DISCLAIMER: DO NOT USE ANY DRUGS, SUBSTANCES OR DIETS WITHOUT CONSULTING A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

My August experiments —

5-Day Water Fast (Aug 1-5)  – I listened to an interesting Tim Ferriss podcast about the benefits of longer (5-7 day) fasts which inspired me to complete my first 5-day fast in January of this year. From the existing research, something like this twice a year may bring the most health benefits. So I decided to do my second fast in August. This time around I allowed myself black coffee, unsweetened tea and water with lemon, which added some flavor (January was strict water only) and made it a easier. I didn’t find it that difficult overall. After the fast, I felt almost “reset” with an optimistic view on life. I plan to write a full article on this soon. Stay tuned.

Supplementation with PQQ (Aug 1-31) – Pyrrolloquinoline (PQQ) has research to support that it can help rebuild and restore mitochondria, your cells’ power plants, increasing performance of physical workouts. I tried it for the past 30 days and I think it really helped. Fatigue was slower to set in and I was able to get more out of my body than I normally could. I will be adding this to my morning workout stack. Here it is if you’re interested.

Competition and Recovery (Aug 27-28) – I competed in my first CrossFit competition which gave me a prime opportunity to put all of my recovery techniques to the test. The competition involved four intense workouts which included weight lifting, plyometrics and gymnastics in addition to a 5k run. I posted all of my techniques on Instagram – techniques included nutrition, grounding, and infrared contrast showers. My recovery was spot on…I felt great on the second day, soreness was almost non-existent and I even had a really good workout two days after the competition. And if you’re interested in what I used to fuel my performance, check out this picture.

This month:
SISU Comfort Challenge begins – Anything that makes us uncomfortable often causes us to grow. Are people interested in stepping out of their comfort zone to grow as an individual? I am and we will see if other are as well. Let’s see how large this group gets and how interactive it becomes. Every Monday I will post a daily comfort challenge on this private facebook group. I kicked the challenge off Sept.1 with a 5-day event, each day with a new challenge. Check it out here.

40/50 Challenge – I’ve developed a simple protocol that (might) allow you to eat whatever you want at dinner (including dessert!), and still lose weight, build muscle and stay fit. I’m testing it out along with several other folks. Here are the rules…

For 30 days…

1. Eat whole foods (no processed food or anything with added sugar) for breakfast, lunch and snacks. This includes healthy fats (coconut, avocado, olive, yolks, nuts/seeds, whole dairy), veggies, fruits and protein.
2. Do 40 air squats and 50 Russian kettlebell (KB) swings As Fast As Possible (AFAP) before dinner. Break it up into multiple sets if you have to but have the goal to do all 50 in one set.
3. Eat whatever you want for dinner. You must eat within a 2-hour window following 40/50. NOTHING AFTER (that includes midnight snaking).
4. Once a week do 100 KB swings AFAP. Keep track of time (baseline to track progress)
5. DO 40/50 EVERY DAY BEFORE DINNER!

For proper weight, I recommend men start with 35lbs and women 18lbs. You can purchase a kettlebell here. Or make your own – here’s how.