Fri. April 30

Teams or individual:
Row 3000m
100 KB Swings (53/35)
100 Push Ups

*teams must complete total meters and reps before the other teams... individuals are on their own.

Thurs. April 29

Skill Work:
Squat Cleans

10 Min AMRAP:
5 Squat Cleans (135/95)
10 ABMAT
_______________________________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg1KKte-9o

Wed. April 28

Overhead Progression:

Press 5-5-5-5-5
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3
Push Jerk 1-1-1-1-1

Watch This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcntfkyXbM

Tues. April 27

10 Burpees
20 Pull Ups
30 Box Jumps
40 Tire Flips
50 KB Snatch (each arm) (35/26)
40 Tire Flips
30 Box Jumps
20 Pull Ups
10 Burpees
_______________________________
*marksdailyapple.com

Dear Mark: Seasonal Allergies

By numerous accounts, this spring has been the most brutal in years for seasonal allergy sufferers. (Do I see some nodding heads out there?) As much as everyone looks forward to spring, some folks grit their teeth for several weeks or live on a steady dose of allergy pills. I always get questions this time of year from folks who are looking for ways to get through spring a little happier and maybe less medicated. Here’s one such email from reader Joyce….

Dear Mark,

I’m from the Upper Midwest where spring came early this year. No complaining about that, mind you – we earn our warm season! I’ve always had problems in spring, but this year I’ve been in really bad shape (like everybody what I hear). I’m relatively new to your site, and I’m slowly adopting elements of the Primal Blueprint. So far, it’s been going great! It’s got me thinking though about diet and whether what I eat/don’t eat can make any difference. What’s your take on this? I’d love any recommendations that could get me in the garden earlier!

Although the extent of people’s allergies (as well their sources) span a wide spectrum, anyone who spends whole months blowing through Kleenexes can likely benefit from a few adjustments – especially those new to the PB.

First, what to avoid… One of the best strategies to alleviate those miserable symptoms is to steer clear of alcohol and other histamine containing foods. As far as alcohol goes, wine (both red and white) seem to be the worst instigators. Sulfites are part of the issue with these drinks, but histamines that result during the fermentation process also wreak havoc. If you have allergy issues, consider avoiding other foods subject to aging and fermentation like aged cheese, pickles, and sauerkraut. And as for yeast, it’s one more reason to ditch bread. Grapes and ciders can be culprits as well.

Also, if you know the source of your particular allergy, you can further pinpoint foods that tend to trigger what’s called “oral allergy syndrome,” a reaction to allergen-related foods that affects primarily the lips and mouth. Check out the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia information on cross-reactive foods for those with seasonal allergies.

As for what to eat, think anti-inflammatory. It just so happens that the PB delivers just that. Research supports the particular benefits of fresh produce, fish and nuts for reducing both the symptoms of existing allergies as well as the development of allergies later in life. Research on the pregnancy and childhood diets of Spanish children found that a higher intake of certain vegetables (like tomatoes and eggplant) and fish offered protective benefit from allergies and asthma. Another study with Greek children linked high intake of nuts, fruits and vegetables with a lower risk for respiratory allergy. The EPA and DHA in fish and fish oils has been shown to be among the best preventative options for allergic disorders.

Want more? Tea, particularly green or white, offers a big flavonoid boost that reduces inflammation and supports general immune function. For raw dairy enthusiasts out there, farm milk consumption was shown to provide similar protective advantage against allergy and asthma whether or not the children drinking it lived on the farm or not.

Although antioxidants and flavonoids in general offer therapeutic benefit, certain nutrients like vitamin C and quercetin are potent natural antihistamines. An extra dose of magnesium can help alleviate wheezing symptoms. Some folks report success with spirulina as well. As for herbal remedies, butterbur shows good promise, but isn’t for women who are pregnant or nursing.

Another recommendation? Buy some wild – and local – honey. Because bees pick up the pollen of their environment, the resulting honey can offer something of a therapeutic dose for gradual desensitization – much like an allergy shot. It’s important to start small (1/4 teaspoon daily – max) and work your way up to gradually build tolerance.

Last, my own nearly debilitating seasonal allergies literally disappeared when I got rid of grains (and cut the chronic cardio). It may have been related to the autoimmune connection between anti-nutrients/leaky-gut and hypersensitivity to proteins in grass seeds and pollen (grains are grass seeds). Many MDA readers report a dramatic reduction in hay fever or allergy symptoms when cutting grains.

Good luck to Joyce and everyone else who’s laying low for another couple weeks. Let me know your thoughts, and do share any other anti-allergy strategies that have worked for you! As always, thanks for the great questions and comments, and keep ‘em coming. Have a great Monday everybody!

Mon. April 26

Squat Progression:
Air Squat
Front Squat
Overhead Squat

then:

7 Min AMRAP:
10 Air Squats
10 Front Squats
10 Overhead Squats

Strength:
Front Squat
3-3-3-3-3

Fundamentals Week!

This week we will be going back to the beginning.

We will be covering the 3 movement progressions that make up our 9 Fundamental Movements.

Squat Progression: (Air Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat)
Overhead Progression: (Press, Push Press, Push Jerk)
Ground to Overhead Progression: (Deadlift, Sumo DL High Pull, Clean)

This is a chance for all of you to take time to work on technique, range of motion and to ask as many questions as you need.

Fri. April 23

3 RFT:

8 Muscle Snatch (95/65)
10 Ring Dips
12 Toes to Bar

NO SATURDAY CLASS!!!

We're gonna cancel class Saturday Morning. 3 Tournaments at A Game, Marathon, and rain won't allow us to do class outside. So... enjoy the weekend off.

Thurs. April 22

RUN FASTER, OR I'LL BITE YOUR A$$!

