The time has come for this blog, as well as my other, and it's era to end. However, a successor has been named and the sharing of information and experiences shall continue for many posts to come. Check out the new blog, new title, and new lay out at "Confessions of an Open Source Athlete." Of course I am still the only one writing and it is my life and my experiences that inspire the posts. Please read the first post in the new blog for a more detailed explanation for the change.
Thanks for reading guys and gals, its been fun!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
4 Hour Body Experience: Week 8 Summary
Does the End Begin or Does the Beginning End?
Competition Week - Week 8: 2/27 - 3/3/12
Data:
*Morning Prior to the Competition (3/2/12)
Weight: 168
BMI: 26.31
PBF (old): 4.8
PBF (new): 6.82
Blood Pressure: 138 / 78
Heart Rate: 66
Neck: 16
Chest: 40.75
Waist: 30
Hip: 31
*Prior to Dehydration (6 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 167.5
BMI: 26.2
*Before Bed (9 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 165.5
BMI: 25.9
*Morning of Competition (5:30 AM, 3/3/12)
Weight: 161.5
BMI: 25.29
Waist: 29.5
PBF (old): 4.1
*Competition Day
Arrival Weight (TIME): 163
Official Weigh In (TIME): 161.5
Training Schedule:
Monday - 2 hours BJJ (moderate intensity)
Tuesday AM - 1 hour BJJ (light intensity)
Tuesday PM - 30 min Meditation
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 1 hour BJJ (drill frequently used techniques)
Friday - 30 min Meditation
Saturday - Competition
Total Training Hours: 5 Hours
Cold Shower Procedure:
Monday - Contrast Shower, 1 min intervals, 7 min total
Tuesday - Thursday - 7 min cold shower
Friday - Hot Bath with Epsom's Dalt
Strength and Conditioning:
None
90 Second Morning Exercises:
Weight Cut Procedure (Official):
Diuretic Spices: (In any combination; one serving of each per day)
Lemon Juice
Cayenne Pepper
Parsley Flakes
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin
Supplements:
Muscle Pharm Combat Powder (Whey Protein) - one 38g scoop per day
Equate Men's One Daily (Multivitamin) - one tablet per day
NOW Slimula (Green Tea + Yerba Mate supplement) - 4 capsules per day
Universal Animal Flex (Joint Supplement) - one pack per day
Cut Progression:
5 Days Out - High Sodium Diet for 2 Days, 1500 cal
3 Days Out - Moderate Sodium Intake (one day), 1500 cal
2 Days Out - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal
Day Before - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal, Stop Water Intake 3 hours before bed, Hot
Bath with Epsom's Salt before bed, 8 hours of sleep
Morning Of - Breakfast = Protein Cake (liquid eggs + whey), slowly rehydrate as weight allows
Arrival On Site - MetRx Big 100, Pasta & Fruit, 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength
Every Hour - one Power Bar, water as weight allows
As Needed - Kashi GoLean
One Hour Before Weigh In - MetRx Big 100, water as weight allows
After Official Weigh In - Water
Weight Cut Log (Comparison of Practice and Official):
*The IBJJF weight class I compete in is 167.5 lbs (76kg), must weigh in while wearing gi and belt
Weekly Notes:
No Stool Softener / Laxative - as you can see for the above summary I opted to NOT take any kind
of supplemental diuretic pill. Call it what you will, but I demand to retain some integrity and
ethical practice in my athletic preparation regardless of legal flexibility and if drug tests are or
are not part of the competition regulation.
Changes From Practice Cut - Sodium Intake - as you can see from the Cut Progression Diet, my
sodium intake was a bit (20mg) less than the practice cut last week. Carbohydrates - were
significantly reduced from about 19% of my daily calories to about 11%. I think a
combination of these things as well as the "moderate sodium" day between the high and low
intervals assisted and reducing my body's water retention. The perceived loss is a noticeable
one rather than fairly negligible as was the case during the practice run. Diuretic Spices -
seemed to have a greater effect this time around compared to the practice run. I am unsure of
the cause of this, but I suspect that it is a joint effort between the spices and the previously
mentioned factors. It should also be mentioned, I believe it was in last week's post also, that
several of the faucets in my home contain softened water. That is, water that has had minerals
filtered out of it by a sort of diffusion property that sodium has. That means that some of the
tap water in my home contains somewhat salted water. These contents were not included in
my notation of "average" sodium intake. However, during the Low Sodium / Low Carb
intervals I still allowed myself to drink as much water as I desired, but NOT from these faucets.
Day Before Meal Schedule - In last week's practice cut I still ate as I normally do (first meal within
30 - 60 min of waking, one meal ever 2-4 hours, last meal about 2 hours before bed) on the day
before the mock competition / workout. For the real deal I will still have breakfast at the
normal time, eat meals about every 2 hours, and try to consume all but one of them prior to
my water restriction / depletion procedure. I will save one small meal for later in the evening.
I do not want my metabolism to slow too much (though at this point calories are irrelevant and
weight is more a matter of literal grams of food and water in vs grams of waste [perspiration,
urine, and feces] out). In the same right I do not want to be tempted to drink anything during
the meal when I am trying to drain most of non-vital water out of my body. Thus, I will
consume most of my meals prior to the start of dehydration (apx. 6 PM) and have one meal
between then and my scheduled 9 PM bed time.
Sleep - Due to my work schedule my biological clock (circadian rhythm) did not agree with the
intelligent plan I had set forth. That is a fancy way of saying I couldn't fall asleep the night
before the tournament. As a result I got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up to hit the
road, could not sleep in the card, and barely caught 40winks with bright lights and loud
speakers at the tournament.
The Final Cut - There were some changes to my planned competition day cut schedule. I wanted
to wake up in the morning on weight so that I could re-hydrate on the drive to the
tournament. All things went according to plan so far, I woke up on weight. I had a small
breakfast (my protein cake that I had cooked the day prior had gone stale) consisting of
peanut butter on toast with about 4oz of venison. On the way to the tournament I drank two,
16oz cups of coffee and a 20oz Powerade upon arrival. I am not sure if I was having trouble
adjusting to their scale or not, but I was not able to eat anything other than two Power Bars
between arrival and the competition start because I had to keep a close watch on my water
weight.
Competition Results:
I lost in the first round via armbar from a triangle in the closing seconds of the match. There is some speculation as to the match running longer than it should have. However, I will not start down the list of excuses that could include: my work schedule didn't let me sleep much the night before, I have a lot going on between school, preparing for graduate school, and work-place politics.... etc, etc. None of that matters. When I woke up the morning of the competition I knew all of that and I still got in the car with my teammates and drove to the tournament. Call it as you choose to see it, but the bottom line is that I was up on points and got caught and lost. One and done. Live and learn.
Follow Up Strength Test:
There are no plans for a follow up strength test at this time. Though I tracked my weight training goals and workouts the focus of my physical training is NOT strength or endurance. Rather it is better performance in my choice of recreation / competitive sports. Weight training is something that is purely supplemental to these things and hardly a replacement for or equal to. Strength training workouts will continue o be logged in the future (though not necessarily on this blog) as my training camp schedule dictates. At this time I do not have plans to compete in a strength event or train specifically for a "strength test."
