Water running, lake swim

Was really surprised to have the lake to ourselves for over an hour... on a Friday with all the students back.  It was a great time.  Did a set of water running then swam the 150 yd lake without stopping.  Glad Roya could be there.

Water running

6 x 60 (R/L) strides with 60 sec rest

150 yd lake swim - 100 (R/L) strokes without stopping

150 yd return swim - easy

It was a decent exercise.  HR max for the water running was only 145, avg 114.  Seemed harder than that.  Off the three types of exercises I did this week, I think the seated bike climb was the best, and the knee felt good afterward.  Will probably do one / week. 

141.4 lbs this morning (Sat).  

Senior citizens now 65 and 66.
 

 

 

bike sprint, test results, performances

The usual bike 2.5 mile bike sprint with the offloader brace.  A good effort, a few seconds slower than my last one. 

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:04

Avg speed - 13.4 mph

Max HR - 170

Avg HR - 162 (inc 1 min recovery at end) 

HR over 156 - 9:29

HR over 170 - 0:40

Felt a bit harder than it probably should have.  My previous was 10 sec faster with higher HR.  I stood up to climb most of the short hills.  

Started the day with 22 pull ups.  Did a  15x slant board squats after the workout and some step downs.

Test results showed improved lipids, not optimal but improved.  HDL is too low (35), Triglycerides too high (157), but a big 40 pt reduction in total cholesterol to 177, LDL from 147 to 115.  No folate or B12 deficiencies measured.  Marginal kidney function and the worst result was an increase in homocysteine to 18.6.  Possible remedies for this are B6 and B complex vitamin supplementation and eliminating coffee and black tea.  Need to test for B6 deficiency and possible thyroid cause.  

Otherwise, relatively healthy, 141 lbs.

Just got cleared to perform a concert in the big cathedral Oct 19, and MTSU next day.  Possibly the Villages on the 10th.   Practicing a lot.  School starts next week and I'm performing for the Convocation, which is a big deal.   

Bike climb

Needed some good cardio work so Tues, I did a seated bike climb up Roark's Cove Rd.  Not trying to set any PRs, just a good strength workout, burn some calories.   Not as hot yesterday, heat index in the mid 80ºs instead of upper 90ºs.  

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 24:49

Avg speed - 5.7 mph

Max HR - 180

HR over 170 - 9:17

HR over 180 - 0:24

Avg HR - 160

Afterward I went to the track and did some stretching, resisted the temptation to run and did some skips.  Knee really feels better.  Did my first slant board squats in a while, much less clicking and popping.

After weighing less than 140 lbs past couple days, I was 140.8 lbs this morning.

Awaiting on one final test result from my recent batch.  Will post about it next.  So far, lipids markedly improved, kidney issues continue.  Nothing severe.   Claude AI has been really helpful with the interpretations and recommended next steps.  

Ate a little more tonight, a stew with a little shrimp and quinoa.  

 

bike sprint

Back to standing bike sprints with the offloader brace.  I need this fitness level workout.   Not all out PR-seeking, but a strong effort, especially considering the upper 90ºs heat index.  I was going to swim today but I foolishly melted my goggles by mistake in the drier with my towels. So I punished myself on the bike for my misdeed.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:54

Avg speed - 13.8 mph

Max HR - 176

Avg HR - 168 (inc 1 min recovery at end) 

HR over 156 - 10:19

HR over 170 - 4:49

I definitely feel this brace was what I needed to resume to stand up biking.  No knee soreness at all.  

After yesterday's first stand up bike sprint with the new brace, it got me using the glutes again and I started feeling the soreness on my sit bone from the old proximal ham injury.  Something I haven't felt in a while.  Need to start doing the band work again on my hams and hip flexors.  

I should have been using this thing a year ago.   Looking forward to my first runs with it in 5-6 weeks.  Hopefully not sooner but I'll be tempted.

Donjoy Nano OA offload brace

Still really light.  ~141 lbs.   

Conversing diet with the science deniers

I joined a large FB group called "The Great Cholesterol Conspiracy" ... wow.   I really am at a loss as to why in this day of the internet and easily searchable medical research via AI, people cling to these pseudo-scientific notions as widely represented by recent diet fads like carnivore, keto, etc...   You look at these individual's pages, they are a mix of FB influencer followers, conspiracy theorists, they are often research and scientifically challenged, are often people who have "turned their life around" with a new short term diet, and often fall into the anti-vax - RFK Jr. - MAHA - MAGA groups.  Their most common conspiracies are about vaccines, "Big Pharma", and generally mainstream science research ... often asserting they've been "lied to" or "victimized" in some way... by the gov't, drug industry, Fauci, etc... you name it, you get the idea.  

