I Really Despise My Pill Pusher

This year’s visit with my Pill Pusher was very, very discouraging. And the disappointment it’s all about cholesterol, that slimy, sticky substance that transports lipids (fats) around your circulatory system and the insistence that statins will save my life. This year’s blood draw; Total C was 231, LDL was 131 and HDL was 83. Triglycerides came in at 81. The ratios are great, however based on these higher numbers (Total C and LDL), my age plus my Dr.’s insistence that I am a full-fledged diabetic, my risk of a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years is 10 to 12%, therefore statins are necessary. If diabetes is removed from the equation……the risk drops to less than 7%. The question I have; if I am controlling blood sugars in a normal range, e.g. my last A1c was 5.2, am I truly diabetic? Does the fact that statins raise blood sugars, they make your body more insulin resistant, e.g. push you toward being diabetic, in and of itself, increasing your risk of a cardiovascular event, mean anything? Or is it just the medical establishments pat answer….you’re at this threshold, no matter what the reason, so take this drug…..take this statin…..lose whatever gains you made, give up the fight gaining on that Last 10 Pounds.

 

NO! If you work hard to maintain a great physical condition, there is no way in hell that I will accept my Pill Pusher’s recommendation blindly. There are more specific tests that need to be considered before I commit to his opinion and that of the corporate medical community…..there is one test that I am specifically interested in; NMR Lipo Profile. This test looks at the LDL/HDL particle count and particle size. And it also gives you an indication of insulin resistance. These are the flags for heart disease……these are the flags for insulin sensitivity and what your body does with blood sugar…..and how it effects your heart health.

 

So after my last lecture on all of the benefits of satins (there are no negative, right?), I requested further testing from my Pill Pusher. We will see if he will oblige. If not…….find another Pill Pusher? Never give up, always fight for that Last 10 Pounds.

 

The Doctor Really Pissed Me Off…………………

After writing the lead in paragraph for this entry, I went back to my medical records and pulled the following data. It shows two startling facts, blood glucose raises when on statins. And Niacin; there is a useful threshold (500 mg minimum) and it really does impact HDL. As stated before, Fish Oil (omega 3) really, really is beneficial in controlling triglycerides.

	Notes	TC	HDL	LDL	Tri	Glu	HA1c	Weight
2003	Nothing	244	49	163	161	113
2004	40 mg Statin	143	57	56	148		5.6
2005	40 mg Statin	123	67	42	68	97	5.4			Cardio Resistance Splits
2006	20 mg Statin	165	71	78	80	88	5.8
2006	Texas/NM
2007	Texas/NM
2008	20 mg Statin	154	69	64	105	90		200
2009	Nothing	232	65	136	156	98
2010	20 mg Statin + 500 Niacin	166	67	87	61	100
2011	20 mg Statin + 500 Niacin	156	79	68	77	101			A Book Is Judged
2012	20 mg Statin + 500 Niacin	174	77	79	88	109		190
2013	Asia									High Cardio Plus Resis
2014	Asia
Dec 15	Nothing	240	70	144	132	103	5.7	200
Nov 16	500 Niacin, Fish Oil, Fiber	217	70	131	78	97		200		Resistance Only (Macro)
Jan 17	500 Niacin, Liquid Fish Oil, Fiber	221	93	115	65			190
Nov17	250 Niacin, Liquid Fish Oil, Fiber	231	83	132	82	94	5.2	180

 

Now that we have this chart incorporated in the blog, I can update on a regular basis.

 

Dead Lifts……….

At age 62, you would think it would be harder to keep up with the younger generation…….especially in matters of strength. During my last Macro break (1^st week of December 2017), I stooped at the gym for a quick workout (stay flexible) and got involved with a group of younger guys playing with 300 lb plus dead lifts. My best for the night was 315 X 2……..as good as and in some cases, substantially more than my younger counterparts, and at a fighting weight of 175. That’s almost at 2X bodyweight….and I know there’s more there. Also, this was NOT a PR, close but I’ve gone heavier. All of those front squats and kneeling squats are paying off…….maybe (LOL).

 

More ‘Macro’ Lesson Learned…….

For this year’s Sculpting Macro, I had decided to mix smaller muscle group execises with large compound exercises. The error I made was incorporating a small muscle group ‘superset’ of 3 exercises that do not adequately fatigue the target muscle or get the pump I’m looking for. Specifically, I have been working Biceps and Triceps with Straight Legged Dead’s and Kneeling Squats. I start out with standing skull crushers, followed by hammer and bent curls. I think I would have gotten better results by splitting out the ‘superset’ and completing an 8X8 skull crushers routine followed by an 8X8 bent curl routine, dropping the hammer curls.

For the 2018 Sculpting round I will incorporate more of a split, and maybe add a few other exercises. If you stick to the 30 second rest between sets, the overall workout goes fast so there is more than enough time to add another set…..or two.

On back to back leg routines……..8X8 front squats and 4 sets of dead lifts followed the next day by 8X8 stiff legged dead lifts and 4 sets of kneeling squats……will break you down fatigue wise going into the third week…..you need to de-load prior to the rest week. Your heaviest lifts should be during the 2^nd week. I have made myself sick (nauseous) by overdoing it in the latter half of the 2^nd and 3^rd week routines. The back to back 8X8 lower body routines will break you down.

Last but not least; 8X8 wide grip bench (guillotine) presses. These have worked out pretty well and go along with the Endurance Macro weighted dips. However, there is still a range of motion issue….at heavier loads I just can’t get the weight down as far as I would like. If I go through this again, I will complete round of 8X8’s at a lighter weight with elbows below parallel and a second set of 8X8’s with elbows above parallel.

 

Planning……….

So as I push toward the end of the 2017 Sculpting Macro, Its time to start thinking about 2018 and looking at 1) gaining weight (lean mass….not fat) and 2) strength and power, e.g. the 2018 Power Macro.

Diet; I plan on adding 500 calories a day, and eating only after a 14 to 16 hour fast. You guessed it; intermittent fasting. The additional calories will come from a bit extra packed into my lunch boy….extra cup of soup, extra left overs, etc…..and staying away from the sweet stuff and the salty snacks.

Supplements; I will be sticking with the basics; Fiber, Fish Oil and BCAA plus B3, Vitamin D, Zinc and of course Creatine.

Training; we will go back to Mark Ripptoe’s 5X5’s Starting Strength Routines 3 days per week with simple cardio or body weight routines plus stretching the other 3 days. The 5X5’s will include Front Squats, Overhead Press, Bench Press and Dead Lifts.

To all, Merry Christmas and all my hopes that 2018 will be the year I overcome that Last 10 Pounds.

 

MMJennings