Exercise Induced Headaches (EIH) Update

A while back now I posted an article about Exercise Induced Headaches (EIH). I have been suffering from them on and off for a few years now, mainly triggered by some form of over-exertion, and have never been able to find out exactly why they happen. It's a pain in the neck, literally. Since that EIH article I have been experimenting with myself and my headaches to try to get a handle on them and when I noticed that that article was one of my most popular (in terms of page views) I realised that there are many others in the same boat as me - suffering these headaches with no clear explanation as to why. I started to write an update to share my experiences but time ran away from me and the article never was published.

Until yesterday when one of my readers, Travis, reminded me that others are still struggling with EIH. So it is time to update my findings on Exercise Induced Headaches (EIH) in the hope that it can help others.

My Headaches Are Gone

Firstly, I have not suffered EIH since writing that article and taking a break from the gym. I am back working hard at the gym now, and have been for months, but I think I have learned a bit about my headaches and their causes. I feel that my workouts are better (and harder) now than they ever were (and I am leaner, fitter, and in better shape too) but I never have that feeling that I am straining so much that my head may explode. I'd say that's a good thing.

Before I share my tips for beating those nasty Exercise Induced Headaches let me just be clear again - I am not a doctor and this is not advice per se but just lessons I learned from my experiences. Use your discretion when applying to your own situation.

Lessons Learned For Beating EIH

In that first EIH article I hypothesized several theories for the causes behind my exercise headaches, one of which was about poor technique at the gym. I was on the right track there but not nearly in enough detail. Here are some of lessons I have learned over the past few months with my self-experimentation for EIH.

Focus on using the right muscles

When busting out weights at the gym I have learned that it is much better to focus on feeling that good, deep, burning pain in the right muscles rather than getting an extra rep/set out or upping the weights used. I was pushing myself to hit limits that my body could not match and instead of failing gracefully I was compensating with the rest of my body. I was using other muscles and incorrect technique to push myself to go just that little bit further and the result was an excess of tension in all the wrong places - back, neck, and shoulders.

Creating tension in those areas simply leads to headaches, and when all that blood is pumping through your body during exercises those headaches can feel like an explosion.

I'm not saying that pushing to failure is bad but what is important is how you define that failure.

Failure means failure to complete an exercise with perfect technique

Read that heading again. That is what failure means. Performing an exercise is all about getting the technique right and it does not matter if it is your 1st or 50th rep. Perfect technique should be maintained at all times. As soon as you cannot perform the exercise with that perfect technique then you have reached failure. There is no point swing your back and throwing your shoulders into the mix just to get an extra rep if the technique is poor.

A small number of perfect technique reps beats any number of mediocre technique reps any day of the week.

Breathing is important

Obviously breathing is important but I found that when I was pushing myself hard to find that extra rep I was often holding my breath. This is bad for many reasons, but it is the less-obvious ones that I want to focus on for the purpose of exercise induced headaches.

Holding your breath during exercise is heavily linked to tensing your neck. When we hold our breath normally nothing much changes in our body. But when we are under physical stress various parts of our body tense up in order to help out - mainly the abdominals and the neck. This is the way our body is designed to help us find that a short burst of extra strength when we really need it (i.e. life or death situations) but at the gym we misuse it - we lengthen the time these areas stay tensed when we hold our breath and the result is often dizziness, nausea, and headaches.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Workout time is for working out only

I was big on taking my iPod to the gym, hitting shuffle, tuning out everyone else as I pushed through my gym routine. Bad idea. Tuning out is exactly the wrong thing to do when working out as you need to be entirely focused on the task at hand. If you are not focused then it is more than likely that you will a) not use the correct muscle groups b) not use perfect technique and c) not remember to breath.

You need to see your workouts as a time for concentration. A time to be zen-like. Feel the energy of the barbell resonate with you....ok maybe not quite so airy fairy but seriously, cutting down on distractions helps. When you are working out you should devote yourself to the exercise you are performing at that time. Nothing else matters. No listening to music, no chatting during a set, and no perving at the oily man-mountain deadlifting 500kg in the corner. It's just about you and the exercise.

Be Headache Free

Take a moment to consider your own efforts at the gym, or in whatever arena you tend to suffer your headaches, and see if you can identify the causes. Hopefully you can find something useful out of my experiences and put those headaches away for ever. Good luck!

Image: Ambro

Paleo Diet - 30 Day Review

It has been one month since I first started living the paleo lifestyle and I am converted. I realised I was converted when, like all good paleo zealots, I started calling it a lifestyle not a diet. But it's true. It feels like a natural progression for me with my focus on developing and improving myself on both mental and physical levels taking me to explore new things. I started the diet simply as a test and the experience has been so positive that it now feels unnatural to be doing anything else. So I'm a paleo convert and maybe you will be too after reading my in-depth review of my first paleo month.

