Forget Cardio!

 

The truth is definitely in: the whole fiasco of Ken Cooper’s Aerobics mania is dead.  Along with the high fat diet is the worst,  and the even earlier notion of  ‘better living through chemistry’ which promoted the noxious idea that drugs could not only prolong our lives, but improve them.

Despite Elvis and all the other following celebrities who were convinced that those ‘god-like’ prescription drugs could only make their lives better- after all, hadn’t science invented all of technology like cars and airplanes and tv- shouldn’t our biology also be improved upon by science and technology?

Well, no.  As the whole Paleo Diet and lifestyle revolution showed us, basically we are unchanged since our paleolithic past, biologically.  Evolution is very, very slow, just as it is unforgiving of bad missteps.  (We are currently devolving intellectually in the Western world, sadly, because of bad ideas about immigration and multiculturalism, that are lowering our average IQ and diluting the obvious strengths of our culture.  But that is for another podcast.)

And so, by switching to a high-grain and vegetable, low fat and less animal based diet, we severely impacted our health and vigor to the negative!  Just as we did when we succumbed (as most do today) to the idea that more drugs and medication are better.  (They most definitely are not better.)

The NORM should be that a human being should be taking no drugs whatsoever, whatever the age.  Drugs, whether prescription or illegal, can only make our overall health worse, not better!  Our bodies are amazing things, and will inevitably thrive if we do certain evolutionary, and common sense time-honored things:

Live in harmony with the natural world.  Get out in the woods and fields, barefoot, and move in nature.  Breathe pollen and fresh air, drink pure water from springs and wells.  (Not chlorinated/fluoridated pool water as most cities provide).  Stretch and move your joints through a full range of motion daily.

And do strength types of training on a regular basis, not cardio/aerobics!

Since the Aerobics boom in the 70’s and beyond, we expected to see a fit, vibrant group of practitioners flourish all about us, inspiring us to emulate their wonderful health achievements!  Yet, despite them training for and running marathons, half-marathons, and many other iterations of long distance running, the results we see no are just destroyed hips, knees, feet, and backs from meaningless pounding and jarring.  

Also, the endless low intensity work just encouraged the body to shed vital muscle tissue, and even impacted the organs as the body interpreted the conditions of evolution to be such that getting rid of tissue at any cost was a necessity, now that the body was being pushed to carry itself for endless miles, day after day, without letup!  Also, calorie consuming was vital, since it took energy to endlessly run, so eating bad processed carbs and grains seemed to make sense to this aerobically abused body.

And so, people were encouraged to push their bodies like this, at a long, tortuous low-level exertion, day after day, forever.  I believe that this forced the body, over time, to succumb to cancer, since the immune system cannot function while being so endlessly insulted and taxed!  

And when these folks stopped running, because of endless injuries and immune diseases that also proliferated in their bodies because of this constant depletion of resources, without necessary rest and recuperation- why, they just got fat!

Depleted of muscle because of endless aerobic demands, these aerobicized bodies were now just damaged skinny-fat people, stiff and weak and not fit at all!

How sad.  All that hard work left them damaged, diseased, and less fit.

I admit, to some extent back in the 1970’s, I fell for this myself.  Along with bell bottoms, I ran down my country road for a few miles several times per week.  But somehow, instinctively I always knew that strength counted for more than endless mileage being racked up by the human body.  So, strength training took precedence.  

And, as it turns out, strength training is indeed paramount.  Especially as we age, muscle tissue is crucial not only for lifting and moving things (like our own body!), but also for maintaining our sense of balance, and preserving our overall health and sense of independence!  In addition, muscle burns calories, not when we are mindlessly and endlessly racking up mileage on the roadways and sidewalks, but when we are simply existing- sitting, sleeping, walking, and eating- our muscles are constantly burning calories.

And so, my takeaway is this: Do strength training daily, or nearly so.  Stretch daily as well, and confine your ‘aerobic/cardio’ to barefoot walks in the woods and yards and beaches, and bouncing on your rebounder, which simultaneously energizes and cleanses your lymph system while training your balance mechanisms.  

And remember this, too- if you strength train properly, it is more aerobic than running.  While it builds muscle, it also works your cardio system, and does not destroy your body in any way.

So there you have it.  Do Perfectly Paleo Exercise!  And avoid drugs of all kinds, while eating a paleo diet that is animal based, with adjuncts from plants kept at a minimum.  Oh- and get out in nature every day, and avoid big cities, pollution, and our ever-growing criminal populations.  (You will need a gun for that, also.)

That’s it, you are now a modern, enlightened Paleo person who will carve out a future for healthy people on our planet.  You and your family- I thank you!

Stretching, Virtual Resistance- and Then Strength! podcast

 

I try to keep you all updated as to what I learn along this paleo journey.  Sometimes, as in anything increased experience and research results in slight changes on the path.  This doesn’t mean the path itself is invalid; it simply means that constant attention reveals small changes may be desirable.  

