Beyond Body Opus - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! - 23 December 2015

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

If you’re an adherent to the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD), this holiday season has come with many additional gifts, just for you.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about strategies to navigate what I feel to be a large stumbling block to sticking with the CKD as laid out in Body Opus, which is staying on track in the face of social pressure.  This social pressure ratchets up during the holidays.  A Thanksgiving strategy is to shorten your low-carb time during the week and do the depletion workout on Thursday so you’ll be set to start recomposition with the Thanksgiving feasting.  If you don’t want to sacrifice one low-carb day, you could end the previous week’s recomposition early to get in all your low-carb days.

Santa is bringing you another gift in the stocking due to the fact that this year (2015) Christmas Day falls on a Friday, so once you get that depletion workout out of the way, you’re free to participate in the Christmas tradition of stuffing yourself with all manner of carbohydrates.  New Year’s might be a bit of a struggle depending on how much celebrating you do the night before, but you could always apply the Thanksgiving strategy to New Year’s Eve.  

The overarching point is adapting the Body Opus CKD to fit YOUR needs.  Is there a benefit to displaying the iron will and sticking to the plan no matter what?  You have to answer that question for yourself.  For me, because this was a lifestyle change, not a diet, commitment over the long haul (again, for me) means navigating a path that give me the freedom to adapt (within the parameters of Body Opus) the plan in such a way that I meet the minimum requirements of CKD while not throwing the rest of my life out of whack (“exploring the limits of slackness”).  That means adapting my life routines to accommodate Body Opus, and adjusting my approach to CKD when needed. 

Body Opus/CKD is a lifestyle choice, which means a radical lifestyle change.  I’m in it for the long haul.

Feel free to post questions.  Let me hear from you.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Beyond Body Opus - Exploring the Limits of Slackness

 

Exploring the Limits of Slackness

When Dan talks about “exploring the limits of slackness,” the phrase speaks to putting in the minimum effort required to complete a given task.  When Dan talks about exploring the limits of slackness, I hear him telling me to take the time and effort to strip a task (in this case, a cyclic ketogenic diet, such as Body Opus) down to the bare minimum.  If you want to follow this routine for an extended time, it makes sense to have an aerodynamic sensibility about Body Opus.  High speed, low drag.

On our quest to explore the limits of slackness, I will share my thoughts and experiences on what to let go in order to follow Body Opus for the long run. 

First, if you follow what Dan has laid out in the book, it will be hard to go wrong.  The work he put into the book pays off when you follow the plan.  That said I see many of the things Dan has you do amounts to misdirection to keep your mind off the lack of carbohydrates.  Carbohydrate cravings will be your biggest hurdle during your first few cycles.  Testing for ketones, planning the meals, taking the caliper measurements and getting the workouts done means time not thinking about carbohydrates.

As you progress and shed your “training wheels” (Dan’s term, not mine), you will learn to streamline your routine and focus on the long haul.  My experience was the carbohydrate cravings diminish (not disappear) over successive cycles.  During a typical week, by the time Thursday rolls around, my appetite for carbs or any other food, for that matter, is greatly diminished.  

Testing, testing, testing

In terms of ketone testing, once you have a few cycles under your belt, you can cut down on your ketone testing.  The biggest part is being consistent with your nutrition and paying attention to what your ketone levels are throughout the week.  Testing throughout the day adds little, unless you have a nutritional misstep during the day.  At that point, ketone testing is the first step in damage control.  I test once a day, usually first thing in the morning.  Lately, my ketone levels run like this through the week:

Monday           Trace to Small ketones

Tuesday           Small ketones

Wednesday     Small to Moderate ketones

Thursday         Moderate to Large ketones

Friday              Moderate ketones

Lately, since I carb up until bedtime on Sunday (as opposed to 6:00PM as Body Opus recommends) I may not test at all on Monday.

