Function Over Fashion For the Feet

When I went to China, I was wearing Nike running shoes. All the kung fu kids thought my shoes were great and would give me their endorsement with their common thumbs up. When I would train with the master, he would always laugh and tell me that my shoes were no good and proceed to demonstrate by powerfully rotating his hips and grinding his feet into the earth.

Though I didn't speak Mandarin, I understood what he was demonstrating to me. That power is generated from the hips and core but requires the body to be grounded as it all starts in the feet. In my Nike Air Max running shoes, I might as well have been throwing punches in outer space.

For a deeper understanding of this concept try this:

1. Stand in a park in a throwing stance and without moving your feet, throw a baseball as far as you can.
2. Now get in a deep pool or river and throw a baseball as far as you can while treading water.

So I started wearing the traditional school issued kung fu shoes, which are just a little bit of fabric and a rubber sole. I immediately felt more solid and connected to the ground, more stable and better balanced. I walked 10-20 miles a day and trained hard 6 hours a day in the shoes until the sole wore down enough to go buy a new pair (for 8 dollars). I wore the new ones for a day but decided that the thinner soled shoe felt better and continued to wear them for the rest of my time in China.

(Notice in the picture the uneven wear on my right heel. This is a result of a faulty heel strike pattern from being entrapped in tennis shoes my entire life. None of my shoes since China 2008 have this same wear pattern. In the last 3 years I have done some serious rehabilitation work with my bodies structural alignment and gait pattern.)

When I got back to the states I purchased two pairs of the very first model of Vibram FiveFingers, when they only came in three colors. I've been wearing my Classics and KSO's for years now and have been a huge advocate for them convincing hundreds of people of their benefits and how great it feels to be 'barefoot' and connected to the earth.


For years I've toyed with the thought of going completely barefoot, but almost every attempt has left blisters the bottom of my feet, so I keep all natural for only grass, sand, and soil. In the Arizona desert, that limits you to parks. The Arizona desert is not very forgiving on the feet. But wait a second... who else have I heard about walking across the desert nearly barefoot?...This is a rhetorical question and the key word in the question is NEARLY.

The Jesus sandal otherwise called huaraches are now my 'shoe' of choice when I'm not able to go completely nude with my feet. This is the style of shoe that is commonly found throughout history in native tribes around the world for there simplicity to make and high function and performance. Yes I said performance! It doesn't matter what your running times currently are in your shock absorbing, state of the art running shoes, an improper gait and foot strike pattern will lead to debilitating injuries somewhere down the road (pun intended).

If you like to run, I suggest you learn how to do it properly by researching the internet on the topic of forefoot walking and running, and/or come to me and I can analyze your current gait and help you realign your body to move more efficiently.

REMEMBER- Regardless of the 'barefoot' shoe you decide to try. Always start with walking before you try to run, this is especially important for well conditioned runners. The conditioned runner wearing running shoes is not ready for the jarring barefoot impact of an improper heel strike pattern that is associated with running shoes. I recommend walking for a couple months before progressing to speed walking for a few months. Then, if so inclined, gently start practicing forefoot running in the park for a few months before thinking about going back to the pavement treadmill. Ideally you wouldn't run on the pavement at all and would stick to grass, dirt, soil, sand, rock...you know, the earth! Enjoy! The earth under your feet is a great feeling!

Are You a Junk Food Junkie?

I'm that house that nobody likes on Halloween, passing out packs of cinnamon almonds and dehydrated cinnamon apples...

Figuratively of course. Nobody in their right mind would accept home made Halloween treats nowadays in fear of poisoning their children. But ironically, good spirited parents will allow their children to eat pounds and pounds of candy in the name of tradition that celebrates what? Dead people, evil spirits, ghosts, zombies, and diabetes and obesity?

To get an idea of the scale of damage of what your child brought home in his/her pillow case; the average Jack-O-Lantern bucket holds about 250 pieces of candy, which equals more than 10 thousand calories, and 3 pounds of sugar.

I'm not trying to ruin a great holiday that all kids and adults enjoy but this is one of the most important holidays to practice moderation and self control or you're setting yourself up well for a holiday season overwhelmed with sick days.

The easiest way to practice self control with junk food is to not have one single bite. AVOIDANCE. It is easier to avoid the pitfalls of junk food binges if you don't take that first bite that we always justify with the intention to stop at that bite. I am honest with my self and know that if I eat one piece, I will eat at least 6, just like if I eat one french fry or potato chip, I will eat them all. I recognize that food has serious addictive qualities hence the term JUNK FOOD JUNKIE. That's one thing that I can proudly say that I am not. My body operates on 0% junk and 100% nutrient dense vital life giving food...


Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Mine was spent exploring some new professional options and climbing on quartz.

