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.
Here’s a great article on one of our staples, the Goblet Squat. Dan John’s stuff mirrors a lot of what we do here. Happy to say that a lot of that has to do with just finding these things out via trial and error and lots of reps. If you want to read more, look him up. He also has a podcast now that is worth listening to. Dan John Goblet Squat
Your gut and brain are connected. Junk in= Junk out. We all know this, but still a good read. Processed Food = Junk Brain
If you want to live a long time, get comfortable being uncomfortable. I plan to live long and hard and then drop dead. Discomfort = Long Life
High blood sugar equals low testosterone. Not a surprise. Insulin and leptin are master control hormones. If they are messed up because of high sugars, then everything else will be downstream. That is one of the first things I teach in my nutrition courses. Blood Sugar and Hormones
Video of the Week: An interesting video about rowing trends. “Boutique” rowing studios are starting to be a thing. Trends are not something I follow (because one of my theories is that the longer and more proven a training system has been around the better it is), but you just might see more dedicated rowing interval classes in the future.
Good stuff to keep in mind. Not all these are set in stone. Things to unlearn
Pretty interesting stuff about the psoas muscle related to emotional state. Think about it: It’s the muscle that prevents movement when you are “frozen” like when you are afraid of heights and are getting ready to jump off a diving board or something. Psoas Muscle
Anyone who’s attended my nutrition courses should have most of these answers. It’s not that hard. 30 Keto Questions
I take about 500-1000mg after training and at night. Vitamin C supposedly reduces cortisol levels. Vitamin C
Video of the Week: Why we crawl the way we do. We are trying to restore and reinforce good movement.
For those of you working the 8×8 program, and reasons why this rep scheme shows up so frequently on the daily workout board as a general full body workout. It works. It has worked for a long time, and will predictably work in the future. I use it myself about once a year. 8X8 Training
This supplement combo does work, and you’ll find it in lots of preworkout drinks and energy drinks. Note that the amounts they used is ridiculously high. Caffeine and Carnitine
More on red light…from The Man himself, Robb Wolf. Red Light Therapy
Video of The Week: Train from fingertips to toes. These stretches might be good if you are forced to wear shoes or boots that aren’t friendly for work or if you’ve spent lots of years beating your feet up.
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.
Here’s a glimpse of the certification I’m attending this weekend up in Seattle. I hope to bring back some great tools to add value to what I offer to everyone at IKSC. Original Strength
Low-testosterone and a low-fat diet are linked, yet again. Don’t think that not getting enough animal fats aren’t a problem for everyone. Women don’t have as much testosterone as men, but they still have it, and not having enough creates its own set of problems. We need fats, especially good monounsaturated fats and saturated fats. Low Testosterone
I found this article pretty interesting. I noticed when I went full-on carnivore I’d have cravings for fermented things like kimchee and sauerkraut. Looks like there is a biological reason for this. A friend of mine that is an expert in nutrition initially told me that was normal. She was right. Fermented Food and Meat
More on soybean oil. Old news, really, but it is always good to reinforce. The more we learn about man-made foods, the more harm we learn that comes from them. More and more compounding evidence that ancestral nutrition is the way to go. Soybean Oil
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.
