Siim Land

Here are some of the best "superfoods" on the planet that aren't just healthy but full of micronutrients and push it over the top. Blueberries. Why? They’re full of phytonutrients and antioxidants, protecting against cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Cacao. Not hot chocolate, but raw cacao nibs. Raw cacao contains 20 times more antioxidants than blueberries and 119 times more than bananas. Chia seeds. Eaten by ancient Aztec warriors. These seeds are rich in fiber, omega-3s, protein, vitamins and minerals, such as copper, zinc and potassium. Algae. It’s a complex superfood that can be found in green, blue-green or brown seaweed. The health benefits are quite amazing: stronger immune system increased white blood cell count and better gut flora. Bee pollen. Made by honeybees, it is one of the most nourishing foods Mother Nature can provide us with, as it contains almost all of the essential nutrients needed by humans. It’s rich in amino acids, vitamins, including B-complex, and folic acid. Bee pollen is richer in protein than any animal source and half of it is directly used by the body. One teaspoon consists of over 2,5 billion (that’s 9 zeros) flower pollen grains. Talk about micronutrient density. MCT oil. Stands for medium-chained triglycerides that are shortened fatty acid chains that can be directly metabolized into energy by the brain and body. They're liquidized and made from coconut oil. The caloric content is highest possible - 900 kcal/100g. Instant power and ketosis. These are the ones I eat. Thanks!

@Nahm Yes, I get it. It's a continuous process of self-discovery. You are finding new aspects of who you think you were and then transcending it. Like on the hero's journey - you die in the end and then get reborn into a new version of yourself. @I_Like_Thing Do you think it might make you pick up a certain 'numinous' ego or self-image?

You've probably heard about the many ways to improve cognition: read books, meditate, exercise and do some crazy brain games. But have you heard about these unconventional strategies? TLDW #1 Neuroplasticity - 00:45 - Expose yourself to novelty #2 Get Distracted - 01:32 - Studies show some background noise can actually boost productivity #3 Practice Multi-Tasking - 02:56 - Multi-tasking isn't productive, but it can teach your brain to stay focused while being distracted. #4 Power Training - 03:49 - Explosive plyometric or high intensity interval training will increase the speed of your nervous system #5 Creative Visualization - 04:55 - Envisioned mental images in our head are directly connected with the ones in the outside world. Visualize the skills you want to improve. #6 Empathy - 05:40 - Empathy stimulates the prefrontal cortex and boosts emotional intelligence. #7 Inversion - 06:16 - Sending more blood flow to the brain is good for the functioning and health of the brain. Do handstands or hang upside down. What do you do to improve your cognition? Thanks!

@Nahm Is it a means to an end or an end of itself? @jjer94 Shit, thought it was taken. @aurum That's like Kaizen @Loreena Something we should all strive towards @The Universe How has it turned out so far for you?

Although it will be a good kick, I think that it would be too over-stimulating as well. I mean, cold showers will trigger a stress response, caffeine increases adrenalin and you pumping yourself up also taxes the adrenals. The idea behind taking cold showers is to condition yourself to be able to control your fight or flight response and to be uninfluenced by the shock. Doing it like some sort of a means of self-qualification would rob the whole idea from it. But, you do you. That's just my 2 cents.

It's been 3 years since these events and in the mean time I've refined these ideas even further. I made a video about it as well. Thanks! Stay Empowered! Siim

