Thank you Tom, one of my most consistent and generous friends and the man who introduced me to one of the wonders of this life -- Shun Lee's Crispy Orange Beef.
I'm a big fan of both you and Andrew and what y'all are doing at Rangeley. Not sure if my question is what you're looking for, but I'm going to ask anyway. I'm really curious to hear how you are able to balance all of your work, family, external activities, etc. and if it ever becomes just too much for you (in which case mental health would suffer)? I do my best to be a great research analyst, athlete, father, husband, etc but tend to find myself overwhelmed and unable to focus on more than one obsession at a time. Sorry for the long, qualitative question, but I'm genuinely fascinated by how you (and Andrew for that matter) are able to handle so much without it dragging you into a poor mental state.
Thanks for the kind words. Your question is precisely what I'm looking for. It is the essential question. I don't balance. I don't compromise. Instead I iterate. Occasional 100% attention on my wife with only the vaguest hope and expectation that the kids are all surviving elsewhere. Then 100% attention on not just work but specific research projects with a general reliance on my colleagues for covering other duties. Then lifting weights with no care about work or family. So I serially focus. I never multitask. I reject and ignore and avoid priorities 2-5 when doing one thing.
On the fitness side, my activities are often dangerous to allow in unrelated thoughts. I like to bomb down steep rocky terrain, climb up waterfalls, and roll with far stronger and more experienced BJJ players; these are inconsistent with distraction, or if one allows distraction then there will be immediate consequences.
What gets left off? Overt socializing. I do zero. I chat with friends I lift/run/roll with but that's my whole social life. I do zero spectating. None. Happy to train with my kids but I don't watch professional/collegiate/youth sports. Zero video games (which sounds silly to mention but I'd probably love them). Only TV/movies on when I'm doing something else (I guess this is my only multitasking) such as brushing my teeth and flossing. A lot of people who say they're busy see the whole NFL season and have strong opinions on the last dozen NFLX releases.
I really appreciate that - seems like we have a lot in common, probably too much. For me, it's the curse of my addictive brain. Thanks again for all that you do, Chris.
Hi Chris, I am enjoying your blog posts. I am sure you spend a lot of time reading for your investing day job as well as to support this blog. Along those lines, do you have any reading recommendations? Related, do you ever read for pleasure? If so, anything to recommend?
(1) Could you point us to any good resource about altitude training?
(2) What are your preferred way(s) to measure and track your Vo2Max ?
(3) what sort of Ski Touring have you done ?
(4) what is your best 1-mile run time a la "puke distance"? (I imagine crossfitters should tend to do well at that distance, given the emphasis on conditioning and power? )
(4) Great question. I would say that most CrossFit distances are closer to 400 meters. My current goal is 5 minutes. My current time is right around 6 minutes in the Murph (but that was with a 20 lbs. weight vest and in gym shoes so not sure where I am without extra weight and with running shoes). Now that you ask I want to know.
1) Looks like a fantastic book. Is it just me or is altitude training (aka "legal doping") underrated for its physical and cognitive benifits? Have you considered the extra convenience of having one of these at home for year round altitude training:
Yes I think that altitude training is really quite promising. The first time I ever saw someone running up a big mountain was as a kid and it was a friend whose family was from a very high elevation town in Peru; ever since the connection between altitude and cardiovascular endurance has been a fascination of mine.
Hi Chris, a few questions (apologies if answered elsewhere):
-- Have you researched cold "therapy" such as the Wim Hof method? (Lots of claims, perhaps legitimate, of its value)
-- Do you have your Vitamin D levels tested (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D))? Do you supplement to keep within a good range (e.g., reference range of the total 25(OH)D level is 25-80 ng/mL). Apparently, keeping a sufficiently high level is correlated with lots of good outcomes (probably owing to Vitamin D's role in immune function), including not only far better outcomes with COVID, for example, but also much, much lower levels of hospital-acquired infections (when pre-op Vitamin D levels are higher).
-- Have you researched any of the following supplements for potential value? -- NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), quercetin, bromelain, nattokinase, dandelion root, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), resveratrol, omega 3-6-9 (flax, fish and borage oils)?
