Bump for self-reflection.
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Fitness
-Body Recomposition for a skinnyfat guy
-Short-Intermediate term: look muscular with shirt OFF
-Long term: look muscular even with shirt/clothes ON (i.e. muscular at ~8-10% BF)
-Early 2013: solo training following Starting Strength (M. Rippetoe): not much perceived improvement
-July 2013: 6' 188lbs ~25% BF. Joined Equinox/Hired PT. Started with powerlifting 3x/wk (Squat, Bench, DL, overhead press)
-Dec 2013: 6' 173lbs ~17-18% BF. New PT: Bodybuilding program 4-5x/wk @ 5pm (still compound exercises/lower weight/higher reps + assistance exercises)
-Dec 2013: stopped 2-3x weekly stationary bike 30 mins (target HR: 140); replaced with 3-4x weekly night-time Yoga (60 min studio sessions / significant sweating / hoping for mobility gains)
2014
-continue current training program
-continue Yoga
-re-evaluate on monthly basis to address any specific changes that may be appropriate to make based on new knowledge gained or need for program diversity
Body recomp thru 2014 has gotten me down to ~12-13% bodyfat by year end.
Upon reviewing the post from a year ago, I was grossly misrepresenting my own bodyfat % at the time of that posting. I now have a better understanding of looking at a picture and trying to guesstimate a bodyfat % after having looked at several sites that show different body images at different body fat % levels.
After reviewing pics of myself, I would estimate that in Sept 2013, I was likely over 35% BF. By Dec 2013, I had perhaps trended down to about 25-30% BF.
My short-intermediate term goal was to look muscular without a shirt on. I'm currently down to <160lbs at 6ft tall at around 12-13% BF. I wouldn't necessarily say that I fully achieved my above stated goal; but I will say that I definitely don't look as skinny fat as one year ago. [need more muscle... using the calculator at strstd.com I am getting closer to the Intermediate level]
Having to quote my thoughts about my BF% in a section titled "Fitness" is also an interesting thing to note. Reflecting back on the year, discussing BF% should mainly belong in the nutrition section below as opposed to here. I credit the majority of my body recomp to nutrition efforts rather than fitness.
I tweaked my fitness plan to include:
-weightlifting limited to 3x per week (~1 hour per session)
-exercises limited to squat, deadlift, hip thrust, flat bench, overhead press, rows, chin ups, dips, face pulls
-5x5 for Sq, DL, Bench, OHP
-Reverse Pyramids for the rest (1x6-8, 1x8-10, 1x10-12)
Starting in March 2014, I tracked every single workout (down to each individual rep) in an excel spreadsheet. This helped me maintain my focus on progressive overload to increase output (either by weight or by # reps lifted) for every single subsequent workout.
I stayed consistent with workouts for the majority of the year.
I fell off the routine for ~10+ weeks in July, August, Sept mostly due to traveling and partying.
I learned that being a complete louche for 2 months in Playa del C, South Fla, Croatia, Chicago, Vegas ... resulted in needing ~5-6 weeks to build back up to the strength #'s I had previously hit.
Yoga has been great. Flexibility and mobility improvements have been tremendous. I have tried a few different styles and am glad this part of my fitness routine has stuck in my regimen. I'm guessing that it has possibly contributed to me being relatively injury free during my first year of real and consistent weight training.
I also picked up salsa lessons for a couple months intermittently throughout the year. At its peak, I was going to group classes twice a week and taking private lessons on the weekends. But, it has admittedly been difficult to keep consistent mostly due to time constraints and being able to focus on only so many things at once; I haven't been to a class in over 6 weeks.
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Nutrition
-have been using MyFitnessPal app to track daily calories
-Calorie Breakdown: 40+% protein / 40+% fat / <20% carb (~2500 total cals daily)
-Avg 200+ grams protein per day
-Training days: ~3 protein drinks (30-40g per drink) throughout day (breakfast; mid-afternoon; post-workout) + 20g BCAA immed prior to gym workout
-Usual breakfast: 4 fried eggs + 1 muscle milk 17oz protein drink
-Usual lunch: protein-based / low carb (i.e. sashimi, kabob, chicken)
-Usual mid-afternoon snack: 1 muscle milk 17oz protein drink
-Pre-workout 20g BCAA mixed in H2O
-Post workout Whey Protein + Almond Milk + Peanut Butter Shake
-Usual dinner: protein-based / low carb (i.e. 1lb. steak, chicken breast & veggies, kabob)
2014
-may hire nutritionist/nutrition coach as a consultant to see if my diet needs specific personalized tweaks to achieve both my short-term and long-term fitness goals
Arguably, biggest gains/improvement was on this front.
I would credit >80% of my body recomp results to nutrition.
Ditched MyFitnessPal for my own Excel Spreadsheet, which was populated with a meal by meal plan for the entire week.
Each element of each meal had calories broken down by macros.
The meal planning via Excel also made weekly grocery shopping much more systematic and easy.
