Howdy!
I hope you are all doing well. I started these training updates at the age of 39 as a bit of an accountability exercise. I was not sure how the initial post (or follow-ups) would be received, but I get a remarkable volume of questions inquiring what I’m up to currently. Someday I’ll get one of these up on or around my actual birthday in January, but that did not happen this year. I’ll just jump in and talk first about lifestyle, then training, then nutrition. It’s not my goal to make this a touchy-feely, self-sharing piece, but the reality is what we have cooking in our personal lives dramatically affects the ease (difficulty?) of our training and nutritional pursuits. It’s, all connected. And stuff.
Lifestyle
The end of July last year we welcomed our 2nd daughter, Sagan Rose Wolf to the Wolf Pack. It’s been awesome, life altering…and a pretty stout kick to the jimmy. Many considerations of the 2nd kid are easier (we have a little better idea what the heck we are doing) but each kid is different. Then we still have that pesky “other” kid to contend with. Zoe is now three years old, full of energy, desirous of parental time…I have all kinds of respect for the folks who have walked this parenting path ahead of me. Holy Cats!
It’s trite to say that “when you have kids you just need to be more time efficient.” Yes, that’s true, and the reality is you never, ever have the same time or capacity to do what you did previously. At least I have not figured out how to do all that seems to need doing, particularly if I want to be what I envision to be a “good dad.” I have to sacrifice some of the things I was accustomed to doing. Not the end of the world, certainly a “first world problem” but something to adjust to nonetheless. My sleep has not been terrible, but has not been ideal either. An infant + a potty training little girl + multiple businesses x trying to completely change our healthcare and food production systems = a pretty hopping schedule. So, with that background, let’s jump into training and then chow, with an eye towards my life situation.
Training
Perhaps before I dig into WHAT I’m doing, it’d be nice to think about WHY I’m doing any of this. I mean, I just spent a few paragraphs whining about how busy I am, so why train at all? Here is a short list, in no particular order:
1- I feel better, I’m a “better” person. Turns out I’m an APOE 3/3 genotype, which some preliminary research indicates does well on “a lot” of exercise. APOE4/4’s may need/benefit even more from a high activity level, but my blood-work and the good old “how do I look, feel and perform” metrics indicate if I can do more, I just enjoy life more and appear to be healthier.
2- I want to play with my kids and do cool things. Zoe is in gymnastics and it’s a ton of fun to practice handstands, levers, rolls etc. To this end mobility has slowly taken a more prominent feature in my training. I’ve always had pretty good natural flexibility and have traditionally participated things which lend themselves to good mobility (Capoeira, thai boxing, some dabbling in gymnastics). But as I’ve gotten older and faced an increasing workload, my time spent doing mobility work has decreased…unless I really prioritize it.
So, what am I actually DOING?
Mobility: First thing in the morning I try to do 5-10 min of free-flow movement. I’ve taken things from yoga, capoeira, jits and mashed them together in an effort to have some unstructured movement first thing in the morning. I recently noticed Max Shank (easily the coolest name in S&C) posting some 5 min flows. Brilliant stuff, or I’m just searching for confirmation bias! Zoe loves doing this with me, but the process may run aground if Sagan had a rough night of sleep and the morning is a disaster. I have also started doing more dedicated mobility and stretching work between my strength activities. I talked about that quite a bit in previous updates. I know lots of exercise science seems to indicate that “stretching + strength work” is bad for strength development, but it worked well for me in the past, is time efficient and…I’m not a legit strength athlete any longer. I’m just trying to hang onto as much capacity in as many realms as possible. Nothing has changed dramatically with regards to what I’m doing for mobility, if you want to see some of the specifics I’m using, check out the previous update. The short story is that I’m focusing mainly on thoracic/shoulder/hip mobility and balance, as these all take a pounding doing grappling. Sitting is not a huge benefit to those mobility considerations either, so I’m constantly working on these areas.
