OldManAsh stays accountable

[OldManAsh]

Modification to the plan.

In the interest of putting on the best showing I can at the Spartans later this year, I signed up for pro OCR coaching. The training sessions are basically fun runs, fobbits, and HIC sessions, and slot in perfectly with the TB max strength protocol. They include occasional two-a-days, with morning E and evening SE/grip. Rather than the planned Fighter/Green, I've decided I'd like the extra flexibility of OP I/A with structure similar to the first I/A example (Soldier X) in TB3. OCR sessions include a lot of pull-ups and SE work, so I'll run a super minimalist MS cluster of SQ/BP + alternating KB swings / DL, 90% TM in effect.

6/12/2017
Baselines
SQ 300
BP 245
DL 335
PU 8

LSS 7+ miles, 12:11 pace
Tempo 2 miles, 9:50 pace

Training block
Op I/A + 2-3 OCR specific + 1 weekly LSS trail run.

The first race is in 54 days.

[OldManAsh]

Op I/A #1 - 75%
SQ 210 4x5
BP 170 5x5
Swings 25kg 3x20

Pull-ups BW 6,6,4,4,3
* I still have a few days left on the Pavel Fighter Pull-Up program, so I added today's progression in between the regular cluster. Missed one rep in 3rd set; no particular reason, just couldn't finish it cleanly

Overall very smooth, almost boring, session

edit: fixed incorrect SQ weight

[WhoDey]

After a lifetime of massive meat consumption, I went vegan for ethical reasons 5 years ago. From a health standpoint, other than quitting smoking, it's the single best thing I've ever done for myself. My only regret is not having done it sooner.

I second Barkadion's sentiment of being interested in learning more of your dietary approach. Barkadion ... I'd like to hear your thoughts as well!

Diet is one factor that led me to the TB community. I like the emphasis that i see here on developing as a well-rounded athlete. Advice I read in other well known lifting communities didn't sit well with me. I had no interest in drinking a gallon of milk or eating two pounds of hamburger a day. I'm sure that allows one to put on pounds, but that wasn't my goal. I also didn't understand the adversion to cardio workouts. As fate would have it, as I was working my way through this maze, I suffered a heart attack in January, 2016. If I was on the fence prior, there was now no doubt that I had to make changes to my diet and not neglect cardio.

Long winded way to say that I respect your path and would like to hear more. I still eat meat, but only fish/poultry and not every day. I would like to go vegan, but I'm not sure I could pull it off with a family.

Thanks for sharing your workout log with us.

[OldManAsh]

OCR specific E + SE
Phase 1:
Treadmill 15% incline for 15 minutes
.76 miles
19:21 pace
161 max hr

Phase 2:
Deadlift 135, push-ups, burpees
10 rounds reverse ladder from 10 -> 1
0:39:18

This was the first session from my new OCR trainer. The 15% for 15 min is meant to establish a baseline for high incline work. The SE session gassed me pretty badly, reminiscent of base. I was also reminded that at least for me, high volume SE is as much mental as it is physical.

Note: I'm keeping the OCR explanations big picture, but leaving out certain details given that the sessions are coming from a private trainer.

[OldManAsh]

Hi, mate.
It would be highly appreciated if you can share your vegan story. Pros/cons/perks/disappointments..

I second Barkadion's sentiment of being interested in learning more of your dietary approach. Barkadion ... I'd like to hear your thoughts as well!

Thanks for the interest! I'll have to do this in a few parts, but to start off, as I said I originally went vegan for ethical reasons when I got involved in anti-poaching operations. Health and fitness weren't priorities, and suffice it to say, it's totally possible to be an unhealthy, junk food vegan. It's only been in the last year and half or so when I started really considering the health aspects, due in no small part to an injury that left me barely mobile for about 5 months in mid-2015. I started absorbing documentaries like Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and Vegucated, and those led me to the work of researchers like Dr Michael Greger, Dr John McDougall, and Dr Joel Fuhrman. I started experimenting with different whole food, plant based approaches, and ultimately found that I do really well on a high carb, low fat diet. I'm not big on counting calories, but I do track my protein to make sure I get a minimum of 150g/day. Beyond that, I listen to my body, and make sure to get everything listed on Dr Greger's Daily Dozen: https://veganuary.com/wp-content/upload ... cklist.pdf

As fate would have it, as I was working my way through this maze, I suffered a heart attack in January, 2016. If I was on the fence prior, there was now no doubt that I had to make changes to my diet and not neglect cardio.