Where Do We Go From Here?
*My Apologies for Getting a Bit Windy Here :(
Failure. It is something that we will all have to learn to deal with sooner or later. Our lives are not lush smoothly paved roads. They are full of potholes and dry spells. This marks the second tournament in a row that I have lost in the first round at (regardless of circumstances, more on this later). I could wallow in my self-pity or hang my hat on past deeds but I refuse to accept contention with those things. Where I go for here is to analyze previous experiences and apply that wisdom to future training camps and competitions. I get back in the gym, I keep training, I re-examine a few things as a time, and I keep going. I am 23 years old. I could realistically be competing in this sport (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for the next 15 years, easily, and possibly for 20+. You don't have to be a math genius to figure out that that is whole lot of tournaments that I have yet to compete in.
The next competition that I am planning on taking part in is scheduled for the 9th of June 2012; it is another BJJ tournament. Initially I wanted to attempt an amateur boxing debut in late April before this tournament. However, I think that this will be removed from the docket. This makes two chips on my should from jiu jitsu tournaments that have left a bad taste in my mouth (whether it be my own fault or not).
Weight. This is a big one, as in 8 weeks of neurotic data collection "big." The topic of "cutting" weight comes up a lot in fighting. It is no surprise that different methods of extreme, rapid, and usually dangerous, methods of weight loss have been used for making weight in fighting sports. What is sometimes overlooked is that this method can, and should, vary depending on the sport of competition. For example, consider the time interval between the official weigh-ins and the actual commencement of the competition for a few different sports. In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) there is about a 20 hour window to rehydrate and refuel, in wrestling there is about an hour, and for jiu jitsu (IBJJF tournaments) there is about 5 minutes. How do you think I would feel or perform if I cut as much for a jiu jitsu tournament as I did for a MMA bout? I'd get massacred because I would be running on literally fumes and have squelched all but the vital water out of my body right? How do you propose one get all of those nutrients, fuel, and liquids back into the body in a matter of single digit minutes? Sure you could chug a gallon of water, but would you feel bloated, or like puking, or like your about to crap your pants when you have to be at your apex seconds later? The point is that there are limitations to weight cutting as the Risk/Reward scale is balanced (or not). I feel that in my previous jiu jitsu tournament last fall that I absolutely did "gas" or run out of energy midway through the first match. I am not blaming the loss on this, but it is something I can learn from. So I took what I thought a wiser approach this time around. I did not feel "as gassed", but this is hardly acceptable. Perhaps chance or fate just screwed me over and I "just got caught" as some will say. But the bottom line is that I lost and at several points in the bout I felt like I would be content to just "hang on" and ride it out (stall and win on points) rather than attempt to finish (submit) my opponent. I never... let me say that again... NEVER want the thought of satisfaction with contention to cross my mind during a competition again. As Jim Rome once said; "trying not to lose will get you beat every time".... and it has.
Why bother? What makes this whole weight cutting issue particularly interesting in regards to jiu jitsu is that typically athletes cut weight so that they can be bigger and stronger compared to their opponents in the same weight class. Of course, but the same logic, smaller opponents will also be lighter and faster. The interesting part is that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was designed specifically so that smaller and weaker people could defend themselves against bigger and stronger opponents. If you have trained more than one day of BJJ in your life, you know that in this sport technique and timing reign infinitely supreme over quaint and trite qualities such as speed, power, and strength. The question, then, to ask is how could you improve your technique just a little bit to give you the same advantage (as if it were all as simple as a game of probabilities and cards) as you're anticipated strength advantage from cutting weight? Before you even bother to answer that question consider that improving your technique will have NONE of the negative aspects or risks of cutting weight and the potential benefit will be greater since the sport is centered on technical ability anyway! Of course you could always get stronger by weight training and manipulating your diet to stay at the same, natural weight. The point here is that, I believe and many others would agree, you are better off in a jiu jitsu tournament competing at a weight where you are comfortable, feel natural, and relaxed, and are technically savvy and physically lucid. Why the heck would you want to cut weight then?
A few points on this particular cut should be addressed. My body in particular carries an abnormally large amount of water. By this I mean that I could probably lose about 5 lbs of urine in two trips to the restroom over the course of 5 hours; or drop the same 5 lbs of water weight and have my urine still look like lemonade (not at all like apple juice - *urine color can be indicative of level of hydration). However, contrary to previous practice, this should not be used as an excuse to cut large amounts of water weight. Why? My body is conditioned to function with that much water in it. Cleaning up your diet is one thing. Losing <5% of you body weight in water to compensate for the weight of your uniform and "just for good measure" is acceptable I suppose. But 9 lbs of water that my body is used to functioning with and suddenly having to achieve a zenith with less than sufficient materials.
What to do, what to do? I am planning to compete in the next higher weight class for my up coming competition. That would be Middle Weight (181.0) rather than Light Weight (167.5). I feel that at this weight I would be closer to my natural body weight. Actually, I would still need to keep a strict diet. Why? Because my plan for the future three months is to gain back some muscle mass that will put my weight closer to its natural set point while still maintaining as low percentage of body fat that I carry now (calculation before any type of "cutting" other than a carefully planned and delicate diet). The point is that I have no qualms about balanced and informed dieting. Cutting on the other hand, for jiu jitsu purposes, has gotten me no where. When I was on a good diet and fought at a natural but lean and managed weight I won silver medals in both of those tournament. When I cut to make the official IBJJ weight class below, I lost in the first round of both of those tournaments. This leaves me two option, go up or down. Since my body fat (before any type of cutting) was around the 5-6% range this is beyond the realm of "good dieting". Veto the "losing the rest of the weight in a healthy manner" option. And thus that leaves me with the goal I stated above.
It is a goal of mine to assimilate this 8 Week Experience with a couple others to write one large eBook. That is to say that rather than having to read dozens of lengthy blog posts, one can click to the "BOOK" one and have it all sitting in front of them in one place. Ideally there will be a "lose weight" section, a "build mass" section, and possibly a cutting weight section should I return to the octagon prior to the completion of the book. Of course I am not a doctor and you should consult one before doing anything you read here, but if you're reading this you should already know this. I want it to be an encyclopedia of dieting not only for my readers, but for myself. If I want to know what I looked like at any point in time of my life, it is on my computer AND my blog as well as a detailed plan of how I got there.
My most sincere thanks go out to my instructors Jack McVicker and Brad Peplow, as well as Vicki Boisvert and Ryan Blackorby, my friends who have supported my training, my readers and clients for keeping me motivated, my teammates at Peoria Athletic Club who kick my butt ever day, especially Ryan Prouty and Will Link for sharing some truly invaluable wisdom (that can only be earned through coming of age) with me after a tough loss. The working title for the eBook is "Chronicles of an Open Source Athlete: A Comprehensive Case Study." If you've been keeping up with my weekly posts, now you know how I lost weight. Stay tuned to figure out how I gain it (the good kind), and where I go after that. As Neil Young put it; "I'ma keep on rockin' in the free world."
