Over a month ago now I started doing the Hippensteel range of motion program. Progressing nicely with that & doing my stretches daily.

Now I have made a total switch over to isometric training. Training daily no more normal workouts. I feel dynamite. Add in the hill hikes I have been doing down here in Nelson and the 1 or 2 HIIT workouts per week.

Gunna do TB12 band training also but have not added it in yet & most likely some PHA at the gym.

Plus my change of supplements to focus on microcirculation & glycocalyx function.

Feeling like six months from now I may be dangerous again.

I flew down to Nelson 3 weeks ago. Plan to stay here until September or October. Its a great little town for outdoor activities & fitness training. My gym chain Cityfitness has 2 gyms in town & there are many training options in town. There is even a dedicated EMS clinic in town & an HBOT rehab clinic, also a floatation center.

There are full on alpine mountains with snow & beautiful scenery, also subtropical beaches and bays for boating, fishing, kayaking and diving.

Best of all this is excellent hiking and hunting territory. I have done 2 hill hikes so far & will build up for 2 months before hitting the alpine adventures in spring time.

Harvard, Nebraska resident Steven A. Justa, 63, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 29, 2021, at Mary Lanning Healthcare after a brief battle with cancer.

Graveside services will be 11 a.m. June 19 at the Harvard Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Harvard Community Foundation, PO Box 119, Harvard, NE 68944. Apfel Funeral Home of Hastings is serving the family.

Steve was born March 9, 1958, to Carl and Larena (Rolfsmeier) Justa in Friend, NE. They moved to Harvard a few years later and Steve lived in Harvard ever since.

Steve worked various jobs over the years including farming, foundry work, hay hauling, tree removal, being a bouncer, etc. He enjoyed all aspects of strength training, performing feats of strength and giving training advice to anyone who asked. He authored books on the topic as well. Steve also enjoyed music, often composing his own versions.

He enjoyed the company of family, friends and being with his cats.

He is survived by two brothers, David and Jim (Becky) Justa; two nieces, Brittany (Jon) Hauck and Maddison Justa; one uncle, Vern Justa; and several cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Credit: https://www.hastingstribune.com/obituaries/steven-a-justa/article_41099448-c869-11eb-93cc-0f3fddfbc3d2.html

This is where I often train in Auckland – its huge

2 stories with 4 large weight areas plus HIIT, group gymnasium, yoga room & cycle room

The endothelial glycocalyx is a gel like substance that lines the microcapillaries. It seems that when this is damaged or exposed to inflammation it triggers much of the degradation we see in capillary function with aging.

Structure of endothelial glycocalyx and its activation of vascular muscle relaxation via nitric oxide (NO) in response to increased shear force.

The endothelial glycocalyx:

• Regulates vascular permeability and fluid balance due to the large size and negative charge of its glycosaminoglycans.
• Provides a physical barrier against inadvertent adhesion of platelets and leukocytes to the vascular wall.
• Regulates coagulation as many of mediators of coagulation pathway are buried inside the glycocalyx under normal physiological condition.
• Functions as a mechano-sensor and transducer of the shear-force inside blood vessels to regulate the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) in response to the blood flow

Sulfated polysaccharides from seaweed have been found to be able to prevent and repair the damage to the endothelial glycocalyx.

These polysaccharides are available in supplement form in a product called Arterosil. Arterosil is a proprietary blend of compounds that can not only improve EGC function and arterial flexibility, but also reduce blood pressure, prevent endothelial inflammation, and slow or even reverse existing plaque build up on arterial walls.

Glycocalyx Damage and Associated Pathologies

The endothelial glycocalyx is a delicate structure and can be damaged under many conditions. The primary contributors to breakdown of the endothelial glycocalyx are high blood glucose, oxidative stress and inflammation. Pathologies associated with impaired endothelial glycocalyx include:

• Coronary heart disease
• Hyperglycemia
• Diabetes
• Renal diseases
• Lacunar stroke
• Severe trauma

If you want more info on the supplement including research studies refer to https://arterosil.com/

Heres a similar supplement made from a different seaweed https://microvascular.com/endocalyx-anti-aging-supplement/

If you want proof of microcirculatory function in the form of medical testing refer to https://glycocheck.com/

PS: Dont worry folks I will dig to the bottom of this & find a cheap bulk supplier for effective seaweed supplementation

PPS: Fucoidan (brown seaweed extract) does the job. Available in bulk on aliexpress. Also many brands on Ebay & Amazon. hyaluronan also helps.