Decisions Instead of Excuses

Follow the plan, or do not follow the plan.  When you decide not to work out on a given day, make the decision and move on.  As an adult, you have the right to make a decision.   Make decisions rather than excuses.  Say you don’t feel like working out today.  Fine, make the call and say, “I’m not going to work out today.” Boom, done.  Decision made.  Now you are free to get on with your day.  Should you revisit why you did not want to work out?  Do you need to get turn over in your mind that decision?  I say no, what is the point?  Do you need to get back on track tomorrow? Yes.  Do you need to agonize over not working out today? NO.  Why beat yourself up over it?  Does that have any benefit?

Keep in mind this does NOT apply just to workouts.  If you are in this for the long haul, you cannot let short-term struggles sabotage the long game.

 Here's an unlikely source of a good hack to help you achieve long term goals.  CLICK HERE!

To All My New Gym Friends - Beyond Body Opus 13 January 2015

To All My New Gym Friends

I stopped by L.A. Fitness for a workout.  WOW!  The place was packed cheek by jowl with people slogging out their New Year’s resolutions to “get in shape.”  

One bench, two machines and two dumbbells, no waiting.

Thanks to Charles Staley and Escalating Density Training, I was able to get my workout done in 35 minutes.  That was two 15-minute sessions:

SESSION 1

Exercise 1A – Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Exercise 1B – Dumbbell Row

SESSION 2

Exercise 2A – Glute/Ham Machine – Left Leg

Exercise 2B – Glute/Ham Machine – Right Leg

The new members are easy to pick out.  They are the ones wandering from machine to machine with a dazed look.  I’m sure the staff is working overtime giving new member a quick orientation, but most of newcomers don’t seem to have much of a plan.  The lack of a clear plan means by the time Valentine’s Day comes around, the regulars will have the gym all to themselves.

So, hang tough new members.  Here are some thoughts on making past Valentine’s Day:

1.   Be more specific with your goals – What does “get in shape” mean for you?  Everyone has a specific number of pounds they want to lose and while that is a goal, are there better, measurable goals?  What about running a 5K or biking a century?  With goals like that, any training toward those goals will come with fat loss.

2.   Record, measure, and repeat - When I was a personal trainer, I told my clients, “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.”  I gave each client his or her own training log and checked it every session.  Keeping track of your workouts documents what you are doing, so you know what works and if something is not working, you have a place to start troubleshooting.  I have logbooks that go back almost 20 years and they are a great resource.  

3.   Small steps – I saw many people going all out, even though this is probably the first time they’ve seen the inside of a gym in a while.  The key to “getting in shape” is to commit to the long haul.  Ideally, you are going to be at this a while, so ease into it.  Build up to workouts that are more strenuous.  Doing too much too soon is the fast track to injury.  If you are injured, you will not be training at all.

4.   Invest in yourself – Whether you hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to get started, or do some research on your own, having a plan when you get to gym makes you more efficient so you spend more time working out and less time wondering what to do.  That said; understand most personal trainers are trying to get you to commit to multiple sessions over an extended period.  Get the minimum number of sessions you need to get you going on a basic program.  A good trainer will do this for you. To be really "outside the box," why not get certified yourself?  A good certification gives you the knowledge to build pans for yourself, and access to a great side business.

5.   Disconnect – Smart devices are a part of our lives, but if you are serious about achieving your fitness goals, in the gym, it helps to be in the here and now.  How much thought and/or intensity can you put into a workout if you are chatting on the phone, texting or monitoring that app to see the next calorie is says you have burned?  Unless I will be listening to music during a workout, I leave my phone in the car.  Gym Time is My Time and checking in at the front desk is symbolic of checking out of the stress of the outside world.  If you believe as I do, the body is a temple, when you are in the gym, church is in session.  Leave the rest of the world at the door.

Enjoy the next few months of your membership.  I would say, “If you’re lucky,” but luck has nothing to do with it.  If you establish realistic measurable goals, develop a plan and stay focused on it, maybe I will see you in time for bathing suit season. 

Stay strong.