Second Annual Vale Tudo AMA

Ask away; I’ll give my best answer…

Reflecting

Good morning, Vale Tudo readers.

Ask me anything!  I will try to respond to any/all questions in the below comment section today.  I take offense at nothing (or if I do, that’s my problem; offense is a characteristic of the offended).  But here’s where I might conceivably offer some value…

I’m not expert or specialized in anything.  I’m just juggling my professional and family responsibilities with my best effort to improve my health and fitness while writing about the journey.  I try to be open about successes and failures.  Mostly, I do a lot of research to the extent that it is almost ridiculous.  So I love sharing what I find in the hope that others might get something out of it too.

Training

Most of what I know could be stuffed into a fortune cookie: train hard, eat clean, and sleep enough.  But I’m also having fun tinkering with tweaks here and there on training – mostly CrossFit, additional weightlifting, MMA focused mostly on jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing with just a bit of wrestling, trail running, and mountaineering with a focus on rock and ice climbing as well as ski touring.  I spend any extra time on expeditions and extra money on gear and guides.  I also have been well coached and am grateful to my 1-on-1 dedication from my strength coach, boxing coach, Muay Thai coach, jiu jitsu coach, mountain guides, and altitude specialist.  A lot of great people share responsibility for keeping me moving. 

I spent far too much time lurking around the periphery of the activities that now form the core of my life. So if that’s you, too, please hit me up for any questions on how to start CrossFit, trail running, or BJJ. TL; DR: just start. Show up. Ruminating about it helps nothing. These are the friendliest of communities. If you want to find assholes, then go online or somewhere with no consequences. If you want to find close friends and trusted allies, go somewhere with your literal lives in each other’s hands such as vertical ice, gun ranges, or jiu jitsu mats.

Fueling

I’ve been working on my fueling, too, focusing on unprocessed foods found in the outer aisle or, better yet, direct from farms and ranches.  I eat a lot of protein and some produce.  Recently, I’ve been taking daily 18-hour/day fasts.  The standard American diet – overeating boxes of ultra processed foods high in refined sugar, processed carbs, and empty calories – is poison.  But I don’t argue fine distinctions among the small minority of people who eat whole foods. 

My nature is immoderate so this isn’t an easy subject for me. If I like something, then I like more more. Before I reoriented my diet, I could eat any quantity of pasta. I used to be genuinely confused by “family sized” frozen meals that said they were for four or five people yet I downed them in one sitting by myself. So each of my ideas on nutrition have been designed to overcome naturally sucking at it. I can’t trust myself with junk food; I have to be my own dictator.

Supplementing

This is probably the smallest part of the overall health and fitness equation.  I’m particularly interested in battling and reversing the generational plunge in men’s testosterone.  My favorite expert on the subject describes it like this: T is what makes hard work feel good.  That’s what I want and I want it at an optimal not just adequate level. So ask away, especially if you have any interest in optimizing your hormones. Have you even tested your testosterone level? That is step one. TL; DR: get a full blood planel done to know what you’re dealing with.

Measuring

The surest sign of bullshit is something that someone says they care about but don’t measure.  If you don’t know how much you’re worth, you’re poor.  If you don’t know how much you lift, you’re weak.  If you don’t know how fast you run, you’re slow.  If you don’t know how much you weigh, you’re fat.  That’s fine, as long as those things aren’t your priorities and you are uninterested in improving.  But as soon as you care about something: measure. 

Never ineffectively beat yourself up.  Just give up.  Or act to get better.  But if the latter, then you need to look at the facts, including the ugliest of truths. Record them. Plan to improve with patience and consistency.  In my case, I had high hopes of a dramatic transformation to write about here.  Total failure.  I’m essentially stuck within a pound or two of my lean muscle mass and can’t get it to budge.  But I measure each day and confront this cold, hard reality.  Playing pretend is a fun part of childhood but no part of successful adulthood. TL; DR: get on the scale and record what it says.

Recovering

I have spent the time and money (so much money) on every recovery gimmick known to man.  TL; DR: just get some rest.  But if you have any questions on sleep (it is so important) or recovery fads (I’ve tried ‘em all and might be able to save you some $ by revealing the punchlines) ask away.

Closing

I feel a bit goofy writing about activities where in each case I’m not the best, not even the best locally.  But I have removed all distractions and limitations on my health and fitness outside of work and family.  My activities double as my social life.  Outside of my home, I have a trail running family, a jiu jitsu family, and a CrossFit family.  While I’m not specialized in any pursuit, I am striving to be strong for a fast guy and fast for a strong guy.  I’ve stumbled upon a few hacks to live a hybrid athletic life that serves my goals.  So, this AMA is probably not that useful for any of the many elites in each area, but perhaps of some interest to people in my situation – trying to keep on track as a husband, father, employer, investor, and man.