Welcome to 1-3-1 Fridays, my weekly newsletter, where I reveal evidence-based strategies to get lean, strong, and create optimal health.

You'll receive one personal health insight, three actionable tips, and one concrete action step. Let's dive in.

What's in store for today:

• The most underrated vegetable that can uplevel your diet with key nutrients.
• How to train your glutes for the best bang for your time.
• A simple way to get smarter without reading a new book. 

A lesson that I received last week from one of our clients:

Your deep why matters.

I'm running A/B tests in VFR to launch new upgrades for our clients. In this test, I'm trying out a new accountability model.

I'm trying a new format for our clients.

It organizes their vision, deep why, 12-month goals, 90-day goals, and 30-day goals. This will help keep everything simple and easy to track.

It's a work in progress.

Courtney, the client for this test, taught us a clear lesson: it’s important to reconnect with your deep why.

Your deep why is your fuel, the juice for your actions.

It's why you workout, eat well, and move.

Most of us are heavily disconnected from this.

The more you feel your WHY, the less you need others for motivation.

Instead, you come to your center and focus on what you want and why this is important.

Usually, this requires you to peel back the motivation onion layer 4-5 times.

For Courtney, her deep why wasn't losing weight and getting 'fit'.

It was being able to attract her soulmate, feel confident in her body, and feel at ease in her health.

That's how you deep you should go.

Your why is your fuel.

Your vision is where you want to go.

Once you know both of these, you only have one more thing to do.

Take imperfect action every day.

You'll be surprised at how far you'll get in 12 months.

Let's keep moving forward.

Lesson: Your why and vision will take you further than anything else in fitness.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

1.) The most underrated vegetable

Have you heard of this green wonder food?

Many folks ignore this veggie for its taste and looks, but Brussels sprouts pack a nutritional punch.

Brussels sprouts get their name from the capital of Belgium. They belong to the cruciferous family.

They are related to kale, collard greens, and broccoli, more popular vegetables.

Here's some of the key nutrients in brussels sprouts:

• Vitamin C
• Potassium
• Iron
• Calcium
• Folate
• Vitamin K

Brussels sprouts contain a natural sulfur substance. This gives them one of their strongest effects.

The name of this substance is glycosinolate glucobrassicin.

That's a mouthful.

Research shows this substance lowers our cancer risk. It protects your DNA from damage.

It can also cleanse your liver and safely remove toxins from your body.

Food is medicine when treated as such.

Every fruit and vegetable contains vitamins and minerals that our body desperately needs.

Add brussel sprouts to your medicine cabinet for powerful benefits.

2.) How to train your glutes

If you're working on building up your butt, here's a simple framework to get those booty gains:

Use a hybrid strength and muscle-building approach.

Tactically, this means using both high and low rep ranges. This approach targets your glutes with different stimuli.

The goal?

To build a butt that's strong and muscular.

Over an 8-week strength plan, here's what I'd recommend:

• Choose compound movements that hit your glutes in the most effective manner
• Use a mix of strength and muscle building methods. This is called a 'powerbuilding approach' by MASS Science Research.
• Train with higher volume. Aim for 10-20 sets each week. This will help ensure good muscle growth.

Here's how this looks in application:

8 week juicy glute plan:

• Hip thrust: 4 x 4 x RIR: 1-3
• Leg press: 4 x 8-12 x RIR: 1-3
• Sumo deadlift: 4 x 8-12 x RIR: 1-3
• Glute kickback: 4 x 8-12 x RIR: 1-3

RIR: reps in reserve.

It's how many reps you should leave in your tank before failure.

Start each training cycle with more reps in your tank and reduce each week as you progress through the cycle.

Enjoy the booty gains!

3.) A simple way to get smarter

Every time I do this, I get smarter.

Here's a personal story backed by some research. I want to share a habit that has boosted my intelligence without requiring me to read a new book.

The habit is journaling.

Every time I do it I get smarter.

But I'm not talking about book smart.

I'm talking about intelligence.

Your natural intelligence is a beautiful thing.

But most of us disconnect from this.

Distractions and our addicted minds to sensory pleasures are big reasons why.

Yet, when you slow down and observe, you'll notice a few interesting things:

• Your mind is always in motion... but why?
• Your mind moves to pleasure and away from pain... but why?

I've been focusing on accepting the child archetype in myself. This includes various sub-archetypes.

The child in me wants to unwind each evening. I watch videos, snack without thinking, and juggle several activities simultaneously.

The adult within wants to be at ease and calm.

He wants to learn and grow, but not at the cost of his mental health or inner peace.

The adult within all of us wants the same.

To self-express and be creative while honoring its vessel (our bodies).

Sadly, true adulthood is rare in modern society.

According to developmental psychology, only 2% of people reach this stage.

Back to journaling.

Accessing your natural intelligence gets easier when you slow down and share your ideas.

Writing helps us remember 50% more information than other methods. It also helps create new neurons because writing is linked to thinking.

When you journal, you create space for thinking and reflection.

When you do this consistently, you access your natural intelligence.

Or as Paul Sheele would say - your natural brilliance.

Everyone is born a genius.

It's always inside you even if you've forgotten.

1 Action Step

Create your 90-day game plan for Q2. What's your main focus for the next 12 weeks? Get clear on this, and set your fitness targets.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

Started a 30 day digital detox 3 days ago.

Every time I do this, I experience great benefits.

Our addicted minds love pleasure.

Looking forward to seeing how the next 30 days go for me.

See you next week,