Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #23 The Very BEST Ways to Exercise, Naturally!

If you’ve been following along with Paleo Quick Tip of the Day for the past 23 weeks, you are surely seeing and feeling big changes in both your body composition, (Less fat; more muscle!), and just feeling amazing!  It doesn’t take that long- usually 3 weeks is the point where folks start to really feel and see it making a difference!  Also, this is the point when your lifelong addiction to processed foods, wheat products and sugar is broken, and you no longer feel like you are in withdrawal...  because you really were an addict!  AND NOW YOU ARE NOT- HALLELUJAH!!

 

This first 23 weeks has been mainly about dialing in your nutrition and sleep- walking and some exercise, especially virtual and self-resisted exercise have been added into your early morning routine, right after you make your daily paleo green smoothie.  Also, you are probably progressing on your pushups and straight-legged situps...

 

But now it’s time to up it a notch- add in a weekly workout to really maximize your lean muscle, and build up a real, symmetrical physique that is not only attractive, but very, very functional and healthy!

 

I’m not big on exercise apparatus at all- I’ve tried most of it in my mis-spent youth, and I am quite anti-weight lifting!  It is just not necessary, and builds a physique that is really quite unappealing, but most importantly is fraught with injury, and I mean injury that is UNAVOIDABLE if you continue lifting heavy weights!!

 

So, what can you do to really build your body in an aesthetic, healthy, classically symmetrical and pleasing way?  

 

Get some gymnastic rings!!

 

I have a set in my cellar; since my farmhouse is well over a century old, and constructed of giant blocks of stone, the cellar has ceilings over 10 feet tall with exposed joists above- so, simple to hang some rings!  If you don’t have a place to hang them, it is easy to hang them from a tree branch, or a swing set, or a jungle gym in a playground- there are lots of ways to make it work!  You could take them to the park on Sunday, do your rings workout, and take them home... no big deal! And you will feel GREAT!

 

Here is my Sunday Rings workout: 

 

Pushups- pushups on the rings are MUCH more difficult than regular pushups, and MUCH more productive and beneficial than a bench press with weights- your scapula rotates completely as you go all the way down, and the handles rotate with your hands, taking all harmful stress off of your joints (elbow, wrist, shoulder) and maximizing the positive stress on your chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and especially your tendons and ligaments, that are largely ignored in traditional weight lifting since all of the stress is linear; i.e. up-and-down- here, it is all around!

 

I do pushups, and then flies on the rings, and then pullovers by moving forward and lifting my torso with straight arms for reps, followed by triceps extensions by lifting my torso again with bent arms... you get the idea!  

 

Experiment!  

 

You can easily move from exercise to exercise- do rows, chins, dips, and my favorite- chins in an L-sit position, working your lats and abs to the maximum, all at once!

 

 

What’s that?  You can’t DO a chin up?  Not even one?

 

Well, my friend, man or woman- now you can!

 

You just set the rings low enough (they are easily adjustable), and assist with your legs just enough to complete your chin- or dip- or row...

 

and, if you can’t do a full, down to the ground pushup on rings (most can’t, at least at week 23!), set the rings higher- as high as you need!  And do your reps!!

 

There is something very satisfying and primal about rings training- It’s like barefoot sprinting on grass- it brings me back to my childhood, running around with my friends, little 8 year old Jay, out in the fresh air and sunshine, having a BLAST!  

 

Rings are like that, too- basic movement, like playing on the monkey bars when you were a kid, climbing trees, pulling yourself up on branches- just plain experimenting with moving your body, like a cat!

 

Cats never give up on this movement training, why should you?

 

Get yourself a set of gymnastic rings.  Hang them up in the playground this Sunday.  After your fun, experimental workout, go for a few barefoot sprints across the park!  

 

Isn’t it great being a kid again?

 

J

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #22- Get Fit, Strong and Healthy- AND get a Natural Facelift in the Process!!!

I know, this sounds like a crazy infomercial... but it is TRUE, and actually rather easily achievable- every last bit of it!  How?

 

As you know, following a Paleo or ancestral type of diet is key for health- but did you know that the easiest, fastest, and most sustainable way to achieve such results is...

 

TO INCLUDE A DAILY GREEN, PALEO SMOOTHIE IN YOUR DIET??

