Mike Kesthely (2026)

30/04/2023

Is Sugar Inherently Bad?

Short answer, no.

Longer answer: Still no.

I’m often asked “how much sugar should I consume?” Or “should I reduce my sugar?”

Mass media and mainstream medicine have done a fantastic job of causing confusion around what amounts to a relatively simple topic. “Carbs” and “Sugar” having seeming taken on two completely different and polar opposite meanings. While experts and gurus have lamented on this topic ad nauseam, I’ll keep it somewhat simple:

Sugar is a carb. The body converts carbs to sugar. Sugar is either used as energy or stored as energy.
That. Is. It.
It is a total calorie intake/expenditure issue.

Yes, micronutrient density (or lack thereof) and fiber (once again, or lack thereof) plays a massive role in overall health.

If your total calorie intake is controlled via set macronutrients, your diet is predominately whole food, micronutrient dense, and you are expending calories (aka exercising) on a daily basis—explain to me how sugar, the simplest form of energy our body can use, is harmful?
It’s not.

Instead of worrying about sugar, learn to track your macros. Preferentially choose nutrient dense, whole unprocessed food choices. After that, if processed sugar fits into your macros (my personal favs include Fruit Loops, wine gums, and fuzzy peaches 😏), go right ahead with no fear. And, actually ALLOWING yourself a small amount of daily processed sugar can REDUCE cravings associated with total abstinence, and eliminate binge eating.

Agree? Disagree? What’s your go-to for sugar?

29/03/2023

It’s cliché to say “It’s the journey that matters” - but it’s the truth.

Yes, we need goals for a point of reference, direction, and focus.

But along the way, it’s all the s**t you do - and don’t do - that molds who you will be once that goal is achieved. Or not achieved.

The partnership that prioritizes communication over one’s own wants; over the years, how does that enhance the relationship?

The fighter that trains impeccably for 6 months for a tough fight…but loses. Is he not a better, more skilled, more experienced fighter, regardless of the outcome?

The daily sacrifice of adhering to training, sleep, nutrition - does the end goal even matter? No.

The results are the sum of all the efforts.

01/03/2023

Longevity. It’s fascinated humans since the dawn of time. We don’t like things to end, especially life.
But is the eternal quest for the fountain of youth a fountain of consumerism, or is the answer just continually eluding us?
And also - are we seeking LONG life, or OPTIMAL life? I, for one, have zero interest in living a very long life, unless optimal health & high function are present.

IMO, there’s a lot of money to be (wasted) spent, the answer in a single pill, powder or needle isn’t there (yet), and what we already know serves us well. As per usual, everyone wants it to be conveniently packaged for easy consumption.

* 𝑵𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 - Simply, eat unprocessed colourful stuff and lots of animals. The data from a plethora of meta analysis shows these foods have the highest nutrient density: the amount and variety of micronutrients inversely proportional to the caloric density.
* 𝑬𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆 - Pick heavy s**t up frequently, move around a lot, and sprint a bit. Decipher that to your own liking and be consistent daily.
* 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕/𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 - Get lots of both. Try not to f**k around with your circadian rhythm, shiftwork kills and ages one quickly. This one is my nemesis.
* 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 - Come to terms that you will ALWAYS have stress. Trying to avoid it is an effort in futility. Change how you perceive it. We are our own worst enemies, and how we THINK a situation affects us is often worse than how it actually does. High stress can equate to extreme physiological & hormonal changes.
* 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑶𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 - I stand by my mantra of “better living through science”. It’s not the panacea of longevity, but it’s a piece of the puzzle.
* 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒍𝒆 - WHO you surround yourself with can either put you in your grave or energize you beyond belief. Pick your social circle carefully and discard those that drain and do not add to your life.
* 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒅 - Social media, news, books, info. This has a massive effect on stress and stress perception. Check ‘yo feed.
Notice I didn’t touch on supplementation? Society is hyper focused on this, and NOT focused on the big pieces.

17/02/2023

Perseverance.

It’s lacking in today’s society. I think it’s one, of a vast multitude, of reasons things are the way they are.

If it’s uncomfortable, stop.
If you don’t like it, stop.
If it doesn’t fully serve your needs, stop.
If it’s unfair, stop.

While you can call it a viewpoint bias, tell me I’m wrong? Tell me this isn’t the message that’s being sent out, the message that today’s youth is growing up with? In the time of massive, acute dopamine rushes and instant gratification, society is preaching and teaching that if you don’t get what you want in 2.5 seconds, swipe to the next sparkly rock.

Yesterday, I rolled with an another white belt that’s smaller, weaker, and not as skilled. But that MF’er keeps coming back every week. Even called me out for not being there last week. Every week he’s there. He’s getting faster. Smoother. I imagine he goes home and feels like a squashed bug. But he comes back. With a smile.
Every.
Damn.
Week.
That s**t is impressive. Because you don’t see it often.

The path to your goal, whatever it may be, won’t be comfortable. It won’t be easy, you probably won’t like it at times, and fully expect it not to be fair and linear.
The s**t that’s worth it won’t have a short cut or cheat code or bio hack. It’ll just require perseverance.

“𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒔” - 𝑩𝒚 𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑾𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓

“𝑰𝒇 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.” - 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝑨𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒖𝒔

04/01/2023

Posted • New year / same savages.
Loyalty is royalty - brothers I’d go to war for.

18/11/2022

I have a problem. A serious one. It involves addiction, injury, under-recovery, and total distraction from anything else.

It’s called Brazilian Juijitsu.

