Low T is Unnatural

Nothing "Natty" About Today's Status Quo

Writing

Thanks for everyone who participated in our recent Vale Tudo AMA.  That was fun.  Please continue to send questions whenever they occur to you.  Thanks also to everyone who has subscribed, shared, and recommended Vale Tudo.  I’m particularly grateful to Amateur Investor (disclaimer/warning: nepotism alert!) and Man on the Move for your recommendations.  To return the favor: please check those out.  If you have a Substack newsletter, please consider recommending VT there.  Much appreciated. 

This will always be a free subscription, but it is encouraging to see a growth in subscribers; reader interest encourages me to keep it up.    

Training

Great run this morning at Mountain Lakes Park – cool and clear with a great bunch of friends. 

CrossFit was:

2 Rounds

• AMRAP 3 Bike for Cals

• AMRAP 3 Dips

• AMRAP 3 DBall Over Shoulder 100 and 150 lbs. alternating

• AMRAP 3 GHDs

I just got The Whiteboard Daily Book of Cues: A Visual Guide to Efficient Movement for Coaches, Trainers and Athletes which has some great reminder on forms.  The cues are short and simple enough that I can actually recall them during workouts. 

Fueling

Driving to and from my run, I listened to Eating Ourselves to Death, Bari Weiss’ conversation with Dr. Casey Means.  It was great and totally aligned with my fueling priorities.  Worth listening to.  I also just got Stan Efferding’s Vertical Diet, the broiest of bro science, bot also pretty aligned with what I’m trying to do.   

Supplementing

Too on the nose:

One of the signs of success of any weightlifting program is the first time someone questions if you’re “natural”.  It is a false dichotomy.  In the 21st century, it would be nearly impossible to avoid all of the xenoestrogens artificially suppressing testosterone – they are in pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, cleaning products, plastics, dental sealants, receipts, dust, laundry products, carpets, shampoo, building materials, and toys.  They are literally in the water.  They are in the air.  In short, due to modern manufacturing processes, they are functionally unavoidable.  So hormones are under attack compared to past generations and compared with younger people who have had less exposure.  Passively accepting this is unnatural.  Retaliating with hormone improving behaviors (such as adequate sleep and weight management) as well as pharma restores your optimal – and natural – testosterone level. 

Measuring

The new watch is Apple’s first good fitness tracker for trail running and sleep monitoring.  It is durable and finally comes with an adequate battery life.  I’ve never recommended them until this version which they’ve finally gotten right.  I am holding off until October 1, but received my latest Tasso blood work kit as well as my liver and kidney function tests; with radically increasing my protein intake and testosterone levels, I’m interested in monitoring any reaction from these organs. 

Recovering

Should I get a Pod 3 mattress? Please comment below if you have one and can offer a review, positive or negative.  It seems to be popular with CrossFit Games athletes, so I keep hearing about it.

Planning

Next up on the docket: Muay Thai and an early morning run.  Bigger news: the Dinnie Stone attempt is officially on my calendar: Sunday August 6, 2023.  That leaves only the matter of lifting 733 pounds.  I always try to get in touch with people who’ve already succeeded in my ongoing efforts, in this case getting this advice from Dinnie Stone legend Stevie Shanks,

My advice is to get your hands on a good set of Dinnie training pins. This will give you the best chance of success. For now pop the bar onto a set of 10" blocks which will raise the bar to around 18" and practise the Kennedy lift. This straddle position will get you roughly into the Dinnie stones lifting position and help you to start working on core and grip strength.

On it.