FORGE DOJO - Blog

My Newest Challenge

4/16/2023

Those who know me well, know that I like challenges. Tell me something is undoable, and I'll try to do it. Tell me that "nobody completes it the first time through" and I'll do it.

Today I'm finishing Day 56 of the 75Hard Challenge. It's a 75 day challenge that requires you to...every single day:
1. Complete 2 workouts of 45 minutes each; oh and one of them MUST be outside. No excuses.
2. Read 10 pages of nonfiction.
3. Drink 1 gallon of water.
4. Pick a diet and follow It.
5. No alcohol
6. Take a progress photo every day.

If you miss any one of those, you start back at Day 1.

To say that it's been a great experience so far would be an understatement!

Over the next few days (through Instagram Live), I'll break down each of the requirements and share their unique challenges, blessings, and ways they have helped me to grow. Through sharing, I think you'll be surprised by which one is the most difficult.

Be blessed!

update #5

1/5/2023

I'm just about 90% of the way through this thing. Looking at my fasting timer as seeing only 12(ish) hours left...not going to lie, it's a bit of a relief. Not much out of what I would expect other than ketone levels shot up overnight. I'm beginning to wonder if they've been elevated for longer than I'm reading, but since I'm testing urine (results can be "off" depending on hydration levels) my data isn't quite as accurate as I'd hoped it would be. Weight continues to drop, but much more steadily. That piece is becoming almost predictable. With that, other numbers are dropping, almost predictably as well: body fat%, muscle mass%, water composition.

I mentioned on IG Live last night that when I attempt this again in the future (hinting at a 7 day fast this summer), I'd like to invest in better tools for measuring blood sugar and ketone levels.

I also discussed last night how I had been thinking about how this, the fifth and final day of the fast, would look. Work will keep me busy and distracted, but today will be my first day back in the dojo in 2023. Officially, the fast ends toward the end of our adult class this evening so, for a couple days, I'd considered just coming home tonight, showering, hopping in bed, and extending the fast for another 24 hours.

Really had to think about that one, and in the end I decided to end the fast when I get home this evening; for a couple reasons. First, I've said from the outset that this would be a 5-Day Fast so, in a sense, there's an integrity issue here. But the kicker, what really convinced me to end it tonight, as planned, is my competitive nature. See, if I were to extend through tomorrow, then I KNOW my mind would be telling me..."Just do another day Bob, and make it a full week." So, not giving my competitive side the voice this time (which kind of hurts) and will continue as planned.

I'll be taking my final round of data collection this evening after I get home from the dojo, and then going on Instagram Live around 9:00EST for my final check-in an Q&A. See you there!

Be blessed,
Bob B.

Update #4

1/4/2023

If you don’t know and couldn’t jump in the Instagram Live last night; I’m a huge Tolkein fan. I’m at the point in this 5-Day Fasting experiment where I feel like Sam in one of the early scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring. As he and Frodo embark on their adventure, Sam turns and says, “If I take one more step…I’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.”

When I went to bed last night, I’d already hit that point; a point farther in any fast than I’ve ever been. As I took my stats this morning and looked at my fasting timer, it hit me that today would be tough. Thankfully work keeps me on my toes and I’ve got a meeting after work, then a wrestling meet to cheer on. Keeping busy and distracted is HUGE!

Comparing last night’s data to this morning, the stalled weight loss gave way to a 3 pound loss from yesterday. Blood pressure and resting heart rate are still holding steady. Blood glucose seems to have bottomed out while ketones continue to increase.
Let’s see what challenge today has in store! Thanks for following along on this experiment!

Be blessed,
~Bob B.

Update #3

1/3/2023

I feel like the Bon Jovi song...I'm halfway there! Comparing numbers over the last 12 hours, I'm surprise that I continue to lose weight faster than expected. I guess though with an active lifestyle using calories up, with no calories coming in...it makes sense.

The numbers that I'm really watching are my resting heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose. Those first two metrics remain stable while blood glucose continues to drop. Since this time yesterday, blood glucose has dropped from 98mg/dL to 71mg/dL. With the now measurable presence of ketones in my urine, I don't expect blood glucose to drop anymore, at least in a significant way.