First off, I'm really glad to hear you're still with us and have been able to take positive steps to fix your health. I highly, highly recommend Dr Greger's book How Not to Die. It takes an academic, well researched and sourced approach to plant based nutrition, specifically in the context of different ailments. His site https://nutritionfacts.org is also an amazing resource for the latest health and nutrition research.

My staple foods are ]beans/lentils, tempeh/seitan (occasionally tofu), some whole grains (rice, oats, quinoa), potatoes (white and sweet), and all the (mostly raw) vegetables and leafy greens I can fit. I snack on fruit if I need something sweet, and (mostly) avoid refined oils, opting to get my healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, and things like flax and chia. The only missing nutrient is vitamin B12, so I take a supplement a couple of times a week, and also make liberal use of B12 fortified nutritional yeast as both an ingredient and a condiment. I do eat a fair amount of Field Roast veggie sausage; they include a small amount of refined oil, but are otherwise basically just seitan (wheat gluten), veggies, and spices, with 26g of protein each. I make my own cheeses and dairy substitutes out of nuts (this can be as easy as throwing everything in the Vitamix for a few minutes).

Important to note that this is how I eat at home, but when I go out I don't worry about oil or staying strictly healthy. As I said, vegan food can be junk, and I'm carrying around probably 20 extra lbs as a result of my love of pizza, french fries, and other comfort foods. I've started actively working to shed this, and will be limiting myself to one cheat meal a week. I'm not a big drinker, but I do like a nice single malt or craft beer from time to time.

It's getting late, but I hope this answers some questions. I'll write up an average day of meals tomorrow, and please do keep asking away!

[Barkadion]

Hi, mate.
It would be highly appreciated if you can share your vegan story. Pros/cons/perks/disappointments..

I second Barkadion's sentiment of being interested in learning more of your dietary approach. Barkadion ... I'd like to hear your thoughts as well!

Thanks for the interest! I'll have to do this in a few parts, but to start off, as I said I originally went vegan for ethical reasons when I got involved in anti-poaching operations. Health and fitness weren't priorities, and suffice it to say, it's totally possible to be an unhealthy, junk food vegan. It's only been in the last year and half or so when I started really considering the health aspects, due in no small part to an injury that left me barely mobile for about 5 months in mid-2015. I started absorbing documentaries like Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and Vegucated, and those led me to the work of researchers like Dr Michael Greger, Dr John McDougall, and Dr Joel Fuhrman. I started experimenting with different whole food, plant based approaches, and ultimately found that I do really well on a high carb, low fat diet. I'm not big on counting calories, but I do track my protein to make sure I get a minimum of 150g/day. Beyond that, I listen to my body, and make sure to get everything listed on Dr Greger's Daily Dozen: https://veganuary.com/wp-content/upload ... cklist.pdf

As fate would have it, as I was working my way through this maze, I suffered a heart attack in January, 2016. If I was on the fence prior, there was now no doubt that I had to make changes to my diet and not neglect cardio.

First off, I'm really glad to hear you're still with us and have been able to take positive steps to fix your health. I highly, highly recommend Dr Greger's book How Not to Die. It takes an academic, well researched and sourced approach to plant based nutrition, specifically in the context of different ailments. His site https://nutritionfacts.org is also an amazing resource for the latest health and nutrition research.

