Optimize Performance & Life

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Join a Like-Minded Support Community

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Now, more than ever, because of the pandemic and increased stressors, we NEED support with like-minded people.

That’s why I’ve created a few online communities to share ideas, best practices and get support in achieving our goals. These are places for you to ask questions with each other and have friends on this optimization journey with you.

Here are the links to join for free! Pick the groups that align with your goals and interests.

  • Fast to Perform – A community dedicated to supporting members using fasting to optimize cognitive, physical, and emotional health while exploring strategies and tactics to increase lifespan, healthspan, and vitality.
  • Dr. Peter Attia Performance & Longevity – A group to discuss all things longevity and performance related, based on Dr. Peter Attia’s frameworks, tactics and strategies from his blog and podcast (The Drive).
  • Prof. Valter Longo Health, Longevity & Fasting – A group dedicated to improving and optimizing health and longevity based on Dr. Valter Longo’s research and philosophy around fasting.
  • Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) – A like-minded community who explore all the benefits of hot-cold (contrast) therapy. We share routines, best practices, and ways to get started. 🔥

If you’re interested in joining a community designed to save money on the best health, fitness and longevity products, I’m launching something NEW and EXCITING!

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Cool Things for 2/5/2021

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Here are a few cool things I thought you might find interesting.

The recommendation of how much someone should drink is subject to a broad range of scenarios—like the aforementioned illness, heat, or exercise. The individual scenario—as is the case with most recommendations—is the determining factor. By the same token, the body is generally highly attuned to both dehydration and overhydration. But what is certain is that applying the 8 x 8 rule to the general public is simply not supported by scientific data.

– Dr. Peter Attia
  • What Are the Different Stages of Fasting (Heathline article) – The four phases in the fasting cycle are the fed state, early fasting state, fasting state, and long-term fasting state (starvation state). This article gives a nice overview of each stage.
  • 10 Graphs that Show the Immense Power of Creatine (Healthline article) – Creatine is one of the few supplements I take consistently EVERY DAY. 5g. It is one of the most researched supplements and this article shows you exactly why it should be part of your supplement routine. From athletic performance to cognitive, it covers the gamut of health benefits. I like Thorne Research Creatine which is the exact brand Healthline recommends as the best overall brand. You can purchase it here and get 15% off with code VIP15.
  • Onnit, one of my favorite high-performance company’s is offering free samples of a few of there top-selling products. Just pay S&H.
    • Total Human, a convenient day and night pack – complete with essential vitamins, minerals, herbs and amino acids to make optimization easy.
    • Alpha BRAIN, a nootropic designed to support cognitive functions, including memory, mental speed, and focus.
    • Shroom Tech Sport, designed to help the body with cellular energy and cardiovascular endurance
    • New MOOD, great for unwinding after a long day at work, or helping to support a normal daily stress response (like a deep breath and a smile in a bottle)
    • Total Hemp, great for daily stress support, joint health, memory, and cognition

2020 Black Friday / Cyber Monday Deals for Health, Longevity & Performance

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Here are a few of my favorite health, fitness and longevity products that are currently on sale (November 23-December 6, 2020).

But remember, do not fall into the huge negative impact that hyper consumerism has on our planet by purchasing things you don’t need or won’t improve you or a loved one’s life. Spend consciously.

My Top 3 Recommendations

Onnit’s Total Human free 7-day trial (good while supplies last). Their full Black Friday deals run from 11/26 through 12/6 include:

  • 25% OFF SUPPLEMENTS
  • 20% OFF NUTRITION 
  • 10% OFF FITNESS EQUIPMENT
  • 30% (AND UP) OFF APPAREL
  • 50% OFF ONNIT 6 PROGRAMS
  • UP TO 60% OFF DOORBUSTERS

Purity Organic Coffee — My favorite and the healthiest coffee available, with 2x the antioxidants of other leading brands and lab tested to ensure their coffee is free of mold and mycotoxins. I love their decaf! 20% off everything + free shipping with code BF20. (11/26-11/30)

SHOP HERE

Viome — The leading company in microbiome and individualized health testing. Get 50% off your first month on all plans with code DECODED. Their Health Intelligence test (which measures microbiome, biological age, stress response plus mitochondrial, cellular and immune health) is only $199 (normally $599 so I got one!). Their Gut Intelligence (microbiome) test is only $119 (normally $299). Get an additional $10 off with code TROY10.

SHOP HERE
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How to Properly Clean a Chest Freezer Cold Plunge, Step-by-Step

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I discuss how I built my chest freezer ice plunge in a previous article and one of the most frequent questions I get is, “How do I keep it clean?”

Properly maintaining a chest freezer is really important to not only extend the life of your freezer but also to keep the water sanitized, especially if you’re dipping your head under.