Exactly 2 years ago I was going through my national service in the military. During that time I was allocated to a 1 month long sharpshooter course. It was winter and we got our training close to -30 degrees Celsius. I posted this on reddit about 5 months ago and it was widely popular. Figured self-actualizers would appreciate this even more. The story itself is quite long and very interesting and in retrospect it was very enlightening. I got a lot of life lessons and taught me to be more stoic. To read all of the details read this blog post. Here are a few key points to take away from this experience which are most important. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Whether lying in the dirt, monitoring the landscape while being buried in snow or doing anything that we don’t want to – it doesn’t matter. This will determine the way we handle anything that life throws at us. This way we’re preparing ourselves for situations that are not perfect and won’t be perished by the difficulties. Adversity is to be expected and welcomed. Challenges are inevitable part of life. Moreover, they make us who we are. There is a difference in yielding to obstacles and overcoming them. The former implies to coping while the latter is thriving and empowering. It is easier to do it the hard way. As humans we always want to take the path of least resistance. However, this is conditions us in a negative way. Without adversity we would get too soft. In the long run having it tough will make us more able to overcome any obstacle. We’re a lot more durable than we give ourselves credit for. A lot of the time it is our mind that gets in our own way. This applies to physical and mental activities – our maximum is always higher than we think. If we are forced to suffer freezing weather or pain with no way out then the only thing we can do is to simply grind our teeth, adapt and endure. Putting in more effort will yield extraordinary results. After coming to the realization that we’re powerful beyond measure exceeding ourselves becomes easy. It’s important to always give our best. Pushing our boundaries further will make us grow and make us better. Never have I regretted taking the extra step or rep further despite the difficulty. It's the actions we didn't take we'll regret the most. Pain as well as comfort are temporary. Whether we’re experiencing physical hardship or cozyness it doesn’t matter. The workout will reach its end, the weather will get warmer, the feeling of safety and dryness will soon be replaced by freezing conditions – everything will be replaced by its polar opposite one way or the other. By realizing this we will be able to endure for longer as well as appreciate the comfort we’re currently in more. The person beyond our comfort zone is awesome. Continuing on the previous bullet point. If we put in just a little bit of effort and exceed our limitations then we begin to see ourselves differently. We are more capable and confident in our own abilities. Success and self-love becomes a habit. We're all incredibly lucky. If you're reading this, then you probably have no idea how fortunate you really are. My sniper course lasted for a month, yet it felt like an eternity. It wasn't even a real conflict or warzone. It was just training. After graduating, I attained a new perspective on life - to not take anything for granted and to protect my family from the challenges I had to go through. I felt more obliged to start giving back more an to make the world a better place, so that there would be no necessity for warfare. After going through that 1 month of hardship I improved the quality of the rest of my life. It increased my mental toughness to a limit where I felt invincible and independent of external forces. My mind became a citadel and I truly believe that anything else can hardly be called challenging in comparison to what I went through at sniper school. Most importantly, I understood that we should all be striving towards making the world a safer and better place for everyone. Being a soldier isn't the best way of bringing peace. Partly, there I found some purpose of starting my work of empowering myself and others. At least it got amplified even more. Hopefully this will be somewhat motivating and give you a clue about some of the revelations I've had. Thanks! And read the whole story here.

How many of you are doing the Wim Hof method? What are your results and experiences? For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, Wim Hof is a daredevil who does superhuman feats with cold exposure and other seemingly impossible tasks. His breathing exercise triggers the body's survival mechanism whilst maintaining conscious control over the physiology. As a result, he's able to regulate his own nervous system and has taught many others to do the same. I've made a video about explaining it as well. What are your thoughts?

I eat low carb keto and thus my food list isn't that rich. Although the ketogenic diet can be very rich in variety, I still like to follow a minimal effective dose, in regards to the choices I have to make with my purchases. I get my essential micros and macros while avoiding decision fatigue and saving time, money and willpower. Here's my most purchased foods in order of frequency: A ton of eggs - a carton a day on average Green cabbage/Red cabbage Carrots/Beetroot Broccoli/Cauliflower Ginger/Turmeric/Cinnamon (I'm huge on these) Garlic/Onions Sauerkraut Brazil nuts Pumpkin seeds Chicken thighs Pork chops/ribs Avocados - one a day Lemon - one a day Sour cream Butter/Lard Olives/Olive oil Liver/Heart Tomatoes Salmon/Herring/Sardines/Mackerel Coconut oil/MCT oil Coffee - I've been able to go through only one pack over the past 6 months, lol - strategy Green tea That's the gist of it. Super satiating, super nourishing, super energizing. Thanks

@Nahm Yes, he's like Sisyphus but it has served him very well so far. He has also talked about being like this ever since birth and it seems he's enjoying it. I don't want to be 100% like him because I think he is still quite myopic in some aspects of life but his wisdom can be applied to the majority of areas of your life. It's just his Navy SEAL perspective that masks the hidden gems of his wisdom.

