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.

Work Out Like a 4 Year Old podcast on PaleoJays Smoothie Cafe

Most people work out all wrong!  They get in their car, and drive to a gym to exercise.  Or, if they have wised up over time- they skip all of that, and have a home gym setup at home, in their garage or basement.  That is fine, and what I have done for many years; the idea of driving to a gym and working out is fine in high school or college, and is how I exercised throughout my early 20’s.  It’s a good way to learn…

Then, you work out on a regular schedule in your home gym.  Weights in the basement, with a sturdy power rack are great.  You can get big and strong in this manner, which is great in your youth!  But as you age, what is the best way to stay fit?

Well, I maintain that working out in your living room or TV room if you have one is ideal!  Not only for you, but for your 4 year old grandson as well, and he can show you how:

Approach your workout like pure play, for that is what it ideally is.  All you really need is a space in front of the television, a yoga mat (to protect your carpet and cushion you a bit), a rebounder, and an Exergenie (ideally)  for isometrics.  I also recommend the Perfect Pushup, but get the pro or heavy duty model- high volume pushups will wear out a standard model quickly, while my heavy duty model has lasted more than a decade with no signs of wearing out!  The other thing I like to have is an ab roller, which is a wonderful exercise, but this is optional- straight-legged setups are just as good- I just like to do both.

When my 4 year old grandson is over, as he has been lately a lot, and we can’t go outside because it is so cold, I turn on the TV for him, and just observe.  He sets down my rebounder, and starts- jumping!  

If the TV is on for an hour, he jumps the whole time!  Sometimes, he may run into an adjacent room to get a toy to hold while jumping (Batman is a favorite), or to crouch down by his giant Batman cave toy, but he quickly resumes his jumping again.  I notice that when the action is exciting- (fast cartoon chase scenes and the like)- he jumps much higher and faster!  He gauges his intensity by how he feels at the moment in time, and this is the essence of intuitional training.  His endurance is off the charts!  I feel he should avoid strength training until he is at least 40 pounds or so…

He doesn’t do it for health, or because he should. He just does it naturally, out of joyful movement that is part of our humanness.  It feels good, and so he does it with gusto!  

We should do the same.  Now that I am in my 60’s, I have no desire to be big.  Strong is something else, something we should all aspire to improve, always!  Maintenance of musculature is one of the most important aspects of health, lifelong- but especially as we age.  So, isometrics are ideal, as they vastly increase strength, without huge additions of bulk!  No, just lean, corded muscle (and tendon improvements as well), that shapes and is the engine of your body.

I have a book I wrote a few years back that outlines my workouts, called Perfectly Paleo Exercise.  The ebook version is better, and cheaper, but the gist is here- I do virtual resistance exercise first, (after turning on the TV of course), and flex my muscles throughout their entire range of motion. Here is my basic outline right here, on YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI65LRENdKo

This is the perfect core series of exercises for anyone, for all time!  Years ago they were called Tiger Moves, which I think is king of hokey- I like Virtual Exercise better.  But whatever- this type of weightless exercise, where the resistance is generated by you, yourself within the muscle is the safest, most productive way to maintain and improve all aspects of muscular fitness!  So start with that…

Then, get on the floor mat, and start stretching.  Start off with a long Asian squat, where you squat deeply with bare feet flat on the mat, and just relax in that position- this is the most beneficial, needed stretch that Westerners can do.  It takes the load off of your back, and is the basic ‘resting posture’ of human beings that don’t have chairs, worldwide.  Then, lie down on your back and stretch, get on all fours and stretch and move, and wind up in a back bridge if you can do so- I have daily for many years, and find it to be a total body stretch, and isometric hold that is invaluable!

Then, just as my grandson runs off to grab his Batman toy, I go to the wicker basket I keep all my minimal exercise gear in and grab my Exergenie.  Mine is an old one from the 1960’s that I got on Ebay years ago, and it is wonderful for isometrics- but, you can use a long strap just as effectively for the same purpose.  There is a product called the forearm forklift that works perfectly for this, although it is meant to move furniture without straining your back.  It is two nylon straps with built in handles, and it is great for isometrics, and also for moving heavy furniture!

Use your Exergenie or nylon straps to do presses, and curls, upright rows, bent rows, deadlifts and squats, and shoulder extensions.  I like to do 3 isometric stops for a hold of about 5 seconds at the beginning, middle, and end of each movement.  Very intense, really as intense as you’d like, depending on the TV action at the moment, and very effective for maximum strength!  Really, in 10 minutes you can cover the whole body very well indeed.

Then, I grab my rebounder just like my grandson, and start in to bouncing away!  This is wonderful for your lymph system, and also your cardio.  I like to do two more sets of Virtual resistance on the rebounder as I bounce, and find it to be wonderful for balance as well.  

You may want to wind up with manually resisted neck exercises, and bouncing while seated on the rebounder for a wonderful ab workout.  

I really can’t imagine waking up, and not doing this first thing every day, as I have for years.  Instantly energizing, and it covers all the bases.  Of course, I also do sets of pushups, straight legged situps, and ab wheels two times a week, then I usually omit the last rebounder sets.  And, I still go down to my basement gym a couple of times per week, mainly to do pushups on my gymnastic rings, pull-ups and ab curls, pistol squats with the rings, and isometrics on the power rack…

But that’s just me.  Those last are optional, just because I have my gym, and like using it.  All you really need are a mat, a TV, and a couple of straps.  And a rebounder, for total fitness and health!  For your whole life long.

