Tag Archives: lifestyle

diet, fitness, health, life

Vacation [Body] Weight

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Ya know, if I’m on vacation, I’m going to live it up. We all should. Whatever we do that messes up an otherwise disciplined life, its really ok. We can fix it later.

Its kind of weird for me. I follow mostly a Warrior/Paleo/Flexible dieting kind of life. Don’t think it sounds dictatorial or anything. Its the easiest way for me to live. I’m really not at all hungry in the morning, which is greatly assisted by my love for coffee. By lunch-time, my mind is working on all cylinders and I’m in a flow. If I took a break, it would disrupt that robotic state of gettin things done! I stop the coffee and start drinking water after Noon. That keeps my belly full and detoxes the coffee. Admittedly, I get slightly hangry by 4 or 5pm, but that’s quite alright. I’ve been in ketosis all day up to that point, burning fat for energy. And when I finally eat, my stomach has shrunken to the point that it doesn’t take much to feel satiated. Then I may eat a snack before bed, like a yogurt or something.

Its easy for me to get back on track once I’m in my normal routine. Once my body gets rid of all that junk I ate, the weight falls off again. I feel light and very good about myself. And in the Summer, it is even easier since I can go for a couple runs in the heat and I’m quickly back down to weight. That’s what I’m working on now.

Its all good!

bodybuilding, crossfit, fitness, health, yoga

Workout Update: My plan is working!

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I told someone the other day, as you get older, you always have something going wrong with your body. One day its a shoulder, the next its a knee. You just never know. But I know some young folks who are the same way, so its not exclusive to aging.

Today, I have zero issues. I am so happy for that. Yeah, maybe I’m not admitting to a lingering thing here or there, but nothing comes to mind as far as injuries.

I attribute much to my current lifestyle. I am working out intuitively and “playing” a lot more. Here is what a common workout looks like for me:

CARDIO
I often start (sometimes finish) my workout with a Heartbreaker WOD (workout of the day). For me, its always 21-15-9 repetitions of a couplet or triplet. They usually have a bodyweight movement or cardio aspect included. Here is a list of common exercises:

Strictly cardio: run, row, ski-erg (all for calories)
Bodyweight stuff: box jump, jumprope double unders, burpees, pullups, pushups, situps
Other ideas: med ball slams, wall balls, thrusters, Romanian deadlifts

Example: 21 calorie ski-erg, 21 kettlebell swings, 15 ski, 15 swings, 9 ski, 9 swings

OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING
I listened to a podcast the other day and it rocked my world. Instead of following the common template of snatch work then clean & jerk work in the same day, you split the movements alternating every day (or session). So every other day I do one or the other type of movement. Here are some examples:

Snatch day: snatch (singles, doubles, …), pauses, hangs, presses, pulls, angel drops, Sots press, snatch balance, snatch from blocks, overhead squat, muscle snatch,…

Clean & Jerk day: c&j (1x, 2x, 3x,…), pauses, hangs, jerks, complexes, blocks,…

This has helped me spend more time on a movement and lets me do other things too.

ACCESSORY
This could include a CrossFit WOD. Or it could be a CrossFit skill to work on, like muscle ups, handstand pushups, pistols, etc… I may do Strongman, like yoke squats, farmer carries, or Atlas stone shoulders. Or it could be straight up BodyBuilding, which is becoming a favorite. The interesting thing about Bodybuilding is that it is done strictly with quality. It is opening up tightness and weakness that my other work doesn’t cover. And lastly, I may do powerlifting. I bench press at least once a week. Trap bar deadlifts is a staple of mine and I do this nearly daily. And squats are central to Olympic lifting.

PLAYING
Its good to live life outside of work and “working-out”. One of the central points in CrossFit is to play sports. It is what makes all the hard work functional. I often Hula Hoop as a warmup or just for fun. Belly hooping gets the heart going and makes you move in ways that opens your body. But also playing and dancing with the hoop in many ways is fun. I have a Pole, so I do some pole work often, which is fun and adds lots of strength and flexibility to the routine. Stand-up Paddle Boarding, running, biking, kayaking, slack-lining, yoga aerial swings and silks, and many other activities. And actually working outside, like trimming trees, mowing the lawn, building something, all uses muscles in different ways. And of course, I play yoga all the time. I teach yoga, I participate in online challenges, and I take as many classes that I can. It is central to all that I do. Self care with self massage or getting massages from a professional rounds it all out.

