Episode Description: Sir David Attenborough just turned 100! Arielle and Karissa cover his 10-minute secret to a long life along with seven other solutions this week — belugas who prove that their species is capable of recognizing themselves, hemp plastic that survives boiling water, and an ocean sanctuary that might make fishermen richer by protecting the fish they can’t catch. If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all original music by Marvin Lanes Transcript: Karissa:  Hello everyone I’m Karissa. Arielle:  And I’m Arielle. Karissa:  And welcome back to the Optimist Daily’s Weekly Roundup. Arielle:  Yeah. How are you doing, Karissa? It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve been together to do the roundup. Karissa:  Yeah I’m doing fine over here. Summer is in full swing; It was just Memorial Day week for the United States so we had a shorter amount of solutions this week. Arielle:  Hmm, just eight solutions, but they’re really good ones. Everyone’s just in a summery holiday mood. Karissa:  Yeah and you were kinda on a holiday yourself. Arielle:  Yeah, a cheeky workcation.  It was my first time in Greece and, um, it, the sea was a little bit too cold for me to go swimming consistently, but it was really nice just to look up from my laptop and see beautiful scenery around me, the wild dramatic ocean. Speaking of swimming, we did have a guest interview last week with Carol Burrell of Swim Sista Swim, along with an instructor from the program and also a participant talking about what access to waterways means for their community because they’re all Black women, and historically swimming hasn’t been as accessible to the Black community. It was fascinating to do and such a joy to talk to these women about their experiences. And Swim Sista Swim has expanded to include men, uh, except it’s called Mandem Swim. Um, and they, they launched that initiative this month as well. Karissa:  Yeah that was a fantastic interview. But we’re really happy to be back with Solutions today I’ve missed doing this roundup with you Arielle. You can always get these solutions straight to your inbox in our free daily newsletter And we also have a weekly option now too that just sends a digest of the 10 new solutions we publish every week. Arielle:  On Fridays. Karissa:  Yes. You can always follow us on socials where we’re posting all of our new solutions as well So Instagram or Facebook or even Threads we’re there. Arielle:  You can find us @optimistdaily on everything except for X. There we are @odetooptimism. So yeah, slide into our DMs if you have any comments, questions, or feedback, or you can just say hi to us there. You can also email us at podcast@optimistdaily.com. Karissa:  Yeah And we’re also very open to shout-outs from our Emissaries. If you recall our Emissaries have the perk of being able to shout out someone or something that makes them optimistic whether that’s a person organization that’s doing great things… Arielle:  Their pet! Karissa:  Yeah! Arielle:  It could be anyone! Karissa:  Anyone, anything we wanna give you a shout-out. Thank you to our Emissaries for financially supporting The Optimist Daily and if you’d like to learn how to become one the link to that is in our show notes. Arielle:  Mm-hmm. But if you’re just here listening to the podcast, rating us, subscribing, sharing the podcast or the publication itself to your friends and family, then we definitely appreciate you as well. We are a community of like-minded people who believe that solutions and positive thinking and optimism can really make a difference in this world. So thank you so much for being here. Karissa:  Yeah, Well, speaking of positive thinking and solutions… Arielle:  Mm-hmm. Yes, let’s get into the eight solutions that we had this week. Karissa:  The first solution of the week was “The case for making prison phone calls free: new data, real results.” So, for decades a phone call home from prison could cost a family several dollars a minute. But a new report just tracked what happened when states and jails made those calls free. Arielle:  What really struck me is that incarcerated people and their families, because of this change, are saving more than $622 million. And most of those savings went to Black and Brown families who are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated population, and that is a lot of money. I, I really did not… I just didn’t realize that, the correctional facilities themselves actually earn money from these calls. So that just rubs me a little bit the wrong way. Karissa:  Yeah. Arielle:  You know, it’s, this is… It shouldn’t, shouldn’t be a business. The, the point, I think, of the punishment is for people to, uh, want to change their ways. And yeah, not having access to being able