Back Repair podcast on Paleo Quick Tip of the Day

Top back bridge for beginners- then for intermediate
Finally, rise up on toes and lower nose towards floor


Jefferson Curl:

This February was the worst on record here in Wisconsin!  Not only did we have record cold and ice- we also were treated to an all-time record snowfall!

As a friend said, “March usually comes in like a lion- this year, it came in like a T Rex, on PMS, and wearing barbed wire underwear”.  And this is no exaggeration…

There was lots of snow shoveling going on all about.  My new (used) snowblower I got last fall (I’ve never had one before, relying on snow shoveling by hand as a built in winter workout), stopped working, and I just left it.  ( I suspect old, bad gas in the carb, but it has been too cold to even work on it).  Besides which, the snow was often so wet and icy that a snowblower would just kind of freeze up even while it was working.

So, I shoveled.  And shoveled.  And shoveled again, day after day- endlessly, on and on.  Finally, there was nowhere left put the snow, unless above my head height.  So, I went down the hill, where I park my Kubota tractor complete with a loader!  (Play harp music here)- 

And I got stuck in the snow!!

My Amish built shed is down low on my property, and so I have to climb a long hill to get up to my driveway and walk.  But the snow was so deep, that I got stuck, mainly because the snow covered a thick layer of slick ice.  

I left it there, shining orange in the yard as a an orange badge of shame and defeat to the neighbors, and went back to- shoveling.  Endlessly.  And what happened to me, is what happened to pretty much everyone around here that shoveled by hand- I tweaked my back!  

Now, I pride myself, as PaleoJay, who is a lifelong physical culturist, as never having back (or any other physical) troubles.  But, my back just said ‘this is enough’, and I was out of the running- er, shoveling game. 

Swallowing my pride, I went to my tractor in supplication, and started it up.  I found that by using the bucket in front I could lift myself up, and slowly drag myself forward.  Then, digging a deep path for myself, I laboriously dug a road for myself across my yard, and gradually upwards, until I gained the side just before the road- which had been mountainously walled off by the town snowplow to the size of a small mountain.  

I had to drag this snow mountain down, backwards with my bucket, and set it to the side.  Bit by bit, bucket by bucket- and finally, at last- I was on the road.  And from then on, I laughed each time it snowed.  

But still, my back needed repair.  Thankfully, I know how to go about this, and I will pass it on to you.  

First, you need to stretch.  Religiously, each morning, lying on the floor (I lay on my trusty yoga mat that I exercise on each morning anyway).  I always end up with a back bend, where I lay flat on the ground, and rock back slowly onto my forehead and toes, which are all that supports me as I stretch back to try to touch my nose to the mat.  (I’ll put a photo on the website at paleojay.com)   This is the best decompressive move for your spine that you can do, and is in addition a total body isometric of the first order.  Hold for a minute or more if you can, then slowly lower yourself- you will feel great, this is also a wonderful neck exercise.

Then, usually later in the day, I will do my basement workout, which finishes with the very best back exercise you can do to fix your back.  Strangely, it is called the JEFFERSON CURL, although it is for your back, not your biceps!  I will again include an instructional video on paleojay.com.

Here is how it goes:  You need a sturdy platform on which to stand, about 6-8” tall.  And, unlike most exercise that I recommend, you do need a weight like a barbell.  A dumbell can also work, but a barbell is best.

So, you mount the platform, upon which you are resting the barbell.  Bend your knees, and pick up the bar as you stand.  Next, slowly lower the bar, as you lower it by bending from the lower back, vertebrae by vertebrae.  When you get parallel with the platform, lower the bar slowly even further, letting the weight of the barbell slowly pull you down until you bottom out.  

Then, slowly go back up, vertebrae by vertebrae, until you are again standing erect.  Smoothly lower again, repeating the process, for ten repetitions.  End again with the bar resting on the platform, and step down.  

You have just decompressed, while simultaneously strengthening your entire spine (and your hamstrings as well).  One set of these, once or twice per week is all that you need, and the weight does not need to be excessive- I’d say start anywhere, maybe a bare bar, and gradually work up to about 100 pounds.  The low back is quite strong, when reasonably conditioned, and when strengthened thusly it renders your back to be almost bulletproof!

The only other thing you should do for your back is to brachiate- this is a fancy term for hanging from a bar, or stairwell, or a beam in the garage where you do your chinups.  This is excellent traction, and will decompress your spine in a hurry.  

And there it is: Perfectly Paleo Back Repair!  It brought me back around quickly, and it will you as well- just don’t get your tractor stuck first of all.  Then, none of this would have happened in the first place!  

Physical Culture is Paleo podcast on PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe!

“I live a Paleo Lifestyle.”  “I am paleo.”  “I lift weights, I am a bodybuilder, or powerlifter, or Crossfitter, or- God help you- a marathoner- whatever!”

If you endeavor to live a healthy overall lifestyle, with a healthy diet, adequate sleep and optimized nutrition, right along with healthy family and “tribal” interactions- why, I think I have the label for you:

You are a Physical Culturist!

All this really means is that you put health above other criteria.  Your goal is not to be the biggest, or the strongest, or the most flexible, the most enduring or the fastest…

You only want to be the best you, overall, that you can be!  At least, this is the goal that I have been talking about for years here at PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe, even if it is not always immediately apparent.

Diet is incredibly important!  It is usually the bedrock of a healthy lifestyle, but then all the other components, such as good sleep, ‘tribal’ relationships, strength and overall fitness including body composition are also crucial… as is living in harmony with nature, spending ample time outdoors, and having a fulfilling intellectual and spiritual life as well-  So, what is the bottom line in all of this?

Health and Happiness is my answer.  Also, to aspire to an autonomous lifestyle, where you determine yourself what is the best way to live, and go ahead and live that life, no matter the opinions of others!  Actually, this last is the hardest to achieve of all, since opinions overall are incredibly judgmental- and almost always with no considered reason, arrived at independently, at all.

