Month: October 2010

Diet Update – Escaping The Worst Man In History

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So I have become a Paleo convert. I have done P90X for almost a year and up until now I haven’t really taken on my diet. I didn’t follow the book, I just assumed I knew better. However, knowing isn’t the key. Doing is the key.

My diet consists of fruit, vegetables, protein in any form and dairy. I am trying not to overdo the dairy part, cutting down my cheese intake and so on but apart from that, I am a caveman.

What I have found after almost 3 weeks:

  • I have lost 10lbs
  • I am not really hungry any more. Even if I haven’t eaten for a while (I no longer need to eat 6x a day at regular times according to some) I don’t seem to be getting the same craving for food as I did. This is particularly unnerving for me since I have lived my life thinking about food and pretending to be hungry. Now I just eat what’s on the paleo list whenever I want. You would be amazed (as I still am) at how long you can go on an apple.
  • I am not getting tired like I used to, no 2pm let down and getting out of bed seems a lot easier.
  • I am sleeping better. That may be because I am turning off the TV at night in the bedroom but also because I am not full of sugar.
  • I pee like a pregnant woman. Seriously I have not been drinking more, just the 3 liters (or quarts) a day but I guess the live food is mostly water anyway.

I can’t say I have lost 10lbs in 3 weeks any other time without being mostly miserable. Other than before the wedding but even then, I was losing a couple of pounds a week AT THE MOST. Mainly because I was eating plenty of rice and oatmeal but no wheat. Even when we went totally raw for a few weeks I didn’t see that kind of loss. I was so paranoid about not eating protein at that point however that I was eating waaaaay too many nuts! That didn’t last long I have to admit. This seems easy though. I like to snack, I admit it but snacking on an apple or a banana was laughable to me only a few weeks ago. Now, it’s like I found Jesus behind the couch.

I’m going to try being more positive too, I think the grains were making me angry and I am tired of being the “worst man in history”.

Round 4 Day 25 – Rest Day or Not

Today was supposed to be a rest day but since I have rest “week” for the next 4 days I thought I would do a short run in my VFFs and see how they felt. It was a short 20 minute run but the shoes held up great, super comfortable and with none of the usual calf cramping, shin splints or back ache. It was a huge boost to the justification side of the KSO argument. The other side of the argument being why would you wear something that looks like gorilla feet or badly cut off circulation.

*Edit

And by the way, don’t skimp on the warmup or stretch. Even a couple of minutes is enough. For some reason I didn’t stretch today after my run and I am now feeling the tightness through my hamstrings.

I thought I knew about this stuff…

Vibram Five Fingers KSO – My Experience So Far

VFF KSOI have been doing my P90X workouts in bare feet for as long as I can remember. The only reason I don’t do my Insanity workouts barefoot is because I was afraid of slipping on the ugly grey foam tiles we have on the floor. That is, until now. As you have probably noticed I am an avid reader of Fitbomb and his experience with the P90X program, the Insanity mix and his transition into Crossfit are similar to my own not by chance. I have always said that if you want to see the results other people have, a good place to start is by doing what they are doing. I am not trying to change myself into a small American-Asian man but I am interested in the fact that a lot of the mental arithmetic that you go through when subscribing to a “system” is similar inside his head and mine. So our paths have taken similar routes. He has long been an enthusiast of the Vibram Five Fingers KSO (among others) and the notion that barefoot running is the wave of the future. Yes, I know, roll your eyes now and then go and try it. For years I have professed that I am “not built” for running and a large part of that was because I got terrible calf cramps and shin splints from running. I have now discovered it was not my fault, I wasn’t running right. Ever since I have been forefoot running (both barefoot and in shoes) I have been relatively injury free. Now I don’t run a lot, in fact I rarely run at all however I find that everything that I do without shoes is better. What better way then to feed my desire for shoelessness than by getting a pair of the VFF KSO for myself.

