Bodybuilding & StrengthLifestyle

23 Health Tweaks I Have Made Since 2014

The path from stoppable to unstoppable is not a matter of life defining changes. It’s really all about skillfully implemented tweaks you make here and there along your journey. Nowhere is this more applicable than in the world of health and fitness.

Many have looked to me as an expert since I started Strength By Sonny in 2014, but even then my knowledge doesn’t compare to what I know today.

I have learned a ton and this knowledge has encouraged me to make the following adjustments over the last 3+ years.

1. Drink More Water.

This was a rookie mistake I was making for the longest time. Back in the fall of 2014, one of my roommates told me straight up that I don’t drink enough water. “Bro most people are dehydrated because they don’t drink enough water. They need to be drinking a gallon a day. You’re a big motherfucker who’s big into fitness. You need to be drinking close to 2!”

He was right. From that moment on, I’ve carried a water jug around with me every single day. In a way, that was a critical moment in my life.

2. Drink Aquafina Water.

health tweaks

Changing the water I drink is one of many recent health “tweaks” I have made.

Speaking of water, water fluoridation is the primary means by which the secret elite are waging war on both men and women. So I did a little research and compared all the readily available bottled water.

It turns out Poland Spring contains the highest concentration of fluoride. Of course it does, that’s the water I’ve been drinking my entire life.

Aquafina, on the other hand, contains the lowest concentration of fluoride.

Water fluoridation poses many serious health risks so much so that 97% of Europe has banned the practice of fluoridating the water.

Some of the more serious side effects include:

  • weakens skeletal muscle
  • causes arthritis
  • toxic to the thyroid
  • calcifies the Pineal Gland (destroys consciousness and ability to use “Third Eye”)
  • harmful to fertility (destroys sperm cells)
  • damages cardiovascular system
  • negative cognitive effects

If you’re interested in learning more about the harmful side effects of water fluoridation, do yourself a favor and read the following sources:

Unfortunately, most of the water supplies in the United States contain fluoridated water so it would be very difficult to completely escape it.

The next best thing (most practical) you can do is drink the “safest” water from your local grocery store.

Here is a complete list of brands that contain little to no fluoride in their bottled water: The Hearty Soul

3. Cut Out Alcohol.

I used to drink a lot in college. I also drank in Austin and Las Vegas. At this point in my life, I’m more focused on maintaining what I have and aging gracefully because I’m all about life enhancement.

Sure, I lay it down once in a blue moon but my days of pounding them down every weekend are long gone.

Read this article on why you should avoid alcohol.

4. Use natural, fluoride-free toothpaste.

Fluoride Free Toothpaste is a health tweak you’ll be glad you made.

As evident with my water selection, I try to live my life as fluoride free as possible. The toiletries that are readily available in your local supermarket make this a bit challenging because once again they are laced with toxic fluoride.

Isn’t that amazing? It’s almost as if the secret elite are forcing your to consume products that are laced with fluoride, soy, harmful metals, and other toxic substances. It’s almost as if they want to make you an unconscious, chronically-ill zombie.

Look around and you will see every toothpaste advertised as the greatest toothpaste in the world.

“Fight cavities with extra-fluoride!”

“Extra-fluoride to help those teeth shine extra white!”

The ironic thing is that my teeth are whiter than ever since I switched to natural, fluoride-free toothpaste. Funny how that works.

These are the 2 brands I use:

Tom’s of Maine Antiplaque and Whitening Fluoride Free Toothpaste

Himalaya (2Pack) Toothpaste Neem and Pomegranate Fluoride-Free

5. Coconut Oil/Coco butter lotion.

health tweaks

Since March 2016, I have applied cocoa butter around the eye area every night before bed.

Las Vegas left me with bags, wrinkles, and crow’s feet around the eye area. Since March 2016, I have made it my nightly habit to apply cocoa butter or coconut body butter around my eye area every single night.

This is a big help long-term in the aging process (in addition to healthy lifestyle).

Here are the 2 products that I use:

Now Cocoa Butter

Trader Joe’s Coconut Body Butter

6. Cook with coconut oil.

Coconut oil is the healthy alternative to use while cooking. Butter is not a healthy option and many people make the mistake of cooking with olive oil but that turns rancid when it is heated.