Today is the first day back at work after the break. My hope is that by staying busy at work over the next couple of days, I'll be distracted from hunger, which I anticipate increasing over the next 12-24 hours.

Stay tuned! I'll be going live on Instagram at 8:00EST this evening for a live 72 hour update.

Update #2

1/2/2023

Now we are a little over 36 hours into this thing which again, for me, isn’t difficult…yet. Two things that jump out after recording morning data:

Sleep was abnormally good which is wild because there was a lot of movement in the house last night (from my three older sons) which I thought would have kept me up more than it did. Upon breaking down the sleep data, it looks like when I was asleep…I was ASLEEP! I’ll keep breaking that down this morning and try to learn more.
Blood glucose went UP! After 36 hours of no eating…how does blood glucose go up? I’ve got an idea that I’ll research today. Any ideas?

The timing of this 5-Day fast is practically perfect. From my past experiences with intermittent fasting, 24/48/72 hour fasts, one of the keys (for me) is to keep busy. Yesterday was a busy day and today is going to be pretty awesome too with my exercise today coming from an hour at Zava Zone and then hanging out with a friend this afternoon…far, far away from food(hopefully)!

UPDATE #1

1/1/2023

Alright, I’m 14 hours into this thing which, for me, isn’t a big deal at all. I guess the only thing different is that this time around, I’m recording a lot of stats. I’m always surprised at how much weight we lose at night.

After overendulging a bit yesterday, I was able to get a blood glucose reasing this morning. So far, since I’m so early in, there’s not really much to report. Now, after I do my kettlebell training this morning, and martial arts training in the afternoon…I’ll be excited to see what, if any, noticeable changes there are this evening.

And So It Begins...

12/31/2022

And so it begins…

I’ve been on the intermittent fasting bandwagon since before it was cool and typically rotate between the 16/8 and One Meal a Day (OMAD) timing. I’ve gone 48 hours without food several times…and 72 hours just a couple of times.

This year, to ring in 2023, I’m going to start with a 5-day fast. Sounds pretty crazy to some of you, I know. To others…the ones who know me personally…you’re probably just smiling and shaking your head.

Why?

Well, there are layers to this. To be very clear: I’m not doing this to lose weight. I’m at the stage of my fitness journey where weight is probably the metric that I’m least concerned about, but I will be tracking it over the next 120 hours.

So, why? Well, remember that year when Covid shut down everything and teachers (like me) had to do our jobs virtually…to black screens and muted mics? Yeah, that was an absolute soul-sucking time for me BUT during that period, I made a couple of changes to my lifestyle that were pretty significant. The biggest change…I went vegan. That's right…no meat…no animal products at all. It was kind of an impulsive decision…about 1:00 pm on a random Tuesday, I decided to give it a shot; but just for one month.

Well, one month went on to about a year and a half. Since my vegan experience began as an impulsive n=1 experiment, I decided just last month to reintroduce meat, but just for one month.

I wont say yet what changes I noticed with the dietary changes. I’ll save that for a later time.

So, Reason #1 on the “Why Bob” list is that I want a complete 5-day reset of my digestive system.

Like I said though, there are layers to this. I’m taking the whole “new year, new me” quip and going all the way down to the cellular level. There’s a powerful process that takes place in our bodies when we go deep enough into a fasted state: autophagy. Look it up on your own. I want you to do that because I don’t want anyone taking my word for it; I’m not a doctor after all. Also, by digging into it a little on your own, I’ll be you get more out of it anyway. The short of it though is that when in a state of autophagy, your body starts to clean itself out, and we’re not talking about extra time in the restroom. No, autophagy goes deeper…cleaning up the body at the cellular level.

So, Reason #2 on the “Why Bob” list is that I want to start 2023 with what I predict will be a stronger everything, but I’m specifically looking for improvement in my immune system.

More superficial layers/reasons include:

Reason #3- fighting back against the belief that we need to eat 3 meals (or more) every day.
Reason #4- pure curiosity. I want to see how a prolonged fast impacts my ability to train, and recover from training.
Reason #5- it’s going to be hard! I haven’t done this before!

So there you go. The timer officially started 27 minutes ago. Just 119 hours and 33 minutes left, but who’s counting?