Let me elaborate on that last: the vast majority of folks live lives that they have been conditioned to aspire to.  “Cookie-cutter” sorts of lives, mainly determined by parental and peer social cues, even things we have patterned into our lives from television shows and such…

Material success is all that matters, ultimately!  Money and reputation…

To be the most envied couple/family/individual is all that matters….

Fame and fortune…

Biggest house, most manicured lawn, and most successful children…

The most popular couple of all…Most powerful… Most admired…

The list goes on and on.  None of it amounts to very much, if you think about it for any length of time.

My father is now 96, and will turn 97 in July.  I spent a few days last week with him, as did my siblings, off and on, for quite some time.  His health is failing now, but he is still at home, along with his wife of 66 years, who is now 91.  (He robbed the cradle)…

He made a lot of money, as well as raising eight healthy children.   His investments are substantial; just his home is worth a fortune.  But now, what does he talk about the most?  What does he truly value after a lifetime of achievement?

He never mentions money, but he talks a lot about how wonderful his wife is and was.  His parents come up often, along with his siblings, his uncles, his aunts, and childhood small town friends.  Old friends are very important, and they still arrive to visit, at least those few that are left!  Even the friends of his children are very important to him now, especially when they come to pay their respects, which they often do.

When talking of happy, important times in his life, he ranks things roughly in this order:

1. Music (He is a lifetime musician, and continually says that when he couldn’t play anymore it was “the saddest time of his life.”)

2. Being outdoors working in his “back acher.”  This was his double suburban lot, which he spent every evening and day off in, amidst the birds and squirrels, gardening, grilling, and chopping wood, along with watching us kids play various ball games and climb rope ladders until it was too dark to see.  He had no interest in TV.

He never mentions that famous people he knew, or how powerful or rich anybody was.  My mother and him mainly get excited when a new bird lands in the yard, or the squirrels do something surprising.  Their recliners are turned away from the tv now, and face the back yard all day long.

I remember how I would walk into his bedroom, and he would be doing his daily pushups, when he was in his 80’s and early 90’s.  How people would say that “you should both live on the first floor, after all you have a bedroom down there,” and him responding with ‘Stairs are healthy!’

He was always very cognizant about diet, although he got sidetracked, as did everyone else in the 1970’s, when the wrong-headed medical establishment told us all to eat low fat!  If not for that, I believe his health would be fine right now, even at almost 97!  At least I have convinced my mom to put coconut oil in her coffee now…

My dad is a physical culturist, although I doubt he ever heard the term.  And so was his brother, Ken, who passed away yesterday at the age of 98.  They both lived a natural, ancestral sort of life, and valued personal and familial interactions above all, while putting a strong emphasis on diet and exercise, family and music.

My ultimate life goal is to do the same, which I also suggest to you.  When we are 97 or so, we won’t care about our bank accounts, or how big our arms are, or how fast we ran the marathon…

It will all be how we lived- did we set a good example?  Was our music good?  Did we treat those around us well??

THAT is a truly Paleo Life- a life of physical culture!

Making Health Habits- How To

Creating habits for health is probably the very best thing you can do in life!
Wow, that sounds extreme, but it is 100% true. “Once begun, half done,” as the old saying goes, is true of anything. And the truth is that, if you don’t eat right, it you don’t exercise, if you don’t sleep a solid 8 hours per night, and so on- you are not going to be healthy.

And, by not being healthy, you will be destined, over time, to be unhappy as well. That’s just how life works, grasshopper… Even if you are very successful, say, in your career, and make lots of money- if you are unhealthy, and don’t have a fulfilling family life and social life, along with a well balanced spiritual life- you lose! You lose the happiness prize!

The good news is that all of these pillars of a healthy, fit, happy life are all derived simply from developing good habits. And developing good habits is a pretty straightforward, and not really difficult endeavor. Step 1 is simply to figure out what good habits are essential for health:

1. Eat a healthy, paleo type of diet. Most people find this the hardest to do, so start here. Start with a big breakfast, so get up plenty early to make it, along with packing a good lunch. Do not have any grains with your breakfast, such as toast. Also, no juice, which is just sugar water. A green smoothie is ideal, but you can just start with eggs and bacon and/or sausage, and coffee. If you have no problems with dairy, load that coffee with cream! And remember- don’t limit yourself as to how many eggs or how much meat you can have- eat as much as you desire- it’ll keep you full.

Do this every day, for a solid week. Then, go for another week! Each night have meat with vegetables for supper, and sometimes have a sweet potato or white potato, loaded with sour cream and butter. Or perhaps some white rice with your pork chop. Just no grains at all, and don’t drink milk, especially not skimmed. Cottage cheese, full fatted, is also great for meals or snacks.
Now, do it for a third week. You should never let yourself be hungry, ever! Stay satiated, and happy with protein and especially lots of good fat. Never touch margarine or other industrial seed/vegetable oils- eat the real stuff!

Congratulations- that was the hardest part of the whole habit making and changing strategy. You now follow a paleo type of diet, and after 3 weeks you should feel and look good enough that you will never desire to give up this healthiest of all habit.

2. Keep up with your diet habit, but now add in the sleep habit- go to sleep each night early enough that you get a solid 8-9 hours of sleep per night. You could do this first, making it easy then to get up early and make your food for the day, but it is your choice. The food changes make the most obvious improvements, so I’ve started there, but it’s your choice. Keep this up for a couple of weeks, and you will be ready for the next step.

3. Exercise! This is also a tough one for folks to whom it is new, but it is as important as your nutrition and sleep. You may want to go to bed even a little earlier, just to make sure you have the time to exercise in the morning. I don’t want you to do a lot- in fact, it is key that you do not! I want you to start with 10 minutes of exercise, all done in your living room.

Turn on the TV, Netflix or Amazon Prime is ideal since they pick up playing right where you left off last viewing. As the show plays, I always start with virtual resistance exercise, which is where you flex each muscle group through its whole range of motion for reps. For instance, you can do the “high reach”, where you flex one arm at a time as high as you can reach, flexing through the whole range of motion for, say, 8 reps. Next, do flies, where you cross your arms as if doing dumbbell flies in front of your chest, flexing with internally generated resistance. Then, pulldowns as if chinning yourself, flexing all the while, followed by half-squats, flexing your quads as you go down. Finish up with curls, flexing hard for 8 reps.

