These are my quick notes on some of the topics around fitness.

Protein, carbs, fats

Proteins are good, carbs too much is bad and raised insulin tolerance, fats saturated are good, vegetable oil bad, hydrogenated bad, fats helps in absorption of vitamins and make you feel full. Good sources have 25% or more protein compared to calories of that serving. RDA percent is the percent of daily calorie intake that element should be consumed

Proteins and fats are essential and priority, then add carbs if needed

Low carb high fat (keto) diet reduces inflammation

Fats improve gut health, are anti inflammatory. Saturated fats are good for cooking. Avoid unsaturated, man made trans fats, hydrogenated, omega 6 fatty acids, polyunsaturated (liquid in fridge too) and monounsaturated fats (solidify in fridge), Soybean Oil, Corn Oil, Canola Oil and Safflower Oil

Sugar

Sugar increases your hunger. Avoid simple sugars include glucose (dextrose), fructose and galactose (milk sugar), sucrose (aka- table sugar), maltose and lactose. Instead have natural sugar from honey and fruits.

If you’re addicted to sugar, don’t have it in your home. Whenever you’ve that feeling, have done fats like nuts, ghee and craving reduces

Avoiding it is better than reducing it because it’ll increase your craving and reduce will power. Put cinnamon or sour things like lemon on something and eat

Become aware that you want sugar because it has addictive properties and not because you need it. Understand you’ll have a few days of craving when you have it Increase your serotonin and reduce stress levels. Can have supplements or have fats. Less than 25g sugar

Fiber

Soluble fiber promotes gut health, insoluble help in cleaning digestion blockages. Fermented foods are good. 30-40g daily fiber requirements

Cholestrol

Cholestrol are of 2 types: HDL (good), LDL (bad part is the denser parts of it not whole), hdl to total cholesterol ratio above 24 is good, below 12 is bad. Dietary cholestrol is used to build cell membrane

Calories

Track calories for 2 weeks and if your bodyweight remains same, then find the daily average and that’s your maintenance calories.

Undulate calories so weekly average is reached. More on days of high activity. If you feel weaker in the gym, increase calories, if seems fat, reduce it. Mini bulk and cut adjust calories by 20% of maintenance 24-48 hrs fasting improves immunity Priority factors for choosing foods: calories, macros, quality

Supplements

Supplements for nutrient deficiency. Only few ones like creatine, vitamin d3, probiotic, cod liver fish oil, beta alanine, whey protein. Supplement with things that you need or are deficient in.

Fish oil is blood thinner so stop taking couple weeks before a surgery or similar thing as it could affect blood ability to clot

Don’t have pre workout supplements, they have caffein and stimulants. Take these only when you need like before competition or sports once in a while but not regularly

Know your stimulants tolerance and effects for your particular performance. Any supplement that has reaction on your body like change in chemical reaction or change in your hormone, your body will get used to it and will need to increase its dosage

Bio availability means how much of the nutrient will be absorbed by your body. And it’s not that important if you’re taking it from others sources as well or already has good amount of nutrient

Most companies take the rejected compounds and just change a few elements and sell it

Nootropics

Also called or smart or cognitive enhancer drugs. Synthetic Nootropics are known as Racetam and their names end with that word are not good for regular but for declining people like with Alzheimer’s. There are Natural ones too.

“Actualized.org” YouTube channel has good videos on this.

R alpha lipoic acid is anti inflammatory

Artificial sweeteners

They don’t have Calories as they aren’t metabolised but bad for gut health like aspartame & Sucralose so avoid them. Stevia is natural sweetener which is better in comparison

Leads to metabolic syndrome (cluster of problems like weight gain, high BP, Type 2 diabetes), increases cravings and hunger

Resistance training

At end or start of routine, add unconventional exercises like if you always to DB and barbell then try kettlebells (to mobilize at start), even 1 or 2. Explosive high pull then do deadlift

Kettlebell swings https://youtu.be/jYtimecuwuw

To incorporate additional movements from Mind Pump like windmill, Turkish getup, add those to mobility days if doing it to acquire skill & mobility. For strength needing movements like farmer walks, you can add them at start or end.

