Why I don't "Lift Heavy Things" for exercise...

This is why I recommend my book, Perfectly Paleo Exercise!

Within its pages you will find bodyweight, self-resisted, and isometric types of exercise, along with sprinting and heavyhands and ski pole forest walking.  Plenty of stretching, too... the sort of exercise that suits you for a long, functional, and healthy life.  And gives you an aesthetic type of build, not the bulky, blocky form of a troglodyte.

Beware of heavy weight lifting- it does not build total health!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #66 Exercise Each Morning, Forever

pqtd 66  Exercise each morning, every morning

That sounds rather severe, but it really isn’t- think of it as a really slow, easy way to “clear the cobwebs” and slowly rev up the old bodily and mental machinery.  I don’t mean to say you should bounce up out of bed and charge away to sprint, do pull ups and pushups, and then jog for an hour, followed by stretching- not at all!

I want you to slowly awaken after a full 8 hours plus of restful sleep, in a totally blacked out room.  Take a series of deep, costal type breaths lying on your back in bed: inhale slowly, as deeply as you can, first expanding your diaphragm down by your belly, and then slowly filling up the upper portion of your lungs completely- then slowly exhale.  Do this 5-10 times, and you will be completely awake!  Go to the bathroom, and then you can go like me downstairs into the kitchen, where I start the water boiling for my coffee and tea, and do some quick warmup motions on each set of joints- elbow, neck, knees, back, shoulders- just easily rotating the joints to get the synovial fluid going, readying them for the day.  Just like a CAT.

Next, I take my first cup of coffee, laced with a teaspoon or so of coconut oil, and go to the gym... my living room!  Barefoot and with minimal clothing.  You can do similarly, but a room with a tv or computer is really nice- there you can do your morning workout with a Netflix show on!

Spread a yoga mat on the floor, and start your exercises- for my money, virtual resistance exercises are perfect to start- they completely revitalize the body as they refresh and strengthen it.  Go methodically throughout your entire musculature.  Then, go down to the mat and stretch! Finish with a back bridge if you can, and then go to your rebounder, and bounce on that for another 10 minutes.

The L-Sit

Only watch your Netflix favorite while you are exercising- this will make you eager for the next morning when you can pick up where you left off.  Trust me, once you’ve done this for awhile, you will find the perfect exercises for you, and you will relish this early morning routine.  As you progress, you can add in more exercises- for instance, twice per week I also do several hundred pushups in sets of 30-40 with different hand spacings, alternating with hindu pushups, hindu squats, and straight-legged situps.  But just twice per week maximum!

The daily routine, with the virtual resistance, self resisted exercise like curls with one limb resisting the other, the stretching and the rebounding can, and should, ideally be done daily- it is that gentle, and pleasant.  But don’t mistake- it is also very, very effective in strengthening every inch of your body, from your neck to your toes.

Done in this manner, daily exercise is restorative, nothing to dread but something to look forward to. And you will be setting yourself up from the start for what will inevitably be a happy and productive day!

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay Podcast #20- Exercise LESS and Eat MORE!

LISTEN to PaleoJay Podcast #20 here on iTunes- click and SUBSCRIBE FREE

PaleoJay podcast #20      

To Diet properly, eat a LOT of food!

To Exercise properly, do a LITTLE!

I know, it seems counter-intuitive to say the least- eat LOTS of food to lose weight, i.e. FAT- but it’s true!  The idea of counting calories and eating smaller portions and using lots of will power is...just.....WRONG!  

Just like the idea that eating fat makes you fat is...wrong!  Flat out, no question about it, completely WRONG!  In fact, FAT, as in real, honest-to-God natural FAT as in pastured butter, coconut oil, avocados, and fat from pastured animals is your SECRET WEAPON in staying on a healthy, FAT LOSS type of diet!  The reason is satiety- eat enough real, natural fat along with your other real foods and you will never, ever be hungry- honest!

