[Stephen Williams]

Your likely not going to like this but IME plant based eating is terrible for those that suffer with IBS and can actually be a main cause due to the amount of fibre it involves.

having specialised in digestion a long time doing work within the NHS and privately I have seen this alot.

Literally all the foods you eat are higher in fibre and alot of the time insoluble fibre. This means that for any one who has a slower/weaker digestive tract naturally they are going to have instant problems.

did you have any issues before going plant based?

How are your bowel movements day to day? How long between them ?
Do you wake up bloated?
do you have bad gas?
Is there specific times of the day you have

Husk can actually make it worse long term. You potentially need something that is mainly soluble fibre, I have had a decent amount of success doing this will some digestion focused clients. Also avoiding high fodmap foods may help but this tends to be hard when on a plant based diet as it limits options even more.

THIS.

A lot of plant based foods contain chemicals that can aggravate IBS.

[Stephen Williams]

Agree with all of the above.

Also, it is likely to be due to a limitation with clearing acidic metabolites/waste products. Sticking at it and seeing a performance period over time may be crucial for improving performance and muscular development.

[Stephen Williams]

Do you mean things like turkesterone etc ?

Thanks so much for getting back to me! The legend himself. I suppose anything that will help with test output/production since I’m now in my mid-30s[/quote]

It’s worth stressing that sleep, diet and lifestyle are the most important factors here.

[Stephen Williams]

Have you had any body parts amputated?

[Stephen Williams]

Congratulations on your win.

Do you include 1g vitamin c post workout year round? Or is it a recovery aid in the deeper stages of prep?

[Stephen Williams]

Keep the split the same and add an additional rest day or reduce session volume a tad.

[Stephen Williams]

Good luck tomorrow!

[Stephen Williams]

Which part of your knee is the pain in mate?

[Stephen Williams]

Pic for reference

Insane physique !

[Stephen Williams]

Hi mate,

What training are you doing currently?

[Stephen Williams]

In animal studies they have essentially “hormonally castrated” the animals leaving them with no testosterone, thyroid hormones etc and still demonstrated muscle growth!

They used pretty extreme “training conditions” to achieve this.

Obviously this is in animals but just shows that the stimulus from training is the most important factor. If you keep on top of your training and diet, you will keep as much muscle as possible.

[Stephen Williams]

I was not having as much caffeine as you, but I quit last year and went cold turkey. I booked some time off work and for 5 days I was useless. I slept for about 10 hours a night and would have two small naps in the day. If you have the luxury of taking time off work and responsibilities then maybe going cold turkey is worth it. Realistically though, just taper down on what you are consuming already. Drinking various (caffeinated) teas may really help with the tapering process.

[Stephen Williams]

Meditation is useful as it (can) helps you to become more present and aware in your daily activities. Personally, I find when my attention is scattered everyday that I feel more anxious. Quitting caffeine and social media made a huge difference for me.

Everyone is different though, so it’s important to explore where the root of your anxiety comes from.

[Stephen Williams]

Hey mate!

Now might be the perfect opportunity to pull back a touch and focus on the spiritual aspect of Ramadan. Keep training but pull volume back and don’t over stress your body.

Once you finish Ramadan then you may find your body feels fresh and responds nicely to a push!

[Stephen Williams]

Cyclists are at real risk of tendon issue because of repetitive strain, sprinters are too. When I was at Loughborough , I got on well with Harry Aikens Areteey ( Google him if you don’t know ) , he legit only ate choc and sweets . During jumping sessions would be eating starburst , then jump onto a box that was his head height , then sit back down and eat some more Starburst lol .

If you feel that eating the bag of sweets caused you some knee pain, avoid them. But do I think the sweets caused your knee pain, not a fucking chance

I 100% believe that some people can do it with zero issues. Especially when they are young.

Just to clarify again, I am not suggesting that a bag of skittles took a healthy knee and damaged it overnight haha! I had a chronic issue with it for years and managed to get by because of yours and Scott Stevenson’s Kwaan Loong recommendation!

Just out of interest, do you think eating a large amount of sugar could cause joint pain in somebody with arthritis or gout?