For instance, now in the grocery checkout aisles (where at LAST I am no longer required to wear a stupid, ineffective mask!) I see the dumb women’s magazines touting ‘KETO DIET’!  instead of  Paleo, or Atkins, or Low Fat, or Vegan  Run Wild diets.  I think Paleo was rejected as a term, since most women think of themselves as Progressives.  But whatever: the term makes the most descriptive sense for the proper diet of HUMANS!

A ketogenic diet is fine, with NO carbs and LOTS of fat, and ample protein.  But it is so extreme, it is clinical, really.  If I was diabetic, or had epilepsy, I would certainly go that route!  But for most of us?  

Nope.  Paleo, or a total Carnivore diet fills the bill the best.  Including organ meats, which almost no one eats now, although our paleolithic ancestors not only included those meats, but positively prized them.  They ate nose-to-tail, and so should we!

If you do eat grains, you should seek out real sour dough breads and nut-based crackers- and keep them in small amounts only.  Your carbs should be kept quite low, which should be obvious since the deplorable state of modern health is defined by obesity- caused by HUGE consumption (by historical standards) of carbs and sugars!  

But, enough of that- this is meant to address exercise.  

For many years, my exercise life has consisted of long sorts of workouts, and then long rests.  1 and 1/2 hour workouts, two or three times per week, very intense.  Of course, I also had a very active, physical job and life outside of the gym.

Now, though, I have begun a different approach.  One that is not only less exhausting and actually kind of something to dread- but is actually quite pleasant, and more effective!  Hard to believe, but sometimes easier is better.

Every single day, unless it is unavoidable, I get up and do a stretching workout.  I do it in front of the television, and that is the only time I watch TV throughout the day.  So, I really look forward to it!  I watch news, and then switch to a movie via Amazon Prime or some such. (I have dropped Netflix- it has become the standard of progressive politics brain washing and political correctness.)  I suggest you drop it too!

I’ve talked of this before, but doing Virtual Resistance types of exercise, putting your musculature through a full range of motion with each limb.  See the demonstration above.

This type of workout, if you do it faithfully, is more than enough to keep you fit for your whole life!  Really.  I always start with that.

Then, I go to the floor, and stretch.  In every way that I can- yoga like, not like yoga, and simply pushing my body and spine to stay supple and flexible!  It’s really not complicated.  Experiment!

Sometimes I end up with straight legged situps and pushups in high numbers, and often with isometrics holds with either a strap or my Exergenie from the 1960’s!  (They still sell the Exergenie, but it is expensive now.  A nylon straps works almost as well…)

Then, having watched about an hour’s worth of a movie and business news, I head to the shower.  I’m not tired- just invigorated and informed and entertained!

My day begins then with breakfast (a paleo smoothie, with kefir, some vegetables, orange and grapefruit, berries and cranberries, and Vitamin D liquid, turmeric, ginger, kelp powder, and apple cider vinegar), and a couple of eggs and/or bacon.  I’m usually doing something outdoors most of the day, and then, after lunch in mid-afternoon, I do my strength mini-workout.  

I have gymnastic rings, and a power rack in my basement.  I go down, and do lots of pushups on the rings, and other gymnastic types of exercises, which I guarantee you will do more for your body in terms of aesthetics and total health and mobility than weights ever could!  And, the rings just cost about $30, and last a lifetime.

It took me a long time, but I finally learned that super-heavy weights are unnecessary, and actually do more harm than good!  And that LONG weight sessions are not needed, or desirable, at all.

20-30 minutes, tops, on the rings is enough.  And twice a week is plenty!  

That’s how simple it can be, for total health and fitness.

Do Virtual Resistance exercises, daily.  

Stretch as well, in front of the TV, early morning.

A couple of times per week, do pushups, pull-ups and dips on the gymnastic rings you have hanging in your garage, basement, or on a local basketball hoop.  

You are now a paragon of fitness.  And it will actually be effortless, since it is your chosen lifestyle, not a form of punishment!  It is your fulfillment.

Rebuild Your Face on PaleoJays Smoothie Cafe podcast

In health and wellness, much is made of building the muscles, and even ligaments and tendons of the body stronger and more healthy.  This can be done by exercising correctly, ala Perfectly Paleo Exercise, where the body is briefly taxed near to its limits using isometrics, virtual resistance where the musculature is taxed by generating its own resistance. Isometrics, and calisthenics such as high rep or slow cadence pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.

All of this is wonderful stuff, and goes along perfectly with a paleo type of diet- a diet that is in harmony with our evolutionary past, which is the case with our exercise regimen, which also duplicates how our body was meant to be used to stay functional and vital!

But the missing part of our evolutionary health that is often ignored is that of our face- tongue, oral cavity, and teeth! What determines not only our health, but what we look like.

There is a Dr. Mews, Michael Mews to be exact from England, who along with his father has tackled this in detail.  They have developed a system in which not only are the teeth straightened and the jaw aligned properly, but the very face itself is changed for the better along evolutionary lines for healthier, and more aesthetically pleasing contours!

