Next time your boss asks for those numbers by 5 pm, your personal trainer tells you to do that extra rep, or your significant other asks why you haven't cleaned the dishes, tell them to ‘f**k off’. After all, you're only trying to improve your performance.
The name Bryan Johnson might not be familiar to all of you, but here at UNILADTech, he's something of a big deal. As a biohacker trying to 'live forever', Johnson claims he's on track to solve human immortality by the year 2039, but before we get there, he's got some work to do.
As well as unlocking the true power of AI to supposedly help us gain immortality, Johnson is trying several weird and wonderful side quests to get there.
These range from the relatively normal but restrictive, like taking a super healthy lunch and making sure you're tucked up in bed by 8:30 PM. The reason he tends to grab headlines is for his more out-there experiments, including measuring his son's erection data and taking a 'heroic dose' of magic mushrooms while livestreaming to his fans.
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Even if you don't want to stump up $333 a month for the basic version of his Blueprint Protocol, you can still take his advice, like staying away from alcohol and drinking your daily dose of coffee at a specific time.
Now, Johnson has updated his guidelines to explain why you might want to start dropping a few curse words in the gym – f**k yeah, just the excuse we've been looking for.
If you're trying to up your gains in the gym, try unleashing a few of those words that would make Baby Jesus cry.
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Posting on X, Johnson explained how he's updated his Blueprint Protocol to include the idea of swearing while exercising. While performing a simple chair push-up, Johnson wrote: "Participants saw a 10% performance improvement by repeating a swear word. It boosted self-confidence and psychological flow and reduced self-censorship and mental breaks."
The research comes from a recent paper that BBC Science Focus reported on. Dr Richard Stephens led the study for Keele University, claiming that swearing can boost physical performance and help you score higher in tests of strength and endurance.
Stephens explained: "In some ways, the research confirms what we know as common sense – that swearing can give us a boost when we need it...The way I express it is to say that swearing is a cheap, readily available, drug-free means of self-help.”
192 participants were asked to lift their body weight from a seated position and maintain it while using only their arms. This was done while either repeating a neutral word or a swear word every two seconds. The results speak for themselves, as while cursing like sailors, those who took part were able to support their weight for longer.
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Participants were also said to experience a higher ‘psychological flow’ (when you are deeply and enjoyably absorbed into an activity) when swearing.
As for why Stephen thinks swearing up a storm makes us stronger, he concluded: "Becoming more disinhibited counters hesitancy, so that we don’t hold back and instead, we go for it."
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This latest work actually picks up research that was conducted in the 1960s, noting that shouting, loud noise, alcohol, and 'other interventions' boosted physical strength by potentially reducing inhibitions.
Well, if it's good enough for Bryan Johnson, is it good enough for you?
Responding to the biohacker, one person said: "'m trying to get as F**KING healthy as I can!"
Not everyone agreed, as another added: "Maybe for low IQ people. Swearing is a sign of a low vocabulary or ability to deeply express what you are actually experiencing."
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A third chuckled: "Contrary to religious opinion, swearing indeed can be good for the soul from time to time."