The Talking Series is a weekly segment that delves deeper into topics discussed by guest of the Men’s Journal Everyday Warrior Podcast.
You may know Drew Brees as one of the most prolific quarterbacks of all time, a man who amassed 80,358 passing yards over 20 seasons in the NFL. While this is how most people know him, his loved ones know him as a father, husband, son, and brother.
That’s because who we are largely depends on who we’re with. For you, that may mean being a parent at home and a leader at work. For Brees, it means being a family man at home and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer everywhere else. Regardless of who we are, there are actions we can take to set ourselves up for success and reach our full potential. For high performers, these habits are simply non-negotiable. We recently had the legendary Brees on the Everyday Warrior Podcast to talk about life and football.
Watch our full interview with Brees in the video above and read about his non-negotiables on life below.
1. Set an Intention Every Morning
In 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven (Ret.) told a graduating class, “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day…by the end of the day, that one task will have turned into many.” Brees has a similar philosophy: “How you start your day is an absolute non-negotiable.”
Both men believe it either sets you up for success or failure. The routine is different for everybody, but for Brees, it’s reading the Bible and having a cup of coffee.
“It just lays the foundation for the day and puts me in the right frame of mind to be the best husband and father I can be,” Brees explains. For everyday warriors, beginning each day with purpose is nothing new; if you haven’t tried it, we recommend making it a regular practice.
Admiral McRaven went on to tell the graduates, “If you want to change the world, start by making your bed.” To make an impact on others, you must first do the work in your own life.
“Set a moral compass and choose how you’ll treat and interact with others,” Brees recommends. It’s as simple as that.
2. Find Your Inner Motivation
Football is not an easy sport; it takes dedication, determination, and the ability to push yourself beyond your limits. Quarterbacks with the talent, drive, and grit to make it into the NFL face such intense competition in the league that the average career is just three years. With only 32 starting quarterback positions, talented individuals are always ready to step in and take their shot at the slightest sign a player is slipping, making what Brees accomplished over two decades even more astonishing.
Since 1920, a total of 721 quarterbacks have taken the field during an NFL game; of those, only six have reached their twentieth season. Brees is number six. He believes motivation is key to continued success, saying, “You have to feel like you’re chasing something—like there’s still room for improvement.”
Many high performers become more focused when they stop competing against others and start internalizing their motivation.
“I was constantly in this race to improve and stay ahead,” he explains. “But I was competing against myself more than I was competing against anybody or anything else.”
Each March, after spending a couple months resting with his family, he’d sit down with his mentors and determine where he needed to improve, decide on his objectives, and make a plan to reach them. Then, all that was left to do is “get to work,” Brees says.
3. Seek to Continuously Improve
Success and failure aren’t on opposite ends of a spectrum. They’re steps in the same process. What separates those who succeed from those who fail is the willingness to get back up, dust off, and push forward. Brees is a great example; in 2005, he tore his labrum and rotator cuff while attempting to recover a fumble during a game against the Broncos. The sports media speculated that his career was over. Although he wondered if they might be right, he decided to keep fighting.
Nine months later, he returned with a new team, the New Orleans Saints. Over the next 15 seasons, he carved out a legacy that included a decisive Super Bowl victory, two Offensive Player of the Year recognitions, and a record for leading the league in passing yards seven times.
Now a father of four, Brees sees the importance of failure from a completely different perspective, “As a parent, you want to make things as easy [for your children] as possible, but you have to sit back and let them fail, get back up, fail, get back up,” he says. “Then you watch their progression as they get better and their confidence grows.”
He may have hung up his cleats and left the game-day roar of the Who Dat Nation behind him, but Brees is far from done leaving his mark on the world. Now, his focus is on using the wisdom he’s acquired over the past 20 years to help others and raising his four children with the same mentality that allowed him to achieve greatness.
“So much of what I think about now is impact and significance,” explains Brees. “There’s so much work to be done, and that’s what motivates and inspires me every day.” Although he built his career on making the seemingly impossible appear effortless, even he recognizes that “there’s so much need out there and you can’t just go out and accomplish it all at once.”