 

It really is that simple!

 

Take about a handful, or a cupful, or whatever you shake out into your Vitamix blender (no exacting recipes here, thank you!) of mixed frozen or fresh veggies- I like the California Mix from Wal-Mart and most groceries- cauliflower, broccoli, carrots) and then add another handful of either collards, spinach, kale- a leafy green dude!  Whatever you have on hand- fresh or frozen- doesn’t matter!

 

When you mix this into an instant smoothie meal replacement by adding a liquid like green or white tea, coconut milk, and a little bit of citrus fruit like a lemon, orange, and a handful of berries, fresh or frozen- you are giving your body the most incredible source of nutrients that you possible could offer!  “Hurray YOU” says your body!

 

You see, most of us are vastly overfed and undernourished. This means that we get too many calories that are devoid of nutrients that our bodies need desperately...

 

And not nearly enough of the micronutrients that we need to be fit, strong, and healthy!  The GREEN VEGETABLES, primarily, that we need in GREAT QUANTITY TO BE OUR HEALTHIEST, FITTEST, AND BEST!

 

Quite frankly, it is difficult to follow the Paleo diet... if you do it without a daily Paleo Green Smoothie!  It’s almost impossible to get enough greens and veggies to make it really happen, like it did in primeval times when our ancestors would literally gather and chew these veggies, ALL DAY LONG!!  

 

We don’t live like that today... but, we can accomplish the exact same thing, but even BETTER by putting our veggies into a Vitamix and blending them into an easily assimilable Paleo Smoothie that we can drink, easily and effortlessly.  

 

And just why is this so great?  

 

Because if we get all of these wonderful nutrients, in their natural form (not supplements!), from God-made veggies and fruits and pastured eggs and teas and butter and spices... WE ARE GIVING OUR BODIES EVERYTHING THEY NEED, AND HAVE BEEN LACKING, IN MOST CASES FOR YEARS AND YEARS!

When your body at last has all the nutrients it needs, it shuts off your appetite!  

 

The reason you are probably constantly hungry is that your body needs nutrients to build, and maintain your body’s health and wellness!

 

If you give it nutrient poor food, like the Standard American SAD diet- it will say over and over and over again- I’m Hungry- EAT!

 

And, if you continue to give it man made food, i.e. CRAP; your body will STILL be hungry, although storing fat all over your body, and especially all over your FACE!

 

Give your body a Paleo Green Smoothie each day, and a huge change happens, and it happens FAST.  

 

Almost immediately, your skin clears- hey- the body has enough nutrients now!

 

Next, fat starts melting away- hey- the body is no longer hungry- it has nutrients in plenty to build and repair with!  The body even says Hey- we should work out, since we have the nutrients available to build muscle- and let’s get rid of this worthless fat- we have enough nutrients coming in, this must be a time of plenty- let’s build up and be strong!  

 

The thing I notice the most, in folks who start incorporating a daily Paleo Smoothie, loaded with greens and veggies is-

 

Besides the fact that their skin and hair look amazingly healthy and glowing, their face is WAY thinner, more defined, and without that BLOAT that is so typical of modern Americans- THEY ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE MODELS!  

 

Cheekbones show up, the double chin disappears, and even wrinkles seem to be gone...

 

All from a Paleo Green Smoothie, made easily in a Vitamix blender, in your own kitchen??

 

Yes, it really is that simple and easy!  

 

This is the ONE magic bullet that I recommend to ALL- and you can get it with free shipping at the link at www.paleojay.com

 

But, even if you don’t order it there, just get one, and more importantly use it on a regular basis!  NOTHING, and I really mean NOTHING is more beneficial to your health and appearance that this one simple step- NOTHING!

 

J

 

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #21- Cook your own Food, Dude!

This may seem like a non-important kind of issue- maybe you are in the habit of “picking up” food for lunch at work, skip breakfast or eat something quick and processed, and go out several times per week to a restaurant, where you try to order “paleo” foods… not a big deal, right?