Thanks for your ongoing contribution, both here and with investing / markets. Very much appreciated!
Yes, I read Wim Hof's book and did cold plunges in Long Island Sound throughout the winter. I tend to fully submerge during water crossings in trail runs. And I take ice baths. I love them but think he oversells the impact.
Yes I test Vitamin D and supplement aggressively with 250 mcg / day orally and 10-20 minutes of direct sunlight when available.
On that list I've looked at only 2: NAC and fish oils. I take NAC and I get fish oil from sardines. I'm interested in but ignorant about the rest; perhaps others could chime in!
Thank you for your thoughts and glad you're incorporating. I have an aversion to cold so have not attempted ice baths or plunging into icy glacial or mountain waters, only an occasional cold(ish) shower (shocking enough by itself for my taste). Cold comfort, indeed.
I take all the listed supplements but don't have rationales set enough in mind to submit here. I tend to do research and once convinced, the details fall away. But I do think they're all at least worth looking into, perhaps in your nonexistent spare time; seriously, if I can I will forward some background info. on some or all of them.
I would not force cold plunges. I have a fond childhood association with cold water because I love swimming and our lake in Maine gets snow melt runoff from creeks. But it isn't necessary. Any while it can help with inflammation and helps me psychologically, it can actually slow muscle building.
I started to eat cleaner. i could write pages about this stuff but i will keep it short..Every time you eat something, your body starts to produce insulin. Insulin causes inflammation. You obviously need a certain amount of insulin to live. that said, if your constantly eating, your body is constantly producing insulin. fasting gives your body a break from insulin production and that "break" allows the body to heal. Longer fast=more healing. Fasting has really helped me focus. That said, every now and then I will have a cheat meal. Im really good 90% of the time...gotta live a little...I dont drink alcohol and that has probably made things easier..
I am not a train scientist in this or any other area so this will sound laughably basic to anyone with a deep understanding but another part of the IF reaction that seems wholly plausible to me is this -- our bodies as we age have lots and lots of cells that no longer serve their differentiated functions well. They aren't quite dead yet but they are no longer useful. IF starves them and lets them die and allows the body time to regenerate newer healthier more differentiated cells.
I am brand new to both StW and Vale Tudo, both are fantastic additions to my daily routine. I do all of the meal prep/cooking for my family, do you have any suggestions for where you find meal ideas?
Welcome to both. I love meal prep. I triangulate healthy food with what my family likes. With 5 people, my standard is something that at least one or two people love and that at least 4 tolerates (if one is an outlier then that person can fend for himself). Eg: my little guy loves tacos and Korean beef so those are regulars on the rotation. I can make healthy meals around those. My daughter loves salmon and trout. I cook up a whole one of those each week. I love steak and do that at least 1-2x per week. My older son loves burgers. I skip the bun but have burgers each week, often bison or venison for something on the lean side. So I'm reactive to my crew within categories that I like and can make healthy. Everyone loves blueberries (which grow wild around our home in Maine) so we tend to go through tons of those for snacks. That and Greek yogurt are the two most readily available foods for them to grab. So I would go with what your family most enjoys that overlaps with good protein and then make about 2x what they eat in a meal. I like having a decent amount of leftovers for the next day so that you can repeat meals or tweak them with a fresh side or new take but can make fewer dishes over the course of the week.
Another that has been working well for us: I make 2 versions of what I call monster mash. One is a PM/red meat version: ground meat (I sneak in organ meat with muscle meat for extra nutrients) cooked on the skillet with garlic, onions, mushrooms, sprouts, bacon if the meat is very lean, and bone broth. People who need to gain weight and want carbs can add white rice. This mash saves well. You can put it in a thermos for later, if you can reheat it (best very hot). This is good for everyone, but monster mash is particularly good for anyone who needs to gain weight as it is easiest to cut weight with a fork and gain weight with a spoon. AM/egg monster mash: similar but with duck eggs instead of red meat. I sautee a skillet of onions/garlic/mushrooms/sprouts/egg. I just stir it up and keep everything on the pan until browned then stir in the eggs at the last minute, just enough until they're cooked. This also saves pretty well for a day or so. Delicious, protein packed, sneaks in lots of other nutrients, convenient to eat, and fun to make.
