http://www.hngn.com/articles/198291...-just-as-beneficial-45-minutes-study-says.htm Many may find this interesting.
I've been doing a variation of this type of training at the end of my resistance routine for a couple of years now. It is so much better (faster) than mind-numbing conventional cardio, and evidently at least as beneficial.
I thought about you when I came across the article. I think I'm going to take a serious look at this technique. Cardio bores me (except when I'm trading on my Tab while walking). My latest update: I managed to catch the flu this week (was just getting back to moderate weights after several months of light work). I will now need to go back down to lighter weight, but that's OK. On the plus side, I've lost 7 lbs since Sat when I started feeling sick. Temp hit 104 Mon night so went to the doc Tue and got the diagnosis (type B; I haven't had a flu shot since I was in the Navy...mid 80's). One thing I did, even though I had a total loss of appetite, was drink BCAA's and 20 to 40 grams of protein each day. Appetite is coming back now, and should be back in the gym as soon as Fri. I was too sick to fool with making green juice, which I should have been doing. Can't think of any time I need those nutrients more than when fighting infection. All that said, it was a great fast, for sure, but would rather do it when I'm not laying in bed. Don't burn much calories doing that. Now, if I can keep those pounds off, it won't have been a total loss. Regarding the fasting diet: It seems I've read that some dieters actually take an entire day every week with no solid food. I went two days with just the BCAA's and whey, but think doing a day a week could really pay dividends combined with the regular type of fasting discussed throughout this thread. On that day, I would consume green juice and BCAA's only. Just an aside: 20 hours+ sleep every day, no caffeine, no pre workout, and no alcohol = great blood pressure reading (not counting the night my fever peaked...it was pretty high that night).
Sorry to hear you've been under the weather and aren't out of the woods yet. I'm guessing this probably isn't the best manner in which to lose weight, so try not to prolong it. Can't comment on the fasting and BCAAs, as I don't do that stuff. But as we know, others here seem to recommend it. Regarding the fasting, though, and I'm probably wrong here, but I get the feeling that ~drastic actions can sometimes result in opposite reactions. I wonder if occasional fasting causes the urge for occasional bingeing. Just a feeling, though. I'd be curious to know if people who have done this sort of thing for any meaningful length of time have managed to maintain their equilibrium beyond the short term. I hope they respond and advise. By way of update, I modified my routine slightly last week. Since January 2015, I've been doing 2 full body workouts per week. Based on some more reading I've been doing recently, the value of which now remains to be determined, I decided to reduce the frequency to 3 times every 2 weeks. So Monday and Friday of one week and Wednesday of the following week, and so on. So each muscle gets worked 3 times every 2 weeks, spaced 4 or 5 days apart. In fact, from the early '90s to about 2005, I had done a split routine 3 times a week: ABA one week, BAB the next and so on. So the frequency per muscle group was the same as what I am now doing. I was quite pleased with the results. Of course, the volume was much higher, and I was younger then. I will continue to maintain the low volume I had been doing up until now, but have increased the intensity a bit, adding a single ~rest-pause-type set for a few of the exercise that I consider the most important. So after doing a single set to absolute positive failure, I will hold for a few seconds, finish with a slow negative, rest for about 5 or 10 seconds and then do a few more reps with lower resistance to failure again. The resistance routine will continue be followed by the brief burst cardio we previously discussed. I'll try to maintain this frequency for a few months without tweaking it (a relatively recent weakness of mine) to see how it goes. In the meantime, get well soon!
I have some interesting news. Saw the TRT specialist this week. Doc said 90% of the 6,000 patients he's saw with low testosterone suffered a head injury/concussion early on in life. Doc is working with others around the world to collate data. His colleagues have experienced similar results. The idea is injured brains are prone to inflammation. After a concussion, some brains remain inflamed, which causes degradation, breakdown, and over time, sub-optimal hormone levels. Anyway, thought that was interesting. Who knows eh. Doc put me on HCG to start for six weeks.
That's interesting. But wouldn't the effect present soon after the injury? Did these men who had a head injury early in life subsequently have normal test levels that then dropped later in life and are now a problem because of that early accident? Or did they have low test ever since the injury? I ask because if you think that you may have low test now due to a childhood head injury, then the question is did you ever have normal test during your adulthood? And if your test was once normal, post injury, then why might your doctor think that the low test took so long to manifest? Serious question.
I'll have to start paying more attention to this thread. I’d noticed it before, but thought it was a different age group. I’m in my 60's. In terms of background One of the most enjoyable experiences in my life was in grad school doing intramural power lifting. Have had significant health issues most of my adult life, but exercise and weights have always been helpful. I credit them for just being alive, period. My last girlfriend was semi-pro… there are pictures of her on stage with Schwarzenegger. But… I don’t even know all the abbreviations you guys are using. I just do low level sets and workouts. I get with them, start to build up a bit, then life intrudes and I’m back to the minimal. Do have about 10 extra pounds to lose right now. Vegetables-only fasting for a few days usually does it… that kind of thing. Maybe listening to you guys I’ll do better and be more consistent…. It is enjoyable hearing you talk, thanks.
Hi Hooti, and welcome to the thread. I think it's a good resource and we have Baron to thank for starting both this thread and the related one that preceded it. As you can see, we have different approaches and views, some of them evolving, and we can always learn a little something from others as we share our experiences and observations, and reported research findings. Although the thread has slowed down somewhat, I hope we continue to breathe life into it. And I hope you stay on top of your health issues.
No, sub-optimal hormone levels take years to manifest as the brain has to undergo prolonged inflammation, then degradation, then reduced functioning etc. That's how the doctor explained it to me. Yes, the men who suffered a head injury early in life experienced normal T levels until their 30's or 40's when the symptoms then began to manifest. It's basically like a pharmaceutical drug. Not everyone who takes the drug (or suffers an early head injury) experience side effects (lower T). But some people do. It takes so long to manifest simply because the brain never really recovers from the original injury. Think chronic inflammation. That's how the doctor described it. We think after a concussion the brain eventually recovers to 100%. In some individuals he thinks the brain never fully heals, and remains chronically inflamed. That chronic inflammation over time causes permanent damage which in some guys manifests in suboptimal hormonal levels. He thinks this is related to Alzheimers.
Fascinating stuff. Do you know if these past injuries show up on present CT scans or MRIs as ongoing chronic inflammation?