2016 Review and Some Other Thoughts

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I hope everyone enjoyed it with family and friends.  I'm sad to see 2016 end.  I am grateful that when I look over my soon to be 49th year on the planet, this was one of the better ones.  Top 10, closer to 5 than 10.  Hopefully, 2017 we can keep the winning streak alive.  It was a home run, personally, professionally and healthwise.

After recovering from a lower back injury in February and March, I hung up the barbells, quit the gym and just focused on kettlebells and running.  It worked out well for me.  I lost my winter weight, and set some PR's.  I'm not doing 315 x 10 on the back squat like I was doing, but who gives a care?  I finished a 10,000 swing program in 10 days.  I snatched 160 reps with a 55 in 10 minutes.  I completed a couple of More Kettlebell Muscle programs that I hadn't done as well as press an 80 lb. kettlebell for 3 reps on each side.  Conditioning wise, I ran 8 miles one day and even now can do a 10k at a moment's notice.  Pushed a sled with my near decade younger cousin without losing my breakfast.  Achieved Simpler and Sinister with an 88 without training for it. (100 consecutive one hand swings and 5 getups each side in under 10 minutes).

Currently, I'm repeating a program I had done about 2.5 years ago, but didn't complete as written. The Long Haul from More Kettlebell Muscle. Using Double 45's, I just finished Week 7 of the 9 week program.  It's a complex that has Light Day, 3 exercises 30 seconds each, Medium Day, 4 exercises 30 seconds each, Heavy Day 5 exercises, 30 seconds each.  Work:Rest ratio 1:2 first 3 weeks (heavy day has 5 minutes between rounds), 1:1.5 Weeks 4-6, 1:1 Weeks 7-9.  Before week 7, I was throwing in some strength work on my off days.  Low volume/moderately heavy. That was until last week....

Does the Minimal Effective Dose work?  Well, of course it does.  Water boils at 212 F.  It doesn't need to get to 213.  Well, that was my thinking at the 7th week.  You get stronger and grow on your rest days after the stimulus of the weight work.  So I decided I needed all the rest I could get with the rest periods of the Long Haul being 1:1.  Started on Medium Day.  4 rounds, 2 minutes a round, rest 2 minutes.  Total workout time 14 minutes.  I was cooked.  Upper back/shoulders exhausted, because I had to do double snatches, then press, followed by front squats.  Front squats and snatches fry your upper back.  Decided, I'm doing the last 8 workouts with as much rest as possible.

Took the next day off, as a matter of fact, fasted for 36 hours.  I got back into it this month after, ripping on it in my last post.  On Christmas Eve, ate a big breakfast.  3 eggs with cheese, toast, kielbasia and an orange.  Figured I needed as much nutrition as I could before the workout.  Waited 90 minutes and did heavy day...

Top 3 HARDEST workouts that I was able to complete this year.  Probably the hardest.  It was miserable. When double snatches are an oasis movement, you know the suck factor is high.  On paper it looked challenging but not over the top.  4 rounds, 2.5 minutes.  The issue was only resting 2.5 minutes between rounds vs. 3:45 or 5 minutes.  17 minutes and 30 seconds of hell.  My shoulders ached, my calves hurt (no idea why), my heart rate according to my pulse and stopwatch was 218 per minute.  I was junk when I was done.  After 5 minutes I sat and meditated for 20 minutes.  I couldn't get up off the floor after that. Just wiped out.  All I could think was, I have to do 5 rounds next week and 6 the week after.  How am I going to do that?

In hindsight, fasting the day before probably affected my performance.  Took Christmas off and had a prime rib, potato pancakes and creamed spinach dinner. at 8 PM.  Yesterday, I did easy day and it was 180 degrees from heavy day.  Finished it barely breaking a sweat.  Heart rate was 180, but wasn't gasping for breath.  Only 10:30 seconds.  So we'll see how the Minimal Effective Dose fares.

December has been a kick ass month for me.  As President-elect Trump says, "Think Big and Kick Ass."  For those of you who didn't vote for him, and that's fine, look at your investments over the last 7 weeks and get back to me. 17 new record highs in the Dow.

I decided to go into the New Year flying on a health kick vs. trodding slowly like a sloth.  Started fasting for 36-40 hours once a week, no alcohol, meditating for 15-20 minutes daily, usually after working out.  I've eaten well, whatever I want as a matter of fact. The results are: workouts have been better than ever, weight in the 186-187 range (that's good fighting weight for me), usually around 193-194 and trending upward in December, feel sharp as a tack and locked in.  I've weaved and bobbed through every social land mine there is. 100 person Christmas party, huge cocktail party, out to dinner three times,  Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family.  A nice bottle of Macallan 12 year as a gift from my father in law.  No booze. I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight.  Throw in the empty calories of alcohol and I gain.  I'd rather eat than drink to tell you the truth.  Lemon water on ice or soda is good with me.

Moderation in my opinion, doesn't work for my personality.  I'm an all or nothing person.  Abstinence is easier for me.  Why?  There is no negotiation. I'm fasting today.  That means no food.  My mind is made up, I'm done. Call it being a twin syndrome and having to share a womb.  Abstinence gives you more room for error.  Have you noticed most people don't finish things strong?  They get to 80% and say, well that was a good effort, close enough.  (Lean into the microphone, ) WRONG!  You need to finish the job.  Why fast only 24 hours, when the free fatty acids are highest in your blood at the 32 hour mark?  You make it 24, suck it up for 4 more hours, go to bed and when you wake up, your body is in full fat burning mode.  When you don't drink for a month, your skin glows from hydration, fat in your liver decreases by 15% and your cholesterol goes down 5-10%.  Why blow those benefits and quit at 3 weeks?

Moderation is akin to picking at a scab. Abstinence is healing.  It requires more mental toughness, but you don't go backwards.  Abstinence is strength, moderation is a mind game.  Constantly negotiating with yourself.  Embrace the suck, start today, you'll get to your destination and goals faster.

I don't have or need to have a specific goal or any resolutions for Twenty Seventeen.  Just keep on keeping on.  Being grateful, continuing to enjoy the good life.  A promotion and a nice President's Club trip with my wife are in the works professionally.  Enjoying coaching my younger son's basketball and baseball teams and watching my older son, who was undefeated in tennis last year as a sophomore, play again this year. My younger son should start on number 2 doubles as an 8th grader, so I look forward to the challenge of running back and forth watching two matches.

The years fly by, try to make them all great.  Happy New Year, God Bless You All.