Lower back tightness

On Friday morning, I did a short 10 minute anaerobic session doing one leg squats and chin ups.  Friday afternoon I started to notice a tightness or cramp on both sides of my lower back.  On Saturday morning, my lower back was so very tight such that I had pain with just about any movement like standing up, turning around, or bending down; I didn’t do any anaerobic exercise on Saturday, but I did walk.  On Sunday, the tightness or cramp was just on the left side of my lower back but it was still painful to move; I was surprised how many movements use the lower back muscles.  On Monday, the lower left side of my back had improved, but it worsened during some stressful times at work.  On Monday night (as I write this) my lower back is almost normal; I can do a spinal twist with minimal pain.

Possible explanations for my lower back tightness:

1. When I did swimming sprints on Thursday morning, I remember that my lower back was greatly fatigued during my last sprints.  Maybe I over-trained my lower back muscles.
2. I have had some stress at work; I just learned on June 20 that my grant-funded program will not be renewed and therefore my job ended today on June 30.  Maybe mental stress made my back more vulnerable.
3. At Friday noon, I ate a new brand of smoked sardines and I may have reacted to them in a somewhat allergic way; they had a strong smoked flavor.

It could have been a combination of the above possibilities; I am unsure but I would guess that the smoked sardines are mostly responsible.

Today (Monday) I started my day by doing about 10 minutes of anaerobic exercise even though my back was painful during some of the movements.  I did the following circuit twice:  pull ups, push ups, double leg lifts up to shoulder stand.  Once again I was amazed at how just 10 minutes of exercise can increase alertness and can give an exercise high.

I’ll probably take it somewhat easy for another day or two, before I do some more intense exercise.

The last few days

I did anaerobic exercise in the morning on Sunday, Tuesday, and today (Thursday).  On Tuesday, I planned to do running sprints but since my left calf muscle still felt a little tight from last week’s cramp I did other exercises.  This morning I did 8 swimming sprints lasting 30 seconds each with rest intervals of about 45 seconds.

I am still interested in creating “daily eating cycles” which will allow ghrelin hormone to stimulate growth hormone; I have found that it is not easy to generate hunger (which is related ghrelin hormone) when eating 4 to 6 small meals a day; so I have transitioned to eating 3 or 4 meals a day which makes me hungry before lunch and especially before my evening meal; I have been making a point to avoid snacking to allow hunger to grow.

I am planning to do another experiment with my anaerobic exercise routine; I plan to exercise about 5-10 minutes every morning instead of 20-30 minutes every other day; this may create a surge of growth hormone every morning without causing over-training; I have been amazed that even short periods of anaerobic exercise can create an “exercise high”.

Today after lunch, I will start another 20-hour fast to release more growth hormone and bring other benefits from fasting.

A good cholesterol check

I had my cholesterol checked at a local drugstore on Friday; I have pretty much confidence in the accuracy, it costs $30, and the results come back in about 10 minutes.

My total cholesterol was 201.  HDL was 67.  LDL was 129.  TC/HDL was 3.0.  My  triglycerides and VDL were so low that the test couldn’t accurately give a number; triglycerides were under 45 and VDL was under 10.  My blood pressure was 120/73.  Pulse 50.  Weight 163 lb.

My total cholesterol check back on March 27 was 273 which lead me to cut out grass fed beef which I was having 4-5 times per week; but I have still been eating about 10 eggs per week and I have a relatively high fat diet with olive oil, nuts, avocados, and shredded coconut.  Back in June 2007 my total cholesterol was 183.  You can see my cholesterol has gone up and down at my post made on March 27.

On Saturday, June 21 I was at Oak Street Beach in Chicago.  The water temperature of Lake Michigan was cold; I was one of very few people who went swimming.  It felt great to get cold in the water and then bask in the sun on the warm sand.

Hunger, Ghrelin Hormone, and Growth Hormone

I’m excited that knowlege about “ghrelin” may lead to some significant progress, but somewhat embarassed that I just became aware of the ghrelin hormone this week.  The Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary defines ghrelin as such: a 28-amino-acid peptide hormone that is secreted primarily by stomach cells with lesser amounts secreted by other cells (as of the hypothalamus), that is a growth hormone secretagogue, and that has been implicated in the stimulation of fat storage and food intake.

