Coach Kelly Starrett of the Mobility WOD

Stretching does increase flexibility if you take the time to do a little maintenance every day.    Two years ago I could barely touch my fingers to the top of my feet, but now I’m able to completely place my palms flat on the floor.  I’ve increased my flexibility by warming-up before each workout by completing a series of Joint Mobility Drills taught by  Jeff Martone of Tactical Athlete in his Kettle Bell Certification.   I follow these drills with a few of my favorite stretches that I’ve picked up along the way.   If you’re consistent, you will notice a significant improvement in flexibility over time.  Tight, inflexible muscles not only decrease performance but also greatly increase your chances of injury.

Recently I came across a new blog by Coach Kelly Starett of CrossFit San Franciso.  Coach Starlett is not only a well known Coach having trained “Olympic gold-medalists, world-class extreme skiers and X-Games medalists, dancers with Smuin,  San Francisco, and Sacramento Ballet Companies, military personnel, and competitive age-division athletes”, he also has received a Doctorate of Physical Therapy.   Coach Starlett is well- known for combining his extensive knowledge of  physiotherapy and strength training to greatly increase mobility, flexibility and performance.

Coach Starrett’s states his new Mobility WOD blog “is intended as a jump off point for athletes to systematically begin to address their nasty tissues and grody joint mobility….every human being should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves. You know what to eat, how to train, and what to do if you have a cut; you should also know how to fix your tight hips, painful knees, and stiff shoulders, and how to make yourself faster and more powerful. It’s too much to mobilize everything, all the time, every day. Start somewhere. The Mobility Wod should take you four to 10 minutes to complete. Do it every day.”

Each day he posts a new mobility stretch.  I’ve already started incorporating these stretches into my pre-workout warm-up routine.  Good stuff.  Check out his new blog here:

Mobility WOD

Just when I think I’m up to date,  Robb Wolf and Andy Deas post yet another episode of the The Paleolithic Solution.     I’m currently listening to Episode 38, but already behind as they have recorded and posted Episode 39.  For me, the “last podcast” is ever elusive, but in all honesty that’s actually a good thing.  Besides presenting an incredible amount of applicable paleo “pseudo science” each week, these two guys are also very funny.   I look forward to walking my dogs and laughing out loud in the middle of the street.  Although the bio-chemistry of nutrition and fitness can be tedious and boring, Robb and Andy actually make the learning process fun. To quote one of their classic podcast comments -  “It should be more like a birthday party than physics class” .

In Episode 26 of The Paleolithic Solution Robb and Andy were joined by Melissa Urban and Dallas Hartwig of the Whole9.    Melissa and Dallas are on top of their game when it comes to nutrition, health and fitness (check out their Whole9 blog).  During this interview Melissa shared her “fresh, natural foods your great grandmother would recognize” elevator “Paleo Pitch”.  She responds with this “Paleo Pitch” when asked “what do you eat”?  Robb comments that Melissa’s  elevator pitch would need to be  in a very tall building, like a [skyscraper] in Dubai.  It may be a little long because she does do a very good job of explaining what one would eat when following The Paleo Diet.

The Whole9 Nutrition Paleo Pitch

Melissa and Dallas also have also developed the “Whole30″ and “Whole30 Version 2.0″, a program that will “change your life in 30 days” (links provided below).    Melissa and Dallas give you all of the information and tools you’ll need to get started eating “paleo”.    The testimonials have been incredible with many Continue reading

…instead, read Dr. Michael Eades most recent blog post!   I am not a vegetarian, vegan, nor do I eat a diet made up of “mostly whole plant foods”.  I’m a paleo eatin’ carnivore.  Although my support for Dr Eades’ blog post is due to my own “confirmation bias”, he does do an excellent job of highlighting key examples of Dr. Campbell’s own “confusion, ambiguity, distortion  in what is basically a book-length argument for a personal opinion masquerading as hard side science”.  As Dr. Eades most eloquently states, The China Study is a “master piece of obfuscation”.   Correlation does not prove causation.     Take the time to read Dr. Eades commentary on the seemingly never-ending protein debate:

Dr. Eades “The China Study vs the China study”

Also, while on the topic of  protein you can read more about the original protein debate between Dr. Cordain author of  “The Paleo Diet” and Dr. Campbell author of “The China Study” in a recent Robb Wolf post titled “The China Study:  Junk Science and Lies”:

The Protein Debate

Loren Cordain, PhD and T. Colin Campbell, PhD

I awoke this morning surprised to find an article on The Paleo Diet in my small hometown Sunday newspaper.  It would be nice to see The Paleo diet go a little more mainstream. Imagine the number of folks that stand to benefit significant improvements in overall health from following a diet of grass-fed meat, veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starches, no grains, and no sugar.  Improvements in over all bio-markers of health that I know occur from my own personal experiences (see my blog post “Robb Wolf:  Paleo Nutrition Guru” and “Large, Fluffy and Buoyant Can Be A Good Thing!” )!