"Helen" (Modified)
3 RFT:
Run 400m
21 KB Swings (53/35)
24 Push Ups

_____________________________
Top Health and Fitness Quotes

http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2010/04/20/top-health-fitness-quotes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifeSpotlight+%28Fitness+Spotlight%29

Wed. April 21

Group Warm Up!
(We will be holding a group warm up before each class. The warm up will be the same for the week, and will change at the beginning of each week. So... this means get here ON TIME for class (that means early). If you're late, then you're SOL. Wait for the next class if you can't make it on time.)

7 RFT:

7 Deadlifts (135/95)
7 Power Cleans (135/95)
7 Back Squat (135/95)

Strength:
Weighted Pull Ups
3-3-3-3-3
________________________________

*marksdailyapple.com

Is Intermittent Fasting Healthy?

If only I weren't so skinny!

One thing is certain in the field of health: what is common wisdom today can easily become “misapplied science” tomorrow. What’s “in” this year may be “out” next year. Often it’s hard to arrive at the right answer.

For example: Oily fish is good for you because the Omega-3’s are so healthy, but oily fish is bad because it can be contaminated with heavy metals, but oily fish is good because recent tests prove it’s not actually very contaminated, but oily fish is bad because the fishing industry paid for those tests…you get my point.

The Fats vs. Carbs argument is another. So when a reader recently asked about regular fasting as a means of maintaining good health, I had to re-evaluate my point of view slightly. What I found surprised me and convinced me to add a new twist to my ongoing health-and-anti-aging regimen. It’s called Intermittent Fasting – or IF.

Twenty years ago, as I was first forming my Primal Health point-of-view (based on a model of how humans evolved), I found it very easy to embrace the concept of “grazing” that seemed to represent the collective conscious of the weight-loss-and-health movement at the time. After all, eating several small meals a day – grazing to maintain even blood sugar and to avoid having your body go into starvation mode and start hoarding gobs of fat – seemed to fit my picture of early humans roaming the plains of Africa foraging for roots, shoots, nuts, berries, grubs and the occasional road-kill leftover from a hyena feast. The explanation that we in the weight-loss business gave the public was that by maintaining this steady supply of protein, fats and carbs throughout the day we would never experience a wild swing in blood sugar due to rapid rises and falls in insulin, therefore we would be less inclined to store fat and more inclined to burn off our existing fat stores. Heaven help us if we skipped breakfast, overate or starved ourselves periodically. That would surely wreak havoc on the delicate hormonal systems keeping us in homeostatic balance.

Well, maybe not.

The truth is, many people have succeeded in losing weight and keeping most of it off using this simple grazing method, which consists of eating 5 or 6 small meals or snacks spread evenly throughout the day, with no single meal exceeding 600 calories and where each meal or snack contains a little protein. This grazing method is the ultimate in portion control: take the 2400 (or more) calories you might otherwise scarf down in 2 meals and simply spread them evenly throughout the day. I think it’s reasonable to project that many more have avoided or postponed getting type 2 diabetes using the same method.

But like many behaviors in the fitness and health world, there comes a point where the benefits decrease and we find ourselves on the dreaded plateau.

The first thing most people will tell you about their attempts at grazing is, while it usually works well if you are diligent, it’s pretty difficult to stick with, since you need to be near a source of quality food every few hours. If you work at home most days as I do, it’s not a problem, but it can make life difficult if you work in an office setting or happen to be a road warrior.

The next common issue is that after a few months of progress, you arrive at a frustrating point where the weight stops coming off, the initial high energy levels decline or you stop building muscle. That makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, since the body is so well-tuned to adapt to any situation – including a perfectly even flow of nutrients. In this case, the body’s reaction to this steady supply of nutrition is to actually decrease insulin sensitivity. It “knows” there will always be food, so it “down-regulates” insulin receptors, and probably down-regulates other metabolic systems as well.

In my Primal Health articles here at MDA, I am always looking at ways we can harness our DNA blueprint to maximize health. I like to see how we can shake things up a little and trick the body into burning more fuel, creating more lean muscle, repairing cell damage and staying injury- and illness-free. So when my 79-year-old buddy Sid at the gym started raving about his weekly 24-hour fast over a year ago, and my friend Art started writing about his own fasting experiences, I decided to look into it further.

The results were surprising and impressive.

Numerous animal and human studies done over the past 15 years suggest that periodic fasting can have dramatic results not only in areas of weight (fat) loss, but in overall health and longevity as well. A recent article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition gives a great overview of these benefits which include decreases in blood pressure, reduction in oxidative damage to lipids, protein and DNA, improvement in insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake, as well as decreases in fat mass.

How can you argue with results like these? And it all makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, because our predecessors almost certainly went through regular cycles where food was either abundant or very scarce. The body may have established protective mechanisms to adapt to these conditions by sensitizing insulin receptors when it was critical that every bit of food be efficiently used or stored (as in famine), or by desensitizing them when there was a surplus, so the body wouldn’t be overly-burdened by grossly excessive calorie intake.

Beyond insulin sensitivity, it appears that caloric restriction and intermittent fasting may “turn on” certain genes that repair specific tissues that would not otherwise be repaired in times of surplus. One could surmise that this adaptation serves to allow certain cells to live longer (as repaired cells) during famine since it’s energetically less expensive to repair a cell than to divide and create a new one. That might help explain some of the extended longevity seen in animal studies using caloric restriction and/or intermittent fasting (read about here, here, and here). Intermittent fasting has also been shown to reduce spontaneous cancers in animal studies, which could be due to a decrease in oxidative damage or an increase in immune response.

So, what are the practical applications of this research?

