JCC 2017 Fitness Goals

I was, for some short time, hanging out with this woman, until one night when her coke fell out of her purse.

Pepsi would have been more appealing in that situation.

 

I'm guessing that wasn't the kind of Coke you buy from a machine or drink from a can? Yeah, that's not appealing at all.

 

Getting ready for the half marathon at Disney World in Apr. My endurance went to hell from the 3.5 month walking challenge I won at the office so I've got some work to do. Then again I'm just running for fun this time. My running partner is a first timer who will be going slow and I'll stick with him.

 

Walking again to and from the job to my train home (over a mile). Still monitoring my head, so I will eventually get back to the videos but I know the neck rolls are out.
Working on getting the mind in that utterly awesome place it was for almost two months. A process but one that will become habit.

 

Congrats!

 

I finally recovered enough from surgery to start walking. We have a lot of snow, so I've been spending ~20 minutes walking through deep snow. It was pretty challenging the first 2 days, but it was easier today. My problem is I feel horrible after...very weak and tired. I've realized my diet is probably to blame. I eat pretty healthy (all organic, real food). Getting enough protein & fat is super challenging, since I have crazy allergies. Eggs, butter and fish are what I'm left with.

Are there any good online resources for figuring out how to improve your diet? I know working with a nutritionist might be helpful, but finding good healthcare is virtually impossible here. And I still can't drive because of my stupid hand. Its just a partial ligament tear, so no surgery. And PT may or may not help.

 

Jedi_Jade_Skywalker my go-to is Precision Nutrition. It's run by John Berardi & Krista Scott-Dixon, both PhDs (John in biochemistry, not sure about Krista) and contains only solid, evidence-based advice and information. I may be slightly biased because I did my coaching cert with them but I honestly think they're the best in the business.

One to one coaching with PN is ridiculously expensive but there's a huge amount of free information on their website. There's a free 'get started' kit for women here: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/stop-dieting-starter-kit and their website is packed full of articles and info - there's one here on food sensitivities & allergies for example: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-food-sensitivities. They also maintain an encyclopaedia of food here: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/encyclopedia/ which can be useful.

 

According to the Under Armour My Fitness Pal app, I've lost 20 lbs since January. I think that's slightly off due to inconsistent scales (I just bought a new scale to help correct this issue). But the combination of altering my diet a bit and replacing running with the new workout routine seems to be yielding results. My upper body is certainly more toned than before, as is my lower body.

I still have out-of-place love handles though. Can't seem to get rid of them. Even when I was running all the time, everything was thinning down except for those. My trainer suggested that maybe it's just one of those things related to how everyone is somewhat unique and a blanket nutrition and workout guideline might not really address that. He's suggested paying closer attention to my sugar intake but that my normal diet patterns are already pretty health-conscious.


Anyway, on Saturday morning I tried running outdoors again for the first time in a month. It felt great to be back out there. But then I was back to being numb and in mild pain for the remainder of the day. Odd, seeing as how my leg felt fine before the run. Maybe running is just a big no-no for me now.

 

Ezio Skywalker when you're lean except for one area of the body, it's normally down to a hormonal problem. In the case of love handles on otherwise lean people, it's generally due to some degree of insulin resistance.

Excessive carb consumption or use of simple carbs (sugars) is normally blamed, but insulin resistance can also be caused by chronic stress, sleep deprivation or use of stimulants (including excessive caffeine and/or nicotine)

I would try adding more protein and making sure you eat protein with every meal, including snacks; making sure you get a minimum of 7 hours sleep and work on stress reduction - massage, hot bath, gentle walk... whatever works for you.

edit:- as well as the obvious 'don't eat sugary ****, drink soda (even diet/zero calorie - still very insulinogenic) and minimise refined carb consumption'

 

You might be on to something. My trainer actually suggested that I was taking in too much protein per meal, though.

But with regards to the other stuff, as I posted in the 1st World Problems thread, the mix of single-parenting, pre-med classes, and work have definitely resulted in less sleep, more stress, and more caffeine in my daily life.

In fact, because I have a rather daunting test on the muscle system tomorrow and today is essentially my only full day to study, I'll be pounding coffee probably until the wee hours of the morning, until I have to regroup and get the kids ready for the next day.

 

Unless you have kidney disease, there's no reason to cut protein. Ever. Seriously. As with fresh vegetables, hardly anyone gets enough in their diet.

Yep, sounds like a stress-sleep-caffeine combo is to blame.

 

added (for moderator) My goals -- Arnie and Lou
Arnie and Lou circa 1970's


Lou looks amazing!

 

Oh Ok sure -- I want to look like these guys

I'm starting with some dumbells.

 

That's quite an ambition!