The Stats

Let's start with the cold hard stats. I am a self confessed numbers geek so even though I feel and look better living the paleo lifestyle I like to verify it with numbers. Numbers can't lie can they?

Weight: 77.6kg (-2.4kg)
Biceps: 32cm (no change)
Chest 98cm (+2cm)
Waist: 72cm (-2cm)
Hips: 82cm (-4.5cm)

For those that know me in person they would say I am, and always have been, fairly thin. To have dropped 2.4kg and a few centimetres around my waist and hips it has to have been all fat that I lost which is amazing as most people, including myself, would not have thought I needed to lose any. But I have definitely trimmed which means that my body fat percentage must be approaching single digits and my abdominal muscles are starting to be visible again, for the first time in a few years. And I haven't even been doing any ab exercises!

The weight loss mostly happened in the first two weeks which makes me think my body was adapting to my new eating regime and has now found a more natural body composition. Initially I was worried as I did not want to lose any weight but I feel if I add a more determined exercise effort (including good post-workout foods) I can gain some muscle fairly easily now.

Exercise

My dedication to exercise has been lacking over the past few weeks. I have still managed the odd primal style exercise (lifting sandbags, pushups, chinups, squats) at home but it all felt a bit random. Even when I did make it to the gym my workouts were all over the place and I could not get into a good rhythm. But I may have rectified that on my last visit.

I have decided to stop using resistance machines and move to a workout which combines free weights and interval style training. I start the stopwatch when I arrive and then go through a series of exercises (box jumps, squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushups, shoulder press, bicep curls, chest fly, chest press, shoulder fly) and attempt to beat my previous time for the overall workout. There is no set rest time between sets so I just push myself until my body needs a rest. I have only done this workout once but I felt great (and worn out) so I think there is potential there.

That is the plan from here on in, so stay tuned for a future update on that but for now let's get back into dissecting my first paleo month by looking at some of the difficulties I faced.

Difficulties Faced

I faced a handful of difficulties implementing a paleo eating plan but none were insurmountable. The biggest challenge was the increased preparation time for meals. Before going paleo my breakfast consisted of cereal and milk with a total preparation time of 10 seconds, and my lunch was nearly always bought from a store. My new breakfasts and lunches take anywhere from 5 - 15 minutes each so I had to find up to 30 minutes of preparation time each day to stick to the paleo diet. Luckily I am good at managing my time.

After that the difficulties faced were small. Sure I had an itch for sugar but that was to be expected, and I had to learn to appreciate drinking vodka, lime and soda instead of beer or wine, but these changes were easy to make. When I decide to do something I get highly motivated so sticking to the plan was not hard.

However, after living a week following the Paleo Diet rules strictly I did decide to make a few minor modifications.

My Modifications

By modifying the diet I am not saying that I know better than those spruiking the benefits of paleo living but just that I saw things that would improve my own experience and increase my chances of success without much of a trade off on my health. The two biggest changes I made were to include a couple of things that I enjoy as "treats", and being more lenient on some naturally occurring foods.

The treats were simple. It wasn't about adding processed foods and sugars again but more about establishing a lifestyle where my eating habits are mostly paleo but with a few bonuses I enjoy. The bonuses I chose are things that I used to have without negative consequences for my body. Milk is the number one example and I have only decided to use it to allow me to drink coffee because I love the taste of good coffee but cannot stand to have it black.

I have been drinking milk for a long time and have never had problems with it so adding a little to my diet for me to enjoy a coffee seems like a nice trade off. It's still much less than the LOMAD (litre of milk a day) I was guzzling on the Geek to Freak routine earlier this year.

The other modification I made was to be lenient on all natural foods, even if they are not strictly good paleo foods. For example I have, and will continue to, add the odd serving of potatoes to my meals. My theory is that naturally occurring is still better than anything processed and my focus is now on eating when hungry instead of being too strict to the rules. I think this will help stabilise my weight and perhaps even help gain muscle without detriment to my health. It's not like I will be eating bread every meal!

What To Do When Paleo is Impossible?

During this past month I found times when it was physically impossible for me eat enough food to satisfy my hunger and still keep within the paleo rules. I faced a dilemma. Do I go hungry and wait for a better opportunity to present itself, or do I just make the best choices from what I had available. The latter is what I went for.

Following the paleo rules strictly is obviously needed (and recommended) for those seriously overweight and/or sick but for me, a thin and healthy young man, I decided that regular eating was better than being a paleo nazi. After all, a cave man wouldn't starve himself if food, albeit strange compared to his normal diet, was available would he?

So when faced with these impossible paleo solutions I made decisions to choose the most natural foods I could, eat lots of protein, and avoid highly processed carbs. When in doubt eating is better than starving.

