Engineering Blog

Introduction

I spoke about a topic called “Developer Health” a while ago. This post is an update. I will detail my exercise routine and the supplements I take. Making consistent healthy choices is enough to make you stand out among your colleagues. It also makes for a more enjoyable life.

In the long run

I had a little fun with the subtitle. Long-distance running is my favorite sports activity. 5k, 10k and the occasional half-marathon is what I enjoy doing. I have yet to run a full marathon. This is mostly about logistics. And that is what I like about running long-distance. You have to plan – equipment, nutrition, weather, location, rest, recovery. All of these things need to be considered for you to successfully complete your goal run.

There is a lot of research on why aerobic activities are good for you. Pain tolerance, good mood, appetite control are just some of the things that come to my mind. It’s also an outdoor activity which means you get exposure to natural sunlight. You can also look up the concept of autophagy although any type of regular exercise should promote this process.

The downside is that long runs can be draining if you also have a life and a family. I try to reconcile these two spheres of my life with supplements and by managing my energy throughout the day. The supplements I take include vitamins, whey, casein and collagen proteins and additional amino acids. I also use some ingredients which would fall in the category of “nootropics“.

Some numbers to clear things up

When I say I like to run, here is what I mean in terms of numbers. I ran 750 km in the last year. For the last two months I have run about a 100 km each month. My best year in the last three years was around 1200 km. The decrease is due to a couple of factors. I became a father. I also decided to focus more on building strength and physical therapy to avoid injuries. My business started to get more work.

In order to keep up this tempo I use a lot of vitamins and supplements. In terms of budget this comes out at around 250 euros per month for everything included. Below is a list of all the things I use.

• Vitamin A – Retinyl Palmitate / Retinol Acetate
• Vitamin B – the whole complex
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D3 – spray form and with collagen
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Iron Chelate

• Magneisum – Bysglcinate. Citrate, Malate
• Potassium Citrate
• Sodium Chloride – table salt and Sodium Bicarbonate
• Copper Bysglicinate
• Chrome Picolinate
• Boron
• Zinc Picolinate

Proteins and amino acids

• Whey Isolate
• Micellar Casein
• Collagen
• Taurine
• Glycine
• L-glutamine
• Glutamine Peptides
• Beta-alanin
• Creatine Monohydrate
• BCAA
• L-tryptophan
• L-carnosine
• L-serine
• D-asparagine acid

Super Foods

• Wheat Grass
• Barley
• Spirulina
• Chlorella
• Maca
• Rhodiola Rosea

Nootropics and other

• L-theanine
• Acetyl L-Carnitine
• Ashwaganda
• Caffeine
• Coffee
• Coco Powder
• Choline Bitartrate
• DMAE
• Phosphatidylcholine
• Glucuronolactone
• Melatonine – when working late