Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday.
#97 – November 13, 2023
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Wise: Strength training
Strength training is about improving the quality of your life. The stronger your muscles, the easier your life will be physically.
I’ve been experimenting with various strength training routines since I was 15 years old. Here are the best exercises I have found so far:
- Chest: I recommend two main exercises. First is the bench press. Then the cable flies. If you don’t have access to a gym, you can do push-ups instead of a bench press. And get some good dumbbells to use at home as an alternative to cable flies.
- Back: Pretty basic workouts like pull-ups, chin-ups, and, if you’re in the gym, sitting cable rows.
- Legs: Squats, deadlifts, kettlebell swings.
- Shoulders, biceps, triceps, calves: Two to three exercises are enough for each muscle. You can add a few extra exercises for smaller muscles like shoulders (on push day) and calves (on leg day).
For a 30-minute routine (which is enough), you can do three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.
You can do a bit more if you have the time. I generally workout for 45 minutes. More than that is really not necessary.
↳ The Only Strength Training Routine You Really Need
Wealthy: Spending less
Achieving financial stability is just like staying fit. If you do it in a way that makes you feel “deprived,” you’re more likely to splurge later. Think of the Covid experience.
People felt restricted for a long time and then went on a “revenge” spending spree. Some people are still on that spree!
To keep your spending in check, you need a way to spend less without making it “hurt.”
That’s why we need a “feel good” habit.
Stanford researchers found that when you see pictures of things you want to buy, your dopamine receptors get active.
That’s something you want to avoid.
You can do that by finding an alternative switch for your dopamine receptors.
Instead of looking at desirable things, look at free or cheap things that can give you dopamine. Things like playing sports, going hiking, reading a great book, etc.
In my other new article, I talk about how you can spend less without feeling like you’re depriving yourself.
↳ How to Spend Less Without Depriving Yourself
One interesting thing
New research that looked into long-term married couples showed something interesting.
Turns out that couples with different behaviors were better off dealing with relationship stressors and conflicts. The researchers write:1Source: Science Daily
“We found that similarity in behaviors might not be helpful for promoting interactive relationship maintenance. A possible explanation could be that if partners are too similar in their approach, they have a smaller repertoire of coping behaviors.”
Quite fascinating.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this edition of Wise & Wealthy useful.
All the best,
Darius
Join the 5-day Financial Freedom Challenge
I created a 5-day email course you can do alone or together with a group. It’s called the Financial Freedom Challenge. And it will help you to gain control over your finances.
Most people try to calculate their way out of poor finances. But money problems aren’t rational. They’re emotional. Manage your emotions well, and you’ll manage your finances better.
How to Unlock the Financial Freedom Challenge
You can join the challenge for free. For five days, you’ll receive a short email with a small challenge that inspires you to improve your relationship with money.
I highly recommend sharing it with your friends/family so you can go through the program together. It helps bring perspective. And it’s more fun that way too.
Join here for free: dariusforoux.com/financial-freedom