“Oi Collins…”
3 questions from last week…
- How Can I Naturally Boost Testosterone?
- Are Organic Vegetables Really Worth The Money?
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Fat Loss?
“How Can I Naturally Boost Testosterone?”
There are a few easy things you can do that will make a huge difference…
Firstly, you're already at CFBB and slamming big, satisfying weights around... If you aren't, you should be since the stress from heavy resistance training increases your anabolic hormones after exercise. Lift heavy stuff - that's the first thing you can do to increase testosterone.
Second, world renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin won’t use a mobile phone due to radiation, stating that there is an incredibly high tested correlation between low testosterone levels in athletes and “cell phone” carried in pocket…
See for yourself - jump on pubmed for an afternoon… It's enlightening...
The solution is fairly straightforward - try to keep your phone away from your genitals. Leave it on your desk and / or keep it turned off whenever possible. If you simply have to have it on you switched on, stick it on your shoulder in one of those runners armband things or keep it in a backpack or something… You’ll figure it out.
Tim Ferriss, author of 'The 4 Hour Work Week' and 'The Four Hour Body' implemented just that one change and in 11 weeks - the first time he retested - he had the following results:
- Ejaculate volume: 44% increase
- Motile sperm per millilitre: 100% increase
- Motile sperm per ejaculate: 185% increase
The third thing you can do is to eat more Brazil nuts… Brazil nuts are the richest known source of bio-active selenium that we currently know of, and selenium is strongly linked to elevated testosterone levels.
Fourth, consume less soy… There are plenty of studies, so here’s one I picked at random: Dr. Chavarro studied 100 men who were members of couples having trouble getting pregnant. Semen analyses showed that the men with the highest levels of soy food intake - approximately a half serving per day - had 41 million sperm per milliliter fewer than men who did not consume any soy.
Fifth, drink less booze… I know, I know, common sense tells us that to turn down a beer is the first sign of low testosterone, however “science” says otherwise… An alcohol binge will decrease your natural testosterone production for up to 3 days, mess up your sleep for up to 4 nights, and inhibit enzymes involved in energy production… All in all, not brilliant if you want to up your T levels and get hench…
There are other methods too, like eating f***ing tonnes of grass fed beef, eliminating your exposure to chemicals [air fresheners, most deodorants, etc], minimizing your exposure to plastics [no drinking out of shakers, no tupperware, etc], only bathing in cold water and so on and so forth, but I think you have more than enough info to help you on your way to gaining the T levels of a rodeo bull…
“Besides the price, is there really any difference between organic fruit and veg and commercial?”
Yep… There are a few differences, but probably the most compelling is that organic fruit and vegetables contain salvestrols - a component that selectively kills cancer cells - and non-organic fruit and veg do not…
In 1995, Professor Dan Burke discovered that cancer cells contained an enzyme that is not found in normal healthy cells… In 1997, Professor Burke along with Professor Gerry Potter discovered that a certain type of polyphenyl found in fruit and vegetables was able to bind with this cancer enzyme and destroy the cancer cell. The researchers decided to call this group of phytonutrients salvestrols…
The enzyme which marks cancer cells is called CYP1B1 - a gene and protein present in all human cells but only activated in cancer cells. The salvestrol present in organic fruits and vegetables chemically reacts with CYP1B1, killing the cancer cell, and only the cancer cell.
Essentially, as long as we’re eating these organic fruits and vegetables we have a natural cancer response system… Why only organic? Simply put, salvestrols are produced in plants as a defence mechanism against fungal attacks… That right there is why only organic plants contain salvestrols… Conventional fruit and vegetables are sprayed with a hefty dose of fungicides and pesticides, meaning they have not developed the defence mechanisms, and therefore the salvestrols that organic fruit and vegetables have…
Now, eating organic spinach once a week won’t do much for you if you’re on 20 cigarettes a day - let’s be realistic - but if you’re getting salvestrols with 2 out of every 3 meals, and you generally live pretty clean, I’m betting that the future is going to be pretty bright… Or certainly a lot less dark and shitty than someone who lives on microwave lasagnas and Marlboro Reds…
Other benefits of organic fruit and vegetables include:
- Fewer pesticides
- Usually fresher
- Better for the environment
- Not genetically modified... [GMO has had its DNA changed and that, to me, just sounds too untrustworthy as a food source…]
“Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Fat Loss?”
It depends…
Well, more specifically it depends on you, and how you interpret and implement it.
Intermittent fasting has been around since the 40’s, and is simply a way of eating that alternates between periods of fasting and feeding. Fasts, depending on your method, typically last around 16 hours. Any training is usually done in a fasted state and accompanied by 10-20 grams of branched chain amino acids beforehand [so not technically fasted...].
Does it work?