Check back in throughout the week. I’ll be posting stats daily as I track:

Resting heart rate
Bodyweight
Ketone level
Blood glucose
Bodyfat %
Blood pressure
Body H2O %
Muscle %
Mental clarity
Mood
Sleep Quality
Exercise regimen and notes

I’m excited about this and hope to learn about myself and how my body works best. I hope that, in some way, this adventure serves someone else in a positive way.

Be blessed!
~Bob B.

Is Kyokushin Karate Training...Dangerous?

10/12/2022

I get this a lot; especially with the recent popularity of the Cobra Kai series. Sometimes it's asked as a question, but more often than not, I see this in the hesitation folks have to begin training or practicing with us. I get it...nobody wants to get hurt or injured, but what's the worst that can happen?

Personally, I've broken just about every finger, a couple of bones in my hand, my big toe (on both feet), a couple of ribs, and gotten about a dozen stitches in my shin. All of those injuries were either from playing basketball or doing projects around the house. I've hurt my back picking up a laundry basket the wrong way. I've been out of commission for 48-72 hours because I slept in an awkward position and jacked up my neck.

The way I explain to students, and prospective students is this:

You're not guaranteed that anything you do will be 100% safe. You could twist your ankle getting out of bed In the morning. Just because that's a (real) possibility, does that mean you stay in bed all day? Each day there are over 17,000 auto accidents in the country. Does that keep you from driving (or riding) to work or school or the grocery store?

Back to the question at hand...yes Kyokushin Karate training Is dangerous. BUT it's no more dangerous than any other adventure we would embark on, or any other task we need to complete. Like it or not...you assume risk every single day. Every morning when those toes hit the floor...it's game-on.

So, If life is inherently dangerous anyway, why not try something new or fun?

Never let the fear of a maybe keep you from pursuing something great.

Osu!

Can Martial Arts Training Help with Depression?

9/26/2022

A while back I heard an expression that goes something like this:

Exercise is the best therapy that we don't want; and nutrition is the best prescription we don't want to fill.

I often say with a smile, but never joking, that "training is cheaper than therapy"; I've done the math. There are quite a few studies out there on the benefits of training on mental health; particularly when training is used alongside other therapeutic plans. I'll link some of those research studies below if you feel like nerding out like I often do.

Training has been shown to:
- alleviate stress
- reduce frustration
- improve self-esteem
- increase focus
- release "feel-good" chemicals

While the studies show a benefit, my n=1 study confirms the findings. I've got a long-standing battle with depression myself, and training regularly is actually part of my treatment plan. The community. The sweat. The challenge. The encouragement. They all help produce feelings and hormones which help "steady the ship."

Of course, I'm not a doctor and will not give medical advice; I can only share what I've learned along my journey.

Be blessed! (oh...studies linked below:-)
Sensei Bob

BMC Study
Moore, Dudley, and Woodcock
NIH Library
Prevention and Rehabilitation

Will Karate Training Help Me Lose Weight?

9/6/2022

Let's start at the beginning.

The day I started training, I weighed 340lbs. Right now, as I type this, I weight between 220lbs-230lbs. Did karate training do it? Well...kind of...yeah.

I had hit the point where I needed to be active again. I'd started going to the gym solo before I was introduced to Kyokushin karate. I'd started making better choices with food before starting my training. I'd gotten the ball rolling BUT karate training helped everything come together.

That first class...that first sparring session... I KNEW that a smaller, lighter, healthier Bob would be better. I knew from the getgo that I wanted to be good at this karate thing; and I knew I had to be a healthy weight to do it. So, my weight lifting and diet were to make my karate training better and my karate training made my weight lifting and diet better. It was the opposite of a vicious circle...it was a blessed circle of good habits and mindset building into one another.

Come to one of my classes and you'll sweat. It's hard...but it's the kind of hard where you drive home and are like "holy cow...I just did that!" Good training will help you lose weight BUT it's got to be connected to healthy eating habits. All the training in the world can't overcome a diet of McDonalds and donuts!

The way that real karate training will help you lose weight is my first shifting the way you think about yourself. You are capable of more. You are stronger than you believe you are. You can set goals and achieve them. Most importantly, you ARE NOT alone. The community of the dojo is an incredible, encouraging motivator.

Don't take my word for it though. Give it a shot for yourself!