Au contraire, my friend!  There is no real way around it- nothing is better for you, both physically for your health and wellness, or mentally by putting you in a more intimate contact with the animals and vegetables that give their lives for your sustenance, than actually preparing, cutting, Vitamixing, and cooking them!  And, what you see it what you get!  No “red slime” mixed in your ground beef or chicken, no sick damaged animals from concentration camp feed lot meat laced  with hormones and antibiotics; not if you get it from a trusted local farmer as I do, and I suggest you do!

www.farmmatch.com

Check out www.farmmatch.com if you don’t have a farmer friend as of yet!  Type in your address or zip code, and all the local farmers, their drop off points near you, and farmers markets will all magically appear!  It really is an amazingly useful service, and a great way to hook up with a local farmer or rancher who can be a great source of healthy food, and a good way to wean yourself off of the grocery store and processed fake food crap!  

 

Not only will you get away from substandard corn fed, diseased meats that are loaded with every toxic medicine and disease brought on by substandard diet- you will also free yourself from all of the bad oils, like soybean and canola oil, ALL the vegetable oils that are sabotaging your health!  You can begin using real oils and fats like pastured butter (Kerrygold butter is great, from Ireland), coconut oil, olive oil, and along with the good meat you will be eating, you will correct the balance of omega 3 to omega 6 fats, of which the Omega 6 from standard meats and fats is WAY out of whack in your body, unless you’ve been truly Paleo for quite a while… which is what you want, and what you WILL BE after you follow this last Paleo Quick Tip of the Day step, along with the 20 preceding!

You can also use your trusted farmer source for organic vegetables, pastured eggs, and perhaps some wonderful pastured berries- YUM!  Maybe some raw cream???

The thing is- given the proper nutrients, your body can accomplish almost anything- fight off disease, build abundant health, shed fat and build muscle- just by being fed correctly, as God and nature intended!  

It really is that easy!  

We have just gotten so far off track, by NOT-

getting our meats from naturally raised conditions

eating unnatural, fake fats and oils

and by actually EATING-

processed, and fast processed fake crap foods from a drive-thru

soft drinks of any type, sweetened or chemical sweetened

Genetically modified wheat, corn and soy products

that we have destroyed our bodies’ innate ability to heal itself!

 

We then run desperately the Medical INDUSTRY, and beg to be “fixed” of our many diseases- and they gladly oblige…

 

NOT by fixing us- just by masking the symptoms with various drugs, and taking all of our money for the favor!

Don’t fall into this trap- you are your own physician- 

Physician- heal thyself!

 

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #20- Eat God food, Eliminate Man food, and Grow your Health!

It is almost universal- someone first hears about the Paleo Diet, and the very first thing they hear is to eliminate wheat!  Although it is a wonderful step, and very beneficial, it is NOT just because this eliminates the gluten and gliadin anti-nutrients or toxins within it that degrade your intestinal wall… the main reason, in my opinion, is that it frees up all of those nutrient poor calories you have been eating in the form of bread, cereals, muffins, pancakes, fiber 1 bars, twinkles, cookies… you get the idea!  

 

Just this one act forces you to start eating real, God-made, nutrient DENSE foods- foods chock full of every ingredient God and nature have determined is essential to your overall health and well-being!  Not just the macro-nutrients, like adequate protein and good fats, and not just the vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A, D, C, E, K, and all the rest we are concerned with- but especially all of the nutrients that the best minds in science STILL DO NOT KNOW THAT WE REALLY NEED!!

 

But need them we do- they are the many “missing pieces of the puzzle” that spell out HEALTH AND WELLNESS- the phytonutrients and micronutrients that have not even been discovered yet.  All of these missing nutrient pieces of health are within real, God made food- things like green leafy vegetables, oxidant rich berries, cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, grass fed meats (especially grass fed ORGAN meats!), pastured butter and eggs, sardines and scallops!  

 

The MORE you eat of these real, God made foods, THE BETTER!  

 

This notion of eating MORE is so alien to us in modern, fake food America- we are all supposed to eat LESS, and of course to MOVE MORE, to burn off those icky calories…

 

I say BS- Factory farmed excrement!!

 

Eat all you want; in the beginning eat all you CAN of these wonderful real foods- put them in your Vitamix blender, except for the meats!, along with green tea, kefir, potato starch, pastured butter and eggs, cod liver oil, turmeric,cinnamon,and build your health, and the health of your microbiome from the inside out!

 

I honestly believe that this is the ultimate key to health and wellness!

