Objective
Increase VO2MAX and Fitness for running + general.

Stats
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 226lbs
BF% : 17.6%

Injuries/Imbalances
-*RL* medial-anterior shin splint
-Lateral pelvic tilt
-Anterior pelvic tilt
-RL length discrepancy
-Lateral shoulder tilt
-Shoulder slouching
-RL 10lbs more weight dispersion

*RL= Right Leg

General health
Many chronic illnesses, relating to chronic Lyme.
Often having issues with Leaky Gut/SIBO/SIYO.
Overloads easy from Strength training and difficulty improving strength.
MCS-Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & EMF sensitivity

Diet/Supplements
I mostly try to eat clean, individualistically non-reactive foods, at least 20% macro in protein. 500-1000 calorie deficit from TDEE daily.
Supplements:
-NOW Ultra Omega 3 Fish Oil - 500EPA/250DHA (1 softgel 2x/day)
-NOW Liver Detoxifier & Regenerator (1 capsule 2x/day)
-CL Orange Triad (1 tablet 2x/day)
-NOW Magnesium Citrate - 500mg (1 capsule/day)
-Natural Factors Vitamin B12 - 1000mcg (1 sublingual tab/day)

Further details
I am currently doing the following plan, however I am overloading and plateauing already and only after 3 weeks of working the program. As an ironic result, I am not doing much cardio (about 1-2 times per week for 20 minutes).

https://www.muscleandstrength.com/wo...ilding-workout

I probably spend the most time of anyone I have seen at the gym when it comes to stretching, usually stretching the following after my workouts:
Lower back, Hips, Groin, Hamstrings, Quads, Calves, Triceps, Shoulders, Chest/bis.
*More attention on hips and legs though.

I am waiting to consult a Naturopath regarding the Leaky Gut problems.
I had consulted a podiatrist for the leg length and medial shin splint issue, and I am now wearing custom orthotics in the hopes that it will resolve the foot imbalances and pelvic tilt that is causing my troubles.

I look forward to hearing suggestions. One may say holy sh- at the listing of chronic issues that I have...
As AF_Bear (lollilbitchdoesntlift) tells me IRL: "Chris, you're like a walking ball of disaster and chronic illness."
--Can't deny that. Such an uphill battle.
I hope to get back to competing against myself and enjoying running.
I'd say my current VO2MAX is about 35.

Thanks for reading.

This post was edited by Darkblue on Sep 30 2017 11:44am

Good for you with your goals of increasing your VO2 max and overall fitness. It is really great that you are eating pretty healthy and that you do your stretches. First thing that I will say for you is to increase your cardio. If you want to increase your VO2 max you will need to simply do more cardio. I recommend doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. A good goal you might try to make is to do 20 minutes of cardio EVERY day or five days a week first thing after you get out of bed. This does not need to be hard cardio, simply work to bring your heart rate up to 125-145 beats per minute for this time and you will start to build noticeable endurance in a few weeks.

Since you are a bigger guy I would limit the running for now as the extra weight can be tough on the joints. No need to run too far or too long and hurt yourself. Cycling, whether outside or on a spin bike is a great cardio workout and excellent way to meet your fitness goals, without the increased risk of injuries that running has. Cycling also compliments running very well. There are many other great cardio options such as the elliptical, swimming, rowing and many more as I am sure you know. Cross training in any of these ways is sure to increase your VO2 max.

If you want to become a faster runner you might also want to drop some weight... I see that you are in a calorie deficit which is good for these purposes.

This next point I am about to make is a long shot in the dark and I am only offering this as a consideration for you to ponder. I had a friend who had leaky gut symptoms constantly and learned later that he was gluten intolerant. He gave up gluten and since doing so his "leaky gut" symptoms vanished. If you haven't tested yourself for celiac disease perhaps it would be wise to do so. With any important health decisions though, always consult with a doctor instead of listening to someone on the internet. (In this case me)

Another recommendation I can give you is to get a blender and put a lot of healthy stuff in it and enjoy! I personally love loading my blender up with tons of fruits and vegetables. Remember that fruits and vegetables are good for you and will leave you feeling energized and satisfied.

