"Well Done"

I went to the doctor's last week and got an official 'all clear' for my hypertension issue.  I got a high reading in the doctor's surgery (154/95 ish and due to 'white-coat' hypertension), but I was able to show him my own records that show daily averages of under 140/90 over the past few months.  These averages show modal reading around 130/80.  On seeing my records he smiled and simply said, "Well done!".

This morning I had a reading of 113/71.

Hypertension

Sadly things aren't so good under the hood...

So here's the thing; Out of the blue I've just been diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension.  I had no symptoms (and still don't).  No head-aches, palpitations, NOTHING.  Nada.  Zero.  Zilch.  I can't believe I am actually 'broken' at some level...

This was a chance finding (I used a friend's blood pressure cuff - partly in jest - and got a high reading.  I repeated this measurement a few days later and got another high reading), that has since been confirmed by my doctor.

My diet is pretty good - plenty of whole foods with quality meat and fish, and lots of fresh vegetables.  Some fruit and nuts, and modest dairy.  I have the odd bowl of porridge but avoid most grains (bread and cereals).  Processed food is minimal - save for tinned tuna, mackerel and sardines. Activity wise I engage in a few sports and do some strength training. I don't smoke and rarely drink (the latter only during the Six Nations Rugby or Xmas).  I've low body fat and have just hit my 40s so just don't tick any of the standard boxes.  I am not even sure I can blame the seasons.

Stress is perhaps the main factor.  I didn't think I was stressed but being a working parent can be stressful.  Perhaps my OAC and deadlifting ambitions are similarly too intense?  I need to figure this one out as hypertension can do real damage.

The diet I am happy with (I've added in a few more beets and celery).  The exercise will focus more generic and functional activity like climbing, swimming, walking and a bit of Lau Gar Kung Fu (the forms in particular as they share roots with Tai Chi).  I've sacked my morning cold shower and any late night training (and the resultant late night eating) in a bid to spare my 'stress points' to once daily - around midday.  I will still do some weight work in the medium term, and the odd sprint, but need to manage my numbers first.


I am also looking to introduce a program of relaxation.  I am heading to bed earlier and taking time to deep breathe and meditate daily.  (Dr Kendrick's blog is food for thought.)

By necessity, my goals are shifting from elite-fitness toward health and longevity.  Let's see how this one goes.....

Body By Devany

After getting in to what was to become 'paleo' back in 2006-7 (ish), the one thing I keep coming back to is Art Devany's Essay on Evolutionary Fitness (the circa 2006 version).  It strikes the right balance of simplicity and instruction without ever becoming too prescriptive.

Here is a current progress shot.  I don't think it captures my shoulders or biceps that well (although I would say that wouldn't I?). This is done without calorie counting or much in the way of restriction, save for no sweet/potatoes or bananas on a rest day and LOTs of them on one of my three training days.  My diet is broadly EF but I don't avoid fatty cuts.  The frequency of my eating follows a Leangains model.  I started IF before finding LG, but LG gives a nice evidence-based model to follow.

The training follows a pyramid but rather than Art's 15-8-4 I do a reverse pyramid - currently pushing reps from strength range in to the traditional hypertrophy range before adding weight.  I choose basic lifts and supplement with bodyweight and gymnastic moves.  No 'cardio' but with some martial arts which follow a power law with frequent bursts of intense activity.  There is also a bit of rockclimbing (less so nowadays due to time commitments).  I am not sure I will ever be Arnie-big no matter how hard I try.  My choice of lifts and rep scheme have been influence again by Leangains.  I am aiming for a condition known as Berkhanarms - but I've favoured strength goals over hypertrophy in recent years.
 
After several years I think I am lean as ever (around 10% BF) but am somewhere in the region of 10kg heavier than when I started.  A major difference is bigger legs (but not 'big'), and a reduction in waist size down to waist size of 30 (with room to spare).  Most of my training has been towards strength and function, but I see these as part of a continuum.  I am now 'veteran' age and still have my vitality and energy.  I am uninjured with plenty of physical goals ahead of me (I am making steady progress to an OAC but planching remains with much to improve).

As a poet once said to me, "This shit actually works."*



*I made this quote up.