A Fermented Apple a Day Will Keep the Doctor Away

Raw apple cider vinegar has been a folk health remedy for centuries as fermentation goes far back in history. Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine) treated his patients with apple cider vinegar with much success. The health benefits of fermentation were later written about by the Bragg family as part of their natural hygienic approach to health (a natural health approach promoted by the Hippocrates Health Institute). The Bragg family name is well known in the health world as being proponents of natural health from the regular practice of fasting, eating an ultra clean organic vegetarian diet, optimal breathing, regular exercise, and plenty of water. They have proven by the example of many believers and followers that their diet will healthily sustain human life for well over 100 years, for some into their 120's!!

I highly endorse all of the Bragg books as valuable health references, but this blog is focused on one interesting nutritional practice that your grandmother could probably tell you a little something about and the Braggs dedicated an entire book on. The health benefits of fermentation, more specifically, apple cider vinegar.

Fermentation is a familiar process that we all are familiar with. The basic premise of fermentation is that live yeast and bacterias feeds off of sugar which results in the byproduct alcohol. When you continue to ferment, the alcohol will turn to vinegar. The living yeasts and bacteria feeding off of the sugars of the fruit produce enzymes and valuable nutrients that can help treat and prevent many illnesses and maintain good health.


Here are Some of the Possible Medicinal Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar:


-Detoxification: Helps to improve the rate of toxin removal and improve bowel irregularity

-Arthritis: May help with joint pain and stiffness

-Diabetes: Helps control blood glucose fluctuations when taken before and/or after meals.

-Weight Management: Helps lower appetite resulting in smaller, more appropriate portioned meals

-Weight Loss: Helps to break down body fat due to its content of acetic acid, which may also help prevent the buildup of body fat and fats accumulated in the liver

-Skin: When used externally, it can improve the condition of the skin by restoring pH balance. Used diluted with water (1 part ACV, 3 parts water), ACV can be used as a treatment for acne and dandruff

-Other Potential Medicinal Uses: Lowered blood pressure, lowered cholesterol, sore throat, allergies, heartburn, gout, flu, chronic fatigue syndrome


The benefits of raw apple cider vinegar result from the beneficial nutrients and enzymes it contains. Raw apple cider vinegar contains: potassium, calcium, acetic acid (slows digestion of starch and prevents fat storage), malic acid (anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal), pectin (regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol), and ash (helps maintain alkalinity and pH balance in body). Not all apple cider vinegars contain all of these medicinal ingredients. Only apple cider vinegar that has not been pasteurized and refined. It is only valuable as a health aid in it's natural state containing what Bragg calls 'the mother' which is the sediment that settle to the bottom of the bottle. The picture at the top is the apple cider vinegar that I recommend, it's made by Bragg and is found cheap in the natural section of every grocery store.

Here are my Favorite Recipes to Start Including ACV Into Your Lifestyle:

For a single serving

Pour a splash of ACV into a glass (start with about a 1/2-1 tbsp). Match amount of ACV with raw honey by eyeballing the level on the glass. Dilute with water, add cinnamon to taste. (Cinnamon also aids in the maintenance of blood glucose levels). Lower the amount of honey used as the ACV becomes more palatable.

This cider is especially delicious made with hot water on a cold winter morning!

To prepare for a full month or for a family

Pour 16 ounces of ACV into a gallon pitcher/jug. Add 1 can of frozen grape juice concentrate. Add up to 1 cup stevia (optional). Fill pitcher/jug with water and mix. Consume one or two half cup servings per day (morning and night) and add cinnamon with each dose. Dilute with more water if necessary.

BodProg

If you are honest with yourself about your fitness goals and you truly want to accomplish them, it is critical that you hold yourself accountable. One way that I hold myself accountable is I have a folder on my desktop entitled "BodProg". Having a folder in which I keep track of my progress easily accessible on my desktop keeps me extremely motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Don't worry about weight anymore, focus on the visible results, since that is primarily what your goals are, to look better, right? When you stop focusing on the scale and start focusing on your appearance you are forced to face your insecurities head on. It's easy to quit when you're looking at a number on a scale that you can easily detach yourself from. But what you see in the mirror is nearly impossible to detach from. This is why it is such a powerful motivator. Body insecurities carry many emotions with them. When you force yourself to face them on a daily basis, you are more likely to stick to the plan and continue making serious healthy changes in your lifestyle.

I take a picture of my physique on a weekly basis. It's not because I'm obsessed with myself, it's because I'm obsessed with progress. Taking weekly pictures holds me accountable to a lifestyle that I am committed to maintaining, a lifestyle that results in low body fat and chiseled obliques.