 

Most folks read books like Wheat Belly, or The Paleo Solution, and although both of these are wonderful, informative books- they lead people to concentrate on elimination of bad foods, rather than positive embracing of wonderful, real, God made foods!!

 

So go you, and do… the opposite!  

 

Eat real foods- eat LOTS of real, nutrient-loaded REAL FOODS!  Glory in how full you are- think about all of those building blocks being available for your body to build, repair, and just plain REVEL in!

 

Eliminate the man-made processed junk, too!  But, the emphasis should be on incorporating the good foods, after you do that, you really won’t have the room or even the inclination to consume the BAD- you just won’t have the room.

 

And that is the bottom line of health, my friend- to paraphrase the great John Wesley of Methodism fame:

 

Eat as much God food as you can

Eliminate the Man food as much as you can

And your Health will grow as fast as it can!

 

 

J

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #19 Straight Legged Situps and Planks!

What I want you consider is this:

 

The FIRST thing you do, each and every morning, is to first fixate on your breath, breathe into your diaphragm and then your chest, in bed, to gradually awaken yourself naturally and healthfully.  This is incredibly important for overall health and wellness- costal breathing is vital for maximum health!

 

Next, after going to the bathroom, go to your workout area- for me, this is in front of my television!  Lay down a towel if you’d like; I do, and then go through a brief warmup, rotating your neck, shoulder rolls, quarter squats, side to side twists- just methodically warm up each and every joint in your body, gently and pleasantly!  

 

At this point, I go into my kitchen, start the water boiling in my teakettle for both green tea and coffee, and then get my Vitamix blender canister and assemble my morning Paleo Green Smoothie- the foundation of my Health!!  I have ingredient lists on www.paleojay.com, and in my eBooks Perfectly Paleo Exercise and Paleo Quick Start, but here is the idea in a nutshell:  

 

Pour into the canister about a cup or so of green tea… add a can of coconut milk if you have it (ideal!), if not just add in about a cup or so of frozen mixed veggies, I like the California Mix that is cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots.  Add in another cup of kale, or spinach, or whatever fresh or frozen green you have on hand, and then throw in cod liver oil, Vitamin D, kelp powder, spirulina powder, a couple of raw free range eggs, a bit of Kerry gold butter- whatever you know to be really nutrient dense and super healthy- throw it in!!  The idea is to give yourself the maximum dose of nutrition possible, in an easily drinkable and absorbable form!  The results are actually miraculous!!

 

Anyway, blend it up for a couple of minutes, and then make your coffee and tea- this whole process takes maybe 15 minutes max- I use an Aerobie Press coffee maker- about $20, and makes the very best coffee you will ever taste- the procedure is a little “ritual” that I enjoy…

 

NOW, at last, we get to the subject of this podcast!  I just want you to realize that exercise is important, but nutrition is paramount, as is deep, costal breathing for your health!  So, do those FIRST, and THEN-

 

Go into your workout space, turn on your favorite Netflix program (this is what I do, daily!), and prepare to enjoy yourself!  Watching Television passively, sitting on a couch or chair, is NOTHING compared to actively building your health and vitality while watching!

 

I always start with a sequence of Virtual Resistance exercise, which I have covered before, so lets get into the sequel: Straight legged sit-ups, and planks!  

 

These two exercises are the very best for your core; the part of the human body that is most neglected, and the most important for the health of the interior organs, and the overall body itself!  In addition, the straight legged situp also stretches and revitalizes the spine with each repetition.

 

Start with the straight legged situp: curl your body up from a flat position on the floor, and try to go as low as you can trying to touch your forehead to your knees.  Repeat.  Do NOT put your feet under anything to anchor them- it is crucial that you curl up without this crutch!  If you can’t do it at first, get into the top position, and then curl down slowly to the flat position- stick with it!  This negative situp is actually the most productive and result-producing part of the exercise!

 

Now, it’s Plank time!  Turn on your left side, and support your body on your left elbow and left foot.  You can just hold this pose, but I like to lower my hips to the floor, and then raise them, for reps- this speeds up the effect!  

 

Next, just turn onto your right side, and do the same thing…

 

Situp time again!  And then planks again…

 

The thing is; while you are watching a compelling program on TV at the same time, doing the exercises is not onerous at all- it is enjoyable and productive!  I like to think that I am earning the right to be entertained!