The sequence, again:
High reach
Flies
Pulldowns
Half Squats
Curls

That’s it! You should feel energized, and your entire physique should be enjoying a nice “Pump”. Pause your show for the next day, and look forward to it, since you will now only watch your program while exercising. (A great incentive!)

4. Do this, along with good sleep and a wonderful diet for three weeks. By now, you will be looking and feeling great, and will be wondering what additional things you can do to keep this going, and even accelerate your progress. Congratulations, not only on your great improvements in health but more importantly-
On developing wonderful Habits of Health!

Check out this episode!

No, You are NOT Immune to Gluten! Podcast for Paleo Quick tip of the Day.

I have heard this time and again- “You know, I try to eat right- I even make your green smoothies and feel healthier for it. I exercise religiously. But I think this gluten thing doesn’t apply to me- I’m immune!”
Not true. If you have never been off of gluten, and I mean you’ve never really followed through and eliminated bread products, even in relatively small amounts, from your diet for at least a month or two, you have no idea how much better you can “look, feel, and perform”, to quote Robb Wolf.
You may think that because you are not overweight, reasonably well muscled and fit, why then why not continue eating your sandwiches, and pancakes, and occasional slice of pie or cake? Well, do you have any of these symptoms that may seem minor (at first!), that are almost certainly due to your gluten habit?

1. Joint pain
2. Either diarrhea and/or constipation
3. Depression or anxiety
4. Brain fog
5. Headaches or migraines
6. ADHD type behavior
7. Insomnia
8. Abdominal distress
9. Hemorrhoids
10. Chronic Fatigue

Any or any combination of these maladies are always improved and/or eliminated just be ditching the grains! Many folks can tolerate small amounts of corn products without problems, but by no means all. But wheat, rye, and barley? You need to eliminate them entirely! No exceptions!

If you don’t, all of these can mature into autoimmune diseases, and they don’t stop with just one either. And if you already have an autoimmune disease, you really need to stop with the gluten now. Because, sadly, the gluten will continue to compromise your gut, “punching holes” in your intestine, and accelerating the invasion of your body and even your mind by way of your opened up circulatory system.

Let’s say you have an autoimmune disease already. Continue with your current gluten consuming indulgences, and you can expect to add more, over time. The rule of thumb if you have an autoimmune disease, meaning one of the diseases that have no cure except to mask the symptoms somewhat with powerful drugs loaded with side-effects- is that every decade you will add another disease to the list!
And, if you add in pain-masking over the counter drugs like Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and even aspirin, you will have accelerated the invasion of your body by these diseases and uncomfortable maladies hugely, since they also “punch holes in your gut lining” in a huge, damaging way!

We all get sloppy with our health over time, and this is just a reminder- no one is immune. Gluten is a poison, whether you believe it or not, and it will gradually, if not kill you, make your life more and more uncomfortable, painful, and far less pleasant.

Build Yourself into a Diesel!

I know this sounds a little weird- why and how do you make yourself into a Diesel?  Well, what I mean by diesel is rock solid, powerful, healthy, and vital!  Sound better?

The reason I bring this up, is that almost everyone is indoctrinated into the “germ theory”, which is that advocated by Louis Pasteur so long ago.  The germ theory stated that- it only we could eliminate germs, protect ourselves at all costs from all pathogens and “bad guys” in the environment, then we’d be OK!

And so, we started pasteurizing all of our dairy, our pickles and other fermented foods, and cooked and processed every food we came into contact with to death. 

“Voila!” as Louis would say- “Now, ve vill be healthy and happy forevermore- viva la France!!” 

Or some such thing.  This theory won out, over the terrain theory of contemporary Frenchman Claude Bernard, who asserted that germs and pathogens sought out diseased tissue, and then invaded there- healthy, disease free bodily tissues could easily resist these invasions, and so, the goal should be to build up our “terrain”; make our own bodies healthy and vital.  This was the only protection against the pathogens that constantly attack us, inevitably.

And so, in this modern age we still try vainly to protect ourselves by walling ourselves off from anything bad, when we should be constantly building up our terrain, our very bodies, so that they are able to resist invaders. 

Back in the times these battles were being fought, no one knew about the human micro biome, which is our guts, that contain millions of bacteria that we live in symbiosis with, and without which we would instantly die!  (Pasteur, had he known, would have insisted that we “pasteurize” our own guts!)  Of course, this would have killed us, but he wouldn’t have known that then, would he?

The human body will save us, if we only let it.  Food First!!  Nutritious, real, God made, vital foods can build us up in a dramatic way, from the inside out:  fermented, naturally fermented foods are key here- they repopulate our gut biome, giving us our microbial “helpers” that not only keep us alive, but regulate our immune responses, our fat regulation levels, and most of our bodily processes!  Green vegetables, seafood, organ meats- all of these are vital to build our “terrain”, to make us strong human beings, and to make us into what I term a DIESEL!

All right, what do I mean by a “diesel”, anyway?  I mean that you eat a proper, paleo type of diet, loaded with green veggies, a few berries in your smoothie, and no grains ideally.  Lots of good fats like coconut milk and ghee and butter, and no fake processed crap like Twinkies or breakfast cereal or potato chips or cheese doodles or fast food or- you get the idea, I hope.

The other side of the coin in training and lifestyle.  Every Day you need to be working out.  But, not lifting heavy weights or running long distances or doing CrossFit- no, this is not DIESEL TRAINING, this is fluff training, building the “show muscles” like with bench presses and barbell curls, which does nothing overall for your health and actual functionality.  No, I don’t want you to concentrate on this- I want you to do things like isometrics.  Virtual Resistance, which is actually just moving isometrics, where you flex as you move through a range of motion of each muscle group.  Self Resistance, where one arm resists another, say, or a leg is resisted by the arms.

The advantage of such training is that it does not just build the muscle bellies- it builds the tendons and ligaments, and then the muscles themselves! 

