So I am deciding to post on this blog again. I have this bad habit of having a great idea, starting a project, not touching it for a long time, and then randomly starting on it again. This would be a perfect example of that. I also have this bad habit of going "all or nothing" for almost everything in my life, but maybe I'll write a post about that another day.
Anyway, I want to update on how my life has been going since I blogged about a year and a half ago.
1) I no longer run, or do any type of endurance exercise unless I have to (such as riding a bike for transportation). I stopped running when I graduated college because I was sick of it, unfortunately. The 7 years of high mileage took it's toll on me mentally and physically, and I just didn't have my heart in it to continue competing.
Also, when I stopped running, I was obsessed with learning about metabolism, and it was clear to me that excessive endurance exercise can cause a down-regulated or lower metabolism. So that was enough for me to stop completely.
2) I eat gluten, and I love it.
3) When I stopped running, I got really into weight training. I was watching a lot of Elliott Hulse and Omar Isuf videos, and I jumped on board with Medhi's Stronglifts 5x5 program. The program is great for beginners, since it builds a foundation and is a safe and steady way to increase strength in the ways that matter (full body raw strength).
I followed that program for a while, and obviously I lost interest and incorporated other exercises to fit my current interest at the time. I stopped doing weights in November when I got a minor inguinal hernia (which I'll write a post about, maybe). I started again in Decemeber, and stopped completely doing weights in late April, except I kept the deadlift and the squat, and I kept them heavy (for me...).
4) Last summer, I fell in love with what Matt Stone writes about, Eating for Heat. The idea is to rehabilitate your health and metabolism if you are coming from a damaged state. In my opinion, I had a damaged metabolism from years of distance running, cutting calories, fasting, low carb etc. I wrote about it in my previous post, which was a thread I made for the forum's on Matt's side. So go read that post.
5) I mostly follow a low fat diet, with the exception of this past August and the first half of September. I believe a low fat diet is better for health and body composition, and being able to eat more food without body fat gain due to the thermogenic effect of carbohydrate. When I talk low fat, I'm talking below 40 grams. Most days I ate between 20-30 grams. Protein varies from 100-200 grams based on what I eat. I have done both higher sugar and high starch + sugar.
6) Training wise, I follow gymnastic based training created by Olympic gymnast Coach Sommers. The program is called Foundation. In addition to the strength and mobility I get from that, I also add in more stretching, body weight calisthenics (pullups, dips etc) when I feel like it. I also deadlift heavy following Jim Wendler's 5/3/1. I stopped heavy squatting to switch to "ass to grass" squatting, which I can do comfortably with 135 pounds. I practice sitting/resting in a deep squat daily to work on this mobility.
One thing I do is to train only 4-5 times a week, and not too much anymore. I learned (due to my all or nothing habit) that I can burn myself out from overworking. I did it with years of running. I did it with pullups too. This past summer I would do endless pullups and chin-ups, up to 50-100 daily, sometimes more. Come mid September, I could not bring myself to do even 1 pullup some days. Last Novemeber, when I decided to deadlift 3 times a week because I though I was super strong or something (I wasn't), I ended up possibly getting a minor hernia. So anyway, I make sure to train the way I like without going overboard.
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