Instead, the legendary quarterback says he “sets objectives and tackles challenges one step at a time,” a philosophy that everyday warriors know very well.
You can catch Brees in a back-to-school marketing campaign for Great Clips, in which he commentates on “Dad’s Back-to-School Playbook.” His three sons star in the short—just another example of how the athlete is putting his family first.
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There’s no doubt when the weather turns colder as we settle into winter, stouts take center stage. And while we enjoy all its iterations: standard stout, imperial stout, and robust barrel-aged stouts, we think this malty, chocolate-filled beer’s close cousin deserves a little respect as well. Of course, we’re talking about the oft-overlooked porter. And the best porters, oh buddy, they’ll have you rethinking your seasonal bevvie of choice.
For those uninitiated, the porter style had its genesis in England like many other iconic beer styles. It first appeared in the 1700s and is (you guessed it) named after porters—individuals tasked with transporting luggage.
A confusing origin story
“Stout is the direct descendant of porter. In the 1700s, it was common to use the word ‘stout’ to refer to a bolder, higher-alcohol version of any beer style, much in the same way we use the word ‘imperial’ today,” says Zach Fowle, advanced cicerone and head of marketing for Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, AZ. “Porter was the most popular beer of the day, and over time, “stout porter” became a popular variant. But by the late 1800s, demand for regular porters evaporated, and stout porter shortened simply to stout.”
But more has changed between the 1800s and today than just our penchant for wearing top hats. “Today, most brewers seem to market beers as either stout or porter based on vibes, rather than on any notable stylistic differences,” he says.
Specifically, porters are known for their dark, almost pitch-black color and rich, sweet flavor profile. If you were to drink a porter and a stout side by side, you might even have difficulty discerning the differences between the two.
Stout versus porter is an enduring topic of discussion in the brewing industry. “While there’s no debating the porter came first—and stout used to be called stout porter, so it was a stronger version of a porter—the lines have become very blurred over the years,” says Rob Lightner, co-founder of East Brother Brewing in Richmond, CA.
“I would venture that even among professionals, a blind taste test would often yield inconclusive results,” says Lightner.
The difference between porters and stouts
Porters tend to be on the milder, more chocolatey end of the spectrum, Lightner says, whereas stouts are typically a little stronger and more roasty. Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule
Fowle agrees, “Porters tend to be fruitier, sweeter, and less bitter than stouts, with cocoa and caramel flavors in balance with dark malt bitterness. And stouts are usually hoppier, drier, maltier, and more coffee-forward—and may even have a touch of acidity.”
Whether or not they fit neatly into boxes, one thing’s for sure: both make for incredible cold-weather brews.
“As the nights grow longer, drinking a light, summery beer just doesn’t seem right,” says Fowle. “Porter is the perfect style for the transition to winter: warming and toasty yet not too heavy, with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and pie crust that correspond with autumn weather and holidays.”
It’s the perfect time to broaden your repretoire. Sweet, robust, warming, and well-suited to the season, here are the best porters to drink now.
1. Deschutes Black Butte Porter
There are few porters more well-respected than Deschutes’ iconic Black Butte Porter. It’s brewed with Cascade and Tettnang hops as well as 2-row, Chocolate, Crystal, and Carapils malts as well as wheat. This 5.5% ABV year-round offering is great for cold-weather drinking because of its mix of roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate. It’s a robust, subtly sweet beer perfect for imbibing on a crisp fall night.
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top. Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
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If you haven’t picked up a jump rope since elementary school, you’re missing out on a fantastic cardio workout. Not only will you burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time—200 to 300 calories in 15 minutes—but jump ropes can also improve your coordination and agility. Better yet, jumping rope doesn’t require much space, so it’s easy to do at home, and it’s often more mentally stimulating than jogging or swimming.
Choosing a Jump Rope
When deciding which jump rope is best for you, it’s important to determine what your goals are. While lightweight speed ropes are popular for cardio-focused training, weighted or drag ropes will be best for those focused on strength training.
No matter what your training goals are, we’ve got you covered with this roundup of 10 jump ropes from top brands including Crossrope, TRX, Rogue, and more.
The Best Jump Ropes of 2022
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