends and why you should get your own insane friends.

* A parting quote.

* A critical parting question for the comments section.

Have fun, don’t die, enjoy the episode.

Become a Member of Two Percent for full access to all of our important health and wellness content.