2019 Health & Fitness Thread

[Accumulator]

I`m still waiting for some study to verify (gee, "I want to believe" huh? ) that my D3 supplement is beneficial. That`s the only vitamin I take. Starting this year, I`m gonna have my D level checked as part of my annual bloodwork.

 

[someidiot]

someidiot- I`d consider Creatine Monohydrate, which works *GREAT* for me; been using it nonstop since the mid-`90s. Oh, and, of course...[INSERT usual Fishoil recommendation ].

But generally IMO most of that stuff is of no real value to most people.

Ribose can be beneficial in some cases (we give it to our dogs along with their Creatine) and I keep reading about it being recommended for people going Keto, but I never got anything out of it. Never got anything out of most supplements, but Nitric Oxide stuff does indeed give a great pump (which I actually found counterproductive) and some people who oughta know (e.g., Mercola) think it`s important.

Whose/what Fiber do you use...soluable, insoluable?

I eat a good cup or more of Fiber1 (original) daily along with the Zone Cereal (which also has a fair amount) and the "real food" sources, but when it comes to my Fiber Supplement my long-time (decades) fave got discontinued I`m currently using a roughly 50:50 mix of Psyllium Husk Powder and Acacia which works fine with regard to regularity (we`ll see about how it`s tweaking my Cholesterol numbers in a few weeks) but I miss my old reliable.

Gotta watch what`s in Fiber supplements...check out the sugar in Metamucil! (I`d never take their Sugar-Free stuff any more than I`d drink a diet soda as IMO such stuff is worse than real sugar.)

Actually I just ordered creatine and it got delivered today. I do take fish oil also. For fiber I take psyllium capsules.

 

[jrock645]

I’ve never heard any real merit to that ribose stuff.

I take the nitric oxide stuff- nitrates work great!- because getting a pump on keto is tough to do. Only thing about not eating carbs that I miss.

 

[Accumulator]

Actually I just ordered creatine and it got delivered today. I do take fish oil also. For fiber I take psyllium capsules.

I`d have to take the psyllium capsules by the handful!

[INSERT usual reminder to take a genuinely therapeutic dose of the fish oil ]

On the creatine, *DO NOT "LOAD" IT!!!* Doing that can *seriously* disrupt your, uhm...innards...and even when it works OK it just speeds up the process that would`ve happened eventually anyhow. Just take ~5g/day and don`t expect anything for the first few weeks. People try loading, spend a day in the bathroom hoping to die, and then say "that [crap] isn`t for me". You might even ramp up the dosage gradually rather than taking 5g right off the bat.

Did you get straight Creatine Monohydrate or one of the, uhm...drink mixes/etc. (now they have chews/etc. too but I`ve never done those)? These days I take Optimum Nutrition`s Creatine mixed with some Welch`s grape drink (just to make it palatable). The "works best in the presence of sugar" argument requires a ton of sugar (~75g IIRC) to do the presumed Insulin Response that apparently makes it work even better, but I did *NOT* get better results back when I was using those high-sugar Creatine drink mixes (but they sure were tastier).

I`ll be curious how it works for you. I gained ~7lbs. of lean weight (yeah, much of it was undoubtedly water but that`s fine with me) in record time and my performance was significantly boosted both in RT and Cardio. Eh, I`m a posterchild for Creatine, a real Responder by any measure.

Again, I strongly urge you to never take more than 5g of it per day. And remember that it absorbs pretty far downstream in your digestive system, so it`s not like you can "boost a workout by taking pre-workout Creatine" or help your recovery by taking it right after exercise, just doesn`t work that way.

 

[Accumulator]

I’ve never heard any real merit to that ribose stuff...

I`ve forgotten anything I ever knew about it...but my wife did extensive research into this stuff (not just a few dozen hours) and it`s sure not hurting the dogs any..maybe it`s partially responsible for their late-life athleticism, ormaybe not. I do know that giving our male *too much* ribose caused weird muscle-spasm issues, which disappeared when we dropped the dosage.

Oh [snap], I can`t remember where I read that it`s recommended for people going Keto...Mercola, perhaps?

I take the nitric oxide stuff- nitrates work great!- because getting a pump on keto is tough to do. Only thing about not eating carbs that I miss.

If you like the pump I bet you`re really happy with the NO! I gather most people do value that, and NO supplements sure oughta deliver.

Which one are you taking? Been so long I can`t recall which I used, effective stuff (way too effective for my taste, severely compromised my workouts) whatever it was. But I gather that`s another area where I`m, uhm...different...and I`m sure not knocking NO supplements (for anybody except myself).