While reading about some research on the effects of sleep deprivation on growth hormone, I noticed that the sleep deprived subjects had a pulse of growth hormone approximately 4 hours after meals.  And then after some more internet searches I learned how ghrelin causes feelings of hunger and how ghrelin may help animals (including humans) learn faster. 

Ghrelin may be related to the following experiences of “growth hormone surges” which I have written about previously:

• increased alertness and faster thinking
• greater appreciation of music
• an antsy feeling feeling sometimes expressed as a desire to eat

Growth hormone is released in pulses throughout the day with the biggest pulse occurring soon after falling asleep for the night.  A pulse is the nature of the release of growth hormone; as growth hormone increases in circulation the release of growth hormone is diminished through a feedback mechanism.

This information has lead me to slightly change my practice of “frequent small meals” in that I now experience some hunger for 30-60 minutes before eating; I think I went wrong a bit in recent weeks eating frequent meals without getting hungry in the hopes that I would always have protein available to rebuild muscles torn down by exercise.  I will continue to eat 4 to 6 small meals a day to keep insulin low, but the ghrelin hormone from my stomach will be working for me for awhile before I eat.

In the last week, I seem to have had good results from “enjoying” hunger awhile before eating.  I have had more experiences of growth hormone surges.  It may be premature to state it, but I think my bodyfat went down a little too.

 

 

 

Fri. exercise circuit while fasting

I began a fast after Thursday lunch.  I started to jog 2 miles about 5 pm Thursday but got a cramp in my left calf after about a mile; (I had a cramp in my left calf on Tuesday morning in another aborted jog.)  After taking a nap about 6 pm, I worked in my garden and then did some easy swimming for about 30 minutes before trying to install a new printer.   I felt a little bit cold after swimming.

On Friday morning, it had been 48 hours since my last anaerobic exercise.  I wanted to have a fairly easy session today because I was fasting; I couldn’t run because my left calf was still a little sore from yesterday’s cramp.

After warming up for about 4 minutes doing karate kicks, shadow boxing, and trunk twists, I held the up position of a handstand push up for 40 seconds.

Then I slowly went through the following circuit twice, resting longer than usual between sets:

1. Chin ups taking 4 seconds to go down
2. Overhead tricep extensions with one 35 lb dumbbell
3. Wrist curls with 35 lb dumbbell
4. Reverse curls with stretch tubing
5. Hammer curls with stretch tubing
6. Push ups with hands close together and feet elevated on a chair

The entire session took 30 minutes.  I felt good afterward and greatly enjoyed listening to music while I wrote this post.

I will end my fast about 11 am today after having had my cholesterol checked.

Carbs, protein, and fat affect exercise-induced growth hormone

There seem to be many opposing opinions on how to optimize the natural release of growth hormone for health purposes.  Although research has helped to discover how some factors affect growth hormone, I expect that there will continue to be differing opinions and unknowns on how to optimize growth hormone and health.  Below is some information for your consideration related to exercise-induced growth hormone.

Fat consumed before exercise

Fat consumed before exercise apparently dampens the release of growth hormone from exercise.  Here’s an abstract on a study performed on 11-15 year olds: http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?.  And here’s research on adults that showed fat before exercise dampened growth hormone from exercise: http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/76/6/1418

Carbohydrates before and after exercise

Carbohydrates re-supply glycogen in the muscles and liver.  Athletes commonly eat carbohydrates as soon as possible after a workout to quickly re-supply glycogen to muscles and the liver, but this may adversely affect exercise-induced release of growth hormone.  Unfortunately eating lots of carbohydrates has a tendency to create body fat, release large amounts of insulin, get the physiology “trained” to use sugar instead of fat for fuel, and create swings in energy and mood levels. 

There was a research study (which was the same study mentioned above related to fat) that found that carbohydrates before exercise did not affect exercise-induced growth hormone: http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/76/6/1418. 