to connect with your family outside of prison would cause people to be more irritated, maybe anxious… Karissa:  Mm-hmm Arielle:  …annoyed with each other. So actually, what they found because of this change, was reduced tension, and there was improved safety, both for staff and the incarcerated people. So obviously, everyone’s happier. It’s very simple. People just wanna talk to their loved ones. Karissa:  Having that support is very important. Only 15 of incarcerated people in the United States now have access to free calls so there’s a lot more work here to be done. Arielle:  Mm-hmm. Hopefully other correctional facilities can, uh, find some inspiration here. Karissa:  So the next solution is a little bit… well very different from this one. It says “It’s cruise season! Here’s how to enjoy it without getting sick.” A 2026 study found that only one in 20 cruise ship passengers maintain proper hand hygiene throughout a cruise trip. So this article goes into some tips of what to do before you board and while you’re on the water to prevent getting sick. Arielle:  One of the tips that I really liked was to build in a recovery day. Karissa:  Mm-hmm Arielle:  So, when you get back from your cruise, just have a couple days to rest and don’t jump straight back into work. And I think that’s a, it’s a good tip for any trip. It doesn’t have to be a cruise. It could be a flight somewhere or a road trip. Giving yourself time to recover um, I think it’s, it’ll be really helpful. I’m gonna add that to my holiday checklist. Karissa:  I think in this world we’re so focused on productivity and you know jumping right back into work when we return or whatever we have to do So that’s a great point Arielle. You may have heard that Sir David Attenborough just turned 100 and when people ask what his secret is his answer is surprisingly specific on how he made it to this age and his secret takes exactly 10 minutes. His practice is to sit somewhere in nature which makes sense. He’s a big nature guy of course. Stay still and quiet and wait for 10 minutes without impatience and he says something fascinating almost always reveals itself. I thought this was a very cool and just yeah simple tip. And he described this on the podcast Call of the Wild with host Cel Spellman as his go-to practice for mental wellbeing. Arielle:  I really love this advice from Sir David Attenborough. I’m a huge fan of his. But it, it’s also very much in line with so many studies and so many other articles that we’ve written about in the past showing that higher wellbeing is linked to a longer life, and higher wellbeing is also brought on by more awe in your life and exposure to nature. Karissa:  Yeah great tip from Sir David Attenborough and happy late 100th birthday to you. Arielle:  What an accomplishment. Oh, and also his, um, his guided meditation I think is available on BBC Sounds if anybody wanted to check it out and listen to David Attenborough’s lovely, calming, soothing voice. Karissa:  Yes exactly. The final solution I have to lead today is “Two drug molecules achieve myelin repair in MS disease models.” Every drug candidate ever tested for myelin repair in multiple sclerosis has failed. Every single one. But researchers at the University of Helsinki just reported two that didn’t which is a major breakthrough. The strangest part is that they work through completely different mechanisms and produce strikingly similar results. MS affects around three million people worldwide and the highest rates are in Northern Europe and Canada My aunt actually suffers from this disease so I was you know very excited to see that there was a breakthrough on this. If you don’t know much about the MS disease it’s where the immune system attacks myelin which is the protective sheath around nerve fibers. And it disrupts signaling in the brain and spinal cord. The current treatments for this suppress the immune response to this. They slow the progression but none of them actually repair the damage that’s already occurred from the protective sheath being disturbed. And remyelination is the brain’s natural repair mechanism for damaged myelin and it becomes increasingly impaired in MS especially in progressive forms where immune suppression does little. So I’m not gonna go too deeply into the science behind it So if you want the actual scientific details on this then check it out on The Optimist Daily. But it is important to note that in the current stage it’s only been tested on animal and cell models only It hasn’t been used yet in human trials so that’s still something to await. But as Tapani Koppinen at the University of Helsinki says, “The goal is to enable the molecules we developed to reach clinical trials which could one day produce the first drugs that enhance remyelination