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Basic Health Template

Health

Jotting down an outline of my basic approach to staying healthy and generally fit for my life and its requirements. Do note that my aim is to do this 80%+ of the time, and I'm by no means perfect. There may be periods of time where I acheive less than 80% compliance, others where I'm at 100%. That's ok. That's life.

Birds eye view

  1. >60mins of being active every day.
  2. Keep body weight under 88kg (happy weight for me is 83, but Christmas and summer holidays get in the way of staying there).
  3. Simulate my body every day.
  4. Stay mindful

A little more detail

Activity: basically, anything where my body is being used in a way that doesn't involve just standing/sitting there counts. This could be a walk, a stretch, a run, resistance training, surfing... anything really.

Body weight under 88kg: This gets into the realm of food. At the extremes, it's technically possible to use only exercise to keep weight off, but I'm a voracious (read: binge) eater, so this is not practical for me. Basic approach is:

  • Weigh myself everymorning first thing.
  • I don't worry about anything until my weight hits 88kg.
  • I stick to mostly whole foods (I find the NOVA Classification best suits the bill for how to think about food healthiness).

Stimulate: This is what people call exercise, it's different from physical activity in that it demands some adaptation from the body. If you're sedentary, then a 30 minute walk classifies as exercise - if you're running 5km's, then it does not. Here I aim (and mostly acheive) the following:

  • Resistance train >3x/week
  • Mobilise every day
  • static stretch >2x/week
  • accumulate >1hr of cardio (oxidative work) / week
  • challenge my glycolitic system >1x/week

Mindful: Mindfulness meditation has been wonderful for me over the last 15 years. Formal practice is not the same as having a generally mindful approach to life, which can be achieved by simply pausing and appreciating whatever is happening.

Even more detail:

Here's a list of specifics in no particular order:

Routines:

  • Fast 24 hours once a week: mainly for my own psychology - it's helpful to me to remember what hunger feels like. It also helps slow down weight gain for me (not for everyone). It's a useful barometer of my blood sugar control. It may have other health benefits (currently unproven).
  • 30 min walk every day
  • do my "circles" every day: this is a little mobilisation routine that takes me 5 minutes - I've been doing it for years. If I miss two days in a row I notice it in my joints.
  • Resistance train on average 5x/week, sometimes more.
  • Cardio before each resistance training session
  • 1 long and slow/week: usually a run or a row)
  • 1 glycolitic/week: usually intervals on rowers, but I want to do more sprinting these days.
  • 5-10mins meditation daily.
  • 160g protein / day. Mostly from food, whey concentrate if I'm on holiday or losing weight (Other people cook when I'm with family, so I guarantee my intake by taking 90g first thing in the morning)
  • 5 mins in the sunbed 1x week keeps the SAD away.

Standards

  • Run 5km in under 30 mins: generally easy enough - my favourite 5km run near home has some big hills - this makes it harder.
  • Strict Barbbell overhead press my bodyweight for >1 rep
  • 15 strict chest to bar pull ups (or thumbs to armpits if on gymnastic rings)
  • Pistol squat >15 reps/leg
  • Palms to floor with knees locked out.
  • Hold bridge for >30s (that's the hands and feet variation, not the glute bridge)
  • deadlift 2.5xBw for >1reps (Edit: previous version said 5, which was a typo, i aim for more than 1).
  • 36 hour fast without energy drop: i can exercise and focus on work the whole time.

Drugs and Supplements:

  • 20mg Atorvastatin (I have familial hypercholesterolemia)
  • 5g fish oil
  • 5g creatine
  • vitamin D in the winter

Silly FAQ

Q: Low carbs/Low fat! A: Don't care, I like food, some dishes have high carbs, others have high fat, some have both. If it tastes good and is made of whole foods, its fair game.

Q: Statins are an evil big pharma plot! A: Not a question. Maybe, but they stack the odds of not dying from a heart attack in your favour when you have my levels of LDL.

Q: 5km in <30mins is easy! A: Also not a question... I don't enjoy long and slow cardio. Everything else in my life goes better when I'm able to do this, and I haven't felt the need to push my oxidative system further than this yet. I may, at some point, who knows.

Q: Why 160g protein? A: Because my performance in the gym usually goes up at this level, and I find it makes a lot of other things in my diet fit in to place when i prioritise this.

Q: What about fruits/veg? A: I eat them. Lots of them. By weight - mostly them.

Q: Pistol squats seem kind of niche? A: If I can do them I know my leg strength is decent, and my lower body mobility/flexibility is also decent (requires good ankle and hip mobility). 15's not too hard, but I use other exercises for my strength standards.