 

And so, with this mindset, you can start your day with not only the best base of nutrition you could possible have, with your Vitamix-powered Paleo Green Smoothie- you are also completely energized with oxygenated blood, and muscles stimulated to make the best possible use of that maximum nutrient density!  A WIN WIN!!

 

Go on out and rule the day!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

J

 

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Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #17 Throw out your Scale, and then Go Forest Bathing!

The  first thing I’d like you to do today, after listening to this podcast is to…

 

THROW OUT YOUR SCALE!

 

The ridiculous notion of measuring how much gravity we displace, on any given day, is just that- ridiculous!  It shows NOTHING!  

 

Like our BMI- there is nothing about how much muscle to fat ratio there is; it is just how much weight we displace on this earth… signifying ….

NOTHING!  Modern medicine, and modern life in general thrives on measuring, and quantifying numbers.  Unfortunately, most of these numbers don’t mean anything, but they are looked at very gravely, and the practitioner folds his or her hands and says:  “Oh- very interesting!”

 

One of the most worthless indicators of your health is… YOUR BODY WEIGHT!  

 

There, I’ve said it!  If your goal is to be “as thin as possible”, you are very, very confused, and brainwashed by the media and the medical establishment…

 

What you REALLY want is to be as healthy as possible!  

 

DUH!!

 

Really, how did we ever get away from this vital, common sense, obvious conclusion??  

 

Well, my theory is that we have fallen for fake “Scientism”, rather than true SCIENCE, as was advocated by the ancient Greeks.  Scientism is what has predominated for the past 50 years or so, and it is fake, 1830’s or so era “science”, that leans on common knowledge, and repeats it, without question, and without following the real scientific method, which assumes you need to TEST the theory, rather than just ASSUME it is true!

 

In REAL SCIENCE, we would TEST the idea that body weight has any relation to overall health… but, in our current, medically sanctioned  view, it is a GIVEN, just like the notion that FAT IS BAD.  

 

These are medieval notions, in both cases- They are only true, because…

 

THEY ARE SAID TO BE TRUE!

 

Throw away your scale, and concentrate on how you FEEL, your overall HEALTH, and photos of your physique for an unbiased view of yourself!

 

The more muscle you build, through Perfectly Paleo Exericize, utilizing body weight and virtual and self resisted exercise- the BETTER!

 

And, the more WEIGHT you gain from this, the BETTER!  

 

Muscle is metabolic currency- it will keep you healthy better than any other asset you could gain.

 

And so, my friends, throw out your scale?  As Robb Wolf says famously: 

“Give it to your worst enemy!”  

 

Let THEM suffer.

 

And after you’ve done that, go out and… 

 

FOREST BATHE!

 

Never heard of that?

 

As I understand, it is a BIG trend in Japan.  And, as I know, it is a  HUGE trend in rural Wisconsin- particularly in the PaleoJay community!!

 

Probably one of my favorite things in LIFE is “forest bathing” in my backyard!   I have several acres here in Southwestern Wisconsin, and what I LOVE to do is just… (you guessed it)- FOREST BATHE!

 

What does this even mean?  

 

It means I just relish nature- I go out, and walk around on my property, enjoying the birdsong; the pollen in the air, the oxygenation all around me, the trees, and the grounding of my bare feet with the earth!

 

AND THIS TIME SPENT IN NATURE, EVEN IT IS JUST 15 MINUTES, IS MORE IMPORTANT TO MY HEALTH, BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE!

 

Sorry for the Capital letters in the show notes, but I feel really strongly about this.

 

I have gone so far, that I have even built a small structure, a TINY PUB, that resides way back in my woodlands… 

 

It’s a retreat, a hide-away, and even a JUKE JOINT, given my musical leanings- and, above all, it is a BLAST!  

 

This evening, I spent several hours down there, playing guitar, then reading, and finally just gazing out the opened doors of the PUB as we call it, since it is Irish-themed.. With my faithful CAT by my side!

 

This evening did more for my overall health than a TON of lab work could possibly have done!  I FEEL WONDERFUL!!

 

Go thou, and do likewise!

J

www.paleojay.com

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