Volume Week 3 W/O2

Again I'm going to keep the variety in the shoulder work (MBTs and HSPU variations).

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (20 minutes).
1. Pistols (28kg assistance/56kg working weight: 8, 8, 8)
2i. MBTs(5kg 8)
2ii. HSPU (assisted 10)
2iii. HSPU (unassisted 1)
3. Golfers Elbow Drumstick Rotation (12)
4. 5-Way DB Rotator Cuff (10)
5. Reverse DB Wrist Curls (12)

Strength Phase1 W/O3

I have to suck and see the initial weights, particularly on the SGDLoaD. LGKB was VERY intense this week so might need to autoregulate a wee bit as well!

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (40 minutes).
1. DE Snatch-Grip Deadlift Off a Deficit (2x57kg, 6 sets)
2. ME HSPU (1, 6 sets)
3. Kneeling Wrist Push Ups (10)
4. Five-Way DB Rotator Cuff (10 reps each way)

Snatch Grip Deadlift

The mayhem continues and so I am going for another workout on-the-fly.  The broad theme will be:

Warm Up
Backflips x 4 interspersed by Grok Squat, Side Grok Squat, Lunging Walks
1. Fig-8 Sprints (10sec:50rest x 4)
2. Snatch Grip Deadlift with a Deficit (5x5xBW)
3. Chins (3x6xBW+25kg - 1 min rest btw)
4. Handwalking x 2
5. 3x Planching Variations

Holiday Workout

I have just got back form a week in the south of France. We had fantastic weather (no need for my 10000 IUs of Vitamin D). My diet erred from 'paleo' - there was a bit of pasta, croissant and pizza in the mix, but I was happy to indulge in some fine French grog, fish, plenty of eggs, butter and cheese. I kept up with my IF approach - seldom eating before midday and one or two longer fasts.

My workouts were sporadic and typically involved:

1. Short Sprint

2. Five Bar MUs

3. Short Sprint

4. 10 Pull Ups

5. Short Sprint

6. 10 Chins

7. Short Sprint

8. Body Lever (20s)

There were variations on this theme - with extra MUs throughout the day and one or two planching sessions. Needless to say there was a LOT of handstanding, 'skin the cats' and the odd pistol sprinkled throughout the week - oh, and plenty of swimming!

Pool-time with Flash and Captain Kid lead to plenty of messing around and saw the resurgence of 'Flash Throws' and the CK Press.

The place we stayed had a 'Salle de Masculation' but I preferred the chinning stations littered around the sports courts. You could play a bit of football/soccer and in between games mess about on the bars (with the kids).

You can see in the shot of Flash and I above how I look today compared to this shot from two years ago. I reckon I am a bit leaner with perhaps more muscle mass on the shoulders but still short of Dorian and Arnie's physique. Still, I think I can hold a tucked body lever somewhat longer than either of them!

Holiday Workout

I knew a body builder who it seemed, would only go on holiday if there was a gym at his intended destination. Routine, particularly his training routine, was as much a comfort blanket as a path to muscle mass. The first thing he told me about his honeymoon was how well equipped the gym was! Hmmmmmm!

It is a missed opportunity to view a holiday/vacation as some kind of encumbrance. This change in routine should at worst be viewed as active rest and at best as a period to try out new and novel ways of training. I took this latter approach on a recent sojourn to Portugal. On reflection it is clear that a vacation can be the perfect instrument to 'get some paleo' in to your life.

In-Built Change
The positive changes come thick and fast on holiday:-

1) First things first; a holiday gives you the opportunity to relax - this is your time/free time and the chance to do nothing is as important as a chance to do something different. You should not be thinking about work problems or even home problems (and certainly not your 'usual' training routine). They can wait until you return. On holiday you can literally 'get away from it all', leaving problems (quite rightly) behind. This is your chance to fully live in the moment and draw upon change of pace of your life. Paleo man would have encountered occasional stress rather than the chronic strains of modern life. The opportunity to relax is one thing, but it is another to take that opportunity.

