It’s the beginning of a new year and the last month of a
yearlong experiment in building a better me. I gained weight, I gained
strength, I gained mobility, I gained experience, I gained endurance. Most
importantly, I gained in my pursuit of looking normal, in fact a bit better
than normal; I gained on the Last 10
Pounds.
Strictly Dieting is a
Bad, Bad Choice……………..
And the story goes……..….one of the wives who has your basic
apple shape, had recently lost a substantial amount of weight. She was on one
of those doctor endorsed per-packaged high protein deals. I think this one is
called Ideal Protein. The program entails
the obligatory 4 stages; protein only then slowly introduce fats then slowly introduce
carbs and finally, a healthy eating coach. The one in our area is sponsored by Trios
Health (a local hospital, a for profit heath care corporation). In fact my personal
pill pusher pushes this program. The problem, there is NO exercise regime, just
the diet. And it is quite expensive; on the order of $500 or so a week.
Yes, the woman lost a substantial amount of weight through
the program but she looks terrible, still holds that apple shaped, just more
exaggerated (extended waist line) way, way outside what would be considered
normal. And you can definitely see she lost most of her weight in her
extremities. In fact I would speculate she has lost greater than 25% muscle
mass in her extremities, there was definitely no substantial fat loss. The
weight she lost was in her thighs, her buttock, her arms. She does not look
comfortable in her own skin. She looks……..…..unhealthy. She
looks……...…malnourished.
And yet when we started talking New Year’s goals and
resolutions, she piped up…..…to lose the weight she had gained back. WOW!!!! And
a second wife piped in…..…me too, me too. My wife just sat there and smiled, I
was proud of her, she understands the consequences.
If you are middle aged and overweigh or should I say…….overfat
(most of the world’s population is in this boat) it is better NOT to go on
these extreme diets, it is better to be outside of normal and maintain what
lean mass you have. Losing muscle, losing lean mass is not the answer, it
is…………….unhealthy. It is a form of………..malnutrition.
Bottom line………..Wen
Doing the Diet, Training is Fundamental……...you need to prioritize this,
you need to make it part of your lifestyle.
I am ashamed to say, I said nothing to these women, I just
smiled and nodded my head politely. And the reason; I would have gotten that
ever so irritating response, the one that nauseates me……………I don’t have time to exercise.
More on Injury…………
Last month I had mentioned a couple of niggly injuries that
were limiting my workout routines; a bit of left hip and right shoulder
distress. I had also mentioned that I thought there were specific exercises
causing the problems. This was indeed a correct assumption.
For the hip, I moved from the morning recumbent bike to a
mini whole body routine and guess what? Hip pain and knee issues dissolved.
Who’d a thunk……….recumbent bike and hip, knee issues. WOW!!! I would have
thought that morning squats right after a run would aggravate the problem,
instead it ended up as a miracle cure. Double WOW!!!
For the shoulder, I started using a double overhand grip on
my dead lifts and guess what? Shoulder pain kinda’ dissolved. Another miracle
cure. WOW!!! The only impact here is a loss in the one rep max department. I
went for some 300 pound deads during my ‘rest week’ (LOL) and my grip failed on
the second rep. I guess I need to work on grip; break out the ‘Vice Grips’.
Double LOL!!!
CO2 and You……………….
After reading several more articles on carbohydrates, blood
CO2 vs. elevated atmospheric CO2, I have decided to monitor in house CO2 more
closely and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) web site http://www.airnow.gov. Even though the EPA
does not report CO2 levels, the weather conditions that cause poor air quality
(particulate, ozone) are the same as those that trap CO2. The weekend of
January 9th was a good example, air quality index from the EPA was in
the yellow (running 50 to 60 on the EPA Air Quality Index) and in house CO2 levels
at 800 ppm plus. On Sunday morning conditions degraded to the point that I woke
up with a headache; a stuffy, claustrophobic, sinusy, pissy-ass headache. I am
glad I didn’t have a scheduled run that day. By Sunday afternoon, a high
pressure area moved through, headache cleared, felt tremendously better and by Monday
morning’s scheduled run, all was well. I am so amazed at the difference, who’d
a thunk CO2 levels could be so noticeable, so unpleasant to your daily wellbeing.