Falling off the wagon

But that motto of choosing the best food available was not the reason why I fell off the wagon over Easter. It was all my own choosing and I am glad to have done it. Kind of like a mini-experiment within an experiment to prove that the original theory is still valid. With nearly a month of paleo living elapsed I decided to relax my "best food available" rules and included some naughty things. I'm looking at you chocolate.

I am not much of a chocolate person so it wasn't anything to do with cravings or willpower. It was just a test. I decided to opt-in to Easter with my family and I ate my white chocolate bunny, drunk too many vodkas, and under-slept 3 nights in a row. The result? Bloody terrible.

I woke up the monday and I was sneezing up a storm, my nose wouldn't stop dripping, my head felt fuzzy, and my body had dull aches all over. Turns out that was the best I was going to feel all day.

Later, when I was curled up on the couch feeling a little sorry myself (and finishing my easter chocolate) a thought occurred to me: "What if I am sick because my body is telling me to stop treating it like crap?" I put the chocolate down, ate some fruit, grabbed a handful of nuts and shifted back to a paleo focus. 24 hours later I was feeling fine. No medicine, no antibiotics, and no crazy tonics made of moon dust and unicorn hair. Just a simple diet change. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Need for Sleep

Getting enough sleep is still the hardest lifestyle change for me to implement. I have so much going on in my life that I end up squeezing sleep in instead of allocating enough time. I think this is a common problem for many people, a by-product of our society and the structures we have in place, but that is a discussion for another time.

The point about sleep is that I am still not maximising my potential, especially living the paleo lifestyle, because I am not resting adequately. I am considering going to biphasic sleep where I add an afternoon nap but I will hold off on this for now. One experiment at at time. For now my focus is on increasing both the quantity an quality of my current sleeping patterns.

One Month Summary

The paleo lifestyle is great. I lost some fat, I increased my energy levels, and I now have a new passion to annoy all my friends with. What's not to love?

Seriously though, I do not think words do it justice when explaining the positive feelings experienced. I believe that removing a lot of the crap from my diet has resulted in my mindset becoming even more positive than before. I feel that I am seeing dramatic improvements in myself both physically and mentally just by living this lifestyle. Now the next step is to buy a big block of land, learn to farm, and grow a big wooly beard. Keep an eye out for that article!

Paleo for life. I'm convinced.

Paleo Diet - Day 5

Day 5 on the Paleo diet and I'm still feeling great! Even without the longer than usual sleep last night I have been full of energy and happiness all day. I think some of that is a natural psychological by-product (as I start to notice improvements in my body I naturally become happier) but I cant help feeling it has a lot to do with the types of food I'm eating and the long lasting energy they provide the body.

The Obligatory Meal Info

Breakfast: Chicken Apple Hash and some Macadamias Snack 1: Fruit salad and some Almonds Lunch: Left over dinner (bolognese and vegies) Snack 2: Egg and 2 chicken sausages Dinner: More of yesterday's dinner with fruit salad dessert

Supplements and Vitamins

I have started on some of the dietary supplements and vitamins that are recommended as complimentary to the paleo diet. In particular I am taking fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin D3. I have not noticed any effects yet, unless they too are contributing to my more upbeat and energetic mindset.

Primal Exercise

I have been thinking more and more about changing my exercise routines to be more primal based so I trialled a few different things today.

I did some alternating step lunges, squats, pushups, and chin-ups using just my body weight as resistance. I then filled a bucket of water and did some quick "clean and jerk" style lifts as well as holding it above my head for as long as I could. The result? A bit of fun and some very good exercise and my abs feel tight without even doing any a work. Maybe there is something in this primal exercise theory?

Workout Food

I still have that niggling idea that I should have a big hit of carbs post-workout and I cannot find too much good information about what paleo-foods are ideal for this time. The extra meals have stopped weight loss but for muscle gain I can't help feeling I should load up with carbs after busting out the weights. We will see how tomorrow's early morning session goes.

Summary

It's working well. I look and feel healthier, stronger, and fitter. All positive so far.

Going Paleo

A key part to being happy and enjoying a long and successful life is being fit and healthy. I'm sure a lot of those "jolly" fat men will disagree with me and argue that eating and drinking whatever they want makes them happy, and maybe it does in the short term, but in the long term the results will be discomfort, pain, diseases, and a shortened life. That definitely does not sound happy to me. With that in mind I finally got myself a copy of Robb Wolf's book, The Paleo Solution, which tackles a few big issues in our modern diet by comparing it to that of our paleolithic ancestors. It is a great read with lots of science-based information for the nerds (me!) but enough plain-speak and humour to make the ride worthwhile for anyone. Not to mention some scary concepts.

What is this Paleo Stuff?