If you're serious, my advice would be to spend two years building a foundation of strength (and technique) in the big barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, power clean). I would start with Mark Rippetoe's 'Starting Strength' until it stops working (can be anywhere from 3 months to a year) and then move on to either Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 or the Cube method.

Once you've built that base of strength & technique, I'd spend the next 3 years putting on mass. This is going to mean going through periods of disgusting amounts of volume and horrible sets of high rep squats while eating so much it makes you feel ill. Punctuating these bulking phases you'll need to 'cut' to regain insulin sensitivity and allow your joints, connective tissues and muscles to recover from the punishment. These periods will require some serious willpower when it comes to dietary restraint.

After this 5 year preparation period, you'll have enough muscle mass to work with. Now it's time to find yourself a specialist bodybuilding coach (someone who's been on stage and had some success). They can help you shape your physique and generally prepare for competition (if you want to compete).

Have to say I don't really understand the whole painting-oneself-orange-and-posing-in-speedos thing (I stick to strength sports and keep my bodyweight in the 90-105kg range) but I have huge respect for those that do it. It's not easy to build that kind of mass and it's even tougher to be lean at that size.

 

Well, he didn't necessarily say to cut protein. He said that I was consuming too much protein per meal; more than a body could effectively process in a single meal, so the excess protein was being wasted. He advised to space out my protein intake during the day, not reduce my daily intake.

 

I've been treating myself to a cheat snack for the past few days, either popcorn or roasted and salted cashews with whipped cream and Nutella (idk why, but it's delicious).

I'm growing concerned that maybe the sweet snacks will become commonplace. It's been a while since I've allowed myself to enjoy sweets, as they used to be my Achilles heel in the past. My avoidance of them has, I think, probably helped with my increased fitness.

 

Ezio, Nutella is about 45% sugar. When you eat sugar, insulin spikes; when you eat sugar with fats (whipped cream, cashews) insulin spikes even higher* and you end up with the combination of insulin telling your body to store everything in your blood plus fatty acids floating around to be stored.

Given that you're lean but have 'love handles', there's a good chance that you're insulin-resistant.

Given your lifestyle, that insulin resistance is probably caused in large part by lack of sleep, chronic stress and caffeine intake.

All of these factors will elevate stress hormones, which will make your body want to return to homeostasis. Insulin helps dampen the stress response, so stress, lack of sleep, high caffeine intake are all leading you to crave foods like nutella+cream+cashews that will give a huge insulin response.

Unfortunately, this will only worsen the insulin resistance and lead to greater fat accumulation around the midsection.

Basically, you're spending your life in 'fight or flight' and not taking time to 'rest and digest'. Being constantly flooded with stress hormones and never really allowing your body time to rebuild, repair and regenerate is a bit like driving your car really hard - accelerating harshly, braking abruptly, taking corners too fast and generally ragging it - while also never checking oil, coolant, tyre pressure and never sending the car for a service. The car will develop minor faults to begin with and - if things don't change - sooner or later the car will need to go into the garage for a week and you'll be faced with a huge bill.

* fats on their own don't spike insulin much, but they increase insulin a fair bit when eaten together with carbs; all down to hormones & neurotransmitters.

 

I finally replaced my bike and started riding to work this week. Certainly noticing a difference in energy levels in the morning.

Of course my contract runs out this week and I'll lose access to my locker and shower.

 

That sucks! Can't you find a way to sneak into the showers?

Just remembered why I came here to post in the first place... my prep plan for competition. It's messy as hell - should really do the weight gain long before but I can't be ***** to cut down to 90kg so I'm doing some fairly mental stuff.

Week 1 (this week): insane fast to become as insulin-sensitive as possible for the bulk (200g protein, 5g carbs, 30g fat per day). 4 days in and it's horrible... I can smell ketones on my breath, can't concentrate and I'm thinking about food all the time. Even dreaming about food at night.

Weeks 2-7: bulking plan to get me up to 105kg/230lbs for the strongman comp (main priority)

Week 8: deload and water manipulation to drop under 100kg in prep for powerlifting comp

Powerlifting comp - 23rd April (just need to hit a qualifying total for nationals, should be easy despite ridiculous prep prioritising strongman comp)

Week 9: deload after comp - start working on technique for events in strongman comp
Weeks 10-12: strength training 3x week and event training 1x week in prep for the comp
Week 13: deload, make sure I'm under 105kg for weigh in

Strongman comp - 29th May

It's a crazy plan - should really focus on one thing or the other - but it's going to be a fun few months

 

So basically I need to cut down on coffee and stress and sleep more?

So I need a vacation.

 

Yep.

Supplementing with an adaptogen like Rhodiola Rosea might help a little bit but, yeah, I think if you address stress & sleep you'll see a big improvement.