My staple foods are ]beans/lentils, tempeh/seitan (occasionally tofu), some whole grains (rice, oats, quinoa), potatoes (white and sweet), and all the (mostly raw) vegetables and leafy greens I can fit. I snack on fruit if I need something sweet, and (mostly) avoid refined oils, opting to get my healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, and things like flax and chia. The only missing nutrient is vitamin B12, so I take a supplement a couple of times a week, and also make liberal use of B12 fortified nutritional yeast as both an ingredient and a condiment. I do eat a fair amount of Field Roast veggie sausage; they include a small amount of refined oil, but are otherwise basically just seitan (wheat gluten), veggies, and spices, with 26g of protein each. I make my own cheeses and dairy substitutes out of nuts (this can be as easy as throwing everything in the Vitamix for a few minutes).

Important to note that this is how I eat at home, but when I go out I don't worry about oil or staying strictly healthy. As I said, vegan food can be junk, and I'm carrying around probably 20 extra lbs as a result of my love of pizza, french fries, and other comfort foods. I've started actively working to shed this, and will be limiting myself to one cheat meal a week. I'm not a big drinker, but I do like a nice single malt or craft beer from time to time.

It's getting late, but I hope this answers some questions. I'll write up an average day of meals tomorrow, and please do keep asking away!

Thank you. Appreciate that.

Few questions if you don't mind.

1. Protein powders. Yay or Nay?
2. Any supplementation? Something like B complex, yada-yada.
3. Any issues with digestive system?
4. Did you have to break any psychological barriers when you started off as a vegan?
5. Any training related diet modification? Pre-post WO, lifting VS conditioning nutrition, blah..blah..

Thanks again!

[OldManAsh]

Thank you. Appreciate that.

Few questions if you don't mind.

1. Protein powders. Yay or Nay?
2. Any supplementation? Something like B complex, yada-yada.
3. Any issues with digestive system?
4. Did you have to break any psychological barriers when you started off as a vegan?
5. Any training related diet modification? Pre-post WO, lifting VS conditioning nutrition, blah..blah..

Thanks again!

1. Protein powder, yea. I use ~30g post-workout, generally a blend of brown rice/pea/hemp from Vega or Orgain. I also blend up a can of beets a couple times a week, and put in half a scoop (vanilla works well) along with some leafy greens, cucumber, and fresh ginger.

2. Creatine, B12. B12 I take as a pill every couple of days. I tend to get more than the FDA recommendations of everything else just by virtue of eating lots of leafy greens, colorful veggies, and berries, though I may try a B complex to see if there's a noticeable difference in how I feel. I also pop magnesium occasionally.

3. At first, yes. Coming off 34 years of a highly-processed standard American diet, my system wasn't used to the influx of fibre, so the results were what one would expect. That cleared up pretty quickly as my gut biome adjusted, and I haven't had problems since (that was 5 years ago). I do still have some gas issues from eating 3-4 cups of beans a day. I generally buy canned to save time, and I keep meaning to try soaking and cooking my own, as I've heard longer soaking time can reduce the flatulence issues.

4. Absolutely. I was a hardcore burger, wings, bbq, steak-as-big-as-my-head kind of guy, so going full plant-based basically required re-inventing myself. My family was supportive, but my girlfriend at the time broke up with me over it, and most of my friends expected it to be a temporary fad. Finding other vegans to talk to, and later on vegan athletes to train and compete with was absolutely a must in helping to keep myself on track mentally. I'm coming up on the 1000 lb club, and just posted a picture of a combined 850 in the big three, and many of the previous nay-sayers expressed their admiration.

5. Work in progress. I upped my protein when I started lifting seriously late last year, but otherwise I stick to the staple foods I mentioned in a previous post.

Observationally, I've found, for example, that something like a huge salad full of raw veg, cold beans, and oil-free dressing sits really well pre-workout. Post-workout I have a shake with a scoop of protein, bananas, berries, spinach, creatine, ground flax, and turmeric.

Bread and pasta sit really heavy and make me bloated and lethargic, but I have no problem with seitan, so it's not a gluten issue. I'm around 18% bf due to a love of junk food, so limiting that, I'll continue monitoring and tweaking my diet as I see how my body comp and performance change moving forward. I follow other vegan athletes and play around with their suggestions for fueling and performance, Rich Roll in particular (went vegan at 40, came in 11th at Ultraman less than a year later with no prior triathlon finish. Highly recommend his podcast and book Finding Ultra).