It depends… If you inhale your bodyweight in cheesecake during that 8 hour feed, then no it won’t… Just like any / every other diet out there…
If you’re sensible, you can make almost any diet work:
- Carb backloading [where you can eat cheesecake every night]
- Paleo [where you can’t eat cheesecake ever]
- Bulletproof [high fat, low carb]
- Classic bodybuilder [low fat, high carb]
They all work for fat loss, but only if you’re sensible and play by the rules…
If you were to ask me if intermittent fasting works for CrossFit, I could give you a slightly more satisfying, slightly more concrete answer…
Probably not.
The CrossFit goal is to “Forge Elite Fitness”, and this type of training requires fuel, especially if you’re in 6 times a week…
Science time! [Sorry… I’ll keep it simple, I promise...] Eating food - specifically protein and carbs - before and after a workout has a huge effect on testosterone. The increased binding of testosterone to the androgen receptors in the muscle results in an up-regulation, meaning there’s an increased number of receptors that are responsive to the circulating testosterone. Testosterone is the major hormone signal for increased protein synthesis in the muscles - so more performance gains, basically. Adding 25-50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates before and within 15 minutes of finishing exercise will increase the circulating insulin - a storage hormone - which will result in greater uptake - or storage - of amino acids in the muscles.
If the goal is to become more athletic - stronger, faster, more savage - that’s what I would do… Consume 25-50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates before and within 15 minutes of finishing exercise… I would not do it fasted, or even fasted on BCAAs…
If your goal is to look good naked, well, your form follows your function… You’ll look like you can squat double bodyweight, run a 5 minute mile and link 10 strict muscle ups when you can actually squat double bodyweight, run a 5 minute mile and link 10 strict muscle ups, funnily enough… And you will have a much better chance of achieving this if you spread your food intake over 16 hours, rather then 8 or fewer…
If your goal is just to be thin and you’re not fussed about being physically flaccid - and I’m assuming that is your goal based on your original question - then intermittent fasting coupled with 3 long, slow, fasted cardio sessions a week will be just the ticket, as long as you’re sensible… More than 3 sessions, or adding in CrossFit or HIIT and I doubt you’d recover… Sh**ty recovery means you’ll lose muscle, and muscle is the only tissue that “burns” fat… More than 3 sessions just in't all that sensible.
To cut a long story short, bodybuilders / physique competitors have been using fasted cardio first thing in the morning [while keeping protein high] for the last 50 years or so, so we definitely know it works for reducing body fat, but only if you’re sensible…
“Sit the f*** down and be sensible…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
3 questions from last week…
- How Can I Naturally Boost Testosterone?
- Are Organic Vegetables Really Worth The Money?
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Fat Loss?
“How Can I Naturally Boost Testosterone?”
There are a few easy things you can do that will make a huge difference…
Firstly, you're already at CFBB and slamming big, satisfying weights around... If you aren't, you should be since the stress from heavy resistance training increases your anabolic hormones after exercise. Lift heavy stuff - that's the first thing you can do to increase testosterone.
Second, world renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin won’t use a mobile phone due to radiation, stating that there is an incredibly high tested correlation between low testosterone levels in athletes and “cell phone” carried in pocket…
See for yourself - jump on pubmed for an afternoon… It's enlightening...
The solution is fairly straightforward - try to keep your phone away from your genitals. Leave it on your desk and / or keep it turned off whenever possible. If you simply have to have it on you switched on, stick it on your shoulder in one of those runners armband things or keep it in a backpack or something… You’ll figure it out.
Tim Ferriss, author of 'The 4 Hour Work Week' and 'The Four Hour Body' implemented just that one change and in 11 weeks - the first time he retested - he had the following results:
- Ejaculate volume: 44% increase
- Motile sperm per millilitre: 100% increase
- Motile sperm per ejaculate: 185% increase
The third thing you can do is to eat more Brazil nuts… Brazil nuts are the richest known source of bio-active selenium that we currently know of, and selenium is strongly linked to elevated testosterone levels.
Fourth, consume less soy… There are plenty of studies, so here’s one I picked at random: Dr. Chavarro studied 100 men who were members of couples having trouble getting pregnant. Semen analyses showed that the men with the highest levels of soy food intake - approximately a half serving per day - had 41 million sperm per milliliter fewer than men who did not consume any soy.
Fifth, drink less booze… I know, I know, common sense tells us that to turn down a beer is the first sign of low testosterone, however “science” says otherwise… An alcohol binge will decrease your natural testosterone production for up to 3 days, mess up your sleep for up to 4 nights, and inhibit enzymes involved in energy production… All in all, not brilliant if you want to up your T levels and get hench…
There are other methods too, like eating f***ing tonnes of grass fed beef, eliminating your exposure to chemicals [air fresheners, most deodorants, etc], minimizing your exposure to plastics [no drinking out of shakers, no tupperware, etc], only bathing in cold water and so on and so forth, but I think you have more than enough info to help you on your way to gaining the T levels of a rodeo bull…
“Besides the price, is there really any difference between organic fruit and veg and commercial?”
