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!

Go Paleo This New Year!

Start your caveman journey this year with a smile on your face, incrementally moving towards your goal bit by bit...

Say you are starting out as a budding cavewoman:



Some of us read about the Paleo diet, immediately grasp the principles behind it, agree with the theory, and grabbing the bull by the horns, immediately adopt the diet by:

Cutting sugar consumption dramatically (this includes orange juice and pop)
Eliminating grains and  industrial seed oils (Crisco, margarine, vegetable oils)
Adding LOTS of vegetables to the diet,(ideally in the form of salads and especially Paleo Smoothie blended drinks as outlined in Paleo Quick Start)
Getting rid of legumes, like beans and peanuts (Peanut butter is especially bad!)
INCREASING the consumption of good fats, (like free range chicken eggs, pastured butter, coconut oil and milk, avocados and fatty fish)
Eliminating pasteurized dairy (raw dairy is best; grass fed and fermented, such as in the form of kefir or Greek yogurt is better)
Eating significant amounts of grass fed beef and wild-caught seafood
Stopping of eating artificial sweeteners completely, such as in soda pop (raw honey is the best acceptable sweetener, followed by the herb stevia)
Limiting of fruit consumption to once or twice per day
Using good herbs and spices (such as a good sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and others such as cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, kelp and cayenne liberally)

Like I say, some of us can do all of the above, right away!

But, experience has shown me that, for most of us, such  an extreme change is unlikely, and leads to giving up on such a huge change all at once.

I'm here to suggest that you approach your Paleo journey "Back to the Future" by doing it incrementally...

What I did personally, was to first replace my morning daily breakfast with a good, green Paleo Smoothie!   This really got me going to a good place fast.  But, if you'd like, you can just replace your usual cereal and skim milk with eggs and bacon.  Do that for a week, and notice how much better you are feeling, how you don't "crash" early in the day...

Then, when you are ready, replace your afternoon sandwich and chips with a big salad topped with plenty of meat or seafood and plenty of olive oil and vinegar dressing, perhaps a hard boiled egg or two...

What about afternoon snacks?  Cookies, pie, chips, ding dong doritos, absolute crap like that?
Try taking a mix of almonds and dark chocolate chips along.  Hard boiled eggs.  Beef jerky.  All are great choices!

Supper?  Grilled or roasted meat, chicken or seafood.  Crockpots are GREAT!  Just limit the potatoes, or replace with sweet potatoes, and don't touch the bread!  I guarantee there is no need to EVER  get hungry eating this way!

Work on breakfast first... after awhile lunch, and then tackle dinner... It's incremental, and you will feel incrementally better each step of the way!

Add in some Perfectly Paleo Exercise along the way, and your Paleolithic Journey may have you arriving at your desired destination sooner than you think-

Just keep on with your destination in mind, and it will happen!

PJ

Paleo Spirituality

Today, while in church, I was struck with the idea of "Paleo spirituality"!  From these early paintings, from tens of thousands of years ago, we are struck with the strong need for humans of all early, and naturally later cultures such as our own, to fulfill their spiritual needs.


I think the idea of spirituality, of being in touch with something larger than ourselves, larger than our "tribe", and even larger than this world are universal.  In fact, I know that such is the case: however far back, and however wide you travel, spiritual things, universal truths, things we can never understand but that are crucial to us are understood to be of very great importance.

Even tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors, who were genetically identical to ourselves, spent vast amounts of time and interest in exploring the spiritual.

Lascaux Cave Paintings: the prehistoric Sistine Chapel

Known as "the prehistoric Sistine Chapel," the Lascaux Caves, a cave complex in southwestern France, contain some of the most remarkable paleolithic cave paintings in the world, from at least 15,000 years ago.

Altamira Cave Paintings: as Picasso famously exclaimed, "after Altamira, all is decadence"

Interestingly, these ancient peoples only showed the human form obscurely; there appears to be a religious taboo against that...  only spiritual reasons could make them obey such an edict, or to compel them to go deep underground into dark caves to draw these animals.

At any rate, my point is that spirituality is obviously very, very important to all of us humans!  