From what I've been able to discern from the "advice" they give me, is that their entire concept hinges around these assumed "truths":

If the Triglyceride / HDL ratio is favorable (low) it negates all other potential cardio vascular risk

This is what Claude AI says:  

If someone has a high LDL particle count (high ApoB or LDL-P) but a "good" TG/HDL ratio, that combination should not be read as low risk. Most lipidologists would treat the ApoB/LDL-P number as the dominant driver of atherosclerotic risk in that scenario and would not consider a favorable TG/HDL ratio reassuring enough to offset it. This is part of why ApoB (or LDL particle number via NMR) is increasingly recommended as a primary risk marker over ratios like TG/HDL, especially when the two disagree... No major RCT has shown that deliberately improving the TG/HDL ratio, in isolation, causally prevents CVD.

However, an unfavorable Triglyceride / HDL ratio can predict disease.  That doesn't mean a favorable TriG/HDL ratio can prevent heart disease in the presence of high LDL particle burden.  

The other thing is the idea that one diet - their carnivore / keto diet - benefits all people.   The dietary affect on blood lipids is highly individual and this statement is clearly false.  And the development of CVD is multi factored, involving inflammation, innate blood chemistry, and numerous risk factors (polygenic tendencies, Lp(a), etc..).   It is not solely diet.  

My general anecdotal observation - most people touting the carnivore diet are not 'athletic fit-for-life’ types.  They are formerly obese types that have ‘turned their life around.’    These are not people who have always maintained a life long normal BMI.  Very few of them have actually had CAC scans or advanced lipid profile testing.  The vast number of carnivore adherents been doing it less than 10 yrs, most less than 5 yrs.   It's clear, carnivore can be therapeutic in the short term and an effective way to lose weight. The success stories are mostly because of what meat replaces in the diet, rather than the meat / animal fat itself. 

The Mediterranean diet has by far the strongest, most direct random controlled trial evidence of any dietary pattern for cardiovascular prevention and longevity. The PREDIMED is a real, large-scale, multi-year randomized controlled trial with hard clinical endpoints (actual heart attacks, strokes, deaths) — not surrogate markers, not observational association, not mouse data. It's frequently cited alongside the older Lyon Diet Heart Study as the gold-standard evidence for any dietary cardiovascular intervention. This is a substantially stronger evidence base than exists for keto.   Some of longest lived cultures in the world eat a mediterranean diet and that is not anecdotal. Carnivore is a fad.  The longterm evidence on longevity and disease for keto diets is thin.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12845189/

Claude AI:

Recently, a meta-analysis covering over 100 peer-reviewed studies found associations between keto diets and increased risk of heart disease, elevated LDL cholesterol, kidney problems, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cancer, worsened outcomes for people with existing chronic kidney disease due to the high protein load. .... The honest state of the science is: short-to-medium term (up to a few years) data is reasonably reassuring for most people regarding cardiac health, but a meaningful and growing body of peer review-level and mechanistic evidence — including new animal studies — raises real questions about longer-term effects on the liver, kidneys, bone, and lipid profile. This is a diet where individual lipid response varies enormously, so, checking your ApoB/lipid panel would be genuinely informative a risk picture on a keto diet... there's no randomized trial evidence showing that lowering the ratio (e.g., by raising HDL specifically) reduces cardiovascular events.           

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.702802/full

So no, eating lots of animal fat to boost HDL isn't doesn't generally seem to prevent heart disease. 

 

Water running, swim, bike sprint trial w/ the offloader

 Two days ago, I hit the lake and did a set of water running, and a swim.  Pretty good workout.

Water running

60 (R/L) steps x 6 w/ 1 min rest

Max HR 158

Avg HR 129

Lake swim -  340 yds

I was happy to have the lake by myself. ... since a casual visitor to the lake who would see me water running might think I was struggling, maybe drowning. lol

This morning I tried 'strict' pullups - all from full extension, only 18.  Definitely different than the 'near full extension' pullups I normally do.

Today, I got the DonJoy OA Nano offloader brace today, free with my insurance.  I looked it up, it generally sells for over $600 new.  I tried it out on a bike sprint with some brief standing hills.  Yea, it works.  It seems to prevent 180º full extension - maybe allowing up to just few degrees short of full extension, and corrects the valgus/varus angle, shifting load off the vulnerable compartment.  It has to be worn tight or it doesn't work.  Unlike the Ossur offloader, this one seems pretty solid and doesn't slip.  I think it could even be affixed more securely with K-tape.  Not really super comfortable to be worn for hours.  

I did the usual bike sprint and even though I didn't time it or measure HR, that first hill where I'm standing for 30 - 35 R/L strokes is FAR more engaging to the cardio vascular system than anything I could do in a similar stretch sitting on the saddle.  (True, Joe).  Knee felt great afterward, but I'm not going to dive into standing bike sprints right away.  A little at a time.  

The pretty young nurse that fitted me with the brace just graduated from Auburn and is a friend of  Ja'Kobe Tharp, new world record holder in the 110H, and Adidas track pro.  It was fun talking track.  

I'm definitely eventually going to try running with this thing at some point.  