Competition Week - Week 8: 2/27 - 3/3/12
Data:
*Morning Prior to the Competition (3/2/12)
Weight: 168
BMI: 26.31
PBF (old): 4.8
PBF (new): 6.82
Blood Pressure: 138 / 78
Heart Rate: 66
Neck: 16
Chest: 40.75
Waist: 30
Hip: 31
*Prior to Dehydration (6 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 167.5
BMI: 26.2
*Before Bed (9 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 165.5
BMI: 25.9
*Morning of Competition (5:30 AM, 3/3/12)
Weight: 161.5
BMI: 25.29
Waist: 29.5
PBF (old): 4.1
*Competition Day
Arrival Weight (TIME): 163
Official Weigh In (TIME): 161.5
Training Schedule:
Monday - 2 hours BJJ (moderate intensity)
Tuesday AM - 1 hour BJJ (light intensity)
Tuesday PM - 30 min Meditation
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 1 hour BJJ (drill frequently used techniques)
Friday - 30 min Meditation
Saturday - Competition
Total Training Hours: 5 Hours
Cold Shower Procedure:
Monday - Contrast Shower, 1 min intervals, 7 min total
Tuesday - Thursday - 7 min cold shower
Friday - Hot Bath with Epsom's Dalt
Strength and Conditioning:
None
90 Second Morning Exercises:
| 2/27/2012 | 30 sec chair dips |
| 30 sec chair pull ups | |
| 30 sec squat | |
| 2/29/2012 | 30 sec push up to plank |
| 30 sec bent over fly | |
| 30 sec vertical pull | |
| 3/1/2012 | 90 sec jumping jacks |
Weight Cut Procedure (Official):
| Competition Cut Diet (Low Sodium, Low Carb) - Week of Competition | |||||||
| Monday & Tuesday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake - Regular 1500 Calorie Diet w/ high sodium options | |||||||
| Wednesday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake - Regular 1500 Calorie Diet w/ average sodium intake | |||||||
| Thursday & Friday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake (1200 Cal) | |||||||
| Meal / Time | Cal | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | Carb (g) | Sodium (mg) | Descrip. | |
| 1 / 8 am | 150 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 150 | Whey | |
| 2 / 10 am | 178 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 50 | Tofu | |
| 3 / 1:30 pm | 156 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 70 | Fish | |
| 4 / 3 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| 5 / 5 pm | 135 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Chicken | |
| 6 / 7 pm | 149 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 80 | Vegetable + Turkey | |
| 7 / 9 pm | 114 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Chicken | |
| 8 / 10:30 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| Total | 1230 | 151 | 54 | 36 | 910 | ||
| 49.11% | 39.51% | 11.71% | |||||
Diuretic Spices: (In any combination; one serving of each per day)
Lemon Juice
Cayenne Pepper
Parsley Flakes
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin
Supplements:
Muscle Pharm Combat Powder (Whey Protein) - one 38g scoop per day
Equate Men's One Daily (Multivitamin) - one tablet per day
NOW Slimula (Green Tea + Yerba Mate supplement) - 4 capsules per day
Universal Animal Flex (Joint Supplement) - one pack per day
Cut Progression:
5 Days Out - High Sodium Diet for 2 Days, 1500 cal
3 Days Out - Moderate Sodium Intake (one day), 1500 cal
2 Days Out - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal
Day Before - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal, Stop Water Intake 3 hours before bed, Hot
Bath with Epsom's Salt before bed, 8 hours of sleep
Morning Of - Breakfast = Protein Cake (liquid eggs + whey), slowly rehydrate as weight allows
Arrival On Site - MetRx Big 100, Pasta & Fruit, 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength
Every Hour - one Power Bar, water as weight allows
As Needed - Kashi GoLean
One Hour Before Weigh In - MetRx Big 100, water as weight allows
After Official Weigh In - Water
Weight Cut Log (Comparison of Practice and Official):
*The IBJJF weight class I compete in is 167.5 lbs (76kg), must weigh in while wearing gi and belt
| Trail Weight Cut | Date | Weight w/ Gi | |
| Before Cut | 2/23/2012 | 171.5 | |
| Night Before Workout | 2/25/2012 | 174 | |
| Morning of Workout | 2/26/2012 | 169.5 | |
| 20 min Before Workout | 2/26/2012 | 167 (164) | |
| Official Weight Cut | Date | Weight w/ Gi | |
| Before Cut | 3/1/2012 | 171.5 | |
| Weight Check (Friday 7am) | 3/2/2012 | 168 (w/o gi) | |
| Pre-Dehydration (Fri 6pm) | 3/2/2012 | 170 (167.5) | |
| Before Bed (Friday 9pm) | 3/2/2012 | 168 (165.5) | |
| Morning of Comp | 3/3/2012 | 164.5 (161.5) | |
| Arrival Check In | 3/3/2012 | 166 | |
| Official Weight In | 3/3/2012 | 164 | |
Weekly Notes:
No Stool Softener / Laxative - as you can see for the above summary I opted to NOT take any kind
of supplemental diuretic pill. Call it what you will, but I demand to retain some integrity and
ethical practice in my athletic preparation regardless of legal flexibility and if drug tests are or
are not part of the competition regulation.
Changes From Practice Cut - Sodium Intake - as you can see from the Cut Progression Diet, my
sodium intake was a bit (20mg) less than the practice cut last week. Carbohydrates - were
significantly reduced from about 19% of my daily calories to about 11%. I think a
combination of these things as well as the "moderate sodium" day between the high and low
intervals assisted and reducing my body's water retention. The perceived loss is a noticeable
one rather than fairly negligible as was the case during the practice run. Diuretic Spices -
seemed to have a greater effect this time around compared to the practice run. I am unsure of
the cause of this, but I suspect that it is a joint effort between the spices and the previously
mentioned factors. It should also be mentioned, I believe it was in last week's post also, that
several of the faucets in my home contain softened water. That is, water that has had minerals
filtered out of it by a sort of diffusion property that sodium has. That means that some of the
tap water in my home contains somewhat salted water. These contents were not included in
my notation of "average" sodium intake. However, during the Low Sodium / Low Carb
intervals I still allowed myself to drink as much water as I desired, but NOT from these faucets.
Day Before Meal Schedule - In last week's practice cut I still ate as I normally do (first meal within
30 - 60 min of waking, one meal ever 2-4 hours, last meal about 2 hours before bed) on the day
before the mock competition / workout. For the real deal I will still have breakfast at the
normal time, eat meals about every 2 hours, and try to consume all but one of them prior to
my water restriction / depletion procedure. I will save one small meal for later in the evening.
I do not want my metabolism to slow too much (though at this point calories are irrelevant and
weight is more a matter of literal grams of food and water in vs grams of waste [perspiration,
urine, and feces] out). In the same right I do not want to be tempted to drink anything during
the meal when I am trying to drain most of non-vital water out of my body. Thus, I will
consume most of my meals prior to the start of dehydration (apx. 6 PM) and have one meal
between then and my scheduled 9 PM bed time.