We all have an image in our heads of what we want our body to look like. The problem for many is that the gap from where we're at to where we want to be is seemingly too large and will take too long. In the long process of struggle, we lose our motivation. In order to bridge that gap, we must become obsessed about what we want, all day everyday, not just during our workouts but while making food choices throughout the day.

Here's what I recommend to stay on track and reach your goals.

1. Take a picture of yourself on a weekly basis saving the picture as the current date. For example, the picture above was taken today and saved as 071211 (July 12, 2011).

2. Create a folder on your desktop entitled BodProg, or whatever works for you. Save all your pictures to the folder.

3. Before every meal, and every workout, take a look at your most recent picture and make a decision right there whether you are going to force progress or learn to love yourself the way you are (which is good too if you can honestly do so, but if you can't, FORCE PROGRESS).

4. Once you have decided to force progress, visualize your goal, and proceed with passion and consciousness. Make conscious decisions about everything that goes in your mouth. Ask yourself "Is this doughnut in alignment with what I want my body to look like?"

5. Love yourself by feeding your body large amounts of vital living foods that are full of minerals, vitamins, enzymes, anti-oxidants, and water.

6. Hate yourself by pushing yourself through a punishing workout that is guaranteed to inspire change in your body. (NOTE: don't really hate yourself, but use your insecurities and desire for change as a deep motivator to push through your limits)

No Space for Furniture, Plenty for Fitness

I currently live in a studio apartment with no furniture. I've had a lot of friends and family offer me a big screen tv, leather sofa, dresser, etc, and I politely had to turn them down. Truth is, I love my open floor space, my apartment is my laboratory. When watching television on my laptop, I push myself through tabata intervals on my airdyne and enjoy the nice cool breeze of the fan wheel, then I'll get into a steady row on my rower and finish with some rebounding on my mini trampoline. This workout followed by a cold shower is a daily routine for me to get my day started.

I've always loved home workout equipment and have been buying it since I was 13 years old. It all started with a couple pairs of dumbbells and quickly progressed to the Total Gym 2000. I enjoyed many long workouts on the Total Gym as a kid and even used it occasionally later in my career as a personal trainer. After watching the infomercials I had to buy one. I mean if Chuck Norris uses the total gym... I heard when Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't move, the earth does... the Total Gym had to be the real deal.

Home exercise equipment has a bad reputation because most home exercise equipment lasts average people only a couple months before it begins to collect dust or ends up being sold to me on consignment from Play it Again Sports. To me, home exercise equipment is a solid investment that pays you back in health dividends as long as you are dedicated to use it. Home exercise equipment is great because when left out in plain sight, it will taunt you if you are being lazy. There is no excuse to not bounce on a mini trampoline or ride a stationary bike for a few 30 minute sessions every day when it is conveniently located by the television. This is especially true if you are like me and don't have any furniture.

If you are on a budget and can not buy a bowflex, or an airdyne, you can still have very effective and fun workouts at home with a couple peices of cheap exercise equipment found at any Walmart. Clear a little space in your living room and create an environment that is more functional for fitness. Here's what I suggest to get the most burn for your buck:


Mini Trampoline...$35

-Rebounding on a mini trampoline stimulates the lymphatic system into more efficiently clearing out the bodies wastes

-Easy on the joints. Rebounding puts about 1.5 times your bodyweight on your joints in a smooth bouncing motion while running causes about 8 times your bodyweight of joint jarring impact. This impact combined with dysfunctional postural alignment will undoubtedly cause injury.

-NASA uses rebounding to rehabilitate astronauts after being in space. Two weeks in space without gravity causes a loss of about 15% bone mass in astronauts. Rebounding is thought by NASA to be one of the best ways to quickly rebuild bone mass. This is excellent news for not only astronauts but people with osteoporosis.

-NASA has also found rebounding to be 68% more oxygen efficient than other forms of exercise. What that means is that you can exercise vigorously on a trampoline without feeling out of breath, but still gain the same benefits you would from jogging on pavement.

-Helps to strengthen your core (abdominals and lower back) when you bounce with good upright posture. Because of the fact that you must maintain good posture while rebounding, it is a great way to strengthen your overall posture. The gentle bounce along with some conscious effort to hold the shoulders and head back while maintaining neutral hips and straight feet, will help strengthen the muscles that are required to reinforce a better alignment.

-Improves balance and coordination due to the unstable surface and dynamic nature of the bouncing. Incorporates a greater percentage of the deep stabilizing muscles that are so important in injury prevention.

-Just like any other mode of exercise, rebounding will effectively improve your metabolism.

-Best of all, rebounding is fun, who doesn't like jumping on a trampoline?


You don't have to jump on the trampoline to get a good workout. Rebounding is as simple as maintaining good posture while gently bouncing up and down on your toes. Maintain a gentle bounce for 30 minutes and you will quickly realize how efficient the mini trampoline is as a fun mode of exercise. Advanced rebounders can run in place and jump more agressively, alternating single leg jumps as if skipping rope.



