Finishing the Year Fit And Strong

Are you one of those people who does New Year's resolutions?  THIS! is going to be the year I become the person I want to be. I'll start (pick new habit) or I'll quit (pick bad habit). I'll lose X lb. For 2 weeks you'll be motivated and by Martin Luther King day, you're back to your December persona.

Do you have a case of Screw-it-itis in December and let the foot off the pedal at work, hit the party circuit, and let the diet go? 

Have you ever finished the year at 100% capacity with momentum to fly into the next year. Or done both depending upon the year?  

I answer yes to all these questions. This year I'm choosing finishing the year with momentum and at full throttle. 

The catalyst to this is Hawaii in Mid-November. Went to a benefits/labor convention.  It was my 2nd time out there in 4 months.  I had a FANTASTIC time. My room faced the Pacific Ocean with a balcony at the Waikiki Sheraton.  Post convention there were parties galore with all the free food and drink you would want. Weather was 80 degrees with sun showers every day. I had the best steak of my life at Signature Prime. And finally, went to Pearl Harbor and saw my great uncle's plane at the Aviation Museum.  Pro tip, go to the USS Missouri first.  

It was great, and yes I did go to the gym every day. Walked 20,000 steps a day between the treadmill and too and from the convention center.  I wore out a path on Kalakaua Avenue.  But by day 4 I had had enough of the parties. Let's put it this way. The first full day was Sunday and my buddy and I found a sports bar to watch the NFL.  We were drinking beers at 8 AM.  At the convention, there is a LinkedIn photo of me.  My best friend called me after it posted saying, "Love knowing you were 4 beers deep when that was taken."  Terrific.  So the 4th night, we are at a rooftop bar and they were handing out complimentary Mai Tais.  I took 3 small sips and said, "I'm not doing this tonight,." and pounded water. Woke up feeling great.

Traveled home and arrived at my house on a Thursday and was junk for a couple of days between lack of sleep, fun and on an airplane for 11 hours. Decided middle of the month to turn it around.  

1. No alcohol. Been 3 weeks. Feel great, workouts off the charts good, hyper focused, and sleeping great.

2. A regular sleep schedule.  I always sleep 7-8 hours a night, But I wanted a consistent schedule. Meaning I'm in bed by 10 PM at the latest. Read 2-3 chapters of my Kindle, hit the bathroom one more time, and lights out by 10:30. In the last 3 weeks the only time I've broken this was last Monday watching the Patriots game.  This includes weekends. I awake naturally without alarms. Had 9 + hours sleep Saturday night.

3. Really focusing on my workouts.  Having a plan, not being lazy because I don't want to load the barbell to deadlift, and focusing on every rep.  Stopping with one rep in the tank and without pain.  Focusing on my conditioning using sleds, Ski Erg, Echo Bike or treadmill running. Not mailing it in.

The numbers are going up in my lifts and my conditioning is excellent.  Running 5 miles on the treadmill with a 1 degree incline in 44 minutes. (sub 9 minute miles), finishing 10 rounds of Ski Erg/Echo Bike sprints (more on that in a minute.) and pushing the Prowler combined with 300 two hand swings with a 70 lb. bell. 

I received a great tip from my work colleague about the Echo Bike. He is Captain CrossFit in Kansas City and tries to break Assault/Echo Bikes. I was complaining my quads get the shakes when I'm done. He advised me to lift the seat up one more rung.  The higher the seat, the more it focuses on hamstrings and glutes vs. quads.  THIS is a complete game changer. My wattage for sprints are at least 25 % higher with the higher seat.  Sure it still is a gasser, but it alleviated a lot of fatigue.

I ended up going back to me old gym as it is obvious to see from above.  Ran into a guy there who is older but always in good shape.  Saw him for the 1st time in 5 months and he looked great.  Slimmed down. I told him he looked awesome.  He told me he quit drinking and lost 20 lb. He became my inspiration.  I actually thanked him last week and told him so.  The only thing I'm not doing as much is outdoor walking.  I can deal with cold, it's the wind I can't stand.  Moving South next year is an active conversation that my wife and I are having. 