To maintain clean water you have to make sure to filter and sanitize the water on a continuous basis.

  • Filtering removes debris. You can use an aquarium filter like the Marineland Magnum Filter and an Evob Skimmer net. I run the filter 24/7.
  • Sanitization kills bacteria. Sanitization methods includes adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Epsom salt to the water and using an ozone generator. UPDATE: I have now added an ozone generator. More on that here.

Taking care of those two methods and showering prior to getting in (especially if you’re sweaty) is important for extending the life of the water.

But it’s also important to do a through cleaning on a reoccurring basis. I empty and clean my tank every 3-4 months.

Here’s what you’ll need and how to do it.

Continue reading

How to Build a Chest Freezer Ice Bath

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Before I jump into the details, I recommend joining my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.

Daily 3-5 minute cold plunges have been the single biggest impact on my mood, productivity and health. I don’t miss a day.

But in order to do it daily, you have to have cold water consistently available. Filling a stock tub full of ice is time consuming, expensive and temporary. Cold showers are a great entry into cold therapy but to maximize the benefits, you need it colder.

The best option is to either buy a premade plunge like The Cold Plunge (use code TROY150 for $150 off) or build one yourself.

But before I jump into building one…

If you’ve found this article, you probably already know the many benefits of cold plunges. If you don’t, here’s a quick rundown —

Cold water therapy — whether it’s a quick swim in an icy lake, a post-workout ice bath, or a brisk shower — can benefit your health in several ways.

It may help you:

  • cut down on muscle soreness
  • cool down after a sweaty workout
  • get into a better mood
  • aid your immune system
  • boost your metabolism and calorie burning
  • increase insulin sensitivity and help control blood glucose levels

It can also convert belly fat into metabolically active brown adipose tissue, which will increase your fat-burning capacity.

Some advocates say it can also decrease inflammation, improve your sleep and recovery, sharpen your mental focus and potentially fight certain types of cancer as well as promote overall longevity. But more research needs to be done to determine if these benefits are supported by science.

A chest freezer ice bath allows you to avoid having to continuously purchase ice and have access to a desired temperature at all times.

Now, the details to getting started with a chest freezer ice bath.

Required Equipment & Material

Cleaning/Sanitizing

Temperature

Other Stuff

  • Clear Water Fun garden hose filter – filters out the chemicals in treated water
  • Gooseneck iPhone Holder
  • BINO Collapsible Basin – to clean feet in before going in
  • Rubber Ducky – for nostalgia 🙂
  • Personal Harmonizer for native EMFs
  • Magnesium flakes – I add this for the health benefits of soaking in magnesium salts. If you really want to revitalize and optimize your cold plunge solution, I recommend grabbing a back of Max Vitality Magnesium Salts (use code TROY for 10% off). In addition to magnesium, the sodium ascorbate in the blend will totally neutralize any toxic chemicals like chlorine or fluoride that may be in your cold plunge water, within just five minutes!  Every bag of their salt is also blasted with powerful heart opening, grounding and magnesium healing frequencies to accelerate healing and sensations of peace during and post-plunge.
  • My favorite supplement stack for maximizing the benefits of cold thermogenesis – contains 1) select from coffee of green tea for a bit of caffeine which can upregulate mitochondrial biogenesis even more when stacked with cold therapy and 2) Meriva (curcumin) which can  activate brown adipose tissue, enhancing the energy expenditure through heat production to burn more fat.
  • JED 303 Ozone Generator – Not mentioned in this video but I did end up getting this to sanitize the water. I discuss it in more detail in this video: Upgrades to My Chest Freezer Ice Bath

Instructions

  1. Place you freezer in a location that you will be able to drain it and have access to water, like a hose.
  2. Place boards under your freezer to support the bottom (see picture below).
  3. Seal all seems with the proper caulk or JB Water Weld.
  4. Let the seal dry for at least 24 hours.
  5. OPTIONAL: Place a pond liner in your freezer for extra leak protection
  6. Install your ozone generator, thermometer and water filter.
  7. Add hydrogen peroxide and Epsom salt.
  8. Fill with water. Be sure to mix the Epsom salt a little.
  9. Dump 100-200 lbs of ice to speed of the cooling process, otherwise the freezer will have to run for several days. NOTE: The chest freezer will get pretty warm from running.
  10. Prior to jumping in, UNPLUG THE FREEZER.
  11. Take the plunge!

A great resource is my Fire & Ice Contrast Therapy (Hot-Cold) facebook group.

Be sure to support the bottom of your freezer.

Upgrades

Related Articles

Here’s a list of studies if you’d like to take a deeper dive into the benefits of cold thermogenesis.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Oftentimes, I’ve worked out a discount for you. Please understand that I have experience with all of these products, and I only recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.

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