I don’t talk much about my personal life and such, but after football season, I have a chance to delve into areas of self-improvement that I can’t necessarily address during the season. Honestly, it’s hard to eat healthy and exercise during football season when you’re busy all the time, up late, eating team meals consisting largely of pasta, etc.
Lately I’ve been really big into implementing some new health and nutrition routines. I’ve been listening to a lot of Ben Greenfield Fitness and Genius Foods podcasts from Ben Greenfield and Max Lugavere, respectively. I had previously been doing some intermittent fasting, but I’m doing that a little more intensely and messing with some new foods and supplements. I don’t do dry fasts, but my longest (water-only) fast has been 36 hours.
To incorporate some healthier fats, I’ve been cooking eggs in grass-fed butter or coconut oil. I’ve started supplementing with spirulina, as well as using pea protein (I used to use whey and/or casein).
A couple of my favorite items I’ve purchased have been a grounding mat and some blue-blocking glasses. I read some reports about grounding and have used that method to deal with some inflammation, particularly tendinitis, and it has worked really well. The blue-blocking glasses have been helpful; they reportedly help increase melatonin production in the evening, which helps you fall asleep faster. I’m regularly sitting on a computer, watching sports, and/or scrolling Twitter, so all that blue light from those screens can mess with my circadian rhythms.
As far as exercise goes, I’ve always lifted weights, done some cardio, and played a fair amount of basketball. Recently I set some personal weightlifting records.
Anyway, I’m always looking to improve myself and learn new things. What health and fitness choices have you made recently? What healthy food(s) are you eating? Are any of you doing intermittent fasting? Does anyone have any good book or podcast suggestions?
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Try yoga once a week and if you can find a studio offering Hot Yoga even better. I started a few years ago – it’s a great counter to running/ lifting and really helps your balance which I think helps in any sport. Body is naturally contracting as it ages and yoga helps stretch important areas esp hamstrings and calves and also help improve breathing. Think I remember Rashaan Gary mentioning he and others players had to go once a week and if I were a coach I would make them do at least once a week esp lineman given how important balance is. If you can get through the 90 minute 105 degree Hot class you will likely drop 4 lbs just in sweat that day and sleep very well at night and sleep very well but it’s prob better to start with basic vinyasa. If you lift as much as you saying your body will prob appreciate some dedicated stretching.
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Yoga’s great. I used to do P90X and I enjoyed the yoga video. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do the classes that are available, so I have to stick to videos and regular stretching. I usually hit the sauna at the gym and stretch in there.
But yeah, yoga is great. I feel much better after I do it.
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I’ve been into exercise, but not fads my whole life. Running is inexpensive, and with proper stretching and if done regularly doesn’t take much time. I can go 3-5mi, in as little as 40min. I can’t get to the gym during the week, but I almost never start a day without pushups, pull-ups & various and movements. Again, nothing too intense at my age, but consistency is key
I never diet, as I think most tends are either expensive, too time consuming, or just don’t feel natural/instinctive. I stay away from fast food & junk like chips & candy, but other than that, I just eat. I’m Mexican and love all tradition meals. My GF is British, but went to SCar for her bachelor’s & master’s, picking up a lot of southern recipes. While at my last job, I spent a lot of time in & around Texas, and picked up smoking: the BBQ is GREAT
So yeah, a lot of consistency in my exercise, high protein, no-junk eating. I’m about to turn 45, and am 6’2, 210 lean. Easy, and it works for me
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I used to run a lot back in the day, but I find it extremely boring. No offense to runners. Back when I was doing competitive sports, there was a time when I was running 5-9 miles a day. It got old, though. To each his own. I just prefer to get cardio from basketball, ellipticals, bikes, etc. I do like to go for walks.
I know the “intermittent fasting” thing seems like a fad (and maybe it is), but it’s been great for me. It’s much easier than I think keto or veganism or Weight Watchers would be. I just set up a schedule and say “I’m not eating before this time, and then I’m not eating after this time.” Basically, I never eat after 7:00 p.m., and my beginning time is anywhere from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sometimes I squeeze my meals into a 10-hour window, and sometimes I just end up eating one big meal. (It also helps me be more productive at work if I’m skipping lunch.)
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Running isn’t the most exciting, but honestly, shortly after retiring from USMC, my kids started to beat me in sports, and from there I started losing pickup games and just not being as good as others. Rather than be “the fish,” I just stuck with exercising alone
As ragingbull states below, water is another key part of my routine. Lots & lots of water
Theme for me is inexpensive, hassle-free, and easy to maintain wherever I am (in case of travel)
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One nice thing about being a football coach: I have a never-ending stream of former football players to play basketball against. When they go off to college and come back for summer/Christmas break/spring break, we get a bunch of guys together and play ball. And some of them go to a local school or just go into the work force, so some are always around to play, anyway.