Not to digress too far, nor to go totally Matt Furey on folks (remember Combat Conditioning?!) but if you had to pick one movement that really conveyed YOUTH, what would it be? Sprinting is awesome, climbing is amazing…lifting things is clearly a burly and beneficial activity, but what is one thing that kids can typically do effortlessly, yet adults struggle with or cannot do at all? I’d say the backbend or bridge and particularly while displaying adequate thoracic mobility and not forcing the lumbar spine into excessive extension. Here is an example of a back-limber progressing and DEMONSTRATION that I really like:
This young woman has fantastic overall mobility, but if you notice, she is able to “push her head” through her hands during this movement. We don’t see any sharp angles in the spine, and it’s a nice smooth transition. Now, check this back limber tutorial out:
To my eye this young lady is relying too much on some hypermobility in the T-spine. I’d really like to see the shoulders opened more and less severe of an angle in the mid back. Please know, I am NOT picking on these girls, merely seeing this through the eye of a 43 year old has-been athlete trying to use various modalities to keep as fit and healthy as long as possible. Curious what y’alls thought are on the “ultimate expression of youth” in one movement. Like the back-bend? Like something else?
Strength work;
For the first 6 months Sagan was with us I usually managed to get 2 strength sessions per week. Pretty similar template as I’ve outlined previously:
Day 1
Upper body push/pull in vertical plane
Squat, lunge or similar
Trunk work (Evil wheel, levers, back extensions)
Day 2
Upper body push/pull in the horizontal plane
Some kind of glute/hamstring-centric movement like RDL’s, hip bridges, banded good mornings etc.
Trunk work (Rotational work, including windshield wipers, med ball throws, sledge hammer work)
Due to my time crunch after Sagan’s arrival this became largely timed circuits or density training. This has worked pretty well, but has had an interesting side effect: Last year I was about 178lbs and around 8-10% body fat. I’m still at the same bodyfat level but I am SKINNY. ABOUT 165 lbs! I’ve talked to John Welbourn a good bit about this and although traditional bodybuilding routines are more volume centric (like what I’ve been doing), I do need some heavy lifting with longer rest periods to really build and maintain muscle. Could be my fast twitch inclinations, could be completely unrelated, but it’s been an interesting change. My relative strength on things like gymnastics movements, rope climbs etc. is fantastic at this bodyweight. My absolute strength on squatting, pulling and pressing is…well, crap. Interestingly, I don’t think this has affected my grappling much so long as I stay with partners that are not much more than 40lb above my weight. Once I get beyond that…it’s rough. Having lost 15 or so lbs people who were once 20lbs heavier are now almost 40 heavier…that HAS been a bit rough.
About 2 months ago I started following our Intermediate Strength & Conditioning program offered via NorCal Strength & Conditioning.
Now, this is a 4 day per week program, and I tend to only get in 3 of those sessions. If I miss jits in a given week I will hit that 4th day, but I often tweak things more towards a conditioning session, which I will describe in a moment. I also tend to drop in some low level, “recovery cardio” after these strength sessions, which I’ve found to be very productive. That damn aerobic pathway is important after all! Since that programming is rolled out on the Friday before the next week, I’m able to modify the week as necessary based on recovery, time commitments etc.
Grappling
My main “sportive” activity is still old-guy Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Some days I am completely in love with this art, and other days I want to burn my belt and gi and never, ever go near the mat again! Not sure what to make of that, but kinda interesting. On good weeks I may get in 3-sessions, most weeks in the past 9 months I’ve been lucky to get in one session. To get the most bang for my skinny buck, I have tried to focus my training almost exclusively on drilling. I’ll pick a certain position (closed guard, mount, side control) and work that in 5 min rounds with my partner. Interestingly, even with my paltry training schedule, I feel like I’m making progress and I’m not so smashed from training. I think most BJJ and MMA schools could really benefit from a program that minimizes free-rolling and focuses more on positional sparring and drilling. It’s not the most exciting way to train, but It sure is effective. I talked about all this as well as thinking about business entry points for service based businesses with my wife in this Front Desk On Air podcast. If you run any type of gym, you might give that a listen.
Conditioning
Not a ton new here, if you checked out the last update things are pretty similar other than the inclusion of a VersaClimber SM Sport, which I’ll get to in a moment. I am still hitting some “aerobic intervals” a few days per week that involve 30-45 min of total work, usually broken up in 5 min increments of Airdyne, VersaClimber and occasionally a C2 rower. That rower can irritate my low back, so I more often throw on a 40lb vest and walk around our neighborhood.