It depends. There’s probably no right answer (remember what I said at the beginning!) Art suggests mimicking the experiences of our ancestors, which is to say don’t plan any fast, just surprise your body every once in a while with 24 hours of little or no food. My friend Sid does his fast every Tuesday like clockwork, so he has a light final meal on Monday night and doesn’t eat again until Wednesday breakfast. He does drink water and a little juice on his fasting day. Some fasting programs suggest you take a two-week “cleansing” approach where you eat regularly every other day and fast (or eat 40% of normal) on alternate days for two weeks twice a year.

One thing that is most interesting about the intermittent fasting studies is that slightly overeating on the non-fasting days (to make up for the lack of calories on fast days) yielded similar results, so it wasn’t so much about total calories as it was about the episodic deprivation.

As for me, I’m going to try the once a week deal, but I’ll start by no longer agonizing over a skipped breakfast or late dinner. What I used to think was the end of the world might just be the beginning of a new one!

Let me know of your own fasting experiences.

Tues. April 20

15 Min AMRAP:
5 HSPU
5 KB Swings (70/53)
5 Burpees

_______________________________
I thought this was really good. It's from CrossFit Alexandria. Their sales pitch:

I came into this week with some specific topics that I wanted to address - I hope you don’t get bored.


We opened this gym for one reason - we think that CrossFit is the greatest fitness protocol in the history of mankind. We started doing CrossFit - we saw marked improvements in our own performance - we wanted others to be able to see those same improvements. The fact that we were all in the fitness industry at the time is just a coincidence. There are many examples of normal people leaving their mundane desk jobs, & opening CrossFit affiliates. We would have done the same. We were; however, a part of the physical fitness community already, so this afforded us an ease of transition that we will forever be grateful for. But...we would have done this no matter what.


The ease of our transition notwithstanding, we needed a few things to happen when we opened this affiliate. We first needed to have people find us in order to have clients to train. Second, when they walked in the door we needed to help them understand something as complicated as CrossFit, & we needed them to want to participate. Third & finally, we needed to have them pay us a membership fee for our services. It is not an exorbitant amount of money, but it is more than you would pay at your local Globo gym.


The fact that people pay us to train them is nothing groundbreaking, but people are used to paying for training that involves a big, shiny gym, lots of biceps curls, & a sales pitch involving “guaranteed results” or “tightening your core”. We are obviously neither big nor shiny, & if you see a biceps curl performed here, you are probably watching a “Terry & BJ” video. So there’s our big dilemma - people are used to having training sold to them, how would we sell our training?


I like the answer a question with a question sales technique:


“How long will it take me to lose 10 pounds?”

“How long do you want it to take?”


“How many sessions do you think I should buy?”

“How many sessions do you think you should buy?”


I don’t know if this is actually a technique. Quite frankly, it would annoy the hell out of me. I, in fact, don’t really know any sales techniques. I guess you can imagine that this would make it tough to start a sales oriented business, but somehow we’re still here. Weird.


For those of you who have experienced it first hand, I think you know - our sales pitch sucks. There’s no way to put it nicely. We couldn’t sell our collective way out of a wet, recycled canvas bag. Half the time we don’t have any idea what to say to people when they walk in the door. Someone actually told me one time that not having a sales pitch, was our sales pitch. I guess that would either make us geniuses, or idiots. I think I know which way most of you are leaning on that one. But the thing is...you guys joined - why?


Ok, so we’ve established it’s not our sales pitch - it’s probably not our good looks (ok, maybe Christy’s) - it certainly could be our sparkling clean facility (if by clean you mean there are more hairballs than at one of those crazy cat people homes) - it may be this fine blog/website, but I know you guys don’t read the posts when they’re this long anyway. So what the heck are you doing here?


Most of you were probably instructed to do one thing the first time we talked to you - try a workout. In that “first impression” moment you may have thought that we were a little odd. You probably thought the facility was extremely odd. And you had to think the fact that some of workouts only last two-and-a-half minutes was definitely odd. Yet for some reason, some adventurous streak you have inside made you want to give it a shot.


The rest is history - you either love it or hate it. Funny thing is, when you love it - you really love it. You go from being a normal human, to a full blown cult member in about 2 weeks. You start to plan vacations around CrossFit. You start to check the website 10 times a day, because you’ve got to know what the workout is. You start to try to convert others to your cult. Sometimes they even come & join, & make you feel like a little less of a freak.


We will never have a sales pitch. You will never get a cold call after you visit our facility. We’ll never send out a mass email to all of the people that have sent us an email to express interest. If you cancel your membership, we won’t make a “special deal” with you to try to get you back. We won’t give you a brochure, or try to explain why we’re better than someone else. We will let you walk out of the door without making a “membership commitment”.


We will; however, coach the hell out of you every day. We will try to teach you to be the best mover/athlete/healthy person that you can possibly be. We will try to build a gym full of Firebreathers. We will give you the most possible fitness you could ever dream of getting for your hard earned dollar, & we will enjoy every day of it - we hope you do too.

Mon. April 19

5 RFT:

10 OHS (95/65)
15 Pull Ups

Strength:
Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3
____________________________________
*paleodish.com

Trifecta Meat Chilli

ATTENTION MEAT LOVERS!!!
People usually associate eating chili with the cold winter…deep within the long days of February. Well those days are long behind us now (knock on wood), but who says “the chili” has to say adios as well? Keep this mouthwatering friend around all year round. “There is never a wrong time of year for chili” ~anonymous.

In true Paleo style, there are no beans in this chili, but I still wanted to give it that thick and chunky texture. To do this, I went crazy with the meat…a TRIFECTA, which included lean ground beef, steak and sausage. Heaven! The nice thing about this recipe is that if you don’t fancy something- substitute it with something else…play around. If you think this may be too much meat for you, then I suggest taking out the sausage and sticking to the 2 types of beef. I am going to try to make this chili again in a week or two. Next time I am going to make it solely with the lean ground beef. I will also chop the veggies a little larger, to help compensate and to achieve that desired chunkiness. I will keep you posted on how it turns out!