Exercise Ball...$15

Everybody knows what an exercise ball is and what it's for. Exercise balls are great for strengthening your core and have tons of great exercise possibilities. Here's a sample core workout of mine:


Full-Lever Sit Ups......25 reps
(full extension sit ups, let the back round around the ball all the way back and all the way up to sitting. No crunches!)

Back Hyperextensions....25 reps
(lay on ball, with fingertips by your ears, extend your back and lift your torso as high as you can, then lower and wrap around the ball)

Jackknifes.....10 reps
(hands on ground, top of foot on ball, drive hips straight up in the air while keeping your legs straight and rolling up onto your toes, then extend back down to the plank with feet on ball)

Knee Tucks.....20 reps
(hands on ground, top of foot on ball, tuck knees into your chest, then extend back to the plank with feet on ball)

Crunched Rotations.....50 reps
(hold the crunch position and slowly rotate side to side with hands together in front of your chest, can hold a medicine ball or dumbbell but not necessary.)

Reverse Plank.....Until form is compromised
(head and shoulders on ground, heels on ball, hold hips up and body straight)

Plank.....Until form is compromised
(feet on ground, hands on ball, keep hips up and body straight)

Circuit through core workout with minimal rest between each exercise, resting a couple minutes between each circuit. Adjust the exercise reps to your ability level and set a goal number of times to complete the circuit.

The addition of bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, squats, dips, pull-ups will make a well rounded full body workout that can be done in the convenience of your bedroom, in your underwear (personal preference), while watching your favorite television show or bumping your favorite music.

My 5 Go-To Herbal Teas

I am a naturopath and believe in the healing and preventative powers of natural herbs. The synergistic effect of a variety of herbal teas will have a huge positive impact on your health and vitality. Tea is possibly the most inexpensive yet effective medicine known to man so drink up! The easiest way to help maintain your good health in addition to a proper clean diet is to implement herbal teas into your lifestyle. These are my 5 go-to herbal teas:



Green Tea will always be my number 1 tea. I love the taste and green teas overall health properties can't be matched. I drink many cups of green tea every day and also supplement with the green tea extract EGCG.

-Helps prevent Artherosclerosis by lowering triglyceride levels

-Lowers total cholesterol and improves HDL

-Antioxidant content help protect against cancer

-May help reduce inflammation associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two types of IBD (irritable bowel disorders).

-Helps manage diabetes by helping to regulate blood sugar levels

-Helps protect the liver against harmful substances like alcohol. Helps to prevent liver disease.

-Helps boost the metabolism and burn fat helping in weight loss

-May benefit arthritis by slowing cartilage breakdown and reducing inflammation

-Helps prevent tooth decay


Yerba Matte

Refer to my blog titled "Yerba Matte, Green Tea on Steroids"


Chamomile

-Anti estrogenic, especially helpful when under an environmental onslaught of xenoestrogens that wreck havoc on your health.

-Has a relaxing effect on the body and mind, helping you manage stress levels during the day and calm you down at night helping you sleep.

-Soothes stomach aches, eases the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, promotes elimination, and assists in overall digestion

-Helps women with mentral cramps. Increases levels of glycine which help ease muscle spasms.

-In poultice form, chamomile increases the rate of the healing of wounds.

-Has antibacterial properties which helps preventing and fighting off colds.


Dandelion:

-Helps to stimulate bile production which improves digestion of dietary fats and assists in detoxification.

-Is a great diuretic which helps flush your kidneys of toxins and shed excess water weight that makes you look and feel bloated and puffy. A well hydrated body has no need to hold onto extra water, water retention is a sign of chronic dehydration.

-Dandelion root tea is effective in fighting major infections like pneumonia, bronchitis and even boils on the skin

-Mannitol, an active substance in dandelion, helps to lower blood pressure.

-Can help manage blood sugar levels, helpful with diabetes.

-Improves and maintains optimum liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, stomach, and gall bladder functions.

-Helps stimulate weight loss, by it's powerful detoxification effect. Toxins are stored in fat, get rid of toxins=shrink fat cells.


Milk Thistle:

-Helps lower fatty deposits in liver and increases the flow of bile. Bile is used in the stomach to breakdown dietary fat.

-silymarin (the active substance in milk thistle) is thought to stop cancer cells from dividing and reproducing, and shorten their lifespan.