Have you heard of Jocko Willink? He's an ex-Navy SEAL commander, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and one of the most intense men on the planet. He's not a brute or a cold-hearted soldier. His podcast - Jocko Podcast - is a medium for philosophical debates about discipline, leadership and the darkness of human nature. He was also guested in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans where he shared his wisdom. Here are my top 10 ideas from him. #1 Discipline Equals Freedom #2 Two is One and One is None - Have a Backup #3 Expose Yourself to the Darkness to See the Light #4 To Be Mentally Tougher, Be Tougher #5 Take Extreme Ownership Over Your Life #6 Wake Up Early To Gain Psychological Victory #7 Always Be Prepared #8 Learn to Detach Yourself From the Situation #9 To Increase Willpower, Stay Strong and Hold Your Discipline #10 When Things Are Going Bad, Say Good and Get Back into the Fight I've also made a video. What do you think? He's not a spiritual guy at all but he still has some great insights. Thanks! Stay Empowered! Siim

@Psychonaut It's actually a lot easier on a vegetarian diet because you can eat a lot of food in terms of volume. Eat veggies to fill yourself up. Add some olive oil to your foods to increase satiety and you should be good. I don't really see an issue here.

How many of you have heard of either the warrior diet or OMAD - one meal a day. Basically, you fast the majority of the day and eat only at dinner. I've been doing it for almost a year and have never felt or performed better. It not only has amazing health benefits but also increases my productivity and sense of clarity during the day. What about you? Here's my video, in which I explain why and how I do it:

Tools of Titans is Tim Ferriss' book about the tactics, routines and habits of billionaires, icons and world class performers. Here are my top 7 greatest ideas from the book. No.4 is my favourite one. Table of Contents: #1 The Small Things Are the Big Things - 00:25 #2 Improve Tools At the Top of the Funnel - 01:57 #3 Failure Is Not Durable - 03:06 #4 Good by Jocko Willink - 03:50 #5 Inviting Mara to Tea - 06:01 #6 Challenge All Assumptions - 07:52 #7 It's Gone - 09:20 Thanks!

@Marc Schinkel I'm not that fancy, I just prefer going to the sea. Today was a perfect day to go for a little swim.

@pluto Ye, I think that he hasn't most likely been following this one meal a day approach consistently for his entire training career. Probably he was quite strong and big in the past and has now transitioned over to a different phase in his life where he's focusing on health, maintaining muscle and strength without trying to get bigger. However, I've been eating one meal a day on keto and have managed to build lean muscle quite easily. Then again, my biological potential is by far reached and I have a lot of room for still making intermediate gains.

@Mats Well, the WHO also says that meat is cancerous, while NOT DISTINGUISHING between organic unprocessed meat (chicken, pork, beef) from highly processed meat (hot dogs, sausages, sugar covered bacon). There's a huge difference between them because the actual content of real meat in hot dogs is close to zero. However, that doesn't mean that eating meat doesn't have any dangers to it. Of course, you can damage your health by eating whatever. Setting specific amounts of certain nutrients as a one-size-fits-all solution doesn't make sense and is the worse way of doing it. A petite woman who is sedentary and weighs less than 60 kg has significantly different energy demands and macronutrient needs as The Mountain from Game of Thrones... Every food can be bad in excess and the most important aspect of it is the quality of what you eat. If it's highly inflammatory food, even something seemingly innocent, such as bread, canned beans or whatever, will still make you sick.