You can find numerous videos on YouTube about this system, which is known as Orthotropics - International Association of Facial Growth ...

‘Mewing’ is another term for this practice, where you learn to place your tongue just behind your front teeth as a natural resting place, which aligns both your teeth, tongue and jaw.  

We have been ‘devolving’ as it were lately, as a bunch of ‘mouth breathers’, hunched over looking at our phones with a slack jaw, peering myopically at tiny printing with sagging shoulders… The remedy is to stand up straight, ( or sit straight at least), with our shoulders back, our tongue resting on the roof of our mouth, and our lips together.  Breathe through your nose, not your mouth!  

Do this continuously, especially at a young age, and you will literally change the shape of your face, jaw, teeth and oral cavity!  Really, it is just that simple.  It is our evolution, carried over into modern life, and it is quite powerful.

There are various facial exercises you can do to help, but the very best one is also the most simple- chew multiple sticks of gum as exercise for your jaw and mouth!  REALLY.  I will take from 4-10 sticks of gum and chew them vigorously, even using my tongue to squish the gum around, and it is a great exercise for the entire oral cavity- teeth, tongue, and jaw muscles, which altogether determine your entire facial shape.

The most obvious benefit for someone of my age is to develop the tongue, in particular, to be toned and strong, so it does not fall down to cause sleep apnea.  I am almost 68 now (next month) and let me tell you that among my peers of this age, almost all males have severe sleep apnea!  Of course, most are also weak, diabetic, and weak visioned as well… but, I’m here to tell you that all of these conditions have nothing to do with age, per se, but with DISUSE.

And also, of course, with a lack of true knowledge: face exercise exists, is easily doable, and will benefit your health greatly!  As does natural, Perfectly Paleo Exercise, which will utterly rejuvenate your body along with a natural, human paleo diet.  

And the last things you need to know?  Exercise your eyes, by standing straight outdoors, shoulders back, and looking off into the distance.  Don’t just look ‘up close’ at things- that way lies myopia, which is a modern plague.

Also, walk around barefoot.  Lots, always when in the house, and when you can outdoors.  Shoes being worn almost exclusively is the cause of the vast, vast majority of foot problems!!

And, since we seem to be covering most all of the bases here, there are two more big ones to cover:  get at least 8 good hours of sleep per night!

AND:  avoid most medical care, unless absolutely necessary!!  It causes far more harm than good!  

More about that next podcast, on Medical Nihilism.

Exercise for Those Who Don't! PJSC

Let’s say you don’t exercise- most adults don’t!  In fact, about 80% don’t exercise at all…  Perhaps this goes a long way in explaining just why Americans (and other western countries) are so fat, sick, and nearly dead.  (But they sure can watch long binges of Netflix!!)  

Here is the thing: exercise is essential, not optional.  Just like getting a proper diet, our environment has changed vastly since we were hunter gatherers, or even small family farmers and housewives.  Or, for that matter, from how it was even just a few short decades ago, when just to earn our livelihoods entailed quite a bit of physical work, and using the strength of our bodies to get by.  In other words, for most of human history- exercise was built into our lives!  

Not tons of endless cardio as was espoused just in the 70’s and 80’s, (which mainly destroyed joints and muscle), or violent sports such as football, (which also destroyed lots of joints and other body parts).  No- sports are not exercise.  This is an elusive concept really: for introverted types, who hate spectator sports by and large, they really don’t want to ‘do sports’, thinking that this is necessary to ‘exercise’.  

It isn’t, in fact it is quite the opposite!  Sports destroy exercise results, exploiting it while tearing it down through over-exertion and injury.  (Average pro football players die in their early 50’s).  Also, they lost muscle mass during the season, while they drive their bodies to destruction.  Sports are kind of like warfare- win at all costs- including yourself!

Exercise is like nutrition- slow and steady wins the race!  In fact, I will go so far as to say that most successful, lifelong exercisers- are those who don’t participate in organized sports, and just build exercise into their lives, enjoying the lifelong resulting health benefits.  It actually helps to not have a competitive bone in your body!

I have exercised my entire adult life, from when I was starting college at 18 on.  To me, it was simply a logical choice.  While I fell slightly into the ‘long distance running’ delusion early on, I never ran more than a few miles at a time.  I could see that it diminished muscle mass, thus destroying my hard-won strength gains!

Now I am 66, and exercise daily for about an hour or so, sometimes more sometimes less.  When I hike, or cut and move wood, or go skiing or a hundred and one other physical things- this is not exercise.  When I exercise, I make the movement as hard as possible.  When I do physical work- I make it as easy as possible, even if sometimes it is quite physically taxing.  Physical work is about efficiency, just like sports!

How do I do it?  Do I force myself??  No.  I just do it, daily- I feel so much better with it, that I hate to miss!  

Here is how you can do likewise:

When you first awaken, do stretches and mobility movements, I wouldn’t even call them ‘exercise’.   I go to my bathroom, shut the door, and begin by stretching from one side to the other while standing.  (You probably already do this, most animals do as well)!