This is Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  This is what builds your bodily terrain, along with proper nutrition, from the inside out.  If you exercise this way, naturally, your tendons and ligaments will not fail you, and will protect you from injury.  You will become like my compact utility tractor- a diesel tractor, with a lower horsepower rating, will never fail to vastly surpass a regular, gasoline tractor with vastly higher HP rating! 

A diesel will pull irrevocably, with amazing low end torque and power, with a relentless strength that will never die!  It runs on the most unrefined (paleo in human terms) basic fuel, and it lasts almost forever! 

On the other hand, a standard tractor, running on “boutique” fuel that has been ultra-refined (like a high carb fuel), will be able to rev really high… but then, it can’t keep it up long, it has no “low end” torque for pulling and pushing, and if you push it too hard it will break- an axle, a throttle cable, whatever- it will break, and all too easily!  It has no strong terrain to support it.  No heavy frame, no diesel engine that won’t quit in hard conditions, no heavy components (like tendons and ligaments!) built up over time.  It’s all flash and no substance!

Be a diesel.  Build your terrain!  You don’t want to be a pro football player who peaks like a gas tractor in his twenties, and then breaks his frame and dies by his forties.  You want to be a diesel- a little, super strong tractor that can do surprisingly amazing things whenever needed, and never feels a pain.  With a frame that is almost indestructible, and a fuel system that is uncompromised and can handle only real food and real sleep- no drugs or additives needed!

And your engine- well, you’ve built it gradually over the years.  The isometrics have greatly benefited your heart, along with your musculature and tendons and ligaments.  You will be a vital human being for many, many years, without pain and without drugs!  Oh, and let’s close with Louis Pasteur’s deathbed confession:

Pasteur recanted on his deathbed over his entire life work, stating that “the microbe is nothing; the milieu is everything.” Another way of stating these words is that it is not the germ that causes disease, but the terrain in which the germ is found. 

Check out this episode!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #76 Love your Weeds- Paleo Hippie!

I’ll tell you right upfront- this is near and dear to my natural, quasi-hippie heart!

“They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot” - remember that old Joni Mitchell song?

It seems quaint, it seems laughable... but it’s TRUE!

Our natural world really is basically- EDEN !  Pure and simple!  If we mess with it too much, it becomes... MAN-MADE HELL!

Witness our inner cities.  Hell on earth, really!  Food deserts, crime gone crazy, no nature left to enjoy, and horrible education available for all!  Bad, chemical laden water- the list goes on and on.

But go to the suburbs... looks great, right?  Sure, if you have a million dollars to spare!  And besides that...

Do you really want your kids growing up in an environment of incredible competition, where grades are all important, and helicopter parents determine those grades by interfering with impartial judgement by the teacher??

Because that’s the way it is now.  No more Mayberry, at least in the suburbs of big cities!!

Here is my advice for young people.  It may sound hippie-dippie,

but it is really more small town Americana.

Go MIDwest young man! (or woman!!

It doesn’t HAVE to be the midwest, but your odds are better there.  Locate outside of a small city, and choose a small town you like- in the environs of a college town is a good idea.  (They have all of the “culture” you might miss in the big city, and it’s WAY cheaper and usually, less “affected”.)
You can get a house, and just as importantly LAND, for a really inexpensive price!  Land is so important, historically... and NOW, more than EVER!

On your own piece of land, you can determine your own destiny in a MUCH more important way than if you are in a city, where every whim of government determines your future.  You can grow your own food!

This is huge.  I have been to Asia, and they have never lost sight of this time-tested absolute- land is the ultimate currency!

In Asia, and in most of Europe as well, every square inch of land is cultivated on a small scale to yield- FOOD!  I mean freeway side landscape, I mean every scrap of land that is available- every inch!

Because in the USA we are so LOADED with LAND, (at least outside of big cities!), we take it for granted- and we should NOT!

And here is the point-

In suburbs, every weed is targeted for kill!  In this strange age, this means dandelions (which were brought over here purposefully to feed us) need to be poisoned with toxic chemical in order that our lawns would be more symmetrical...

Likewise broad leaf plantains, burdock and a number of other “weeds” that are incredibly nutritious- more nutritious than kale, or lettuce, or almost anything else we can eat!

And, on top of all of this, by dosing our yards with Roundup, the chief ingredient of which is Glyphosate, we are effectively poisoning ourselves, our families, and our groundwater.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS??

Don’t.

Get a small homestead, if you can, far away from the expectations of suburban “schoolmarms”.  Have a big garden, and feed yourself as much as you can.  Make a big Paleo green smoothie each day, and include dandelion greens, broadleaf plantains, and other “weeds”.

Buy your meats and eggs from local farmers that pasture their animals, and enjoy your improved health, which doesn’t require the medications of mainstream medicine to keep you alive!  You will be fine, since you are living on God made foods, not man made processed foods.

And so, free of stress, free of pressure, you can live a life far away from Big Government, Big Medicine, Big Pharma and Big Food!

Small, and de-centralized is the FUTURE!  And YOU, my little quasi-hippie, are leading the way!





Check out this episode!

pqtd 48 Get Rid of your S.A.D. diet like an old, ridiculous Leisure Suit

pqtd #48  Get RID of your S.A.D diet like an old, ridiculous Leisure Suit

That might seem like a strange analogy- comparing the standard American diet of today to that ridiculous costume of the early, disco-fueled 19970’s...
But, the two are not that different in their very outmodedness!

Think of the 1930’s and 40’s, when cigarettes were commonly prescribed by medical Doctors for various, made up and ridiculous reasons: improved digestion, enhanced relaxation, and other silly reasons with no foundation in fact.  Much the same thing happened in the 1960’s and especially in the 1970’s, when medical Doctors prescribed LOW FAT diets, counting calories, and long, punishing sessions of Aerobic exercise- mainly slow running, for hours and hours each week!

And at the same time, millions of Americans (probably including most of these deluded doctors) were wearing stupid leisure suits, of which I will try to find some pictures to put up at www.paleojay.com-
Suffice it to say that they were silly, ridiculous disco outfits that were only popular among disco dancers in the late ‘70s or so for a few years.  They were kind of like Elvis’ later costumes, but without the glitz and show biz glamour...