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The one meal thing is good, despite the sold perception of many small meals.
If you can get down to 6 or 7 hours to get your intake in, you’ll burn some fat you aren’t now. I typically graze on mostly good stuff from 1-7 and have burned off some weight that wasn’t helping. If the kids come home, there will be ice cream bars. If there are ice cream bars, I’m eating them, but even then I’m not gaining it back staying inside of 6 or so hours.
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“I do like to go for walks.”
Please let’s not turn this website into a dating service.
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Haha. Truthfully, one reason I loved my time as a student in Ann Arbor was being able to walk (almost) everywhere. I drove to get groceries once in a while, but that was about it.
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I’m an Ironman triathlete, if you couldn’t tell by my username. I exercise a lot, including oftentimes 3x/day and greater than 20 hours/week during peak times.
I’ve gone back and forth on fasting for short periods. Sometimes, I don’t eat until after church on Sunday during times of eating lots of meat, I think it’s OK to do for short periods. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it for a whole day (i.e., a night, then the next day, then that night, then eat the following morning, 36-ish hours). I think that’s too long. I don’t think our intestinal structure is set up for that. It seems to be more like animals that eat small amounts often and regularly. Similarly, I don’t think our body does well starting/stopping the process; it does better just keeping things moving in regular doses.
I’ve read about/tried lots of variations of diets, but I go back to the regular balanced diet. Because I work out so often, I eat more carbs than what a normal person probably needs.
I really recommend a smoothie of some type because I can throw lots of good stuff in there I wouldn’t normally eat (e.g., raw eggs, kale, broccoli, ginger, turmeric, coconut oil, cinnamon, beets, carrots, apple cider vinegar, almond butter, etc. etc.),and it’s all “free” because it all ends up tasting like the frozen strawberries.
I also recommend avocado oil for cooking since it’s tolerance for heat is better than coconut oil. You can get avocado oil at Costco.
I also recommend some sort of pickled food (e.g., sauerkraut) or probiotic to help process the stuff.
For inflammation/tendinitis, try the turmeric, ginger root and cinnamon in the smoothie.
Also, for your inflammation/tendinitis, consider getting an EMS. It helps to move muscles around when you don’t have access to a massage. I have a Compex that I use when I’m reading/watching TV.
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I never really knew what the “Tri” in “TriFloyd” was for. I didn’t know if you were a triplet or if you were in a fraternity or what.
I used to make a pretty simple protein smoothie (whey, chocolate milk, peanut butter), but over the past couple months, I’ve switched to a pretty tasty and healthy smoothie that I love: ice, water, pea protein, cinnamon, almond butter, chia seeds, frozen berries, and frozen kale. (I never knew you could freeze kale until recently.)
I drink green tea and sprinkle in some turmeric.
So yeah, it sounds like we’re on a similar page. I’ve been reading about ginger, although I haven’t figured out a way to work it in yet.
Thanks for the suggestions!
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It seems like you’re doing a lot of good stuff. For the ginger, just buy ginger root and throw it in the smoothie.
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never been much of a dieter, i just try to stick with a clean, sensible diet. eat when im hungry for the most part. lots of beef, fish, veggies and usually squeeze in fruit for breakfast. simply try to keep my diet as clean as possible by limiting processed foods – nothing crazy but thats been the biggest thing for me. that and drinking a ton of water. never really tried fasting though ill avoid eating after dinner and then have liquid breakfast if that counts. i agree with the above poster in several respects such as utilizing smoothies and beverages when possible. fruit smoothie for breakfast most days allows me to jam in a bunch of nutrients. i started using cbd last year and its been great for inflammation, among other things.
i swim 4-5 days a week, usually 40-50 laps – its great full body workout and doesnt take too long. i started really swimming in my mid twenties and its easily my favorite workout. i try to do quick weight session before getting in the pool once or twice a week but i lifted enough for high school and college sports that im no longer racing to the gym to lift at this point. not to mention my spine and shoulders can only handle so much. also we usually hoop it up every tuesday night
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This is the first “diet” that I’ve really tried, mostly just because I’ve heard/read so much about the health benefits and the anti-inflammatory benefits. I’ve just had some old aches and pains (from sports injuries, basically) that I’ve just dealt with for several years. I was looking for ways to deal with them naturally and with supplementation.
I’ve never used CBD but I’ve been researching it a little bit. I have been using some MCT oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and extra virgin olive oil.
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