in MS.” So I think that is optimistic news that there is potentially a way forward in this disease. Arielle:  Yeah, definitely optimistic. I also like that there’s two different mechanisms that have really positive outcomes, uh, or potentially positive outcomes once they go into human trials, because it suggests that the problem has more than one point of intervention. There’s more than one solution. Even though there are many problems, there are many Many angles that we can tackle each problem with. Speaking of a very, prolific problem in our day and age, the next solution has to do with plastic. The title is “Researchers built a hemp plastic that rivals PET.” So that’s the type of plastic that’s in your water bottle, in your food packaging, and in your electronics. It’s made from fossil fuels, breaks into microplastics, and carries chemicals linked to hormone disruption. Researchers have been trying to replace it for years, but most bio-based alternatives just can’t handle heat. But this one in particular, the one made of hemp, can withstand boiling temperatures, which is… That’s pretty impressive. Researchers from the University of Connecticut and Purdue University built a polycarbonate from CBD, which is the main compound in hemp flowers. The material stretches to 1,600% of its original size, which I can’t even really conceptualize in my head. Um, it stays hard and dry when submerged in boiling water. And yeah, there’s just very few, if any, plastics made from natural resources that have this quality. Of course, the applications for such a plastic would be transparent films, food packaging, flexible electronics, and anything that you just use regular plastic for, uh, but it’s made out of hemp, which is obviously a lot better for our environment. It grows across climates, it uses minimal water and pesticides, it rotates well with corn and soybeans. And as cultivation expands for other uses, CBD supply will rise and costs for it will fall. So this is a win-win-win solution. The next solution also has to do with the environment, but at a slightly different angle. This article is titled “Belugas join the short list of animals who know they’re looking at themselves.” Karissa:  It’s so cute! Arielle:  I know, I love, well, I love all animal, like wildlife stories, but this one really gets you thinking because there’s a short list of animals who, when placed in front of a mirror, eventually figure out that they’re looking at themselves. Great apes, bottlenose dolphins, Asian elephants, a magpie, and a small reef fish that upended assumptions about brain size. Now we can add belugas to that list. The footage is from 2001, which was over two decades ago, and it took until now to be published. So the article goes into why that is, but I just wanted to point out this one really funny thing that I found in the article, which is that one of the, uh, belugas that, was involved in the observation and in the study, would perform what researchers named a pec shimmy, which is like rearing up and flapping her pectoral fins at the mirror. Both whales also blew bubbles and then bit them, which is something that they didn’t do unless they were in front of this, mirror that was reflecting their own bodies back at them. Um, playing around with their reflections, which I think is really, endearing, but also a huge scientific, breakthrough.  Karissa:  Yeah, exactly, and I mean, understanding animals more and the intelligence behind them is always so important. And, you know, behind animal cognition research, it’s been dismantling the idea that human intelligence is categorically different for decades. So just another entry into this ongoing revision. Arielle:  All right, the seventh article is called “The protein stacking strategy that works on any meal or snack.” Getting enough protein every day is harder than it sounds, especially if you’re relying on dinner to do all that work. Dietitians say the smarter move is to layer protein throughout your day, 10 grams at a time, and this article list- lists 10 foods that make that very doable. Um, the ones that stood out to me in this list of foods was pepitas, which are pumpkin seeds.  