So, why eat a lot of food to lose weight?  The key is to eat the right foods- natural, God made foods- these foods, that we are designed to consume, will never make us fat.  They are real food, food that will sustain us, and give us all of the nutrients that we need to be happy, healthy human animals.  Grass fed meats, wild caught seafood, organic vegetables without loads of pesticides, grown on healthy soil, quality teas and organic coffee, dark chocolate with minimum sweeteners, pastured pork and poultry, fruits - keeping them within their natural season is best!  

It all makes perfect common sense when you think about it, doesn’t it?  Man made food-like substances, loaded with chemicals, highly processed and loaded with artificial trans-fats and even artificial sugars- how could ANY of that be healthy for us?  No wonder Jabba the Hut is the representative man of the future in Star Wars!  

And, for a great movie predicting the future, check out WALL-E.  It’s been out a few years, since 2008,but is very readily available as it is a WD and Pixar movie.  The premise is about how all of humanity now lives in little carts they drive around in, and they are obese and unable to walk and eat and drink artificial drinks in big cups on their carts all day long... you get the idea.  We are perilously close to getting to this state as a culture!  Don’t you go along with this horrible trend- eat REAL food!

And don’t forget the Spirulina in your Paleo Smoothie!

Exercise just a LITTLE- 

Less is definitely more with exercise.  The key is intensity- long, slow, mindless jogging or other aerobic activities does more to tear you down than to build you up, and if done daily over a long period, it can destroy your joints, make your muscles WEAKER, and actually put such stress on your system (particularly by loading your body with cortisol, the stress hormone), that you become more, not less prone to major diseases like cancer and heart disease.  The ideal is restorative exercise!

I just got back from a couple of long days of moving an elderly relative into assisted living.  I pretty much loaded up all of his worldly goods into a trailer and other vehicles, with help I might add, but still, it was quite a workout... but it was a workout like a chronic cardio or weight lifting session- long, endless from early morning to late night, with hardly time to eat at all, and quite a bit of stress from being away from home in a hotel, not enough sleep, and what meals we could get were like store eggs (not pastured), cooked in vegetable oil I’m sure, and lousy bacon from a micro-wave.

As an aside, I will mention here the irony of this situation: we were moving this person from a town in the heart of America’s farm belt- the entire area is perhaps the richest farmland in the world- and the only food available for the locals was the worst, most depleted and most fake foods you could think of, in both restaurant and store.  And what is this incredibly rich farmland being used to produce?

Crap!  Acre after acre of GMO corn and soybeans- virtually NOTHING ELSE.  What a waste...

But, that being said- I was really wiped out last night after this ordeal.  So, this morning I devoted a good 45 enjoyable, totally restorative exercise to make up for the depleting, draining exercise I had done in the move-

The most Restorative Exercise you can do is Virtual Exercise- just Flexing the muscles throughout their range of motion for 5-10 repetitions, and then holding them in an isometric flex for a few seconds at the end! 

I go into this in great detail in my eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise, but there is also lots of information you can find at paleojay.com.  Also, John Peterson and transformetrics.com has a great tutorial on this subject- he calls the exercises Tiger Stretch exercises.  Whatever you call it, it is truly Restorative Exercise!  

This is the one form of exercise everyone should do, every single day!

It rejuvenates you, builds the muscles and restores the functioning of the joints, and will NOT injure you as it builds you.  And for pure aesthetics, meaning for a physique, man or woman, that will be the best LOOKING one possible for your own body type- there is no exercise that can compete!  

You can do it in front of the television, easily, and combine productive exercise with pleasure and instruction.  There really is nothing else like it in the field of physical culture!

J        

The Perfect Paleo Exercise!

You've heard of weight lifting/ strength training/bodybuilding










You've heard of power lifting.

You've heard of Olympic lifting!

You've even heard of Movnat!

Movnat is a great step in the right direction...

But, what you have NOT heard of is...

