One of the topics I like to think about and test myself on are health tricks. I don't want to delve into this topic, at least not right now.
I believe that health is important to function properly. Both physically and mentally.
I've been on both sides. When I was "young" I raced MTBs and tried to hack everything in order to give the best performance possible. I tried everything imaginable. My kitchen became a laboratory and I tried various tricks and tips in those days. But that was a long time ago, about 20 years ago.
The other side of the coin was after competing, when I was trying to dedicate myself to "business". I didn't have time to train, work out, and everything was on the fringes of anything that wasn't strictly business.
I was lucky enough to have a good genotype, I guess, and I was also in my early 30s, so my body felt strong and good, regardless of what I did, ate, etc.
Now, at the age of 40, I am thinking more and more about health. You can't stop aging, but you can slow it down a lot.
After my "racing" life of testing and measuring everything, I am now in the phase of listening more to my body. Measuring everything is great because when you do it for a long time you can relate a certain number to a certain feeling. That's how you can get to know your body well. Later on you will realize that you don't have to measure everything because you already know those sensations and what they mean.
So now, I listen to my body what signals it gives me. I'm not a fanatic anymore. I'm not 100% into measuring everything like I was when I was younger. Rather, I'm not a diet fanatic. If I could get rid of anything it would be food. Don't get me wrong, I love steaks and the taste of a good steak, but I can imagine living on pills alone. Something like "take this pill and it's like eating 500g of steak". No problem. But there is no such thing. You can't replace food, now.
When you are over 40 you realize that it is important to optimize your diet to stay in shape.
Below are some steps I take and now it works for me. I may change it in the future, but if it works, I'm sticking with it.
Listen to your body and understand what the body tells you.
Eat less
Do blood work regularly to have some markers and data
Do not stick with very strict diet (if your health condition does not require it)
Sleep enough and well
Use supplements and vitamins
Combine strength training and cardio workouts
Get outside, you need sun
Keep it simple, do not overcomplicate it
Listen to your body and understand what the body tells you:
As I have already mentioned, learn to listen to your body. Some measurements at the beginning can help you. For example, heart rate during workouts and try to memorize what sensations you have while training at different intensities. Measure what your resting heart rate is. When your resting heart rate is higher, how do you feel? Do you feel tired? Do you feel like something is wrong? How? There are many different markers you can measure, not just heart rate. But you know what I mean, you have to do something like a diary of your feelings. When you have different sensations, try to put them together with some numbers.... After a few years you will be able to work only with sensations.
I think this is not necessary for athletes, or ex-athletes because it is the "bread and butter" of understanding the body but for someone with no experience this will help.
If you were an athlete before, you may just want to "upgrade" and reboot if your feelings changed in any way, but it's a quick process for those who know what to do.
Eat less:
What works for me is to eat less. I started intermittent fasting unintentionally.
During the "business" period in my life I had little time and mostly I was traveling about 250 days/year for business. I often didn't eat breakfast and my first meal was around 2pm. But it worked. I would eat from 2PM until 8PM whatever I wanted. And it felt great.
So I followed it to the letter. Of course, I'm not 100% strict and if I wake up in the morning and I'm hungry because I've had a hard workout the day before, then I eat breakfast. No problem. But 90% of the time I start eating after noon. This means I eat about 6 hours a day and I have 18 hours without eating.
Do blood work regularly to have some markers and data:
I get blood work done about 2 times a year. I want to know some basic markers and if everything is in line. I want to know various hormone levels.
Do not stick with very strict diet (if your health condition does not require it):
I have learned that it is best to eat varied, if possible. This means that I can eat everything and I am not strict with a specific diet. Again, I listen to my body and eat what it tells me. However, I must admit that the vast majority of the foods I eat are of animal origin. It is for several reasons. Animals are meant to be eaten. Just like fruit or vegetables. The human body is optimized to process animal foods better than plant foods. It is due to the low PH in our stomach and due to another reason such as our digestive part is limited to process plant based food.