-Helps increase efficiency of the liver helping to lower cholesterol

-Helps manage diabetes by improving insulin resistance and decreasing blood sugar levels

Energize and Revitalize with Cold Water Therapy

I was going to re-write a previous blog of mine that I had deleted on hydrotherapy (cold showers and ice baths) but I came across a really good blog on the subject that covers everything I want to write. Here's a short summary of some of the benefits of ice baths, some strategies to maintain a dedicated practice, and a link to a well written detailed blog on the subject. For further information about the history and cultural practices of hydrotherapy click on the link at the end of this blog.

















Health Benefits of Ice Baths

-Improves circulation: Speedy recovery from exercise or injury, moves blood deep to the core of the body helping to heal and revitalize your organs

-Relieves Depression: Stimulates the brain to produce noradrenaline which helps mitigate depression by elevating your mood.

-Keeps Skin and Hair Healthy: Cold water can make your hair look shinier and your skin look healthier by closing up your cuticles and pores.

-Strengthens Immune System: The metabolic rate is increased due to the body trying to warm itself up. This activates the immune system resulting in the creation of more white blood cells.

-Boosts Testosterone: Enough said! Boosted testosterone means boosted performance without the asterisk.

-Increases Fertility: While heating the testes decreases sperm count, icing them will keep your navymen swimming and can increase quantity and potency.

-Increases Energy and Well Being: Energizes and revitalizes. You feel like a new man when you step out of the ice bath or cold shower. An image that often comes to mind is one of my idols Rickson Gracie yelling "REBORN" after getting out of an icy river a couple days before Abu Dhabi.

-Improve Sleep: Ice baths can help you have deeper sleep if taken 30-60 minutes before bed. Drink a hot mug of chammomile tea while in the ice bath to keep you warm and help induce a deep sleep afterwards.


I find that taking cold showers and ice baths is a very challenging thing to do, especially in the winter. It is both mentally and physically difficult to hold yourself under freezing cold water for even a minute let alone a full 10-15. It takes serious dedication and discipline to regularly subject yourself to cold waters.


Strategies to help you practice cold water therapy regularly:


-Read a book while laying submerged in an ice bath, helps distract your mind.

-When standing under a cold shower, close your eyes and visualize that you're standing under the most beautiful cold waterfall on a sunny spring morning after a snowy winter up in the mountains.

-Wear a beanie. A lot of heat is lost from the head. A beanie will hold in as much heat as possible while in an ice bath.

-Focus on the health benefits of what you're putting yourself through. Decide whether or not 10 minutes of slight discomfort is worth the forementioned benefits. If you are an athlete, this should be the easiest strategy.

-Drink hot tea. Drink green tea if the ice bath is in the morning, and chammomile tea at night.

-Take ice baths and cold showers right after exercise to reduce inflammation and lactic acid accumulation. Being hot and sweaty from a hard workout makes a cold shower a lot more appealing than when already cold and shivering.

-Gradually decrease the temperature of your cold shower or ice bath over the course of a year. Every couple weeks, decrease your temperature slightly until you eventually reach 40-50 degrees.


Excerpt from "The James Bond Shower":
Okay. If you’re healthy enough for a James Bond Shower, here’s how it’s done.

1. Start off with the hot water.

2. Wash your hair with some Pinaud Elixir shampoo, just like 007.

3. When you’re ready to rinse, just turn it down to cold. Bond would spend a few minutes under the cold water, meditating about a lost love or on how awesome his job is.

4. As you walk out the shower, kill the hitman that’s been hiding in the closet using nothing but a towel and a Scotch tumbler.

5. Say a pithy one liner; proceed to put on tux.



The James Bond Shower: A Shot of Cold Water for Health and Vitality by Brett and Kate Mckay

Chem Trails and Dairy Farms

If you learned nutrition from an American government funded program (school or the FDA), you can pretty much assume that what you think you know is not accurate with what is true to the evolution of the human species. It is a sad and scary thought to think that our government might have alterior motives when creating the FDA recommendations such as the diabetes/obesity causing 'food guide pyramid' that was taught my entire lifetime. But think about it. From a business perspective (corporate America, not the moral and ethical mom and pop America), what would the Food and DRUG Administration make more money on? Recommending good healthy food or recommending poor quality, mass produced, government controlled food, in poorly balanced serving sizes that will make you sick and make you dependent on western medicine?

The answer to me is an obvious one...CHEM TRAILS.

But I'm not even talking about chem trails. I'm talking about the conspiracy of all conspiracies! One that can easily be mistaken for motherly advice, where pills are swallowed at free-will by unsuspecting victims with the assumption that their trusted doctor knows what foreign chemical is best for treating their symptoms. But who educates the doctors?... The pharmeceutical companies.

We easily buy into what is taught to us because we've learned it all our lives starting at a young age. We learned that MILK, DOES A BODY GOOD. Who did we learn that from? Who else but the dairy farmers themselves. In 1993, dairy farmers in California all agreed to invest 3 cents of every gallon sold towards marketing, advertising, promotion, and public relations to promote the consumption of milk. These dairy farmers created CMPB (California Milk Processer Board) which is responsible for the "GOT MILK?" campaign that has convinced Americans that drinking the milk of another animal is not only normal but it is healthy.




