Rolf Devinci

A month into the pandemic shutdown and social distancing protocols has resulted in a more sedentary lifestyle which has led to weight gain. The closure of the gym and other recreational facilities means my access to strength training equipment, spin classes and participation in weekly ball hockey has ceased with no immediate return in sight. Factor in my age and employment that is a chair based role has not helped keep off the extra pounds. The arrival of Spring and the possibility of resuming bike commuting has definitely offered an opportunity to get some exercise. I also have some basic exercise equipment at home (bands, kettle bell, medicine ball) when used in conjunction with body weight exercises lets me complete a degree of weight training. It is not the same as a gym setting and motivation can often be an issue. Knowing my exercise regimen is a shadow of its former self and my current employment sede...

As an intermittent faster I often will throw some fasted training into my activities to assist with fat loss. It helps eliminate stubborn fat, especially that tissue found around the mid section of men and the hips and thighs of women. In layman`s terms the lack of insulin production while in a fasted state and the increased blood flow to the abdominals results in improved fat burning. The science is broken down quite well here..... http://www.muscleforlife.com/fasted-cardio/ Fasted Training and Me I prefer fasted training when planning any high intensity interval training (HIIT) first thing in the morning. It usually is RPM spin classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings during the Winter. During the rest of the year I frequently bike commute to and from work fasted. On the ride home on those commutes I am usually at the 17 hour fasted mark. When will your body start breaking down muscle? I suspect everyone c...

After a couple years away from the gym I recently rejoined the neighborhood Goodlife establishment. To be perfectly honest I am not sure why I left in the first place. I think It had to do with my decision to cease road racing assuming I did not need to train as much? Or perhaps it was simply a time for a change?Regardless my return was much needed as my fitness and weight had suffered in the intervening years since my last racing season in the summer of 2011. One of the incentives was the chance to participate in spin classes again. I enjoyed them in the past and they definitely complimented my road cycling fitness, especially in the winter months. HIIT and RPM " Born from the sport of cycle racing, RPM uses simulated climbs and sprints in a workout where you control the intensity" Goodlife partners with Les Mills and offers the RPM spinning series. Previous spin classes were less structured and often based upon the preferences of...

Goodlife Sometimes you just have to wonder about things and whether there is a element of fate to otherwise common occurances? My son decided to join a local gym a month ago as he progressed past the equipment of my limited home gym. Needless to say it was soon thereafter that I got the call from Goodlife offering me a  free week's pass to try out their facility as a referral from Josh. The timing was impeccable. Why not? I was, at that point, aware of my fitness shortcomings and knew I needed to make changes for the coming winter. I had been a member at that location for a few years when it was Nubody`s and there was a definite attraction to a possible return. It is walking distance from my residence and on my usual bike commute route. The cost of membership was manageable, especially since I decided to limit my wine consumption. I love the Noble Grape but I was consuming too many empty calories. Just by cutting out a minimum of o...

 I have always been an advocate for lemon(and/or lime) water as part of a hydration regimen but recently decided to start a early morning routine using warm lemon/lime water in lieu of coffee first thing upon waking. The benefits of consuming warm lemon/lime water first thing in the morning..... http://rootandsprouts.com/benefits-of-lemon-water-according-to-science/ There are several health benefit claims but for me its all about hydration. Most of my activities occur in the evenings and I suspect I probably go to bed in a dehydrated state, made worse by the normal dehydration that occurs during sleep. A large warm glass of lemon water first thing in the AM provides an easily absorbed shot of water to help rehydrate, detoxify(cleanse) and kick start the metabolism. "The juice you produce when you mix lemons with hot water becomes a natural medicine....this solution is able to combat multiple health issues including digestive issues, nausea, heartbur...

At least in regards to the road bike. Circumstances have changed that has had a profound effect upon my road cycling. Foremost among them was my dissatisfaction with the cycling club.I'm not liking the vibe nor the heavy handed dictatorial approach of the current executive. I have lost all inclination to participate in club rides, a sentiment I believe is shared by many club members. The decision to cease racing has also had an impact. No longer does the competitive fire force me out to train so it is harder to motivate myself to allocate the time. Instead i have broadened my sporting opportunities to include other passions; archery, ball hockey and softball. I enjoyed racing but cost, age and the dangerous nature of road racing made the decision easier. A major crash in a race this month in the C pack certainly drove that point home. I would have probably been in the middle of the chaos. Working most Saturdays has certainly cut into saddle time. I do bike commute as much...

This past Easter long weekend I managed to get two road rides in the books before the end of March. A good start to the 2013 cycling season and a chance to gauge my early season form. On Good Friday I opted to do the usual club route solo to test the legs and recon out the roads to see how they weathered the winter. Both were good; the pavement in decent condition once you got past the initial climb out of Bedford and the legs surprisingly strong after little attention this past winter. I guess my cycle commuting, ball hockey and intermittent fasting regimen kept me in better shape than I anticipated? Having completed my 2013 club registration online with Atlantic Chip Friday night I decided to join in an early season Saturday morning club ride the following day.After my solo 70km windy ride the day before I figured I would need a slower recovery effort so decided to "double up" and make it a fasted training ride as well. The clu...