Something that IS new is how I’ve incorporated the VersaClimber into more intense sub-intervals that I’ve been tinkering with. I read a very interesting paper on a year long periodized program for BJJ and something that I noticed in the paper was that the study authors indicated that BJJ tends to be a time indexed as follows: cycles of 5-15 sec scrambles with 30-120 sec periods of moderate activity. Specificity is clearly important in training (silly ole’ SAID principle!) and I was thinking about how to emulate this in my conditioning sessions. Traditionally folks have structured things like a Fight Gone Bad workout that is 5 x 1-min rounds at a variety of stations. This is good stuff, but what people tend to do is moderate their pace so they can make it through the whole 5 min. There tends to not be much variance in work output, especially if the focus is getting the most “points” as is common in Crossfit. All that considered, I started fiddling with my more sport specific training in the following way:
I’ll set a timer for 5 or 10 min rounds. This is just running in the background. I’ll then do 1 min on the Airdyne at a moderate pace. At that one min mark I’ll jump off the Airdyne, climb on the VersaClimber and go hellbent for 5-15 seconds. I’ll then crawl back on the Airdyne, and “recover” at a moderate pace for 3-4x the time I spent on the VersaClimber. If I really crank up the resistance on the VC that 5-15 sec sprint is about the best dry-land training I’ve ever done that feels like rolling. I will repeat this process for the duration of that 5 or 10 min round, then do a min of rest then back at it. I vary between 3-5 total rounds on this, and will do another 5-10 min of cool-down work to clear lactate and get back to some semblance of normal.
Has this improved my grappling? Well, what it has definitely done is that even if I’m not getting in to roll consistently, I feel pretty good on the mat and do not feel completely smashed from a hard rolling session. If I miss a session of rolling I’ll drop in one of these dry-land sessions. Works pretty well and is not so boring that I want to kill myself. BONUS!
Chow
If you have followed my stuff at all, you may recall that I’m constantly fiddling with my macros. I tend to feel better at the low carb, even ketotic side of things. The downside of rolling while LC is that I do not seem to have that “pop” that can make the difference in quick scrambles. I can motor along fine for a long time, but I often miss some transitions as the quick, explosive movement is just not there in the same way that a carb supplemented program provides. For ME (cannot emphasize this enough, not saying any of this is right for anyone but me) the more consistent carb feedings help my jits, but I suffer some low blood sugar symptoms and cognitively, I have felt like crap. CRAP! I know paleo-land has swung back and forth on the carbs: They are good for everyone! No, carbs cause cancer and cause loose morals!. I’ve diligently eaten potatoes, white rice and other dense carb sources…and I feel like shit. I think I MIGHT just have genetic, epigenetic or metaphysical issues that make me not do so well with carbs relative to fat. At this point, my cognitive function is more valuable to me than being at the top of the heap of old-dude blue belt jiu-jitsu. My only take-away from all this is the following: Tinker. See how you look, feel and perform, be rational about what is the most important thing for you. I personally have a dichotomy in that the sport I do (jits) requires a type of fueling that is counter productive to how I feel. I’ve also felt a bit…forced…into playing more with carbs to keep up with the times. I’ve finally hit a point that not having blood sugar crashes is more important to me than another 10% improvement in my rolling. YOU can find your optimum running parameters with a little fiddling. But your optimum may be dependent on what your specific goal happens to be. I spent a lot of time trying to optimally fuel my rolling but still feel good. Have not cracked that nut. For now, It’s more important that my cognition is at 100%. I need to completely change our medical and food production system and i won’t be able to do that If I’m drooling on myself in a hypoglycemic episode.
UPDATE:
The above piece was written about 2 months ago (sorry this is turning into a book). Although I cognitively feel great in ketosis I DO have some gut biome concerns and let’s face it, a KD gets a bit boring. I’ve talked to a number of folks including Dr. Ruscio and Grace Liu. What I’m trying to figure out is if I have some kind of gut dysbiosis and/or epigenetically driven insulin resistance and carb intolerance. I have some early life experiences that could have set me up for either or both of these scenarios. For example, my mom was almost certainly suffering from gestational diabetes as I progressed from unicellular to multicellular Robb. This appears to have significant impact on epigenetic factors governing insulin resistance and carb tolerance (for starters). This paper is pretty interesting. Check out this section:
“…avoiding adverse environmental factors in the periconceptional and intrauterine period may be much more important for the prevention of adult disease than any (i.e. dietetic) measures in infants and adults.”