And so, since you are probably NOT smoking cigarettes

or wearing leisure suits today, what is it that many of you are doing that is wrong, out-dated, and proven to be wrong by current science??

Well, if you are eating low fat foods of any type, especially processed ones like low fat yogurt, breakfast cereals- anything in which the fat has been artificially tampered with-

Well then you are essentially wearing a leisure suit, doing aerobic dancing, and smoking cigarettes!  You are so out of date you are a sad joke, and hurting yourself while you embarrass others...

And so, what to do?  BURN that old suit!  Throw out your cigarettes!! If you can’t quit, get a good eCig, and just smoke that instead- the same experience, but you’ll be smoking water vapor which is harmless instead of tobacco and chemicals!
And also, get rid of any kind of processed food, fast food, vegetable oil,

and wheat!  Do NOT do long sessions of aerobics; do short sessions of intense, body weight, virtual, and self resisted exercises.  Rebound on a mini trampoline!  Sprint barefoot occasionally.

Now, your family won’t be embarrassed anymore!  You’ll be cool, wearing your Xero sandals, and sprinting in your yard or park.  Get a set of gymnastic rings for your basement or garage!  Shop for REAL FOODS at Trader Joe’s or best yet with your local farmer or rancher!!

NOW, you are COOL AT LAST!!

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #91- Lower your blood pressure AND tone your whole body at the same time- Naturally!

There is something wonderful about doing isometrics for your health.  And I don’t mean anything fancy and contorted, like pushing against pins in a power rack- although that is great as well- but a simple, equipment-less exercise that you can do anywhere, standing or lying down- an isometric total body flex!

The benefits are amazing, particularly in lowering blood pressure naturally.
The circulation is enhanced to all parts of the body, even the peripheral areas like the feet and the hands.  And so, how do you perform this wonderful exercise?

You simply stand straight, and gradually tense all of the muscles of your body, while breathing normally, and count to 5 or 6.  Relax, and then repeat  three times- That’s it!  That burst of oxygenated blood throughout your body (and brain too!) is one of the most energizing things you can do for yourself!

It’s great in that it can be done at odd moments, like when you are standing waiting for something, or gassing up your car, or just standing in your yard grilling...  in everyones life there are more than enough occasions where you can slip in three or four “sets” of this total isometric body flex throughout your day, and reap the many benefits.

As in anything, the more you do it the better you will get at it- at first, just methodically flexing each muscle group in turn will enhance your mind to muscle connection, and your ability to flex muscle groups effectively will improve.  Besides the blood pressure benefits and the circulation benefits, this is a wonderful way to improve your definition, which is to say the muscle tone will dramatically improve, and your muscles will seem to “pop” out underneath your skin, ala ancient Greek statues!

 And you will feel the difference in your musculature, and become more aware of your body, and how to control it in any physical situation.

A good way to start your day is to do a set of the isometric total body flex upon awakening, in bed!  Yes, that’s right- it is every bit as effective lying down as it is standing up- and it’s a great way to kickstart your day with a really healthy habit that starts you off on the right foot!  At first, just flex moderately intensely, to get the feel of controlling your muscles, but you can and should aim at later gradually working up to perhaps flexes of about 80% of perceived effort- that is enough to get all the benefits, without over-straining, which is always a bad idea.

There is numerous medical literature proving the blood pressure lowering benefits of isometric exercise if you care to google it, as I did.  For instance, here is the conclusion of group of studies done recently by the Mayo Clinic-

Conclusion
Isometric resistance training lowers SBP, DBP, and mean arterial pressure. The magnitude of effect is larger than that previously reported in dynamic aerobic or resistance training. Our data suggest that this form of training has the potential to produce significant and clinically meaningful blood pressure reductions and could serve as an adjunctive exercise modality.



The studies go way back, and the results are always beneficial.  So why is the benefit of isometrics not taught and offered to people with high blood pressure, and bed ridden people, and folks recovering from injury that can’t do “normal” types of exercise?

I don’t really know, but again, just as in proper nutrition wherein we consume real foods as made by God and nature, bypassing the man made fake food like substances like GMO grains and processed crap-

THERE IS NOTHING TO SELL!

No exercise equipment, no gym memberships, no supplements or running shoes... NOTHING!

But hopefully I have just sold you on the idea of doing this simple and oh-so-beneficial exercise on a daily basis!  The cost, once you have acquired this knowledge, is just your brief efforts throughout the day.

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #46 Paleo Diet to LOSE FAT!

Paleo diet to lose fat! Paleo Quick Tip of the Day podcast #46

The Paleo Diet has shown remarkable success in helping people to lose fat/weight, and achieve a much better "body composition".   The amazing thing is that it can bring these changes about without:

1. Hunger
2.  Long sessions of exercise
3.  Injury from those long, boring exercise sessions you thought were necessary


Really!  But how can this be?

It's really just simple, proven science!

Our bodies are not designed to eat grains, particularly wheat, which has become a mainstay of virtually every processed food in America.  Wheat is now completely genetically modified to the point where it has no similarity to the ancient wheat of the Bible, or even to the wheat from the 1960's!!
This is a huge point: if you wish to research the topic in depth, I refer you to the book Wheat Belly by William Davis-  Wheat Belly the blog

But, since all carbohydrates,  like wheat, corn, white potatoes, etc. turns to sugar in the body, that is more than enough reason alone to severely limit them in the diet.


The other thing to limit greatly in your diet is SUGAR.


When you eat sugar, or its twin- carbohydrates- your body responds to the rise in blood sugar, (which is actually an emergency situation for your body!), by producing massive quantities of insulin.  Insulin, which as we know is what Type 2 (self-induced) Diabetics lose the ability to produce, after many years of ingesting so much sugar/carbohydrates that their body has become overwhelmed by the bodily insult!  Don't let this happen to you- it is becoming EPIDEMIC in modern America, largely due to the fact that now- 90% of food sold in the USA is PROCESSED: (Comes in a bag, or a box, and is not real food anymore, but industrial food.