As my favorite Governor once said "I don't drink milk, milk is for babies, I drink beer" Arnold also liked his natural medicinal herbs from the earth. But that is another conspiracy blog topic for another time.








Drinking milk for your health is only one of many health myths created by America to sell a product. Best advice I can give you as a potential consumer or past consumer of government health advice is to be very skeptical, always check the source of information to identify biases/motives, always use your personal experience as your primary compass in search of truth when it comes to your health, and question your doctor! If your doctor is threatened by questions or doesn't seem to have the time to give you a good answer, then he's not the right doctor to trust your health with. Don't put all the responsibility of your health onto your doctor, do your own research, educate yourself and ask questions.

Earn Your Meals

One of the most important principles in my lifestyle practice is to always earn my meals. What this means is that I don't eat unless I earn it with some kind of exercise before the meal. If I'm being lazy, I will take it as an opportunity to fast and let my body detox and recover. Otherwise, if I eat, I work.

Exercising in a fasted state is a much more efficient way to burn fat than on a full stomach. This is because in a fasted state the body has no choice but to use it's reserves as fuel where as if you eat an 'energy' bar (sugar) before your workout, your body will be using the sugar from the bar for the first 40-60 minutes of your workout and you wont even start burning body fat until the hour mark has past in your workout. Unless you want to workout for a couple hours, I suggest always working out on an empty stomach. Hunger is a very strong motivating force whereas gluttony results in laziness. You will never see a lion hunt on a full stomach.



This lion must have eaten his wheaties.


Exercise before eating is more in line with our primitive, natural way of life. If we take it back to the Paleolithic era of hunters and gatherers this is how we would live. Most of our days would be spent snacking on nuts, seeds, berries, roots, and leaves, whatever we could gather from the environment from which we lived. On occasion, we would feast on wild game or fish but only after spending a full day exerting ourselves on the hunt. I am not a hunter, I am a climber, but I look at climbing the same way. Projecting boulder problems is my hunt, the boulder is the prey, and the send is the kill. In order to access my most animalistic instincts I climb on an empty stomach. This allows my body to produce maximum levels of the appropriate hormones to exert myself to my maximum capability. Being in a fasted state also keeps my mind clear and sharp allowing me better focus and concentrate on the task at hand.

Exercising prior to eating also speeds up your metabolism and will set your body up for maximum digestion and assimilation of the nutrients. The couple hours after your workout, the body is primed and ready to replenish the muscles with the glycogen and proteins needed for recovery. Another major benefit to exercising before eating is that exercise will curb your appetite making it much less likely for you to overeat, and more likely to instinctively eat only what the body needs.


Instead of working out once a day for a long period of time and eating 5 meals a day, try this:

-Go on a light walk every morning for 30-60 minutes on an empty stomach

-Prior to every small solid meal, exercise for 10-15 minutes at a high intensity. The exercise mode is up to you and your preference. You can do a quick circuit of bodyweight exercises, go on a quick barefoot run in the grass, skip rope, or jump on a rebounder (mini trampoline). Other ideas: burpees, jumping jacks, squat jumps, p90x, insanity, etc. With bodyweight exercises there's no excuse to miss a workout.

-IF YOU DON'T EARN IT, DON'T EAT IT!!!

Recipe for Success

The taste of success is sweet. Whether you lost 50 pounds and regained your good health, raised a child to be a contributing member in society, or you just sent a hard boulder problem that you've been projecting for years, accomplishing a long term goal is one of the greatest feelings that one can experience in life.

It is very soul satisfying to reap the benefits of your hard work. To me, success is the ultimate pursuit, maybe what I could consider to be the meaning of life. I'm not talking about the pursuit of monetary success (getting rich), but having the freedom, ability, determination and courage, to follow your passion and live out your purpose despite all controversy and potential risk of failure.

In order to fully live to your potential you must let go of your expectations of the outcome. Accept that you can not control the future, only influence it, and make a conscious effort to always live passionately in the present moment of the lifelong process of growth and change... progression.

‘Without expectation,
One will always perceive the subtlety;
And, with expectation,
One will always perceive the boundary.’
-Tao Te Ching


Ingredients for Success:

Heart: If your heart is not in it the following ingredients will be hard to come by. Live with passion! Pursuing what you're most passionate about will keep you motivated because regardless of success or failure you will still fully enjoy the pursuit.