Be healthy and find what works for you. Maybe you don’t devote an hour or two every day, but maybe its 15 minutes of something that makes you feel good. Take the time to enjoy life.

bodybuilding, fitness, health, yoga

Yoga is for Men too!

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eagles-yoga

Actually (and somewhat unfortunately), yoga started its first several thousand years as men only. But once it came to the Western world with ground-breaking pioneers like Indra Devi, the first Woman of Yoga, it slowly became more female dominated in the U.S. The Father of Modern Yoga, Krishnamacharya, accepted Indra as a student and she spread the goodness to China, Hollywood USA, Mexico, and Argentina. But her promotion of yoga was out-shadowed in large part by colleagues like Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, and T.K.V. Desikachar. If you read most texts like the Bhagavad Gita and other foundational yoga literature, it was a very male dominated arena. The last Century has seen major leaps and bounds with yoga, but mostly for women.

So, last night, I walk in to the studio and write down a few props on the sign-in sheet and I see 3 male names. Then, another man walks in for my class. I was like “hmmm, maybe I’ll have an all-male class for the first time ever.” The only other times I’ve had male dominated classes was when I offered karma yoga to the University of Illinois Army ROTC cadets and other Veterans programs. I would say that 100% of the time, I have mostly or all ladies in my classes.

In CrossFit, “mobility” reigns king in classes. And you see it in football and other athletics, but it doesn’t usually go by the name of “yoga.” The ideas of stretching and meditation go back 5,000 years with yoga, but somehow that moniker is frowned upon in certain circles. Maybe there is a male ego thing that prevents them from calling it something that is so female dominated in America. Images of designer leggings and brightly colored yoga mats don’t fit the jock mindset. Hopefully, those mental obstacles will change and we’ll find more acceptance in those communities. We find that history repeats itself over and over with these kinds of things.

When I first started running 5K and 10K races in the middle 1970’s, there weren’t many women runners. When a woman passed a man in a race, they say that you were “chicked”. It wasn’t super widely accepted to see women in races. You may recall images of the Boston Marathon where Roberta Gibb was denied acceptance to run in 1966 and was pulled from the course when she tried to jump in. It was a cultural thing that people (men) didn’t think women could run that far. Times have changed and we’ve even seen women like Pam Reed become the overall winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2002, which is a 135 mile race across Death Valley in the middle of the Summer. But now, men struggle for the same acceptance in a woman’s world. Being completely confident in my manhood, I even ventured into other areas as well. I went to a pole dancing class a few weeks ago and was happily accepted among the 20 or so ladies that were in attendance. Nobody even looked twice at me. So I know how it feels to be in the minority.

Physically, men have more testosterone, on average weigh more, have bigger bone structures, and therefore more connective tissue and muscles. So it goes without saying that we need yoga so badly in our lives. I listen to many podcasts and read articles focusing on CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman sports where mobility is continually discussed. It aids muscle lengthening, recovery, and performance. But this need hasn’t translated to yoga as much as I’d like. It is that alpha male mentality that gets in the way. But the few men I’ve seen wander into studios, the attitude shift toward openness to try new things has been a bonus for their quality of life. And it never hurts to be around such beautiful people.

Try it, you’ll like it. Maybe you’ll even love it!

bodybuilding, diet, fitness, health, life

Makes Friends With Fat

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skin-treatment-with-coconut-oil

What are fats?
Fats fall into a group of macromolecules in the lipid family. They include fats, oils, and various other long chain carbon molecules.

Are people afraid of fat in their diet?
Why yes! This is because they don’t understand fat metabolism. They see people who are obese and celebrities talk about dangers of fat. The truth is that fat isn’t converted into fat when digested. Most of the fat we can’t use passes through our system. Fat bellies associated with obesity is caused from eating sugar. Excess sugars are stored as fat in our bodies. Eat a pound of sugar a day and you’ll definitely get fat. Eat a pound of fat and you’ll sit on the potty more.