Since transitioning away from CrossFit years ago, the acquisition of Nova 3 Labs to , and moving away from nutrition consulting, I’ve felt like there has been something missing. I enjoy lifting weight and the process/health benefits /science of bodybuilding, but that’s where it ends. I’m not overly concerned with changing my physique, nor am I interested in competing. I’m happy where I’m at. The thought of trying to add 10-20lbs lean mass is nauseatingly boring to be honest.

Enter Brazilian juijitsu (BJJ). While I’ve been involved in traditional martial arts since I was a teen, I have never encountered something so physically demanding, mentally taxing, and humbling. So, so humbling.

Much like CrossFit, there is camaraderie in the suffering. And no egos, no vanity, no narcissism. Those that are better, teach, show, and support. Just the nature of the sport and human body leads to an infinite complexity of movement patterns, escapes, positioning, submissions. I have just explored the tip of the iceberg and it is very overwhelming.

And as far as caloric expenditure? Let’s just say I’m eating everything/anything in sight and dropping weight like crazy. More to come on that in future posts as I try to figure this essential recovery piece. I’m down about 10ish lbs in 30 days, and need to make that back up to stay at 200lbs.
ponce
📸:

Lucky enough to have some amazing schools in Lethbridge as well:
lethbridge

07/11/2022

Green Tea Extract For Performance

Green tea, and it’s well known catechin EGCG, is one of the most studied and efficacious naturally occurring compounds in nutrition. Scholars and nutritional gurus have been spouting its benefits for ages regarding cancer prevention, heart health, and fat loss.

But what about athletic performance?

Over the years there has been some very good studies on GTE and increased aerobic & anaerobic capacity; while the exact mechanism remains unclear, most of the data points to increased fat oxidation, causing a delay to ventilatory threshold (thereby increasing aerobic capacity).

Other possible mechanisms include increased antioxidant intake causing a decrease in blood lactate levels.

Concerns regarding supplication of antioxidants on training induced adaptations and performance decreases (as with vitamin C and E) have largely gone unfounded with GTE; in fact, increased recovery and reduced markers of muscle damage were noted with acute and chronic intake, with no effect on performance.

With a plethora of studies done on positive effects on body comp, cardiovascular health, cognition, cancer prevention, and performance, it makes sense that this should be a staple in daily diet.

Links to studies will be in the comments.

I currently use supplemental GTE (50% EGCG, 500mg capsules), 2 caps AM, 2 caps preWO

01/11/2022

30 years versus 49 years

Does Age Matter?

It absolutely matters. But not in the way you would think. I’m fortunate and blessed I have almost 50 years worth of personal experience to look back on. There’s a lot of mistakes, and a lot of trial and error that have happened over the years. At 30, I didn’t have a f-ing clue, or much life experience to draw on.

Half the battle in fitness and nutrition is figuring out what works for YOU. In a world of sketchy supplements, fad diets, and a million opinions on training regimes…
…it can be hard to figure out what works. And I have tried them ALL. I have jumped from diet to diet, I have (embarrassingly) done dumb ass s**t on BOSU balls.

So what works?

1. High protein, animal based protein.
2. Caloric deficits to lean out AT THE RIGHT TIME
3. Lifting heavy s**t consistently. For aesthetics? Rep range 8-15
4. Do your damn cardio. For your heart, your brain, and to make point 3 work better.
5. Nutrient density. Real food. I consider OTC supplements as apart of nutrient density.
6. Optimize your hormones. None of the above will work if you are a hormonal mess.
7. If this seems overwhelming get a GOOD coach.
8. Rinse and repeat the above for YEARS on YEARS.

Notice how simple that is. The secret is not in the program, or type of diet, or supplement. It’s the consistency piece - doing the RIGHT thing consistently.

25/10/2022

20kg/44lbs of whey isolate.
I’m very much an advocate of supporting local, but when consumption is high one needs to maximize how far their dollar will go.

Protein is a high priority in the Elevated household. 😏

21/10/2022

3:53am, Station 2

My favorite time of the day is early morning. 4am. Why?
Very few people are awake. There’s little traffic. The city is quiet. There’s a peace and tranquility that’s not seen or heard at any other time of day. These days, I often wake at 4am, even 3am. I no longer stress or fight this, it’s a part of who I am.

𝑨𝒎𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒊, “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆”. Stoicism calls this the “art of acquiescence”— to accept rather than fight every little thing.

As a young paramedic I used to pace the halls waiting for the tones to go off. These days, I’m grateful for the down time. I know the calls will come, they always do. So went they don’t, I enjoy the moments, as few and far between as they are.

𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒊, ““𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒆.” There’s a much deeper meaning in Stoicism than focusing on death - it’s about living, and appreciating the present moment.

10/10/2022

So this is 49.

Patience is thin, but infinite for the right things.

Friends are few, but unconditional for those that are.

Drama is shunned, and kindness is cultivated more.

Aches and pains are daily, but this body has been resilient for half a century.

The past matters less, the future matters little, the present means the most.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. That’s for sheep wanting to join the herd. Call me selfish, but I count my own years, on my own journey.
This year for me:

- Less gym and more BJJ
- 200cal in 10min Assault Bike
- Face to face vs screen
- Outside vs inside
- Less social media and more learning

I’ll continue to be a student of life and learning how I can be the best father, partner, and leader I can be.

24/08/2022

Weighted step ups to failure in a veritable sauna of a garage.

….yup, there’s my common sense. On the ground.

Mike Kesthely

30/04/2023

29/03/2023

01/03/2023

17/02/2023

04/01/2023

18/11/2022

07/11/2022

01/11/2022

25/10/2022

21/10/2022

10/10/2022

24/08/2022

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