Next, I methodically rotate each part of my body a few movements both clockwise and counter clockwise, to ‘wake each joint up’, and get the synovial fluid within the joints lubricating.  This also helps to gently awaken you, and so encourage you to methodically go through each region of your body likewise.  

Within a few minutes, you will feel totally awake and energized, ready to tackle your day!  For a video of this, see my ebook Perfectly Paleo Exercise

 https://www.amazon.com/Perfectly-Paleo-Exercise-Training-Transformation-ebook/dp/B0083LP8JG

It will run you through all the basics.

But for now- just stop with that!!  It is really a huge step just to have rewakened the body you were given in your childhood.  Just enjoy the feeling, and thing about how it feels to have an awakened, aware physical body!  

Just as with nutrition, once begun is half done.  Have a good breakfast today, perhaps scrambled eggs and sausage, or maybe just a little sprinkled in cheese or onions.  Skip the toast, now and forever.  

That’s it: you are on your way.  

Next step: park 2 blocks away from work, or if it is the store, so be it- 2 blocks!  

Now, just build on this, incrementally- more mobility in the morning with stretching, perfect breakfast (and then lunch and supper), and perhaps more walking after dinner.  

Next week, add in pushups, stretching, and situps in front of the TV before you make breakfast!  Not a ton, just a few minutes, and then, as you get stronger and fitter, more the next day of week…

Get it??  YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO LIFELONG EXERCISE, HEALTH AND FITNESS!!

Make Your OWN Supplements!

Really- make your own supplements! 

It’s not hard, and it will save not only your health, but money too.  The secret is to replace or at least add to one meal each day a glass of a smoothie that you make yourself.  I call mine the paleo green smoothie, and I have made it for quite a few years- changing up the ingredients from time to time, depending on what foods I have handy in my refrigerator and freezer. 

For, make no mistake: good, healthy foods are the very best “supplements” you can consume!  You simply take wonderful ancestral types of foods, and combine them in a high speed blender to make the healthiest beverage ever.  Let’s go over what I made today, to last me for at least 4 days:

I always start with a full fat kefir, since it is a great probiotic, and is liquid.  I never measure, just going by intuition.  About a cups worth or more to start.  Then, I add in Vitamin D liquid, ginger powder, turmeric powder, and often kelp powder.  I keep them in spice jars near my blender, so it just takes a moment to shake them all in.

Then, I carry my Vitamix canister around to my refrigerator, and add a couple of raw pastured eggs, apple cider vinegar- just a healthy splash (another great probiotic), some kelp sprouts I had in there I added today, and then I open the freezer.

I add in a healthy pour of California Mix, which is widely available in big frozen bags, and then some greens- today, I had some kelp that I had frozen before so it wouldn’t go bad when I had too much of the fresh stuff.  Then, I added in some frozen cantaloupe, and some mixed frozen berries, along with 1/2 of a banana my wife had left from her own breakfast.  Oh, I also threw in one beet- I discard the greens, since they are loaded with oxalates and are to be avoided.  I kind of ‘forage’ for stuff in my fridge, since I hate for good food to go to waste!

It wasn’t quite as liquid as I’d have liked, so I added in some green tea from my thermos, and blended it up.  I drank a healthy glass, while I poured the rest of the smoothie into clean canning jars that I keep just for that purpose, and stored it all in the fridge.

The whole process takes less than 10 minutes, and is quite enjoyable, since I listen to a podcast or music while I do it- and then- I have my supplements ready for the week.  Much better than pills or potions, and easily obtainable at the grocery store. 

The one thing you do need to have is a good quality, high speed blender- your old $20 cheapie is not going to cut it here.  Vitamix is best, but there are others that will work- I’ll leave it up to you to choose the right one for you and your budget.

Just remember one thing, though: a good blender will last you for at least 10 years- and that’s 10 years of excellent, health producing smoothies!  Pro-rated, it is really a minimal investment overall.  Cheers!

Don't Be a New Year's Resolution Exerciser

Now is the time when most folks are exercising.  And I do mean now- for the first week or two of the New Year.  I drive by local gyms, it seems there are endless versions all over my little community, all of whose parking lots are full.  For now.

I always wonder, ‘if there are all of these gyms, almost everywhere, and all of these people belong and go on a regular basis- why do I rarely see a fit looking person?’   It is a legitimate question to ask, but unfortunately I already think that I know the answers:

First off, these people are going to commercial gyms.  They have to drive there, change clothes, shower, change back, and then drive home.  This is a major time commitment, right off the bat- also, usually a major financial committment. 

Secondly, they are working out on lackluster exercise equipment, result producing-wise.  Treadmills, ellipticals, resistance machines, free weights- they are all not much bang for the time spent kinds of tools.  These are the kind of exercise equipment that, to get any real results, takes tons of time on a regular basis!  And, in the case of the treadmills et al, results will be very, very little regardless of the time spent! 

