Real Work Matters! on Paleo Quick Tip of the Day podcast

I am a long time Paleo aficionado! I love hearing how sleep is ultra-important, how you should reduce stress and exercise daily, with stretching, meditation, and strength training specifically!

However, I do differ in some matters:  

SLEEP- no difference; just get a good 8 hours per night, in a blacked out room! OR MORE!!  I do best on 9 hours.  Your mileage may vary: just don’t fall into the trap where you think “If I only need 5 hours, I am better…”  

No, you’re not.  You are probably only delusional!

Reducing stress and meditation:  Well, this is a no-brainer- meditation is wondeful, and reducing stress can only help your life in a major way.  Just sit in a chair and meditate- don’t take drugs to achieve this otherwise laudable goal!

Exercise:  The older I get, the more I differ from standard, ancestral/Paleo doctrine here! 

Lift Heavy Things!  No.  Although this is standard dogma, it is just not so…

Do strength exercise YES- DAILY!!  Do Virtual Resistance Exercise, where you flex the muscles against themselves.  Do bodyweight exercises (pushups and pullups, especially on gymnastic rings to minimize joint damage).  Also, do isometrics against the resistance of a band or other immovable resistance- this beats heavy weights by a long way!  Situps and unweighted squats are wonderful, as is sprinting in brief ‘wind sprints’, particularly barefoot…

Heavy weights are completely unnecessary, and ultimately counterproductive.  Isometric pulls and pushes against resistance build real, functional strength- heavy weights are dangerous, leading to injury and joint damage ultimately- and are only superior in producing musle bulk.  

And this muscle ‘bulk’, while appealing as a skinny teen boy, for the remainder of your life is a detriment.  Later on, you want to live in the thinnest, yet strongest body you can!  Isometrics especially, but also virtual resistance, and bodyweight exercise can achieve this handsomely- and with a minimum investment of time.  

Weight training can bulk you up, but  should be abandoned within a year or two at most…

After that, it is a dead end- Bulk Bulk Bulk- there is no end!  And it does not strengthen the tendons and ligaments, as does bodyweight and isometrics exercise especially.  Those are the REAL DEAL.

You know what else is the real deal??

Nope, it’s definitely not aerobics/cardio/fake exercise.   STRETCHING is essential.  

Proper Paleo Diet is ESSENTIAL!     I’m not talking Keto, or Carnivore, or any other trendy diet:  Just Paleo- a smoothie heavy on veggies daily, and moderate protein also daily.   No grains!  Simple, and very, very effective for health.

And, there is one other thing that I recommend.   I know you won’t like it:

Hard Physical Work!!

It really does matter.  

I know a man who was a desk worker.  He was in his 30’s, and before he knew it his weight approached 300 pounds, although of average height.  

He started working in his families’s traditional business, which was masonry.  This involved crawling around the foundations of homes in the area, packing mortar within the stones that made up the foundations, and also lifting and fitting stones within the structure.  Isaac found that he thrived in this work, and that he really enjoyed it, hard as it was!

Within a year, his weight was 200 pounds, and this was without any change of diet at all!!

There is a strong lesson here.  Yes, diet is important.  Exercise is also very important!!  

BUT:  REAL, actual, PHYICAL WORK can transform you into what you would like to be.  

There really is no substitute for actual physical WORK, performed under duress- to get a job done!  It not only achieves the exercise stress needed for muscular and bodily improvement- it also builds the character and grit that transform you inside and out!!

Real work makes you a real MAN, or WOMAN!!  

There are no substitues.  

Just Do It!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #14 Play, but do REAL WORK FIRST!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #14- Play, but first DO REAL WORK!

One big thing brought up in the Paleo world lately is the importance of PLAY!

I would never argue with this: PLAY is what mammals, including human animals, DO.  It is part and parcel of our makeup; the interplay between members of a tribe of men, or a pack of dogs for that matter- this has huge importance to the development of interrelations of the various members of those groups, their mental and physical health, and also the layers of dominance.  All really, really important stuff indeed!

But, let’s put it into context:  Today you worked out, using virtual resistance, pushups, other body-weight moves like straight legged situps, hindu squats, gymnastic rings training (You own the eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise, of course!), so you know just what to do!

And then, you went to work- probably a desk job- and now you’re home!  You feel good, you feel energized; after all, you slept a good 8 and 1/2 hours last night, had a big glass of Paleo Green Smoothie along with your eggs this morning, a big salad for lunch topped with grass fed beef-

You feel pretty darn good!  

So, should you just go out and play frisbee with your friends and family??  Or golf?  Cards??? (Does anyone even play anymore?)  Board games?? VIDEO GAMES??

Well, you sure could!  You’ve earned the right... but, have you ever considered that you might be better served, as would the world at large...

IF YOU DID SOME REAL WORK FIRST??

Now don’t go crazy and get your back up!  I know you’ve already worked an 8 hour day or longer, plus worked out in the early AM...

But really, have you done any real work??