[OldManAsh]

Op I/A #2 - 75%
SQ 210 3x5
BP 170 5x5

Pull-ups BW 7,6,5,4,3 + 60s deadhang

Just realized I was supposed to do SQ 205; don't think an extra 5 lbs in this context will be the end of the world.
Punting the deadlift workset until Fri since I did high volume in last night's SE.

[Barkadion]

Thank you. Appreciate that.

Few questions if you don't mind.

1. Protein powders. Yay or Nay?
2. Any supplementation? Something like B complex, yada-yada.
3. Any issues with digestive system?
4. Did you have to break any psychological barriers when you started off as a vegan?
5. Any training related diet modification? Pre-post WO, lifting VS conditioning nutrition, blah..blah..

Thanks again!

1. Protein powder, yea. I use ~30g post-workout, generally a blend of brown rice/pea/hemp from Vega or Orgain. I also blend up a can of beets a couple times a week, and put in half a scoop (vanilla works well) along with some leafy greens, cucumber, and fresh ginger.

2. Creatine, B12. B12 I take as a pill every couple of days. I tend to get more than the FDA recommendations of everything else just by virtue of eating lots of leafy greens, colorful veggies, and berries, though I may try a B complex to see if there's a noticeable difference in how I feel. I also pop magnesium occasionally.

3. At first, yes. Coming off 34 years of a highly-processed standard American diet, my system wasn't used to the influx of fibre, so the results were what one would expect. That cleared up pretty quickly as my gut biome adjusted, and I haven't had problems since (that was 5 years ago). I do still have some gas issues from eating 3-4 cups of beans a day. I generally buy canned to save time, and I keep meaning to try soaking and cooking my own, as I've heard longer soaking time can reduce the flatulence issues.

4. Absolutely. I was a hardcore burger, wings, bbq, steak-as-big-as-my-head kind of guy, so going full plant-based basically required re-inventing myself. My family was supportive, but my girlfriend at the time broke up with me over it, and most of my friends expected it to be a temporary fad. Finding other vegans to talk to, and later on vegan athletes to train and compete with was absolutely a must in helping to keep myself on track mentally. I'm coming up on the 1000 lb club, and just posted a picture of a combined 850 in the big three, and many of the previous nay-sayers expressed their admiration.

5. Work in progress. I upped my protein when I started lifting seriously late last year, but otherwise I stick to the staple foods I mentioned in a previous post.

Observationally, I've found, for example, that something like a huge salad full of raw veg, cold beans, and oil-free dressing sits really well pre-workout. Post-workout I have a shake with a scoop of protein, bananas, berries, spinach, creatine, ground flax, and turmeric.

Bread and pasta sit really heavy and make me bloated and lethargic, but I have no problem with seitan, so it's not a gluten issue. I'm around 18% bf due to a love of junk food, so limiting that, I'll continue monitoring and tweaking my diet as I see how my body comp and performance change moving forward. I follow other vegan athletes and play around with their suggestions for fueling and performance, Rich Roll in particular (went vegan at 40, came in 11th at Ultraman less than a year later with no prior triathlon finish. Highly recommend his podcast and book Finding Ultra).

Thank you for detailed answers. Appreciate that. So.. no regrets of being vegan at all? I don't any "cons" points! Awesome.

[OldManAsh]

Thank you for detailed answers. Appreciate that. So.. no regrets of being vegan at all? I don't any "cons" points! Awesome.

Honestly, not really. The only issues are cultural, given how deeply entwined food is with family gatherings and whatnot. I will say that I miss being able to stop in little mom and pop joints in small towns when I'm road tripping, but on the flip side, more and more vegan restaurants are opening in unexpected places (there's a joint outside DC that does really, honest, traditional southern soul food, no animal products involved), so finding and trying those becomes an adventure in itself. The pros far outweigh that, though. I can honestly say that sitting just shy of 40, I feel better than I ever did when I was 20.