Ingredients

* coconut/olive oil- for cooking veggies
* 2 lbs lean ground beef
* 1 pound flank steak- chunks
* 4 spicy sausage- casing removed
* 1 can diced tomatoes- organic (just tomatoes- look at ingredients)
* 1 can crushed tomatoes- same as above
* 2 cups beef broth- low sodium
* 4 cloves garlic- crushed
* 1 package mushroom- sliced
* 1 cup carrots- coined
* 1 large white onion- thickly diced
* 1 cup celery- chopped
* 1 cup broccoli
* 1 cup zucchini- diced
* 1 cup red pepper- chopped
* 2 tbs cumin
* 2 tbs paprika
* 3-4 tbs chili powder
* 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
* fresh cilantro- chopped for garnish
* jalapeno peppers (optional)

Prep

* combine all meat and brown together in frying pan- set aside on low
* in a separate pan/pot (large), sautee veggies together on medium heat until cooked
* then take meat mixture and add/combine it back with the veggies
* add in all spices and beef broth-stir throughly
* let cook on low-medium heat (if cook this slowly, all the flavours combine nicely)
* garnish with fresh cilantro
* enjoy!

Tip- this could also be done in the slow cooker if you wish!

Note- the above recipe is wonderful for freezing smaller portions, because of it’s size. I also enjoy using the leftovers as a yummy topping on of a bed a spinach!

Serves MANY!!!

Saturday Class Notice!!!

We will be meeting at the Warner Parks Nature Center at 10am sharp for a little trail run.

It's located at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd and Hwy 100.

If you don't know where to go, meet Stephen at the gym at 9am. We will leave at 9:15, so don't be late.

Bring trail shoes!!!

Fri. April 16

5 RFT:

5 Bear Complexes (95/65)
10 Ring Dips

*video demo of bear complex
http://www.vidoemo.com/yvideo.php?i=MFdPUDlKcWuRpN1FQd0k&the-bear-plex-wod=

Thurs. April 15

Tax Day 20 Min AMRAP:

5 Deadlifts (225/155), bend over
10 Box Jumps
15 ABMAT

Strength:
Power Snatch
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
_______________________________

*paleotron.com

Why We Eat Grains

http://paleotron.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-we-eat-grains.html

Wed. April 14

Skill work:
GHD Technique

then...

Every 15 Seconds
Push Press (95/65)
for 10 Minutes

then...

3 Sets of 15 K2E's

Tues. April 13

21,15,9 of:

Power Cleans (135/95)
Pull Ups

_____________________________
*marksdailyapple.com

When Science Trumps Grok

Who is Grok?

Or, more accurately – what does Grok represent?

He’s no messiah. He’s not a real historical figure. He doesn’t sit on my shoulder at night, whispering post topics into my ear as I sleep.

Grok is simply a starting point for the discussion of human health. His dietary habits, his physical behaviors, his proclivities, his sleep patterns are not technically “his,” because there is no literal him. Grok is just an artifact of our big brains’ propensity to arrange data. We process information by compartmentalizing it, by sticking bits of data together with other bits of data for efficiency’s sake. Mental file cabinets. This makes thinking easier, and it allows higher levels of thought and innovation. The Grok concept is an easy reference point – a figurehead. Everything we know about the course of human evolution, all the fossil records and anthropological literature, is effectively represented by the Grok name. A four letter name that just happens to be easy to remember and easy to type. And you have to admit, it’s a cool visual.

It necessarily follows that the activities we ascribe to Grok (and to our ancestors) are also just starting points for our exploration of optimum modern health and fitness. They form a basic framework of acceptable evolutionary precedents that are innocent until proven guilty by modern science. Our job, as Primal enthusiasts, is to examine evolutionary biology and apply rigorous standards to those precedents to determine whether they are indeed optimal and useful. This is Grok logic – taking “what would Grok do” and looking sideways at it to ensure it passes muster.

We refer to Grok logic for two reasons, here at MDA:

First, it’s a helpful analogy, especially for beginners, to whom I try to attract and cater. If I want to give the quick and dirty blessing to a particular food, exercise, or other helpful concept, I use the analogy. People intuitively get the “what would Grok do” line of thought – the evolutionary angle is the thing that grabs a newbie’s attention right away and provides the light bulb moment where a person goes, “Huh, you know, I never thought about grains like that, but it makes total sense!” The light bulb moment is powerful, and, though the ancestral rhetoric doesn’t trump science where the two conflict, utilizing that power to effect change in people’s health right away is worth it. I may inadvertently create one or two roadkill-eating, neighbor’s cat-hunting, honey-gorging newbies convinced that anything Paleolithic is beneficial, but that’s why I’m writing this post, and why I’ve written others in the past. It’s far simpler to turn a neat phrase that’s generally accurate and clarify afterwards.

Second, it’s useful, and usually quite accurate. Grok logic is just a starting point, as I’ve pointed out, but it’s a damn good one that gets things right most of the time, especially with regards to diet and exercise. It makes intuitive sense that things we’ve been eating for the longest time are also foods to which we are highly adapted. It makes intuitive sense that movements we’ve been performing for the longest time are also movements which our bodies perform best and which elicit the most favorable hormonal responses or gene expression. It makes intuitive sense that our bodies have come to expect a certain amount of sleep, a certain amount of light exposure, based on multiple millennia of certain environmental pressures.

The Primal Blueprint might sound like the classically flawed appeal to nature, at least upon first glance. All this talk of Grok, the Paleolithic, hunting, nature, gathering, unprocessed wild foods, and the limitations and failures of agriculture and modern nutrition often gets the eyes rolling. Throw in a few references to raw meat, bug eating, and loin cloths, and you’ve a recipe for summary dismissal of the whole shebang, especially among skeptics and others with an immense personal stake (career, education, physician relative) in upholding Conventional Wisdom.