How's the diet?  Well, about a 6 out of 10.  Not terrible, but not great. I've lost 2-3 lb. I eat too much.  Not crap, because we don't have any in the house. I only eat out once per week.  Would like to push this to about a 7.5-8. I have some lunches coming up and a party with friends, so that's realistic.  If I don't booze, I let myself eat at parties.  Decided today was the day to start on cleaning up the diet.  23 hours into a 40 hour fast, 18 of which will be dry. From just before Noon today, until I wake up around 6.  

I've incorporated 24 hour dry fasting this year 3 or so times.  I like it from the time I start until, I go to bed.  I'm not thirsty and get through it easier than with water.  But it's bloody awful from when you wake up until the 24 hour mark. Say at 9:30 AM. So I'm adjusting that down to 18-20 hours.  When I wake up, have a glass of water. let that settle in so I don't feel lethargic and then black coffee.  So I'll get 75% of the benefits vs. 100.  Live to fight another day. 

Next big trip is Sales Kickoff in San Diego on January 4. It will be the 9th time since June 2024 that I've surpassed 2 time zones flying across the country. I wish it were in Las Vegas like our meetings in October, but what can you do?  The weather will be nicer than the 21 degrees we have her in Massachusetts as I type on December 8.  Hopefully I'll be under 190 lb.  Stay tuned. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

Let's DIscuss Horse Manure Hacks

 Happy New Year and Friday the 13th!  What's new and exciting?  Welp, I finally found employment after 4 months of looking.  Talk about a soul sucking experience.  Should be starting in the next couple of weeks.  I can't wait to post my new job and a message on LinkedIn so I can count the number likes, and comments while showing I'm a grateful guy in the most cringiest way possible.

I did 25 days of the Easy Strength workout. The good news is it worked really well. On day 23 I pressed double 70's like they were a toy.  Workout went like this:

Double 70 lb. Deadlift 2 x 10

Double 70 lb. Front Squat 2 x 5

Double 70 lb. Row 2 x 5

Double 55 lb. Press 2 x 5

Double 70 lb. Swing 1 x 20

Ab roller or Double 70 Farmers carries.

I was rolling along nicely until.....Doomsday 25.  5th day of week 5.  17th rep of swings.  POP.  Out went my SI joint on the right pelvis.  My fault dropped my hips back too far like I was going to go balls deep on the thrust of the swing.  Too many reps, too heavy and too old.  4 trips in 2 weeks to the chiropractor, later, I'm all better.  

Been doing the Olympic 2.0 complex and hanging out at Planet Fitness.  

For shits and giggles, I've been listening to podcasts and watching YouTube from these fitness and life "gurus."  What a bunch of pontificating clowns.  Most became successful through multi-level marketing AKA pyramid schemes.  "Buy my program for $1000, and I can teach you how this hustle will get you a condo in Dubai, a Lotus and $20k /month...." The hustle porn and pictures of them holding a fob for a Chevrolet Impala standing next to a Ferrari are hilarious.  Who falls for this shit?  

Anyway, let's discuss a couple of hacks that are absolute horse manure.

Getting up at 5 AM to start your day if you don't have to.

I'm kind of an early riser.  When I worked in Boston and sponged off my parents, I would get up at 5, get to the gym at 5:30-5:40 in the AM.  I'd bang out a workout, shower and chug a chug toot toot into the sun along the Mass Pike. I was also 24, single with no responsibilities. I did like it and felt it gave me an edge.

In 2023, I work from home.  I've worked from home since 2014.  I don't NEED to get up and face a commute before I get to work.  I'm not an early starter anymore.  I like my 3 cups of coffee in bed or on the couch while I wake up and read a book or troll the internet.  

The nice part of working from home is waking up naturally without an alarm.  There are some "fitness inspirators" who get up at 4AM or 5AM and post it like it is a badge of honor. Which leads me to the question.  What about sleep?  Every day, more and more there are articles of the importance of sleep on health.  Some days you need more than others.  Why would you forcibly wake yourself up for no reason on a day when you need 9 hours just to photograph your clock and post it on the internet?  There are no bonus points for it. Example, Sunday into Monday I slept 8 and a half hours and woke up at 7:30 AM.  Monday night, went to the Celtics game, walked 11,000 steps, had a great dinner and dessert in the North End and a couple of cocktails.  Was home by 11. Went to sleep at 11:30. Slept until 8:40. My 20-year-old son, got up at 7:45 to work during semester break.  He said to me, "I was exhausted when I got up this morning." (after 8 hours of sleep)

I'm not saying getting up early is bad.  It's great as long as you get to bed early enough. But whether you get up at 5 or 7, it depends on how you spend those hours.  Sleep > Internet posts.  

