Fat Adapted Training - Journey To 1000 lb
Hey all!
Kris here, 29 year old fat adapted/cold adapted male looking to hit a 1000 lb total just for fun. Below is my history and some background.
History:
- Began training/bodybuilding in late teens/early 20s
- Bulked on and/off went from 130 lbs skinny kid to 205 lbs at heaviest (experimented with AAS)
- Had a great looking physique, and got decent strength at my peak of 22 (315x1 bench/350x5 squat/500x1 deadlift)
- Came off AAS and after too much restrictive dieting and other lifestyle factors, wound up with adrenal fatigue, hypogonadism, gut issues, etc. Wound up on TRT (HCG monotherapy)
- Had children, took some time off lifting, focused on health and optimizing circadian rhythm, reversed hypogonadism, adrenal fatigue and gut issues
- Looking to get back into lifting, focusing on strength rather than physique, and staying healthy & lighter
- Began Starting Strength on 21/10/2019
Diet/Lifestyle:
- High fat, moderate protein, low carb
- Fatty fish, eggs, liver, pork, beef, cheese, cottage cheese, nuts, peanut butter, butter, heavy cream, olive oil, coconut oil, green veggies
- Do not count calories
- Eat 1-3 meals per day (depending on training, schedule, etc)
- One 24 hour fast per week, most days eat within 8 hour feeding window
- Drink 6 L of ice water per day with added salt and iodine
- 2x cold showers per day and embracing cold Canadian winters
- Tanning bed 1-2x per week for UV light exposure and Vitamin D production
- Daily breathwork, meditation and mindfulness
- Daily sungazing, stargazing
- Blue blocking screen filters, minimize EMF exposure
- 8 hours of sleep
So as you can see, I live a unique lifestyle. I try to wake with the sunrise, and don't expose myself to blue light beyond sunset. I use red incandescent lights at night to help with melatonin secretion and sleep. I eat a seasonal, ketogenic diet with added carbs in summer months (I live in Canada, we have a short crop growing season). I embrace cold by taking cold showers and occasional ice baths which activate an alternative metabolic pathway when our circadian rhythm becoming dominated by temperature in low light cycles (i.e. this time of year). I've noticed being cold adapted/fat adapted has massive benefits: improved metabolic function, energy, mood, alertness, minimal hunger and thirst and lowered inflammation. I can usually get away with 24 hours of fasting with ZERO hunger because my body can burn fats extremely efficiently. I drink a lot of cold water so my body is constantly burning calories as heat. This spares ATP, and also the burning of fatty acids long-term lowers ROS at the mitochondrial level which results in longevity and improved performance. The combination of cold adaptation/fat burning and optimizing my circadian rhythm by following the natural light cycles has allowed me to cure my chronic illnesses which were a result of overtraining, and fueling on high carb diets as well as restrictive dieting and eating outside of natural light cycles and seasons for my many years of training in my younger days. So my approach to training now is to fuel on fats mostly (with occasional carb ups if desired), increase my protein intake from animal meats and seafood (nutrient density), use cold therapy as a means to reduce inflammation and promote recovery from work outs, and train and eat within the daylight period to ensure optimal metabolic function. My goal is to get as strong as possible (1000 lb total) while remaining at my current size (if I gain some weight/muscle, I won't be unhappy, but it's not the PRIMARY goal). Already gained about 8 lbs on my low carb diet just from lifting for 4 weeks.
I began Starting Strength about a month ago, and I started out at 5'8 @ 155 lbs around 10% bodyfat. My lifts were:
- 135x5 Squat
- 125x5 Bench
- 65x5 OHP
- 185x5 Deadlift
Current Stats (After 4 weeks):
- 5'8 @ 163 lbs around 11% bodyfat
- 205x5 Squat
- 160x5 Bench
- 95x5 OHP
- 295x5 Deadlift
I start phase 2 tomorrow from which point I will introduce Powercleans, although deadlifts still feel relatively light (no use of belt or straps yet).
Kris