Heavyweight #5

November 2024

Hello friends! Welcome to another edition of Heavyweight, a monthly report of my fitness journey.

Disclaimer: the contents of this post are for informational or educational purposes only and do not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.

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Movement

I fell off the wagon right after Halloween. As you can see below, I did a workout on the 1st and then took an eleven-day break until I made myself get back to the rower. I felt the need to rest The Pete Plan that I had started last month and decided to do it Rx—as prescribed—which meant I started at 5,000-meter rows on the 13th and kept bumping the distance by 500 meters every week. The week of the 25th, I did 6,000-meter rows, which are roughly 30-minute rows, which is manageable.

However, I felt I needed to compensate for that huge break, so I decided to throw in 30-minute kettlebell workouts in between rowing sessions. It turns out I can do a lot of kettlebell swings in 30 minutes; I’m aiming for 500, broken up into sets of 100 in a repetition scheme that goes like this: 10, 15, 25, 50. If it sounds like it sucks, you’re right. I’m sucking air after doing 50 swings every single time. But I know my posterior chain and my grip will thank me for this effort; this way, I should be able to grab every single grocery bag from the trunk of the van and take it inside the house without requiring a second trip.

Daniel Joseph Petty

,

Scoot

, and

Ben Ziemann

restacked my previous post, so here are the 30 double kettlebell front squats I promised.

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Alternate Day Fasting

This month was the first time I attempted to do three 36-hour fasts in a week. As you can tell from the chart below, I had one perfect week where I did all three fasts as expected, and the rest of the time, I either had dinner with friends or Thanksgiving or was struggling with my fast.

I have become a seltzer connoisseur and have tried many brands and flavors from several supermarkets. Let me know if you want me to expand on my study of fizzy water.

I also started taking a couple of supplements. I started taking berberine after my last meal before a fast since it helps to curb evening cravings for carbohydrates and dessert-type foods. Berberine is a natural compound with a 3000-year history of use in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. Some people on the internet call it the natural Ozempic, but I’m not sure if that’s the case.

I’ve been taking 5 grams of creatine daily for almost two weeks, and I have noticed I’m recovering better from more strenuous workouts and have an extra oomph when working out in a fasted state. Before, I would feel drained working out in a fasted state, and now it feels like I still have a bit left in the tank. Allegedly, it takes two to three weeks for the muscles to reach full creatine saturation (without a loading period), so we’ll see how December goes.

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Results

On October 31st, I weighed 318.2 lbs. On November 30th, I weighed 308.6 lbs. That’s a 9.6 lb loss this month. My body fat percentage dropped 2%, and I gained 1.2 lbs of muscle. I’m 108.2 lbs away from the goal.

My takeaway from this month is that I can still be social and not overeat. I will take this newfound wisdom to Mexico, where we will be spending Christmas, and I hope it helps me get through the rest of the year without gaining much weight back.

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Before you go

1. What’s your favorite seltzer brand/flavor?

2. Have you ever had bone broth? If so, what brand do you like?

3. What’s your “power song” when you need an extra oomph in your workout?