Industrial food is loaded with sugar/corn syrup/wheat/soy and the other thing you need to get rid of on the Paleo Diet- industrial seed (grain!) oils!
Corn, Soybean, Crisco- these are all rancid, harmful oils that are not really food.


The Food Industry uses all of this stuff, in processed and fast foods (another no-no!), because it is CHEAP!  That is the only reason- nutritional value is not even on their radar!

So, bottom line, what do you need to do to-

Regain your health and lose fat?

It's really rather simple, and if you think about it, you probably already intuitively know this stuff-

You've just been brainwashed into the "low fat, high carb Standard American Diet"
for your whole life!

So, here is what you get rid of:

Eliminate fast food
Eliminate bread, pasta, anything made with flour
Eliminate Industrial oils- margarine, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil- any chemically processed oil
Eliminate Legumes- dried beans- irritate the gut lining, just as does wheat- this is a huge problem
Get long, painful, CARDIO/AEROBIC workouts out of your life (They lead to injury, burn very little in the way of fat/calories/, and do not build muscle, which is what you really want)
Stop Staying up late at night- (This interferes with your body in a minor way, stimulating the stress hormone "cortisol", which causes you to store fat, among other negatives).

 And here is what you replace the above with:
Whole eggs (free range is the best)
Real, PASTURED butter (Kerrygold is the best)

All varieties of meat, and seafood  (Grass fed beef is best, but all of it is good- just be sure to include seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon and sardines)
Vegetables and fruits  (Berries are the best fruit!)  Don't go wild on fruit, but include it.  Eat LOTS of green vegetables.
Get on an intense, brief exercise program!  (Body weight exercise is best- pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, brief sessions of sprinting and/or stationery bike "sprints" of 30 seconds or less, done for several "sets" lasting 20 minutes or less)
Get LOTS of sleep!  8 hours minimum (This is really crucial for health and fat loss- stress, like lack of sleep, causes your body to want to hang onto fat)


That's it!  Follow the above subtractions and additions in your life, and sooner than you think, you will look and feel better than you would believe!  This is a promise!!


I hear you asking:   "But how do I eat this way??
Simple:

Eggs and fruit for breakfast
Salad with meat or seafood for lunch
Grilled meat and vegetables for supper
Snacks- if you eat enough at meals, you probably won't get too hungry. But it you do:
Almonds,  dark chocolate, coffee with real whipped cream, macadamia nuts, olives, full fat cheeses, or again- meat, vegetables, sardines, etc. are all fair game


Or, you could make it easy, and make the Paleo Quick Start Smoothie!

It really makes the nutrition part almost effortless, and actually more "available" to your body, since it is all "broken down" and ready to assimilate, raw food enzymes and all!!

But anyway, there you go- try it for 3 weeks!  If you do, I guarantee you will not go back-
the benefits are that amazing!

Check out this episode!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #44 Don't eat like a Sumo wrestler, or a goose!

"I'm sick of starches!"

pqtd 44 Don’t eat like a sumo wrestler, or a goose!

Really- don’t!

Sumo wrestlers, those extra large Japanese men who try, as the demands of their sport dictate to gain as much weight as possible, do so by not eating breakfast (that is forbidden!), and then eating as much as possible for lunch and then taking a 4 hour nap.

What do they eat?  Well, since they desire to gain as much weight as possible, fat and muscle, they wake early and train for 5 hours or so- really!
(this is their whole life)...

Eating Fat does NOT make you fat- carbs do!

Then, they eat a huge stew of meat, fish, vegetables, and LOTS of RICE, and wash it all down with lots and lots of beer!  (Not light beer, either...)

Then, they take their 4 hour nap.  When they awake, they might move around a little, but they mainly get ready for dinner!

Dinner is the same as lunch, but probably more rice, and more beer- at LEAST 10,000 calories worth!  And then, it’s lights out, for a long sleep before the next days training, and eating...

This regimen is calculated to produce maximum weight gain- both fat and muscle- and it works like a champion!!  Many Sumo wrestlers are over 500 pounds, and some are over 600!!

And then there are geese...

Geese have been force fed for many, many years to increase the size of their livers- actually, the practice started in Egyptian times!  Geese are able to store weight in their whole bodies, and especially in their livers to enable them to migrate long distances; and force feeding them particularly with starches like corn and wheat enables maximum fat gain!

Since animals, like geese would be unwilling to force feed themselves massive amounts of grains, we humans have devised ways to force them to adopt sumo like methods of overfeeding, using tubes forced into their unwilling mouths...

But why am I talking at length about Sumo wrestlers and force fed geese?
It’s because if you are a typical, Standard American, following a SAD standard American diet-

YOU ARE EATING LIKE A SUMO WRESTLER GOOSE!


The modern typical American, western diet is so loaded with starches, and the ultimate horrible starch grains and carbohydrates, that you are literally force feeding yourself!

And if you wake up, skip breakfast or just eat a fast food carb horror, and then go to a job or school where you just sit almost motionless as if you were napping, and then eat a standard American sandwich/Subway meal or other fast food, or even a sandwich from home that is the same deal, washed down by a soft drink, and then again sit almost motionless until quitting time...

Congratulations!  You are well on your way to being a big, giant, fat, Sumo kind of person...but without the underlying muscle!

BUT, on the upside, if there is a Twilight Zone kind of scenario in the future where aliens land and are looking for food- well, your liver might be...

JUST WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR!

What?  You don’t want to be an enlarged liver sumo person??

Well, then just wake up early, work out like a sumo but for maybe a half hour or so, and then eat a big, protein centered breakfast, like eggs, bacon, and coffee with coconut oil in it, topped with whipped cream!

Make a big Paleo Smoothie with lots of veggies, and lots of good fats, as outlined in my paleo smoothie recipe at www.paleojay.com, and whip it up in your Vitamix- eat a lot of this smoothie, and the breakfast after your workout, and do not add in any carbs at all- no rice, no cereal, no toast-

JUST A REALLY LOT OF GOOD, GOD MADE FATS AND PROTEIN!!

This means butter, cream, avocado, bacon, sausage, eggs- you get the idea!