Embryonic developmental environment (and I’d add in early post-uterine life) may be far more important than our diet with regards to adult health. Clearly, there may be caveats to all of this, but to the degree this is accurate, all of the high-carb/low-carb wars may be meaningless other than how it applies to the individual. Perhaps amylase gene frequency in humans means our ancestral environment had more carbs than is traditionally talked about in paleo/LC circles, but epigenetic changes in our early life (lack of uterine birth, lack of breastfeeding, gestational diabetes) may make that fact irrelevant. There is still far more that we do not know about this topic than what we are sure of. It’s all part of “peeling the onion” of health. What I’ve been fiddling with in trying to unravel this story for myself is the following:
1- Extensive gut testing to see if I have any type of SIBO (small intestinal overgrowth) OR pathogens. I’ll do a follow-up on the details of the testing, both what I use and the results, but what this will hopefully tell me is if I have some kind of overt gut dysbiosis. If I do, this might explain some of the foggy-headedness, lethargy and hypoglycemia that I’ve historically experienced with a higher carb intake.
2- During my months of ketosis I supplemented like crazy with a number of probiotics including large doses (about 6 capsules per day) of PrescriptAssist and as much fermented food as I could fit into a given meal. I then used the process described by our trainer, Sarah Strange in her outstanding blog post Carb Reloading. Well worth a read, but the takeaway from that is to set calories at a fixed point, start with a carb level that is tolerable and then ratchet up carb intake in the following way:
Week 1 increase carb intake 10-20g, decrease fat by a the same caloric amount, hold that steady for a week.
Week 2 repeat the above.
Rinse, lather, repeat.
I started this process at about 50-60g of carbs while in ketosis and around 2800 cals. I’m now up to about 200g of carbs per day, training or non-training, and I feel pretty damn good. It’s not perfect, but it is a HUGE change from what I experienced previously. Most of you likely know my disdain for food scales and measuring cups…but this is clearly an appropriate place for these tools. I’m going to keep riding this train and see where it goes. Perhaps worth mentioning: virtually all my carbs are “paleo” carbs with the exception of some white rice after particularly hard training. So, generally we are talking yams, green bananas, squash etc.
Ok, that’s it for now. I’m kicking around that idea of attending AHS in New Zealand this year. The idea of traveling around the world with kids makes me consider running my head over with a forklift…but we will see. I will also be at the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund wing-ding in August. ALSO, if you are a trainer or coach you might want to check out the Cube Summit where folks like Jim Laird, John Welbourn, Mat Lalonde, Dave Werner and myself will be dishing out the pseudoscience.
Maybe I’ll start my year 44 update now so it’s done on time!
So are you eating carbs again? I hope you’re getting enough calories in there too, Mr. Wolf! 🙂
See you in August!
so far, so good!
Thanks for the annual review! I am in a very similar place as you in terms of carb intolerance. I hover around 30-70 grams per day of safe starches (sweet potatoes, squash, occasional white potatoes/white rice, and minimal fruit), otherwise I suffer the hypoglycemic reaction that lasts hours. The additional thing I have to watch out for is nuts. Too many (more than a small handful) causes a sloggy, bloated lower GI tract. I went through a few stints of probiotics (prescript assist and a Bacteriodes from Jarrows recommended by Grace), and fermented foods (making my own as well as sourcing some good quality stuff commercially), and it just leaves me with more cravings (usually for sweet foods) and GI symptoms. And fermented foods tend to make my teeth very sensitive. So I just pulled back from all of that (except good quality yogurt, which I seem to thrive on with none of the above issues). Being an academic, I need my cognition functioning at peak performance all the time as a top priority. I do a brief workout (push ups, pull ups, shoulder presses, squats, one set to failure on super slow speed) once, occasionally twice per week. I’m a skinny dude, always have been and always will be, so I’m just trying to maintain decent muscle mass and strength as I get older (I’ll turn 47 later this year).
Keeping up with the kids is not a given. You’ve got to work at it, which I see you have now discovered. But, you do start to get some of your life back as they get older, especially once they hit elementary school, and you can offload some of your tasks to them (wiping butts, bathing, etc.). After 1st grade, they can read and even help with house chores. Mine are currently 6 and 9, and the 9 year old even makes a mean omelet!
Hang in there Robb, and you can have your family and save the world at the same time, and come out the other end slightly sane in the process!
I’m glad you think i can do it! I’m often left wondering “is there anyone better qualified than ME???!!!”