Ever notice that people with really physically demanding jobs tend to have much better physiques and useful strength and endurance as opposed to gym rats?  Look around- it really it true.  Also, the ones that work hard jobs tend to keep their useful sort of fitness their whole life long!

There are a few real ways to ensure that you become fit, and stay fit, very fit- off the charts for your age group fit- simply by following a few simple guidelines:

Work out at home.  This is really the main ideal and directive.  Working out at home, early in the morning before the rest of the family is up, not only makes sure that you get the workout in and done each and every day, it also makes it: 1. actually enjoyable- something you will look forward to each day.

2. Takes a fraction of the time.

Try the PaleoJay approach- you go to bed early, early enough that you get a good 8 hours of sleep in a totally blacked out room.  Congratulations- that alone is the hardest part of the whole approach!  Because once you get those 8 hours, you will be ready to get up and go, whether it is 6:00 AM, 5:00 AM, or 4:30 AM, which is the time I got up for many years each morning.  Now I’m retired, and can work out anytime, but I still work out the very first thing every morning- the only difference now is that- I work out longer!  Because I have the luxury of time. 

I used to work out for 45 minutes each morning.  Doing Perfectly Paleo Exercise of virtual and self-resistance exercise, coupled with isometrics, rebounding,  pushups and straight-legged sit ups, interspersed with stretching- 45 minutes is plenty of time to really get fit.  And, it is really fun to do in front or your television, in your living room! 

You just need a yoga mat, (I used to use a big towel, but a mat is better since it is cushioned and it doesn’t slide).  A rebounded can be had for around $30, and lasts indefinitely.  Also, ideally you will have a strong strap, like a cargo or moving strap of thick nylon strapping (around $10 or so), and I have two other things that I like but that aren’t absolutely necessary:  The Perfect Pushup device of rotating handles for doing high volume pushups without irritating your shoulder, wrist and elbow joints, and an ab wheel, which is just a wheel with handles sticking out of the axle for doing ab roll-outs.  That is really all that you need, and it can all be stashed behind a chair or under the couch.

Pull out of your gym membership- they are actually counterproductive towards fitness!  Take walks in the woods instead all winter long, ski poles make all your limbs work, and help you not slip around so much as well.  Or cross country ski- but you need enough snow for that!  Come spring, don’t buy expensive running shoes- do your feet a favor, and get out for some barefoot sprinting- 10 -15 minutes is about the best workout you can have for the total body and getting ripped!

My favorite “fun addition” for extra workouts is a set of gymnastic rings, hung up in my basement on the rafters- they are the best way to work your whole body, quickly and safely and effectively that I have found.  One other thing: heavy hands walking, where you swing small dumbbells or handles of 5 pounds or so, as you walk through the woods.  Not much time is needed, and it is a blast to do!

But for now, you don’t need any of this stuff- save it until you’re old and retired like I am, and you’ve developed the habits to love being fit and healthy, and enjoy fine-tuning it.  Now, you’ve got work, or studies, and a family perhaps, among other things to take almost every minute of your day (and night!).  Just resolve to do the basics:  8 hours sleep, workout in the living room, shower, and then you will feel not only ready, but eager to take on the rest of your day- because you will feel great- every single morning from now on- GUARANTEED!!

Check out this episode!

How to Work Out Each and Every Day- Happily!

One thing that I guarantee will change your life for the better is this: build movement, or exercise, into your day.  Each and every day!

The thing is that you if you get out of the habit, if you start saying to yourself: “Oh, I don’t want to just spend time ‘exercising’, just spinning my wheels- I want to accomplish things!”; why then, you are setting yourself up for an increasingly unhealthy life.  For the truth is, movement is life! 

It really is.  Nothing living ever thrives, or even enjoys life, by just lying dormant.  When we move, when the blood rushes through our bodies, we feel alive and well- because we are!  Sitting is not only the new smoking- it is a kind of death, in a way, if done to excess.  Sleeping is wonderful for us, and sitting is also great, when done in moderation.  Sitting is a good posture for active reflection: for reading, contemplation, meditation, eating at the table with our ‘tribe’- all very good postures and activities.

Sitting in front of a screen, however- whether tv, computer, smart phone or ipad- this can become a type of bad hynosis, wasting our very lives.  Here is how to use a screen productively:  Exercise in front of the television!

I know, I’ve brought this up before, because it really works.  When I awake in the morning, I don’t think ‘what should I do first this morning’, and wander downstairs, make breakfast, and run off to work with maybe a little perfunctory stretching.  No, I awaken, after a good 8-9 hour night’s sleep, because that’s what I always plan for.  I go into the bathroom, and do some mobility exercises, getting the synovial fluid going in my elbow, knees, ankles, shoulder and spine to ready my body for its daily movement.  This mobility and stretching routine takes about 2-3 minutes, tops.

Then, downstairs I go, feeling wide awake and looking forward to: my program!Whether movie, tv show, Netflix or Amazon Prime- NOW is the only time I allow myself to watch!  I am literally champing at the bit to watch a great program that I have queued up and have ready.  Lately, I’ve been watching the last season of Longmire, just so you know.

