Losing Weight and Body Building

While I am waiting for my back to heal so I can hopefully go back to jiu jitsu I have been doing a lot of cardio and weight lifting. I switched from my 1 day of lifting a week where I would do all the upper body muscles in one day to lifting 6 days a week and doing only two muscle groups per day. I slightly modified an intermediate body building routine so it would be ok for my back.

Monday: Chest and Triceps
Tuesday: Back and Biceps
Wednesday: Shoulders and Traps
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Chest and Triceps
Saturday: Back and Biceps
Sunday: Shoulders and Traps

Maybe later I will post all the exercises I do. I also do abs about every other day when I have time and I usually run for about an hour since I am mainly trying to drop weight. I can't wait till I hit my target weight and can start trying to put on more muscle and eat more. I got down to 175 pounds this week.

Training Update

I am now halfway done with my 6 month period of rest before I get another MRI of my back to see if I can go back to jiu jitsu. I have been following the paleo diet very strictly and lifting almost every day. In the month following the discovery of my injured back I ate like crap and put on 16 lbs. In the past 4 weeks I lost all of that weight and am now down to 178. I am looking to drop another 8 pounds before I switch to trying to put on muscle. I am frustrated because I have been sick for the past 3 days and haven't been able to go to the gym.

Picture of me as riddler killing time at comicon till I can go back to jiu jiutsu

Improve your BJJ: Increase your Testosterone

Testosterone is the wonder drug for men. It is responsible for regulating bone density, fat management, promoting muscle strength and mass, production of blood cells, sex drive and sperm production. Higher testosterone also increases a male's attractiveness to women. Every man should strive to increase their testosterone level, it will lead to happiness and a better life.

How to increase your testosterone

Lift weights - It has been shown that lifting weights leads to a temporary increase in testosterone level right after lifting. Regular weight lifting will raise testosterone for the long term. The increase in testosterone is proportional to the amount of muscle used during weight lifting. This means that you will increase your testosterone level more by doing lower body weight lifting than upper body because the lower body has more muscle and you can lift heavier weight with your legs. I can bench a little over 300 lbs with my arms but can leg press over 1,000 lbs with my legs.

Improve your diet. Eating broccoli will increase your testosterone. Avoid tofu and soy products, your body perceives soy and tofu as estrogen and will lower testosterone. Don't drink beer, the hops from beer is also seen as estrogen by the body. Eat plenty of meat, especially red meat. Eat saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and colesterol, they are required for testosterone production. Don't eat refined sugar, it has been shown to reduce testosterone.

Avoid cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is released in response to stress. It causes you to metabolize (eat away) your muscle and lowers your testosterone. The best way to lower your cortisol level is to reduce your stress. Get plenty of sleep, don't work too many hours and don't lift weights for more than 45 minutes in a row. Relaxation and meditation has also been shown to reduce cortisol.

Avoid BPA. BPA is a chemical that is in many of the plastics we use. It is seen by our body as estrogen and can lead to fat gain and decreased testosterone. Avoid BPA whenever possible. Make sure any water bottle you use is BPA free and do not cook food in plastic containers, put the food on a plate before you warm it.

Increase Testosterone helps you for BJJ Tournaments and Training

Higher testosterone will allow you to be more aggressive and it will improve your strength. You will feel better and be more confident. It will allow you to put on good weight (muscle) and drop bad weight (fat). This will make you more competitive for your weight class by having a better lean weight percentage. If you have higher testosterone you will be more confident and will allow you to perform better durring BJJ tournaments.

For men, it has been shown that low testosterone in men increases your chance of gaining weight. Being obese or overweight lowers your testosterone. It is like a downward spiral, if you have low testosterone then you will put on more weight which lowers your testosterone causing you to put on even more weight. Instead of getting caught in that trap, consider trying the paleo diet to drop lose some weight.

Fitocracy: A way to track BJJ training and network

Today I was reading a blog entry at jiujitsu365 about a new website called Fitocracy. It is a training log mixed with a competition mixed with social networking. You log your workouts and get points based on the different exercises. There are contests, quests, accomplishments and leader boards to compare yourself to other people. Since I am a competitive person, I can see myself really getting into this. If you need motivation to get in shape or lose some weight then this is the perfect site for you. Fitocracy also has groups so you can socialize with other people with similar interests.

If you sign up, I highly recommend changing your email settings because they are pretty spammy at first. Right now the website is in beta testing and is only available by invite. If you are interested in getting an invite, post a comment on this post, then email me at bjjcompete@gmail.com and tell me why you deserve an invite. I have limited invites so I am not going to just post it here.