To break the Paleo diet/lifestyle down to basics without delving into some of the issues Robb tackles in the book is hard, but the underlying premise is that our ancestors from the Paleolithic era had a remarkably low incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, infertility, obesity, and so on, mainly due to their diet. They were hunter-gatherers so were naturally fairly active too, but the big principle is that our modern diet is what is causing our modern health problems. Think low-fat, high-carbs is good for you? Think again.

"Hogwash!" is probably your first response and that is fine. I'm sure your doctor probably told you that keeping fat intake to a minimum along with maximising "good carbs" is ideal. Of course, this is probably a doctor that thinks using the Body Mass Index (BMI) is valid for measuring your healthy weight. I wont go into why the BMI is a crock of you-know-what, but if you want to learn more about it's origins and how wrong it is go here and read the article "Do You Believe in Fairies, Unicorns, or the BMI?"

I'm not saying Doctors are bad or silly, because quite frankly they do an amazing job in our society. But humans in general have a preference to accept simplistic theories because they make life easier. Doctors are no different and when it comes to diet the current simple theory has just been accepted for so long that no-one seems to question it. Well almost no-one.

The Paleo lifestyle is gaining momentum and The Paleo Solution is one of the main reasons. But there are other books that are worthwhile too including; The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet For Athletes. You can also check out Robb Wolf's website which has regular updates, forums, and podcasts on all things Paleo. I recommended starting with Robb's Book (that's The Paleo Solution if you missed it) simply because that's where I started and it has some eye-opening information on how our body processes our food.

If you are feeling particularly lazy then I will give you a brief summary:

• Carbs are bad mmmmkay - our Paleo ancestors foraged for food, with little carbs involved. Any agriculture crops like wheat, corn, barely, grains were not accessible. And our bodies cannot handle them well.
• Protein is good - lean protein is ideal. Our ancestors ate lots of fresh caught fish, fowl, game and cattle. The meat was grass feed (note: even the cows didn't eat grains) and was fresh. Just the way it should be.
• Fat gets a bad wrap - some fat is actually quite good for us. Focus on eating fats from animals and nuts, just like our ancestors did because these have no correlation to bad cholesterol. Relax and eat fat. It's tasty.
• Be active - I know it sounds crazy but our ancestors had the fitness equivalent to an Olympic athlete because they were active. Not crazily active, just lots of walking, some running, climbing, etc. you know, the things a good hunter-gatherer does.

A Day in the Life...

Not convinced? let's consider a sample day from Robb's Book:

• Breakfast: Poached eggs and ham, almonds, fruit
• Lunch: Spiced chicken (fajita style) in a salad
• Snacks: Chicken meat, apple, avocado slices
• Dinner: Grilled Salmon, roasted green beans, side salad

Healthy deliciousness! Show me a person who thinks that doesn't sound healthy and I will show you an insane person. Just kidding, but seriously that day sounds pretty tasty and is obviously very healthy. If you are one of those people crying "But where are the carbs?" then get yourself a copy of the book and start reading. It may shock you to realise what those carbs are doing to your body.

Why am I Going Paleo?

Most of The Paleo Solution is targeted at the seriously unhealthy people in our society, so going paleo as a young, lean, and relatively fit 27 year old man might sound crazy but there is logic behind my madness.

Firstly, the whole Paleo concept resonates well with me. I have always struggled to accept many structures our modern society imposes and the thought of becoming more like a hunter-gatherer has a great deal of appeal. Plus if the world is plunged into some chaotic madness than I will be one step ahead on the road to surviving in a post-apocalyptic world.

And then of course there is the range of health benefits that come with this lifestyle. There are the obvious visual effects (less fat, more muscle, increased fitness) and the plethora of positive heath reasons (less heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and so on). In fact it's pretty much a whole lot of good things and nothing bad.

I would be mad not to try it wouldn't I?

Hiking (Climbing) up Mount Tibrogargan

“Mt Beerwah is closed after a rock slide in January. We could go up Tibrogargan instead, it's more walk than climb but still alright.” Famous last words. Not mine, but I was fool enough to take them on face value.

A few weeks ago my good mate Aston, producer of Final Reminder, planted the idea of going for a hike. We had just done a 5km run and I had smashed my latest time so I was feeling pretty pumped.

“Sure. Sounds like fun.”

Fast forward two weeks and Sophie and I were getting ready to meet Aston and his fiancé Jacqui before the hike. I was debating about whether I would last in my newish Vibram Five Finger shoes so I decided to do some research on the hiking trail. What I found was a little off-putting.

Every site I found showed people climbing what seemed like un-climbable rock walls. Then there was the report from a guy who had gotten trapped up the mountain, hit in the head by a rock slide, and needed emergency helicopter evacuation. Scary.

The Walk

We started about 3:30pm, walking around part of the track that travels around the base of the mountain. It was great scenery but it wasn’t really a hike. It was more of a pleasant bush walk. Then we stumbled upon the hiking trail towards the summit climb.