Finally: buy great ingredients and enjoy the prep process. I have a $0.00 alcohol budget and $0.00 restaurant budget so can plow that savings into ingredients and can plow the time I don't waste waiting for a table or for the check into making great meals.
Eiger. It was more beautiful and more difficult than I expected. I struggled with the elevation. But it was great to be in a beautiful part of Switzerland with friends and family. Recuperated on Lake Geneva and got in several good days of CrossFit there.
I compete so rarely because I love my regular routine and get in so many free and convenient miles with my club that it is hard for me to want to divert to other events.
A friend's heart problem. I ran with one of my friends from my running club with the intention to go 1/2 way but longer if I felt like it -- Eiger and Grindstone don't make a big deal of it but allow you to switch to a 50 in the middle of the race if you want to. He was struggling with the elevation (we all were) but then his heart started uncontrollably racing even when he slowed down. So we kept going another five miles or so but diverted off course. He was disappointed but I wasn't. I was intact enough to go to CrossFit the next few days. Two others in my group switched to 50 and got credit (stones in the UTMB series) for that. For me, a big part of it was joining friends. I care less and less about running each day compared with strength training but still enjoy it aesthetically, love mountains, and don't want to miss my trail running friends.
Btw, for those wanting to guarantee participation in the UTMB Mont-Blanc and avoid the stones lottery, UTMB now offers “charity” entries. It’s a 2kEUR donation so not cheap but probably not more expensive than collecting enough stones to have a realistic chance in the lottery.
You do need one stone (can be from a 20k utmb race) and one 100k utmb “index” race
Hey Chris! I’m a big fan of your StW and Vale Tudo journeys. What kind of bed/mattress do you have? I’m contemplating trying an 8 sleep after listening to Huberman. Any thoughts?
I have a Tempur-Pedic since I was researching the company (I passed on the investment) but if I bought one now it would be the 8 Sleep. I generally keep something as long as possible until it wears out so have been delaying a mattress upgrade but go back and forth on changing it.
I have run 5ks and 10ks but only with my kids. So we were competitive but going their pace. My favorite 5k memory: I was with my wife and young son driving to a race. We got stuck in standstill traffic on I95 because of an 18-wheeler v motorcycle accident (cyclist lost). There was nothing much to be done as the accident was utterly decisive. One of the many police cars on the scene was near an exit that I couldn't reach. I got out, handed the wheel to my wife and took my young son over to the cop. He was having an awful day on that crash scene and had nothing to do. So he told me and my boy to get in the back. He flipped on his siren and lights and sped to the race. It was seconds away from starting so he pulled his squad car across the front, so that it didn't start without us. We jumped out, waved, and got to the front right as the gun went off.
Good question. I don't have that stat in front of me but it is pretty moderate, despite high intake of both eggs and red meat. My theory is that cholesterol is not that correlated with all cause mortality at my level (in fact appears inverse) and that the key is it isn't bad if combined with ultra low blood sugar. If you're lean and have low, steady blood sugar, then all sorts of other indicators are essentially benign. If one is overweight with high and spiky blood sugar, that raises dozens of other issues that must then be managed.
Thank you for being willing to share this all. I enjoy all of your updates I’m just starting my health journey and wonder if there’s a big difference between 14 hour, 16 hour and 18 hour fast also how much lifting or working out do I need to do before adding creatine into my regimen? Thanks again.
No big difference between those fasting lengths. Mine is pretty particular to me: five is when it makes sense for me to eat and be done by six in time to get ready for the evening at 6:30. I wake up at 3:30 AM, lift or run at 5, trainer at 6, sauna at 7, then get to work reading and researching that lasts until about noon. 9-11 AM would be tricky if I weren't so busy. I tell myself that I can eat when I'm done work that takes until mid-day then I cook a meal. So no magic about 18 hours; that's just how long it takes me to sleep (9 hour sleep opportunity window for 8 hours of sleep), train (2.5 hours of lifting and recovery) and work (6.5 hours of reading / research/on "receive" with afternoons on "transmit" / calls / meetings / trading / writing. IF for me requires busyness to not think about food! Creatine: it is for everybody. No minimal training standard.