The next time we get into a weather system that looks like it will lock in CO2,
the night before no carbs, no alcohol and perform deep breathing exercises
before bed. I am also thinking about the use of a neti pot to help clear my
sinuses on those stuffy days, especially at night before bed, if CO2 is high, I
need all of my breathing capacity to ensure proper sleep metabolism.
And here’s a thought…………….last month I made a comment about reducing
the carbohydrate load on patients that suffered from COPD. By reducing dietary
carbohydrates, they reduced the CO2 loading in their blood and could breathe
easier even with a restricted gas exchange in the lungs. They compensate at the
tissue level for poor respiratory performance. Now I see there is an interest
in bodybuilding/fat loss circles (the 6 pack junkies) in what is called carb ‘back
loading’; eat your junk foods in the evening, ‘after’ your pm workout. Why you
ask? You generally have a more active metabolism in the evening………..tied to circadian
rhythms; maybe. If you ask me, there is no magic here. At the end of the day,
CO2 levels are naturally lower…….….due to sunshine and photosynthesis. The plants
and trees and algae’s have lowered CO2 levels, allowing you to breathe more efficiently,
allowing you to blow off excess CO2 generated by the ingested carbs. And in the
morning, after 12 hours of darkness, CO2 is high so your carb loading should be
low. So in the winter months, shorter days, cycle off carbs, be like a bear and
depend on your fat stores; high CO2, low carbs. In the summer with longer days
and lower atmospheric CO2; binge on carbs, your metabolism is engaged and at
its most efficient. Wow; daily and seasonal strategic eating, what a concept.
Now if we could force CO2 below the norm, below what we
would see on a summers eave, but only……….a 365 day basis, oh the pounds of fat we
would shed.
More on
Supplements……….
If you have been training or working out on a regular basis,
several times a week…….not just walking or simple group sessions but intense,
hard breathing, sometimes brutal, sweaty sessions……..then you know about
constipation. If your diet is loaded with protein and carbs are taking a back
seat, you know about constipation. Between the dehydration and the low carb
diets, specifically low fiber diets, you may, you will experience constipation.
And at age 60, it is an unpleasant experience. So way back last summer, I
introduced myself to fiber supplements, psyllium supplements to be exact. And
yes, these supplements work, they will provide relief. I was amazed at the
results, better than all of vegetables, fruit and nuts I could stuff down my
gullet. Initially, I was taking just one teaspoon a day. Now I’m up to two
teaspoons, at lunch and before bed. The reason I upped the antae; I want to see
if this supplement also helps with the high cholesterol. I may just make myself
some psyllium biscuits, easier to transport.
If you remember my blog entry a few months back, from my
pill pusher visit in October; my blood work (lab results) were pretty dismal.
The only thing I had managed to accomplish was to keep my blood sugar under
control. The cholesterol was pretty stratospheric; 240 and the LDL, HDL values
were upside down. The doctor did re-prescribe statins, 10 mg this time, not the
40’s from the time before Asia. So my plan; take half of the 10’s every other
day (2.5 mg/day), take 200 mg niacin three times a day and 1 tbs psyllium at
least twice a day. Hopefully this will bring total cholesterol closer to 200
and correct the LDL, HDL ratios. As far as total cholesterol, I don’t wish to
drop it to low; e.g. 180 per the American Heart Association. Why? I have a gut feeling
it affects hormone levels……...your Big-T levels………those masculine feelings……… I
have been pursuing over the last 2 years. And once I start working the Power
Macro, I will need all of the anabolic hormones my body can produce. I don’t
need a drug in my system that blocks the production of the basic hormonal
building block; cholesterol. There has to be a happy medium.
I’m also playing around with my fish oil (omega-3) dosage.
I’m shooting for 2 grams of omega-3’s instead of the 1 gram daily I usually
take. I’ll also spread this throughout the day. The reason, I want to see if
the stuff really helps with joint and tendon issues. Maybe reduce some of the
tightness, some of the soreness and improve flexibility.
