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Welcome to 4 Minute Fridays, my weekly newsletter, where I reveal cutting-edge tips to help you get lean, boost energy, and live longer.

What's in store for today:

• I put this into my coffee to enhance focus and productivity
• How much should you rest between sets
• A $5 sticker that improved my sleep quality

Today's issue is brought to you by High Performance Founder Private Coaching.

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Hey friend,

At 19, Lady Gaga was dropped from her first label.

She watched peers rise while she bartended to pay rent, comparing their spotlight to her shadows. Self-doubt gnawed at her. "You're too weird," they said.

But instead of dimming her light, she leaned into the strange.

She stopped chasing charts and started chasing truth.

Meat dress? Born This Way? Pure rebellion against the comparison trap.

Once she let go of trying to fit in, she skyrocketed. Gaga didn’t just become famous—she redefined fame.

Her secret? She stopped watching others and became someone others couldn't look away from.

This story is not about wanting to be famous. It is about leaning into your authentic self.

We need to stop looking at what other people are doing on social media and index more on the things that make us weird, kooky, and real.

That said...

Here is your 4 Minute Friday:

1. I put this into my coffee to increase focus and productivity

For the past month, I've been putting a supplement called L-theanine into my coffee, and it's been a net positive for my focus and productivity.

Here's why: While caffeine enhances energy, it can turn your mind into a jittery squirrel.

A study examined how 50 mg of caffeine, with or without 100 mg of L-theanine, affects focus and mood.

Here’s what they found:

• Caffeine alone gave people a solid jolt of alertness at the 60-minute mark and helped them focus better 90 minutes in.
• But add L-theanine to the mix, and things get interesting: sharper focus, faster thinking, and way less distraction—especially during mentally demanding tasks.

Other research backs this up—L-theanine + caffeine seems to dial in your focus, cut the mind-wandering, and even help kids with ADHD think more clearly.

The best part is that it doesn't alter the taste of coffee.

Here's the brand I use (not affiliated), and I put 100-200 milligrams into my cup.

And if you don't want to take a supplement, you can just as easily drink a cup of green tea and get a similar effect, although you probably don't want to add coffee to it because I'm assuming it would taste quite disgusting.

2. How much should you rest between sets

One of the best and worst things happening to people's workouts is the smartphone.

Each day I hit the gym, I see people's faces buried in their phones, getting way more rest than needed.

If you wanted to get the most out of your workouts, how much rest do you actually need?

A new meta-analysis suggests that resting for 60–90 seconds between sets provides a slight edge for muscle growth, particularly in the arms and legs.

Something I've found anecdotally is that different body parts need different rest times:

• Compound exercises, such as squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, require longer rest times, around 3 minutes.
• Isolation exercises, such as bicep curls and tricep pushdowns, can be performed with shorter rest times, around 2 minutes.

One of the best ways I found to use your rest and spend less time in the gym is to do supersets, like the ones we do in our Lean Body 90 program.

Studies have shown that they provide the same benefits as doing straight sets for building muscle, while also reducing your gym time by 35-50%.

The lesson? Rest intelligently, and if you want to make the most of your time in the gym, do supersets.

❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week

Something you may already know about me is that I take my sleep very seriously.

Even dim light while you sleep—like from a streetlamp, phone, or bedside glow—can mess with your heart, blood sugar, and sleep cycles.

Studies show that it raises heart rate, impairs metabolism, and disrupts the production of melatonin.

Having a completely dark room can lead to better sleep and improved health.

Aside from removing alarm clocks and all other forms of light from my room, tiny lights come from my outlets and other areas.

So I bought these little black stickers to block all those pesky lights, and I kid you not, my sleep has improved.

If you've got some tiny lights protruding from your room, use these bad boys to black it out. Your future self will thank you.

Client of the week - Vic, Entrepreneur

Vic is an entrepreneur who has no problems exercising but has struggled to control his diet. His goal is to lose 30 pounds and shed his beer belly, so he can become a better role model for his family and the people he leads.

In 5 months, we dropped 32 pounds and 6 inches from his waistline, helping him see his abs for the first time in his life.

Here's how we did it:

• We found a natural rhythm to eating that lined up with his busy lifestyle.
• He had a weakness of eating at night, so we focused on that constraint and set a habit of no meals past 6:30 pm.
• We had him go from eating his emotions to using food as fuel.
• We fine-tuned his workouts so he was building muscle while burning fat.

The best part is that, at 40 years old, he's feeling more confident about his body than ever before.

​Are you an entrepreneur who wants to drop the fat, gain muscle, and boost energy? Click this link to apply for our coaching program.​

One Quote to Finish Your Week Strong

On social media, you will find people's highlight reels showcasing the things they have accomplished, but rarely do you see the work that goes into them.

Stop confirming yourself and run your own damn race.

As promised, get healthier in under 4 minutes.

- Dan

Ps. Want to get in shape while spending 50% less time in the gym? I created the Lean Body 90 program for the busy high performer.

In the course, I'll show you how to build muscle and burn fat in the time it takes you to binge-watch three episodes of Family Guy.

Want to get lean in under 90 minutes a week?

​Click here and let's get you in the best shape of your life in half the time.​

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References

1. Owen GN, Parnell H, De Bruin EA, Rycroft JA. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr Neurosci. 2008 Aug;11(4):193-8. doi: 10.1179/147683008X301513. PMID: 18681988.
2. SINGER, A., WOLF, M., GENEROSO, L., ARIAS, E., DELCASTILLO, K., ECHEVARRIA, E., MARTINEZ, A., KORAKAKIS, P.A., REFALO, M.C., SWINTON, P.A. and SCHOENFELD, B.J. 2024. Give it a rest: a systematic review with Bayesian meta-analysis on the effect of inter-set rest interval duration on muscle hypertrophy. Frontiers in sports and active living [online], 6, article number 1429789. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1429789
3. Iversen VM, Eide VB, Unhjem BJ, Fimland MS. Efficacy of Supersets Versus Traditional Sets in Whole-Body Multiple-Joint Resistance Training: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Strength Cond Res. 2024 Aug 1;38(8):1372-1378. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004819. PMID: 39072654.

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.

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