“We’ll start it and see what it’s like. We can always stop and come back another day.” Famous second last words.

The trail began fairly simply but at a steep enough angle to encourage a little burn in the legs and also a solid increase if heart rate. It was a good feeling to be out experiencing nature and exercising at the same time. Then we reached the climb.

The Climb

We found ourselves staring up at a steep(ish) rock wall which would require a fair bit of “scrambling” and the women decided they already enjoyed the view and were happy to relax there. Fair call but Aston and I had other plans. We had come this far so we should at least see what the climb was like right?

In a word it was tough. Maybe my few weeks off from the gym had something to do with it but I found it was lots of climbing and pulling myself up rock faces punctuated with the odd ledge or flatter area on which I duly rested my legs.

With each rest I would look below and begin doubting the whole idea anew. From above the rocks I had just scrambled over looked decidedly steep and I found myself wondering if I would actually be able to get back down without breaking my neck.

Not one to back down from a challenge though I figured that I would deal with the problem of getting down later. I needed to focus on going up first.

So on we trekked, climbing and scrambling our way upwards. At each stop we would look up and think “That next ledge looks like the top so we might as well keep going” and each time we climbed up only to see another ledge awaiting us.

Eventually the top sprung up on us and after a little walk across the summit we burst through the bush and onto the rocky outcrop a friendly man had told us about on his way down.

Immediately the cool mountain air struck me.  I sucked in several deep breaths and let the refreshing breeze wash over me. I felt on top of the world.  364 metres on top to be precise.

Coming Down

So we had conquered the beast – the gorilla mountain as it is known – and it was time to test that worrying descent. That rock face was pretty steep on the way up wasn’t it? How would we go getting down it?

It was much easier than I thought.

In fact the whole way down Aston and I were talking, discussing all sorts of interesting topics including our thoughts on how to run a good IT business, why multitasking is wrong, what causes significant personality changes in people, why constant self improvement is great, and our own personal journeys we had over the past few years. We talked and the climbing down just took care of itself. Easy.

Stats, Vibrams, and Photos

Overall it was a fantastic day out and I would recommend it to anyone with even the smallest adventurous streak. I feel excited and energised from it and am now wondering what bigger and better challenges I can conquer next.

The stats for the climb are as follows. Note this is only for the journey up:

• Time: 1 hour and 4 minutes
• Km: 2.9km
• Elevation: 364m

This walk/hike/climb was the first big test for me and my Vibram Five Fingers. The passed with flying colours. I made it the entire journey (about 6km) without much trouble. The only time I even really noticed them was when I slid down some rocks an I could feel them pulling on each individual toe. But no blisters, or cuts and I believe they actually helped my climbing ability as I was getting grip on all sorts of crazy surfaces.

I took a few photos along the way and you can check them out on Flickr. The misty rain that was hanging around dulled the distant vista but I think you get the idea.

Fitness February and My 4 Hour Body

February is over. Time to assess how I fared in my self imposed Fitness February and do a 6 week wrap up of my experiences on The 4-Hour Body.

Fitness February Goals

Visit the Doctor - Done (barely). I was slack for this. I only ended up seeing the Doctor yesterday and even that was for another problem. I have been referred to a specialist though and through that I will get my blood taken and some test done to get a good snapshot of my health and fitness, which was the whole point.

Visit a Feldenkrais expert/Physio/Chiropractor - Not done. I have no excuse here apart from a lack of motivation. I really did want to go but it felt like other important things kept popping up and physio took a back seat. It is still on my to-do list though.

Trim Body Fat - Done. I definitely trimmed down over February, dropping several centimetres from my hips and waist. For more information scroll down to the 4 Hour Body section.

Build Muscle - Done. While losing a bit of fat I managed to gain weight still which was mostly muscle. I gained several centimetres, especially on my chest and my arms and shoulders are definitely more defined. See the 4 Hour Body section for more details.

Run better - Done. I only completed two full runs over 5kms but I also did several short practice sessions on the treadmill to work on my running style. My first run was on 18/02 for 5.38km in 34:03 which is an average pace of 6:20 minutes per kilometre. My second run was 5.47km in 30:41 which is an average of 5:37 minutes per kilometre, smashing my goal of wanting to run 5km in 30 minutes.

My 4 Hour Body Journey

I have had pretty good success with The 4-Hour Body concepts. I definitely lost weight on the Slow Carb Diet, and I have gained some muscle following the Occam’s Protocol after struggling early on but that was simply because I was not eating enough food.