David, i suggest you go on YouTube and look up Dr. Mindy Pelz. She is an incredible resource on fasting. I think there is a difference between a 14 hour fast and an 18 hour fast. There are physiological differences. I think the best place to start is a fast that you can handle for a month or 2. Starting at 18 could be tough. It will take your body some time to get used to fasting. I have been fasting (16-8) for almost 2 years and its really made a difference to me. I am trying a 24 hour fast 1 day a week and will probably stick with that for 3-4 months.
I started this journey I was 215 lbs. 9 months later I was 180 and I have maintained that weight since. It was amazing to realize that the amount of food i used to eat was totally unnecessary..
Thanks for the reference. I’ll check it out. Curious, did you change anything else besides adding fasting? Are you thinking the fasting is what caused you to consume less?
It is essentially a commodity so doesn't matter that much but I take this https://bit.ly/3P7lU2T
I prefer capsules since the powder is a suspension and doesn't dissolve well in liquids. I've tried to mix it in protein shakes but when I drink them it is as if I got sand in it and then there's plenty of sludge left at the bottom of the glass.
Thanks for doing this Chris. I'm also undergoing a health journey.
1. How do you count your 18 hour/day fast? Is it all in one day or spread over two days (previous night to the next morning)?
2. Any high protein snacks you recommend? I'm up to 2/3 good meals but the 3rd meal usually lets me down (too "carby").
3. My sleep is good (same time every night and similar duration) but I do wonder about sleep quality. Any gimmicks you can recommend on nudging quality or getting started on researching it? I'm not a smartwatch user yet. Seems too distracting. But maybe I'll break.
Sorry if you've discussed any of this in the past. I usually don't miss your posts (but I missed quite a few over the summer)
1. Zero calories of any kind from 6 PM to the following noon. I sip mineral water, black coffee, white tea, and chew mastic gum.
2. Oikos Pro or Triple Zero yogurt in particular or Greek yogurt in general.
3. To measure, take a free month Whoop trial. I keep my bedroom at 65-68 degrees and pitch black. Blackout curtains help since I go to bed before summer sunsets. Traveling, I use an eye mask and earplugs. I try to train hard enough to wear myself out. I threaten murder to anyone who wakes me up.
If anyone can chip in $1 or $2, it would be great to knock this out today https://watsi.org/campaign/vale-tudo-donations
done. Good use for my suarez gift card
Thanks, Sam! Much appreciated.
Thank you, Kyler. Deeply appreciated. This donation will do a lot of good.
Thank you, Guido, for your kindness and generosity. Every penny will be well spent to help heal kids that otherwise could have been left untreated.
Thank you Tom, one of my most consistent and generous friends and the man who introduced me to one of the wonders of this life -- Shun Lee's Crispy Orange Beef.
Thanks, Bruce.
Thanks, Edward.
Thanks to both Sam and Paul!
Chris,
I'm a big fan of both you and Andrew and what y'all are doing at Rangeley. Not sure if my question is what you're looking for, but I'm going to ask anyway. I'm really curious to hear how you are able to balance all of your work, family, external activities, etc. and if it ever becomes just too much for you (in which case mental health would suffer)? I do my best to be a great research analyst, athlete, father, husband, etc but tend to find myself overwhelmed and unable to focus on more than one obsession at a time. Sorry for the long, qualitative question, but I'm genuinely fascinated by how you (and Andrew for that matter) are able to handle so much without it dragging you into a poor mental state.
Daniel Harriman
Thanks for the kind words. Your question is precisely what I'm looking for. It is the essential question. I don't balance. I don't compromise. Instead I iterate. Occasional 100% attention on my wife with only the vaguest hope and expectation that the kids are all surviving elsewhere. Then 100% attention on not just work but specific research projects with a general reliance on my colleagues for covering other duties. Then lifting weights with no care about work or family. So I serially focus. I never multitask. I reject and ignore and avoid priorities 2-5 when doing one thing.
