Take a jaunt down the twisted, neon-lit back alleys of the internet and what do you hear? The same tired, knuckle-dragging battle cry:

"Suck it up. Train harder. Your body lies to you."

"Stop being a wimp and throw more weight on the bar. Sleep is for the weak—grind now, die later."

Oh yeah, the internet, where every basement-dwelling, protein-starved, 18-year-old ricket-riddled keyboard warrior is a self-proclaimed "X-PURT" on training, slinging advice like they’ve just descended from the mountain with stone tablets etched with the commandments of the barbell.

Bawhahahaha.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place to smash yourself into oblivion.

Hell, nothing worthwhile ever happened without dragging your soul through the mud of effort—violent, obsessive, relentless effort at times.

But here’s the deal: after 30 years of slinging iron, coaching the half-mad masses, and pulling my brain through 18 years of college education, let me drop a little nugget of truth on you: Listen to your body.

Yeah, you heard me.

Your body is one hell of a clever beast, an ancient machine fine-tuned for survival.

..But here’s the kicker: it doesn’t give a darn about your aesthetic obsession with seeing abs, or your insane dream of deadlifting a Hyundai.

Your body’s mission?

Survival.

Your mission?

Push the boundaries...but here’s the twisted irony: the body and brain are wired for survival at all costs, and it will scream, plead, and throw every damn warning signal at you like a rabid monkey with a flare gun. It’s up to you to listen, but also test. Constantly.

Trust me, I’ve flown this kamikaze mission myself more times than I care to admit. I thought I knew where the red line was.

I was wrong.

You ever go four days on a cocktail of four hours of sleep and think, “Yeah, now's the perfect time to crush a workout”? That’s why God invented coffee, right?

Well, fast forward, and whoops—there go both my adductors and hip flexors. Just like that.

Pain? That word doesn’t cover it.

For the next three months, I shuffled around like a geriatric penguin with a steel rod jammed up its ass. Do not recommend.

Enter HRV—Heart Rate Variability—my savior in the land of training stupidity.

As it turns out, HRV is a darn fine tool to know where that red line actually is.

And I don’t mean some hazy guess, I’m talking scientific precision. Ten years of testing, tracking, and HRV has been my canary in the coal mine every time.

But here’s the kicker again: HRV isn’t gospel.

It’s a tool.

Learn to wield it like a surgeon with a scalpel, not a maniac with a sledgehammer.

Integrate it with your training, your nutrition, your sleep—hell, your life.

Which is why I built the HRV Education Course—to hand you the keys to the HRV kingdom.

You don’t need to flirt with disaster to figure out where your limits are.

You don’t need to face-plant into injury and downtime because you blew past the red line.

And hey, if you want to get in on it before the price hikes, click the link below—midnight tonight is your last chance before the price goes up by a crisp Benjamin.

>> HRV Education Course <<

Now, I’ll leave you with the sage wisdom of Paul Oneid—because why stop the madness now?

“It’s all information and it’s all valuable. Ultimately, the most important variable is performance under the given conditions. Then you can identify trends in the information and its correlation to performance—the key is ‘Can I replicate these conditions for best performance when it matters?’”

Bingo. HRV for the win.
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Much love,
Dr. Mike

PS – the price on the HRV Education Course does go up to $299 at midnight this Monday, but you can still get it at the cheaper price below until then!

>> HRV Education Course <<​
____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

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​​Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health