)My Philosophy for good health is to make sure you have a good, balanced diet, get good quality and quantity of sleep, and physical exercise. Everything else that I discuss in terms of supplements, etc. is secondary to diet, sleep and exercise.
I believe that there are three dimensions of physical fitness:
- Strength: For this I use weights, kettle bells, hanging from a bar and do chin ups - 2 to 3 times/week. (Yoga does not have enough pulling exercises, so hanging whenever you can is great.)
Endurance: I will ride a stationary bike, run up and down stairs, and do sports - 2 to 3 times per week (Pickleball these days). Anything that raises the heart rate is good. I have a Fitbit that helps me keep track of how much work I am putting on my heart.
Mobility: yoga, especially yin yoga. I do between 45 - 60 minutes of yoga daily and half of the time that is yin yoga. The other times I focus on core strengthening (the McGill Big 3 exercises.)
For my diet: I consume some meat, but I am mostly vegetarian. I use a “bench press” rule: I won’t eat any animal that I can’t bench press. So, chicken and salmon is okay, but not beef, pork, etc. Because getting a proper amount of protein each day is so important, I do have meat several times a week. But, that does not provide nearly enough protein, so I do supplement with protein shakes. I usually eat between 10 am (late breakfast) and 6 pm (early dinner) and often do not have a lunch. (This is my version of intermittent fasting.) I do not snack between these times. I save sweet desserts for special treats, maybe once a week. Eating an occasional dessert is my only vice, but sometimes I will deliberately go on sugar avoidance binges for months or even a full year. I don’t drink or smoke or take any stimulants (no caffeine: no tea or coffee, not even chocolate, but only because it gives me migraines.) I try to have a big portion of protein early in the day and later in the day, but not at lunch.
For supplements I take vitamins (not vitamin A, but a bit of C, lots of D, some K and E), 40~60 grams per day of protein (collagen and whey isolate), creatine, antioxidants (melatonin, curcumin, resveratrol), omega 3 oil, mitochondrial support (CoE10, Ubiquinol), lion’s mane, and pancreatic digestive enzymes. Dosages are levels that I continual modify and adjust. Sources of supplements: highly varied. For protein, I use AllMax IsoNatural, for Collagen, I use Organika, and a wide mixture of sources for the other products.
During the course, I also talk about some other things I do which I believe help maintain optimal health, like earthing. I can’t walk barefoot everywhere, so instead I am often wearing an earthing band. I will use the dowling behind my knees most morning while I am doing my pranayama practice. And, I have the PEMF cushion under me as well. If you don’t know what this all is, you will come across these techniques during the training.
And, that’s me, for now.
Cheers
Bernie