What a month.

We spent the past week packing non-stop over the weekend and during the evenings.

I had just got back from LA after speaking at the SoCal VegFest and off the tailend of our honeymoon in Hawaii.

We’ve finally come to the cusp of our relocation from NY down to Asheville, NC and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

As much as I love my family and spending moments with each of them, there’s something to be said about having your OWN space.

We’ve been working towards this for the past 6 months so it’s such a great feeling to settle in.

I’m grateful to have family that loves us but man have I been looking forward to setting up my bookshelves, office, and dive into the Asheville nature scene.

Onto the next chapter of our life. 🙂

Lesson: Cherish every moment as if it’s your last; you don’t know if it might be.

Here is your 5 Minute Friday:

1. Why Earthing Can Reduce Pain & Increase Energy

Grounding or earthing is proven to reduce inflammation, improve blood flow, and even help accelerate your body’s natural healing systems.

According to this study, ‘Grounding reduces pain and alters the numbers of circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes, and also affects various circulating chemical factors related to inflammation.’

Here’s another way to think about this:

We’re bioelectrical creatures.

Our body’s have the ability to generate energy and even power up electrical devices.

Researchers are even trying to come up with ways to harness our body’s natural electrical systems to power up medical devices.

While this may sound like news to some of you, this isn’t new information.

Qi Gong, acupuncture, and most eastern practices have been aware of our body’s natural bioelectrical energy systems for millenia.

In fact, using our body’s natural healing system to recover faster, perform better, and live a high quality of life was one of the subgoals of many of these ancient practices.

The current main hypothesis (which has countless evidence backing it up) is:

‘Connecting the body to the Earth enables free electrons from the Earth’s surface to spread over and into the body, where they can have antioxidant effects.’

Whether we acknowledge this or not, our planet’s surface is alive and bubbling with electrons which are helpful for our body to connect to.

Coming back from Poland earlier this summer reminded me of the importance of grounding.

Daily grounding every morning for at least 10 minutes while doing Qi Gong followed by intermittent breaks throughout the day showed me (again) the power of grounding when done CONSISTENTLY.

It’s one thing to ground once a week or month.

It’s another to do it consistently day in and day out.

For those of you who also have cold winters like me, here’s a few grounding products that I use to help reclaim my energy, health, and stay in high performance mode all day long.

(I use the grounding standing mat, sandals, and earthing bed sheet to help support my health).

*Side note: if you’re highly sensitive to energy and have been grounding and doing energy work like Qi Gong for years, you may not see a BIG improvement using these products, however my guess is that 98% of people will most likely benefit from grounding consistently.

2. My Battle-Tested Fitness Protocols To Tone Up While Traveling

Traveling across the globe this summer taught me a key lesson:

Fitness MUST be flexible.

While I’ve been aware of the importance of flexibility and adjustments during heavy travels in my life, this year truly capped it off with the mother of all travels.

Asheville. Arizona 2x. Austin. Puerto Rico. Estonia. Greece. Poland. Colorado. New York. Hawaii. Los Angeles. Back to Asheville. Colorado again.

Across 6 time zones and back.

Here’s two strategies that can help you continue to tone up as you travel:

1. Eat to 80% fullness while traveling

Most of us overeat and eat too quickly.

Eating to 80% fullness allows you to slow down and taste the food that you’re eating.

It also creates a moderate caloric deficit that can keep you lean even while traveling.

Best part too?

You don’t need to track your macros or calories - just focus on listening on hunger and satiety signals.

Bonus tip: divide your plate into ⅓ vegetables/fruit, ⅓ vegan protein, and ⅓ healthy carbohydrate

2. Lift weights 3x a week using 20 minute sessions

In an ideal world, I’d recommend 4x a week using 45-60 minutes to get the most bang for your buck.

While traveling, workouts become a different thing.

20 minute or less workouts using 2-4 main lifts like squats, pushups, deadlifts, and rows are the most EFFECTIVE when it comes to preserving lean muscle tissue and even shredding a bit of fat.

It’s not perfect.

Nor is it sexy.

But damn does it work.

Here’s a quick workout template you can use while traveling on your next trip:

Dumbbell squats: 4 x 12 x RPE: 7-9

Dumbbell bench press: 4 x 12 x RPE: 7-9

Dumbbell bulgarian split squat: 4 x 12 x RPE: 7-9

Dumbbell bent-over row: 4 x 12 x RPE: 7-9

(if you don’t have weights while traveling you can sub out squats for bodyweight squats, bench press for push ups, split squat for body weight split squat, and bent over row for bodyweight rows using heavy objects like backpack or heavy books).

Staying fit and healthy while traveling doesn’t need to be impossible.

Working with busy entrepreneurs and high performing vegans over the years has reminded me that we all have the same amount of time - it’s what we choose to do with it that matters.

Doing something for your health will always be better than nothing while traveling.

Client of the Week

S. has a busy life with 4 kids, a corporate job, and taking care of her family. She was also selling her house and in the midst of moving to a new one.

She had zero energy, was 40 lbs overweight, and tired of putting herself at the bottom of the list every day.

After 4 months, we’ve dropped 33 lbs, 5 inches off her waist, along with giving her back day-long energy to power through her work and projects.

Our strategy: moderate caloric deficit, lift weights 4 days a week, zero cardio, 8,000 steps per day, and focus on eating more fruits and vegetables.

Excited to keep rooting her on and seeing what she creates in her health in 2024.

If you're a busy vegan professional or entrepreneur who wants to get lean, build muscle, and build a high-performance body while fueling your vegan impact, click here to apply for a free gameplan session.​

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

Deep health isn’t just about macros and 6-pack abs.

It’s about being your best self and healthy on all planes of health.

We’re multidimensional beings (and bioelectrical).

Let’s honor our health.

- Gabriel

P.S. Love meeting vegan friends in person, such a great time in SoCal with friends and clients. 🙂

Whenever you're ready, there's 2 ways I can help you:

1. Join our free high-performance vegan fitness FB group to get access to dozens of live trainings recorded to get lean, build muscle, and regain energy even with a busy lifestyle.

2. Are you a high-performing vegan who wants to get lean, reclaim strength, and lead by example? Apply for private one-to-one coaching here. ​