But the PB (and other content in the paleosphere) does not commit the naturalistic fallacy, which states that all that is natural is good, and all that is unnatural is bad. That’s far too simplistic, far too dogmatic. Life is made of gray, not stark black and white dualities. Context is everything. We may start with the “natural,” but we discard anything that isn’t also buttressed by science. It’s actually the most rational way to go about things, and the most opportunistic. Humans are classic capitalists (small “c”) – we literally capitalize on opportunities and seize control of a situation where it benefits us – and the Primal Blueprint is all about cherry picking the good stuff from Grok logic and discarding the bad stuff. That which proves beneficial under the glare of science wins out in the end, even if it’s a product of agriculture-enabled civilization. If there’s a proven shortcut to health or fitness here (or a convenience or a hedonistic treat with little downside), I’m taking it.

Take dairy fat, for example. Is butter paleo? Was heavy cream available fifty thousand years ago? Does it matter?

I often discuss the importance of considering the totality of a food, rather than its constituent parts (walnuts aren’t just bags of linoleic acid, etc), but it’s also helpful to understand what makes certain foods acceptable. Why do we prefer tallow, leaf lard, and coconut oil as cooking fats? Is it because they’re paleo? No. Because Grok ate them? Sort of, but not exactly. We prefer highly saturated animal and vegetable fats because saturated fat is what the human animal has been eating for hundreds of thousands of years, making it the fuel source to which we’re best adapted; because our own body preferentially stores excess energy as saturated body fat to be used later for self-sustenance; and (most importantly) because modern science has shown (despite the lipophobes’ best attempts) it to be a supremely healthful source of food energy. Butter (and ghee, and other dairy fats), being basically pure animal fat, a majority of which is saturated, is simply a fantastic way to introduce large amounts of delicious, healthy energy into the diet. Plus, you don’t have to hunt and kill a fat-backed, ornery caribou to get it.

Modern convenience is undoubtedly a good thing, too, even though it isn’t paleo. Buying a stick of Kerrygold butter down at Trader Joe’s takes, what, fifteen minutes and a couple bucks? Compare that to the energy it’d require for Grok to obtain a half pound of pure animal fat.

You might argue that the getting is what made us who we are, that the hunting, the gathering, and the physical labor required for living in the wild was what made humans such remarkable, adaptive creatures. I won’t argue with that. In fact, I’ll readily accept that. I’ll gladly reap the benefits of Grok’s intensely physical existence by choosing a few of the specific movements that science proves generate the most benefit with the least time, pain, suffering or sacrifice. A few hundred thousand years of hard-scrabble living has resulted in a hardy, capable species of hominid, and I’m happy to enjoy the resultant genetics. In the end, that’s what the Primal Blueprint is all about: navigating the modern world with these ancient corporeal vessels, using modern science to chart our progress. It’s important that we all note the genetic realities of our evolutionary heritage, but we can’t stop there. It’s not good enough. If we truly want to live well and live long (longer and better than Grok and your average modern health nut), we have to optimize the application of our anthropological knowledge to the realities, opportunities, and advantages of civilization.

Mon. April 12

3 RFT:

Run 800m (1 full parking lot lap)
25 Squats
25 Push Ups

Strength:
Press
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
_____________________________
*recipe courtesy of paleotron.com

Cajun Salmon
Good news! Salmon is super fast to cook and doesn't really need a whole lot of work to be delicious. I usually just cook salmon with a small pad of butter and a bunch of garlic. Today I tried something a little more involved to help shake up my routine a little bit.

Here is what you need:

Chili powder (called an audible and didn't use it), Garlic Powder (0.05), Paprika (0.05), Cayenne Pepper (0.05), Black Pepper, an 8 oz salmon steak (2.02), and a pad of butter (0.10). That's a total of 2.27 for the protein portion of the meal.

Begin by melting the butter over low heat.

Add the salmon steak and move the heat up just a little to medium-low. You don't want to burn the ingredients as this will make them bitter. You also don't want to risk oxidizing any good fats that are present.

Lay down a liberal amount of paprika. Paprika adds a smoky flavor, but isn't particularly strong. This layer will form a delicious crust once we flip the salmon and fry it in the butter.

Put some cayenne pepper in one palm and sprinkle two pinches evenly over the salmon.

Finally, cover the paprika and cayenne with garlic powder. After about 3 minutes, it will be time to flip the salmon.

When you flip the salmon, give it the same seasoning on the opposite side. After 3 minutes, flip it back to help form a seasoning crust on the other side.

Remove the salmon when you're happy with the Cajun crust and finish it off by pouring the butter and fish oil that was released over the top. There is a lot of flavor in there. You can add some black pepper at this point if you want.

I like to eat my salmon with a wedge of fresh lime to squeeze on top. A lot more people prefer lemon, but the citric acid from either fruit will help cut through the fat and give the fish a whole new dimension of flavor. My side dish was collards with bacon, but I wasn't happy with how they turned out, so I'm going to tweak the recipe and get back to all of you on that one.

The total cooking time is about 10 minutes, so this is a standby for me when I'm in a rush. I suggest buying a bunch of salmon steaks in bulk and freezing them as they thaw quite well without any serious drawbacks.

Sat. April 10

"Murph"

1 Mile Run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Squats
1 Mile Run

*Partition reps as needed.

