Author: Chafed

Since Thanksgiving there have been two strains of comments among the commentariat that read the GlibFit articles.  First, those of you who in some way, shape, or form, write something related to the article to help your fellow Glibertarian.  Second, the few who think trying to exercise and/or eat right between Thanksgiving and New Years Day is a fool’s errand.

As part of the discussion, one of you offered up chrononutrition.  I’ve looked back through the comments and tried doing some searches on the site to find who to credit but my web skills are poor.  Whoever posted this article, thank you.

I’m no scientician but I found the ideas in the article intriguing.  The author was obviously aware of the Glibertarian audience for his work.  He kindly gave us a TL; DR version:

• Circadian biology plays a fundamental role in human health.
• Research has shown that nutrient ingestion can impact our “body clocks” in peripheral tissues around the body, suggesting that when we eat our meals can have implications for health via influencing circadian rhythms.
• In addition, it has been hypothesized that having a restricted feeding window (time-restricted feeding) can have beneficial impacts on body composition and health, likely via circadian effects at least in some part.
• A related hypothesis suggests that the distribution of calories over the day (majority eaten early vs. late) can also have health impacts.
• My personal interpretation of the current literature available leads me to tentatively conclude that, in general, the following heuristics would be beneficial for many people to follow: 1) avoid eating during biological night, 2) avoid meals, particularly those high in fat and/or carbohydrates, close to DLMO (or say, at least ~2-3 hours pre-sleep), 3) bias more calories to earlier in the day (i.e. don’t eat a high proportion of your daily calories in the late evening), 4) have consistent meal times and meal frequency from day-to-day, 5) have some restricted feeding window (start with <12 hours per day, but no ideal is yet known), 6) get daylight exposure early in the day and avoid artificial light (blue and green wavelengths of light specifically) as much as is pragmatically reasonable at night.
• There are several caveats and exceptions to the above heuristics. Implications may be different for athletes, for those trying to gain weight, for those who such heuristics undermine adherence to nutrition fundamentals, and in situations where social interactions and fun should be prioritized.

I’m going to give this a try.  I’ll probably need to eat a bigger breakfast and lunch.  Adding a more substantial afternoon snack should make it easier to eat a smaller dinner.  Eating more than two hours, much less three, before going to sleep is going to be a challenge.  I tend to have long workdays.  I’ll need to work this one out.  Though I will say all the late-night banter makes it easier even if it does deprive me of the sleep I need (I’m looking at you Sir Digby, CPRM, Festus, and Straffinrun.)

Let us know in the comments if you have used these ideas and how they worked (or didn’t) for you.  I’m curious to know if anyone with experience finds this sustainable (or not).  I don’t mean perfectly abiding by this program at all times.  I do mean making this a regular routine subject to life’s occasional disruptions.

Another angle I’m curious about is anyone who has done this and exercised at night.  This is a possible exception as noted by the author.  I’m reading David Goggins’ book in part to motivate me to up my fitness game.  I strongly suspect this is going to mean, for me, continuing with lifting in the morning and adding HIIT and ab work in the evening after work. I can’t tell if that’s compatible with the author’s suggestions.

This one is going to be short but sweet because I’m writing this from the road while returning from celebrating wifey’s 50^th birthday.  Presumably, you’ve all sobered up from Thanksgiving. It’s time to report in on your progress over the last four weeks.

I had two “tests” this past week.  Athleanx’s AX1 program has a recurring test at the end of each 4-week cycle called the Athlean 400.  It’s 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, 100 inverted rows, and 100 bodyweight squats.  You can get these done in whatever grouping you choose.  A month ago, I completed it in 17:43. This time I completed it in 15:06.  I was really pleased with the improvement but was shooting for a sub 15-minute time to score at a higher level.  I’m still calling that a win.

The second and more important test was the “Final X-AM.”  I hate the corny names but that’s the only thing I dislike about this program.  The Final X-AM requires 12 sets of ten reps and is also timed.  The exercises are burpee pushups, dumbbell swings, inverted rows, and V-Up Russian twists.  You must do one set of each (so basically a big super set) and then repeat until completed.

I’ll leave the scoring levels aside and cut to the chase.  I had to complete this in 25 minutes or less to “graduate.”  This test has seriously kicked my ass before.  It’s humbling to be reminded how far I have to go.