Just as in our diet, which we have messed with in our arrogance, putting mass-produced, genetically modified grains and beans in the forefront of our diet, and vilifying the animal products to which we owe our very existence and supremacy in the animal world, we are also ignoring the spiritual side of our human nature!  

Only in very recent, modern times; probably since Marx and his ilk, have we denied God. 

I think the resulting degradation of our diet is a small, but devastating result of this wrong-ness.

Our hubris in thinking that we are the "be-all-and-end-all" will destroy us totally, if we go down this path to hell...

We are part of Nature!  We are part of God's world!!  

We are meant to eat His food, do His work, and enjoy the life He has designed.

If not?

We will continue on the disastrous path we are on:

1. Eating industrial manufactured foods
2. Working as if we are in Mordor, endlessly and joyously for the "good of the state" and our personal doom
3. Devoid of anything of the spirit, or of community, or of play!

I think the Paleo Diet is the "canary in the coal mine" about all of this:

"Our diet is really important!

Look at all that is wrong!!"

That's a very important warning, paleo/canary!

J

The Importance of Planning Your Health Goals with Dr. Josh Axe

Vision Board!

Click the above link to view Dr. Josh Axe!

I hope you enjoyed that video with Dr. Axe as much as I did!  He really hits the nail on the head: we all too often plan our vacations, spend hours watching mindless TV shows, etc. but fail to make plans for our most important goals in life:  

Our plans for health and wellness, professional, financial, and personal fulfillment, spiritual goals, and relationship goals for those important to us in our lives!

It really is somewhat strange that, although we all have aspirations, most of us never make the first, most important, simple and easy step- 

Make our plan to achieve our goal, and then write it down!

This vision board is a great, simple idea to accomplish this, and to then continuously remind ourselves of what we are all about, just by looking at it.  I especially like his green drink daily breakfast idea!

Check out this link to get started:

Paleo Quick Start Smoothie #1 aka "SUPER Green Drink!"

That can be your first, primary (or PRIMAL) health goal!  

Next, you could put up some photos of bags of sugar, or processed foods, or "food porn" like bakery products, chips, or bread... with big red "X's" drawn over them.  (Just some ideas here...)

I think most adults already have professional types of goals; but very few, especially as they get older and it becomes ever more important! have any health plans or goals whatsoever!  We work so hard at our adult roles and goals of finance, child raising, helping out with family and friends, etc. that we feel we just don't have time or energy to work on our all-important health!

Ironically, it is a truism to say, but if we lose our health we lose everything else!  

Money, retirement, the ability to enjoy ourselves, to help our children, family and friends- everything!!

So go make yourself (and your family) a vision board!  Put your priorities back into place!

Then, your whole life will have purpose, make sense, and most importantly-

Take you exactly where you want to go!

J

Here is my "health goal photo" :)

Plantar Fasciitis!

All human beings should be able to perform
basic maintenance on themselves

Above: Kelly Starrett, of mobilitywod.com


I have had plantar fasciitis.  Most people who walk and/or run a LOT eventually develop this problem!   And it is a real problem- quite debilitating, really.  Each and every step is... a pain. Not a good way to go through life!

What to do?

The first thing to understand is that the pain is caused by inflammation; this is the same inflammation causing most of the other ills in our bodies- all of the "itis" diseases-  all are inflammation of our tissues to some extent or other.

The main cause of inflammation, of course, is our diet, which is off the charts high in grains, sugars, and industrial seed oils. 


So, the first order of business is to get these out of our diets!


The next step is to add omega 3 oils INTO our diets.  Wild caught Salmon, sardines, and a good quality cod liver oil, such as Carlson's, should become staples of your diet!

I know, I KNOW-  you're in pain, and we all want immediate fixes in the modern day world.
After all, that's what drugs have always promised us!


Let's get past the "quick fix" mentality- it's too good to be true, and it's not true.  We want to correct the cause, not the symptom.


The primary cause of foot (and knee, and hip, and BACK pain is):

SHOES!

Really!  We think:

 "Oh, my foot hurts, I must need more padding/arch support/insoles/cushions etc. in shoes and around my feet!"