And, a batman toy for the grandson!

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!

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #90 Very Best exercise equipment, and the ONLY way to deadlift!

I know, I generally say you don’t need equipment to work out- after all, if you are doing virtual resistance training (flexing as you move through a muscles range of motion) and then holding isometrically...  your own body is the resistance.  And this is the most efficient and safe of all forms of exercise!  It should be your warmup, and the core of your fitness regimen for the rest of your life.  Nothing else even comes close in terms of totally working your entire physique!

But it is also great to include other tools in your bodyweight arsenal.  The first one I would recommend to you is the rebounder, or mini-trampoline.

I have mentioned this piece of equipment before in a podcast, and it is a wonderful addition to virtual resistance training- I often do my virtual moving “poses” on the rebounder, usually in front of the TV...This kind of “doubles your pleasure, doubles your fun” in a good kind of way- you are working aerobically and your musculature at the same time.  A really time efficient way to work out!

I am also a great fan of the pushup!  And while the “hands flat on the floor” version is good, using a perfect pushup type of revolving handle is even better- not only does it raise your hands up off the floor, giving you a greater range of motion and more muscle engagement, it also protects your wrists and shoulders from damage by rotating along with the motion.  This protects your joints even as it makes the exercise more productive.

Ab Roller

Perfect Pushup

P bars, or parallette bars are another great option for pushups, giving you a VERY low extension below parallel.  They are also great for L sits, a top notch ab exercise you can

My homemade P bars!

do.  In a pinch, the perfect pushup device mentioned before can also be used for L sits!  Just make sure you get the heavy duty version of the perfect pushup, as the other lesser version will wear out quickly supporting your body weight in the L sit, and doing pushups with your feet raised off the floor and resting on the back of a couch or chair while you do your leg raised of “Atlas 3” pushups.

An ab roller is wonderful, and actually another kind of pushup!  Wonderful ab exercise, and it also simultaneously works the arms, chest, back and shoulders- also, it’s a great party trick, as most men cannot do even one without gradually working up to it.  To begin, get an ab roller (they are quite cheap!) and do them from your knees.  Next, you can do them from the top as a negative, going as slowly as you can downwards, and just stop at the bottom.  Eventually you will get one full, top to bottom and back up again rep, and then you will add another, and another until you get to a set of 6 or 7.  That’s all you really need in terms of reps- then, just do multiple sets for a very high level of fitness!  I like to “superset” ab roll outs with my sets of pushups.

Of course, a pullup/chinup bar is a necessity, but a tree branch of piece of pipe will do in a pinch.  I use my old power rack in the basement for this, back from my old weight lifting days of long ago, and a power rack or “cage” is a very versatile piece of equipment indeed- it is much more productive without weights, as it is ideal for isometric work, utilizing its pins to press against with empty bars or wooden dowels.  It is also great to use the power rack for squat variations- you can use the side supports to hold on to as you do a one legged or “pistol” squat.  It helps to lean back as you do this, because that really takes the strain off of the knee joint and puts it right over the quadricep muscle where you want it.  You can duplicate this upstairs, too, by doing these pistols in a door frame!

Another wonderful training adjunct is a set of gymnastic rings!

Now they are mounted on the ceiling joists!

very advanced!

Mount these in your basement as I have, and you will find them to be among the most satisfying, versatile and productive pieces of equipment you could possibly own.  They are wonderful to do pushups on!  You can do Atlas 1,2,and 3 pushups quickly and conveniently, just by moving a little forwards or backwards to adjust the grips to be parallel to the floor (Atlas 1), angles halfway up (Atlas 2), or angled up high (Atlas 3).

They are also great for pullups, L sits, and dips; also rows, and as assists for pistols!

Really- find a place for rings in your house, garage, basement or yard!  They are just fantastic to train on.

I am saving the most crucial for last- an Exergenie is the ONLY way I recommend to do a deadlift, or a heavy squat!

Exergenie

I know, this is controversial within Paleo Land, but it is also undeniable when you really look into it- just as gluten, and the other anti-nutrients in wheat and other grains are undeniably very harmful to human beings in their nutrition- so is lifting a heavy bar from the ground and standing up in a dead lift harmful to your back and other joints.

Also, putting a heavy barbell across your shoulders, and squatting, will compress your spine, inevitably damage your knees, and set you up for serious, long-term injury.

Also, it just gives you a fat butt, bulging abdomen, and blocky thighs- avoid these exercises!

High rep hindu squats, the aforementioned pistols, and the exergenie can give you anything these exercises can, BETTER!  I have an old exergenie that I bought off of Ebay- it has wooden handles, but they sell new ones too,  and you can use it to do maximum effort deadlifts, squats, military presses, curls, and many other exercises.  You feed the rope (that supplies the resistance) out with your fingers, and you can make the resistance as hard as you want throughout the whole range of motion.  You can make it so hard that 3 reps is all you need for the squat and deadlift.

The best thing about the Exergenie is what you can do for your shoulders!  You can mount it in a door frame, closing the door on it 1/2 way up or so, and really lean into it, stretching out your shoulder girdle in every way possible.  Then, you can pull back using just enough resistance to really work the entire shoulder region in every way- this is the very best way that I have found to really work the shoulders and protect the joint by strengthening both the muscles, tendons and ligaments gradually, from the inside out!

Along with a proper diet, and adequate sleep, these small pieces of training equipment can do far more for your health, strength, and physique than any gym membership you can name.  And, you will have them forever, right in your living room or basement or garage, and can make maximum  use of them for a lifetime!