On the fitness side, my activities are often dangerous to allow in unrelated thoughts. I like to bomb down steep rocky terrain, climb up waterfalls, and roll with far stronger and more experienced BJJ players; these are inconsistent with distraction, or if one allows distraction then there will be immediate consequences.
What gets left off? Overt socializing. I do zero. I chat with friends I lift/run/roll with but that's my whole social life. I do zero spectating. None. Happy to train with my kids but I don't watch professional/collegiate/youth sports. Zero video games (which sounds silly to mention but I'd probably love them). Only TV/movies on when I'm doing something else (I guess this is my only multitasking) such as brushing my teeth and flossing. A lot of people who say they're busy see the whole NFL season and have strong opinions on the last dozen NFLX releases.
Great question Daniel and great answer Chris.
I really appreciate that - seems like we have a lot in common, probably too much. For me, it's the curse of my addictive brain. Thanks again for all that you do, Chris.
Hi Chris, I am enjoying your blog posts. I am sure you spend a lot of time reading for your investing day job as well as to support this blog. Along those lines, do you have any reading recommendations? Related, do you ever read for pleasure? If so, anything to recommend?
Hi Tripp -- I read all mid-morning for about 4 hours. Some that I particularly like: https://www.amazon.com/shop/chrisdemuthjr/list/3OW9BUMCOJ9AG
For pleasure is a tricky category for me. In a sense I do everything for pleasure, but what I like is reading that helps my work or fitness.
Hey Chris. love this.
(1) Could you point us to any good resource about altitude training?
(2) What are your preferred way(s) to measure and track your Vo2Max ?
(3) what sort of Ski Touring have you done ?
(4) what is your best 1-mile run time a la "puke distance"? (I imagine crossfitters should tend to do well at that distance, given the emphasis on conditioning and power? )
thank you!
(1) Book -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1938340841/?tag=sifting-20
Consultant -- https://www.altitudecentre.com
Tent -- https://hypoxico.com/products/cubicle-tent
(2) VO2 / lactic acid threshold assessment -- https://www.sacredheart.edu/offices--departments-directory/pioneer-performance-center/services--pricing
(3) Possibly my favorite activity. I go out of my home in Maine (up Saddleback https://www.saddlebackmaine.com, etc) and weekend backcountry training with a guide in upstate New York -- https://www.hpmountainguides.com
(4) Great question. I would say that most CrossFit distances are closer to 400 meters. My current goal is 5 minutes. My current time is right around 6 minutes in the Murph (but that was with a 20 lbs. weight vest and in gym shoes so not sure where I am without extra weight and with running shoes). Now that you ask I want to know.
Thanks Chris
1) Looks like a fantastic book. Is it just me or is altitude training (aka "legal doping") underrated for its physical and cognitive benifits? Have you considered the extra convenience of having one of these at home for year round altitude training:
https://shop.liveo2.com/liveo2-extreme-system/
3) Those are great options you have.
4) 5 min 1 mile is insane. Especially for a guy with strength goals to boot. "hulk physique" 👏👏👏
Yes I think that altitude training is really quite promising. The first time I ever saw someone running up a big mountain was as a kid and it was a friend whose family was from a very high elevation town in Peru; ever since the connection between altitude and cardiovascular endurance has been a fascination of mine.
that is a nice formative story.
It was 2am here in Spain when I wrote "hulk physique". I wanted to say "Thor physique" but got my super hero wires crossed...<shrug emoji>
Hi Chris, a few questions (apologies if answered elsewhere):
-- Have you researched cold "therapy" such as the Wim Hof method? (Lots of claims, perhaps legitimate, of its value)
-- Do you have your Vitamin D levels tested (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D))? Do you supplement to keep within a good range (e.g., reference range of the total 25(OH)D level is 25-80 ng/mL). Apparently, keeping a sufficiently high level is correlated with lots of good outcomes (probably owing to Vitamin D's role in immune function), including not only far better outcomes with COVID, for example, but also much, much lower levels of hospital-acquired infections (when pre-op Vitamin D levels are higher).