Carbohydrates after a workout probably dampen the release of exercise-induced growth hormone.  Here is a quote from Peak Performance online website: “It is hard to argue against the use of carbohydrate immediately after training in the few days leading up to a competition, when it is important to ensure that carbohydrate stores in the muscles are fully repleted. However, this is not the best strategy for maintaining the release of human growth hormone (hGH) after exercise, particularly if the carbs have a high glycaemic index, as these (sugary) foods stimulate insulin secretion which, in turn, contributes to a reduction in human growth hormone (hGH). “  Here’s a link to the Peak Performance article:  http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/human-growth-hormone.html.   Here’s a link that discusses research showing that insulin blunts the release of growth hormone: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10484056.

Protein before and after exercise

Gabe Mirkin, M.D. has a post that states that there is a special insulin sensitivity during and right after exercise which helps protein to repair damaged tissues; this is the “window of opportunity” that many athletes and body builders refer to after exercise.  Consequently a protein meal right after exercise can help muscles recover faster.  Dr. Mirkin  also mentions that carbs help athletes recover faster too, but I avoid carbs for 2 hours after exercising for my purposes; (I am 57 years old, not involved in competitive athletics, and usually want to minimize the release of insulin.)  The post is here: http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine060808.html 

Arthur DeVany has a contrary opinion and recommends to avoid eating before a workout and to wait for awhile after a workout before eating.  See this post:  http://www.arthurdevany.com/?p=1097

Becoming dehydrated during exercise

In the last 40 days, I haven’t been drinking as much water during the day after reading a post by Gabe Mirkin, M.D. that suggests that exercise and dehydration may actually improve kidney function.  http://www.drmirkin.com:80/public/ezine051808.html .   It seems wise to me to occasionally allow the body to adapt to a dehydrated state.  However, I still “tank up” before exercising and after exercising. 

Becoming dehydrated dampens the release of growth hormone during and after exercise.  Here’s one of the studies:  http://www.eje-online.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/4/445.

 

 

Wed. exercise: RealAge advanced video and Hindu push ups

On Wednesday morning, it had been 48 hours since my last anaerobic exercise.  I wanted to have a moderately intense session.

I took 25 grams of whey isolate about 30 minutes prior to exercising.

This morning I did the RealAge advanced workout video which you can use for free at http://www.realage.com/videos/workouts/you-on-a-diet-advanced-workout/.  Near the end of the workout I paused the video so I could drink 20 ounces of water.  After completing the video workout, I drank some more water and then did 2 sets of Hindu push ups; I took 4 seconds to go down in the Hindu push up so that I was close to muscle failure after 9 push ups.  The entire session took about 23 minutes.

After the session, I had 25 more grams of whey isolate as post-exercise protein.  I felt good.  My deltoids were pumped from the Hindu push ups.

One of my next posts will look at some research and opinions on eating (carbs, protein, fat, and water) before and after exercise.

Monday exercise: an exercise circuit and suicides

On Monday morning, it had been 48 hours since my last anaerobic exercise and I wanted to have a longer, intense exercise session. 

I have been experimenting with exercises in a circuit for the last couple weeks in the hope that I could stimulate the release of growth hormone without requiring as much recovery time as the common 3 set exercise protocols; although I am far away from “proving” that circuit exercise can do what I just mentioned, I have been encouraged that I am getting positive results; it seems to me that optimizing the release of growth hormone is always uncertain, but I feel fortunate in that I have lot more “optimizing knowledge” than I did 2 years ago.

About 30 minutes before exercising this morning, I took 25 grams of whey isolate as a secretagogue/pre-exercise protein.  Many people feel that a ready supply of protein shortens recovery time after anaerobic exercise.

I started my exercise session by doing 4 minutes of warm up with shadow boxing, karate kicks, and trunk twists.  Then I did the following circuit twice with about a minute of rest after the burpees and virtually no rest between other sets:

1. 6 count burpees in a half Tabata protocol (four 20 second periods of burpees separated by 10 seconds)
2. Pull ups
3. Dips
4. Overhead press ups with 35 lb dumbbell
5. Shoulder shrugs with 35 lb dumbbell
6. Curls with 35 lb dumbbell
7. Horizontal row with 35 lb dumbbell
8. Hand clap push ups
9. One leg squats using a chair for balance
10. Reverse curls with stretch tubing
11. Hammer curls with stretch tubing

 Then I did about 4 minutes of suicides in which I sprint 8 yards back and forth.  Today I mostly did backwards running and sideways running.

