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To all parents who plan their ideal weeks at the moment just to see it getting crushed and hammered by virus, gems and what else brewing over there in kindergarten and schools:
I feel you. Really. Deeply.
I just did not have the energy to write this edition on time. Sorry. Again …
This is the last edition of our first coaching module:
In the first quarter (14th February - 25th April 04th of May with 6 editions) we will cover covered the basic levers for building energy and presented you the best operating protocols for the human body (I stole this from Andrew Huberman).
We will conclude today with building energy via workouts. And with that I mean the gym, weights, grunting hard while lifting, looking in the mirror - all the good stuff.
All the carneval happening in gyms worldwide. Love it or hate it, I guess.
Let’s start.
Today at a Glance
Why go to the gym?
The NeuroScience behind Resistance Training
Working out every day vs Micro-Dosing
Why go to the gym?
Will keep this short and sweet. Like a cheat sheet on Linked-In.
The 5 Hard‑Science Payoffs:
You can view muscle mass as your primary metabolic sink. A metabolic buffer for glucose.
More muscle mass means: More buffer. Smoother daily glucose/energy curves.
Resistance training is an insulin‑sensitizing signal for the whole body. It improves blood parameters like: HbA1c, triglycerides, and blood pressure at the meta‑analytic level.
Strong muscle means less inflammation, and better cognitive reserve, as shown in sarcopenia‑cognition meta‑analyses.
Putting muscle on is not vanity; it is installing long‑term infrastructure for energy efficiency, resilience, and thriving in high‑demand lives.
But, wait a minute. You said: "Your brain budget lives in your muscles".
Correct. I will try to break this down the easiest way:
There are trade-offs (always in life) between the brain and muscle.
Your skeletal muscle competes hard with the brain for glucose and oxygen.
So muscle mass is an energetically expensive tissue and it’s “brain first” -when when physical and mental exertion conflict, the brain prioritizes cognition over maximal muscle output.
In turn, in a controlled, well‑trained (muscle-)system, muscle mass buffers glucose spikes, lowers baseline insulin, reduces inflammation (etc.)
By that you’ll gain: better cognitive performance via less “noise” in the brain–body-budget, fewer microstress-events, less sympathetic activation, and more headspace for thinking, not just surviving.
The NeuroScience Behind Resistance Training
Resistance training (progressive resistance training, PRT) does three things that clearly show up in meta‑analyses and mechanistic work:
1. Muscle mass & metabolic sink function
A systematic review and meta‑analysis of 111 clinical trials (1,927 participants, healthy adult males) found that resistance training increases whole‑body muscle mass by ~1.5 kg (95% CI 1.3–1.76) across 8–24 week interventions, regardless of age, training status, or training duration.
Skeletal muscle is:
20% of basal metabolic rate (energy used at “rest”).
70–80% of post‑meal glucose disposal via insulin‑dependent and insulin‑independent pathways.
More muscle = larger, more efficient metabolic sink for glucose, which reduces glycemic spikes and the need for high insulin and allostatic correction.
2. Insulin sensitivity, HbA1c, and metabolic health
Numerous meta‑analyses show that resistance training:
Improves insulin sensitivity and fasting insulin in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, independent of weight loss.
Reduces HbA1c by ~0.4–0.7% across multiple RCTs, with similar or larger gains in more intensive protocols.
Improves triglycerides, HDL‑C, and blood pressure, especially when combined with aerobic training or TRE.
3. Sarcopenia, longevity, and functional reserve
Narrative and meta‑analytic reviews clearly link sarcopenia (age‑related loss of muscle mass and strength) with:
Higher risk of disability, frailty, falls, and mortality.
Increased likelihood of cognitive impairment and dementia (OR ~2.2 for sarcopenia vs non‑sarcopenic groups).
Low muscle quality (strength per unit muscle mass) is associated with worse psychomotor and visual‑learning domains, even after adjusting for age, BMI, and inflammation.
I think we get it now.
When muscle mass and strength erode, basal metabolic rate falls, glucose handling worsens, and everyday tasks burn more relative energy, pushing the system into chronic stress and overdraft.
Working out every day vs Micro-Dosing
In my view, there are multiple options for how to start working out.
What I found working best for clients (and myself) are the following two strategies:
1. Schedule a workout every morning before work.
The idea behind this is that, first, you do not have to workout for 1,5 hours in the gym. You can do 20 minutes every morning, e.g. every workday. This will compound.
Second, you use habit building for your workout schedule. Set this every morning and you will do a 5/5 in a brilliant week. Maybe a 3/5 in a normal week. And a 1-2/5 in a less ideal week. This happens. The important thing: Keep going.
I do this since 1,5 years and usually end at a 3/5 workouts per week.
Last weeks were less than that, which reminds me, to pack my sport bag for tomorrow morning 8am.
2. Micro‑doses every 90–120 minutes
Set a timer. Do this every 60–120 minutes during the day:
20 squats
5 push‑ups
Bridge Hold for 30 seconds (core)
Repeat up to 6 rounds per day = 120 squats + 30 push‑ups & core workout for total 3 minutes.
This maintains muscle tone, metabolic sink size, and mitochondrial engagement, without needing a “workout headspace.”
That's it for this Saturday Monday. Sorry for the delay again.
Next module is Focusing Energy.
Now that you know how to build energy. You can actually do it (building energy, I mean). It is an everyday thing, not a 1 time magic-miracle-tool. Sorry. We can’t mess with the whole energy thing on our planet.
Once there is more energy available, the next bottleneck is attention (or focus):
Many of us leak their best energy into:
constant interruptions,
reactive communication
and constant switching.
Focusing Energy is about creating fewer targets for your attention, and defending them.
Seriously, this is WAR.
You focus energy by reducing uncertainty and mental noise with clear priorities, structure, and attention hygiene.
In the second quarter (9th May - 18th July with 6 editions) we will cover the basic frameworks and tools for building bullet proof focus, save energy and raising your performance as well as productivity.
The next newsletter edition will come out on Saturday, the 09th of May 2026.
We will continue with:
"The 90-Minute Rule: Your Brain's Energy Bill Just Got Cheaper"
Own it!
Yours,
Moritz
PS:
Can you rarely make time for physical activity or regeneration? Do youI feel emotionally unstable and have difficulties to stay calm under pressure? Is managing people emotionally and energetically draining for you?
If that sounds familiar, Mastering Emotions is for you. I began coaching in 2023. Since then, l've coached over 30 executives, entrepreneurs, and high potentials on building Emotional Intelligence and into becoming future leaders.
If you want to learn more about my coaching please:
JUST RESPOND HERE. REALLY. DO IT. TELL ME WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND.
Or … book an orientation call here:
Or here :-) (I mean the button):
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