Began the year (Jan):
Training day (MWF)
Carbs: 240g
Fat: 50g
Protein 160g
Rest day (TuThSaSu)
Carbs: 50g
Fat: 50g
Protein 160g
Waist measurements and fat loss was not progressing as well as it should have been.
Macros subsequently tweaked to (March):
Training day (MWF)
Carbs: 200g
Fat: 50g
Protein 160g
Rest day (TuThSaSu)
Carbs: 25g
Fat: 50g
Protein 160g
[Side note: I also got more strict with the workout regimen in March. Pared down training to 5x5 for most compound lifts and strict RPT for other as mentioned above.]
Bought an Angel juicer.
Pre-workout juice 3 days per week.
Carrot/Beet/Apple/Ginger/Lemon + Caffeine/Creatine/Beta-Alanine
Caffeine dosage recently increased from 200mg to 300mg after doing more research on optimal dosing.
Creatine at 5g maintenance dosing 3 days/wk.
Whey protein shakes to help hit target daily protein intake.
BCAA's sparingly used for sparse fasted cardio sessions that I just could not help resist doing. I had read so much on cardio (& fasted cardio) likely being mostly beneficial to the obese and those people sub 10% BF who are trying to get ripped/shredded. For those in between, fasted cardio might not really do much ... and in fact, might actually be detrimental due to possibly impairing recovery from weightlifting when performed on rest days.
In retrospect, as the fat loss progressed and the results in the mirror improved, things started working on a positive feedback loop and certain things underwent a snowball effect. The better I started to look in the mirror, the more I wanted it to happen faster. On certain rest days, I couldn't just sit around and
not go do some low intensity steady state incline walking on the treadmill or squeeze in an extra 75 minute yoga session. I wanted the results too much.
I saw this snowball/psychological effect in other areas of life as well; particularly social life. I'd skip going out to 'drinks with the fellas' knowing that it might lead to overindulgence, poor sleep, and a missed workout/recovery/gains. This didn't happen too often ... and arguably, overall maybe it was a good thing.
An article, I recently read from Chris at GLL did really strike a chord with me when I read it. Actually, I believe it was a 3-part series:
Plight of the lonesome bodybuilder
I don't think the issues I was going thru above were as extreme as some of the examples Chris talked about in his series, but his words really rang true to me when I read thru the posts. I remember feeling similarly, when reading thru a recent thread in the lifestyle section:
Monk Mode
I have noticed myself drinking less, not being willing to sacrifice good sleep, and maybe shying away from certain social situations while in this self-improvement mode. I think part of this has also been from personal growth and not wanting to do those things as much anymore as well. I haven't quite figured all of this out just yet ... as in, how does it all fit together. Perhaps a good way to describe it might be that I just jumped in head first to physical improvement; diet/nutrition/etc. Once I put in the 2-4 years it hopefully takes to reach that level of fitness (look good with shirt off ... read: muscular @ 8-10% bodyfat), then I can focus on how to optimize social life while also putting my body into maintenance mode at the muscular @ 8-10% bodyfat level. But in the back of my mind, I also keep thinking thoughts of 'but why are you putting off improving social life? you can do that too.' [Yeah, that was ramble ... I think I'm struggling b/c I haven't quite yet figured this out completely]
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Health
-Extensive bloodwork from Sept 2013 & Dec 2013 (Vitamins, Minerals, Hormones: Test/Est/Thyroid, Liver Fn, etc.)
-Daily Supps: Vit D 10k, Vit K, Vit E, Vit B12, Selenium, ZMA (all based on needs derived from bloodwork)
-Occasional ACV
2014
-continue quarterly bloodwork to further dial in supplementation
-continue to self-educate re: TRT [currently not supplementing, but @ low-normal T for my demographic: total test ~500 (normal: 300-1200) on 2 diff occasions checked 3 months apart]
-continue to self-educate re: hormonal balance [currently elevated cortisol; thus elevated cortisol:Testosterone ratio which may be contributing to lack of perceived anabolic gains]
Continued checking extensive blood work periodically throughout the year and tracking it on excel. Plan to get final check of 2014 some time this week.
Continued Vit D, K.
Added in Fish Oil.
Dropped Vit E, Selenium as blood work showed no benefit to supplementing.
Scaled back significantly on B12 as levels had become supratherapeutic (likely due to juicing and increased veg in diet)
Changed ZMA to elemental Zinc and Mag.
Will definitely continue with the Vit D, K, and Fish Oil.
Unsure about the Zn and Mg at this time. Have not been blown away by personal data and what research I have done.
Have continued to remain on sidelines with TRT.
Am much more educated than one year ago.
Curious to see what latest levels are given all the lifestyle, diet, nutrition changes I have made.
Practically speaking, if I continue to see physical improvements albeit while having a less-than-optimal T level according to labs ... I think I will continue to go forward without jumping to TRT. I think the time to employ TRT for me would be when I stop seeing improvements.