My Measurement Changes

Left Bicep (cm): 32.5 >>> 32.5 (no change)
Right Bicep (cm): 33 >>> 33 (no change)
Chest (cm): 99.5 >>>102.5 (+3cm)
Waist (cm): 88.5 >>> 83cm (-5cm)
Hips (cm): 93 >>> 90.5 (-2cm)

Weight (kg): 84.3 >>> 82.9
Body Fat (%): 17.5 >>> 14.0

Note: I did not follow the supplement plan given for gaining mass with Occam’s Protocol. I went natural (except for some protein powder) so that means no Glutamine, NO-Xplode, PAGG etc. Which could well be the reason why my muscle gain was no where near the effects described in the book.

Strength Changes

Close Grip Pull Down(kg): 40 >>> 60 (+ 50%) Shoulder Press (kg): 20 >>> 35 (+ 75%) Bench Press (kg): 25 >>> 40 (+ 60%) Leg Press (kg): 90 >>> 130 ( +44%)

I made significant gains in strength across the board. All from only 11 short work outs! Impressive.

Before and After Photos

There is not too much noticeable difference here but I promise it is there. I thinned down quickly around my waist and hips (losing 3kg in under 2 weeks) and then slowly gained size, especially across my shoulders and chest. Sophie has commented several times on my changed size and shape so unless she is just fanning my ego it appears my results are noticeable to others.

Conclusions

A good February. I achieved most of my goals and am definitely feeling fitter, healthier and happier because of it. My 4 Hour Body experiment was an overall success even though I did not turn into the Hulk. I enjoyed only spending an hour at the gym every week and still getting results. Much better than slaving away at the gym for hours on end. Less effort, same results.

I am going to take a little break from the gym to rest a few niggles I have picked up along the way (mainly a tight back which I think was me trying to be a he-man with the kettlebells). After that I will re-start my bulking routine, probably changing up a few exercises. I am not a big fan of the close-grip pull down so that will be the first to go.

The diet will continue. I modified it heavily to increase my food intake for bulking and now it has become habit. Its not a diet anymore but just my lifestyle. I am also considering trialling the Paleo diet/lifestyle. Maybe that is another experiment I can run sometime in the near future.

Edit (27/4/11): I did indeed trial the paleo diet and I have just gone past the first month and I am loving it. The trial is over and it is now a lifestyle.

Fitness February - lose fat, build muscle, run better

February 2011 is going to be all about fitness. Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.net fame is a shining light for how to break bad habits and introduce good ones and in the past five years he has quit smoking, lost 50 pounds, run several marathons, tripled his income, wrote a novel, wrote several e-books, and the list just keeps going. One of his key concepts is to only focus on changing one habit at a time which is a simple yet effective method consider the basic human behavioral stance is to oppose major change. Following this concept I have decided to dedicate the next 28 days to fitness.

Fitness February

The word "fitness" is pretty generic and is too vague on its own. The changes I am implementing will be a little bit more than just one thing but they all come under the fitness umbrella term. I think I can manage that. But as I mentioned previously, setting measurable goals and tracking data is the best way to remain focused on a task, so I will break it down a bit more to set myself tasks that I can easily measure my success against.

February Goals

Visit the doctor - I generally manage to steer clear of doctors baring semi-emergency experiences (collapsed lung, broken wrist, attacked by a clothesline). But this month I am going to schedule an appointment jus to get a full assessment on my health. I want to know how I am going now and what areas I need to work on.

Visit a Feldenkrais expert/Physio/Chiropractor - I was researching neck relaxation techniques the other day and stumbled upon a reference to the Feldenkrais Method. This phrase particularly piqued my interest: "changes in our ability to move are inseparable from changes in our conscious perception of ourselves as embodied", so I will be visiting a Feldenkrais practitioner to see what we can discover about how I use body. If I cannot find a good practitioner then I will settle for a physiotherapist or chiropractor for the time being.

Trim body fat - before I started My 4 Hour Body adventure two weeks ago I estimated my body fat percentage to be at 17.5 - 20%. That is too high. I am a naturally sporty person and I do not like being out of shape so my goal is to trim down to 10% body fat and reduce waist and hip measurements by a further 2cm (already down 4.5cm and 2cm respectively).

Gain size in muscles - I want to be one of those guys who kisses his biceps before going to bed and wears nothing but singlets, even in winter. Ok, not quite that bad, but some extra size in the right places would be great. I want to gain at least 2cm in my biceps, chest, and thighs.

Improve my running style and ability - I want to do some analysis on my running style and improve it to be more efficient. I am thinking about creating my "30 year bucket list" (things to do before I turn 30) and competing in a marathon\triathlon will definitely be included. So I want to iron out any kinks in my running style. As a subset to this I want to be able to run 5km in under 30 minutes by the end of February.

I think that will do. February is going to be great and by March I am going to be a leaner, fitter, stronger, and happier version of myself. And I will be ready for my next lifestyle challenge!

Update (2/2/11): You can now read the outcomes of Fitness February in this article.