This system works beautifully!  I almost never miss my morning workout, and my stretching, pushups, situps, and virtual resistance exercises done on my rebounder actually make my television viewing more intense than if I was just sitting like a lump.  I’m barefoot, alone, and it’s just me and the show- it’s wonderful really.

And this is every day.  Think of the shape you will be in, how much your bodily health would benefit if you exercised religiously and thoroughly- every single day!  Trust me: your health and wellness will go off the charts, straight upwards- mine did, even though before adopting this regimen I used to work out 3-4 times per week.  Daily workouts are so much more beneficial, they revamp your whole body and mindset!  AND, they actually become in many ways the high point of your entire day.  Hard to believe, but very true for all that- exercise, the thing most people dread more than anything- becomes your favorite thing!

Just make sure it is Perfectly Paleo Exercise, which is outlined in my ebook, and at  www.paleojay.com.  Virtual resistance and self resisted exercise, along with high rep calisthenics and rebounding, with stretching built into your routine as well.  Natural Exercise, if you will…

You will be healthy and happy, trust me.  In fact, I enjoy exercise so much now, that I also go out in the afternoons most days to ‘heavyhand’ walk, and at least twice per week I do my heavy basement workouts on my gymnastic rings and utilizing my power rack for isometrics- but, on those basement workouts and on my power walks: I listen to podcasts.  

In a way, I ‘bribe’ myself into exercise, because it works!  Go thou and do likewise.

How to Work Out on Paleojays smoothie cafe podcast

Virtual Resistance Exercise demonstrations

Wow- this is an all-encompassing podcast, to say the least-  HOW TO WORKOUT?  Well, all I mean really is to give you a template.  A What to do when type of workout schedule.

I just see so many folks flounder when it comes to working out!  Really- it is not that complicated, and it definitely is not that hard.  It takes effort, sure; but so does working a job.  And most high achievers (no welfare folks need apply), have no problem with that!

Here is how I see it:  the problem areas- 

1. Work out at home.  Yup, the number one reason for not working out is “lack of time”.  Working out at home gives you that time.

2. Don’t use a gym, or elaborate equipment.  Again, equipment is not only unnecessary, it is counterproductive.  Just use your own body!

3.  Realize that diet trumps exercise- REALLY.  As important as exercise is- and it definitely is, as I do it every single day- diet is way, way, WAY more important!!

That is basically it, as far as exercise is involved.  Use your own body- virtual resistance, Perfectly Paleo Exercise should be your core exercise, along with bodyweight exercises such as pushups and hindu squats and straight-legged setups and stretches, along with using gymnastic rings to do these bodyweight exercises…  Hey- check out my ebook Perfectly Paleo Exercise to see what I’m talking about!

But, one thing that has really helped me is this: 

1. Choose one day of the week for one exercise program!

I know, it doesn’t sound like much, but let me tell you that there are many things that derail your exercise program.  Many.  Life intervenes.  So, what to do?

Today was Thursday, which for me is pushup day.  This makes it super simple- I wake up, and think “It’s Thursday!”  I know that that, and Sunday, are the big, pushup and whole body workouts of my week.  

It doesn’t matter if I haven’t had a chance to work out in a week, or even two.  On this day, this Thursday, I know I should, if I can, be doing pushups- so I do!  I get out my Perfect Pushups and, after I do my Perfectly Paleo Virtual Resistance Exercises (as I always do, 99% of the time when I awake), I know I need to do pushups today, along with wheeled ab extensions and side ab raises. (Those are what I have chosen- you may choose differently, but I hope not too much…)

On Fridays, I do Virtual Resistance, and then rebounding with further virtual resistance..

And so it goes- the important point is this: 

Each day has it’s own exercise protocol!

And so, even if you miss a day, or two, or three, or- whatever- you know what to do on that day, when you finally can!!

It’s just like brushing your teeth- you do it if you possibly can!  And taking a shower, during which you oil pull, swishing coconut oil between your teeth as you shower- wonderful feeling of health, again!  

And, like drinking a green paleo smoothie as I outline in www.paleojay.com  

Exercise on a daily basis with Perfectly Paleo Exercise virtual resistance as a core, shower and “pull” coconut oil as you do so, and consume a daily green paleo smoothie- 

This is not only “how to work out”- THIS IS HOW TO LIVE!