The thing is, our feet are meant to function barefoot; balancing our weight throughout the complex foot structure, making minute adjustments to our gait as we amble along- shifting from big toe to little, and all in between... like a cat.  Encasing our feet in shoes, while necessary in our modern world, is still like putting them in casts.  

What happens to your arm in a cast?  And Quickly, too??

Your arm withers, loses strength, and gets... really small!  

Now think of your poor feet.  They have been encased in little "casts" for most of your life!  They are almost as weak as the feet of the Chinese brides whose feet were "bound" so they could be artificially made tiny!  

Just by wearing shoes most of the time, your feet are weak, and frail, and ready to fail!  (Hey- note to self: great song lyric!)

So, that's how it happens- your weak, pampered little feet, encased in the little casts you constantly wear on your feet, finally get so weak and inflamed that they start to really hurt!!

WHAT TO DO?

Firstly, go barefoot as much as possible!  (Stockinged feet counts as barefoot!)

Start to walk around your yard barefoot!  Just like Tom Sawyer!!  Really- it's how our feet were meant to function!!  Eventually, graduate to barefoot sprinting, detailed elsewhere in this blog, (and elsewhere on other sources).

In shoes, less is more.  Less cushioning/padding is really more natural, and better for your feet than more padding is!  Go Natural!!  God made us a certain way for good reason!!
And Forget the High Heels!!  Geez...

Now, I know you wonder:

"But PaleoJay- WHAT DO I DO IN THE HERE AND NOW??"

Check out this video, pilgrim: plantar fasciitis exercise video

Some very effective, no-nonsense fixes here!  This guy really knows what he's talking about- not a fancy video (to say the least!), but if you really want to address your problem, not just be coddled (like those silly little immobilizing "boots" that physicians and others try to sell), Kelly Starrett here tells you how to really fix the underlying problem!

And all you need is a La Crosse ball or two...

OK- follow the above, and not only will you solve your plantar fasciitis foot pain:

But, following the dietary anti-inflammatory advice, 

You will cure most of the modern day diseases of civilization!  

Really!!

No (Wheat, Rye, Corn, Soy) GRAINS!  No (Corn Syrup, Cane Sugar, Agave) SUGARS! 

 No SOY, CORN, or other Industrial, (Rancid) Seed Oils!!

=

NO MODERN DISEASES!!

It really is that simple.  

J

And, for a reward for reading through all of that information, I offer you this photo of my daughter Holly (in the RED), riding her bike with her cherished, paleo cat, ZEKE, in her basket.  

Obviously, Holly does NOT need a headlamp!!

Does an all-meat and fat, paleo CAT diet lead to lambent eyes?

Possibly the subject of a future post...

Are we just like ancient Rome in Poisoning ourselves?

Contaminants in our water and other environmental hazards- are they making us sick?  Especially mentally sick??

One of the theories about the fall of Ancient Rome is that of lead poisoning.  The Romans used lead in their famous aqueducts; also in sealing their wine jars (of which they drank a great deal!).  The most recent, and most convincing theory is that the aging vats of their wine-making were universally sealed with lead- this makes the most sense of all...

Also, that they used lead paste as a birth control method.

This last is right up there with us using the "pill" as birth control- deregulating hormones, and really screwing up the metabolism long-term!!

But my other point is this: our widespread pollution of groundwater, not to mention our addiction to plastics and teflon in our cooking and food storage-

Is poisoning us as surely as the Romans poisoned themselves with lead!

I have friends with well water that has tested high in arsenic- until testing, they were totally unaware of this HUGE hazard lurking in their lives!

I also know of many people, some older, but an alarming number of younger people, who are being diagnosed as bi-polar, and with depression, fibromyalgia, and a whole litany of mental disorders.

To me, and I know this is anecdotally, but it sure appears there is a strong connection between the pollution of our water and other foodstuffs and our mental (and of course physical) health.  

The Greeks thought that those who ignored history were condemned to repeat it.  I think we are doing just that, by repeating the poisoning of ourselves, just as the Romans did!