There are many benefits to cooking with coconut oil, some of which include:

  • healthy source of fatty acids
  • helps reduce inflammation
  • improves memory and brain function
  • improves digestion
  • helps with weight loss

Here’s the one I’ve been using: Trader Joe’s Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

7. Nootropics.

I have used nootropics since March 2016 and haven’t looked back. They have helped me out tremendously from both a cognitive and emotional standpoint. Like drinking more water, my life has been on the upswing ever since I started using nootropics.

These are my go-to drugs of choice:

Jarrow Formula’s NAC

Jarrow Formula’s Vinpocetine

8. Vitamin D.

Lack of Vitamin D is one of the contributing factors to why so many people are chronically depressed. Think about it. Why do people who live in cold, places up North always seem to be depressed? It’s because they don’t get enough sunlight.

Dr. Brett Osborne himself personally told me to take 10,000 I.U. of Vitamin D per day so that’s what I do.

Here’s the brand I use: Kirkland Vitamin D

9. Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil.

Most of the fish oil you see for sale is junk. It’s not strong enough because it’s usually watered down.

This is the strongest stuff on the market. It’s pharmaceutical grade fish oil.

You can’t even get this stuff on shelves. You actually have to go to the pharmacy at your local Publix and ask the pharmacist for it.

Or you can simply order it here: Ocean Blue Professional Professional Omega-3

10. Glucosamine Knee Cream.

Heavy squatting has taken it’s toll on my knees. Every once in a while I will apply this cream to my knees before bed for a nice soothing sensation. It’s also a great form of preventative care that I strongly recommend for anyone who cares about joint health.

11. Tommie Copper Knee Sleeves.

I just started wearing these recently and no joke my knees feel like they were back when I was 18.

I wear these while I sleep.

12. Ice Bath every Sunday.

I take an ice bath every Sunday night. It toughens me the fuck up and helps reduce inflammation. Suck it up and do it pussy!

13. A little bit of cinnamon.

health tweaks

Cinnamon improves insulin sensitivity.

Recently (as in during my current dieting phase), I started adding cinnamon to my protein shakes and morning eggs. The purpose of doing this is to improve insulin sensitivity thereby aiding the fat loss process.

Read more about the health benefits of cinnamon. 

14. Pre/Post-workout carbs.

Everyone seems to be confused about when it’s okay to eat carbs. I keep it short and simple.

If you want to maintain lean body mass and lose weight, keep the carbs “centered” around your workout.

Thus, the majority of my carbs are consumed before and after my workouts.

15. Significantly reduce volume.

My days of fighting for my life in the gym are over because after nearly 11 years, I am at peace with letting my foot off the gas.

I don’t have to kill myself with volume anymore. Today, it’s all about elite level muscle contractions.

16. Machines.

This offseason was one of the more interesting ones because I had a number in mind that I said was my stopping point. I took off a lot of time at the end of 2016 and I told myself once I hit 240, I would stop there.

I started off 2017 at 216 lbs. and projected that I would hit 240 by the beginning of April.

It turns out I blew up so fast that I ended up hitting 240 (241) by early February so I switched over to machines.

The results have been quite interesting as this is the best I have ever looked or felt. In fact, because of the gym I train in, I’ve come to favor machines over free weights for a lot of body parts.

17. No technology in the bedroom.

This was the first rule I set for myself when I moved into my new place.

There is no technology in the bedroom.

It keeps my focused on resting and helps me dream big.

18. Better sleep.

This relates to my ban on technology in the bedroom. Quite frankly, I used to take sleep for granted.

I would be glued to the bright light of my smartphone screen mindlessly browsing irrelevance and texting dumb whores.

The sounds and sights of Sin City would peer through my curtains.

Now I live in the forest secluded from artificial sights and sounds.

Tonight, I will fall asleep in complete darkness to the sweet sound of rain hitting leaves.

19. Cleanliness.

Cleanliness is a health tweak with big time implications

Watch any old Strength By Sonny video and pay attention to the background. What do you see?

You see chaos. You see open draws and supplement bottles scattered across my dresser.

It was a joke at the time but I was nothing compared to who today (and who I will be tomorrow).