Cold Showers

In 2014, I alternated between them and alternating cold/hot contrast for a month.  The good news was any aches or pains I had disappeared. I did them when it was 1 degree outside.  The bad news is, they are really awful.  I've done them since and have survived 3 or 4 days at a time.  However, in December the bride broke the shower head and I had to install a new one.  The one I chose provides a HIGH volume of water.  I listened to Win Hopf, did his breathing routine and jumped in.  It was the WORST experience bathing I ever had.  I could not catch my breath or hide from the water. I jumped out after 3 minutes.  My package looked like a field mouse and 6 hours later, my hands and feet were still cold. I took it at 4 PM vs. 5 AM. I can't imagine doing that first thing in the morning.  "Take a cold shower first thing in the morning, if you can survive that you can survive anything that is thrown your way!"  Fuck that. 

It may heighten your immune system (I'm good there and eat lots of green veggies), help with depression (I don't have it). No thank you. It's not going to make you perform better professionally.  It's a placebo for that.  I do like when I'm done feeling exhilarated and feeling warm when I get out. I have no problem jumping into an ocean on an 80-degree day when the water is 62, No thanks having it sprayed on me in the winter.  

Fasting

I'm all for fasting.  But only in a specific window.  16 hours without eating IS NOT FASTING in my opinion.  I don't believe you get the benefits until you pass the 20-hour mark.  For the record the Warrior Diet is an unsustainable joke as well.  Good luck on your 20-hour fast on day 3.  The window should be 22+ hours-48 hours.  Pick 22-24 hours 1-2 times a week or 36-40 hours once a week.  Fantastic benefits.  I also don't buy into the "completely heal yourself doing a 5 day fast."  Good luck being a vegetable due to a lack of energy as your kidneys are shutting down.  BUT YOU CREATE STEM CELLS AND AUTOPHAGY.  No one can identify when autophagy starts.  Or a dry fast for 24 hours without, water.  That means, no showers, washing your hands after a bowel movement or brushing your teeth either.  Those who do Ramadan swear by it, but when it's dark, they are pounding liquid and food. I think 36-40 hours once a week is a game changer for your health.  But it's a big mental game. 

Long Term Minimalist Exercise Programs

Everything works for 4-8 weeks.  Doing something is better than nothing.  Then your body adjusts and it's diminishing returns. Look at the Simple and Sinister. As a male, ten Turkish Getups and 100 one hand swings in 5 minutes with a 32 kg/70 lb. kettlebells is a noble goal.  However, trying to get to the 48 kg is not worth it.  You will get injured, or your form will be awful.  I saw a video of a kettlebell leader, who has blogged his workouts since the turn of the century do one hand swings with the 48kg.  The bell didn't get above his pecker. It was a shit swing.  A for effort, D- for execution. There is no "what the hell" effect.  Doing Turkish Getups will make you great at Turkish Getups.  Full disclosure, before I sold my 40kg/88lb. bells, I did the 10 getups in 10 minutes and 100 swings continuously with the Bulldog.  When I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid.

Don't fall for hacks.  Do the work, get your rest and most importantly, get your diet right.

ADDENDUM

Drinking a Gallon of Water a Day

What is up with the hydration culture?  My wife is a member of overhydration nation.  Carrying water bottles everywhere. To the gym, to the store, to the beach, everywhere.  I agree, water is important. Lot of benefits, but I feel it gets to the point of diminishing returns.  100 oz. or about 3 quarts is a sweet spot.  I hate having to pee every 30 minutes and it be completely clear.  If it's clear your hydrated. Also, you don't want to flush out your electrolytes. The one water hack I recommend is, drink a tall glass as soon as you wake up in the AM.  It will help thin your blood which has thickened while sleeping. 

In 75 Hard this is one of the tasks you must complete. Bloated stomach, having your bladder ready to explode 30 minutes away from the nearest bathroom while exercising outdoors.  Running with a full bladder is truly a miserable experience. I'll pass.  I guess I'll never be REAL AF.