You will not be hungry for a long time!  Trust me.

When you are, have another paleo smoothie, or else a big, giant salad with lots of olive oil, beef or chicken or tuna or other protein source, and maybe a tin of sardines packed in olive oil as well...another big helping of your best friends: fat and protein!

It really is that simple, my non Sumo Goose friend!

Eat more fat. Eat protein.  Just eat real food, as made by God, not man!!

Work out like a Sumo, but for much less time.  Eat like a goose in the wild, without a tube down his throat ala a Happy Meal!

And remember that starches, and grains like wheat, and especially sugar/corn syrup/aspartame and all other fake, man made food like substances will turn you into a force fed giant livered Sumo Goose!

And, I’m not even exaggerating.

Check out this episode!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #89 Go for a Flow State in life!

Go for a Flow State in life- Exercise for the body, and music for the soul!

This is to paraphrase the ancient Greek Aristotle, who first said it!

Alexander

As the teacher and mentor of Alexander the Great, he certainly proved that he knew what he was talking about... but what does it mean for YOU, today?


Well, with all the talk of “play” being important in paleo and primal health, even amongst adults, this quote points out what is really important in that statement- FLOW STATE, or being so immersed in what you are doing that you are almost oblivious to all else around you- is key to both real achievement, happiness, and health!

A tall statement to swallow I know, but it is true!

All of us instinctively grasp what this statement means, since all of us have had that... moment... when everything else just disappears, and we are caught up in the moment- whether we were hitting the bes
t baseball pitch ever, or sprinting our fastest sprint and feeling like we were flying, effortlessly, or playing our guitar and feeling like we were Jimi Hendrix reborn!  ALL of those are FLOW STATES!

And a flow state is the ultimate state of human kind- a kind of “state of grace” if you will.  And, when achieved, it makes all of life more than worth living, and is the ultimate human expression of self- self actualization!

I believe that is what we are here to experience.  The flow states of Exercise for the body, and Music for the soul- those are the ultimate ends, the means to happiness in the here- and- now.

I spoke of Alexander before: what was his “flow state”?

Well, he sent back specimens of all of the animals that were new that he encountered, to his mentor Aristotle when he was on his conquests out East... I’m sure that was part of his “flow”...

But for him, the greatest conqueror of his age, I’m sure he felt most fulfilled and alive in battle, as he ran at the enemy in his armor, dodging and thrusting with his sword, calculating without even thinking consciously like a modern day football player on the field, going with his interior flow!

Alexander always wore bright armor that identified him for who he was, and LED his armies into battle- do you think he attracted the enemy much??

We have come a long way from the bravery of Alexander in battle; now our generals hide away and order the soldiers to be brave instead...

So what is our “flow state”?

Whatever we feel we are “good” at!

And the key is to get good at something!

And I don’t even mean that would be something that others might “think” you are good at- just pursue, say exercise and music, and do them for fun, and do them as best you can!

Those are two that I have chosen.  But, you can choose whatever disciplines you want!

Like to work on cars?   I like old cars and trucks too!! Enter them as disciplines, and work on a “flow state”!

Landscaping or “rewilding” your yard or acreage?

I do that as well, and it is  wonderful candidate for achieving a flow state of satisfying creativity!!

What I’m saying is this: no matter what you choose, you can achieve the ultimate in human happiness by achieving an active “flow state” as you work towards your passion, whether it is flower arranging, auto mechanics, physical culture, visual arts or music- just find your passion!

As long as it is active, and requires you to learn, research, and pursue it actively- it can lead you to your flow state, and your realization and happiness in this world!!

The alternative is passivity- seeking out passive entertainments, easy “nutrition” like fast foods, no attention to diet or exercise, letting the Government and the media decide how you live and spend your time-

Just biding your time until you “prematurely” die...

That is a waste of your life.

Seek out your Passion(s)!  Whatever they are- pursue them!

Be like Alexander! Wear a bright colored helmet and run directly at what you want- let no one stop you!  When they try, dodge, jump, and thrust!

When you pursue your passion, above all- LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

You have prepared for it, and it is YOU!

Here is a great TED talk about Flow State!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #88 The Very Best Type of Exercise EVER!

pjsc podcast  #88 The Very Best Type of Natural Exercise You Can Do!

Something that I have brought up on a regular basis, and actually go into depth on in my eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise is most perfect type of exercise you can possibly do- it requires NO equipment, can be done anywhere, and allows a maximum contraction and tension throughout the whole range of motion of each muscle in the body from head to toe, and shapes the body symmetrically , and without damaging the discs in the back or risking shoulder or knee damage, which effects are inevitable with weight training!  What is this miracle form of exercise?

It’s what Charles Atlas taught in his famous mail order courses of comic book fame- he called it dynamic tension- it is also called virtual resistance, and transformetrics.

But whatever you call it, it works, it has worked for literally thousands of years in many cultures throughout the world, and it will work for you.

How does it work?  It’s simple once you see and understand it, and it is easily incorporated into your life.  The best way to understand and implement it is to either get my eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise, and/or go to www.transformetrics.com/exercises

This is part of the site of John E. Peterson, and he is the modern day, living personification of Charles Atlas!  Years ago, I found a couple of books of his, and learned of this form of exercise when I was still a busted up, chronically injured weight lifter- it changed my training life entirely, and actually improved and enhanced my physique and overall strength, while simultaneously freeing me from hours of painful training in the gym, and ultimately curing all my chronic injuries that had been caused by those very weights.

If you go to the transformetrics site, you can see the exercises I am talking about, which are really just controlled flexing of each muscle group throughout the full range of motion.

Really!  It is that simple- you just flex, the degree of applied tension is up to you- it can be a mild flex, but what you want to work up to is a powerful flex and tension as you slowly go through the full range of motion- you will feel it, strongly, and if you are used to using weights you will recognize the feeling as exactly the same- but without the damage to joints and cartilage- and actually more intense because the tension is just as strong in the “weak” part of the “lift” as it is in the strong part, and because there is no cheating as in lifting more weight by cheating in form... you know, like curling a heavy bar and rocking back to life more weight than you could with strict form- since the tension is generated internally, BY YOU, the tension (the “weight”) is always just what you make it, no more, no less, and so you can make it IDEAL at each and every part of the “lift”...

