I am an avid OCR athlete that does tons of Spartan Races, Savage Races, etc (obviously not now in the COVID world). I'm very into them, have qualified for several world championships and have goals to win. I have recently come into conflict with Peat's views on exercise being an overall net negative for thyroid health. To be honest with you I don't really agree with all of it, I think that humans were made to engage their bodies and improve strength/endurance. Ancient Greeks were significantly healthier and happier than us, and were a very fitness-heavy warrior culture. I think that a lot of the negatives he cites could be attributed more to overtraining/undereating, only doing endurance training with no weights, and also many of these effects could come from people pushing themselves too hard while still eating a lot of the garbage food that plagues America. Many people likely have accumulated epigenetic damage from their own diets as well as their parents/grandparents.
All this to say, I have started to dial it back and go for more quality than quantity in workouts. I typically work out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, taking the other days off and doing a little yoga/foam rolling on Sunday. Have also significantly upped my caloric intake and cut out things like PUFA. My question is, do you think that it's possible to continue to improve and possibly become one of the best OCR athletes without over stressing your body with too much training? I've heard about some of the top athletes that say they don't even train THAT much so I'm starting to think maybe a "less is more" approach can get me closer to my competitive goals of being the Tom Brady of OCR while also improving my health and hormone balance.
All this to say, I have started to dial it back and go for more quality than quantity in workouts. I typically work out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, taking the other days off and doing a little yoga/foam rolling on Sunday. Have also significantly upped my caloric intake and cut out things like PUFA. My question is, do you think that it's possible to continue to improve and possibly become one of the best OCR athletes without over stressing your body with too much training? I've heard about some of the top athletes that say they don't even train THAT much so I'm starting to think maybe a "less is more" approach can get me closer to my competitive goals of being the Tom Brady of OCR while also improving my health and hormone balance.