More “Paleo Diet” articles showing up in common places:

• Article From the Sacramento Bee featured in today’s Ocala Health and Fitness Section:  “With the Paleo Diet, prehistoric food no longer thing of the past“

• 2010 May/June issue of Psychology Today feature story on The Paleo Diet:  “The Way We Were - Our bodies are best adapted to what our Paleolithic ancestors ate and that’s food for our brains as well.”

• From the Washington Post in January 2010:  “Paleolithic diet is so easy, cavemen actually did it”

• The New York Times January 2010 article:  The New Age Cavemen and the City

• The Huffington Post February 2010 article: Is It Healthier To Eat Like A Caveman?

• 2010 April issue of Woman’s World Magazine features The Paleo Diet success story of Eva La Rue from CSI Miami

FIGURE 1 (chart from Eatwild.org)

The Paleo Diet recommends that all protein sources should come from “grass-fed” animals.   “Grass-Fed” vs. “Grain-Fed”,  what’s the big deal?  You may be surprised to learn that grain-fed beef can be detrimental to your health.

I recently read an article in James Fitzgerald’s OPT on-line newsletter by Jeremy Gordon of CrossFit Hampton Roads.  Jeremy does an excellent job of not only sharing the ill-effect grain has on protein quality, but also on his own personal, self-enlightening journey into health and wellness.  Jeremy has kindly given fitfemaleforty permission to re-post his article below. written by

Grown-Up Thinking

Jeremy Gordon

One year ago, after viewing the movie, “Food, Inc.,” my family started a journey. This is a journey towards independence from an industrial food system. It is a journey vectored by critical thinking, fueled by a passion for wellness (self and earth) and the road is paved with “grown-up thinking.” (i) While we are still taking our first steps in this journey, the end-state (in my mind) is clear: we consume foods grown using sustainable, humane, local, organic methods; preferably raised by my family on our own property. Continue reading

Government Food Pyramid making us sicker?  Today’s modern diet is mostly made up of processed foods – whole wheat bread, brown rice, cereals, granola bars,  etc.   Little do folks realize that these type of foods, especially the ones listed as “low fat” can increase your risk of heart disease (see recent blog post titled “Processed Carbs – Not Dietary Fat – Increase Your Risk of Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease and Obesity”).

Do your research -  fat is not the problem!  Refined carbs, not dietary fat contribute to overall greater metabolic damage (elevated blood pressure, Obesity, Type II Diabetes, blood fat disorders, etc).  An Editorial published in the April issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled “Are Refined Carbohydrates Worse Than Saturated Fat?“discusses the importance of reducing refined carbs in your diet instead of fat.

50 grams of fructose may be too  much.

That’s what researchers from the University of Florida recommend in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article “How safe is fructose for persons with or without diabetes?”  After analyzing the results of several studies involving the consumption of fructose and its metabolic effects, these researchers concluded “…obesity and diabetes rates were low when total fructose intake was in the range of 25–40 g/d.”

Fruit juice is even more efficient at making us fat as reported recently  in the Science Daily in Fructose-Sweetened Drinks Increase Nonfasting Triglycerides In Obese Adults.  Similar findings were also reported in  The Journal of Clinical Investigation in “Consuming Fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans”.

All of these studies confirm what we’ve already known instinctively – don’t “over-do”  fruit.   Bottom line (no pun-intended): if you’re trying to lose weight or stubborn fat around your middle, it’s a good idea to keep your fructose consumption low.   There are some who would even recommend your total fructose intake be as low as 25 to 15 grams a day! Continue reading

Lately, I’m amazed at the number of questions I’ve been getting in regards to “CrossFit”.  Two years ago, I knew very few people who understood “constantly varied, functional movements, executed at high intensity”.  In fact, I spent most of my time defending my unorthodox workouts to baffled onlookers in my local globo-gym.  But these days, it’s quite different.  CrossFit (CF) is everywhere and growing:  two local affiliates, numerous new CF certified trainers in town, weekly stories shared at local events of individuals doing these “crazy workouts” and getting great results.  I guess it’s for these reasons I’m now frequently asked “How do I get started?”