Fri. April 9

For Time:

30 Push Ups
30 Sit Ups
30 Lunges
30 Wall Ball
30 Box Jumps
30 KB Swings
30 Pull Ups
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PALEO DICTIONARY: VOLUME 1

Article courtesy of Paleo Chix

I don’t consider myself a very well-read person – unless you count US Weekly. Having an interest in Paleo has truly changed that. I have to admit that when my boyfriend turned me on to my first book about Paleo, I was embarrassed that I didn’t understand a lot of what was being discussed. I needed CliffNotes bigtime. I spend more time on Wikipedia than my 4th graders do looking up spelling words for school. So, if you are like me and would like a little guidance in getting you through some of the words that come up a lot, I thought this nifty little guide would be helpful so you too won’t be stuck nodding and smiling like you understand what the heck people are talking about and then running home to look up the word! I’m not getting into the intricacies of each thing here, but here is the list I conjured up…

GLUCOSE – the main type of sugar in the blood and major source of energy and a major component of most carbohydrate foods.

GLYCEMIC INDEX- ranks foods on how they affect blood glucose levels by measuring how much your blood sugar increases after eating.

GLUTEN – the general name for storage proteins found in barely, rye, wheat, spelt, oats and other grains and can cause major reactions in humans.

LECTINS – a giant family of molecules (gluten included) that can damage and destroy the gastrointestinal tract.

LEPTIN- a hormone that signals satiety or fullness that ’s secreted by fat tissue.

MACRONUTRIENTS – refers to dietary protein, fat and carbohydrate. They are also called energy nutrients because they provide fuel to the body.

MICRONUTRIENTS- a vitamin, mineral or other substance that is essential, even in very small quantities, for growth or metabolism.

PHYTATES – acid found within the hulls of seeds, nuts or grains that binds with important minerals such as magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc and can contribute to mineral deficiencies.

NIGHTSHADES – a type of plant that is mostly poisonous, however some if the plant may be eaten . Examples are potatoes, tomatoes, sweet&hot peppers, eggplant, paprika, tomatillos, cayenne and tobasco. Nightshades have alkaloids whose toxicity to humans and animals ranges from mildly irritating to fatal in small quantities.

OMEGA 3 – essential unsaturated fatty acid that must come from a person’s diet as it is not produced within the body. Examples – walnuts, fish, grass-fed beef.

OMEGA 6 – essential unsaturated fatty acid not produced in the body. It can be found in eggs, nuts, avocado and many plant oils. Most modern diets have too much Omega 6, which can lead to a number of diseases.

BACON- the world’s most delicious food.

TUBERS – part of a plant enlarged to store food developed by the plant to survive winter and dry months – examples – potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams.

LEGUME – the fruit or seed of any various bean or pea plants (lentils, peanuts, cashews, soy beans) consisting of a case that splits along both sides when opened.

LIPOPROTEIN – the cholesterol transport system.

LDL, VLDL, HDL – types of lipoproteins.

SATURATED FAT – fat that is dense enough to be a solid at room temperature due to its chemical structure. Conventional knowledge says to avoid eating too much, but research shows that saturated fat IS actually heart healthy!

FRUCTOSE – a simple sugar found in honey, tree fruits, berries, melons and some root vegetables. It metabolizes in the liver into glucose or fat.

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP – chemically derived mixture of fructose and glucose which is used as a cheap sugar substitute used in processed foods, including bread, yogurt, soda, cookies and the like.

Thurs. April 8

10,9,8,.. 1 of:

SDHP (53/35)
Toes to Bar

Strength:

Power Cleans:
3-3-3-1-1

Wed. April 7

4 RFT:

10 Back Squat (135/95)
10 Push Press (135/95)
10 Burpees

Strength:
Snatch Push Press/Overhead Squat
3-3-3-3-3

Tues. April 6

"Amanda"

In honor of the wife's 32nd B-Day!!!

15 Min AMRAP:

10 Muscle Snatch (65/45)
10 KB Swings (53/35)
12 ABMAT

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*marksdailyapple.com

Seasonality For The Birds

Last week, we determined a common thread of seasonality running through historical fructose consumption. Warm weather with plenty of sunshine generally meant fruit was available. Those living in the tropics (as we humans did for most of our history) thus had year-round access to sweet fruit, while cold climate Grok had seasonal, intermittent access. Plus, there are many symptoms shared between folks with vitamin D deficiency and fructose-induced metabolic syndrome. Eating fruit seasonally (if you’re into that sort of thing) in the modern world, then, probably involves getting some sunlight with your berries.

What about other clearly seasonal foods – can they be consumed freely and wantonly?

Consider birds. The bird is especially sensitive to environmental and seasonal fluctuations, as anyone who’s ever been woken up by hungry birds chirping at the morning light can attest. You’re all familiar with the “flying south for the winter” phenomenon, and you’ve probably seen the highly efficient flying V formation employed by migratory ducks or geese. They’re just following the food. Ever watch “The Endless Summer”? It’s like that, except with grubs and seeds instead of big waves. Not all birds are migratory, though. If they can stay put and get enough food to survive, migration to a warmer climate is unnecessary.

We’ve been eating birds for millennia. They can be a bit hard to catch, sure, but the payoff is incredible: juicy thighs, fatty skin, delicious edible bones. And if you were to nab a big one like an ostrich or a wild turkey, that’s dinner for a week! Birds are definitely seasonal, though, and depending on where Grok was living, bird meat wasn’t always available. Does that mean poultry should only be eaten seasonally? Of course not. Meat is meat (well, dark meat is definitely not white meat, but it’s all meat).

What about the eggs? Egg laying is absolutely seasonal. Birds are wired to lay eggs in warmer weather, when food abounds. Even birds that stick around all year long aren’t constantly laying eggs. Grok undoubtedly loved eggs (he never had to deal with the egg yolk fear campaign), but he didn’t have steady access to them. Still, if eggs are just another form of meat, there shouldn’t be an issue with steady consumption of them… right?

Maybe, but there’s a bit more to the story.