Sleep - Due to my work schedule my biological clock (circadian rhythm) did not agree with the
intelligent plan I had set forth. That is a fancy way of saying I couldn't fall asleep the night
before the tournament. As a result I got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up to hit the
road, could not sleep in the card, and barely caught 40winks with bright lights and loud
speakers at the tournament.
The Final Cut - There were some changes to my planned competition day cut schedule. I wanted
to wake up in the morning on weight so that I could re-hydrate on the drive to the
tournament. All things went according to plan so far, I woke up on weight. I had a small
breakfast (my protein cake that I had cooked the day prior had gone stale) consisting of
peanut butter on toast with about 4oz of venison. On the way to the tournament I drank two,
16oz cups of coffee and a 20oz Powerade upon arrival. I am not sure if I was having trouble
adjusting to their scale or not, but I was not able to eat anything other than two Power Bars
between arrival and the competition start because I had to keep a close watch on my water
weight.
Competition Results:
I lost in the first round via armbar from a triangle in the closing seconds of the match. There is some speculation as to the match running longer than it should have. However, I will not start down the list of excuses that could include: my work schedule didn't let me sleep much the night before, I have a lot going on between school, preparing for graduate school, and work-place politics.... etc, etc. None of that matters. When I woke up the morning of the competition I knew all of that and I still got in the car with my teammates and drove to the tournament. Call it as you choose to see it, but the bottom line is that I was up on points and got caught and lost. One and done. Live and learn.
Follow Up Strength Test:
There are no plans for a follow up strength test at this time. Though I tracked my weight training goals and workouts the focus of my physical training is NOT strength or endurance. Rather it is better performance in my choice of recreation / competitive sports. Weight training is something that is purely supplemental to these things and hardly a replacement for or equal to. Strength training workouts will continue o be logged in the future (though not necessarily on this blog) as my training camp schedule dictates. At this time I do not have plans to compete in a strength event or train specifically for a "strength test."
Where Do We Go From Here?
*My Apologies for Getting a Bit Windy Here :(
Failure. It is something that we will all have to learn to deal with sooner or later. Our lives are not lush smoothly paved roads. They are full of potholes and dry spells. This marks the second tournament in a row that I have lost in the first round at (regardless of circumstances, more on this later). I could wallow in my self-pity or hang my hat on past deeds but I refuse to accept contention with those things. Where I go for here is to analyze previous experiences and apply that wisdom to future training camps and competitions. I get back in the gym, I keep training, I re-examine a few things as a time, and I keep going. I am 23 years old. I could realistically be competing in this sport (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for the next 15 years, easily, and possibly for 20+. You don't have to be a math genius to figure out that that is whole lot of tournaments that I have yet to compete in.
The next competition that I am planning on taking part in is scheduled for the 9th of June 2012; it is another BJJ tournament. Initially I wanted to attempt an amateur boxing debut in late April before this tournament. However, I think that this will be removed from the docket. This makes two chips on my should from jiu jitsu tournaments that have left a bad taste in my mouth (whether it be my own fault or not).
Weight. This is a big one, as in 8 weeks of neurotic data collection "big." The topic of "cutting" weight comes up a lot in fighting. It is no surprise that different methods of extreme, rapid, and usually dangerous, methods of weight loss have been used for making weight in fighting sports. What is sometimes overlooked is that this method can, and should, vary depending on the sport of competition. For example, consider the time interval between the official weigh-ins and the actual commencement of the competition for a few different sports. In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) there is about a 20 hour window to rehydrate and refuel, in wrestling there is about an hour, and for jiu jitsu (IBJJF tournaments) there is about 5 minutes. How do you think I would feel or perform if I cut as much for a jiu jitsu tournament as I did for a MMA bout? I'd get massacred because I would be running on literally fumes and have squelched all but the vital water out of my body right? How do you propose one get all of those nutrients, fuel, and liquids back into the body in a matter of single digit minutes? Sure you could chug a gallon of water, but would you feel bloated, or like puking, or like your about to crap your pants when you have to be at your apex seconds later? The point is that there are limitations to weight cutting as the Risk/Reward scale is balanced (or not). I feel that in my previous jiu jitsu tournament last fall that I absolutely did "gas" or run out of energy midway through the first match. I am not blaming the loss on this, but it is something I can learn from. So I took what I thought a wiser approach this time around. I did not feel "as gassed", but this is hardly acceptable. Perhaps chance or fate just screwed me over and I "just got caught" as some will say. But the bottom line is that I lost and at several points in the bout I felt like I would be content to just "hang on" and ride it out (stall and win on points) rather than attempt to finish (submit) my opponent. I never... let me say that again... NEVER want the thought of satisfaction with contention to cross my mind during a competition again. As Jim Rome once said; "trying not to lose will get you beat every time".... and it has.
Why bother? What makes this whole weight cutting issue particularly interesting in regards to jiu jitsu is that typically athletes cut weight so that they can be bigger and stronger compared to their opponents in the same weight class. Of course, but the same logic, smaller opponents will also be lighter and faster. The interesting part is that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was designed specifically so that smaller and weaker people could defend themselves against bigger and stronger opponents. If you have trained more than one day of BJJ in your life, you know that in this sport technique and timing reign infinitely supreme over quaint and trite qualities such as speed, power, and strength. The question, then, to ask is how could you improve your technique just a little bit to give you the same advantage (as if it were all as simple as a game of probabilities and cards) as you're anticipated strength advantage from cutting weight? Before you even bother to answer that question consider that improving your technique will have NONE of the negative aspects or risks of cutting weight and the potential benefit will be greater since the sport is centered on technical ability anyway! Of course you could always get stronger by weight training and manipulating your diet to stay at the same, natural weight. The point here is that, I believe and many others would agree, you are better off in a jiu jitsu tournament competing at a weight where you are comfortable, feel natural, and relaxed, and are technically savvy and physically lucid. Why the heck would you want to cut weight then?
A few points on this particular cut should be addressed. My body in particular carries an abnormally large amount of water. By this I mean that I could probably lose about 5 lbs of urine in two trips to the restroom over the course of 5 hours; or drop the same 5 lbs of water weight and have my urine still look like lemonade (not at all like apple juice - *urine color can be indicative of level of hydration). However, contrary to previous practice, this should not be used as an excuse to cut large amounts of water weight. Why? My body is conditioned to function with that much water in it. Cleaning up your diet is one thing. Losing <5% of you body weight in water to compensate for the weight of your uniform and "just for good measure" is acceptable I suppose. But 9 lbs of water that my body is used to functioning with and suddenly having to achieve a zenith with less than sufficient materials.
What to do, what to do? I am planning to compete in the next higher weight class for my up coming competition. That would be Middle Weight (181.0) rather than Light Weight (167.5). I feel that at this weight I would be closer to my natural body weight. Actually, I would still need to keep a strict diet. Why? Because my plan for the future three months is to gain back some muscle mass that will put my weight closer to its natural set point while still maintaining as low percentage of body fat that I carry now (calculation before any type of "cutting" other than a carefully planned and delicate diet). The point is that I have no qualms about balanced and informed dieting. Cutting on the other hand, for jiu jitsu purposes, has gotten me no where. When I was on a good diet and fought at a natural but lean and managed weight I won silver medals in both of those tournament. When I cut to make the official IBJJ weight class below, I lost in the first round of both of those tournaments. This leaves me two option, go up or down. Since my body fat (before any type of cutting) was around the 5-6% range this is beyond the realm of "good dieting". Veto the "losing the rest of the weight in a healthy manner" option. And thus that leaves me with the goal I stated above.