The entire exercise session took 41 minutes.  I took another 25 grams of whey isolate as post-exercise protein.  I felt great afterwards.  Music sounded great as I prepared my lunch and morning snacks; my head spontaneously moved to accent the guitar solos.

 

Ending my fast after 26 hours

Having started a fast after lunch on Friday and after doing 19 minutes of anaerobic exercise Saturday morning, I thought I would probably extend my fast up to Sunday noon because I felt pretty good and my energy level was down only slightly.  But from 12 noon to 3 pm my energy level was so low that I couldn’t get myself to do tasks around the yard and house, so I ended my fast after my 3 pm nap.

The first few bites of a peach created a small sore quickly appeared on the inside of my lip; I recall that a similar thing happened in my mouth after ending my 2-day fast a couple weeks ago; the sores disappeared within 1-2 hours.  I am aware that all fasting experts state that long fasts should be broken by eating small amounts of easily digested food, but I am surprised that my mouth gets sore from the first bites of food after a 1 or 2 day fast.

The food that I ate in the first hour helped to restore some of my energy, but it wasn’t until about 7 pm that I felt that my normal energy level was back.

If I didn’t have any work do, I don’t know if the low energy during the second day of a 2-day fast is worth it in terms of growth hormone, detoxing, and revitalization.  What I do know is that on this weekend I wanted to have energy to do things around my home. 

I don’t know if the anaerobic exercise on Saturday morning depleted my energy too much; I felt very good right after exercising; and listening to music after exercising was very, very enjoyable.  It’s just that I kind of hit a wall around noon so I ended my fast.

While having low energy, I surfed the internet and found an interesting post that stated missing some sleep one night can create an extra surge of growth hormone on the next night.  Just as the stress of anaerobic exercise creates a surge of growth hormone and an adaptation which makes us stronger, a temporary lack of sleep may create a beneficial adaptation.  This is something I might experiment with on a weekend in which it doesn’t matter if I was tired (even though I suspect it will be difficult to objectively rate the results.)

Another fast

(It’s now 8:30 pm Friday night as I write this.) I started another fast today (Friday) after lunch.  I wanted to see what experiences I would have that I would attribute to an increased release of growth hormone.  At the start of the fast I wasn’t sure if I would fast for one or for 2 days; I will see how I feel after one day before deciding to fast a second day.

At 6 pm on Friday evening, I took a 25 minute nap and then went on 4 mile leisurely bike ride except for two 20-second sprints; the sprints created a nice “muscle burn” in my legs.  Then I worked in my garden for about an hour.  I barely noticed that I hadn’t eaten; my energy level was almost normal; my mouth had a slight taste of ketosis; my mood was good and I enjoyed listening to music while I wrote this part of my post. 

(It’s now 9 am Saturday morning as I write this.) I stayed up a little past my normal bedtime replacing the display on a laptop computer.  I noticed that my abdomen seemed thinner and I had digestive sensations that were probably tied to the shrinking of the stomach; When I laid down, I did a few isometric exercises before falling asleep and had some waves of well-being while falling asleep.  I woke up at 4 am and laid awake for about an hour; being awake in the middle of the night seems to happen more frequently for me while fasting, but I seem to require slightly less sleep while fasting.

Early this morning, I read an interesting post at Dr. Mercola’s website concerning the antioxidant potential of cocoa power.  This made me feel good about my smoothies  since I often add a tablespoon of cocoa to them on most days (whenI am not fasting).

About 8 am this morning, I did an anaerobic workout using the free RealAge advanced workout that is available online.  The workout lasts 19 minutes and is able to fatigue and pump up quite a few muscles.  I may have had slightly less strength while exercising due to fasting, but I felt good during and after exercising.

After uploading this post, I am going to relax for about half an hour listening to my favorite blues rock music.  I find it very pleasant to listen to music right after exercising especially in a relaxed way; my guess is that listening to music in a relaxed way releases more growth hormone.

I’ll post again later.