Courage: It is not acceptable to be afraid to fail. You must pursue success bravely with no concern or attachment to the end result, focus only on the enjoyment of the process. Nelson Mandela said it the best in his Inaugural Speech in 1994 (written by Marianne Williamson):

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Is our light, not our darkness, that most frightnes us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be. You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."


Dedication: If you want to accomplish a goal you must be willing to put in the proper amount of time. The pyramids were not built in a day and the grand canyon was not carved in a month. Change takes time, if you are truly dedicated you can influence the rate and slightly speed the process, but you must be willing to invest the necessary time. Remember: A journey of a thousands miles begins with one step.

"We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. Yet, it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents as well." ~Bruce Lee

Discipline: I associate discipline with the level of effort you invest towards a task. You must be willing to sacrifice your current comfortable routine for the pain and reward cycle of accepting a constant challenge. Trying 100% does not lead to improvement, you are only trying as hard as you are capable. If you try at a level that is higher than 100% you are bound to meet failure, but only by enduring this failure beyond your ability will you be able to surpass your limits and improve.


Focus: To stay dedicated and disciplined you must remain focused on your desire and each individual step that makes the journey. Distraction leads to procrastination and procrastination leads to incompletion. Focus on the task at hand and execute your plan on a daily habitual basis.

"It is early morning and work begins. The mind has been closed to the outside world in sleep; now its connections with the world begin again. The traces of one's impressions run crisscross. Activity and haste prevail. It is important then to preserve inner composure and not to allow oneself to be swept along by the bustle of life. If one is serious and composed, he can acquire the clarity of mind needed for coming to terms with the innumerable impressions that pour in. It is precisely at the beginning that serious concentration is important, because the beginning holds the seed of all that is to follow." ~I Ching

Valley of the Sun Desert Detox

While the temperature in Arizona is averaging triple digits, I find that I feel best maintaining a raw diet. Eating raw provides the body with valuable enzymes, highly bioavailable minerals and vitamins, fiber, and plenty of water to wash it all down. Eating raw also leads to faster assimilation and absorption of nutrients, more efficient digestion and elimination, thourough detoxification of the bodies tissues and organs, and a faster overall metabolism.

The raw diet is easiest to maintain in high temperature climates but can be practiced easily in the cold with the addition of warm raw soups and occasional lightly steamed veggies. Following this detox diet over the Arizona summer will lead to weight loss and a lot more energy for more fun in the sun, so get out your bathing suits! You will experience a huge boost in energy levels because the body will no longer be spending most of its energy on digestion, instead the energy goes towards your personal air conditioning unit by stripping away extra insulation (fat), cleaning the filters (getting rid of toxins), and adding freeon (high water content, nutrient dense foods/drinks)

Take advantage of the natural desert sauna we call the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix and surrounding cities) and try my 'Valley of the Sun Desert Detox' this summer.


Here are 6 Steps to Detoxify Your Way Through the Arizona Summer:


1. Drink only filtered water, lemon water, fresh organic vegetable/low sugar fruit juices, iced herbal teas, green drinks, and green smoothies before Noon

2. Snack on high water content organic low sugar fruits and vegetables until three hours prior to when you go to bed.

3. Three hours prior to bed, eat a delicious 3 course raw meal consisting of:

-Appetizer: Salad, any raw vegetable recipe (vegweb, goneraw, rawguru, rawmazing, simplyraw)

-Entre: Raw soup (warmed no higher than 104 degrees F), raw fish (sashimi), 'rare' cooked organic grass fed beef on occasion (on days of grueling activity such as: hard hiking, climbing, heavy lifting, long day of strenuous yard work, etc.)

-Dessert: Small bowl of low glycemic load fruits with a couple tablespoons of nut butter and dash of cinnamon

4. Enjoy multiple daily walks in the heat. Take advantage of the natural desert sauna. Saunas offer many benefits such as:

-Increases heart rate by 50-75%, get the same benefits as a hard workout from a casual 'sweat walk'
-Increased bloodflow, increased oxygen supply throughout the body, increased lymph flow
-Detoxifying through sweating. Remember the skin is the largest organ of the body and a third of the body's waste is eliminated through the skin.
-Stimulates the immune system and increases the production of disease fighting white blood cells, and antibodies
-Offers relief from pain and stiffness in joints and muscles

NOTE: Walk longer in the morning during cooler temperatures (below 95F), a few short walks (10-15 minutes) in the afternoon during the hotter temperatures (95+F), and another longer walk in the evening when it cools off again (below 95F). ALWAYS CARRY PLENTY OF WATER

5. Practice yoga outside in the afternoon heat. Why pay for Bikram yoga in a heated room when you can practice your sun salutations outside? There's an idea, actually practicing your sun salutation facing the sun.