Karissa:  Yummy! Arielle:  I didn’t know that they had so much protein in them. and then also shelled frozen edamame. I just love that as a snack anyway, so it’s nice to know that I’m, I’m building up my protein intake naturally just through my cravings. Karissa:  Yeah, exactly. Yeah, there are a lot on here that I eat a lot of just ’cause I love them. Like, I love a hard-boiled egg or some Greek yogurt or even some cheddar cheese as a little snack. So, um, yeah, lots of good suggestions on here. Arielle, do you have a specific protein goal you try to hit each day, or do you just eat what you do? Arielle:  I don’t, I just don’t– I’m not very good at, like, tracking what I eat. Um, and I don’t really… Yeah, I’ve never been very restrictive or paid too much attention, but I think that’s gonna change because I really want to get into weight training a little bit more, Karissa:  Mm-hmm. Arielle:  Because, well, first of all, it’s, um, it’s good for my longevity, Karissa:  Yeah! Arielle:  …and my overall health, but also I have to get knee surgery. Um, I don’t… Karissa:  Ooh. Arielle:  …think I’ve told you that, Karissa Karissa:  Yeah, that’s news to me! Arielle:  I, uh, have to get knee surgery and I really want to build up some strength in my legs… Karissa:  Yeah Arielle:  …before I get into that because the recovery period is a few months long and once I’m, I’m done recovering, I wanna bounce back faster and better and easier than if I didn’t do any weight training. You know what I mean, so…  Karissa:  Yeah Arielle:  …I’ll be paying more attention to protein as I train, and I’ll definitely be referencing this article. Karissa:  Yeah exactly. Arielle:  All right, and the last solution that we have this week is titled “How shark tracking data shaped Papua New Guinea’s ocean sanctuary.” Papau- New Guinea just announced the largest no fishing zone in Melanesia, nearly the size of the United Kingdom. It’s a very strict no-take zone, no fishing, no extraction of any kind, and it sits within the Coral Triangle. That’s the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. Papua New Guinea has over 700 reef fish species and 300 hard coral species in its waters. What I really liked about this article is that it has counterintuitive economics. So the zone covers 6.7% of Papua New Guinea’s industrial fishing and 10% of its tuna fishing, yet scientists predict that it will actually boost the surrounding fishery Through spillover, that’s when a protected area fills with so much life that fish overflow into adjacent fishing grounds. Research across Pacific and Indian Ocean MPAs shows tuna catch rates increase 12 to 18% near MPA boundaries.  Karissa:  Yeah I just think this is very fascinating research and it it sounds like very counterintuitive of course. Arielle:  Um, yeah, when I said MPAs earlier, by the way, I meant marine protected areas. Karissa:  Yeah Arielle:  And, I think to your point, Karissa, there, there’s this idea that conservation is always going to go against economic interests. Karissa:  Right.  Arielle:  You can’t…- you can’t farm here. You can’t deforest here for your, whatever products you’re making. You can’t mine,” and that means people are going to be losing money. But this is an example of acting in nature’s interests and that actually ending up giving us more economic opportunities because then there will be more fish, more abundance for all the fishermen around. I just think that this is the type of story that we need to be talking about more often so that we can stop pitting human interests against nature’s interests. It’s actually all in our best interest to take care of the Earth’s biodiversity. Karissa:  Exactly. Arielle:  All right, well, that brings us to the end of our solutions this week. A little bit of a shorter episode just ’cause there’s only eight instead of 10, but don’t worry, next week we’re going to be back with the full 10 solutions in the roundup. Karissa:  And in the meantime we’ll leave you with a positive quote that we featured this week on The Optimist Daily’s newsletter and it says, “We are like islands in the sea separate on the surface but connected on the deep.” And that is from William James.  Arielle:  Well, with that, we wish you a wonderful, restful weekend, and Karissa and I will be back next week with more solutions. Karissa:  Yeah. Bye everyone! Arielle:  Bye!The post Podcast Transcript May 29, 2026— David Attenborough’s 100-year secret and seven other solutions this week! first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

The way in which we speak can give clues to our personalities faster than one might think. According to some communication experts, it only takes 0.2 seconds to determine the confidence level of another person, based merely on their voice. That translates to one fifth of a second! Author and communications professor Vanessa Van Edwards (@vvanedwards ) has shared an Instagram Reel wherein she gives a quick rundown of the theory. Her spin is taking the idea and teaching people how to “sound confident” in just 200 milliseconds. She equates confidence with “leadership” skills and gives a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to embrace it. View this post on Instagram “Peaks in brain activity” Van Edwards begins the clip with a chyron that reads “How to sound confident in 200 milliseconds.” Over her voice she writes, “The Neuroscience: Research