• Mango powder or dry fruit
• Beetroot
• Vitamin D (high dose)
• Cocoa powder (dark chocolate)
• Yerba Maté Tea (caffeine however reduces brain circulation)
• Chewing gum improves cerebral blood flow & probably occipital too
• Ginkgo Biloba

The hardest job I never did is forestry. All my best mates did it. I tried for one day, spewed up in the truck on the way there then red lined all day in the stinking summer heat.

This guy is low pruning – easy

My heart was pumping at full speed all day long like a jack hammer. Sweat came from every pore from head to toe.

It was like running a full body marathon all day long. My mates did it for months on end. The problem for me was the job was as dumb as fuck. Basically you climbed the ladder & cut off the branches then moved to the next tree. Over and over for weeks on end. No thanks boys. Get fucked.

I’ll explain the routine a little better. The job I did for one day was high pruning of radiata pine. The pay rate was 80 cents per tree.

A fucking joke. Anyway so regardless of the ground around the trees, hilly, bushes & branches everywhere you had to carry a 12 foot aluminum ladder to the tree. Lean it against then climb up & stand on the very top rung of the ladder & reach up as high over head as you could. There were branches all around so its not in thin air. Nah its in thin air but if I recall correctly you had an annoying safely belt which slowed the job down so much – well you know.

The job is also known as Silviculture.

This guy is high pruning – hard

To make it worse our ladders had hooks at the top & we were asked to lift the bottom of the ladder to over our heads. Then the hook would secure it to the tree. So the top of the ladder was 12 feet plus your height with arms extended over head. About 20 feet then you had to haul ass onto the ladder thats above your head. Climb to the top and stand on the top rung and reach up above your head again.

This is the hardest way to high prune and they made me do it on the first day. The actual height we pruned from was about 30 feet I guess. Thats the height on the tree at which you would start pruning – 3 stories up. Then you would work your way down lopping or sawing every single branch off the trunk.

OK so the tools were hand tools. A hand saw & a pair of loppers. If you dropped them you had to climb back down and start again. Cunt of a job. It was too dangerous to use a chainsaw.

Rough ground made it hell

OK that sounds hard right & the pay was 80 fucking cents.

I totally busted my ass with everything I had at 18 years old and managed to do 44 trees in one day. On an empty guts after chucking up.

The other guys were doing way more maybe 80 trees – still making crap pay. The absolute champion guys record was 180 trees. That’s so damn hard its demonic. But my mates were super fit hard men. Resting pulse rates around 40 bpm.

Anyway I was too smart to fall for it & passed on a career as a lumberjack. My old mates are still proud of the fitness they attained as teenagers – 30 years later.

PS: Some times I wonder if I should make a few phone calls & do it for a couple of months.

Yippee – I always wanted a good reason to improve my flexibility

It all comes back to what I have posted about previously – Microcirculation

75% of your circulation is capillaries. If they are blocked or tight what happens?

Hypertension. Now this suggests that poor ROM will correlate with hypertension.

Anyway here’s the research:

“Stretching is Superior to Brisk Walking for Reducing Blood Pressure in People With High–Normal Blood Pressure or Stage I Hypertension”

The study was conducted over eight weeks, using two randomly assigned groups of older men and women (mean age 61). The 40 participants were monitored as they compared the benefits of stretching for 30 minutes to a 30-minute walk.

The group assigned to stretch was observed having greater reductions in blood pressure across all three of their measurements: sitting, lying down, and over 24 hours with a portable monitor.

Co-author of the study and U of S kinesiology professor Dr. Phil Chilibeck said that although the findings show stretching might have a hand up on a brisk walk when it comes to reducing blood pressure, there’s no reason to substitute one for the other.

“I don’t want people to come away from our research thinking they shouldn’t be doing some form of aerobic activity. Things like walking, biking, or cross-country skiing all have a positive effect on body fat, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar,” said Chilibeck.

While the study protocol had participants stretching for 30 minutes at a time, Chilibeck suspects the same benefits can be achieved by doing a shorter routine that emphasizes the larger muscle groups in the legs, particularly the quadriceps and hamstrings. Yoga produces similar reductions in blood pressure, he said.

Chilibeck said that those walking to reduce blood pressure should continue to do so, but should consider adding some stretching sessions to their routine.

Obviously it comes back to ROM – range of motion as defined by Hippensteel. Chilibeck & Hippensteel are both Kinesiologists.

Theres another study from 2015 on flexibility & arterial stiffness. “Four weeks of regular static stretching
reduces arterial stiffness in middle-aged men”

Only two research papers but the key to it is “Microcirculation”.