Lastly I think that your goals are great but they can be better. Once you have established a good routine of pushing yourself a bit, decide to set some more specific measurable goals for yourself. An example of a good goal for you might be to get down to a weight of 215lbs or to run a 5k in under 25 minutes. You will have to figure out what specific goals you want. Setting goals for yourself will help push yourself to unlock your true potential and in this process you will learn so much more about yourself and the world.

Good luck m8!

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, FLegend.

Mornings prove difficult for me symptomatically with my chronic illnesses.
I am in a highly toxic state during the first couple of hours upon awaking...
As such I need to consume a good amount of water and get some fruit/breakfast in before I can move on to exercise (2 hours after waking up).

I had gotten my shin splint running 10 milers, back in 2016 and it has become a chronic issue that keeps coming back unfortunately.
It was an adventure for me, alas I am overweight and increased volume far too quickly and have suffered from it.
Being said, yes I realize my weight is an issue, hence the caloric deficit in diet.
My goal up till now has been getting some "beginner" shift in body composition. My weight has kind of stayed the same-ish give or take 5 lbs but my LBM has slightly increased and my LBM decreased.
I'll continue to lose more weight. My long term goal is to be about 10-12% BF as far as composition, along with whatever amount of muscle mass I can functionally have.

Gluten is an reactive food for me but I have tested negative for Celiac. My gluten tolerance isn't on the extreme side of bad, I can tolerate it with adequate moderation.


What I suppose I'm looking for here is a better set plan for my goals, between resistance and cardio.
Resistance to maintain some muscle through my cut and cardio training, a relative amount of strength and to prevent injury.
Cardio to increase my VO2MAX in the hopes of competing in running later in time and lose body fat %.

I'm thinking of doing the following as it stands:
Full-Body Workout 2-3 days/week (depending on my body's ability to handle and recover)
3-4 days of cardio and gradually increase. I'm thinking of alternating between doing HIIT, ERR (easy recovery run 30 mins or so), and Long run LISS.

I'm going to consult the Runners World forum for better tips as far as optimal plans for a runner hitting resistance, cardio and flexibility.

RW is a great arena and they can offer you some great advice. If I were you though I would buy a cheap quiet spin bike and use it often. You won't have to worry about injuries and you will find that after a while of cycling when you switch back to running fast it will come much easier for you as your VO2 max will have increased dramatically from the cycling. Cycling is also a great way to shred fat and get the blood flowing. If you get a spin bike you can multi task with a computer in front of you or watch a movie.

Bruh... cyclists have one of the lowest vo2maxes LOL

You're literally only using your lower half. Go do something like cross country skiing to increase vo2max. They have the highest vo2max ever recorded I do believe.

Cyclists are actually right up there with XC skiers.
There are more instances of xc skiers and cyclists in the top vo2max athletes in the world in comparison to runners.

Don't think I could do cross country skiing though it doesn't seem like fun at all. Just sheer pain and discomfort, ei sucking air and lactic acid burn the whole time.

Yeah I probably shouldn't have gone to the extreme of one of the lowest.

There are still way better ways to train for vo2max. Especially considering your health conditions and the fact that sitting in the position to cycle would probably give you a hard time.

I could cycle. Much like anything it is good to use proper variety and moderation. I say that thinking in my own context that if I were to do too much cycling, my upper body would start to become fairly soft and poor posture.

A good mixup should help.

I just join RW forum about a week ago. Coincidentally they decided to shut it down and make a Facebook group for each of the around 10 sub-forums they had. So I'm just waiting for them to let me into the closed group. Haha.

I'm not a wizard, but I would be careful with putting yourself in a fixed position like you do on a bike with that pelvic obliquity from your anterior tilt.

Never heard of leaky gut is that a real diagnosis from a physician? Also what's the magnesium for? Just curious about both I don't have any actual suggestions. Sorry to hear you're going through a lot

This post was edited by dark-soul on Oct 1 2017 12:26pm