shows that event-related potentials…distinct peaks in brain activity…spike in the brain about 200 milliseconds after hearing a voice, spiking much higher when the speech is perceived as confident.” She explains, “One of the mistakes that leaders use when they sense nervousness is that they begin to question. Research has found that someone decides how confident we are within 200 milliseconds of hearing someone speak. I always make sure that my first ten words, I say them in the lowest natural tone that I have, without a question inflection. We don’t like leaders who question.” There are examples. “Question inflection sounds like this. I’m so happy to be HERE?” The uptick on “here” is obvious to make her point. She adds, “My name is Vanessa? Excited to be back?” Stating your mission Instead, she explains, leaders should sound like they have authority over their words. “We want our leaders to ‘tell us.’ We want our leaders to be confident in what they say. And so as a leader, you need to make sure you’re not asking your name. You’re not asking your opening line. You’re not asking your statements. You are not asking your mission. You are STATING. And that is very contagious.” The research Van Edwards is perhaps referring to is a study published in 2015 by Xiaoming Jiang and Marc D. Pell at McGill University titled, “On how the brain decodes vocal cues about speaker confidence.” The way it worked was this: “We recorded listeners’ real-time brain responses while they evaluated statements wherein the speaker’s tone of voice conveyed one of three levels of confidence (confident, close-to-confident, unconfident) or were spoken in a neutral manner.” Do you sound confident? In a 2015 article for New Scientist, managing editor Penny Sarchet further explains how the tests were executed. They discovered their findings by “attaching 64 electrodes to the heads of volunteers and taking electroencephalograms (EEGs) while they listened to recorded statements. The statements – phrases like ‘they don’t drink alcohol’ – were spoken by actors or public speakers aiming to sound confident, nearly confident, unconfident or neutral. A different group of volunteers confirmed the confidence level of the recorded statements before the test subjects listened to them.” She helps sum up the findings. “So what makes us sound confident, or not? It’s hard to say. Jiang and Pell’s analyses revealed that confident voices were pretty similar acoustically to nearly-confident voices, but somehow prompted a different pattern of activity in listeners’ brains. Unconfident statements, on the other hand, tended to be higher in pitch and slower than all other expressions, as well as rising in pitch towards the end. Neutral statements were acoustically closer to confident ones, although they were lower in pitch, higher in intensity and spoken more rapidly.” The voice tells us so much Quoting Dr. Phil McAleer, a psychology and neuroscience professor at the University of Glasgow, UK, Sarchet adds, “People are rapidly waking up to the realisation that we obtain strong representations of perceived personality from a speaker’s voice.” The post Communication expert says we decide how ‘confident’ a person is in just 200 milliseconds appeared first on Upworthy.

One of the most talked-about scenes in James Cameron’s epic blockbuster Titanic is undoubtedly when Rose, played by Kate Winslet, survives by clinging to a floating door.  But what many don’t know is that this scene was inspired by a real survivor of the 1912 tragedy.  Recently, Steven Fong took to CBS News to tell the story of his grandfather, Fang Lang, one of only eight Chinese passengers aboard the doomed luxury vessel. Of those eight, six managed to survive, Lang being one of them. He did so by seeking refuge on a door.  The little-known survivor behind Titanic’s iconic door scene Fong recalled that his grandfather never shared much about his journey; much of it remained shrouded in mystery. But a team of researchers, led by historian and author Steven Schwankert, was able to compile bits of his story along with the other surviving Chinese passengers. These findings became the subject of a 2020 documentary called The Six.  In it, Cameron, who also executive produced the documentary, revealed that Lang did, in fact, inspire Rose’s means of survival. There’s also a deleted scene from the movie that shows a Chinese man floating on a door.  History erased by racism Schwankert and his team discovered that when Carpathia, the ship that transported Titanic survivors, landed in New York, all six Chinese men were forced to stay on board overnight due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese people from immigrating to the US. Because of this, the men—Lee Bing, Lang, Chang Chip, Ah Lam, Chung Foo, and Ling Hee —were rerouted to Cuba.  