Simple + Effective = Ideal

Throughout my life, it seems that the more time I spent in the gym, the more overly complicated my workouts became.

This includes adding novel exercises, utilizing every piece of garage gym equipment I have purchased over the years (including items that may have been a waste of money), and experimenting with different types of programming to achieve random goals I set in my head. (Shiny object syndrome is a real issue sometimes…)

Everything changed when I turned 40 a few months ago. I had to begin to rethink my actual goals, my limits, my time constraints, and ranking what actually matters to me.

What I Realized:
1) I do not have time to spend 1.5-2 hours in the gym
2) I want to continue to move well and “feel good” into my second half of life (healthspan vs lifespan).
3) I don’t need to be Vitor Belfort on TRT jacked (IYKYK). I want to be strong and lean. 4) I want to finally be able to do a freestanding handstand push-up
5) I want to finally heal some of my nagging injuries from jiu-jitsu (ruptured labrum, jacked up pinky finger, injured inguinal ligament).
6) I want to experiment and see what is possible with less instead of more for once

Also, for as long as I can remember, I have dealt with always feeling somewhat bloated and no matter how much work I put in, I never felt or looked “lean” or what my definition of lean is atleast. Due to this I recently came across the FODMAP elimination Diet.

F ermentable: Broken down by gut bacteria
Oligosaccharides: Fructans (in wheat, garlic, onions) & Galactooligosaccharides (legumes)
Dissacharides: Lactose
Monosaccharides: Excess Fructose (apples, honey etc)
And
Polyols: Sorbitol, mannitol (stone fruits, sugar free gum, mushrooms, cherries, pears etc)

So for the next 12 weeks I will also be eliminating these foods in order to find what has always caused my bloating.

For the next 12 weeks ( minus the week or two I am on vacation, give or take), I will be following the protocol outlined below. I want to see what is possible with less instead of more both with my workouts and diet.

*This is an experiment, and I am not saying this is the best possible solution. I am just curious what the outcome will be. I wanted to share with everyone that may have the same feelings as of late as I have. Enjoy!

SIMPLE + EFFECTIVE = IDEAL 12 Week Experiment.

• Lifting: 5 days per week of mostly calisthenic-based work

• 3-4 days per week of mobility & flexibility focused work post workout

• Elimination of FODMAP foods

• 5 days per week of sauna (usually 195-200 F for 15-20 minutes before bed)

• 2 days per week of cardio (typically Norwegian 4×4s)

• Daily walks post meals for 10-20 minutes to aid in digestion

That is the game plan going forward. Simple, Clean, and Hopefully Effective.

Hope you get some value out of this email. Until next time….