Real work is physical in the real sense of the word: Moving, carrying, lifting - hard, physical, manual labor.

It is really becoming a concern that many, many folks in this modern, digital age, have really...  never done any real, manual, hard, physical WORK- NEVER!!

Real, physical work, not just typing on a keyboard or talking on a telephone, is what we are really programmed to do!  It’s the Yang to the Ying of meditation and physical culture- we create a calm, centered, rational mind and healthy body to.... work!

I don’t mean an assembly line of fake work- I mean accomplishing real tasks, and feeling great about it!

Last Saturday evening, I had spent the whole evening cutting wood, and moving it.  Exhausting, tough labor- but very rewarding when accomplished!  The next day, I moved it all where it needed to go- pushed the brush piles off the beaten path for the deer to shelter in (the tractor did this for me, mostly!)  Luckily, I got it all done, but then had batter trouble with the tractor...

Just now,  on Tuesday evening during this incredibly cold Winter that absolutely PROVES that we should be much more worried about a NEW ICE AGE than we should about a politically motivated global warming scare, I got my old Ford F100 pickup started and had to rescue my John Deere with a dead battery...

And you know what?

I feel a heck of a lot more satisfied with doing all of that than if I had just skied, then paddle boarded, and then played ultimate frisbee followed up with tennis!

Not that there’s anything wrong with any of that fluffy stuff!  It’s fine, as long as we first ground and center ourselves around real work.

And, after you do real work, you know what you will really feel like doing?

MAYBE a little play, like toss your kids or grandkids around, or play a board game, or play some music on your guitar and sing, or play cards...

But I think ultimate frisbee, paddle boarding, snowboarding, and kayaking will not beckon to you at ALL-

You’ll just be to tired, and also, just too... content!

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay Podcast #48- Play is Great - Real Work is Even Better!

PaleoJay podcast #48- Play is Great - Real Work is Even Better!

Click here to listen NOW-
I have heard SO MUCH in the Paleo Land about the importance of play.

Otherwise, get it on iTunes, within 24 hours...

Duh, I know it’s important to play to be a totally rounded, healthy person- after all, All work and no Play makes Paleo Jay a dull boy, right?  I mean, I get it; in the modern Western (and increasingly entire world), people in general work... far, far too much!

But that’s not what I’m talking about, and you and I both instinctively know it.

Work is not REAL WORK ANYMORE!!!

REAL work is what our Great Grandparents did, every day, as did their grandparents and all our forebears and the endless generations of those who came before!  Actual, physical, arduous, demanding physical work-

Work that demanded you bend your knees, lift things, carry things, throw, cut, slash, and pound!

In modern, 1st world today, almost no one does these things any longer.

They go to the gym, do bench presses and squats, elliptical machines and cross fit work outs... They do kettle bell workouts, and Pilates and such, whatever video is the video-of -the-month on their DVD.

Then, reading the Paleo info about “the importance of Play”, the typical Paleo afficianado runs off to play “Ultimate Frisbee”, shirtless, in their capris, and thinks :

“I’ve done it, dude!  The total Paleo thing- I worked in my IT job, standing up of course-  with my suit, cool tie, and Vibram 5 Fingers all day, and then, I freaking played like a cave-dude with a plastic disc and then went home, put on my orange glasses to fight blue light, and went to bed at, like,  7:45 PM”.

Although this is all very laudable (although, hereabouts, in rural Wisconsin, virtually no one talks like this!), a real, important point has been sadly missed by this urban caveman viewpoint: i.e.-

You Played, but you NEVER DID ACTUALLY WORK!!


Real work is something that can only be done for brief stints of time.  It is accomplishing something, hopefully for yourself or a tribal member, i.e. family or friend that needs to do something physically on their land, or otherwise to help them survive and thrive!

The best form of real work is like what I did last week- after my Neolithic Work, meaning After Agriculture Work, which is what work became after the discovery of agriculture 10,000 years ago, which was “fake work”- work that pleased the ruling classes by bolstering their own positions of kingship, and the ability to accumulate wealth in the form of stored grains. But I digress...

Real, honest-to-God work is working really hard, for maybe an hour or two, for a real purpose, moving,  (logs, rocks, animal carcasses, warfare)-  whatever needs doing, and I mean REALLY needs doing- this is real work.

I had three dropped trees, this past week, next to my house.  My mission, should I choose to accept it, was to... move all the huge logs, branches, and brush somehow back away from the house.

And so, I did.  I didn’t hire it done. I didn’t just let it sit...

I did it!

I came home from my normal, Neolithic job, tired but- uh, not really.  Although I’d worked out ala Perfectly Paleo Exercise each morning, I knew that that was really play.  Now, I needed to get my good friend John Deere, along with his buddy the logging chain, and start into lifting and dragging...

And so I did, night after night!

I won’t say the process was fun, because it really wasn’t, not too much. (Although  I did have music playing as I worked, which was really nice!)

It was hard.  It was arduous.  It was painful, along with many scratches and scrapes, hard lifting (the trailer kept slipping off the trailer ball), and climbing back on the tractor and off...