VERY similar issues with nuts…I just read a paper indicating that most of the cellular walls are NOT broken down in nuts, could be a significant SIBO issue? Also makes a strong case for soaking, sprouting.
” To get the most bang for my skinny buck, I have tried to focus my training almost exclusively on drilling. I’ll pick a certain position (closed guard, mount, side control) and work that in 5 min rounds with my partner.”==> Sounds like you’ve been hanging with Henry Akins.
Yes, yes I have! The Straight Blast Gym guys are very hip to this as well.
Dishing out the pseudoscience… best line ever.
Fun fact: Some “evidence” based blogs were busy debunking Paleo diets so I pointed out there was “science” and RCT’s to support some of the health claims.
I said this even with the caveat that there are limitations to the trials conducted and more research was warranted.
My comments never get approved. On any of them.
Keep that pseudoscience coming ‘cuz I’m dumb and gullible!
Take my money!
It’s intriguing the vitriol the “skeptic” scene has for a dietary paradigm born of evolution. Well, it’s really, really wacky, but hey, job security!
I love these updates. It’s cool to see that you are still tinkering around with what works for you at the age of 43. I feel like I am in the same boat trying to play around with macros to achieve aesthetic and performance goals simultaneously. its an ongoing experiment to say the least.
Thanks Roman!
I wish I had this figured out, or “30 bananas a day” was the totality of human nutrition. My life would be a LOT easier!
I am soon to be 74 and female. I do enough to feel good. Yoga one day and strength train with trainer and on my own three days per week. I eat paleo but add more carbs and I feel great. Some trouble sleeping through the night but overall I am in great shape. Height 5.2 and weight 119.
Good stuff Becky! You might check out Doc parsley’s sleep cocktail:
http://www.sleepcocktails.com
6 caps of prescript assist…
Do you think it kept you leaner? Where was the diminishing return dosage? Very curious about your experience with dosing on that stuff.
I have no good answers on this. 6 caps just represented a “big” dose, i had no adverse effects. Good questions, wish i had better answers.
Good stuff Robb, thanks for sharing. Would you mind talking a little more about the genotype testing you had done? Starrett mentioned having some tests done and, based on the results, deciding to eat more plant source fats and less animal fat. Dr Rhonda Patrick from Found My Fitness has mentioned this type of testing as well; it seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days. Can you share?
2nd question on this! I’ll do a short blog post.
Looking forward to it!
Vipers>X-Wings
How’d you figure out your genotype? Been considering some genetic testing ever since I heard Starrett talking about it on a podcast a while back.
We cover this as part of our advanced testing at the clinic. A number of outfits can do this.
nice to see you’re still determined to see what is possible. i must say, that today 43 is young. i’m a 61 year old cross-fit competitor. i am still driven to see what is possible for me. so my friend, keep leaning into it. cheers.
Thanks Don!
As one of your biggest fans (you’ve inspired me to change my life in many ways – from diet, to exercise, to taking a huge risk and going back to university to study science with a focus on nutrition, to managing to help others with THEIR diets and lifestyles), I would be so incredibly excited to see you in Queenstown, New Zealand in October. The line up is already amazing, but you would make it incredible. Please come visit our beautiful country 🙂
Thank you for the kind words and I WILL do my best to get down there!
Robb i would like see example of your one day meal plan.
You use any protein shake or you get everything from food.
just food!
breakfast:
some pork loin, japanese sweet potatoes with ghee+coconut oil+cinnamon (tastes like a sugar donut…holy cats)
Cup of bone broth if I remember to get to it
Lunch- Big salad with possibly some canned sardines. Some kind of starch (yam, potato or perhaps slightly green bananas)
Dinner-
Grilled meat, grilled veggies, some kind or potato, yam or squash dish.
Thats it!
If I’m really pressed for time and need to get in more cals it’s usually a cashew/coconut flakes combination. Just eaten out of hand.
I wonder if this solid food diet is the result of digestion issues with smoothies? I cut out my mega nutritional smoothies and my digestion issues improved. Now I’m thinking that the mouth needs to begin the digestion process ( chew , chew, chew) and smoothies by pass that process. If the concept is to eat primitive then smoothies, as well as an ice cold deliver,y are clearly unnatural.
I think you are onto something there.
I’d second this one. Everything seems to work better for me when I am chewing all of my food. Both from a digestive standpoint and a neuroregulation of appetite perspective.