Remember that health issues with food generally arise when we eat food that really doesn’t want to be eaten. Take grains, for example. Grains house the little plant embryos; in order to deter consumption and ensure growth, the grain employs lectins and other anti-nutrients. These are chemical self-defense mechanisms that can trigger auto-immune diseases and irritate the intestinal lining. Meat, on the other hand, comes with claws and teeth and legs (and sometimes poison) to dissuade consumption. Once the animal is dead, though, it’s dead. It no longer cares whether it’s eaten, so dead meat is pretty safe to eat. Just watch out for the ostrich’s legs when it’s alive.

What about eggs? Eggs are a different beast altogether – almost like a meat seed. A meat precursor. An egg has no active physical defenses (unless the mother’s around). It can’t sprout legs and run away. It does have the shell, which appears fragile but is actually incredibly resilient. Note the shape, which varies according to the nesting environment; cliff-nesting birds have the most conical eggs, ensuring a loose egg will roll around in a tight circle rather than roll off, while hole nesters produce more spherical eggs. Shells are meant to keep predators, faunal and microbial alike, away from the interior goods.

If you get past the shell, there’s another line of defense: the white. The egg white serves three purposes.

It stores protein for the growing organism – about 50% of the total egg protein.

It helps transport nutrients into the growing embryo.

It protects the egg from microbial attack.

That last one is where things get potentially hairy for us egg-loving hominids who only had historically seasonal access to them. Because the egg is a stationary, otherwise helpless bird “seed,” it has selected for toxic, antimicrobial proteins in the white to bolster defenses. In fact, other than ovalbumen, which accounts for 54% of an egg white’s protein content, the thirteen other proteins in a white are antimicrobial. They aren’t explicitly meant to hurt mammalian interiors, but what harms the microbes can hurt us, too.

Lysozyme is the most problematic egg protein, but in a strange, roundabout way. By itself, pure lysozyme is probably harmless. We even produce it in our own bodies. But because it has an alkaline isoelectric point, it can form strong bonds with other egg white proteins. It binds with the white’s other protease inhibiting proteins, like ovomucoid or ovoinhibitor, to avoid digestive breakdown by protease enzymes, and it can form hardy, potentially harmful protein compounds that pass through the intestinal lining and produce or exacerbate autoimmune or digestive issues.

Now, certain animals can adapt to chemical defenses, given enough time and exposure. Birds, for example, are wild seed-and-grain-eaters. They’ve adapted to the lectins given their steady exposure to them. Primal folks eat a lot of eggs. I’m one of them, and I probably eat them five days out of the week. But how long have we been eating eggs year-round? The first fowl domestication probably occurred 8,000 years ago in Thailand with the red junglefowl, but I imagine year-round egg production took a bit longer to perfect. Have we adapted to year-round egg consumption?

I’m not sure. Egg white allergy is relatively common, ranging from between 1.6-3.2% of the population. According to Cordain, it’s the second most common food allergy. That, plus the inherent purpose of the egg white itself, makes me suspect that there is something there. I don’t think year-round consumption of eggs is a problem for most people; I just think that certain individuals may be sensitive to the egg white protein, while others can down them without issues. I have heard of people developing egg allergies or negative reactions in adulthood, but that usually happens with people who eat a ton of eggs. I don’t hear about people developing lamb allergies.

Egg consumption doesn’t have to be seasonal, but our understanding of eggs is informed by the seasons. Seasonality merely limited historical access to eggs, which in turn limited our ability to develop universal adaptations to egg whites. That’s it. Frying up a scramble in the dead of winter may not be historically accurate, but who the hell cares? It’s not the timing of consumption that matters, but the frequency – and even that isn’t set in stone. If you love eggs, don’t stop eating them. They’re a fantastic source of fat, protein, and vitamins. If you have a preexisting autoimmune issue, though, filling up on eggs could make it worse. And if you start feeling like crap after every egg meal, you should probably ease up. Don’t make eggs your primary protein source (I’m talking five or six eggs each meal), and most of you should be fine. Just be aware that the ability to eat a dozen eggs every day is relatively novel, evolutionarily. I’m not saying that problems will always arise when we introduce dietary novelties, or even that they’ll be more likely to arise. I’m just saying that they may arise for some.

(I find it highly ironic that the only thing you really have to worry about is the egg white. Hmm, next time I’m at a diner I’ll try to order an egg yolk omelet. It might be even cheaper.)

By now, it’s clear that the seasons affect everything: organisms (sentient and inanimate) respond to changes in temperature, rainfall, weather, availability of sustenance by adapting, migrating, or dying; certain geologic features are molded by rain, wind, or glacier, while coastlines are obscured or revealed by changing sea levels. It’s not even so much that things are affected by seasonality so much as they are imbued with it. You know how space and time are forever linked and wholly dependent on one another? How the two are contextual and relative? Think of the seasons, life, and this planet the same way. It’s all linked.

Mon. April 5

21,15,9 of:

Deadlift (185/135)
Ring Pushups (done with feet on an object like a box, tire, etc. so that body is parallel to the ground)

Strength:
Front Squat
5-5-5-5-5
___________________________
from paleochix.com

Vegetarianism?

http://paleochix.com/?p=925

Sat. April 3

Team 100

Each team of two must complete all reps of each movement, only one member performing at a time. Complete all of one movement before moving on to the next.

100 Bodyblasters (burpee/pullup/K2E)
100 Box Jumps
100 DL (135/95)
100 ABMAT
100 KB Swings (53/35)
100 Push Ups
1Km Row

Fri. April 2

3 RFT:

4 Handstand Pushups
8 KB Swings (53/35)
12 Burpees

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*marksdailyapple.com

How Much Is Too Much?