What do fats do for us?
Look up charts for membranes. Membranes are phospholipid layers that make up our skin, nails, hair, and every cell and organ of our bodies. You need fat to make skin healthy, and I’m not just talking about rubbing it on your bodies. Fat also makes needed sterols, like testosterone, progesterone, growth hormones, and other important functional molecules. These sterols play a huge role in immunity.

What kind of fats do we need?
We would like to focus on Omega-3 fats that come from fish, tree nuts, and other useful sources. However, there are essential Omega-6 fats that are important too. What we’d like to reduce are the Omega-6’s from corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, and canola oil. Nearly every processed food has these sources in it when you read the labels. And guess what, margarine is the worst form of fat that was ever man-created. Pigs won’t even eat it. What we do want to increase in our diets are coconut oil, nut seed oils, and fish oil. Overall, I wouldn’t fear oils. And if you still think fat is evil, pick the lesser of two evils. Pick sugars to get rid of from your life. They are the main culprit that leads to type-2 diabetes, glycemic maladies, obesity, fatty liver disease, and a whole host of other problems. And yes, starches (pastries, potatoes, pasta,…) break down into sugars.

What is ketosis?
When your body doesn’t have enough glucose in the blood, it shifts to burning fats instead. Unless you are a competitive bodybuilder or endurance athlete with less than 8% bodyfat, believe me, you always have enough fat to live off of for many days. Every time you eat sugar, your insulin spikes and makes you feel like you need more. This leads to the feeling of hunger. Conversely, when you eat fat, it stimulates glucagon providing glucose to the bloodstream by burning fat in adipose tissue. It also triggers satiety hormones that give the feeling of satiation, or fullness. For most healthy people, or even obese people, ketosis can be used in positive ways to burn fat for energy.

How do I make fat a daily reality for me?
When you wake up, your insulin is at its lowest. The last thing you want to do is eat sugars or starches that kick it into gear again. That includes cereal, milk, bagels, donuts, pastries, Pop Tarts, and all that other fun stuff to eat. What I do is grab a cup of coffee or two for a little boost of energy. Since fats and oils are nutrient dense, you don’t need a lot. So I put a teaspoon of coconut oil in my coffee. This provides long-term energy, satisfies hunger hormones, and allows you to be productive (make my lips moist too, hehe!). Any time you need a little energy, eat a little fat. If you can afford walnuts, pecans, or other tree nuts, it provides very healthy fats. Eat some cashews or peanuts in a bind (these aren’t Paleo and have some issues). Non-sugared, natural peanut butter or nut butter works too. Since I’m cheap and I acknowledge a risk/benefit reward, I often eat peanuts. Beware of flaxseed oil since it doesn’t have a long shelf life and goes rancid quickly. If it isn’t fresh off the plant, it may already be useless to you. Eat plenty of fat with meals. I use bacon fat to season most of my cooking. It makes everything taste wonderful. And eat a good helping of fish every week provided you are mindful of biological magnification from heavy metals and such. A late night treat like peanut butter on apples is amazing! Apples rank high on the satiation index so it curbs hunger. The fat in the peanut butter will keep you happy all night long!

Caution: The conspiracy theorist in me says to be wary of government agencies like the FDA and USDA. Our government subsidizes grain production and imposes tariffs for imports. For good reason, it wants our grain production to have favor. So it also influences food & drug recommendations, like “have a bran muffin a day”. Many of our dieticians follow FDA guidelines for everything. Remember, there is an ulterior motive in this goal. It is all inter-connected.

Can I use fats & oils for non-dietary purposes?
Absolutely. My massage therapists use a coconut oil blend with essential oils that is amazing! I can’t say enough for essential oils. That is a whole other topic you need to study. Oils of cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, … have so many health benefits. We have a diffuser running in our house whenever we are home. It is great for alternative, holistic medicine that gets you away from drug use. Its a natural drug!! You know oil and water don’t mix. But guess what? Oils and oils do pretty well together. Rubbing oils onto lipid membranes of skin, hair, nails, etc… can give marvelous results.