This past weekend we went to Penetang and on the way passed by Soujourn in Barrie. For under $100 I walked out with a pair of KSO’s and, little did I know at the time, the stigma of having black gorilla feet. I wore them most of the day, went outside in them, walked around in them, even ran around the parking lot in them. The moment you put them on, you realize that this was a great idea. You can feel the floor beneath your feet (something of which I am a huge fan) however it’s like you have super tough bulletproof feet that can’t be hurt. If you are a fan of not wearing shoes, and I have noticed that you either are or are not, it’s not really a grey area for people I have spoken to, then these are the things you have been looking for. Forget the Nike Free, like most things Nike it is shit. It’s not a barefoot shoe, it’s sure as hell not a VFF competitor, it is the usual corporate response to the latest shift in the market from a company that pushes it’s image harder than it’s R and D. It’s a cop out. If you really want some comfy shoes for the office that is something else but if you are looking to lose the shoes for running or for your sport of choice for gods sake get off the Nike teat already. It is fair to say that the Crossfit rage now is pushing the sales of the KSO. Everywhere you go and talk about them people either assume you are or are becoming a Crossfitter. That is not a bad thing, there are worse things than following a trend that makes sense.

I have so far worn them for over 20 hours. I have done P90X in them, done an Insanity workout in them and did Chelsea in them today. I am currently wearing them at work and I have to say they are the most comfortable things I have ever put my feet into. I can tell that they change my posture when I walk. I can tell that my calves and arches are getting more work than they are used to but I can also feel that my legs just don’t feel as fatigued as they usually do. I am not walking with that weird “tipping” feeling like my shoes are trying to throw me out. Overall I just feel better. And what’s more, I am down to a few seconds for putting them on… Foot powder helps.

Round 4 Day 24 – Chelsea

Day 20 – Rest

Day 21 – P90X  Chest and Back

Day 22 – Insanity Cardio Power and Conditioning

Day 23 – Today.

The plan is to do a 20 minute Chelsea. Chelsea is supposed to be 30 minutes but I don’t think I need the extra physical stress that the extra 10 minutes would inevitably bring. Of course, not having done Chelsea before I may not make it to 20…

Chelsea:

Each minute on the minute for 30 minutes

5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

Your score is the minute that you fail to complete the exercise. If you fail to do the 11th set on the 11th minute your score is 10. If you pass the 30 minutes, you can score Chelsea as Chelsea +3 if you managed to go to 33 minutes.

I will be wearing my new Vibram Five Fingers and I also wore them to do my insanity workout yesterday. So far so good.

.. The aftermath…

My official Chelsea score: 21.

The whole workout from music on to music off was under 30 minutes. It was a tough one, but very enjoyable. However it was a rude awakening that the first time I did the circuit it took me almost 45 seconds. It was then I realized that regardless of how little work it seemed, it was going to be tough. There was not a chance in hell that I was going to make 30 minutes though. Everything seemed to give out at once. I was suddenly struggling and dropping off the bar at 4 pull ups. I was still strong with the push ups but getting back up to do the squats was eating my seconds. Chelsea was good. I will try again for sure but the goal of 30 seems so so far away…

Round 4 Day 19 – WOD Fran (again!?)

So my last attempt at Fran was a bit of a failure. So much so that I didn’t even want to call it what it was supposed to be. According to the Crossfit site, Fran is as follows:

21 Thrusters 95lbs
21 Pull Ups
15 Thrusters 95lbs
15 Pull Ups
9 Thrusters 95lbs
9 Pull Ups

and the times that people proudly post for the workout are sub 4 minutes. I think that the last time I did this I was somewhere just over 10 minutes. Given that I didn’t rush through and was at the gym, I don’t think that really counts. This time however I just went through it without trying to hurt myself because I was using 35lb dumbbells instead of a barbell. That is mostly due to the fact that in my basement the ceiling isn’t quite high enough to lift the bar with the 45’s on it, or even I think the 25’s. Since I only have 35’s I was starting out with a 70lb weight. I shouldn’t have been worried however since after about 14 of the 21 Thrusters I had to change the weight for 25’s. It was mostly my balance that was the issue, not the strength. That made the whole thing a lot easier. Even so, I only managed an 8:35 for the whole thing which is a bit disappointing. I was hurting afterwards, so much so in fact that later during the evening I was still coughing up weird phlegmmy acid stuff that tasted like (I assume) battery acid. I almost drowned in my La-z-boy which led me to thinking that maybe I had done a little too much. My personal WOD then looked like this:

MetCon
Supposed to be row 2000m but since I don’t have a rowing machine I ran 1600m instead (1 mile)

WOD

21 Thrusters 70lbs (actually about 14 with 70 and 7 with 50)
21 Pull Ups
15 Thrusters 50lbs
15 Pull Ups
9 Thrusters 50lbs
9 Pull Ups

The whole workout including a short warmup took about 28.5 mins but I think it was the run that really did me in not Fran. For some reason, running messes up my breathing the first few times I do it. If I haven’t run in a while I get really bad indigestion (which I am a victim of anyway) and cough up the grossest stuff you have ever seen. After a few times it goes away, it’s all a bit of a mystery really.

Fran. I can see why people love it.

Round 4 Day 17-18. Plyo Plus Shoulders and Arms

No, I did not do P90X Plyo, this was Plyometric Cardio from Insanity. Although I did toy with the idea of going back to Plyo once this round we will see. I made a quick and easy shoulders and arms workout that was OK for shoulders but not that great for triceps. I am not worried about my biceps at this point but my triceps need a bigger workout than this. I think I may have to go away from the circuit training approach for this day so I can military press for my shoulders and then covert back to flat bench so I can narrow bench for my triceps.

Here is what I did yesterday.

95lb Military Press x10
35 lb In and Out Biceps x 10
Body weight free dips x 10
95lb Military Press x10
35 lb In and Out Biceps x 10
Body weight free dips x 10

135lb Military Press x 10
35lb Single arm Bicep Curls x 10
20 Military pushups
135lb Military Press x 10
35lb Single arm Bicep Curls x 10
20 Military pushups

185lb Military Press x 8
35lb Double Bicep plus Upright Row x15
Chair Dips (feet up) x15
185lb Military Press x 8
35lb Double Bicep plus Upright Row x15
Chair Dips (feet up) x15

35lb Side Shoulder Raise x 10
Band Tricep Push Downs (all 3 bands) x 10
35lb Side Shoulder Raise x 10
Band Tricep Push Downs (all 3 bands) x 10

It seems like a lot of sets and maybe it’s due to the fact that you are effectively trying to cover off 4 bodyparts in one day, bi’s tri’s, shoulders and traps. 22 sets is a ton compared to a couple of days ago when I did what I thought was 8 sets however if you split the pull ups out it was 16 sets. I still feel like I did more and yet not enough. I am thinking of splitting out and doing chest/tri, back/bi and shoulders on a separate day like I used to but that won’t be until round 5 most likely. I say round 5, but I am getting so far away from the Round 1 of P90X it seems almost ludicrous.

Round 4 Day 16 – Gym Chest and Back

I resolved to make this a tough but fairly quick workout but mainly to make it repeatable. It turned out quite well, although I can’t remember how long it took and I think with time I may need to tack on some extra sets especially if I can find some heavier dumbbells to do some rowing. The fact is that with this workout my back is solely done with pull ups and although I am not completely happy with that I have no way of getting rows into my workout at the moment and with the light dumbbells that I have it’s pointless to do lawnmowers. So here is my Gym Chest and Back workout.