 

[jrock645]

I`ve forgotten anything I ever knew about it...but my wife did extensive research into this stuff (not just a few dozen hours) and it`s sure not hurting the dogs any..maybe it`s partially responsible for their late-life athleticism, ormaybe not. I do know that giving our male *too much* ribose caused weird muscle-spasm issues, which disappeared when we dropped the dosage.

Oh [snap], I can`t remember where I read that it`s recommended for people going Keto...Mercola, perhaps?



If you like the pump I bet you`re really happy with the NO! I gather most people do value that, and NO supplements sure oughta deliver.

Which one are you taking? Been so long I can`t recall which I used, effective stuff (way too effective for my taste, severely compromised my workouts) whatever it was. But I gather that`s another area where I`m, uhm...different...and I`m sure not knocking NO supplements (for anybody except myself).

Ive used a few NO Supps. They mostly all work, to varying degrees. I like trying different ones. One of my recent favorites is the cellucor c4 black I think it’s called. Has creatine nitrate in it, which is awesome for pumps(nitrates in general are). Usually I buy whatever I can find on sale. Currently using Hyde nitro x. Nothing particularly special, but provides a bit better of a pump and I got a good deal on it.

As for D3, I’m surprised you haven’t found the research you speak of, as I’d gotten the impression it was pretty well established. I don’t have any direct citations, but there’s a growing amount of research showing vitamin to maybe not being a vitamin at all, but actually a hormone. I’m no expert, but on its face, your body producing D3 in response to sunlight sounds a lot more like a hormonal response to me than a vitamin.

 

[someidiot]

I`d have to take the psyllium capsules by the handful!

[INSERT usual reminder to take a genuinely therapeutic dose of the fish oil ]

On the creatine, *DO NOT "LOAD" IT!!!* Doing that can *seriously* disrupt your, uhm...innards...and even when it works OK it just speeds up the process that would`ve happened eventually anyhow. Just take ~5g/day and don`t expect anything for the first few weeks. People try loading, spend a day in the bathroom hoping to die, and then say "that [crap] isn`t for me". You might even ramp up the dosage gradually rather than taking 5g right off the bat.

Did you get straight Creatine Monohydrate or one of the, uhm...drink mixes/etc. (now they have chews/etc. too but I`ve never done those)? These days I take Optimum Nutrition`s Creatine mixed with some Welch`s grape drink (just to make it palatable). The "works best in the presence of sugar" argument requires a ton of sugar (~75g IIRC) to do the presumed Insulin Response that apparently makes it work even better, but I did *NOT* get better results back when I was using those high-sugar Creatine drink mixes (but they sure were tastier).

I`ll be curious how it works for you. I gained ~7lbs. of lean weight (yeah, much of it was undoubtedly water but that`s fine with me) in record time and my performance was significantly boosted both in RT and Cardio. Eh, I`m a posterchild for Creatine, a real Responder by any measure.

Again, I strongly urge you to never take more than 5g of it per day. And remember that it absorbs pretty far downstream in your digestive system, so it`s not like you can "boost a workout by taking pre-workout Creatine" or help your recovery by taking it right after exercise, just doesn`t work that way.

Creatine monohydrate. It`s 5g/scoop and just 1 scoop a day.

 

[Accumulator]

Ive used a few NO Supps.. Currently using Hyde nitro x. Nothing particularly special, but provides a bit better of a pump and I got a good deal on it.

I think I got a sample of that with some order a while back..might take it sometime just for grins if it`s not uber-effective (sounds like it`s not) to where I wouldn`t like it.

As for D3, I’m surprised you haven’t found the research you speak of, as I’d gotten the impression it was pretty well established. I don’t have any direct citations, but there’s a growing amount of research showing vitamin to maybe not being a vitamin at all, but actually a hormone. I’m no expert, but on its face, your body producing D3 in response to sunlight sounds a lot more like a hormonal response to me than a vitamin.

I haven`t really done any research on it since reading that which I seem to have (at least partially) forgotten But yeah..hormone-like behavior and correlations with all sorts of stuff besides bone density. I decided to just take 2Kiu/day at the advice of my wife`s orthopedic surgeon (a guy named Kay..?Kaye?... who`s been published a few times) who thought that`d be sufficient for me.

 

[Accumulator]

Creatine monohydrate. It`s 5g/scoop and just 1 scoop a day.

Yeah, that`s the ticket! You might even do OK with ~3g/day after a while, at least on your Rest Days. Though I do better just taking the 5g/day.