-- Have you researched any of the following supplements for potential value? -- NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), quercetin, bromelain, nattokinase, dandelion root, bioflavonoids, ginkgo biloba, NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), resveratrol, omega 3-6-9 (flax, fish and borage oils)?
Thanks for your ongoing contribution, both here and with investing / markets. Very much appreciated!
Yes, I read Wim Hof's book and did cold plunges in Long Island Sound throughout the winter. I tend to fully submerge during water crossings in trail runs. And I take ice baths. I love them but think he oversells the impact.
Yes I test Vitamin D and supplement aggressively with 250 mcg / day orally and 10-20 minutes of direct sunlight when available.
On that list I've looked at only 2: NAC and fish oils. I take NAC and I get fish oil from sardines. I'm interested in but ignorant about the rest; perhaps others could chime in!
All fun topics; thanks for raising them.
Thank you for your thoughts and glad you're incorporating. I have an aversion to cold so have not attempted ice baths or plunging into icy glacial or mountain waters, only an occasional cold(ish) shower (shocking enough by itself for my taste). Cold comfort, indeed.
I take all the listed supplements but don't have rationales set enough in mind to submit here. I tend to do research and once convinced, the details fall away. But I do think they're all at least worth looking into, perhaps in your nonexistent spare time; seriously, if I can I will forward some background info. on some or all of them.
Thanks again for all!
I would not force cold plunges. I have a fond childhood association with cold water because I love swimming and our lake in Maine gets snow melt runoff from creeks. But it isn't necessary. Any while it can help with inflammation and helps me psychologically, it can actually slow muscle building.
bingo
Fasting absolutely caused me to eat less
I started to eat cleaner. i could write pages about this stuff but i will keep it short..Every time you eat something, your body starts to produce insulin. Insulin causes inflammation. You obviously need a certain amount of insulin to live. that said, if your constantly eating, your body is constantly producing insulin. fasting gives your body a break from insulin production and that "break" allows the body to heal. Longer fast=more healing. Fasting has really helped me focus. That said, every now and then I will have a cheat meal. Im really good 90% of the time...gotta live a little...I dont drink alcohol and that has probably made things easier..
I am not a train scientist in this or any other area so this will sound laughably basic to anyone with a deep understanding but another part of the IF reaction that seems wholly plausible to me is this -- our bodies as we age have lots and lots of cells that no longer serve their differentiated functions well. They aren't quite dead yet but they are no longer useful. IF starves them and lets them die and allows the body time to regenerate newer healthier more differentiated cells.
Hey Chris!
I am brand new to both StW and Vale Tudo, both are fantastic additions to my daily routine. I do all of the meal prep/cooking for my family, do you have any suggestions for where you find meal ideas?
Welcome to both. I love meal prep. I triangulate healthy food with what my family likes. With 5 people, my standard is something that at least one or two people love and that at least 4 tolerates (if one is an outlier then that person can fend for himself). Eg: my little guy loves tacos and Korean beef so those are regulars on the rotation. I can make healthy meals around those. My daughter loves salmon and trout. I cook up a whole one of those each week. I love steak and do that at least 1-2x per week. My older son loves burgers. I skip the bun but have burgers each week, often bison or venison for something on the lean side. So I'm reactive to my crew within categories that I like and can make healthy. Everyone loves blueberries (which grow wild around our home in Maine) so we tend to go through tons of those for snacks. That and Greek yogurt are the two most readily available foods for them to grab. So I would go with what your family most enjoys that overlaps with good protein and then make about 2x what they eat in a meal. I like having a decent amount of leftovers for the next day so that you can repeat meals or tweak them with a fresh side or new take but can make fewer dishes over the course of the week.