J

Misled and Ill fed- implementing the paleo diet in spite of a lifetime of "misinformation"

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food

- Hippocrates, the founder of Western, scientific-based medicine

It is overwhelming for many "newbies" to paleo to have trouble determining just how to switch over to a grain-free, low sugar, nutrient dense type of ancestral diet!  And rightfully so; it is hard to turn off a lifetime of mistaken and misleading brainwashing, and turn on a way of eating that will truly nourish our bodies and minds.

I truly feel that this is the very beginning of the end for the Goliath of Big Food, Big Pharma, and big Medicine!


This Goliath, that has, in self-interest or else in complete ignorance and delusion destroyed the health of the Western world, is gradually, and more-and-more coming into confrontation with the David of the Paleo Diet- that David  that is now quite small, armed only with a tiny "sling", which is the internet, but the same little David that has the ultimate, long-range ability to bring down the incredible Goliath of our economy, which collectively (Big Pharmaceuticals, Big Food (GRAIN) cartels, and conventional Medicine) commands over 40% of our economy.


This 'PaleoDavid' can also bring our health, nutrition, food and wellness back down to a local, grassroots, manageable level.

How to achieve good health, banish disease and feel really good, all without prescription drugs, processed foods, and huge medical bills?

Dr. Terry Wahls has an interesting answer for all of us:

http://www.terrywahls.com

What she espouses is basically the Paleo Diet!

Go thou and do likewise-

Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food!

Liquid Breakfast, Paleo style!

OK- here is my breakfast today: A paleo smoothie, coffee (actually espresso) topped with real organic whipped cream (THANKS Kitchenaid Mixer!),  and hot chocolate, a wonderful beverage made with Hershey's special dark cocoa, two Truvia packets,  hot water and MORE whipped cream...

The HOT beverages are then sprinkled liberally with cinnamon and cloves!

I mean, this is the lap of luxury!  In the ancient world, these ingredients would be enough to signify incredible wealth, if not the meal of royalty.  But we, in the western world, can have these, daily, easily and cheaply...

WHY THEN DON'T WE??


I really mean this!  Since we can have incredibly satisfying, nutritious foodstuffs  virtually whenever we so desire, why do most of us choose cheap, processed, unsatisfying, non-nutritious CRAP???


Two words:  Marketing and Laziness

We have been "marketed" to from our births.  The ability of marketers is incredible: they can make us desire things that we have never even considered, to the point where we will do almost anything to acquire those things that they are... pushing!
In the immortal words of the rock band Steppenwolf- "God Damn- the pusher man!"The Pusher Man!

Actually, that is somewhat harsh- they are just doing their job- convincing us to buy their "stuff".  But, they do intentionally mislead us, when they tout the benefits of "whole grains" and "vitamin fortified" to get us to buy their Count Chocula and Captain Crunch types of crappy nightmare breakfast cereals.

They really are the "pusher man", come to think of it!

Laziness: That's the other side of the coin.  We ALL want things to be "easy".  Why not??

And so, the pusher man latches on to that fact, and tells us how easy it is to just eat a big bowl of "healthy" cereal, with nutrient "heart healthy" pasteurized skimmed milk, and then to eat a Big Mac super sized meal (you deserve a break today!), and then have a hearty, heart-healthy bowl of pasta and low fat breadsticks for supper, since you are concerned about your health!

If it was up to you, in the "wild", with not pusher man around, what would you choose?

I'll tell you what: you'd choose the most nutrient-dense food you could find!  Eggs, vegetables, seafood, tubers, fruits- whatever you could get your hands on!!


Fruity Pebbles would not even be on your radar...

And you'd be the better for it!!

Our bodies crave nutrient dense foods.  If we deny it, our bodies will demand that we eat more!
And more!
AND MORE!


Until we satisfy their need for vital nutrients!


And, if we keep eating "pusher-man crap"?  i.e. Mc Donald's, breakfast cereals, donuts, pop...


Our bodies will tell us to just KEEP ON EATING!!
"WE NEED NUTRIENTS!!"  


But if we keep eating "junk/pusher-man marketer mainstream low-fat crap"...

Our bodies will continue to scream: "EAT MORE!!" ad infinitum...


J

Barefoot sprinting in Winter?