Having decided enough was enough and that it was time to ease back on my physical activities to facilitate the healing of my wonky shoulder I have opted to use the downtime to zoom in on my fasting regimen. I generally practice intermittent fasting five days a week using flexible eat windows. Some days may see longer or shorter fasts based upon how hungry I am, sporting activities and food availability. Since I am planning on keeping my physical activities to a bare minimum the next couple weeks I decided to really focus upon my fasting to avoid eating excess(crappy) calories so prevelant during the holiday season. On Monday I began increasing the duration of my daily fasting to twenty two hours using a two hour eat window in the evenings. As of this writing (Wednesday) my shoulder has improved greatly with a reduction in pain and an increase in mobility. Was it a result of limiting usage of my shoulder or did fasting contribut...

Had my three month scan at the chiropractor's last night and was happy to see little indications of spinal inflamation. The only exception was around C6-C7 where I was experiencing some stiffness probably due to the repetitive strain associated with recent data entry project work on my "trouble" area - the legacy of a bike crash in 2005. It was an excellent result and continues to show marked improvement in my neck/back subluxations despite my exercise regimen and an accident last October. Dr. J was very impressed with my progress since the Thanksgiving weekend crash and continued to stress how remarkable my recovery has been. Prior to March 2010 my neck and back issues had progressed to the point that sheer willpower, determination and painkillers were unable to compensate for the discomfort and it was affecting my sporting activities and employment. So last night I reflected upon the fact that 24 months...

Autophagy is...... "...a catabolic process involving the degradation of a cell's own components through the lysosomal machinery. It is a tightly regulated process that plays a normal part in cell growth, development, and homeostasis, helping to maintain a balance between the synthesis, degradation, and subsequent recycling of cellular products. It is a major mechanism by which a starving cell reallocates nutrients from unnecessary processes to more-essential processes."                                             Wikipedia In layman's terms autophagy is when cells recycle waste material, eliminate or regulate wasteful processes  and repair themselves.Sort of like your computer defragging it`s hard drive and deleting unnecessary files and processes. Why is th...

"Fasting has been found effective in the treatment of type II diabetes, often reversing the condition permanently."                                                                Stephen Harrod Buhner An excellent primer by Idai Makaya on how IFing decreases insulin production while increasing human growth hormones which in turns promotes fat burning, lean muscle and the prevention of insulin resistence. "(IFing) is likely to reduce the risk for diabetes and many other ‘lifestyle diseases’ - is it not likely that people with diabetes (and on medication) will require less medication if their bodies were to adapt to burning fat (and using very little glucos...

Me - "I fast most days usually between 16 - 19 hours then consume my calories in a smaller eat window usually between 3 - 9 pm." Aquaintance - "Why would you do that. It`s not healthy?" How many times have I heard that reply since assuming an intermittent fasting way of eating(WOE)? My last conversation on the subject got me thinking about the health benefits of intermittent fasting and how it could make for some interesting blogger fodder. Intermittent Fasting and Heart Disease There appears to be benefits of calorie restriction and fasting for cardiovascular health with confirmations from the usual animal studies..... "Enhance[s] cardiovascular...functions and improve[s] several risk factors for coronary artery disease and stroke including a reduction in blood pressure and increased insulin sensitivity" and that "cardiovascular stress adaptation is improved and heart rate variability is increased in rodents" and that "rodents m...

 I started a week of Intermittant Fasting yesterday with a 19 hour fast. I have been struggling with some sinus issues of late that has not developed into a full fledged head/chest cold but has not cleared up either.Symptoms periodically include a runny nose, inflammation of the sinus cavities, phlemy throat and pressure around the eyes and cheeks.The plan will be to adjust my usual daily meal frequency to give my body some extra fasted time.Aiming for 19 hour + fasts this week by pushing my eat window back to late afternoon/early evening.  Fasting and Hormesis I do find interesting the hormesis aspect of fasting. Hormesis, in layman's terms, is the application of limited stresses to the body which over the long term would be detrimental to wellbeing. Over the short term they make us adaptive and stronger. Exercise is the classic example - we become fitter but over training eventually makes us ill and/or broken. ...

 Fasted Training Found this posting on Martin Berkhan's Leangains website and is definitely food for thought.Results of a 2010 study by The Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. "The main findings of the present study were that: training in an overnight-fasted state enhances storage of muscle glycogen compared to training in the fed state; skeletal muscle of men and women respond differently in terms of oxidative activity to training in the fed and overnight-fasted state; and peak VO2 and peak power improved more when training in the fasted state compared to the fed state....." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20452283 Martin provides an excellent synopsis of the study that has produced some very interesting results in terms of fasted training in regards to VO2Max, power and muscle glycogen. In a nutshell..... VO2 Max Increase -  Fasted: +9.7% , Fed: +2.5% Muscle Glycogen Content Increase - F...

 February of 2010 I "officially" adopted paleolithic nutrition and realized some dramatic results over six months in terms of weight loss, fitness and overall wellness. I adhered to strict paleo(no grains, dairy,legumes or fast foods) for the most part but initially was not a high fat eater.That changed as my preconceptions(or brainwashing) of saturated fat dangers subsided through self education.By the summer of 2010 I was embracing coconut, beef and bacon. I was also eating a fair amount of nuts, seeds and fatty seafood. By the Fall of 2010 I became more aware of the debate around the Omega 3/6 ratio and essentially dropped the nuts and seeds from my diet but continued to focus too much on my consumption of Omega 3 foods. In retrospect the Omegas are essential fatty acids but a "little will do you". I adapted my diet once again to now include some seafood (on a weekly not daily basis), fre...