Bench and Pull ups

135×20 + 10 wide front
135×20 + 10 wide front
185×10 + 10 reverse grip
185×10 + 10 reverse grip
225×10 + 10 close grip
225×10 + 10 close grip
275×5 + 7 tuck pull ups
185×10 + 7 L sit pull ups

As you can see, there are only 8 sets here and typically I like to aim for 12 -15. next time around I will time the workout and see if I can add another 2 sets at the lower weights. As my strength comes back I may be able to add more 275 sets but I don’t think I will be going higher than that. I benched 375 before, I don’t think I need to have a 400lb bench in my list of achievements.

Round 4 Day 14 – WOD Chesty

So last night I decided just as I was leaving work to do the actual WOD from the Crossfit Aurora Site since I had already done a Fran and a Cindy and didn’t have the time to hand pick another named workout. The WOD was as follows and since I liked it and will be doing it again I’m going to call her Chesty:

Chesty

50 Double Unders (since I don’t have a rope I did 50 tuck jumps instead same as power jumps in Insanity)
Rest 3 min
4 Rounds of:
21 burpees
15 Ring Dips (I have a dip stations for these)

My biggest problem with both Insanity and the WODs is the fact that getting to my feet from laying down a la burpee has been almost impossible for me since my back surgery. Not only that, but the fatness doesn’t help either. However, last night I found that when I used dumbbells instead of putting my hands on the floor I could actually do the movement. So for the first time in almost 10 years I did some burpees last night.

Save your wrist, enable the burpees within!

The workout itself is short but tough just like many of the WODs. In total I think I was done the actual workout part in around 13.5 minutes not including the double unders. I do find it weird though that I push myself far harder doing the Crossfit workouts than I do during either the Insanity or the P90X workouts. Maybe it is the time factor, maybe just being set free from the schedule of the workout although I haven’t actually gone at the DVD pace for a long time now with Tony. I am not sure, all I do know is that these workouts are crazy short and crazy tough… and I am picking the easy ones!!

Round 4 Day 14 – The Last 2 and Officially Paleo

I did Shoulders and Arms last night with Tony. I actually skipped the last section because I was feeling a bit off. Maybe it is the change in my diet, not having the sugar and processed grains really means a weird effect on your energy levels. I have done this before, prior to my wedding in 2007 I spent the whole summer off wheat and actually toyed for a while with completely raw food. However, I am many things, not least of which is a meat eater. I am not sorry, I won’t apologise for it and I refuse to be strong-armed by the passive aggressive vegan idiots who say meat is murder and whatever other amusing catch phrases they have come up with. Dog on a plate? , are you having a laugh? They eat dog in Korea. It’s all a matter of perspective and the fact is that without the meat eating public, there wouldn’t be enough food to go around, especially if the Organic wannabes have their way and get rid of the food industry giants that are keeping us all alive. But I digress.
My menu of choice then is Paleo. For the last 4 days in fact I have been completely grain free and apart from the usual headache and lethargy that accompanies any major change in diet it hasn’t been bad. When I went on the brown rice diet in 07 to isolate what it was that was making me so sick I found the same. About a week of feeling horrible and then almost as if coming out of a cocoon I felt awesome. I also found out that I have an intolerance for both wheat and naturopaths. So I quit both and have been more aware of my issues ever since. I am not going to sugar coat things here, it is VERY hard to get off grains especially if you are going all out and basically just eat fruit, veg and protein. It seems like everything you see is grain based and that is very true. But if you can start off and then work at finding things you can eat, you really can make it work and I can’t even begin to explain how good you will feel off that white processed powder, er, flour. Sadly I have other issues. I am almost completely intolerant of the nightshade family that includes peppers, potato and tomatoes. Potato isn’t too bad but if I eat a little raw tomato my acid reflux becomes so bad it almost incapacitates me. Peppers make me fart but happily hot sauce of which I am a HUGE fan doesn’t seem to have the same effect. So for now I am off potato too. Believe me, this couldn’t be harder but I think in a month when I look back, I will at least have more information about my body and how it reacts than I do now.

Today is my Crossfit workout and I haven’t decided what yet. If I can’t decide I think it may be Fran again this time with dumbells to take the strain off my wrists.