And no damage to your precious, God given body!

Not only no damage, but doing these movements will actually rejuvenate, and rebuild your physique from the inside out- where weights actually stress the tendons by chiefly putting the tension on the muscles only, virtual or self-generated resistance put the stress first on the tendons and ligaments, strengthening them first, and then safely passing the stress onto the musculature itself.

This not only develops the physique in the most symmetrical, natural and pleasing way, i.e. without excessive bulk as in a fat butt, bulky thighs, and protruding abdomen so common in heavy weight lifters and conventional bodybuilders, but it actually builds the sort of real world strength that is so important in performing real physical feats in the real world, like actually moving heavy awkward objects, and strength that is applicable in twisting, pounding, and otherwise moving in different planes of motion!

Not just things like, oh, squatting under a heavy bar and straining straight upwards, or lying on a bench, and pushing a heavy bar straight up, or lifting a heavy bar from the ground, straight up as in a deadlift-

How applicable is this sort of “strength” to daily life??

Especially, if while doing the above you are wearing a belt, and knee wraps, (as in the squat)?

Or a bench shirt, and wrist wraps, as in a bench press??

Or, doing a dead lift, wearing a belt, special shoes, and straps to hold the bar???

How strong are you REALLY??  I mean IN THE REAL WORLD?

And so, my friend- come back to the future!

As I so often say, our future is in our past!!

And this form of natural exercise has been with us forever, long before weights, or machines, or P90X, or any other training fad...

And, it is so easily incorporated into your daily life-

It is easy to do in your living room, in front of the television!

Or outside, in nature, amongst a grove of pine trees, as I often do...

Or in a motel room if you are traveling!

And how much time are we talking here??

Really, not that much at all!  The thing is, this form of virtual training is so natural, and physically so satisfying and non- draining, that the tendency is to just do it, and keep on for a while, since it feels so good.

To get good effects, time wise?  15 minutes will do very well!  That is enough time to work the entire body...

The thing is though, you work through the entire body, and are feeling great (not drained or sore or injured at all!), and then you decide to...

Repeat the cycle

And why not?  The muscles are warmed up, you feel great, and you want to increase the tension somewhat on the next cycle or set...

Also, you are in the middle of a movie or whatever program on TV, and you want to continue watching- why not keep going?

At a later stage, after doing this for awhile, you may want to add in some pushups, and some straight legged sit ups and hindu squats in the mix- I mean, as your strength and overall fitness increase, it just starts to feel good to use your muscles as God intended, and to gradually enhance your ability to do so... so you do!

Old aches and pains will diminish- I know mine did!  You will start to add in isometrics and self-resisted exercises- anything to continue building your body via physical culture which is what this whole process is as opposed to bodybuilding, cross fit, olympic lifting, or whatever damaging physical process you have been sucked into...


Virtual resistance, transformetrics, dynamic tension-

Whatever you call it- this natural, physical culturist form of exercise-

The kind that has been with us since pre-biblical times to train the greatest warriors ever, including peaceful warriors- and the greatest physiques such as the models for the statues of the ancient Greeks:

I call it Perfectly Paleo Exercise!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #18 FINALLY Give up Smoking!

Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #18 Finally GIVE UP SMOKING!!

I know- this doesn’t seem like a Paleo Quick Tip of the Day at all- I mean, we have been working on transitioning into the Paleo or ancestral way of life for 18 weeks now, and have literally, if following the suggestions here faithfully transformed our health and appearance dramatically for the better!   So why am I talking about smoking?

Well, early on in PQTD, I said to not even worry about giving up smoking, because it was so much more important to first give up grains.  This is correct: the damage done by grains, causing damage to your intestine resulting in a permeable intestine, or leaky gut is far worse for your health even than smoking!  And, including the loss of insulin sensitivity and the decreasing of communication between your insulin levels and lectin communication with your brain about your fat stores- the difference between giving up smoking, and giving up grains AND sugars if monumental.

Cigarettes will take 40 years or so to kill you; grains and sugars can do it much, much faster- and make you look and feel much, much worse as well!

So, that is why I put the stress first on giving up the grains and sugars, and only NOW turn to eliminating the lesser toxin of smoking!

Also, this last, contrary to popular belief, is incredibly easy nowadays.

You just substitute “vaping”, or an e-Cigarette device for your cigarettes!

Jerry Mathers or the Beaver!

Really, it is just that easy!  You can just get an advanced, refillable vaping device, like the Vapor Zeus by www. vap4life.com, and some e-Juice from either them, or from what I think is the best (I have researched all of this. at great length) e-juice provider- www.virginvapor.com

I will put more information up about all of this on a later post at www.paleojay.com, since that is a more appropriate forum for a more in depth article about not only vaping in general, and why it is an effortless and very effective substitute for smoking that not only eliminates most of the harm of cigarettes, but also is even more enjoyable for many, much cheaper and socially acceptable, and actually is a safe, appealing method to introduce measured amounts of nicotine… and nicotine actually has some wonderful HEALTH BENEFITS- it is the particulates from burning tobacco, and even more-so the many, many chemical additions from cigarette manufacturers that are really harmful!!

Lou Diamond Phillips

And so, get on board with gaping if you are a smoker!  Start right now- get a device, get some e-juice, and substitute!  Don’t get a cheap disposable e-cigarette if you really want to substitute this for the smoking habit- those are manufactured largely by the cigarette manufacturers who don’t really want you to quit!  Take control yourself- get a device, recharge it when needed, and cape away- add juice when needed-

YOU ARE NO LONGER A SMOKER- BOOM!  THAT FAST!

And if you want, you can easily taper the nicotine levels down to nothing, and STILL enjoy vaping.. on flavored water vapor!!  But, you may not even want to go that low, since there are some benefits to nicotine- but, more on that later!  For now, just enjoy being a vaper, and an ex-smoker!!

J


Check out this episode!