Get your sunlight! It’s about more than Vitamin D. For the record, I use sunscreen very sparingly and only an my head, neck, nose and ears. Believe it or not, one of the things about eating a diet without high-oleic acid oils and grains and rich in zinc, you will notice after a few years that your resistance to sunburn increases. This isn’t just me, and while I noticed it, I didn’t realize there was a correlation with diet until about two years ago. More to the Sunlight than Vitamin D
These immune support supplements are consistent with many I’ve recommended in the past. Still good to keep in mind. Immune Support Supps
Here’s a good article about doing conditioning work like sprints for bigger guys. Now, he’s referring to big athletes, but all of these things apply to the general population, who are not athletes and are training for health and strength. All of these guidelines are ways to minimize risk while building work capacity. Metabolic Conditioning
More vitamin D goodness. This time, virus related. CV and Vitamin D
Governor’s orders specified against indoor gyms reopening, so we are now an outdoor gym. There is plenty of room outside the back door. Kettlebell and bodyweight workouts are our specialty. No one will lack one ounce of training. The only downside is that I can’t take it on any additional people until May 1st to ensure good quality control.
Please take note that you are all under a great deal of stress. We are still under an “emergency” declaration, which means compromising your immune system by overdoing it, or risking injury is not acceptable. Training sessions will be brief and designed to minimize risk. Do not try to make up for poor eating by training harder. The extra 100-200 calories you might burn off is insignificant. Tighten up the diet and focus on sleep.
The thing I always say? Train like a predator, not prey? This is what I mean. You should feel stronger when you leave the gym than when you came in.
Here’s a very tried and true program I’ve used over and over again. When in doubt, push, pull, squat. Repeat. This post even has some ancient videos from the old gym…LOL! IKSC Push, Pull, Squat Program
Video of the Week: For those of you that have been doing improvised workouts.
The more metabolically healthy you are, the better you’ll fight off nasty respiratory illness. CV and Elephant in the Room
Speculation as to whether exercise will make you better able to fight off a viral infection: I have no idea if this is true or not, but I can say that whenever I feel like I’m coming down with something a good sweat seems to help. Who knows? Exercise as Protection
Every one of this week’s links has to do with strengthening your immune system in one way or another. Always good advice. Here’s something I posted the other day on FB:
Mindset matters. Part of that begins in the way you move. One of the things I notice about all this virus panic is people’s posture and gait when out in public. They all look (just slightly worse than normal) like distressed, caged animals.
Try this: Stand upright, shoulders back chin up, eyes up. Take a deep breath and walk strong and confidently wherever you go. Walk like you own every room you enter and command the ground in front of you.
It reminds me of a samurai maxim that insists that a good samurai only be found with arrows in the front of his body. You might catch something bad or you might not (more than likely not), but walking around like beaten dogs only makes even healthy people sick.
The point is not to be stupid, but be strong and confident. Don’t act wounded or you will be.
Ignore the ads in this article on ZMA. You can get it from lots of sources. The kind I like is made by Vitamin Shoppe and also has theanine in it (which is an adrenal support supplement), but I don’t really have a brand preference.
I’ve taken ZMA to get my magnesium, zinc, and B6 for years. I always took it for more strength and better sleep, because it’s been proven to help that (directions say to take at bedtime).
I’ve also just bought magnesium, zinc and B6 separately and taken those at night before bed. Not a big difference whether you buy them all together or separately.
Anyone who follows me or has been to some of my nutrition classes hears repeatedly about magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc.
Stress weakens your immune system. Stress about things you can control, but not those you cannot. Control your emotions, or they will control you. Stress and Immune System
It all starts in the gut. That’s really the whole point behind a paleo diet or ancestral health diet when you get down to it, and why it works so well (or it did, until you could make “paleo” cookies, brownies, etc.). Now is a good time to dial in what you are eating, and spend extra time preparing meals. I know I am dialing in my diet hard, because I know I just don’t have the normal “cheat room” I would otherwise due to the stressful situation we are all under. Gut Health
Vitamin C is important when it comes to general immune system health. I take 2,000mg per day. This article has to do with it lowering cortisol, which relates back to the article above about stress and immune system. And yes, vitamin D is just as important as C. I’m also hearing chatter about high doses of vitamin C being used to treat our latest fun virus threat, but I’m trying to avoid diving into that specifically, since I just don’t know. Vitamin C and Cortisol
This week’s video:
I’ve shared this before. This is really important right now. I know it’s easy to fall into a stress and stress eating rollercoaster. We all have a challenge to meet right now. It will only be made worse by going off the rails into a junkfood abyss. It is about more than just a few pounds around the waistline. For some, it is the difference between falling into a much more dangerous condition.