Four weeks ago, I completed ten of the sets in 32:20. I was winded, parched, and just dripping in sweat.  I was also pissed at myself because I was tired but not totally gassed.  I could have pushed on to finish even if I would have been over the 40-minute mark.

This time I finished but it took 37:23. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.  I was not even close to passing.  But I’m finding the silver lining because I did finish, and my ten-set time dropped to 30 minutes.  That’s an unofficial mark and I’ll probably ignore it going forward.  It seemed relevant this time because of where I gave up last time.

My lats and conditioning were clearly weaknesses four weeks ago.  I did much better on the inverted rows, but I have got to up my conditioning if I’m going to get my time down below 25 minutes.

I really wanted to move on to AX2 but clearly, I’m not ready.  May Warty have mercy on my soul.

Here’s where you report on your progress.  Our next check in will be the Sunday after Christmas.  So, for the brave among you, also tell us what your goals for the next check in.

I was carrying more weight than I wanted and had to do something about it. As my best friend says when he must lose weight, “I was pushing maximum density.”

I like running and I’ve run on and off for decades. But regular running was off the menu. I used to run with Moe and his arthritis makes any sustained run impossible.  Bros before hos and all that.

Lucky for me AthleanX has the answer.  But you already knew that.  Welcome to the land of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I don’t know if this is a common misconception, but before I knew better, I thought interval training was a bunch of bullshit used by soccer moms to avoid the mundane monotony and increased effort of a sustained consistent training pace. (h/t Trshmnstr) I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The concept behind HIIT is simple.  You do an exercise at high intensity for a relatively short amount of time, have a short rest or short interval of low intensity work, and repeat.  How many times you repeat depends on your condition and what you want to achieve.

One of the great things about HIIT is you don’t necessarily need any equipment.  Here’s a 10-minute HIIT workout that doesn’t require any equipment. (You’re welcome cisgender Glibbroads.) Okay, you literal bastards. You need a floor.  Tough crowd.

Here’s another one that’s 20 minutes. (You’re welcome cisgender Glibdudes.) Really with what’s being demonstrated it could be any length you want. No more slacking of NoDak glibs (I’m looking at you MikeS). Cold weather is no longer an excuse.

But Chafed I only have 5 minutes to work out!  FFS there’s always a way. Get moving.

If you are willing to spend a modest amount of coin you can get a jump rope and some plyo boxes. Part of my program is doing Bumps and Jumps.  The bumps are burpee pushups. The jumps are jumps on to a plyo box around knee high. I use an 18” box. In a minute do 10 burpee pushups. Whatever part of the minute you don’t use you get to rest. In the next minute do 12 box jumps.  Whatever part of the minute you don’t use you can rest. The first time I did it I was gassed after six minutes.

If you want to get out, then put on a pair of running shoes.  You aren’t going for a distance run.  You are going to sprint.  You can mix this up however you want.  If you are on a track, then spring the straight part and jog or walk the curves. Run 20 seconds, jog 20 seconds, and walk 20 seconds. You get the idea. You can mix it up how you like in whatever way your conditioning allows. The important part is to go all out for part of it, reduce the intensity for a bit, and repeat.

I don’t know why improving my HIIT training is so strangely satisfying. When I ran for distance, I was proud when I increased the length of run. For some reason I can’t explain, I’m fist pumping psyched when I’m able to add another interval or two.

A reminder that next week we all report in on what we achieved during the past four weeks.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

For anyone who has done any type of regular exercise for any length of time, you have almost certainly been told how important form is.  Poor form either deprives you of the intended benefit or can lead to injuries.  Proper form maximizes the exercises benefits and avoids injury.

Two exercises I have had the most trouble with are squats and deadlifts.  For men (and I assume women but correct me if I’m wrong Glibbroads), these are foundational exercises.  I could never get out of the starting gate, in part, because I royally screwed these up.

I started “squatting” in my twenties.  I’m using quotes around squatting because my form was so bad I repeatedly injured myself.  I read books that had diagrams and descriptions on how to squat.  Some had pictures of bodybuilders squatting.  And I still got it wrong.