In other words, the best thing for the body is meat. If I were in the situation where someone held a gun to my head to decide what I was going to eat for the rest of my life, then it would be meat without a doubt.
I would say 75% of what I eat is meat. The benefits are enormous. You can eat just meat, you don't need any side dishes, you don't get tired after eating meat (pure energy), you don't need to eat often. I can eat 1 or 2 times a day in the afternoon and I feel great. Beef steaks are the best.
Note: I drink a lot of Yerba Mate during the day. Keeps me energized, not hungry, functioning properly. Great way to stay caffeinated throughout the day.
If you don't know what Yerba Mate is, then I will write an article about it, just focusing on Yerba Mate. It is huge in the south of South America. It is tea leaves and is drunk all day from gourd with bombilla.
Sleep enough and well:
This is where all the magic happens. It's very different at 20 and at 40. I myself remember at 20 I could sleep less and still function properly. Now I realize that my body needs good sleep. Another big difference was that I went from the "owl" life to the "early bird" life.
My body feels more relaxed and energized when I go to bed early and wake up early. The sleep before midnight is very valuable. Another benefit is that early in the morning I have time to myself, I can get difficult tasks out of the way and by 8 or 9 AM I have hours of work behind me which is very motivating that the hardest parts are already done. Other people are waking up and I already have 3 hours of work behind me. Extremely motivating and addictive.
Use supplements and vitamins:
This is a tough one. You never know what will work for you and what will not. It's more about testing and trying. I have settled on a couple of supplements that I take daily and I feel great. It may change in the future, but it works now.
Vitamin B12 - red blood cell formation, mood improvement, nervous system support
Vitamin K2/D3 - reduced risk of calcification and cardiovascular disease.
ZMB (zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6)
Magnesium - maintaining heart function, sleep quality
Zinc - effect on testosterone levels
B6 - red blood cells production
Vitamin B-complex - immune system support
Milk thistle - liver protection
Ashwagandha - reduced cortizol levels, improved sleep
Creatine - increased muscle mass, improving cognitive function, stimulation of protein synthesis.
Tribulus Terrestris - positive effect on testosterone levels
Combine strength training and cardio workouts:
It is essential to train for physical and mental health. Generally, my routine consists of dividing the day into two parts. Work session in the morning, followed by training in the gym or outdoors, and work session in the afternoon.
Training at noon has several advantages for me: It divides the day into 2 parts. You can relax mentally while working out. There is no one at the gym during the day. I try not to go to the gym during peak hours. And, of course, I consider the gym a sacred place, no phone. I want to concentrate fully on working out and not answering calls or checking social media.
My routine is pretty simple: 3-4 times a week strength training. 2 times a week cardio training. It varies a lot depending on the season. When the weather is nice I tend to be more outdoors on MTBs, while when it rains and the weather is bad I tend to be more indoors in the gym.
But keep it simple. Basic full body strength exercises will work for you, such as deadlifts, squats, bench presses, cleans, snatches, pull ups, etc....
I will dedicate a separate article to strength training and cardiovascular training.
Get outside, you need sun:
Sunshine is essential for our well-being. That's why I tend to spend a lot of time each year in sunny countries. It boosts your mood, your energy and keeps you healthy. You don't need to live in a country with good weather. But what you do need is sunshine. It doesn't matter if it's cold when it's sunny. Go out in the sun every day, 30 to 60 minutes is fine.
You can enjoy it while exercising or just sit and think about your plans, have a deep conversation with yourself, whatever suits you best.
Keep it simple, do not overcomplicate it:
Keeping it simple is a great tip for everything. As the 80/20 pareto principle says. Simplify 80% of things. It is possible.
Don't overcomplicate the meal, don't be a prisoner in the kitchen.
Don't overcomplicate the workouts, a couple of very wisely selected great exercises will do the job.
Don't overcomplicate yourself with regeneration, get enough sleep and sunbathe. The body will grow and repair itself.
Keep things simple. Look around you. Many people are obese and unhealthy. Take responsibility for your actions. Prevention is simpler and cheaper than solving existing problems.
Thanks for reading, see you next time
Jan
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