It is a goal of mine to assimilate this 8 Week Experience with a couple others to write one large eBook. That is to say that rather than having to read dozens of lengthy blog posts, one can click to the "BOOK" one and have it all sitting in front of them in one place. Ideally there will be a "lose weight" section, a "build mass" section, and possibly a cutting weight section should I return to the octagon prior to the completion of the book. Of course I am not a doctor and you should consult one before doing anything you read here, but if you're reading this you should already know this. I want it to be an encyclopedia of dieting not only for my readers, but for myself. If I want to know what I looked like at any point in time of my life, it is on my computer AND my blog as well as a detailed plan of how I got there.
My most sincere thanks go out to my instructors Jack McVicker and Brad Peplow, as well as Vicki Boisvert and Ryan Blackorby, my friends who have supported my training, my readers and clients for keeping me motivated, my teammates at Peoria Athletic Club who kick my butt ever day, especially Ryan Prouty and Will Link for sharing some truly invaluable wisdom (that can only be earned through coming of age) with me after a tough loss. The working title for the eBook is "Chronicles of an Open Source Athlete: A Comprehensive Case Study." If you've been keeping up with my weekly posts, now you know how I lost weight. Stay tuned to figure out how I gain it (the good kind), and where I go after that. As Neil Young put it; "I'ma keep on rockin' in the free world."
Monday, February 27, 2012
4 Hour Body Experience: Week 7 Summary
Week 7: 2/20 - 2/26/12
Data (Based on Morning Weight, not pre-workout):
Weight: 166.5 (without gi)
BMI: 26.08
PBF (old): 4.9
PBF (New - corrected): 6.6
Blood Pressure: 142 / 75
Heart Rate: 72
Neck: 16
Chest: 41
Waist: 30
Hip: 31
Training Schedule:
Monday - 2 hours BJJ
Tuesday - 1 hour BJJ
Wednesday - Rest / Recovery
Thursday - 1 hour BJJ
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 30 min Meditation
Sunday - Competition Simulation (See Below)
Total Training Hours: 5.5
Cold Shower Procedure:
Monday - Hot Bath
Tuesday - Friday: 1 min hot, 7 min cold
Saturday - Hot Bath with Epsom Salt
Sunday - 1 min hot, 7 min cold
Strength and Conditioning:
None - due to injury
90 Second Exercises:
| 2/20/2012 | 15/15 sec lever push up |
| 30 sec air squat | |
| 30 sec windmills | |
| 2/21/2012 | 30 sec jumping jacks |
| 30 sec windmills | |
| 30 sec push up | |
| 2/22/2012 | 30 sec push up to plank |
| 30 sec spider-man push up | |
| 30 sec air squat | |
| 2/23/2012 | 90 sec jumping jacks |
| 2/24/2012 | 30 sec chair dips |
| 30 sec windmills | |
| 30 sec lunge | |
| 2/25/2012 | 30 sec push up to plank |
| 30 sec mountain climbers | |
| 30 sec windmills |
90 Second Exercises (Cheat Day):
*Cheat Meal on Sunday after Competition Simulation (See Below)
2-Day Cut Diet (Practice):
| Practice Cut Diet (Low Sodium, Low Carb) - 2 days out from competition | |||||||
| Daily Intake (1200 Cal) | |||||||
| Meal / Time | Cal | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | Carb (g) | Sodium (mg) | Descrip. | |
| 1 / 8 am | 150 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 150 | Whey | |
| 2 / 10 am | 178 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 50 | Tofu | |
| 3 / 1:30 pm | 184 | 22 | 0 | 24 | 80 | Yogurt + Fruit | |
| 4 / 3 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| 5 / 5 pm | 135 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Chicken | |
| 6 / 7 pm | 149 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Turkey | |
| 7 / 9 pm | 114 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Fish | |
| 8 / 10:30 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| Total | 1258 | 143 | 50 | 60 | 930 | ||
| 45.50% | 35.80% | 19.10% | |||||
| Cut Progression: | |||||||
| 2 Days Out | Carb and Sodium Restriction; Normal Water Intake | ||||||
| Night Before | Hot Bath with Epsom Salt | ||||||
| 12 Hours Before | Stop Water Intake | ||||||
| Morning Of | If Over Weight - Breakfast = protein cake (eggs + whey) | ||||||
| If On Weight - Breakfast = Vegetables, WG Pasta, Protein Cake | |||||||
| After On-Site weight check | Kashi GoLean, Venison, Fruit, 5 hour energy exta | ||||||
| Every Hour | One Power Bar, Water as weight allows | ||||||
| 1 Hour Before Official Weigh In | Two MetRx Big 100s, Water as weight allows | ||||||
| After Official Weigh In | Water | ||||||
| Daily Supplements: | |||||||
| Whey Protein | 1 scoop | Muscle Pharm Combat Powder | |||||
| Multivitamin | 1 tablet | Equate Men's One Daily | |||||
| Green Tea / Yerba Mate | 4 tablets | NOW Slimula | |||||
| Joint Supplement | 1 pack | Universal Animal Flex | |||||
| Other Notes: | |||||||
| Dieuretic Spices | Cayenne Pepper | ||||||
| *In any combination | Lemon Juice | ||||||
| **One serving of ea/day | Ginger | ||||||
| Parseley Flakes | |||||||
| Garlic | |||||||
| Apple Cider Vinegar | |||||||
| Cumin | |||||||
Sodium Consumption/Restriction:
| Sodium Intake (high days) | |||
| Sample Date | 2/22/2012 | ||
| Food Item | mg / serv. | Qty. | Intake |
| Whey Protein | 150 / 38g | 1 | 150 mg |
| Kashi Cereal | 42.5 / 26g | 1 | 42.5 mg |
| Lean Beef | 75 / 4oz | 3 | 225 mg |
| Canned Beans | 185 / 0.5 serv | 1 | 185 mg |
| Canned Tuna | 180 / 2oz | 2 | 360 mg |
| Sauer Kraut | 180 / 30g | 4 | 720 mg |
| Cottage Cheese | 470 / 114g | 1 | 470 mg |
| Ketchup | 190 / 2 TB | 1 | 190 mg |
| Liquid Eggs | 15 / 60g | 4 | 60 mg |
| Sunflower Kernels | 190 / 28g | 1 | 190 mg |
| Frozen Vegetables | 15 / 75g | 2 | 30 mg |
| Worcheschier Sauce | 65 / 1 TB | 1 | 65 mg |
| Diet Soda | 15 / 8oz | 1 | 15 mg |
| Total | 2702.5 mg | ||
| RDI | 2300 mg | ||
| Sodium Intake (low days) | |||
| Sample Date | 2/24/2012 | ||
| Meal Items | mg / meal | ||
| Whey Protein (38g) | 150 | ||
| Tofu (2.5 serv) | 50 | ||
| Greek Yogurt (1/2 serv) | 40 | ||
| Nuts (2 serv) | 380 | ||
| Sugar Free Jello (1.5 serv) | 60 | ||
| Mustard | 50 | ||
| Vegetables + Chicken | 90 | ||
| Vegetables + Turkey | 90 | ||
| Vegetables + Frozen Fish | 90 | ||
| Total | 1000 | ||
| RDI | 2300 |
Competition Simulation:
This Consisted of a mock official weigh in (wearing Gi and Belt) the competing approximately 20 minutes later. I simulated this by weighing at home (167.0) and after making the 167.5 division, drove to the gym (about 20 minutes) before beginning to rehydrate. Then I had a training partner come in and push me fairly hard for 5 or 6 rounds (the approximate number I will be facing in the competition) with a minute rest between each round (in the competition there will be AT LEAST this much rest time between bouts).