Another that has been working well for us: I make 2 versions of what I call monster mash. One is a PM/red meat version: ground meat (I sneak in organ meat with muscle meat for extra nutrients) cooked on the skillet with garlic, onions, mushrooms, sprouts, bacon if the meat is very lean, and bone broth. People who need to gain weight and want carbs can add white rice. This mash saves well. You can put it in a thermos for later, if you can reheat it (best very hot). This is good for everyone, but monster mash is particularly good for anyone who needs to gain weight as it is easiest to cut weight with a fork and gain weight with a spoon. AM/egg monster mash: similar but with duck eggs instead of red meat. I sautee a skillet of onions/garlic/mushrooms/sprouts/egg. I just stir it up and keep everything on the pan until browned then stir in the eggs at the last minute, just enough until they're cooked. This also saves pretty well for a day or so. Delicious, protein packed, sneaks in lots of other nutrients, convenient to eat, and fun to make.
Finally: buy great ingredients and enjoy the prep process. I have a $0.00 alcohol budget and $0.00 restaurant budget so can plow that savings into ingredients and can plow the time I don't waste waiting for a table or for the check into making great meals.
Chris--what trail races have you done recently that you enjoyed the most? I feel like I remember you writing about a few, but can't seem to find them.
Eiger. It was more beautiful and more difficult than I expected. I struggled with the elevation. But it was great to be in a beautiful part of Switzerland with friends and family. Recuperated on Lake Geneva and got in several good days of CrossFit there.
Cool, thanks. What race distance did you do? And, follow-up, any favorite US based races you have done that you enjoyed? Thanks.
101k; going for the same this month at Grindstone.
Favorite US based races that I've done that are particularly meaningful to me include the Mountain Lakes Backyard Ultra https://www.steependurance.com/mountain-lakes-backyard-ultra.html and the Tough Ruck rucking marathon https://www.toughruck.org
I compete so rarely because I love my regular routine and get in so many free and convenient miles with my club that it is hard for me to want to divert to other events.
Looks like you had a DNF at Eiger, what do you think held you back from finishing?
A friend's heart problem. I ran with one of my friends from my running club with the intention to go 1/2 way but longer if I felt like it -- Eiger and Grindstone don't make a big deal of it but allow you to switch to a 50 in the middle of the race if you want to. He was struggling with the elevation (we all were) but then his heart started uncontrollably racing even when he slowed down. So we kept going another five miles or so but diverted off course. He was disappointed but I wasn't. I was intact enough to go to CrossFit the next few days. Two others in my group switched to 50 and got credit (stones in the UTMB series) for that. For me, a big part of it was joining friends. I care less and less about running each day compared with strength training but still enjoy it aesthetically, love mountains, and don't want to miss my trail running friends.
Btw, for those wanting to guarantee participation in the UTMB Mont-Blanc and avoid the stones lottery, UTMB now offers “charity” entries. It’s a 2kEUR donation so not cheap but probably not more expensive than collecting enough stones to have a realistic chance in the lottery.
You do need one stone (can be from a 20k utmb race) and one 100k utmb “index” race
Hey Chris! I’m a big fan of your StW and Vale Tudo journeys. What kind of bed/mattress do you have? I’m contemplating trying an 8 sleep after listening to Huberman. Any thoughts?
I have a Tempur-Pedic since I was researching the company (I passed on the investment) but if I bought one now it would be the 8 Sleep. I generally keep something as long as possible until it wears out so have been delaying a mattress upgrade but go back and forth on changing it.
Chris,
Have you ever ran a 5K or 10K road race competitively?
I have run 5ks and 10ks but only with my kids. So we were competitive but going their pace. My favorite 5k memory: I was with my wife and young son driving to a race. We got stuck in standstill traffic on I95 because of an 18-wheeler v motorcycle accident (cyclist lost). There was nothing much to be done as the accident was utterly decisive. One of the many police cars on the scene was near an exit that I couldn't reach. I got out, handed the wheel to my wife and took my young son over to the cop. He was having an awful day on that crash scene and had nothing to do. So he told me and my boy to get in the back. He flipped on his siren and lights and sped to the race. It was seconds away from starting so he pulled his squad car across the front, so that it didn't start without us. We jumped out, waved, and got to the front right as the gun went off.
That is so cool.