Although the Primal Blueprint leaves ample room for individual determination, I do try to offer folks a clear picture of the impact different dietary and lifestyle choices have on their overall health picture. At times I even offer specific recommendations or ranges that readers can tailor to their particular needs and situations. I’m often asked, however, about the upper ceilings I would set for various elements of the PB (fat, fish oil, etc.) I thought I’d take on those questions today and cover good ground by applying a rapid fire approach for several of the most common “excess” inquiries. Enjoy, and be sure to share your thoughts!

Protein

My general recommendation is one gram per pound of lean body mass on an average day. If you IF, it might weigh in at half that or less on your fasting days, whereas special occasions like Thanksgiving or your uncle’s annual steak fry might tip the intake scale at 1.5 grams per pound or so of lean mass. For the average active person, these amounts will be well utilized and fully sufficient. Any more than that, however, and you run the risk of excess protein being converted to glucose, which of course defeats the purpose of a low/lower carb diet. If you’re adequately hydrated (which doesn’t take much), eating an overall alkaline diet and ensuring adequate intake of bone supportive nutrients like magnesium, calcium and vitamins D and K, the common (but generally outdated) concerns about kidney load and osteoporosis aren’t significant issues.
Fat

Eating Primally will almost always mean that more than half of your calories will come from fat, and there’s no reason to be concerned about that – in fact it’s a reason to rejoice. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate at least that and, in some cases, considerably more. There isn’t really an upper limit for fat intake. For the vast majority of us, a useful way to approach the fat question is to first dial in your protein intake and then look at what carb intake you’re shooting for. (Check out the Primal Blueprint Carb Curve for a good summary of ranges.) You could potentially go zero carb – although the prospect is extremely impractical (and boring) for most people and must be well thought out and rather meticulously executed. After accounting for adequate protein and desired Primal carbs, you can fill out the rest of your caloric needs with fat, prioritizing the cleanest saturated fats you have financial and logistical access to, then monounsaturated fats and then healthy, intact polyunsaturated fats like certain nuts and fish oils.

Conveniently, that brings me to our next category in question….
Fish Oil

I generally recommend 1-3 grams of fish oil each day to counter inflammation and balance out dietary omega-6 content toward a healthier ratio approaching 1:1. The more Primal and clean you’re eating, the less you need. As for upper limits, it depends. More than three grams a day on an otherwise healthy diet (and/or in conjunction with certain medications/high alcohol intake) can thin your blood too much and impair its necessary clotting ability. Keep in mind not everyone is affected equally by a higher dose. Some people do fine with higher amounts. Other people notice excess thinning at well below three grams. For people with certain medical conditions, dosages above three grams have served as effective therapeutic treatment options. Of course, just because a certain dosage has been used in scientific studies doesn’t mean it’s necessary or advisable to take that much if you have a given condition. Talk to your doctor, and keep in mind that quality fish oil isn’t the cheapest thing in the world. One-three grams is nothing to sneeze at. It’s potent stuff. There’s no use taking more than you’ll fully benefit from. Better to take an adequate dose and spend the extra money on better quality food than to down megadoses of fish oil you don’t need.
Chocolate

I don’t want to rain too much on anyone’s parade here, chocolate lovers being a uniquely passionate lot. Nonetheless, I’ll be straight with you. First, there’s the obvious: carb content. (Check the sugar and total carb content on your respective package and decide how it will figure into your Primal plan.) Those of us who have a penchant for the highest cocoa contents (or even the raw nibs) have a longer leash so to speak. Less sugar equals fewer carbs equals more chance to enjoy more chocolate. Yes? Well, yes, but there’s a little more to the story. One small study found that cocoa powder elicited more insulin release than other flavorings – irrespective of the macronutrient breakdown of the food. Researchers didn’t know what to make of the results, but postulated that the Pavlovian principle may be at work here. (I’m seriously not making this up.) The more we love our chocolate, the more our bodies evidently betray us. Although it’s hardly enough to get me to forgo a good piece of chocolate, it does underscore the need for personally instituted moderation.
Bacon

There’s no such thing as too much bacon.
Butter

Ditto.
Fruit

The above principle applies here as well. Fruit can play a healthy role in the PB, but too much can backfire. This is one area to watch – especially if you’re trying to lose weight. Tailor your fruit intake to your desired Primal carb intake. As luck would have it, higher ORAC level fruits also tend to be lower on the glycemic scale. Berries and cherries generally offer the most antioxidant bang with the least carb buck. Check out this carb chart (PDF) for useful carbohydrate estimates on all your favorites.
Alcohol

I say none is best. However, research generally supports the health benefits of 1-2 drinks a day (1 for the average woman and 2 for the average man). More than that, and the benefits begin to plummet pretty quickly. Certain alcohols can be reasonable Primal indulgences, and some like red wine can offer unique and potentially therapeutic health benefits. That said, moderation is key. That extra indulgent Saturday night at your cousin’s wedding won’t do much harm beyond that splitting headache the next day, but making a habit of it won’t do you any favors. (Think impaired brain and liver functioning.)
Sleep

The Definitive Guide last week got people talking about the suggested ceiling for sleep. A number of studies connect several downsides, including higher obesity and diabetes risk, to longer sleep duration (9-10 hours or more). The consensus seems to support the average of 7-8 hours a night as optimal. However, people have legitimate differences in sleep need. The vast majority of folks probably fall into the average need range, but there are always outliers. If you keep a healthy lifestyle and a genuinely good sleep schedule, but have to drag yourself through the day with less than nine hours of shut eye, you’re likely in this group. I think the key here is quality over quantity. Remember that college roommate who slept through his classes until noon or later? He was likely up well past midnight (doing who knows what). When you miss out on those early hours of deep sleep, it’s tempting for the body to stay in bed and try to make up for the deficiency. If you’re healthy and consistently in tune with your circadian rhythm, you’re likely in tune with what your body really needs.