Lift LIght not Heavy

Light lifter

Heavy lifter

This research has been around for about 6 or 7 years now, but the information has yet to circulate widely throughout the fitness world- lifting light weights is just as effective for developing both strength and muscle size!
Why is this such big news? Well, for many athletes, and just plain regular folks who want to improve their health and appearance, the advice has been to “lift heavy” for many years. This means to lift a weight at least 80% of your one-rep max in that particular lift, and do it for around 8 to 10, or even fewer reps. To exhaustion!
While this method works for muscle size and strength, it also sets you up for injury- just the sheer loading of the big weights on your body can damage your joints and spine. Recent studies have repeatedly shown that much lighter weights, when also done to near exhaustion with much higher reps, (say 25 or so) are every bit as effective as those heavier weights- for both size- and strength!
I have known about this for years, in fact I have figured out that tensing the muscle throughout its range of motion- even with no weights at all!- is just as effective as lifting weights! But, using a small weight, say about 30% of so of your one rep maximum lift, helps to give many inexperienced lifters in this style the “feel” of the weight, which helps them to concentrate on the muscle being worked, helping them to actively tense it. This vastly increases the effectiveness, or the “inroad” on the muscle so it is triggered to strengthen!
Actually, I have found that the better one becomes at thinking into the muscle being worked, the lighter the weight that needs to be used.
It is so much safer to use lighter (or no weights at all) that that alone is reason to adopt this method. You don’t need a spotter, you don’t need a power rack, you don’t need knee wraps or other artificial aids- just your body! If you squat, say, with 50 pounds, your chance of knee and spine injury is vastly reduced. In addition, the cardio/respiratory benefits derived from high rep exercise are far more beneficial at infusing life-giving, muscle-building blood into your muscles. This enhances rebuilding and recovery immensely!
It is also less daunting mentally to lift lighter- the psychological effect of knowing you are going to be lifting as hard as you can for a period of time is more than most people can bear- they just decide to not exercise, it’s too hard and painful. If you lift light, you actually enjoy each rep, you feel the muscle being worked as it is meant to be used, and it feels good! We have not evolved to work as hard as possible, briefly- and then just stop.
Our bodies are meant to work, easily, and only up the effort gradually, as we tire. This is the natural way to use our musculature, and our respiratory ability. It is a way to work out that we will keep doing for our lifetimes.
It is Perfectly Paleo Exercise.

Check out this episode!

Fake Health News

The big thing now is: Fake News. On the political front, this is a huge problem, as our major media has capitulated almost entirely to the liberal side, and only broadcasts and prints stories that advance their own particular left wing agenda. Facts be damned!
Fortunately, now we have the internet, and we can actually fact check what is being broadcast to us. We also have Fox news, which really is “Fair and Balanced”, as they advertise, and talk radio to tell us the other side, the real news.
Fake Medical and Health news is just as real of a phenomenon, and keeps most of us totally in the dark as it concerns our health and well-being! As a paleo practitioner, you are probably becoming aware of this, if you don’t know it already. Ironically, the vast majority of traditional medical doctors dismiss the paleo lifestyle and diet completely; and do so without reading the recent research on the subject, the clinical trials, or anything else- just like those who follow the New York Times follow its dictates blindly, like lemmings, so too do most medical doctors, nurses, and everyone else follow 40 year old medical science just as blindly.
Most heart procedures are not only incredibly expensive and dangerous, but they don’t really work as advertised. Only in a life threatening situation, where the patient has already had a heart attack are they helpful at all! As a preventive measure, for instance when the doctor’s “tests” lead him to pronounce that ‘Your arteries are 95% blocked,’ or some such statement, and then he says you need a stent to prop your arteries open. Well, that’s not how it works.
If you go through with this incredibly dangerous procedure, and it you live through it, the benefits are very temporary. Your arteries will fill right back up, narrowing again. It’s kind of like bailing out a leaking boat, without first fixing the leak that the water is pouring in!
You need to fix your lifestyle and diet- go paleo, in other words, and heal your body from the inside out- the body heals itself, not the physician.

This goes for the drugs everyone is being sold- the statin drugs are toxic drugs with all kinds of side effects, and they are pushed to sell in the many billions of dollars. They are supposed to help control cholesterol, when it has been overwhelmingly shown that high cholesterol is not a problem for the vast majority. The drug sales just make the pharmaceutical companies, and the medical clinics, lots and lots of money!
Even in small ways, you can avoid toxic drugs like aspirin and Tylenos, ibuprofen and all the other NSAID drugs that perforate your gut lining (just as does wheat!), and make you susceptible to all of the autoimmune diseases that are destroying our whole population. Take white willow bark if you need to treat pain; not only is it very effective, it is actually good for you- artificial aspirin is actually quite harmful, since it is an isolation of the acetylsalicylic acid that is one component of the white willow bark. If you take the whole product, instead of the chemically produced version, it is far gentler on your stomach and intestines, and actually a real food type of product.
The main takeaway is to not take any drugs. Really- legal or illegal- they all have really bad side effects. ALL.
And clean up your diet, getting rid of the grains and sugars, and the processed foods. Eat real, God-made foods, like pastured meats, dairy and eggs. LOTS of green veggies- a green smoothie is very helpful in this regard. Exercise daily, including lots of stretching, and do not run long distances or lift heavy weights- both will wear out your joints.
Do bodyweight, and especially the Perfectly Paleo Exercise of virtual resistance exercise! Walk barefoot, and rebound daily as part of your morning routine. Sleep 8-9 hours per night. Use intermittent fasting on a regular basis, practice not eating skipping supper, or breakfast, or both.
That’s it, really- just by doing those very simple, and actually liberating things, you will rebuild your health, and free yourself from dependency on drugs, clinics and doctors. Think about it: things are often made needlessly complex so that we rely upon others, rather than on ourselves- and if we do that, those very people benefit by taking our money!
Forget Fake News, and especially Fake Medical News! Go paleo, be an ancestral human who thinks for him or herself! You will be healthy, and happy and mentally well-adjusted- not a liberal sheep that does what he is told, by those who benefit by having him as a “useful idiot”, as these types were referred to by Communist leaders.