I do assume you got a "micronized" version that`s not too awfully gritty; I`ve settled on the one from Optimum Nutrition, which works fine for us/the dogs and is quite cheap in the biggest jugs (especially when on sale). It`s easy to *really* overspend on Creatine! The stuff my wife started the dogs on cost several times (literally a few-100%) more and I couldn`t discern any diff.

What`re you planning to mix it with? There`s an argument that it should *NOT* be mixed with citrus juice due to the acidity, but that doesn`t make sense to me given the potency of stomach acid. I just use a grape drink anyhow since I`m used to tasting that, although its moderate sugar content is just enough to be [crappy] stuff to ingest while not being enough for the Insulin Response that supposedly helps with Creatine uptake.

I don`t mix it with my Protein Drinks/etc. as those thick concoctions (mine are like thick milkshakes) result in too much Creatine being lost to wastage in the blender.

 

[someidiot]

The stuff I bought is from Nutrabio, recommended by a friend. It is micronized. I`d hate to have any that`s not micronized if this is "less gritty." Pretty awful stuff. I`m taking it with water or coffee, since I`ve been taking it in the morning and that`s when I`m fasting.

 

[Accumulator]

someidiot- Hey, glad you mentioned the coffee as, supposedly, you should *not* take creatine at the same time as caffeine. I don`t know if that`s really a valid concern, but if you don`t notice anything after a few weeks...

Yikes, I can`t take it with water ..[shudder, yuck]...I gotta mix it with something palatable (that doesn`t contain caffeine).

Heh heh, yeah...I know just what you mean about the grittiness of even the most finely ground/"micronized" stuff! I end up actually chewing it a bit before I swallow and I always see some gritty residue (sigh...wasted product..) left in the glass.

I`m not familiar with Nutrabio, but as long as it`s pure (enough) and their version of "micronized" works OK for you I`m sure it`s fine. I gotta consider the cost since both my wife and I and the dogs take it, hence my going with Optimum.

I do miss the taste of the sugary flavored stuff (Phosphagen HP, Cell Tech) that I used to take though...and *those* creatines weren`t gritty! They must`ve ground/micronized the stuff even finer than the straight (no flavoring) micronized stuff. Those mixes were *FINE* powder, like talc, and none of the straight creatines I`ve tried were like that

 

[jrock645]

Weighed in this morning at 198. Officially down 30lbs since I started cutting in early November. Haven’t been at this weight in about 10 months, and my waist is 1” smaller now vs then. Measured at just below 35” this morning, at belly button. Wanting to get down to 33”.

Been trying something just a little different the last couple weeks, won’t be able to do it exactly every week as it won’t always fit into the schedule.

Mondays: carb up day. PWO meal and dinner(only 2 meals of the day) are carb heavy of whatever I want, but not all out binge eat until I’m sick. Full body HIT workout and cardio before eating first meal.
Tuesday: intermittent fast day. No eating until after my late afternoon long duration cardio and core workout. Intention is to deplete glycogen from previous day carb up and get back into ketosis as quickly as possible. Based on ketone sticks, this has been highly effective.
Wednesday: not to failure workout. Full body in no more than 20 minutes, get a pump and be done type workout. Followed by brief HIIT on the bike and PT exercises for my back.
Thursday: off or 30-40 minutes LISS on the bike at home, HR no higher than about 110.
Friday: full body HIT workout
Saturday/Sunday: one day off, other day cardio and conditioning. 5 sets of the Bear barbell complex, a couple sets of core work and about 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Really pushing conditioning right now, and the results are coming. Really looks like I’m getting leaner by the week, and waist measurement is gradually dropping.

Nutritionally, I’m not counting calories right now, or even stressing macros. Keeping it keto, eating intuitively with high protein and some fats with each meal. I have tracked a few times, and I’m probably in the ballpark of about 2300 calories a day. I feel good. Not battling hunger, sleeping well, and workouts are progressing.

 

[Accumulator]

jrock645- Ah, glad you posted that, I`d been wondering how it`s going! Sure glad you`re feeling good with that approach! Sounds to me like you`re well on-track to hit your goal by wedding-time, how do *you* feel about that?

What`s the idea behind Wed.`s not-to-failure- workout...active rest?

I`m surprised (but glad!) you can do a full-body HIT workout before bfast! I simply can`t get a good RT workout in without a hearty meal in me.

 

[Accumulator]

I`ve tweaked my StairMaster Cardio again after reading how there`s no need to do more than a (very) few intervals as long as I hit them hard enough. (NOT changing anything on the AirDyne as I simply can`t do it any harder.)

I`ve quit doing the 8 minute/ten interval workouts. If fewer give the same results (cardio-vascular-wise) then I`m not doing more.