This is a good article from a friend’s blog on gut health. Most of these things will sound familiar, if you’ve been to any of my nutrition classes. Autoimmune diseases cover a wide range of things, so if you have a chronic skin issue or allergies, you might look into it. This also includes thyroid conditions. I talk about these things related to diet often, but Heidi Toy is a real expert on it. Healing Your Gut
Here’s a good article on ways to help your immune system stay strong. Always useful, but sure can’t hurt to hear right now. Boost Immune System
You always hear people talk about “doing cardio.” I hate that term. “Cardio” is largely activity-specific. Meaning running makes you good at running and biking makes you good at biking. Strength-interval training will get you to the same place body-composition wise, but when you consider all the things that you gain from a good strength program, it is clear what is a better use of your time. No one ever got stronger or increased mobility jogging or riding a stationary bike. They will make you better able to do those things. Strength -vs- Running for Cardio
Kettlebell intervals have the highest calorie burn of any exercise. I’ve written and spoken extensively on this study since it came out about 10 years ago. There are many things that are misleading here. Something to think about is that even if you do think calorie burn as a result of exercise is of major importance, you aren’t really burning enough to make a huge dent in bodyfat. That part is going to come from diet.
Oh, and for those that are interested, I used a very similar program prior to this study and it does work as well as anything. While it’s not mentioned in the here, the exact program they used is called “Viking Warrior Conditioning” by Kenneth Jay, but I think his book was published later. Best Way To Burn Calories
Video of The Week: Press reset with breathing. Take a minute to do this daily. This is good for stress levels. Use this position if it is comfortable, modify if-needed to make yourself comfortable.
I was one of the first certified Primal Health Coaches. It’s been a long time since that opportunity opened up in 2014. It is part of a bigger movement to make people healthier. I just found out that program is a member of this organization: Holistic Health Education
Best article I’ve read yet on Coronavirus. Remember that having a positive mindset matters in everything. You WILL get better. This, too, shall pass. What to expect.
Great things to keep in mind from Weston A. Price Foundation. Success leaves clues. Look to History, Anthropology, and Biology for what humans are truly designed to function best on. Ancestral Diets
If there is a fountain of youth, it surely includes making yourself as strong as possible. Fight Aging
I have no idea if this will minimize Coronavirus or not, but getting as much sunlight and fresh air as you can is always good advice. However, even though I supplement with 5,000iu per day of Vitamin D3 all year long, I’d make sure and maybe even take a little extra if you aren’t able to get your sun (I usually up my to 10,000iu during winter months). Low D3 levels are a common-denominator in so many ailments that it makes sense, regardless. I also read a little bit the other day that populations that the virus has spread are also known to be D-deficient. Sunlight and Coronavirus
Video of The Week: I’m often asked what I think of CrossFit. I view it as an exercise sport nowadays, not a training system. Mark Rippetoe (in the video) used to do barbell certifications for CrossFit, and like many that were involved in it 10-15 years ago, saw it changing for the worse. My first exposure to kettlebells was through CrossFit back in 2007.
Great advice for things that will keep you training long and productively. One more that I’d add is don’t waste time on anything that doesn’t make you stronger. Principles to Change Your Life
The “Program Minimum” he refers to is basically getups and swings. Less is more sometimes. That is something that is very hard for people to get into their heads when deviating from the commercial “recreational exerciser” mindset into the strength and conditioning mindset that is required for really improving performance. Minimal Program for Fighters
I’m glad that Mark addressed this. The issue of fasting and thyroid comes up frequently. Fasting and Thyroid
Poor insulin-sensitivity and high blood sugars affect all hormone levels downstream. No surprise here that it would reduce testosterone levels. High Blood Sugar = Low T
Video of The Week: Anyone want to geek out on back stuff? Here’s your guy.