Weekly Notes:
Monday:
- Data - Measurements and corresponding cheat meal took place yesterday (Sunday, February 19th) to celebrate gaining some great insight from Professor Jack McVicker at his seminar which I attended. Measurements were taken prior to the seminar. Cheat meal took place after the seminar.
Wednesday:
- Reduction of Water Retention - At the end of this week replicated the procedures I will use for my "final cut" that will occur in the days leading up to my competition. The idea is to mimic as closely as possible competition conditions in order to observe the effects of my planned procedure and resulting performance. Everything will be documented and changes made if needed. Ideally I will not have to cut more than 3 lbs (the weight of my competition gi) of water weight. I know that my body in particular carries an abnormally large amount water, so I would be fairly comfortable stretching the cut to 6 lbs of water. By cut, I mean mild dehydrating. What I am attempting to do is NOT reduce the amount of water consumed, but reduce my body's retention of that water. This will be done by drastically reducing sodium and carbohydrate consumption. In effect I can still drink as much as I please as long as the water is not coming from a water softener (which removes minerals from "hard" well water with the help of salt).
- Further Explanation of Water Retention - As mentioned above I will reduce my body's ability to retain water by reducing my intake of sodium and carbohydrates. Above is described my cutting procedure as well as charts detailing my dietary intake. Balance should be taken into consideration here. I achieved low sodium days by a counterbalance of high sodium days prior. There were not any special methods here other than I selected (from groceries I had in stock and consume on a regular basis) foods that have a higher sodium content for high sodium days and reserved their lower sodium alternatives (my diet is set up to have several meal options) for low sodium days. Thus, you will note my high sodium days to be around 2700 mg/day (well over the RDA of 2300 mg) while on low sodium days it drops to 1000 mg/day. Taking an average of these days (since there are two of each during the depletion procedure) will give an close estimate to what a my typical sodium intake is. 2702.5 + 1000 = 3702.5 / 2 = 1852.6 mg/day. This figure is pretty close to the recommended 2300 mg/day for a 2000 calorie diet scaled down to my 1500 calorie diet (1725 mg/day). Given my activity level and sweat/sodium lost therein, a surplus of ~125 mg/day of sodium is within what I would consider a reasonable margin. Carbohydrate intake dropped from 111g to 60g and corresponding calories also decreased. The main effort of this cut was not to deplete calories, but rather the mechanisms that can cause water retention.
- Injury - Monday (2/20/12) I strained my left MCL (outside knee ligament). It was not causing pain in the following days, but moderate to sever stiffness if I remained seated for seemingly any period of time. My strength and conditioning test will NOT be conducted this week as a result of the injury. Rather, the test will be conducted in the week following the competition. I do not want to conduct a max out session while injured or in the week leading up to a competition. The final week should be reserved for fine tuning techniques rather than learning new ones, recovering rather than annihilating, recovery and meditation rather than conditioning, and making fine adjustments to the diet to attain goal weight.
- Begin High Sodium Diet - weight was recorded prior to the "cut phase"
Thursday:
- Unplanned Cheat Meal - A disappointing lapse in discipline lead to a cheat meal before bed tonight. It spanned about 30 minutes.
- Errors in Body Fat Calculation - I recently discovered that I was taking pinch test measurements for the New Method (Jackson-Polluck 3) from one wrong location. Unfortunately this voids any data collected via this method up to this point. Please disregard any measurements obtained using this method in previous posts.
- High Sodium Diet continues
Friday:
- Begin Sodium and Carb Restricted Diet - As mentioned earlier I am attempting to simulate my "final cut" with conditions as closely resembling those of the competition as possible. This consists of two high sodium days and two low sodium/low carb days as well as the addition of foods and herbs that contain diuretic properties. See the "Weight Cut Procedure" above for details about these foods. Wednesday and Thursday of this week were high sodium days while Friday and Saturday are sodium and carb restricted days. The actual competition cut with start with high sodium days next Tuesday and Wednesday, sodium and carb restricted days on Thursday and Friday, and the competition will take place on Saturday. While the days are different, the time frame is still scaled identically.
- Diuretic Food Source Information - http://www.3fatchicks.com/36-diuretic-foods/ and http://www.livestrong.com/article/485320-the-adverse-side-effects-of-cumin-sage-oregano/
Saturday:
- Hot Bath with Epsom's Salt - this is to draw moisture, sweat, and oil through the skin and out of the body
Sunday:
- Sodium / Carb Depletion - This did not work as well as I had planned. There was no noticeable shift in weight. I suspect that the vast majority of weight loss was not from the hot bath or decreased water retention, but the result of my urine excretion and cessation of water intake the night before. This plan will be readjusted and thoroughly evaluated before being implemented next week. The same is true of the "diuretic" herbs I was consuming. I consume most of these things on a regular basis which is why I suspect that my bowel movement frequency was not altered. I am considering other options to empty the bowels. The contents therein are in fact waste, unusable to the body, and "dead" weight; the trick is to remove this waste without risking vitamin deficiency (particularly calcium and potassium) and severe (I am intentionally inducing mild) dehydration.
- I felt good during the competition simulation. The time frame of the procedure did not as directly mimic the competition setting as I would have liked, but it was a decent gauge none the less. My game felt good and smooth and I felt reasonably strong. I did feel a bit light headed and weary from the cut though. The adaptations I will make for the real cut are as follows. Rather than have two high sodium days followed by two low carb / low sodium days I will have a "regular" day between the two sets with average sodium consumption. I will also be taking a mild laxative to help empty my bowels during the depletion days. I have not completely warmed up to the idea of this, so it may not be put into fruition. You will have to read next week's summary to find out. The other major change from the practice cut is that I will stop my water intake sooner, about 16 hours before the competition to be more exact. The reason for this is so that rather than still cutting a few pounds on the drive up to the tournament, I can begin (all be it VERY slowly) rehyrdating my body from the time I wake up the day of instead of only after the official weigh in mere minutes before I compete.