My 4 Hour Body - 2 Week Progress

It has been two weeks since I started the journey towards a fitter and healthier me. I began on the Slow Carb Diet from Tim Ferriss' book The 4-Hour Body in order to lose some fat but also included the workouts from Geek to Freak in order to gain some muscle and size. The results have been pretty good so far.

Losing Fat - The Slow Carb Diet

This has been my greatest success so far. To get a full idea of my starting point you should read Starting Measurements which includes pictures of my starting point. Weighing in at 84.3kg, and at 6"2, I was not really fat but I lacked definition - I used to have visible abs dammit! I estimated my body fat percentage to be 17.5% which is way to high. Bring on the Slow Carb Diet.

For two weeks I have followed the diet pretty strictly, including the cheat day, and I have lost 2.7kg (6 pounds). If I assume all that loss was fat then my new estimate body fat percentage is in the 14.5%. In other words I lost roughly 16% of my entire body fat in two weeks! Nice.

The next pleasant outcome was how this fat loss translated across my body in terms of measurements. There was no effect on my biceps or thighs (good news) and my chest dropped 1cm early but has since started to increase (expected muscle gain from weights) but the real difference has been around my waist and hips. I dropped 4.5cm around my waist and 2cm from my hips. Sounds good but these measurements peaked early at 5.5cm and 4cm respectively so there is still potential for future losses.

My thoughts: The Slow Carb Diet works. Having lived it pretty strictly for two weeks I cannot see how you could not lose weight if you adhere to the rules. I felt like I was eating lots of food and eating often but because of the types and quality of foods eaten my caloric intake for the day was always small. For example my biggest day was 2236 calories which was derived from 280 grams of protein, 60 grams of fat, and 140 grams of carbohydrate.

Gaining Muscle - Geek To Freak

My results here have not been great - my biceps and thighs have not changed, and my chest has gained 1.5cm after losing 1cm early on - but I have identified two likely causes for this lack of muscle gain:

Not Enough Food

Following the Slow Carb Diet, I barely got over 2000 calories for the day even when eating lots and supplementing with protein powder. To gain muscle I need to be eating in the vicinity of 3000-3200 calories per day. Big difference.

Exercise Induced Headaches (EIH)

I wrote about Exercise Induced Headaches recently after I suffered a chronic headache when pushing on the leg press. EIH is very debilitating, especially when trying to push a workout to failure. I have since rested and made it back to the gym twice but each time I did not quite get to full muscle failure before I had to stop. Obviously this will impact muscle growth.

Overall Conclusion

The Slow Carb Diet works for losing fat, but is difficult for trying to gain muscle at the same time. I will be modifying the diet now to increase my caloric intake (mainly through extra carbs) to assist with muscle gain. Fingers crossed I can keep it from turning into fat. The main modifications I will make is my breakfast meal will now be 4 Weetbix and 250ml of Lite Milk (16g protein, 4.3g fat, 52.7g carbs) and try to supplement the diet with "good carbs" through the rest of the day until I reach 3200 calories.

I will reserve my judgment on Geek To Freak until I have had a better run with pushing myself to failure and have worked with my modified diet to reach the desired level of intake.

Update (2/2/11): You can now read the 6 week wrap-up of my 4-Hour Body journey in this article.

Exercise Induced Headaches (aka Exertion Headache)

Exercise Induced Headaches (EIH), also known as exertion headaches, are terrible pulsating headaches that appear very suddenly, most commonly during intense exercise (and during orgasm). The pain is so intense and they occur so abruptly that they have been given the nickname of "thunderclap headache". For me, the pain originates in my neck at the base of my skull and seems to pulsate to the beat of my heart. Sounds like fun doesn't it? Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I am not giving medical advice. I am a sufferer of EIH and am just collating my information. If you are suffering headaches then I always recommend visiting a doctor first.

What causes Exercise Induced Headaches?

Sadly, my research has failed to find a definitive answer as to what causes EIH. Some of the proposed reasons I have read include: pushing your body too hard, unlucky genetics for migraine sufferers, not warming up, dehydration, and poor technique during exercise. Let's look at each of these:

Proposed Theory 1: Pushing too hard?

I have recently started a high-intensity training program which involves me pushing myself to the point of failure in my weights routine. That is, I push until I could not go any further even if my life depended on it. But thousands (maybe millions) of people around the world follow this concept, including my most dedicated gym friends, without EIH.

Conclusion: Nope.

Proposed Theory 2: Unlucky genetics for migraine suffers?

The fact that the causes of migraines are still relatively unknown, or at least vary from person to person, causes immediate skepticism but I also have doubts based on my own migraine experiences. I contribute many migraines (mine included) to stress and anxiety and while some people may argue that pushing until muscle failure causes stress on the body I think it is a weak link at best.

Conclusion: Maybe.

Proposed Theory 3: Not warming-up enough?