Guess you could say there are 3 typical ways one becomes a “CrossFitter”; the individual who prefers to workout one-on-one with a certified CF trainer: the individual who would rather exercise with others, meeting at a local CF affiliate to do the WOD (workout-of-the-day) together as a class; and last, there are folks much like me, who really want to do CF on their own in a local or home gym.  As George Thorogood says “I prefer to be by myself”.   This blog post is mainly for the CF “loners” who want to get started in CF but have no idea where to begin.

My first disclaimer before this conversation goes any further involves the responsibility inherent in choosing to “do CrossFit on your own”.  You are responsible for studying copious amounts of information in order to clearly understand the CF philosophy, concepts, and exercises.  You are equally responsible for actively searching for guidance and hands-on instruction by either training with a certified CF trainer or by participating in CF certificate courses and/or speciality seminars. You must have a clear understanding of how to execute the CF method and exercises correctly.  Why?  Because you can get hurt.  Dr. Ray of CrossFit Flagstaff, spoke at the CF Science of Exercise Certification in Texas and described the similarities between CF and prescription drugs.  You need to know what you’re ‘prescribing’: the right dose can be very beneficial; the incorrect dose can be dangerous, if not deadly (see The Truth about Rabdo).   That said…

CrossFit in 5 Easy Steps

Step One

The Crossfit Journal publishes articles and videos daily on all matters pertaining to CrossFit.  Of the thousands of articles included in this journal, I usually recommend the following two articles to newcomers interested in CF:

• The CrossFit Startup Guide:  Part 1
• The CrossFit Startup Guide:  Part 2 Continue reading

Wanna “lean up”?  Try hikin’ the Appalachian Trail!

I recently spent a couple of days hiking the Appalachian Trail (the “AT”) with my youngest son and a few friends.  My biggest concern (in addition to the weight of my pack) was how to keep my diet clean by continuing to follow the paleo diet while on the trail.  Most experienced hikers suggested oatmeal for breakfast and ramen noodles, Knorr pasta products or even worse, dehydrated meals for dinner.   Although hikers swear by dehydrated meals claiming they are quite tasty, I was horrified to actually read the number of anti-nutrients listed on each package.  Steve – “the original journey man” resolved my desire to eat healthy and pack light by providing  “Paleokits” and “Paleo Krunch” products!

Each morning I started my day with “Paleo Krunch”, a grainless granola consisting of coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds and honey.  A calorie dense product that provided much needed energy for the long hike ahead.  Breakfast literally became my favorite meal of the day!

For snacks, lunch and dinner I survived on Paleokits - small vacuum-packed portions of grass-fed beef jerky, macadamias, almonds, pecans and some dried berries.   I also supplemented this with different dried fruits each day to spice up my meals and avoid getting tired of eating the same food day in and day out.

These products are not just for the trail – I ate a Paleokit for breakfast as I typed out this blog post!  And one more added bonus?  Profits made from the purchase of these products go directly to “Steve’s Club” – a national non-profit organization bringing CrossFit to underserved or at-risk youth populations.  Check out Steve’s Club website here.

Steve’s Original Website for purchasing Paleo Friendly Products can be found by following this link.

Happy Trails!

Ancel Keys- where it all began and where it all went wrong!

Found a follow-up article to my previous post on Total Cholesterol not being a good indicator of Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD).

For years, we have been led to believe that dietary fat is evil.  Walk down any grocery store aisle and observe shelves stocked with low-fat products or count the numerous health related books that recommend a low-fat diet.  You’ll even witness physicians, nutritionists and even personal trainers advising their clients to reduce dietary fat to improve over-all health.  Little did we know that these low-fat recommendations were actually making us sick!

Slowly, but surely, mainstream America is beginning to recognizing the role refined carbs, not dietary fat, plays in increasing your risk of many diseases – Type II Diabetes, CVD and obesity.

Follow the link below to read the Scientific American recent report on:

Carbs against Cardio: More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart

“…Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does—a finding that has serious implications for new dietary guidelines expected this year…”