011. How to get in better shape than 99% of the population (not what you think)

Dan Rémi
Jun 3
6 min read

Updated: Jun 4

Modern living is failing.

It's failing human health.

The masses are dying from diseases stemming from poor lifestyles with overly processed foods.
It's normalised to be living in bubble wrap, hunched over the desk for hours, taking health for granted - until we lose it.
Worldwide sperm quality is declining.
Even if you wanted to eat healthy, we get stuck in an echo chamber of unhealthy living.
The entirety of news headlines is whispering "World War 3"

It's failing our home itself & the species we coexist with - but that's for another letter.

Zoom out: It's failing well-being.

We are disconnected.

Disconnected from family

Disconnected from friends

Disconnected from nature.

Disconnected from ourselves.

Mind, body & spirits misaligned, trying to pursue a purpose handed to us, because we failed to look inwards.

That zest for life long gone.

The cause?

Lack of awareness.

The fast-paced, information-saturated world of today, barely knowing the difference between what is real & fake with the rise of Ai, is causing humans to lean up against evolutionary mental shortcuts to conserve mental energy and make fast decisions.

These shortcuts work most of the time, but can be exploited.

It's easy to get sucked into the societal system's ongoing demands, forgetting we have the ability to actually stop and ask why?

Becoming more aware takes us from reactive to responsive.

From knee-jerk reactions to calculated moves on a chess board.

From building someone else's dream to building yours.

Best serving the collective consciousness.

So how do you find your purpose?

You're unlikely to find it during your next doomscrolling session.

Luckily neuroscience has our back.

It all starts with curiosity.

You know, that thing we are trained to mostly ignore, once we enter the school system, at least whenever that curiosity leads away from the curriculum.

Most of us are getting generously paid to stay in jobs we despise, working with people we would not even consider going out for a coffee with, to stay away from fully following our curiosity.

By spending time at the intersections of multiple curiosities, passions get cultivated.

E.g. let's say you are interested in mindfulness meditation, virtual reality (VR) and behavioural psychology.

The intersection could be developing VR experiences that promote mindfulness and reduce anxiety, based on principles of behavioural psychology.

This could involve creating immersive guided meditations, virtual environments designed to reduce stress, or biofeedback-based VR training

Passion on its own is not self-sustaining though, and can become a rather lonely & egoistic pursuit.

However, turning that passion into a mission bigger than ourselves, and there we have purpose.

This is what will cause other people to join & support it, passing it on to others that will do the same.

To take things further, it doesn't stop at finding your purpose.

For you to effectively fulfil that purpose, you will need autonomy, i.e. the freedom to pursue it.

And pursuing is not enough, we have to actually get good at the skills required to fulfil that purpose - this is where Mastery comes in.

Hang on….

How exactly will purpose make me fitter than 99% of the population?

Let's deframe:

For you to effectively pursue your mission in life, you will need to be of the best health possible.

How do you intend to maximise flow states if you are consistently sleeping 4-6 hours?

“Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. In flow, the human organism is functioning at its fullest capacity.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Let's reframe:

From shifting the focus from exercise & nutrition being this extra chore, to recognising them being part of fulfilling your purpose, suddenly optimal health & wellness is not only for the athletes, models, Silicon Valley tech millionaires & IG influencers. Food for thought: who else pays the price for you not being at your best?

Just a week into a properly designed routine:

Feeling of fitness is instant.
You are increasing loads weekly.

But for that to last we need to become PREF-Proof.

Becoming PREF-Proof

So we are on the same page.

Having the best health possible is part of fulfilling our life's mission.

Now on to more specifically what's required to sustainably stay fit.

We need to be PREF-Proof.

PREF: Purposeful - Realistic - Enjoyable - Flexible

Other than realising that your health should be a must in supporting your purpose, we need to make sure that the routine we have is:

Realistic
Enjoyable
Flexible

Miss 1 and the routine is unsustainable.

Miss 2 and you quit.

Let me explain with the help of one of my current clients at Elite Exec.

before after photo of a fitness transformation

This is a 1-year transformation.

For the sake of anonymity, we will call my client Raj.

Raj is a busy sedentary researcher without easy access to the gym, and had no equipment at home to start. No prior training experience. A vegetarian foodie, absolutely loving Indian food, especially a handful of dishes he used to have in his childhood.

His goal:

Get rid of the belly fat & get stronger, and still have his favourite dishes.

When he reached out, he was starting to feel the gravitational pull of aging just being in his 30s, and he was very aware that health had to be a priority for his life & work, if he wanted to live better for longer.

Purpose: check

I designed the training to fit his time & equipment availability, as well as his training experience. So it was 3-4 weekly sessions (resistance training & cardio) of no more than 1 hour, and primarily bodyweight exercises in the comfort of his home. He had a backpack he could fill up with heavy items like books, so he used that.

Realistic: check

Having no prior experience, Raj didn't know what he liked or disliked about a health & performance program. As he went through different exercises he would find some to be more enjoyable than others. He was less likely to adhere to the less enjoyable ones. So we ditched those.He went from not having any training experience, to now being able to do squat, deadlift & bench press via our virtual movement assessment sessions. He found it to be exciting to push himself, and see what he is capable of, so last week, he did the notorious Murph workout.

Since enjoying his favourite Indian dishes with his partner was important, it made sense to have him use MyFitnessPal (a nutrition tracking app), rather than giving him a regimented meal plan. He just had to hit his macronutrient (protein, carbs & fats) targets.

Enjoyable: check

The way the nutrition plan was set up, allowing him to put together his own meals, and having them fit the macronutrient targets via MyFitnessPal, made it very flexible.

He was able to move his training sessions around if he did not feel well, or was too busy a certain day. He had different variations of his program depending on whether he was at home, travelling, or occasionally training at an outdoor gym.He has been informed that if at any point something doesn't work, he should just report to me, and necessary changes will be made to keep things sustainable.

Flexible: check

Raj is PREF-proof, and achieving sustainable results is a natural consequence.

The PREF checklist

The following checklist can help you self-reflect to become PREF-proof: Purpose

Is your fitness tied to a goal bigger than aesthetics or weight loss?
Will better health help you create impact in the world?

Realistic

Can you stick to your routine even on the busiest or most stressful weeks?
Do you have the time, space, and energy for it without needing heroic willpower?

Enjoyable

Can you say yes, without any hesitation, that your routine is generally enjoyable?
Would you still do this if there were no visible rewards—no compliments, no metrics, no mirror?

Flexible

Do you have a backup plan when your ideal routine is disrupted—without feeling guilty or off-track?
Can you adapt your workouts or nutrition on the fly without breaking your momentum?

When you are ready, here's how I can help

Are you a busy professional who wants to get lean, b oost energy, and get in your best shape?

You can book a free consultation to see if we would be a fit

That's it for now,

Dan Rémi

Who is Dan Rémi

I’m an online health & performance coach who quit his full time medical doctor gig to prevent people from becoming patients in the first place.

I’m the guy they come to when they want to end their frustrations, and gain clarity over how to achieve their health & performance goals - and keep it for life. No diet fads & "quick fixes" in this household.

I help them create a tailored flexible routine towards their goals that they can sustain even when life gets in the way, so they can sustainably maximise productivity, physical & mental health, and live longer.

As a medical doctor, CrossFit & BJJ athlete (transformed from very skinny), and after having coached hundreds 1-on-1 towards peak health & performance since 2014, I have created a unique adaptable coaching system that gets people results every time.

If you want to work with me, apply here.