Want to have glowing skin, a strong immune system, and to become less fat! Eat FAT!

bodybuilding, diet, fitness

Swimming Upstream with Diets

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bears fishing

Podcasts often make me go introspective to my daily habits. The topic du jour was diets. So here goes. (quick read? — scroll down for tips)

My body type is a mesomorph. Since I was young, I could eat whatever I wanted and still have a six-pack. I was super active and weight was never a problem. However, this also means I never learned how to eat. My grandpa lived to be 89 years old, yet he smoked, drank, and ate very poorly. When we had chili at his house, it came wrapped in butcher paper like a brick of fat. It melted in the pan as you cooked it. A slab of Colby cheese and a sleeve of crackers often accompanied it. And I loved it. I thought I had genes like his, so I could get away with eating poorly.

I think for most of us, our 30’s is when your metabolism starts to go into conservation mode. I was a Senior Army Drill Sergeant at 32 years old when I started to fall back in a run. What the heck? I was a runner and a pretty good one at that. I gained 10 pounds and it wasn’t coming off. Even when I became an ultramarathoner in my 40’s, I pretty much maintained weight and didn’t lose much. But the key that was missing was diet. I still ate like a horse.

Fast forward to years later. My ultramarathon days were starting to come to an end. I began doing CrossFit and made lots of changes in my life. But I didn’t change my diet. Not long before, my wife had her gall bladder removed. So I suppose I was next. After my diagnosis, the doctors were ready to schedule an appointment with the surgeon. I’m like “wait a minute, let’s think about this first”. I mean, I’m a scientist myself. There has to be a better way. I started doing some research and found that gall bladder disease is mostly a side effect of gluttony. It can be connected with a host of other issues from diabetes to gout to liver disease. My research led to a gastroenterologist back in the 1950’s who put together a diet with many names. It was the Diabetes Diet, Alzheimer’s Diet, Parkinson’s Diet, … In effect, they were all autoimmune diseases where autoregulation is halted. Come to find out, it is also the basis for the Paleo Diet.

So despite my mantra of “exercise all you can so you can eat what you want”, I needed to change. I went cold turkey and jumped on the Paleo bandwagon. We stripped the cupboards bare of all processed food, especially flour, pasta, and other starches. The same with sugars. Within two weeks, I was free of the painful heart-attack like symptoms that I suffered from my gall bladder. My blood lipids were completely back to normal and I was losing weight and bodyfat. It was amazing what it did for my life.

Since those days, I’ve moderated my views and overlapped other concepts into my life. I am still mostly Paleo since I pay for it when I go back to the Dark Side. I used to be the bonehead at the party who was vocal about what I “wasn’t” eating and would preach all the facts about the bad foods that were there. I’m more sociable now. I’ll graze on fun foods knowing that I’ll eat clean 98% of the time. During the work week, I’m essentially a Warrior Diet advocate. Here are some ideas that I abide by:

  • Breakfast consists of coffee with a half-teaspoon of creatine and a tablespoon of coconut oil which provides energy and muscle cell hypertrophy. I’m not very hungry anyway in the morning because of what I eat before bed.
  • I skip lunch but may snack on a protein bar, a spoonful of peanut butter, or maybe a protein shake to keep my energy, prevent muscle catabolism, and maintain low insulin levels for fat burning.
  • I usually do Olympic lifting in the morning, yoga over lunch, and a CrossFit WOD with bodybuilding after work. Then I eat dinner.
  • Dinner is the largest meal of the day. Caveman drag food home to cook and eat! I get my daily dose of calories at this time. Although, I’m usually not starving because I haven’t faced insulin spikes from what the FDA and others would recommend with small meals throughout the day. It is balanced with lots of protein, fat, and veggies.
  • Currently, my pre-bedtime ritual is to take Progenex Cocoon. It has amino acids like tryptophan to help you sleep. It also has other proteins that aids muscle building and recovery. I take creatine with this too. Your highest levels of testosterone and other growth hormones occur as you sleep. Your cortisol levels drop and serotonin increases. So you do some fat burning as well as opposed to fat storage. Your fat is being used to make new cells and aid in hormone building (which are made of fats).

So far so good. I still enjoy a few cheats along the way. I’m not perfect. If I get really hungry or if I know I am teaching an intense yoga class or hot yoga, I’ll eat lunch or a snack hours before. I still stick to a mostly Warrior/Paleo styled diet and it seems to work for me. The bonus of not planning breakfast or lunch is I never worry about what I’m going to eat. And I can really enjoy a savory dinner and a nice sleep at night. I also got to keep my gall bladder.