That was nearly thirty years ago so I don’t clearly remember how I was led astray but I seem to recall being told to keep my legs about shoulder width apart, keep my back straight, and have my knees travel straight out over my toes.  I scrupulously followed these instructions resulting in constantly pitching forward when I would squat.  No question I was using my back during the lift.  One suggestion was to put a 2X4 under my heels.  That was stupid advice that I took it didn’t help.

Squatting like that gave me back trouble and, I think, knee trouble too. I didn’t do any deadlifting in my 20s.  I don’t think it was in vogue at the time and nothing I read explained its importance.  So, with an aching back and right knee that liked to remind me it was there, I skipped deadlifting altogether.

When I returned to lifting in my 50s, the idea of squatting was very unappealing.  In fact, it was a bit scary.  However, squatting and deadlifting are part of the AthleanX program so I either had to ditch the program or do both.  I trust the creator of the program so I readily accepted both exercises could be done without injuring myself.

As much as I’ve gotten from the videos and explanations Jeff Cavaliere provides for the exercises, I still couldn’t get my squat right.  It was better but still a bit off.  So, I searched YouTube and found a modern-day Viking Alan Thrall.  This is his video that finally made clear to me how to property squat.

After watching it a couple of times I wanted to reach back through time to choke out every f***ing author of the books I read in my twenties.  Did they really not know to tell me the bar should be moving vertically the entire time?  That I should be pushing with my midfoot?  That my knees should be travelling out at roughly a 45-degree angle?  I might have been spared a bunch of injuries and a thirty-year gap in squatting.

I’m truly grateful to Thrall.  I’m finally able to squat with good form.  I’m feeling it all in my legs, not my back.  The day after leg day, I’m free of back pain and feeling it in my legs and ass.

Thrall has his own YouTube channel.  I find some of his videos more helpful than others but overall, I recommend it.  He has a heavy emphasis on good form and proper technique.  Given my history that’s very important to me.  He has couple more helpful videos on squatting.  You can find them here and here.

Getting my squat right gave me the confidence to try deadlifts.  This is the AthleanX video on how to properly deadlift.  Between that one and his Deadlift Checklist, I got enough to do these right.  I have to stay super focused when I deadlift to maintain proper form.  I have gotten distracted and every time that’s happened, I felt in my back for days afterward.

I hope these helped you Glibfitters.  Tell us what exercises you screwed up in the past and how you found a way to do them right.

Am I the only one who feels like a fat fuck? Did everyone enjoy their Halloween? Maybe snacked on your leftover candy or your kid’s candy? Good. It’s goal setting time.

“But Chafed” you say, “I’m full of Halloween candy, I’m going to eat like a pig at Thanksgiving, and then there are office parties leading up to Christmas. Don’t even get me started on New Years Eve.” Look, I know you are a bunch of gluttonous, drunkards but you have to start some time. So, we are starting now.

Pick a goal that you will report back on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. What do you want to accomplish in four weeks? It can be anything: weight loss, distance run, amount of weight lifted, etc. Go with whatever works for you.

I told you last week that I’ve doing been AthleanX for the last two years. True confession time. It’s set up as a three-month program. At the end of each month you test. If you pass, then you go on to the next month. If you fail, then you repeat the month. Rinse and repeat.

I was seriously out of shape when I started. It was not uncommon for me to curse under my breath at myself, “you old, fat fuck.” I couldn’t even finish the test for Month 1 the first time I took it. That was sobering. Anyway, I tested for Month 3 last weekend and failed. My goal is to pass next time. Passing means doing 12 sets of the following in less than 25 minutes:

10 Burpee Pushups

10 Kettlebell Swings

10 Inverted Rows

10 V-Up Russian Twists

I need to cut off a lot time if I’m going to pass.

Here is where goal setting comes in for me. Having a time limit on when I’m going to accomplish this forces me to focus on what I need to do to prepare. My lats are my weak point and additional ab work will be helpful.

Having a time sensitive goal also makes each day critical. I was supposed to exercise 5 days this week. I’ll be in the gym Saturday night in order to get 4 in. What can I say? It was a tough week at work but I’m gutting it out instead of making an excuse not to go.

So, Glibbroads and Glibboys what will you publicly commit to for the Sunday after Thanksgiving?

P.S. No clever Babylon 5 links because Nephilium hasn’t commented on a single one. *sobs into pillow*