Still really light, mid 141s this morning.  Meeting postponed so my next blood work postponed til Mon.  

I joined this popular FB group called the "Great Cholesterol Conspiracy" and wow, the debate continues.   Seems to me when you have research tools like Claude AI,  people shouldn't have so much belief in unscientific notions.  More on that next post.  

Bike sprint, resistance, diet, life change

Doing bike sprints while seated is really a difficult thing, to not stand and engage the glutes, strongest muscles in the body.  Much more of a quad workout. However, that's what I'm doing during this healing phase of my workouts.  Still doing daily resistance, 24 pullups this morning.  Becoming routine.  Situps, ab wheel, pushups, dumbells, hanging abs are my routine.  Stopped doing the slant board squats for a while.  The 2.5 mile bike sprint was a 'seated' PR.  Almost a minute slower than my regular PR. 

2.5 mile seated mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:09

Avg speed - 12.8 mph

Max HR - 165

HR over 156 - 4:07

Avg HR - 150 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

Decent workout but not the real max HR sweat dripper that I'm used to.  Really helps to have the glutes to get to that intensity.

Had a swim yesterday at Scott's party.  Also ate some party food like chips and brownies, ice cream, but not a lot.  Still 142.7 for today's weigh in.  

I feel like my life has entered a major transition as I've now committed to playing full solo concerts starting in Oct.  The lifestyle of a musician that I led for so many yrs is quite different than the lifestyle I led after the pandemic pushing toward athletic championships.  It actually got a bit unhealthy during the peak as a performer in my early 40s.  Was probably 10-12+ lbs heavier, didn't watch my diet as much, exercise wasn't a priority, occasionally ate poorly, spent a lot of time sitting and practicing, up late at night and drinking too much tea and coffee, even beer, occasional light use of cannabis - (which actually is proven helpful in the interpretive and creative process).  Also, performing itself is quite stressful.  When you say you're a guitarist, usually the next question is, 'are you in a band?'   There is no more difficult, challenging, and stressful situation for a guitarist than doing hour long SOLO classical concerts in an academic or concert series situation.  Period.  

I did find a shirtless photo of myself from that era before athletics when my life was only guitar.  I looked somewhat lean, but weak.   

This is about 24-25 yrs ago, (about age 41-42ish).   I was doing some very serious hiking then, so I wasn't by any means significantly overweight.  This photo was during a boat trip with Lisa at Fontana.  At one point, we did a 25 mile day hike with a nearly 5000' vertical climb, as well as a 16 miler with a 3300' climb in the same few day trip.   I couldn't come close to doing that today.  Only maybe if my life depended on it.  

The parallels between training as a sprinter and as a concert musician are really remarkable … “trust the process” as they say.  I haven’t played a full hour solo program in almost 8 yrs I think. (Shorter programs yes).  Now concerned with hand health, but that is generally ok.   Where athletics and music training differ is in time spent. Physical adaptations for the hands seem to take more daily time than relatively brief intense track workouts, because a lot of the practice is slow and methodical, and it’s every day.  Both are long term commitments taking months, not only in learning to execute, but doing it on the spot in a performance, which is more the mental aspect.    Not that it's impossible to do both as I did in 2015, but my 2015 tour was in the fall - off season for track.

Anyway, since I started this blog 15 yrs ago, it's going to remain about training, fitness, wellness, etc... and I'm going to begin at some point, moving my discussions on music to my somewhat neglected other blog which I started nearly 20 yrs as mostly an adventure, outdoors, travel, music, and photography blog.  https://tnparadise.blogspot.com/

I'm really liking my life right now.  Have settled into a pleasant routine where I stay up late and practice, sometimes go to the cathedral, wake up early and go back to sleep, usually getting out of bed by 9 or 10am, do a few scales on the guitar, do my pullups, pushups, a brief walk, weigh in on my scale, drink a liter of water, sit in the hot tub, get out and start my daily practicing ... which will go for hours.  I have my first coffee about noon and a light snack, usually Wasa crackers with fig jam mixed with psyllium husk.  I eat my main meal which is a large salad sometimes with fish, or chick peas.  Sometimes a vegetable stew with zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil from my small basil tree, and whatever other vegetables I have available.   Really low carb.    These types of main meals don't have enough calories to make it and I've been snacking on walnuts and blueberries, occasionally Wasa crackers of Royo bread with sunflower butter, and dried cranberries.   When I do eat meat, it's usually flounder, salmon, organic chicken breast.  I will also occasionally eat other types of fish like cod, shrimp.  So with a relatively narrow diet, it's not out of the possibility that I may have a folate or Vit B deficiency so I'm testing for that on Friday.  Easy to remedy.  Due to my CKD, I was told to be cautious with Vit C, and I did see my collagen supplement had 100mg of Vit C.  Should be ok.  

Living in nature and getting most of my vegetables from the local organic market, the low stress job, the commitment to health and fitness I have now should help make a healthier transition back into concert performance.  Older and wiser.