Check out this episode!

PJSC podcast #125 Do NOT lift Heavy Things!

"Train Lighter" says Frank Zane

Oh boy, will this be contentious- NOT to “lift heavy things”, one of the Paleo/Primal cornerstones of healthy living!  It’s almost as if I said “Don’t eat grass fed beef”, or “Eat wheat!”  I know you’ve heard it, over and over and over again- “Lift Heavy Things”, probably immediately followed by “avoid chronic cardio”.
Well, I do want you to avoid chronic cardio, which is doing endless running, biking, aerobics (wait- does anyone do that anymore!!?), spinning, even walking for hours and hours each day… That is excessive, and accomplishes very little in terms of strength or health.  It just generates cortisol, the stress hormone, and puts your body into the fight or flight alert mode that we want to avoid.  And it destroys your joints!!  And of course- do NOT eat Wheat!!  (But do eat grass fed meat, particularly organ meats).
But, to reiterate: do not lift heavy things.  Why do I say this?  Because lifting really heavy things, at the limit of your strength, destroys your joints just as surely as chronic cardio, perhaps even more so.  I know, strength training is essential; I would never disagree with that- I train daily, and at almost 64 it is more necessary than ever.
BUT I DON’T LIFT HEAVY THINGS!
This is the bottom line to me:
"A person who "lifts" weights tries to make a heavy weight feel light, while a person who "trains" with weights tries to make a light weight feel heavy."
Truer words were never spoken, although you might need to read that a few times until it sinks in.
The ideal way to train for strength, health, and overall fitness is to use a weight only to help your concentration enough so that you can adequately stress the muscle!  If you have the concentration, you can do this with a 2 lb. dumbbell- you just flex enough by sensing the resistance of the muscles involved and making the resistance harder yourself.  Instead of “hitting the gas pedal” and making the muscles work super hard to lift a really heavy weight, you “put on the brakes” within the muscles, intentionally making the lifting harder.

Here is a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who certainly knows what it is to lift heavy things:

“Well, my favorite exercises I’m not able to do today, because of joint problems. For instance, the basic squat. I would love to be able to squat again, but in order to protect my knees I do mostly the Lifecycle and bicycling and the elliptical, but no more squats. The knees are like a tire. When the tires last up to 30,000 miles, you have to decide how you want to use them. Do you want to use them up in one year, or do you want to use them over a period of 10 years? It’s the same thing with joints. So, I decided 10 years ago, when I started to feel the wear and tear and was feeling pain in my joints, that now I should adjust my training and do more high reps with less resistance.”

Frank Zane recently said something very similar, but even more telling:

Many people have asked me over the years what I would do differently if I had the chance to go back to my early years of training in the late 60's and early ’70's?

In those days, I did what was necessary for me to win. This included training with heavy weights: a precursor for injury.
So if I could do it over again, I’d train with lighter weights, higher reps, no sets below 10 reps, with negatives slower than positives, and avoid injury. If I had done that, my physique wouldn’t have been quite as bulky, but with more definition and with less pain.

  This says it all- One of the greatest physiques of all time, and he says LIGHTER weights would have been preferable...

Take this as a wake up call.  I trained for years, quite heavy, but drew back around the age of 50 or so, because of increasing joint problems.  Just in time!  I have rehabbed my shoulders, my knees, and my elbows; largely by practicing isometrics, self-resisted exercise along with calisthenics and “virtual” resistance, or self-generated resistance within the muscle itself.  All of this I detail in my eBook Perfectly Paleo Exercise, and also on my website www.paleojay.com

In the old days, strength trainers knew- you train with light weights, or no weights to build strength, both in your muscles, but also in your ligaments and tendons.

You lifted heavy weights only on occasion- to demonstrate strength!  Then, you drew back again to training mode, the positive cycle of NOT LIFTING HEAVY THINGS.

So, don’t lift heavy things.  Don’t run marathons, or triathlons, or get into marathon crossfit sessions that tax you to the utmost!  Don’t Power lift, or Olympic lift either; if health and strength over your lifetime are your chief concern. (As I think is appropriate).
Learn to control your muscles, learn deep, abdominal breathing.  Meditate, and eat a Paleo type of diet.  Have a plant based smoothie each and every day, and get involved with your “tribe” of family, neighbors, friends and church!

Now, you aren’t “heavy”- you’re my brother!