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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:

• New study on a fasting method that unlocks your fat-burning switch
• The longevity exercise is 53x more effective than walking
• The case for drinking alcohol

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Hey friend,

The other day, I found myself mired in a bit of worrying.

This usually happens at the beginning of each month, where everything starts from zero, and the newness of the month can give me anxiety.

But then I remembered something my mentor once told me. He said, "Worrying is praying to the devil. There is no amount of worrying that ever made any situation better."

And he's right. Worrying is wasted energy that can be better used on finding solutions.

After my short worry fest, I remembered the quote and refocused my energy on where I'm taking my life.

If you ever find yourself in a state of worry, remind yourself of that quote and shift your energy to go in the direction you want.

Here is your 4 Minute Friday:

1. The Hidden Fat-Burning Switch You Unlock When You Fast

Previously, I've been of the belief that fasting helps people lose weight by reducing the calories that they eat. Well, a new study may be proving me wrong.

Scientists are starting to find that after 24 hours of fasting, your body turns on a second fat-burning system that most people never use.

Normally, your body burns fat through hormones that release stored energy.

But when you go a full day without eating, it switches to a backup system called lysosomal fat burning, powered by an enzyme named LAL.

This system breaks down fat inside your cells and also turns on a process called autophagy, which is your body's way of cleaning out old, damaged parts and reusing them for fuel.

When scientists blocked this process, fat loss stopped. When people fasted, the same fat-burning and cell-cleaning genes switched on.

While this study is new, it's promising. I used to do 24-hour fasts back in the day, and it wouldn't hurt to add them back to my weekly routine. What about you?

2. The Longevity Exercise That's 53x More Effective Than Walking

A massive UK BioBank study used wearables to compare how different intensities of exercise affect long-term health — and the results were wild.

For every 1 minute of vigorous activity, you’d need 4 minutes of moderate exercise, or 53 minutes of light activity (like walking) to get the same reduction in all-cause mortality.

Vigorous activity also crushed it for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes: just 1 minute of intense effort equaled 8–9 minutes of moderate or over 90 minutes of light movement in protective benefits.

In short, intensity amplifies results. Vigorous training isn’t just time-efficient, it’s longevity in fast-forward.

That said, not every session needs to be a sprint or HIIT class. Zone 2 training (longer, easier effort) still builds your aerobic base and helps you recover faster.

What should you do?

Add something vigorous at least once a week to your training schedule. It could be sprints, hill runs, or circuit training.

Use Zone 2 or walking for active recovery and endurance.

Don't think one or the other. Think both.

❤️ My Favourite Thing this Week

In the past, I have waxed poetic about the fact that I have severely reduced my alcohol intake.

Today, I wanted to present the other side of the argument.

Mark Sisson has been someone I've looked up to during my fitness career as someone who has a balanced take when it comes to health and fitness.

He wrote a fantastic article on why a healthy individual should drink alcohol.

Obviously, if you have an issue with alcohol, you should skip this one, but if not, I would give it a read to have more color around the current trend of giving up alcohol.

Personally, I haven't quit drinking but have severely limited my intake and found a healthy balance.

Give the article a read at the link here and let me know what you thought.

Client of the week - Sam (name withheld), CEO

Sam is an entrepreneur who struggled with his eating and finding the time to get to the gym.

He wanted to be healthier for his 2 children and knew that being in his 40s was the time to make it happen.

In 9 months, he's dropped 44.4 lbs while getting into the best shape he's ever been in.

Here's how we did it:

• Cut his workout time in half. Get him in and out of the gym in just 30 minutes with our super circuits.
• Put his meals on a schedule and have them come automatically to him through a meal service.
• Change his mindset from "losing weight" to developing habits that will last him a lifetime.

We're proud of the work we've done with Sam and grateful he was able to say, "Working with you guys is the best decision I've made this year."

​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

When you do the math and work the odds, the chances of you being here and reading this newsletter are astronomically low.

Take advantage of your chance at life. This is the only one you'll ever get.

As promised, get healthier in under 4 minutes.

- Dan

PS: We're taking on 4 more clients for our Lean Body Mastery group for November.

If you are an entrepreneur who has 15 or more pounds to lose … you may be surprised to see what can happen :)

If you have 20 or more pounds to lose… you’re literally sitting on a gold mine of high performance.

In the group, I’ll get to work with you one-on-one to lose weight without spending hours in the gym or giving up your favorite foods.

I have an amazing collection of case studies from entrepreneurs from dozens of different industries… and I’d love to work with you.

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Refer High Performing Friends Have friends who'd love the High Performance newsletter too? Give them your unique referral link (below) to get access to special training bonuses and rewards. [RH_REFLINK GOES HERE] Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email PS: You have referred [RH_TOTREF GOES HERE] people so far

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References

Fasting and Fat Burning

Naveen Kumar GV, Wang R-S, Sharma AX, et al. Non-canonical lysosomal lipolysis drives mobilization of adipose tissue energy stores with fasting. Nat Commun. 2025;16:1330. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56613-3

Vigorous Exercise Vs. Zone 2

Stamatakis, E., Ahmadi, M.N., Gill, J.M.R. et al. Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality. Nat Med 28, 2521–2529 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02100-x

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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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