I’ve just found time and time again that juices and blended shakes (even PWO) lead to either bloating or just a slow creeping in of cravings, blood sugar swings, mild hypolgycemic episodes and all that jazz.
I’ve seen time and time again that the average trainee who just wants to be fit doesn’t quite have the recovery demand that requires liquid nutrition of any kind. Everything just seems to function better, in myself and those I have worked with, when chewing starts the process.
Awesome work Robb,
Just wondering with your carb reloading calories did you have them at maintenance calories including activity (TDEE) or just picked a number and rolled with it? Also did you have a high fat intake since you were tinkering with ketosis? I am very curious
Chris-
Yes, being in ketosis is by default a high-fat diet. For me that was about 80% of cals and how I get my cal level is a simple formula of 16cal/lb X BW. I got this from John Welbourn years ago: weight loss 12-13cal/lb, maintenance 15-16cal/lb, gain 19-20 cal/lb. I have compared this with highly complex algorithms to determine caloric needs and this simple formula is consistently within 5-10%. Good enough for government work.
Rob,
Is this formula for when you are in ketosis or eating high-fat, or for any type of macros? It seems high. It’s body weight multiplied my 16 (or 12-13 for weight loss) = calories per day?
This is assuming a decent degree of activity. For a more sedentary person those numbers are likely high. But yes, that’s where I put my cals, then tried to keep that level consistent while altering macros. Let me know if that helps!
Thanks for posting this Robb.
As a fellow bjjer (just turned 40 and closing in on my blue belt) I can relate to much of it.
I’m lucky in that a lower carb diet doesn’t seem to hold me back at training. I still have plenty of pop and gas, at least in most days.
I’ve recently trialled a few supplements aimed at the older bjj’er with good results. I used it for 5 or six weeks, without other changes to my training (just jits 3 times per week) or diet and not only found recovery to be much improved (ie. Feeling less banned up in general, no achy fingers etc. the day after rolling), but also leaned out added some muscle and felt great.
I ran out 4 or 5 weeks ago and I’ve certainly noticed the difference. I’m struggling to recover between sessions and getting run down and beat up as a result.
I’d be interested in your thoughts on the ingredients, as I’m aware that there’s no such thing as a free much and any sort term benefit may come with a long term trade off.
The recovery supplement includes the following amount Per Serving, taken before bed or immediately after intense exercise:
L-Glutamine 6,000 mg
L-Arginine 1,000 mg
L-Ornithine 1,000 mg
L-Lysine 1,250 mg
Glycine 1,000 mg
The joint formula contains Amount Per Serving, taken nightly:
Hydrolyzed Chicken Collagen Type II 1000 mg
Methylsulfonylmethane 800 mg
Glucosamine HCl (from shrimp and crab) 600 mg
Pre workout (i was only taking this on training days though they recommend also taking first thing in the morning when not training):
D-ribose 5000mg
Acetyl L-carnitine 500mg
Malic acid 300mg
DMG HCI 100mg
Rhodiola rosea 75mg
Co Q10 30mg
Bromelain 625 GDU
Protease 75,000 HTU
Stevia 46mg
I’m happy to share the brand name if that’s ok?
Give me a yell if you make it to NZ, guests are always welcome at our clubs 🙂
That all looks good Joe, yes, please do share the brand names. I’ll pack a gi and some rash guards when we head your way!
Cool, looking forward to catching up 🙂
The supplement stack is from a US based company Q5 Sports Nutrition. They have some interesting marketing and great customer service:
http://q5sn.com/products/og-superstack
Thanks Joe!
I love these yearly updates. Thanks as always Robb.
I do have a question: Do you ever eat or drink anything (besides water) during your harder workouts? I find that I’m really dragging after an hour or so of olympic weighlifting. My workouts last up to two hours. I was thinking of adding some sort of food and/or supplement during training. Do you have any suggestions?
If I do say 2 hrs of rolling, I may have an orange or banana mid flight. Really depend s on how I’m feeling and the intensity of the roll. I’d def tinker! Keep in mind, a small amount of carbs, 10-20g may make a huge difference.
I’m at your age, female. Since 2011, when I started Paleo, I’ve gone Paleo-keto, and I’ve gone higher carb Paleo too. I’ve found that I’m most stable and I feel best at around 75-100 gr of NET carbs per day, with 1 hour low-ish intensity exercise. I eat a few more carbs if I exercise more intensively.