Same warm-up: Blast Off Program at Level 7 (yeah, easy-peasy).

The "workout" part of my Stairmaster Cardio is still 5 minutes, but I`m only doing three intervals during that time instead of five. The first is a 80:20, then a 60:20, then 60:60 (followed by a five minute cooldown). I`m still doing the same Work (at speed 14, fast as mine goes) and Rest (speed 5) overall, but those longer Work intervals are more challenging with only 20 seconds between `em.

After using up the remainder of the 5 minutes with that final whole minute of Rest, I could probably skip the cooldown, but I do it anyhow. Pike`s Peak Program at Level 6 (basically a nice easy walk).

I`m doing that (or the AirDyne) about every five days, walking a couple of miles most others (in addition to the dog-walks).

In a few days I`ll be two-thirds through my three year plan; I`m about three months behind. Eh, close enough...I figure I`m behind because I keep finding more things I can improve upon. With every experimental change taking a few months (and so few workouts in that time), it goes fast.

 

[jrock645]

jrock645- Ah, glad you posted that, I`d been wondering how it`s going! Sure glad you`re feeling good with that approach! Sounds to me like you`re well on-track to hit your goal by wedding-time, how do *you* feel about that?

What`s the idea behind Wed.`s not-to-failure- workout...active rest?

I`m surprised (but glad!) you can do a full-body HIT workout before bfast! I simply can`t get a good RT workout in without a hearty meal in me.

I feel like im on track, but there’s still time to screw it up so I’m trying to stay on the plan. I’m off to NOLA for a few days this weekend, and that’s not gonna do me any favors.

Purpose of Wednesday’s workout is to get a pump, which might facilitate recovery. Also, the pump and blood flow into muscles might help with growth. It’s also something to get me up and moving. Finally, I’m also a believer in frequent stimulation of the muscle, thus why I prefer full body routines. Obviously the more frequent, the less intense it can be. This hits the muscle for a 3rd time during the week, but on a very low level of intensity, so it’s not taxing me.

And, he’s, I do really well with fasted workouts. It’s always been my preference- roll out of bed and go get it done.

 

[Accumulator]

jrock645- Hey, different approaches work differently for different people Glad you`re on track.

My whole "don`t do anything except all-out workouts" might be age-related. EDIT: and/or because I`m a kinda extreme ectomorph, not that it really shows much these days

And yeah..I gotta do my Cardio first thing or I simply won`t do it (and I`d hurl if I tried it after eating). Just can`t do the RT that way even when it`d be convenient.

How will you stay on track in NO? I`m thinking of how when we went to a resort for Thanksgiving weekend it`d take me a good long while to burn it off.

 

[jrock645]

jrock645- Hey, different approaches work differently for different people Glad you`re on track.

My whole "don`t do anything except all-out workouts" might be age-related. EDIT: and/or because I`m a kinda extreme ectomorph, not that it really shows much these days

And yeah..I gotta do my Cardio first thing or I simply won`t do it (and I`d hurl if I tried it after eating). Just can`t do the RT that way even when it`d be convenient.

How will you stay on track in NO? I`m thinking of how when we went to a resort for Thanksgiving weekend it`d take me a good long while to burn it off.

Im not really too worried about it, I’m gonna enjoy myself. I’m there for a conference, so I won’t just be there to eat. Do have a couple dinner reservations lined up. I’ll take a glucose disposal agent like chaos and pain predator with each meal to minimize damage. That stuff has been tested by some guys I trust on another board with a blood glucose meter... really helps minimize blood sugar spikes after meals.

 

[Accumulator]

Im not really too worried about it, I’m gonna enjoy myself. I’m there for a conference, so I won’t just be there to eat.

OH, OK...that`s different! Heh heh, I thought you were off for a Serious Indulgence episode! Should`ve known better, huh?!?

... I’ll take a glucose disposal agent like chaos and pain predator with each meal to minimize damage. That stuff has been tested by some guys I trust on another board with a blood glucose meter... really helps minimize blood sugar spikes after meals.

Huh...learn something new every day..never even heard of such stuff! You`re doing some real research into doing the Keto right, and that`s the way to do it.

 

[someidiot]

Im not really too worried about it, I’m gonna enjoy myself. I’m there for a conference, so I won’t just be there to eat. Do have a couple dinner reservations lined up. I’ll take a glucose disposal agent like chaos and pain predator with each meal to minimize damage. That stuff has been tested by some guys I trust on another board with a blood glucose meter... really helps minimize blood sugar spikes after meals.

Where are your reservations?

 

[Accumulator]

someidiot- How`re you and your wife doing on the Peloton?