I am a professional athlete (not big time though lol). I believe I have the "bare bones" covered.

Sleep

I sleep well and have a good routine: 1 hour before sleeping red light bulbs go on, no LEDs or bright lights, cool environment, screens reduced etc.

Diet

I eat very clean with about 90% of my diet being non-processed whole foods. Ground beef, chicken thighs, white rice, spinach, potatoes, eggs are my staples. Protein shakes 1-2x a day to reach my protein goals. Example meals for a day would be: Breakfast-4 eggs, half a plate of potatoes, kimchi, half an avocado, protein shake w/ spinach, a2 whole milk (shoutout costco), frozen fruit and peanut butter sometimes. Lunch-Couple of chicken thighs, white rice, carrots. Dinner-Ground beef, white rice/potatoes, protein shake same as above. I put mixed greens/spinach into my shakes. I don't count calories or protein. I feel as though I have a natural/intuitive feel to what I need to maintain/gain whenever needed. I annihilate coconut water and LMNT packets as well. About once a week I'll make a big crock pot worth of beef or chicken thighs and veggies with bone broth for something hearty and rich in collagen.

Supplementation

5mg creatine, multi-vitamin, magnesium glycinate, bee-propolis probiotic, zinc(unsure if i need this one, blind supplementing tbh), 180mg of baby aspirin(usually will take a couple days off every couple weeks) for inflammation, pine pollen (supposed to increase test.. tbd), methylene blue (taken occasionally due to my concussion history). Tried black seed oil and didn't notice anything.

What I avoid

In no order.. seed oils (worst thing I'll have is chipotle... fight me I love that shit), plastic wherever I can: no plastic when cooking, metal water bottle, cotton bedding, transitioning to cotton clothing. Processed foods, tap water (have a basic water filter, would like a reverse osmosis one). Direct sunlight at peak UV, unless I have sunscreen on. Anything under 4 typically I try to be outside as much as possible.

What I'm currently dealing with:

L Knee

-Grade 2-3 chondromalacia

-3 knee surgeries

1. Lateral meniscus repair (2019) 2. Lateral meniscus cleanup (suture came loose, cleaned up some frayed pieces) (2021) 3. Hard to describe off the top of my head, but essentially a flap of cartilage in my chondrofemoral groove was created and became loose causing significant pain and immobility. The knee would be "catching" or "clicking" due to the cartilage defect, and it was a huge hinderance to my sport. Cartilage defect was cleaned up, slight superficial tear in lateral meniscus cleaned up. (This year, 2024)

-Overall, left knee isn't great. Still have some clicking and "grinding" when squatting or doing full ROM exercises about 80-90% of the time which is somewhat painful. Guess you could classify it as mildly arthritic, with some ROM issues. Overall now due to the latest surgery, I am able to do my sport with minor pain.

-Have had probably 14 PRPs (lol), 1 cortisone shot, a couple joint lube injections. Had placenta based stem cells and amniotic stem cells from a well known "holistic" health company after my surgery. Hard to know if it did much since it was two weeks or so post op. But knee since surgery has been a lot better. Was told I need joint lubricant once or twice a year to help with the joint & quality of movement. Was synvisc I believe.

What I do for it:

Red light therapy

-https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGC8HB5P?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details

That is the panel I am currently using. At my former sports performance facility I used JOOV panels that covered the entire body for 10 minutes. For my current panel, I target it at my knee daily for 10 minutes. Though I am doing other things, I do feel as though my inflammation and pain has gone down a noticeable difference. Plan on using this and bringing it with me wherever I go. I have been using this for about 3 weeks.

BPC-157 & TB-500

Started 1 week ago today and think this has to be the biggest difference maker so far. Bought from peptide sciences, doing 250mcg BPC-157 x2 daily, and 2.5mg TB-500 2x a week. Only able to do a 30 day cycle but even with the week of using it so far I notice a noticeable difference in recovery and inflammation (for the knee itself). I do intense workouts 5x a week, running 4x a week, lifting 5x. I don't feel much soreness or pain in the knee joint so far since starting. I did start a new workout program last week, and the introduction to new stimuli can be a little taxing. Keeping this in mind with my body adjusting and getting used to my new workout regiment. Hoping (and this is reach) I'll notice a difference with the cartilage in my knee, whether it is some sort of regeneration or I'm simply desensitized for whatever reason.

EDIT: This post has been in my drafts for about two weeks now. Knee was up and down these lasts two weeks, and had some good and bad days. But compared to where I have been it is in a better spot. About 3 weeks out from starting BPC-157/TB500. Noticeable difference, but nothing crazy. My knee does feel "better". Recovery from workouts feels the same. Inflammation and soreness in knee post workout is down it seems though.

Quad Stretching/Lower body "loosening"?

Pretty simple. I try to loosen my quad/lower half to take pressure off of my knee in some form daily. Couch stretch, cupping, foam rolling, scraping/gua sua tools.

Compression

I wear compression most of the time when I workout, typically full leg compression sleeves. I'll wear them to bed a couple times a week as well if I'm sore.

Peloton/exercise bike

I've heard from a couple professionals riding an exercise bike can "smooth the cartilage" out over time. I do this about 3x a week for 20 minutes. Haven't noticed a difference yet.

Gameready cold compression

It is essentially a cold compress machine. I do this whenever my knee is very achey at night.

Other things I do for general health and performance:

Sauna

Pretty straightforward. Benefits are endless. For myself personally, I use it for building my heat tolerance, workout recovery (HGH spike!), and for preventing brain/memory related disorders and diseases down the line.

Swimming

I like non-impact cardio.. I like another form of cardio that is non impact and it is total body. Kicks my ass

What I think I need to work on:

My mental state: Breathing exercises and general relaxation. Need to unwind better and be at peace with stillness and silence to calm myself down and be in a nice relaxed state.

Social: Easy enough... need to socialize more and get out of the house.

Blood work: Need to see what is under the hood!

Other than that I can't think of much else to add. Any suggestions or ways to optimize would be awesome. Happy to share anything as well :)