My version of the Paleo diet includes fermented-only dairy, fruits, some rice, some soaked legumes, white potatoes, BUT at small quantities. For example, last night I had some fried rice (after over a week of not having any), but the rice wasn’t more than 1/3 cup. Same goes for my legumes. My dairy is usually limited to my home-made kefir (in smoothie with fruits), and only occasionally I eat some full-fat yogurt or cheese. In other words, I eat “safe starches” or “safe carbs”, but I don’t gorge on them. If I’m to gorge on something, then that would have to be greens/veggies. Even for meat, I now eat mammalian meat/offal once a week only, and poultry once a week too. For the rest of the week’s days, I incorporate wild seafood (wild fish, lots of oysters and shellfish, seaweed).
Paleo-keto almost killed my thyroid (I was placed in… hibernation by it) in 2012, while high carb (180-200 gr net) with lots of rice, “Paleo desserts” etc, made me feel sick in a lot of ways too. So after all this tinkering, I feel best at the standard low carb values of about 100 gr (for my lite exercise regiment). I only avoid grains & pseudograins (except the occasional rice), seed oils, added sugar (including artificial ones), processed foods. I eat the “grey area” foods (e.g. rice, legumes, fruits, dairy, nuts, mammalian meat) with careful measure, while I go liberally on the the rest of the foods. Works for me.
That seems like a remarkably balanced and sane way to do this! Eugina, I love it and part of what I love is almost no one in the extreme camps would sign off on this…which makes me think you are doing things exactly right. Keep me posted.
Robb, thanks for all you do and the ongoing fantastic content. In listening to you and others I’ve dramatically improved my life in so many respects in the past 3 years (diet, exercise, sleep, stress, etc.). Being in my late 30s, father of 3, high work demands – your stories resonate with me. While I’ve drilled down on many nuanced things (e.g., genetic testing), it’s funny that I feel my greatest daily challenge is some of the most simple fueling aspects – namely macro breakdown and getting enough fuel. Your 2800 calorie intake isn’t exactly a small amount of food. Curious as to any success strategies for your high calorie/lower carb intake. I too do better on lower carb, but then I catch myself not eating enough while on the run. (And as mentioned in prior comment eating a jar of almond butter a day not likely a recommended sustainable strategy). Much appreciated.
Thanks for the kind words Ed.
REally boils down to a lot of coconut oil, olive oil on salads etc. it ain’t easy!
good stuff here. Thanks for taking the time to write/share. Don’t get so frustrated with Jits. Even when it sucks, it is still better than a kick in marbles.
too true!
Robb, thanks for sharing! I can relate to your carb experimentation. I too feel best in ketosis, even mild. I was in a groove but started worrying that I was starving my microbiome – but this more from reading, nothing I felt. I took a ubiome test to see what’s there (CDSA showed all is fine). Then I upped RS in supplement form (a big drink of prebiotics, fibers, and mega-probiotic powders), just ended 30 days of it and sent in another ubiome test to see what it did. Meanwhile, the whole time I felt bloated and swollen, which never went away. I also felt autoimmune (RA) symptoms kick up a bit. Does this mean a bad microbiome or just that my body likes meat and fat and nonstarchies? I’m glad to end it! Wish ubiome was faster. I just did the experiment on the theory that my biome was crap, without actually knowing. I felt perfectly comfortable with keto in theory – so if my biome shows ok with it then my plan is to stay with it. If not, next experiment is to try to improve it through a bit of RS foods, in Paleo category. Sorry for long comment. It’s fascinating to experiment.
Laura-
Grace Liu (referenced in the post) is NOT a fan of RS in the forms of raw potato starch. We are both clearly in a similar pickle…I really do not have a good answer other than:
1-do you feel good?
2-Are inflammatory markers low?
3-Is LDL-P looking good?
To me this gives a pretty damn good accounting of what is going on. Keep me posted on the ubiome follow-up…I’d be VERY interested in how the RS altered that scene.
Thank you for this post Robb.
I’m doing 10th Planet Jits and I’m tinkering with lots of the same stuff my self.
Will try your interval stuff and also good sugestion on bjj training.
Right on! Love Eddie’s stuff!
I also have a problem with gas, digestion issues if i carbs no matter which one.
Tnx for previous asnwer.