Links:
*Disclaimer: As always, I am not a doctor and you should consult one before beginning any diet, supplement, drug, or exercise routines. I am not sponsored by, promoting, or otherwise receiving benefit or endorsement from any of the supplementary, dietary, or informational links provided other than being a member of Jack McVicker's Jiu Jitsu Academy through the Peoria Athletic Club.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
4 Hour Body Experience: Week 6 Summary
Week 6: 2/13 –
2/19/2012
Data:
Weight - 170
BMI - 26.63
PBF (Old) - 4.6
PBF (New) - 5.5
Heart Rate -60
Blood Pressure -137 / 87
Neck - 16.125 in
Chest - 41.125 in
Waist - 30 in
Hips - 31 in
Training Schedule:
Monday - Rest (sick)
Tuesday - Rest (sick)
Wednesday - Rest (still a bit sick)
Thursday - BJJ - 1 hour
Friday - Strength and Conditioning
Saturday - Rest (really tough S&C session)
Sunday - BJJ Seminar - 2 hours
Cold Shower Procedure:
Hot Baths - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
For Rest of Week - 1 min hot/cold/hot ea; 7 min cold
Strength and Conditioning:
| 2/17/2012 |
| 10 min easy row |
| 167w, 146 cal, 2359m |
| Then |
| 2 x 30 Lunge (15 forward, 15 backward) |
| 2 x 15/20# |
| 2 x 30 Overhead Lunge (15f, 15b) |
| 2 x 45/60# |
| 2 x 15 Overhead Lunge |
| 2 x 40/40# |
| 2 x 15 Lunge (farmer carry grip) |
| 2 x 60/60# |
| Then |
| 3 x 5 zercher squat |
| 45/105/105 |
| 3 x 5 front squat |
| 135/155/185 |
| Then |
| Off Box 1-Leg Squat x 3/3 |
| 5 x High Pull @ 115# |
| 5 rounds @ 30 sec rest |
90 Second Exercises:
| 2/16/2012 | 30 sec jumping jacks |
| 30 sec squat | |
| 30 sec windmills | |
| 2/17/2012 | 30 sec chair dip |
| 30 sec squat | |
| 30 sec vertical pull | |
| 2/18/2012 | 30 sec push up |
| 30 sec jumping jacks | |
| 30 sec latteral squat |
90 Second Exercises (Cheat Day):
| 2/19/2012 | Session 1 |
| 30 sec push up | |
| 30 sec air squat | |
| 30 sec bent over fly | |
| Session 2 | |
| 60 sec push up | |
| 30 sec good mornings |
Weekly Notes:
Monday:
- SICK (cold) - Came down with a full fledged cold today after some symptoms showed up yesterday. I did not train, do my morning exercises, take a cold shower, or stick to my diet as I wanted to get well as soon as possible and did not want to contaminate my teammates. Took a Vitamin C supplement (2 tablets) in the morning as well as Advil Congestion (every 4 hours) in addition to regular supplements.
Tuesday:
- Still Sick - Did not train, take a cold shower, or do morning exercises. Did try to get back on my diet, but failed as the day went on. Supplementation and Medication remained the same as Monday.
Wednesday:
- Felt better, symptoms still persistent - Did not train, do morning exercises or take a cold shower. I did, however, get back on my diet and stuck to it throughout the day. Took one Vitamin C tablet in the morning, and Advil Congestion as needed (lesser frequency than in previous days).
Thursday:
- Back on regular training, exercise, and shower schedule. Still took one Vitamin C tablet in the morning for good measure.
Saturday:
- Some Notes on the Macronutrient Change - Last week I prescribed myself a major diet change, and you can read the details in the Week 5 Summary under the Weekly Notes section. I did not notice a significant change in energy levels during training sessions as I thought might happen. However, I did perceive a noticeable increase in satiety and reduction in binge urges as I predicted would also happen. The reduction of binge urges could be due to my days of illness in which I abandoned my planned diet in order to prompt a quick recovery and get back to training. I do not think that this was the primary cause of my increased satiety though. With the prior rations (apx. 50/30/20; p/f/c) I was consuming I could manage about three days before I began "romanticizing" about the beloved cheat day. If you have ever been on a strict diet you know exactly what I am talking about here. With the recent adjustment I did not notice such pangs until day four. That is, my last blown-diet-day this week was Tuesday I felt fully satiated throughout the day for all days up until late Saturday night.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
4 Hour Body Experience: Week 5 Summary
Week 5: 2/6 - 2/12/2012
Data:
Weight - (Scale still does not have battery - on order)
BMI -(See above)
PBF (Old) - (See above)
PBF (New) - 5.02
Heart Rate - n/a
Blood Pressure - n/a
Neck - 16.125 in
Chest - 41 in
Waist - 30 in
Hips - 31 in
Training Schedule:
Monday - BJJ 2 hours (1 hour technique, 1 hour sparring)
Tuesday AM - BJJ - 1 hour (sparring)
Tuesday PM - Boxing (2 hours)
Wednesday - Strength and Conditioning
Thursday - BJJ - 1 hour
Friday - Yoga - 1 hour
Saturday - Strength and Conditioning - *See Weekly Notes
Sunday - Full Rest - *See Weekly Notes
Cold Showers:
Procedure - 1 min hot, 7 min cold
Tuesday - Hot Bath Day
Strength and Conditioning:
| 2/8/2012 |
| Warm Up |
| 2 x 5 wall squat |
| 2 x 10 squat @ 45 |
| 2 x 5 goblet squat @ 25 |
| Workout |
| 2 x 30/30 sec push press @ 2 x 20# |
| 2 x 30/30 sec squat @ 2 x 20# |
| two rounds @ 2 min rest |
| Round 1 - 25/20/11/22 reps |
| Round 2 - 25/20/8/21 reps |
| Then |
| 2 x 5 shoulder dislocate (45/45) |
| 2 x 5 narrow grip OHS (45/55) |
| 2 x 5 SOT + OHS @ 2 x 10# |
| Then |
| 2 x 5 wall squat (20/40) |
| 2 x 10 squat (135/225) |
| 2 x 5 goblet squat (80/100) |
| 2 x 5 shoulder dislocate (65/45) |
| Then |
| OHS x 10 @ 60/50/40/30/20 |
| Cool Down |
| Grip - Deadlift hang @ 165 |
| 3 x 1 min @ 30 sec rest |
| 2/11/2012 |
| Warm Up |
| 2 x 10/10 Around The World @ 20 |
| 2 x 10 walking lunge |
| 2 x 10 backward lunge |
| 2 x 10 big arm circles @ 2 x 5 |
| Light Row x 3 min |
| 121 watts, 658m, 37 cal |
| Workout |
| 1 hand DB snatch x 10/10 @ 40 |
| 1 hand DB jerk x 10/10 @ 40 |
| 3 min Row |
| 2 rounds, 3 min rest between |
| R1: 183 watts, 752m, 48 cal |
| R2: 185 watts, 752m, 47 cal |
| Then |
| Burpee x 10 |
| Air Squat x 10 |
| Push Up x 20 |
| 3 min Row |
| *See Weekly Note |
90 Second Exercises:
| 7-Feb | 90 sec jumping jacks |
| 2/8/2012 | 30/30 sec lever push up |
| 30 sec wrestler's bridge |
| 2/11/2012 | 15/15 sec lever push up |
| 30 sec squat triplet | |
| 30 sec chair dip | |
| 2/12/2012 | 15/15 sec lever push up |
| 30 sec bent over fly | |
| 30 sec air squat |
90 Second Exercises (Cheat Days):
| 2/6/2012 | Session 1 |
| 30 sec 1 push up per sec | |
| 30 sec good mornings | |
| 30 sec air squat | |
| Session 2 | |
| 90 sec air squat | |
| Session 3 | |
| 30/30 sec lever push up | |
| 30 sec short bridge |
| 2/9/2012 | Session 1 |
| 30 sec chair dips | |
| 30 sec jumping jacks | |
| 30 sec squats | |
| Session 2 | |
| 90 big arm circles |
Weekly Notes:
Monday:
- Cheat Day Change - I am still having three cheat meals per week. One is a "junk" meal on Monday morning as a reward, or "comfort", meal Monday morning after weight / data check. One is Monday night as a "good" carb load consisting of mostly starches and whole grains and minimal junk. The third replaces the last meal of the day on Thursday night.
