- Joined
- Feb 24, 2011
- Messages
- 140
Hi everyone,
Immune system limitations have been the main barrier for me in achieving my superhuman / bulletproof aspirations for 10+ years, particularly in weight lifting, but also in other areas. To put it simply, when I push myself hard enough at the gym, I tend to get sick (basic stuff - sore throat / common cold / influenza which quickly deteriorates into stuff like bronchitis if I do not stop exercising and start taking antibiotics). Which of course leads to losing my progress and therefore going in circles. This tends to happen even more often when there are other pressures on immune system - e.g., a lot of air travel and changing time zones, cold weather, influenza epidemic, prolonged low card diets without refers, air con.
There is a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum, hence I was wondering if you guys (and gals) could chime in with some better ideas and hacks.
Here are the key factors I observed which influence this in one way or another.
Key offenders - i.e. factors that put strain on my immune system and likely to push me to getting sick
* Heavy exercise. Especially when I go all in on deadlifts/squats
* Flights and changing time zones (last couple of months I have been on the plane almost every week, often on intercontinental flights, and this really pushes my immune system. basically have to stop exercising for 1-2 weeks after any big (5+ hour) time zone change
* Stress
* Cold weather (this is much worse in winter)
* Air conditioning
* Heavy mental strain (really pushing my brain is not as bad as really pushing my body, but can also lead to exhaustion and challenge immune system)
* Very low carb diets - fine as long as I do refeeds every 1-2 weeks or so, but bad if 3+ weeks without refers. Shame as mentally I feel great in ketosis
* Milk (not sure why; butter/cheese/kefir do not seem to have this effect)
* Fasting for more than 20-24 hours
When the rubber really hits the road is the combination of these factors. E.g., if I spend 12 hours on a plane changing time zone by 8 hours flying to a colder location and not get much sleep under aircon in the hotel room where windows don't open, then go heavy on deadlifts next morning, getting sick is 80%+ probability.
Basic enablers - i.e. factors that need to be in place to sustain effective functioning of immune system
* Sleep until I wake up without alarm going to bed about 9:30 pm
Hacks that work and I am still using them (but do not solve the problem entirely)
* Brewed ginger (almost) every morning - life saver
* Bee products such as propolis - during higher pressure periods, e.g. in winter or when traveling
Hacks that worked but I have not used them in a while (but do not solve the problem entirely)
* Immunofan
* Probiotics
Hacks that did not work for me at all
* Omega 3 - interestingly, my immune system got worse most times I tried adding a significant amount of omega 3 supplements (mostly fish oil)
* Multivitamins - did nothing
* Vitamin C - megadoses might be doing a bit sometimes, but generally not much
* Glutamine - slight benefit but not much
Look forward to your suggestions!
Immune system limitations have been the main barrier for me in achieving my superhuman / bulletproof aspirations for 10+ years, particularly in weight lifting, but also in other areas. To put it simply, when I push myself hard enough at the gym, I tend to get sick (basic stuff - sore throat / common cold / influenza which quickly deteriorates into stuff like bronchitis if I do not stop exercising and start taking antibiotics). Which of course leads to losing my progress and therefore going in circles. This tends to happen even more often when there are other pressures on immune system - e.g., a lot of air travel and changing time zones, cold weather, influenza epidemic, prolonged low card diets without refers, air con.
There is a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum, hence I was wondering if you guys (and gals) could chime in with some better ideas and hacks.
Here are the key factors I observed which influence this in one way or another.
Key offenders - i.e. factors that put strain on my immune system and likely to push me to getting sick
* Heavy exercise. Especially when I go all in on deadlifts/squats
* Flights and changing time zones (last couple of months I have been on the plane almost every week, often on intercontinental flights, and this really pushes my immune system. basically have to stop exercising for 1-2 weeks after any big (5+ hour) time zone change
* Stress
* Cold weather (this is much worse in winter)
* Air conditioning
* Heavy mental strain (really pushing my brain is not as bad as really pushing my body, but can also lead to exhaustion and challenge immune system)
* Very low carb diets - fine as long as I do refeeds every 1-2 weeks or so, but bad if 3+ weeks without refers. Shame as mentally I feel great in ketosis
* Milk (not sure why; butter/cheese/kefir do not seem to have this effect)
* Fasting for more than 20-24 hours
When the rubber really hits the road is the combination of these factors. E.g., if I spend 12 hours on a plane changing time zone by 8 hours flying to a colder location and not get much sleep under aircon in the hotel room where windows don't open, then go heavy on deadlifts next morning, getting sick is 80%+ probability.
Basic enablers - i.e. factors that need to be in place to sustain effective functioning of immune system
* Sleep until I wake up without alarm going to bed about 9:30 pm
Hacks that work and I am still using them (but do not solve the problem entirely)
* Brewed ginger (almost) every morning - life saver
* Bee products such as propolis - during higher pressure periods, e.g. in winter or when traveling
Hacks that worked but I have not used them in a while (but do not solve the problem entirely)
* Immunofan
* Probiotics
Hacks that did not work for me at all
* Omega 3 - interestingly, my immune system got worse most times I tried adding a significant amount of omega 3 supplements (mostly fish oil)
* Multivitamins - did nothing
* Vitamin C - megadoses might be doing a bit sometimes, but generally not much
* Glutamine - slight benefit but not much
Look forward to your suggestions!