This is where my habit of tracking everything in 2014 has been most useful.
I can objectively go back and look at pictures of myself or chest/weight/thigh/arm measurements week by week and figure out whether I am improving, stagnating, plateauing, declining, etc..
If I stall, its time to dig deeper into the data and figure out why.
If I can't figure it out ... then I bring in a consultant (personal trainer, nutritionist, doctor, etc.) to help me figure out what's going on, why it's happening, and how to work through it.
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Sleep
-had tonsillectomy to improve mild breathing obstruction
-blackout blinds installed in bedroom
-started 10,000 lux light therapy on overcast mornings/days when sun exposure expected to be limited
-installed f.lux
2014
-self-educate re: utility of sleep cycle monitors to see if may be of any benefit
-self-educate re: bed/bedding/pillow products that may further optimize sleep
-better sleep schedule discipline (lights out before 11pm)
Blackout blinds have been great.
Sleep is significantly improved; so much so that I have not used my 10,000 lux light since early 2014.
I have noticed that Zn and Mg at night make me considerably and noticeably drowsy.
Never got around to pulling the trigger on upgrading the bed/bedding/pillows.
Ultimately decided that sleep cycle monitors would not provide enough utility.
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Skin Care
-researched various skin care regimens/tips via blogs, forums, medical journals, dermatologists
-trial & error with several different skin care products
-started laser treatments to improve acne scarring (1 treatment so far)
2014
-continue laser treatments in early 2014 (additional 2-4 treatments)
-continue trial & error to dial in specific product brands for skin care products optimized for personal skin type
-AM care:
Daily 2% Sal Acid wash*
Clarisonic cleansing brush
Air Dry
Zinc based sunscreen
[*substitute with 10% Benz Perox wash 1-2x/wk]
-PM Care
Cetaphil face wash
Air Dry
Topical Retin-A
Air Dry
Moisturizer
Skin is looking much better than 1 year ago.
Laser treatments have helped.
Never used the Clarisonic cleansing brush. Still sitting near its box.
Switched Retin A out for Tazorac (stronger.) Need to be more consistent with nightly use.
Was diligent at applying facial sunscreen during the summer months; trailed off in winter.
Late 2014, trialed a filler treatment (Sculptra) for acne scars; results still pending, although am optimistic. Also trialed Botox for prophylactic wrinkle prevention for the first time; also unsure regarding the results or how to really gauge how "preventive" it will really be. I just viewed it as an investment; if it helps, it helps; so far no visible harm done; just $$$ spent.
Quote: (12-29-2013 10:34 AM)sthesia Wrote:
Dental Care
-had 4 wisdom teeth pulled due to crowding by oral surgeon
-had 2 root canals by endodontist and temp crowns by prosthodontist placed on back molars
-had orthodontics started by orthodontist in Oct 2013
2014
-cont monthly orthodontic care
-cont nightly Waterpik usage
-fingers crossed for good ortho result by end 2014 (as anticipated by orthodontist)
2015
-cont established (hopefully by then) good dental hygiene routine
-cont care for potential permanent retainer by that point
-seek permanent solution for 2 currently temp crowns on back molars
-need 1 mid-back upper implant with oral surgeon & prosthodontist
-seek prosthodontic evaluation/treatment for best way to address cosmetics of (hopefully by then) straightened front visible teeth in the smile line (?porcelain fused crowns?)
Still have braces in place. All gaps/spaces previously created have closed and at the last visit the orthodontist was so pleased with his work he asked if I would allow him to have a medical photographer shoot de-identified dental photos in the office so that he could showcase his work for marketing/case conference purposes. That felt good (hope he doesn't just do that song & dance with every patient, ha.)
Likely have a few more months left with braces for detailing work, after which the braces ... finally ... come ... off. What an experience. Having braces put on in your 30s psychologically forces you into monk mode at times whether you like it or not. Focusing on the end result was the key thing that helped the process along.
Was very diligent with waterpik usage early in the year. Got worse and worse with compliance as the year went on. This needs to improve. I suspect my system for achieving this habit/task is just faulty still.
----
Just reading over some of this sounds crazy and maybe even reads as crazy to some casual observers. It felt good reflecting on all of this. I rarely, if ever, discuss the above self-improvement topics with anyone in person ... and never in as much detail.
I will occasionally try feeling out certain people's thoughts on a certain topic to get a sense of what their thoughts are regarding fitness or nutrition, etc.. But for the most part ... my self-improvement ... has remained largely to my-
self.
The occasional conversations I'll get to have with my trainer breaking down the nuances of RPT and progressive overload, or those with the nutritionist talking about the differences between fructose and glucose at spiking insulin can be pretty cool and invigorating. It would be great to have guys in your social circle that you could break this stuff down with in person and go into the details and nuances and learn from each others experiences. It can be difficult to find such like minded individuals/peers (or even better: mentors) in real life.
Next is to visualize goals for 2015.
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