In addition, American press vilified these men, calling them “creatures” who had sprung into the lifeboats “at the first sign of danger” and concealed themselves beneath the seats (which the research team found to be physically impossible, as reported by the BBC) or even crossdressing to get aboard the lifeboats.  Of course, none of this was true. Lang himself would later row on the lifeboat that rescued him and help to ferry everyone on board to safety. Hardly the cunning cowardice portrayed by journalists at the time. But these accusations contrasted well against the “heroism” of their “Anglo-Saxon” counterparts. And of course, propagated anti-Chinese rhetoric.  Imagine surviving a horror wrought by nature, only to be forced to endure more atrocities created by your fellow man.  And yet, their legacy is finally getting the spotlight View this post on Instagram That said, Lang seemed to not only survive this nightmare, but thrive. He eventually found his way back to America, opened a bake shop, and made a family.  Over in New York, his story lives on as the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) gears up to debut a play called Unsinkable, based on their saga, which will premiere in February 2027. Fong is helping facilitate the show by offering more information about his grandfather.  And that process, it seems, has been an adventure all its own.  “It’s such a surreal feeling, you know, being part of, like, this legacy, this big story that everybody knows about. We’re just so humbled by the opportunity to kind of add that to the story,” Fong said. The post How a real Chinese Titanic survivor inspired an iconic scene from the James Cameron film appeared first on Upworthy.

Susan Young Browne turned 108 years old on April 24, 2026. The great-grandmother from Delaware is living a full, active life at an age few will ever see. According to 2020 data from the United States Census Bureau, only two out of 10,000 people in the United States make it to 100 years old. Browne is one centenarian who beat the odds. And remarkably, Browne is still driving herself to her morning workouts at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, Delaware. “When I get up in the morning, I have an exercise routine that I’ve been doing for the last 20 years,” she told CBS News Philadelphia. She also recently renewed her driver’s license through her 115th birthday. “They renewed my driver’s license until 2033,” she told the outlet. Who is Susan Young Browne? Browne was born on April 24, 1918, in Lincoln, Delaware. Her parents, George and Susie Brown, had 12 children. Susan was the couple’s 10th child. Her father was a tenant, and she spent most of her life on a 40-acre farm, according to Delaware State University (DSU). Browne grew up in a segregated education system. “I went to school in a one-room school in Houston, Del., and we lived five miles from the (colored) school,” Susan told DSU. After graduating high school and starting a family with her husband, James Young, she pursued her teaching degree. She attended Delaware State College for Colored Students, which is known today as Delaware State University. “Most of the young ladies were from the country, where we didn’t have any electricity or running water; we didn’t have bathrooms,” she shared about her experience. “We were glad to be (on campus) and to be continuing our education at the Delaware State College for Colored Students High School.” After seven years, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She started working as a teacher in 1945, and helmed a one-room schoolhouse for 30 years. “When I retired and I walked around that classroom for 30 years, I am not going to sit down,” Browne shared. She taught in both white and segregated schools during her career. “I had to adjust the same as the children had to adjust,” she told DSU. “Students accepted you as their teacher. I didn’t have any problem with them.” Browne keeps moving To celebrate her milestone birthday, a huge part was thrown on May 2, 2026. Over 130 people attended the bash, including Delaware Governor Matt Meyer. “I came to learn from you what I need to do to live so long,” he said to Browne. View this post on Instagram A widow, Browne lost her first husband, James Young, in 1988. Her second husband, Clifton Browne, passed in 2011 according to DSU. Today, Browne is looking to stay single. “I guess I’m not great material for men,” she quipped to CBS Philadelphia. “That was enough. I’m not taking care of another man.” For Browne, there is still lots of life left to live and experience. “I grow old gracefully,” she said. The post 108-year-old great-grandmother from Delaware is still driving, and renewed her license through 2033 appeared first on Upworthy.