Yep… There are a few differences, but probably the most compelling is that organic fruit and vegetables contain salvestrols - a component that selectively kills cancer cells - and non-organic fruit and veg do not…
In 1995, Professor Dan Burke discovered that cancer cells contained an enzyme that is not found in normal healthy cells… In 1997, Professor Burke along with Professor Gerry Potter discovered that a certain type of polyphenyl found in fruit and vegetables was able to bind with this cancer enzyme and destroy the cancer cell. The researchers decided to call this group of phytonutrients salvestrols…
The enzyme which marks cancer cells is called CYP1B1 - a gene and protein present in all human cells but only activated in cancer cells. The salvestrol present in organic fruits and vegetables chemically reacts with CYP1B1, killing the cancer cell, and only the cancer cell.
Essentially, as long as we’re eating these organic fruits and vegetables we have a natural cancer response system… Why only organic? Simply put, salvestrols are produced in plants as a defence mechanism against fungal attacks… That right there is why only organic plants contain salvestrols… Conventional fruit and vegetables are sprayed with a hefty dose of fungicides and pesticides, meaning they have not developed the defence mechanisms, and therefore the salvestrols that organic fruit and vegetables have…
Now, eating organic spinach once a week won’t do much for you if you’re on 20 cigarettes a day - let’s be realistic - but if you’re getting salvestrols with 2 out of every 3 meals, and you generally live pretty clean, I’m betting that the future is going to be pretty bright… Or certainly a lot less dark and shitty than someone who lives on microwave lasagnas and Marlboro Reds…
Other benefits of organic fruit and vegetables include:
- Fewer pesticides
- Usually fresher
- Better for the environment
- Not genetically modified... [GMO has had its DNA changed and that, to me, just sounds too untrustworthy as a food source…]
“Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Fat Loss?”
It depends…
Well, more specifically it depends on you, and how you interpret and implement it.
Intermittent fasting has been around since the 40’s, and is simply a way of eating that alternates between periods of fasting and feeding. Fasts, depending on your method, typically last around 16 hours. Any training is usually done in a fasted state and accompanied by 10-20 grams of branched chain amino acids beforehand [so not technically fasted...].
Does it work?
It depends… If you inhale your bodyweight in cheesecake during that 8 hour feed, then no it won’t… Just like any / every other diet out there…
If you’re sensible, you can make almost any diet work:
- Carb backloading [where you can eat cheesecake every night]
- Paleo [where you can’t eat cheesecake ever]
- Bulletproof [high fat, low carb]
- Classic bodybuilder [low fat, high carb]
They all work for fat loss, but only if you’re sensible and play by the rules…
If you were to ask me if intermittent fasting works for CrossFit, I could give you a slightly more satisfying, slightly more concrete answer…
Probably not.
The CrossFit goal is to “Forge Elite Fitness”, and this type of training requires fuel, especially if you’re in 6 times a week…
Science time! [Sorry… I’ll keep it simple, I promise...] Eating food - specifically protein and carbs - before and after a workout has a huge effect on testosterone. The increased binding of testosterone to the androgen receptors in the muscle results in an up-regulation, meaning there’s an increased number of receptors that are responsive to the circulating testosterone. Testosterone is the major hormone signal for increased protein synthesis in the muscles - so more performance gains, basically. Adding 25-50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates before and within 15 minutes of finishing exercise will increase the circulating insulin - a storage hormone - which will result in greater uptake - or storage - of amino acids in the muscles.
If the goal is to become more athletic - stronger, faster, more savage - that’s what I would do… Consume 25-50 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates before and within 15 minutes of finishing exercise… I would not do it fasted, or even fasted on BCAAs…
If your goal is to look good naked, well, your form follows your function… You’ll look like you can squat double bodyweight, run a 5 minute mile and link 10 strict muscle ups when you can actually squat double bodyweight, run a 5 minute mile and link 10 strict muscle ups, funnily enough… And you will have a much better chance of achieving this if you spread your food intake over 16 hours, rather then 8 or fewer…
If your goal is just to be thin and you’re not fussed about being physically flaccid - and I’m assuming that is your goal based on your original question - then intermittent fasting coupled with 3 long, slow, fasted cardio sessions a week will be just the ticket, as long as you’re sensible… More than 3 sessions, or adding in CrossFit or HIIT and I doubt you’d recover… Sh**ty recovery means you’ll lose muscle, and muscle is the only tissue that “burns” fat… More than 3 sessions just in't all that sensible.
To cut a long story short, bodybuilders / physique competitors have been using fasted cardio first thing in the morning [while keeping protein high] for the last 50 years or so, so we definitely know it works for reducing body fat, but only if you’re sensible…
“Sit the f*** down and be sensible…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