Chris, how is your cholesterol and how has it changed with various diets?
Good question. I don't have that stat in front of me but it is pretty moderate, despite high intake of both eggs and red meat. My theory is that cholesterol is not that correlated with all cause mortality at my level (in fact appears inverse) and that the key is it isn't bad if combined with ultra low blood sugar. If you're lean and have low, steady blood sugar, then all sorts of other indicators are essentially benign. If one is overweight with high and spiky blood sugar, that raises dozens of other issues that must then be managed.
Thank you for being willing to share this all. I enjoy all of your updates I’m just starting my health journey and wonder if there’s a big difference between 14 hour, 16 hour and 18 hour fast also how much lifting or working out do I need to do before adding creatine into my regimen? Thanks again.
No big difference between those fasting lengths. Mine is pretty particular to me: five is when it makes sense for me to eat and be done by six in time to get ready for the evening at 6:30. I wake up at 3:30 AM, lift or run at 5, trainer at 6, sauna at 7, then get to work reading and researching that lasts until about noon. 9-11 AM would be tricky if I weren't so busy. I tell myself that I can eat when I'm done work that takes until mid-day then I cook a meal. So no magic about 18 hours; that's just how long it takes me to sleep (9 hour sleep opportunity window for 8 hours of sleep), train (2.5 hours of lifting and recovery) and work (6.5 hours of reading / research/on "receive" with afternoons on "transmit" / calls / meetings / trading / writing. IF for me requires busyness to not think about food! Creatine: it is for everybody. No minimal training standard.
David, i suggest you go on YouTube and look up Dr. Mindy Pelz. She is an incredible resource on fasting. I think there is a difference between a 14 hour fast and an 18 hour fast. There are physiological differences. I think the best place to start is a fast that you can handle for a month or 2. Starting at 18 could be tough. It will take your body some time to get used to fasting. I have been fasting (16-8) for almost 2 years and its really made a difference to me. I am trying a 24 hour fast 1 day a week and will probably stick with that for 3-4 months.
I started this journey I was 215 lbs. 9 months later I was 180 and I have maintained that weight since. It was amazing to realize that the amount of food i used to eat was totally unnecessary..
Thanks for the reference. I’ll check it out. Curious, did you change anything else besides adding fasting? Are you thinking the fasting is what caused you to consume less?
Good idea; this is a new area to me that I just stumbled upon so I too will go back and look at her ideas in this area.
what creatine brand do you like? i am going to add it to my diet...
It is essentially a commodity so doesn't matter that much but I take this https://bit.ly/3P7lU2T
I prefer capsules since the powder is a suspension and doesn't dissolve well in liquids. I've tried to mix it in protein shakes but when I drink them it is as if I got sand in it and then there's plenty of sludge left at the bottom of the glass.
thoughts on creatine gummies? i'm guessing you're a no on them haha
Better than nothing. I prefer the capsules to avoid the filler and any sugar but they can be good to encourage kids to take creatine.
Thanks for doing this Chris. I'm also undergoing a health journey.
1. How do you count your 18 hour/day fast? Is it all in one day or spread over two days (previous night to the next morning)?
2. Any high protein snacks you recommend? I'm up to 2/3 good meals but the 3rd meal usually lets me down (too "carby").
3. My sleep is good (same time every night and similar duration) but I do wonder about sleep quality. Any gimmicks you can recommend on nudging quality or getting started on researching it? I'm not a smartwatch user yet. Seems too distracting. But maybe I'll break.
Sorry if you've discussed any of this in the past. I usually don't miss your posts (but I missed quite a few over the summer)
1. Zero calories of any kind from 6 PM to the following noon. I sip mineral water, black coffee, white tea, and chew mastic gum.
2. Oikos Pro or Triple Zero yogurt in particular or Greek yogurt in general.
3. To measure, take a free month Whoop trial. I keep my bedroom at 65-68 degrees and pitch black. Blackout curtains help since I go to bed before summer sunsets. Traveling, I use an eye mask and earplugs. I try to train hard enough to wear myself out. I threaten murder to anyone who wakes me up.