The moment you decide to step foot into the online men’s fitness space, you’ll be bombarded with messages that you’re not good enough. If you can’t lift a certain amount of weight or see visible abs after a certain amount of time in the gym, you’ll be accused by influencers and gurus of being lazy or not taking the journey seriously enough. Falling short of the standards set by the trendsetters is seen as a colossal failure not only of your discipline and work ethic, but of your manliness. One man is pushing back against unrealistic physique standards Sander Jennings, an influencer in his own right with over 300k followers on Instagram, takes his fitness seriously. He says that he runs, including competitive races like half marathons, lifts weights several times per week, plays sports with friends, and stays active each and every day. He also says he eats a “balanced diet.” And he wants people to know that you can be fit, active, and healthy without looking like an Abercrombie model or professional bodybuilder. In a recent viral Reel, he wrote “This is the body of someone who ran multiple half marathons, lifts 4x a week, plays sports almost every day, and eats a balanced diet.” (In another, similar video he estimates his workload at about five workouts per week for eight straight years, at the time of filming.) He shows himself in a natural pose, slouched in a chair at the beach. No special lighting or angles. He’s fit and strong, but looks, for lack of a better term, normal. View this post on Instagram Jennings elaborated in the caption: “Whether it’s lifting weights, walking or any type of movement, I move my body almost every day. I take care of what I eat and I enjoy my life. I’m strong, consistent, and energized — and I also have body fat. That doesn’t cancel out my health. … I don’t have shredded abs, and that’s okay. Health isn’t about chasing one specific look — it’s about feeling good in your body and showing up for it with love, not punishment. “So if you’ve ever looked in the mirror and felt like you weren’t ‘fit enough’ — I see you. And I promise, your progress is still valid.” It’s not the first time Jennings has posted similar content. He knows it gets a rise out of people, and that’s exactly the point. View this post on Instagram One fitness influencer called Jennings ‘pathetic.’ Jennings had the perfect response. Trainer, influencer with over 100k followers, and track and field athlete Jack Flood took personal exception to one of Jennings’ videos. Flood said that Jennings was likely pandering to “a certain audience,” which was “embarrassing,” and “pathetic.” “If you’re gonna invest that much time, 5 days a week, for 8 years straight, you better get some results from that,” Flood said. But it wasn’t just Flood. Jennings’ posts draw a ton of backlash from commenters as well: “These kinds of posts are for girls bro,” wrote a sports physiologist and consultant. “Do you drink a lot of beer or something?” another person wrote. “Either there is something wrong , or you’re doing something wrong. That’s it,” a commenter added. “You’re better than this bro” said another. Jennings didn’t shy away from the criticism. In a response video, he challenged the pushback head on: “Hey, it’s me, the pathetic and embarrassing guy who has worked out eight straight years and completely wasted his time. You know what, Jack Flood, you’d be right if I wanted to look like you. But guess what, a lot of people work out for different reasons. It’s not all about aesthetics. I work out for my mental health, to be around friends and family, to just stay active and move my body. “We should not be putting people down just because they are not in the 99th percentile of perfect physique or because they don’t… eat perfectly healthy every day. … We all need to continue to be proud of our own progress.” Men’s spaces have a severe lack of body acceptance Whatever term you prefer—body positivity, acceptance, or neutrality—representation of different body types in media has improved quite a bit over time. We’ve come a long way since the hyper-skinny beauty standards of the early 2000s. But it’s difficult to see any of that greater acceptance and empathy when you start actively looking for fitness tips and workout routines. That’s when the judgment comes in, and the response to Jennings’ posts proves how brutal it can be. Jennings is courageous to take all the heat and criticism that he does, because someone has to say it: There’s not one way to do fitness. Not everyone who steps foot in the gym has the desire to have bulging biceps and shredded abs. Those things are often played up on social media with the use of specific camera angles, lighting, filters, editing, and even performance enhancing drugs. It’s apparently mind-boggling to many that a young, fit guy would be OK with having a little fat around his belly; that he’d work out primarily for his mental health, overall health, and longevity instead of to become as lean as possible. But that’s exactly the message that Jennings is trying to spread. Progress looks different for everyone, and that’s OK. The post Man shares his ‘5 workouts per week’ physique. His response to the haters is beautiful. appeared first on Upworthy.