@Natasha Yes, it's definitely very good. The idea isn't to feeling obligated to eat one meal a day. Instead, it's about incorporating intermittent fasting into your daily schedule in some shape or form for the health benefits. @jjer94 Some of it's water but you're probably not eating enough calories. It's indeed very easy to undereat on keto because of the satiety effect. However, I'm currently building lean muscle with it very easily. You just eat more

Haha, Leo didn't know the Wim Hof Method.

@nahtanoj What kind of an eating window do you follow? I myself am doing IF and Keto as well. I've been eating only one meal a day for about 8 months now and I've never felt or performed better. The two are like a match made in heaven because they put you into an optimal physiological state. In fact, doing intermittent fasting on a ketogenic diet is the best and healthiest way of doing it because they are physiologically almost identical. Fasting for prolonged periods of time puts you into ketosis and eating a ketogenic diet mimics a fasted state. Combining them together allows your body to function extremely effectively by using its own stored fuel. I have energy all day every day no matter the time or place and I almost never get hungry. I've also had experiments where I fasted for 100 hours (4,5 days), went to the gym and did heavy back squats of 265 pounds for reps and muscle ups. Zero muscle catabolism, signs of hypoglycemia or exhaustion. I'm just so well fat adapted that it doesn't matter whether or not I've eaten. I've written several blog posts about the logic and science behind it, so you can read them here: Combining Intermittent Fasting and Ketosis My 100 Hour Fast Experiment Can You Eat One Meal a Day On Keto Thanks!

@Phrae You have to simply immerse yourself into the activity and go past the 4 hour mark without noticing it. If you reach hour 5, then you will go lie: Hey, I've been concentrating successfully for the past hour, without getting sidetracked. Maybe I can indeed focus a lot longer than that. To do this, you can simply time yourself to start working more intensely at 3,5 hours or something. Then you're priming yourself to enter flow. What you also need to do is have a shift in mindset. Do read Arnold Schwarzenegger's book because it's pure gold and shows you what it really means to work hard. And he's just a bodybuilder? Far from it, the man is also a movie star, a businessman, a politician and a philantropist. He's like one of the most actualized people out there in mainstream media. He did bodybuilding only until his 30's or so (don't quote me on that), while the other half of his life he's been changing the world for the better. If you can't be inspired by that and learn from him, then I don't know what will. Only getting hit with the cold harsh fist of reality would show you that it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

@Marc Schinkel Yes, there's definitely more to the Wim Hof method than meets the eye. He not only uses his breathing techniques to gain greater control over his autonomic nervous system while being exposed to the cold but also does a lot of visualization exercises. For instance, while running barefoot on ice, he would visualize the soles of his feet being soft and warm. And then there's the Tummo breathing technique practiced by Tibetan monks. They would put wet towels on their body while meditating in their mountain caves and make the freezing water evaporate by creating inner fire within themselves. That's also accompanied by intense visualization and concentration exercises. Our subconscious mind is a powerful thing and the power of BELIEF can quite literally change our response to physical stimuli.

I think everyone can see how addicted to coffee most people are. It's not that the beverage itself is bad, quite the opposite. If drank the right way it can be an amazing performance enhancing stimulant that improves your health as well. The problem is that the majority drink it randomly as they like it and thus become dependent of it. I've made a video on how to optimize your caffeine intake and drink coffee like a strategic motherfu*#er.

One of the biggest contributing factors to aging is cognitive decline. Another reason why you would want to keep your brain healthy, but the other self-explanatory benefits on overall intelligence and thinking are also quite profound. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to restructure its neural connections in response to changes in the environment and novel stimuli. It's an essential component to learning, creating new habits and increasing your cognition. Check out my video on how to make your brain more plastic: Stay Plastic, Stay Empowered! Siim

@Marc Schinkel Hey, that's awesome. I would love to have my own cyrochamber At the moment, I have to settle with swimming in the sea and because of that I can't do it that often. Concerning your question, I would think it's a mixture of both. With the breathing you can achieve greater autonomic control over the body and increase thermoregulation, and because of that you can expose yourself to more colder temperatures, leading to adaptation. Definitely let us know of your experiment. I'm going to make a video about polar plunging in the future as well.