Obviously, barefoot sprinting is not something one would often do in Winter, at least not here in Wisconsin!  Since we just had our first, belated snowfall on December 4, and my Sunday, farmhouse basement workout was on the agenda, I needed a substitute.

I always usually do kettlebell swings on my Sunday workouts, but today I decided to... up the ante!


I did intervals of kettlebell swings, interspersed between my chins, dips, aerobic/isometric chins and dips-aerobic isometric dip  and aerobic isometric chin ups.

Just like the intervals I usually do sprinting across my acreage barefoot, the kettlebell swings tax every part of my body, for the 5 or 6 intervals I do, but in a do-able, and really kind of enjoyable way. (If your body has become accustomed to enjoying exertion!)

After you've "gone paleo" for a while, cutting the processed crap, grains and sugars from your diet, and added healthy fats, proteins, fruits and veggies (all easily done via the Paleo Quick Start Smoothie!), your body actually starts to crave exertion!  Just like our cat, Zeke craves to go outside and just run, jump, and play, even this old almost 60 year old wants to do the same!  Hard to believe, in our modern sick, medicated, under-exercised, sedentary society- but, if we become healthy again, we actually-

Feel again like we did when we were 10 years old!!  TONS of energy, and happy as a lark!!


I invite everyone to join me on the paleo journey!  Eat the way God intended us to eat- real food!
Move naturally!  Sleep LOTS!  Connect meaningfully with family and friends!  Play!  Make music, play golf, ride your bike, throw a frisbee, grow your garden, play in your yard, hike... you get my drift!

Live like you were put here by God to live a meaningful life, living up to your potential, fulfilling whatever gifts you have been given to develop, and then sharing them with others- this is what we are here for!

We are not here to watch spectator sports (we are meant to participate in sports- that's the whole point-they are supposed to be fun!) We are not here to watch TV- a little of good TVand movies is great; just think of TV and Netflix as dark chocolate- a little is great!  Too much... is heroin!  It will destroy you.

Start by eating right!  Believe it or not, then everything else will just make... common sense!
J

It's a Windows/Low Fat World! Paleo is the new Mac!

Years ago, the mantra was "it's a Windows World"; this was spouted by everyone who worked in an office, was immersed in the Microsoft business computer world, and wanted to impart their great wisdom to their offspring, and acquaintances as well-

"Don't fool around with this crazy Mac thing- it's a Windows world!"

Obviously, they have been proven very wrong, in spades!

But now we have the same mindset, in nutrition:

"Don't fool around with this crazy Paleo thing- It's a Low Fat World!"

Uh, it's just a supposition...

But maybe this idea will also be proved to be very wrong, in spades!

And actually, if you look at the science, it already has been.

Different levels of Paleo "buy-in"...

It seems to me that there are different levels of "buy-in" into the paleo diet mindset.  Some people might want to just eat "paleo"- no grains, no sugar, on occasion.  "A meal at a time" might be their motto.

Others, such as myself, are committed- we just know too much!  
We think about it: "If I eat this bread, I know my blood insulin levels will rise dramatically, and there are a host of bad effects that go along with my consumption, etc. etc....

Still others want to "lose weight", and think about "paleo" from that standpoint- "If I eat a paleo meal, I will lose weight!!  Cool!"


I guess the point I am making here is that there definitely are many buy-ins to paleo:
There are very few of us willing to eschew grains, and sugars, virtually forever, and we don't really have a problem with it, except for a very few "cheats" as we journey through our lives...

MOST people who are exposed to paleo feel as if eating paleo is a temporary thing, so they can lose weight, look good, and then go back to eating "normally", i.e. the SAD American diet!
You can use it this way, but it's a very weak way to approach the paleo way of life.  BUT, it is better than nothing!

Even if you approach paleo eating "one meal at a time", I believe that you will be FAR better off.  By eating just ONE paleo meal: meat or eggs, veggies and NO bread or sugar, you are vastly improved dietarily.
TOTAL dietary change is ideal!

Incremental, meal-by-meal improvement, is still good.

Just like in Christianity, we are all "on a journey".

This is just our "Paleo Journey"- and the result is an earthly "revelation"!
J