My first occurrence of EIH was around 2007. It was during my gym routine (chest press to be precise) which started with 30 minutes cardio and stretching. Needless to say I was quite warm when it happened.

Conclusion: No, no, no.

Proposed Theory 4: Dehydration?

I drink lots of water. An average day for me is in the 2-3 litre range while at work, and then more when I exercise. During my first occurrence of EIH in 2007 I was drinking 1 litre of water throughout each workout. However the latest occurrence (Jan 2011) I may have been dehydrated so I wont completely rule this out yet.

Conclusion: Doubtful.

Proposed Theory 5: Poor technique during exercise?

I love my sports and exercise but I have not been much of a gym junkie. My first venture to the gym was 2006 and was mainly because I wasn't playing any sport at the time so I wanted to stay active and keep fit. Same again for 2010/11. So I am a relative muppet when it comes to weights. Sure I have done the research, read up on technique, and watched the pros, but is that enough? Probably not. Combining that with the fact that I have never had an EIH while playing sport makes me believe it is my poor technique at the gym that is the main culprit.

Another compelling argument for this is my lack of strength. I am naturally thin ("built for endurance" I was told in school) and my muscles are slow to develop, so when busting out weights at the gym I believe that my body compensates by using muscles other than the target areas to help.

Conclusion: Likely. 

Orgasm/Sex headaches: The end of the world.

The news for EIH sufferers gets worse - it can happen during orgasm. I could probably handle getting the odd EIH at the gym, but appearing in the bedroom is a no-no. Sex is a wonderful thing and to have it ruined by a such a suddenly severe pain in the back of the head is just not cool.

My conclusion is that while headaches do occur during orgasms they do not create EIH but will aggravate an existing condition.

Interestingly, I never have this problem unless I have recently suffered an EIH at the gym. Some people think it is the exertion involved in sex that causes the headache and in their case maybe they are right. But my conclusion is that while headaches do occur during orgasms they do not create EIH but will aggravate an existing condition. For me it can even happens when I "ride the unicycle" which is not a very intensive physical activity.

Even with my conclusion that sex was not the cause, it is the very occurrence of an orgasm headache which sealed the deal and made me go see a doctor.

What my Doctor Said

My doctor's explanation was pretty simple. He said that through the neck runs big blood vessels (and nerves) that connect to the brain, and during certain activities (i.e. exercise) we can strain these blood vessels just like we can strain our muscles. When we have a particularly large strain in our neck we will often get headaches, most notably when we have large quantities of blood pumping through the area at high speed. Doubly so when the area is under tension. Which sounds very much like what occurs during high-intensity exercise and orgasms.

It made sense to me, and just like when straining a muscle, the recommendation was simple - rest. He recommended two weeks complete rest (no gym, no sex) to let the blood vessel recover from the strain. I followed his advice and sure enough my headaches were gone, but so was my confidence at the gym.

How to Beat Exercise Induced Headaches

I am not going to let EIH win. I want to be able to push myself to failure at the gym (because that is when you get the biggest gain from your muscles) without fearing another explosion of pain in my head. So here is my laundry list of things to do in order to overcome EIH:

1. Visit a doctor, preferably a specialist;
2. Assess blood pressure and make adjustments if necessary;
3. Rest again before recommencing weights workout;
4. Daily neck relaxation exercises;
5. Practice correct breathing technique during exercise; and
6. Focus on only using target muscles and relaxing everything else.

I will provide a progress report in a few weeks. In meantime, if you are an EIH sufferer then my heart goes out to you and if you have any tips, tricks or information that you think helps then I would love to hear from you.

Update 15/06/11: I took a little longer than a "few weeks" but I did manage to write a progress report on my EIH and how I beat it. Check it out here.

Starting Measurements

As I mentioned previously, I have started following the Slow Carb Diet and Geek to Freak sections from Tim Ferriss' latest book - The 4-Hour Body. And I just finished talking about the value of setting goals and tracking data so it would be a remiss of me to not include these before I get into the swing of things.

Goals

My goals are fairly simple to start with:

1. Lose Fat – Cut my body fat percentage to under 10% and drop 2cm on waist and hips
2. Gain Muscle – Add at least 2cm to Biceps, Chest, Quads

Starting Measurements

Weight: 84.3kg Body Fat: 17.5% (estimated) Lean Body Mass: 69.5kg (based on weight minus body fat estimate) Right Bicep (unflexed and flexed): 29.5cm/33cm Left Bicep (unflexed and flexed: 29cm/32.5cm Chest: 99.5cm Waist: 88.5cm Hips: 93cm Right Quad: 56.5cm Left Quad: 56.5cm

For posterity I also took a couple of photos so I can compare the changes visually. They will make a good set of "before" photos when showing off how massive I am in a few months.

Update (2/2/11): You can now see my 6 week measurements and "after" photos in this article.