Thursday:
- Weight check, scale had a dead battery on Monday, is 170 lbs. There is no change between this week and the prior which means that BMI also has no change this week.
- New Diet and Macronutrient Ratios - This week's weight measurement signaled that my progress had reached a plateau. After an honest examination of my cheat meals I realized that they were not meals, but more closely resembling the 4 - 6 hour binges that I had initially planned. The trend here is that these binges, true to the definition of the word, were a difficult to control and call a stop to, hence the planned meal stretches to a couple hours of binge eating, and a planned 4 - 6 hour binge draws out to an entire cheat day. Given this information there needs to be a procedural change. This observation teaches me, and those of you reading, several things: A) I was grossly underestimating the number of calories being consumed at each cheat meal due to their extended time frame, B) that error was overriding a great deal of the hard work I was putting in each week, C) the cheat meals, rather than the daily calorie intake is more likely the cause of the progress plateau, D) rather than cut my daily calories any lower, a more effective and sustainable solution will be to reduce the number of cheat meals per week in combination with a readjustment of macronutrient ratios within the day's intake. Ferriss himself stated that the moderate plan that you can stick to will result in better results than the perfect plan that you can not sustain. Given the volume of training I partake in in a given week, I have opted for a higher percentage of carbohydrates in my daily diet. Initially I waned a lower, but not super low, carb intake, but this adjustment serves two primary functions. It will allow me to have more energy during grueling training sessions as per the function of carbohydrates. It should also reduce the frequency and intensity of the urge to binge on sugary and high carb foods if the daily intake of carbohydrates is increased. To break the plateau, the best solution I can think of is to consider weekly calorie consumption rather than the daily. The explanation from this is earlier in this section. I am dropping to one cheat meal per week, on Monday morning and overhauling my macronutrient ratios to better suit my training practices. The cheat meal is still allowed to span a maximum of two hours, 90 seconds of exercise are required prior to and after the cheat meal, the meal following the cheat is to have a high capsicum content, and grapefruit juice is still consumed with the cheat meal. The content of the cheat meal will include both simple and complex carbs. The new plan will be implemented on Monday, February 13th.
-
February 13, 2012 DietDaily Intake (1500 Cal)Protein42.70%640 cal160g1g / lbFat27.60%414 cal46g0.29g / lbCarbs29.60%444 cal111g0.69g / lb1498 calMeal / TimeCalProtein (g)Fat (g)Carb (g)Descrip.1 / 8 am27630430Kashi + Whey2 / 10 am26525530Pasta/Beans + Eggs/Tofu3 / 2 pm22525520Fruit + Cottage Cheese/Yogurt4 / 4:30 pm21225810Vegetable + Beef/Pork5 / 7 pm18525510Vegetable + Chicken/Turkey/Fish6 / 9:30 pm1652555Vegetable + Chicken/Turkey/FishSnack / 11 pm174646Nuts150216146111Notes:Cheat Meal:Meal 1Breakfast, whey w/ coffeeMonday morningMeal 2Pre-Workout90 seconds of exercise beforeMeal 3Post-Workout90 seconds of exercise afterSnackApx 1 hour before bedGrapefruit juice with mealSleepBed @ midnight, wake @ 7 amSimple and Complex carbsWake UpDrink at least 500ml ice waterFollowing meal is SPICYBed30 min of ice on body priorCoffeeadd saigon cininamonJuiceGrapefruit, see Cheat MealGarlicwith one meal dailyLemon/LimeWith one meal ever other dayCapsicumWith one meal ever other daySugar Free JelloMix one packet at start of ea. WeekSupplements:Whey ProteinMuscle Pharm Combat Powder - one scoop dailyJoint GuardUniversal Animal Flex - one pack dailyTea Supp.NOW Slimaluma Plus - two capsules dailyMultivitaminEquate Men's One Daily - one per day
- I want to take a minute to closely examine some of the finer points of this proscription. Firstly, notice that my protein intake is still at one gram / pound of (goal) bodyweight. This is fairly common recommendation by many sources on the web. Secondly, notice that carbohydrate intake is still around 100g which is what some sources (sorry, no link) suggest to keep the body out of ketosis. That is not a primary concern of mine, however, it should be noted, thirdly, that fat intake is still close to 30% which is considered fairly high by most dietary standards. There are also some noteworthy points about when I am eating what. Notice that the carbohydrate dense meals are early in the day, reminiscent of a Target Ketogenic Diet. The reason for this is that the body needs more energy early in the day and less as physical activity winds down. Most of my training sessions are during the noon hour, and thus I am loading my body with energy nutrients (carbs) prior to training. Note that in relation to this theory, calories consumed per meal also generally decreases throughout the day for the same reason. Also along those lines, protein consumption remains fairly constant throughout the day and fat intake per meal peaks in the middle of the day before decreasing in later meals. Most meals are within 2 - 3 hours of each other with one exception occurring around my training session in which I want to have energy for, but do not want to feel too full going into it. A final note on fat, the last meal of the day is a healthy fatty snack to promote sleep (suggested by Ferriss).
Saturday:
- Overtraining - Fortunately I have been intelligently involved in the fitness game to recognize the difference in reasons why I do not have the "will to train." That is, I can usually recognize whether I need to "suck it up" and get to the gym or if I am actually symptomatic of over training. On Saturday I really did not want to go in for my strength and conditioning workout, but I sucked it up and drove to the gym. I warmed up, got through the first three rounds and was dead. I thought to myself that they should have been hard, they should have down right sucked, but they should NOT have been nearly as draining as they were. I was not sore, my muscles did not ache, but I WAS mentally drained and extremely physically lethargic. On the very rare occasion I had absolutely no will to continue. I opted out of the majority of the workout and took an contrast shower consisting of 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 minute intervals of hot water followed by cold before moving to the next duration. To make the case for my overtraining, I had a bit of a runny nose and sore throat on Sunday and did not pay much attention to it other than popping a few vitamin C tablets and one Advil Congestion Relief just to fend things off. Monday morning I had a full blown cold, note that I rarely get sick. Further documentation of this will be included in next week's (Week 6) notes.
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