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Michael’s first job was acting as Fitness Editor for Men’s Health magazine.

In that role, he spoke to the world’s top athletes to its greatest health scientists and athletic trainers.

When these experts sent an exercise or workout, Michael had to test it to ensure it would work for Men’s Health readers. He vetted hundreds and hundreds of exercises.

And he’s kept all the best exercises in a file ever since.

Two Percent is running a new monthly series that goes into the file and releases Michael’s favorite exercises of all time.

This is the third volume of the series. It focuses on an exercise that can help prevent one of the most common and chronic lower body injuries.

It’s saved Michael’s butt in the wilderness and on the trails many times, and it can help you age better and stay healthy no matter your favorite activity—whether hiking, tennis, or chasing down kids.

It’s great for anyone who has a body and uses it. That is to say, you.

In today’s episode, Lance Armstrong explains how to stay safe while cycling.

Lance’s advice is pulled from a recent conversation Michael and Lance had on The Forward, Lance’s podcast.

We’re running Lance’s surprising and helpful advice and then breaking down the research on cycling safety. It’ll make you safer and more confident on the roads.

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The Expedition is a monthly journey into thoughts, opinions, ideas, observations, studies, facts, and figures, you can use to live better.

It’s a roundup of all the worthwhile stuff Michael discovered in the last month.

This month Michael is covering:

* Explore the Edge, a new live show he’s hosting on Substack.

* …

Michael covers three highly popular motivational phrases that can do more harm than good. The first example: “Nobody cares, work harder.”

Michael will explain what these phrases miss about the human experience, how they can backfire, and a better framing for each.

He’ll end the podcast with some philosophy around motivational phrases, and how to find ones that help you.

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Today, Michael covers a framework for making better decisions—especially in challenging times.

When we face tough times, we often think more planning is better. We tend to go into planning mode and overthink, searching for the perfect decision to make.

But there are five big downsides of overthinking—and a lesson from combat can help us get out of our heads, act, and win.

The lesson aligns with recent scientific discoveries about optimal decision making.

It also helped launch Michael’s writing career.

Today is the second Friday of the month. Which means it’s time for Gear Not Stuff.

Read more about the idea behind Gear Not Stuff here.

Today, we’re covering protein sources you can eat on the go.

In a perfect world, everyone would get their protein from whole, minimally-processed, single-ingredient sources. Foods like meat, dairy, eggs, and more.

But life isn’t perfect. Whole foods require refrigeration and spoil relatively quickly, so they’re not always easy to eat when you’re busy or traveling.

Today you’ll learn six categories of convenient high-protein foods and my favorite picks in each category.

It’s important to put some thought behind these foods—many use “high protein” as a health halo, but aren’t actually that healthy. We’ll help you find the good ones that actually help you reach your goals.

Guidelines:

* The food must meet the “high protein” requirements we laid out on Monday.

* It must be portable.

* It must not require refrigeration.

* It must have a long shelf life.

* I.e., It’s food you can eat conveniently and while on the go.

Today’s episode covers the death of movement. We’ll look at human physical activity levels—how they’ve changed and why.

You’ll learn:

* How much less active humans are now compared to the past.

* The health impacts of our drop in activity.

* Michael’s best tip for combatting our drop in activity.

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In Protein Myths Part I, published Wednesday, Michael examined at how much protein is enough for goals like general health, fat loss, or building muscle; if protein elevates your metabolism; whether protein is more filling than other foods; and more.

Today’s episode, Part II, covers practical questions about protein, its sources, and how to get it. You’ll learn:

* Whether protein bars are good for you.

* Whether plant proteins are sub-optimal.

* The truth about protein powders.

* Whether nuts or (insert some other food you’ve heard is high in protein) are high in protein and a framework for determining whether a food is high in protein.

* Whether you should supplement protein.

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It’s the first Friday of the month. Which means it’s time to Burn the Ships.

On the first Friday of every month, we publish a new Burn the Ships workout for Members only.

Members of the Two Percent community do the workout every weekend—a bunch of us satellites, all sweating and improving together as one extensive network.

This month, we’re definitely burning the ships.

We have a challenging workout that’ll crank through calories, work your entire body, and truly test your endurance and strength-to-weight ratio (which I consider the most important strength metric).

Our workout is called Love Potion No. 9 in honor of Valentine’s Day. You’ll probably hate me as you do this workout—but love me later on when your fitness improves.

Protein is having a moment.

The protein market is set to double to nearly double in the next 25 years, and more manufacturers are marketing us “high protein” foods.

Protein is a critical part of the human diet.

But are we overselling how important protein is? Are we “overdoing” protein? And if we are, does that come with downsides?

This episode is part one of a two-episode series covering the truth about protein. You’ll learn:

* Whether the standard American diet gives us “enough” protein.

* How much protein we should eat.

* If you can eat too much protein.

* How important protein is for muscle growth.

* If protein helps us lose weight.

* If there are longevity benefits to eating less protein.

* If protein elevates your metabolism.

* If protein is more filling compared to other foods.

* When we need protein the most.

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