Today, I seek order because INFRASTRUCTURE is the key to building a bright future.

The answer is always INFRASTRUCTURE.

20. Daily stretching and movement.

Can you get taller naturally? Absolutely. You can also improve your emotional state and general confidence about your place in the world.

The war of compression is a silent war that is waged on all modern-day men. Luckily, it is a war that can be won through daily stretching and movement.

Here is the routine that men across the globe are doing every day when they wake up.

21. Say no to shampoo.

That same roommate who enlightened me about my lack of water intake also told me to stop using shampoo in my hair every single day.

“Bro, all those chemicals are terrible for you hair.”

Sure enough he was right. One day I looked in the mirror and the top of my head was showing signs of thinning.

Since then, I stopped using shampoo. After about 2 months, my hair was thicker and shinier than ever before. Imagine that!

22. Natural, Aluminum-free deodorant.

Most deodorants you see in the store contain aluminum (and other harmful metals). The big problem with this is that your body does not metabolize (break down) these trace amounts of metals over time.

Instead, they build up over time which has been shown to lead to various health problems, including cancer.

You can learn more about the health risks associated with most deodorants here.

For now, make the tweak by switching over to a natural, aluminum-free deodorant.

Here’s the one I use: Tom’s Natural Deodorant (Clean Confidence)

23. I now live in my ideal environment.

This is where the world’s greatest book will be written.

It took some bouncing around but last year I came back full circle. I lived in Hill Country. Then I lived in the desert.

Now I’m back to “just right” in the forest.

It is here where my mind, body, and spirit are in full alignment.

It is here where the world’s greatest book will be written.

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22 Comments

  1. May 30, 2017 at 3:00 pm — Reply

    Thanks for tip on the glucosamine cream , already purchased 2 tubes from your link to Amazon. Hey and the achol thing I’m starting to notice vids and articles on how it attracts negative forces as well . In the way the arabs pronounce it in their language ,the word ghoul is in the aribic world for alcohol . The website ” waking times ” has a pretty cool article about the root word and the spiritually damaging effects of alcohol, worth looking into sonny . Thanks for this post get that book out already!

    • May 31, 2017 at 6:26 pm — Reply

      Oh yeah. There’s a reason why alcohol is sometimes called “spirits.”

  2. Chris D.
    May 31, 2017 at 7:32 pm — Reply

    Careful with Vit. D. It is possible to overdose. I would recommend getting D3 levels checked. There’s a sweet spot involved with that “vitamin.” No less than 50 ng/mL but no more than high 90s.

    • June 1, 2017 at 6:14 pm — Reply

      Cool thanks.

  3. June 1, 2017 at 11:40 am — Reply

    Ice baths + Cold Showers are amazing after a workout!

    I’ll be picking up the knee cream and sleeves whenever I get a chance.

    I always knew about the chemicals in shampoo, I wonder what Sonny uses to clean hair? I just use some bar soap and some conditioner. I had no idea about the deodorant thing.

    • June 1, 2017 at 6:15 pm — Reply

      Yea. It’s a weird brand. I’ll post about it eventually.

  4. June 2, 2017 at 5:00 am — Reply

    […] Strength By Sonny’s “23 Health Tweaks I Have Made Since 2014” […]

  5. Ajay
    June 5, 2017 at 1:53 am — Reply

    Very nice article.

    What do you use for your hair then, any suggestions. Also there is no trader joes around my town, any other stores I can look for coconut butter, I will get it soon.

    And where do I get this Himalaya and Tom’s tooth paste if I don’t want to go through amazon.

    • June 17, 2017 at 3:11 pm — Reply

      You can get the toothpaste at Whole Foods

  6. Satish
    June 13, 2017 at 9:40 pm — Reply

    Bought the cocoa butter from amazon and started using it. How long do you keep it usually, the whole night?

    Also, nootropics. Is this recommended for everybody. Can you elaborate more on this to make the decision if it’s right for me.

    • June 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm — Reply

      Yup all night then wash off in morning.

      No. Do your research and make your own decision.

  7. Jason
    June 19, 2017 at 12:13 pm — Reply

    Hey Sonny,

    Been reading your articles for quite some time and like I’ve commented before — they are awesome!! Seriously great stuff.