If you want to make them the focus of the workout and get stronger or add resistance, do them at start of the workout. If you want to practice as a skill, go light and full range of motion at end of workout or on off days. Can do them at start as well to activate muscles with light weight and prime your body

Muscle imbalances

Less than ideal muscle recruitment patterns.

Do correctional exercise rather than stopping the movement.

Acute is due to an incident like falling or popping which may be an injury. Chronic pain may be an imbalance. Shoulder, hip, knee are common joints with issues, core instability, lower back

Hip extension is bringing knee up. Hip flexion is bringing knee back like butt kicks. If knees pain during squat, do hip extension part like hip bridges, single leg RDL, toe touches. Do unilateral exercises, replace barbell with dumbbells for muscles having imbalance.

Every few weeks, dedicate 1 workout or 1 week even to perfecting the form and range of motion.

Film yourself doing the exercise or have someone do it from different angles. Put them next to correct form and compare or post in MP private forum.

Do isometrics after your workout. Get correctional deep tissue or sports massage.

Move the muscle as they’re supposed to move. If you have join pain, see what should be the proper position of it.

Stretch on tight muscles, strengthen weak ones that prevents keeping the correct posture.

Know the muscle you use to apply power when doing work, and then look at which muscle makes it stay under control. Like throwing a ball needs arm, but rotator cuff de-accelerates the movement so injury will be there so strengthen it.

Strengthen function of scapula (come back & down), hip extension, hip mobility, core stability independent of hip flexors(located in front of body where lef starts and comes up like in leg raise) (which is usually dominant).

Anytime you want to relax a muscle, you flex the opposing muscle. So do hip bridges with legs on bench to activate glute so hip flexors relax and then do crunches or leg raises for abs. That’s example of independent. Make it a part of your program to add correctional exercise, pausing on hard part, training for full range of motion (1 day a week).

Good Chiropractors shouldn’t just fix the pain but also give you mobility workout

If you have chronic pain or repetitive movements in your skill or work like holding violin, then it’ll create muscle imbalances. If you always do one movement like cross right leg over left, try other way and do that instead to balance it, one side of dumbell is at another point. That’s how you identify it. Turkish getup, windmill with kettlebell is useful.

Connectivity

Ability to fire up muscles correctly or have same strength in deeper ranges of motion. Do priming.

Eg: want to activate hamstring. Reach your toes standing, hold the stretch, tense hamstring, then tense the opposing muscle like pushing the floor.

Consciously focus on activating the muscle, especially in starting few movements and isolation exercises, and only some times, rest just do like normal. For compound, focus on form and moving weight. But first have good recruitment pattern. If you don’t have glaring muscle imbalances or have decent recruitment pattern, don’t always try to keep mind muscle connection or squeezing it. Do it at start to activate and when you can’t use that muscle or flex it when asked. Use it if muscle is not growing or responding. Common poor connection is in posterior chain, most can feel anterior chain like firing shoulders, quads.

Have intension of practice and learning a skill rather than looking to create soreness

Dr brink foot stability yt video with mind pump useful

Start from proximal to distal. If ankle is hurting, first work on hip mobility (closer to body) before doing ankle mobility.

Mobility

Having strength in range of motion. Do Active form of yoga, not relaxing type. Rotational movements like cable side chops, massage therapy, priming before workouts, foam rolling. Do these movements daily in morning

To integrate mobility in exercise, do last set with light weight but full range of motion like for squat

Prime using movements for full range of motion or recruiting right muscles and one for explosiveness. So for squat, priming can be hip bridges to activate muscles, and box jumps or jump squats for explosiveness. Seated row before bench press to activate back muscles

Aches and pains

For any joint, find the most optimal way it moves and do that.

If top part of shin hurting, stretch your quads and hip mobility

If back hurt on squat, brace core properly, relax hip flexor and do hip mobility. Do hip bridge before squat with slow tempo 2-3 sec top hold and anterior pelvic tilt like make your back flat