Visualized Resistance!   (Here are all the exercises you need, in a form you can easily duplicate.  Thank John Peterson and Wendy Pett for the demonstrations, but then, just do them, daily).

This is the stuff that Charles Atlas made his reputation from-  self resistance generated within the muscles!  It is also known as DYNAMIC TENSION!  (Remember from the comic books??)
The Comic Books withstanding...  it WORKS!!

You just- self resist throughout the range of motion.  So simple it seems almost... fake!

But it is not at all!  I honestly believe that, for MOST people, Visualized resistance is ALL that they really need to be totally fit!!  


That, and a completely PALEO DIET, eschewing grains and sugars, primarily!

I really think that, from a "Moving Naturally" and a "Paleo" perspective; i.e. getting back to what is natural for humans, nothing is more natural than this self resisted, cat-like means of natural exercise!

And NOW, my new eBook is out on Amazon- Perfectly Paleo Exercise
Soon to also be available on all other vendors, including the iBookstore...

Bottom line?

Fix your diet!  Eliminate grains and sugars.  NOW!!  
That is at least 80% of the battle!!

For the rest of the battle?  Well, I would say:

Incorporate a paleo smoothie that immediately fixes the deficiencies in your diet that you've had for decades:   


All of the micro-nutrients, proteins, intestinal-repair and rejuvenating agents, vitamins, minerals, and just plain nutrient dense foods that you've been lacking for... decades, at least!


That is MOST of the battle!  REALLY!


But, after you've incorporated all of the dietary changes that will revolutionize how you look, feel, and perform...


Well, you need to perform!  


These exercises will help you to do just that:

Safely- Easily (No equipment needed!!)- and VERY effectively!!


I know, I am a lone voice in the wilderness on this; but trust me:

Weight lifting is a dead end.  Body weight resistance is not only adequate...

It is really all you need!!  


AND SELF RESISTANCE (VISUALIZED ESPECIALLY) IS THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN NATURAL HEALTH!


Just try it, please!   Coupled with a paleo diet there is nothing better for you.

I think it doesn't catch on, primarily, because, just like the Paleo Diet-

THERE IS NOTHING TO SELL!!


J

Aerobic Isometrics- Goes GREAT with Paleo Diet!

But, no one knows it!  (Except YOU!) and me, of course...

All right: the above is me in my farmhouse basement, doing an "aerobic isometric" dip exercise.  I made the dipping bars about 30 years ago, from pipe I bought from Menard's.  The cost was very minimal...

Anyway, that's not the point, really!  Dip stations are readily available- the problem is doing the dips!
Most people just can't do them!  They are demanding, just like chin-ups, and dips are especially demanding (and even somewhat dangerous for the untrained!) in the extreme low position.

The "aerobic isometric" version of the dip solves all of this!

By helping the "dip" just enough with the legs, the dip becomes:

1. As easy as you want, or need it to be
2. As safe as can be!
3. MORE productive than a standard dip, even for a trained athlete who has done them for years!


How can this be?  Easy:  the exercise is being done in a manner that invites and encourages loading of the musculature and joints through a full range of motion, slowly, without "momentum, i.e. heaving of the weight".  It also includes complete loading of the targeted muscles throughout- 
all done with complete safety, and, given the duration of the set- maximum inroad to the musculature involved!

What this means, in a nutshell, is that aerobic/isometric exercises exhaust, and initiate strength gains in your muscles in a completely safe manner, in one of the most productive formats possible!

It's like "Paleo Exercise"!  Aerobic Isometrics are one of the easiest, safest, most productive exercises on the planet!

Here are a couple more "aerobic isometric" exercises for you to explore:

There are more, but they will be the subject of further posts...  For now, just experiment with:
Aerobic Isometrics!  Odd to the uninitiated, but very effective!


I even have more in the category of aerobic isometrics- I mean, you can do these with other exercises-

But they are made to order with the chin and dip exercises!!  
J