But, you know what?

It was incredibly satisfying and rewarding!
Now, I am more than ready for some Play time- because I have earned it!

I’ll sing with the choir at church tomorrow- I’ve earned it!

I’ll work out in the basement later, and do some barefoot sprinting- I’ve earned it!

I’ll record this very podcast, and sing a little song at the start and finish because- I’ve earned it!

And then, I’ll watch a video that evening - “Young James Herriot” if you want to know, that I have wanted to see for quite some time, and finally got from inter-library loan in the Wisconsin Library System...

Life is good!

But it is good, and satisfying, because I first did- REAL WORK!


We are meant to perform real work.  If we don’t, we feel Worthless, (subconsciously), and rightfully so.

If you, yourself, are physically capable of doing something, do not hire it done, no matter how much money you have!

This is the road to decadence.  Do some real work- you’ll be glad, no; OVERJOYED that you did!

Time for bed, Paleo-ites!

J

I’m a Paleo Man!

I know you say it’s hard to go thru life eatin- just real foods

But I’m here to say that its just- not true

There’s food aplenty- that’s good to eat

Go for nutrition- not for a treat!

Oh yeah- cause I’m a Paleo man!

There is grass fed meat everywhere, or you can find it- on line

There’s sardines in a can, and they’ll fill you up- just fine

You don’t need fast food- that’s just a crutch

Real foods a-waitin- and that’s more than enough - 

Oh yeah- cause I’m a Paleo man!

Paleo Man!

Break

You say it’s hard- you need to eat bread

And you love pizza- that’s what you said -oh yeah

But I’m a Paleo man! A Paleo Man!

You can make a meatza- it’s not hard

The crust is meat, and you can cook it with lard - 

Just eat those real foods- it’s not that hard

And if you don’t you’ll be full of lard - oh yes you will

I’m a Paleo Man!!  Paleo  man- yeah

Break

Paleo man...

The ultimate natural workout!

OK, today I had a busy, busy day... OFF!

Your body is a TRACTOR- keep it running strong!

That's right, I had the whole day off, and I spent the morning running errands.  Actually, I find it quite enjoyable to spend time driving around while everyone else is working- nothing is crowded, I already got my Perfectly Paleo Exercise in during the early AM, along with my Paleo Coffee, which is just organic coffee, run through the Aerobie Press, and with a tablespoon or so of added coconut oil... and, ala Bulletproof coffee, you can add pastured Butter as well- but I prefer to add that to my smoothie... here is more about that-Splendor from the grass! My 100th blog post- wowzer!!

Anyway, my point is the REAL WORK, as in actual, physical, taxing WORK, is also the ultimate workOUT!  When you are performing real-world tasks, such as I was today here in rural Wisconsin, like freeing a frozen trailer wheel, and then taking your back blade (for snow) off of your 3 point hitch, and then using the aforementioned trailer to haul (literally) tons of firewood since the trailer is now available...

This is REAL WORK.  Something that is a rarity nowadays in modern America!!

Hard to believe, but very true.

Working out in a gym, or in your living room is also character building...

But NOTHING like REAL, ACTUAL, PHYSICAL WORK.

It is a necessary ingredient for self actualization.  In other words, to become the best YOU that you can be, you need to accomplish, on a regular basis, REAL, HONEST TO GOD PHYSICAL TASKS!  On your own, with no help, and really challenging on a physical basis.

So, I freed up that trailer wheel, and I was REALLY pleased with myself!  (It took grease, a hammer, a screwdriver, a lot of grease, and forcing the trailer in reverse afterwords, if you must know)- and then, I took off the snow blade, and thought "Hey- now I can use the trailer to haul firewood!"   And so I took off, driving up to wood pile after wood pile, and loading them up!  

Wow, do I know how to have a good time or what!!?"

And, do you know what?  I was having a good time!  But I was also working my core, my back, my entire BODY as it was meant to be used.  Even getting off and back on the tractor (just like mounting a HORSE!) was taxing- 

The point is that this is how we are MEANT to live!

God did not want us to be slumped over in some cubicle all day, and then drive home and sit in front of a TV- 

HE JUST DIDN'T-

AND THIS IS NOT LIFE!!

We are meant to move.  To lift, puzzle out crazy physical problems, tax our bodies, and then rest, recuperate, enjoy our tribe and family, sing and dance, and sleep...  

The dance of life, if you will!  

But what is lost in the modern world, most often, is the PHYSICAL component.

To stress yourself in the real world,

Solving real, physical problems

and taxing your own body to achieve that end...

Is NECESSARY to realize self actualization, or:

HAPPINESS!  

So, go on out and do what needs to be done!  Do your daily visualized workouts, and rejuvenate yourself daily!  Sleep for a MINIMUM of 8 hours per night!!  

But do NOT neglect to accomplish REAL WORLD TASKS!  

This is what really taxes, strains, and MAKES YOU WHAT YOU ARE!  

It's not easy, but is SURE beats living in a nursing home!

J