Just a heads up, once we get back to the Power Macro, we’ll
also be supplementing with Creatine, BCAA’s and maybe give L-Arginine a shot
again.
In the end my supplement schedule should look like;
|
Calcium, Mag, Zinc (1000/400/25 mg)
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Fish Oil, Omega-3 (2000 mg)
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Multi (One A Day Men)
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Kelp, Iodine (600 mcg Iodine)
|
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B6 (100 mg)
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Vitamin C (1000mg)
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B3 (600 mg)
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Psyllium (2 tsp)
|
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Creatine (5 g)
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BCAA (6 g) (pre and post workouts)
|
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L-Arginine (4 g) (Maybe)
|
|
The Nicotine
Thing……………
Yes nicotine again, it is a great nootropic. It is great for
zoning in and completing a project. You’re not going to multitask here, not
like a caffeine buzz. This time we’re not talking about the patch, just the
lozenges, the 2 mg lozenges. Recently, on a tight schedule to finish a project
that ended up as a test procedure for a customer, 100 pages of technical procedure
from scratch, I used my secret weapon to stay focused, to stay the course. And
it was successful.
In one of my earlier blog entries, Cheating Death Another Year, I had also described what backing off
of BCAA’s was like. I had been up to 12 mg’s per day, 6 pre and 6 post workout,
and then just suddenly stopped. It was a trigger for moodiness and…….….the
cause for a general disinterest in daily activities, a real bummer. If I
remember correctly, BCAA’s affect serotonin metabolism. BCAA’s effect your perception
of fatigue. What I’m getting at is stacking BCAA’s with nicotine. I think there
may be synergy there. A mood booster plus focus; WOW!!! If there is a
connection, I’ll describe it here…………………….
Macros, Back to Power……….
So starting in February, I will shift back into the Power
Macro, back to three days per week upper and lower split routines, the Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. For the main show
exercises I plan on the Big Triples; SQUAT, Squat, pullups and BENCH, Bench,
row. That’s HEAVY, Light and opposite, e.g. drop sets. These have worked well
in the past and I think they will benefit me this round also. After the main show, we’ll add bicep work (every
time I’m in the gym), lower back and hamstring work, calf work, shoulder work,
serratus work and new for me; specific glute work. The glute work will focus on
Hip Bridge type exercises with a big squeeze at the fully contracted position;
yes we’re talking bootie exercise here. I’d like to see if I could add some dimension
to the butt (lol). If that’s my genetic profile, let’s take advantage of it.
For Cardio, we’ll be back to 2 days out of five for running
and we’ll stick with the segmented runs (5 on, 1 off) and cycle the pace. And
on the off days, I think I’ll go for the Mini Routines I had been working
through during the Sculpting Macro. These mini routines are light sets of
bench, squat, row and press. May bump the sets up to four instead of the two I
am now completing. Maybe go for sprint lifting sessions, e.g. fast reps.
There are no scheduled rest weeks during the Power Macro. The
actual schedule will look something like;
|
|
Week 1
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Week 2
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||
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|
am
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pm
|
am
|
pm
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Monday
|
Run
|
Upper
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Mini
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Lower
|
|
Tuesday
|
Run
|
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Mini
|
|
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Wednesday
|
Mini
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Lower
|
Run
|
Upper
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|
Thursday
|
Mimi
|
|
Run
|
|
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Friday
|
Run
|
Upper
|
Mini
|
Lower
|
|
Saturday
|
Run
|
|
Mini
|
|
|
Sunday
|
|
|
|
|
Summary………………
As you get older, it really gets hard to manage………normal. However, it can be accomplished,
you just need to prioritize the need and with a bit of knowledge and experience………….overfat
can be controlled, overfat can be managed.
Eat right and exercise, a better you is in the making. Doing
one without the other may create more problems, pushing the goal of…….normal…….further
out of reach. That Last 10 Pounds will
be the hardest thing you ever worked for.
MMJennings
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