2) If you live somewhere that is frequently wet and cold (but not snowy), like the UK, a trip to a sunnier (or snowier) part of the world really is a treat - be it a beach holiday or a winter holiday. For a start you get a large dose of the vitamin D. Wiki informs us that "Low vitamin D levels are associated with cancer, diabetes, and hypertension, and in increased mortality among patients undergoing dialysis." In addition, you will invariably adopt more of an 'outdoor life' - involving fresh air and increase in low level activity (walking, swimming etc..). This is a step closer to a paleo life.

3) Activity levels are generally increased on holiday as we engage with pursuits such as swimming and walking (depending on your destination) moving up your agenda. Such movement is fundamental to the paleo lifestyle.

One thing I particularly enjoyed on vacation was barefoot walking - and the occasional Sand-Sprint along the beach (sans trainers of course). There is something really nice about moving barefoot - almost like a massage. Running on the beach - in pursuit of a ball, frisbee or as part of some other beach game, is a perfect form of power law movement - as recommended by paleo guru Art DeVaney.

Swimming can similarly incorporate a movement of varied intensity with a playful nature. Those with kids will be aware of the fatiguing nature of playing with them - particularly around a pool. I managed 'episodes' of swimming with Captain Kidd (20kg) hanging on my neck.

In addition to the above, my other main pool activity involved Flash (15kg), who was fond of being thrown vertically up in the air. Now for a 15 month-old, Flash is a tough training partner. If she wasn't thrown up high enough, or explosively enough, she would be rather unimpressed. However, each quality 'throw', would illicit giggles - meaning the 'rep' was of sufficiently quality. It was a killer on the shoulders! "Throwing" is totally paleo!

The journey from the hotel to the beach was about 25 minutes. In the evening I would often have to carry Captain Kidd back. Lugging 20kg over several kilometers is a stern test of endurance - the activity profile of which is something I am unaccustomed to. I embrace such novelty in my training. Hunter-Gatherers would have carried camp equipment from place to place as part of their nomadic life, or indeed carried a 'kill' back to camp. Journeying with a weight provides an excellent means of conditioning.

4) Portugal is known for its fish. The fish and meat dishes were invariable served with salad (and fries). Again, this presents a perfect opportunity to move one's diet towards REAL food. As a general rule, if it is not meat and it is not brown, avoid it. With a paleo diet comes paleo health. I personally reckon diet provides about 80% of the advantage of 'going paleo'. The other 20% comes from exercise. Without the habitual purchasing patterns of a weekly supermarket shop, it is simpler to engage with a change in your food buying habits.

5) Temperature variation is something most of us miss without realising it. We live in a house with central heating, drive around in cars with climate control and work in offices with air-con. Our bodies were designed to work with, and respond to, variation in temperature.

A couple of years ago I started taking cold showers. At the end of a shower I would turn off the hot water and stay under the cold for a few minutes. This was to prepare myself for a Christmas Day dip in the Irish Sea. That event came and went, but I have persisted with the cold showers such that I find NOT finishing a hot shower with a cold spell rather uncomfortable and stifling. In Portugal I found that the pool and the sea were pleasantly cool - whereas other found the sea in particular, 'freezing'. My body is accustomed and prepared for such temperature variation and the experience invigorating.

No ChangeI guess I should come clean and tell you what didn't change - there were the usual sprint sessions (a fundamental paleo activity), and there was little chance of me NOT doing a bit of planche work - excepting body-levers, I find it hard to think of another body weight exercise that so comprehensively works almost the whole body. The great thing about planches is that you need only floor space. There was also a lot of handstanding/walking. Doing this on the beach was a novel change. The latter is more of a playful event and the former a personal challenge. However, if I feel I need a break from either, I will take it.

Negative Change
As you can imagine, there was the odd tincture (a pint of lager or up to half a bottle of red wine a night), occasional desert (ice cream), side orders of fries/chips and copious amounts of coffee (six or so cups a day). The latter is a habit I am keen to break, but whenever I am near a kettle my resolve falters. These I consider to be particularly 'un-paleo' adaptions to my vacational lifestyle - although coffee consumption is a habit that travelled with me.

Finally
So there you go. A quick round-up of my holiday activities which provide something of a stepping stone to a paleo lifestyle. The real challenge for anyone adopting these changes on holiday is to integrate them into daily life on the return home!