Thanks for everyone’s patience last week when I was away. The Original Strength cert I went to was pretty high-level. I was gratified to see that what I’ve been teaching was largely inline with what they taught. University strength and conditioning coaches, a neurologist, a few physical therapists, acupuncturists, and a bunch of other health and strength professionals were there. I was lucky to get in and I will be the only one in Idaho certified in that system. Like a lot of stuff we do at IKSC, we are ahead of the curve for the Boise area.
Kettlebell training, ancestral health and nutrition, and neurologically correct movement patterns have been baked into our training for years. Generally, we are about five years ahead of what goes on locally.
The eyes should lead all movement. Think in terms of proper human movement, not in “exercise land” where things are based on doing some gym exercise and not something that reinforces a proper human movement and proprioceptive response. This is essential for sports performance, injury prevention and strong movement patterns. The Eyes Lead
Until just recently, it was impossible for humans to exist without consuming animal proteins. It is only through global shipping and micronutrient supplements that people now have that option. Looks like Weston A. Price found the closest thing to a native vegan culture, though: Cannibals. No Vegans, Just Cannibals
The less carb-dependent you are, the longer stretches you can go between eating. Having to eat frequently is a sign something is very wrong. It’s not the way we are designed to operate. We are apex predators, not grazing animals. Low-Carb Makes Fasting Easy
Video of the Week:
Consistent with one of my philosophies of training. “Work the body from the tips of the toes to the fingertips.” This is what Gichin Funakoshi said of Karate training. Ask me about specific wrist and forearm mobilization exercises, if you want to add them in to your repertoire. My toes won’t do some of the things he shows here, due to destroying a few of them over the years in martial art.
Focus on making your last rep just as strong as your first, and train to be successful, not end in failure. This has always been a strategy for building strength. Looks like it works for building muscle size, too. The goal is to stimulate new growth, not annihilate yourself. Training to Failure
To burn more fat/fuel, build a bigger engine (muscle). You don’t necessarily need a bigger chassis to put a bigger engine in a car. Most of us won’t naturally get appreciably larger with increased muscle mass, but we’ll move a lot better with a bigger powerhouse and an efficient fuel system. Fat Loss Training
I don’t make blanket recommendations on probiotics. There is a lot we don’t know about the gut biome, and much of it is completely individual, based on genetics, medications, stress, sleep, life experiences, diet, disease history, etc., etc…. We just don’t know what we don’t know. You have to experiment with what makes you look, feel and perform better. That won’t be an overnight project. Probiotics
Video of The Week: Worth re-watching for some of you that may have seen this before. Perhaps even more relevant during these months of little sunlight. I’ve actually taken his advice recently and hit up a combination tanning and red light therapy bed for a few minutes about once a week. Placebo or not, I think it helps my mood and motivation.
I’ll be doing a special class on Tuesday January 14that 7 p.m. on “Fighting Sugar Cravings.” I’ve done this one in the past and had good results. Free to members, but $15 drop in for guests. I am limiting this class to a max of 10 people, so let me know if you’re coming. Here’s a link for guests to sign up:
Some of you may have seen this article floating around about fake meats and hormones. Soy is a hormone disruptor. It’s not a simple process by which that happens, but it does have an estrogenic effect. Estrogen Burgers
Here’s an interesting article on getups:https:Old Time Getups
To study nutrition, you have to be able to read past mainstream news headlines and read up on the studies those news stories come from. One thing you’ll find is that the reliability in nutrition studies is all over the place, sometimes just about worthless, and people that try to point out some of the flawed and biased information (i.e. fat is bad) are fighting quite a battle. This article points out an example of that. Nutrition Studies
Training is like medicine, and that means “the dose makes the poison.” Don’t give enough, and nothing happens; give too much and it doesn’t help much either. How Much Exercise Needed?
A lot of what Dan John has done in training is close or almost exactly what we do at IKSC. Trust me, it is more overlap than me copying what he does. I’ve never read one of his books, but have listened to a few interviews and read some of his articles. I’m glad I’m on the same page in many cases, as he is very respected. Dan John is Antidote to CrossFit
Video of the Week: This is exactly my strategy, as anyone who has attended my nutrition classes will acknowledge. Additionally, note that most of the nutritional interventions that have become popular in recent years have come from ancestral health and nutrition models refined for the masses.