What i aslo notice if i don’t eat any carbs i gain fat around my stomach, which is probably indicator too much cortisol.
So when you are in ketosis and train a lot you consume any supplements to support adrenal or…?
What you suggest in my situation, that i can’t lose fat around stomach and don’t digest carbs well.
I keep my training pretty mellow, do not abuse coffee (any more!) so the adrenals are not an issue for me. IMO you need a good evomed/functional med practitioner to work with…we need an ASI test, some blood work otherwise it’s really hard to pin down a place to start.
I remember a few months back, you mentioned duck and chicken eggs seemed to be making you sick. Any update on that?
I have not gone near duck eggs…that was horrible. Chicken eggs I ahve only rarely but seem fine.
Thanks for posting, Robb. How is your desire to really get after it intensely in the dojo/gym?I am a former ultrarunner (sorry!), and I found that when I hit my mid-40s my urge to get out and train and race hard just went in the toilet. Still love getting out for a day in the wild but the urge to hammer climbs and drive myself hard have evaporated. Any suggestions?
Like I mentioned in the other comment, i do what i love. I love jist but i see it more the way that most folks view surfing…yes I have an “opponent” but that’s almost secondary to me just trying to get into “flow.” If my energy is low, I may not go, or i def grab partners that are mellow.
Nice blog Robb. It’s always interesting to hear how you are training.
Are you still hovering around 165, or trying to put on some muscle? Any supplements that you are playing around with at the moment besides the probiotics? And, do you track protein macros? or just total cal/fat/cho?
David-
I think I’m moving up a bit but it’s no concerted “mass gain.” I’m too old for that. What’ll happen will happen.
Sleep Cocktail: http://www.sleepcocktails.com is about all I’m taking.
I’m about 130-140g of protein per day. Bit less than previous, but feels fine.
Thanks for posting this, Robb. Great view of real life from the parental trenches. Good to hear you still have the “get up and go” to train hard. Do you do anything special to remain motivated to maintain intensity in training? When I hit my mid-40s my desire to compete went into the toilet.
Well, I do what I love. When i don;t love it, I don’t do it! My coach wants me to compete at worlds next year. That would make me neurotic and hats life and jits. So, just keeping it to what i love. Hard not to be motivated for what we love, right?
Hey Robb, have you tracked your total testosterone/free testosterone since your 2011 post with Mr. X? Curious to see if you were able to bring up the number as you got older.
I have not looked at that closely, but was just thinking of doing a re-check. Will post on that.
Absolutely amazing how you are still going strong. I have a strong passion for fitness now, but I’m only in my early 20s. I can only hope I’ll still be like you when I’m your age! Would be in for a long life.
Always enjoy reading your training updates Robb. Is that paper on BJJ publicly available? I would love to check it out. I am in a similar position, main activity is grappling, trying to always fit S&C around that.
It’s through the NSCA…not open access.
Hope you are well!
I have been in ketosis for 6 months and honestly it brought my test levels up to 969 from low 300 and balances my hormones but my workouts have sucked and my sleep sucks and honestly my mood hasn’t been at all that great. I got tests done and there is a problem with my kreb cycle and slight mitochondrial issues . I quit vaping nicotine a month ago and just recently stopped using caffeine again thinking it might be the culprit to my problems. I know keto worked to keep my muscles from being sore but it’s a bit obsessive with the number checking and all that. My adrenal cortisol curve is a little off , it’s down in the mornings and gets high mid day and tapers down, I’m hoping it was that issue that was causing anxiousness and depressed moods. I’m thinking about adding in carbs again and doing paleo to have more variety and freedom in my life. I kind of became afraid of carbs thinking I would be sick if I had them again. I was thinking about doing 150-200 grams on training days with some intermittent fasting and then eating ketogenic on my rest days. Kind of get the best of both worlds . I have tried so many different things such as ketogenic, vegan, IF, high carb and warrior diet or eat stop eat and no matter what I couldn’t get as lean as I wanted . What would you think about finding a middle ground , moderate carbs paleo approach , cycling into a couple days keto eating and throwing in a 24 hour fast once a week for the autophagy , detox and increased growth hormone? I’m afraid to give up high fats because of the significant benefit it had on my testosterone levels and my lipids. My reason for switching is because of shitty strength and energy despite high androgens.
INTERESTING! Keep me posted Jerzy