    I had a question regarding T optimization- I’ve read your thoughts on testosterone and totally agree in addition to reading Jays TRT book in addition to doing tons of my own research. Spoke with a urologist who may get me on Test and HCG – the only thing is he said that fertility might be affected ( the HcG is supposed to mitigate that but not 100%). Do you have any thoughts on the matter – I have low T after being checked a few times. Thanks!

    • August 2, 2017 at 1:57 pm — Reply

      The media definitely overplays how much it impacts fertility. They make it seem like if you use it you will be permanently infertile. Definitely not the case.

  8. Hashem Amer
    June 24, 2017 at 3:51 am — Reply

    Hey Sonny,

    What do you use for hair instead of shampoo? Water only seems to make one’s hair very oily.

    • August 2, 2017 at 1:57 pm — Reply

      I’ll have a post on this.

  9. Anthony Sarkis
    June 25, 2017 at 5:02 pm — Reply

    Regarding 4), what do you think of this comment from Reddit?:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/47i4df/eli5_the_whole_flouride_debacle/

    “To put it briefly, it’s not a very conclusive study. Can fluoride be harmful? Yes, if you consume a whole lot of it. Guess what else can be harmful if you consume too much of it? Pretty much everything.

    How much is ‘too much’ is always the question when it comes to pharmacology and toxicity. As the saying goes, ‘the difference between a poison and a cure is dose.’ Botulism is a toxin, yet people have no issue injecting it into their skin as a cosmetic treatment. Iron is an essential nutrient in the human diet, but iron overdose is a common occurrence in pediatric ER’s.

    So what exactly is the issues with the study?
    Well for starters, pretty much all of the data comes from China and other developing countries – places with naturally high-occurring levels of fluoride in the water. Some of which was up to 10x the amount used in developed country’s fluoridation process, and up to three times what the EPA considers as unsafe. I also wouldn’t put too much confidence in the water quality of the countries used in the study. Not to say that these studies were looking at people drinking dirt-water, but the study authors even state that some of the villages they looked at had a history of lead exposure in their water.

    Hrmm…lead in drinking water? There’s no way that could be causing problems.
    Secondly, the IQ measurements show fractional decreases – small enough that they’re actually within the margin of error of the test they used. The authors readily admit to this problem in the paper’s discussion, but most people don’t seem to get that far. Nonetheless, the decreases they measured they cannot be certain isn’t an artefact of the measuring tool itself.

    In other words, this study is not the smoking gun that anti-fluoride folks would like you to believe. It doesn’t establish any causality despite what your HuffPo blogger suggests – all it suggests is there may be a link between high fluoride exposure and neurological development. The results of this study, while certainly interesting, are not conclusive on their own and require far more study, even in the authors’ own words:
    Future research should formally evaluate dose–response relations based on individual-level measures of exposure over time, including more precise prenatal exposure assessment and more extensive standardized measures of neurobehavioral performance, in addition to improving assessment and control of potential confounders.

    The only thing you can really take home from this study is that drinking untreated ground water in Chinese villages which might contain extremely high levels of fluoride with chance of a lead chaser could be potentially harmful to a developing child.”

    • August 2, 2017 at 1:59 pm — Reply

      I quote several studies in OTAT on this. They did a study in the US while over 39,000 children subjects. Results indicate that not only does fluoride provide zero medical/dental benefits. It also damages teeth/hormonal development.

  10. […] and this guy. Although they are PO$es, they also come up with posts that give good advice, like this one and this one, which is particularly interesting as at least the author is self aware of being a […]

  11. Logan
    July 20, 2017 at 12:26 pm — Reply

    Hey Sonny,
    What do you do to clean your hair without shampoo? I’m 18 years old and thinning and already have a receeding hairline.
    Thank you

    • August 2, 2017 at 2:03 pm — Reply

      That’s genetics man. Nothing you can do about it other than watch what you eat.

  12. alan
    July 30, 2017 at 2:09 pm — Reply

    Hey mate have you ever looked into lucid dreaming and astral projection? If you have I’d like to hear your thoughts on this since you talk about decalcifying your pineal gland.

    • August 2, 2017 at 2:07 pm — Reply

      Not really. Though I have heard of it.

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