6. Cool off by taking cold showers/ice baths.

Cold showers/ice baths have the following positive effects (via earthclinic):

* Brings blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body.
* Cleans the circulatory system.
* Reduces blood pressure on internal organs.
* Provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood.
* Strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
* Contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes.
* Strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs.


By practicing my desert lifestyle, you will learn to enjoy the Arizona summer by looking at it from a health perspective rather than a discomfort perspective. After a couple years living like this you will reach a lean and healthy state where you will no longer experience such dramatic feelings of discomfort at high temperatures. I can tell you from years of personal experience that when I maintain 4-7% bodyfat I hardly sweat the heat (unless directly in the sun, or doing something active). My body is able to better acclimate to the high desert temperatures by eliminating excess body fat. I LOVE Arizona summer!

If You Must Drink Milk...

I don't drink dairy, do my best to avoid soy products, and have never gotten into rice milk. The reasoning behind the decisions to avoid these milks deserve lengthy individual blogs for each, but for the sake of simplicity, I will briefly sum up my reasoning behind each and move on to what's more important, the good milks to drink. Whether it be on your cereal, or in smoothies: flaxmilk, almond milk, walnut milk, and coconut milk are delicious alternatives to the mainstream.

Milks to Avoid:
Dairy: Comes from a COW's udder. Lactose (milk sugar).
Soy: Cash crop. High pesticide. Chemical fertilization. Estrogenic
Rice: Very little nutritiounal value. High sugar/carb.

Milks to Try:
Flaxmilk (vanilla): 1100 mg Omega-3 per serving. 11g Evaporated cane juice. 60 calories per serving.
Almond Milk (plain): Monounsaturated fats. Lower sugar (than vanilla almond milk)
Walnut Milk: Nutritional values close to flaxmilk. Delicious.
Coconut Milk: Healthy saturated fats.

Whats really great about nut milks is that they're easy to make yourself (if you have a good blender and patience to find the right recipe that is to your taste liking.)

Very Easy Way to Make High Fiber Nut Milk Shake:

1. Grind nuts in coffee grinder
2. Add to blender with water
3. Add vanilla, cinnamon, sweetener of your choice (honey, pure maple syrup, agave, dried dates, fruit) to taste
4. Enjoy

Yerba Mate... Green Tea on Steroids

Everyone is, or should be by now, aware of the health benefits of green tea, but not as many people are aware of Yerba Mate, pronounced yerba mah-tay. Yerba Mate is a holly tree native to the rainforests of South America. It is a very popular drink in South American culture and in Argentina is much more popular than coffee or tea! The leaves of the Yerba Mate plant are brewed into a delicious health beverage similar to green tea... green tea on steroids!! Yerba Mate has just under double the antioxidants as green tea (5,102 compared to 2,701 on the ORAC scale!). Yerba Mate also has a powerful dose of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, including Niacin, Magnesium, Manganese, Chromium, Iron, Riboflavin, Zinc, and Potassium. The powerful boost of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, along with a little bit of caffeine (one-third that of coffee, and 10mg more than green tea) results in a balanced and sustained boost to your mind and body while also raising your metabolism.

Health Advice from 108 Year Old Man, Bernando LaPallo

Bernando LaPallo is a 108 year old Arizonan with a wealth of health knowledge. You can buy his book called "Age Less, Live More" and read how he plans to live to be 120 years old. If you don't have the time to watch the videos, I have taken all of the good tips out of them and listed them below the videos.


Video 1

-Health should be your priority
-Eat properly: raw fruit, raw vegetables (especially green veggies), fish, lots of raw juice
-Don't overeat
-Eat in the daytime, no night eating
-Walk before breakfast and lunch
-Cup of sassofrass tea or cinnamon tea with meals to help lower blood sugars
-Eat meat and cheese rarely, in moderation
-Eat 3 times a day
-Eats fresh fish 3x/wk


Video 2

-Drinks superfood green drink every morning, with a couple shots of echinachea to prevent cold
-"One ounce of prevention is worth one thousand pounds of a cure"
-Keep your feet clean, take good care of them daily
-Use olive oil on the skin to prevent wrinkles and dry skin

3 Most Important Health Tips:
-Keep your colon clean
-Superfood green drink
-Avoid fast food


Video 3

-Eat no later than 2 hours prior to going to bed
-Walk EVERYDAY rain or shine

Are You a Fat Burner or Sugar Burner?

In the most simplistic sense... you are what you eat. If you eat fat, your body will burn fat, if you eat sugar you will be burning sugar.

The body adapts to its source of fuel.

Sugar is the regular unleaded fuel you get from QT. It's cheap, it burns fast, and you always have to put more gas in to keep it above empty. When you eat sugar (any carbohydrate that turns to sugar when digested) the body immediately attempts to distribute it through the body. If you're doing something active, the body transports the sugars to the muscles to replenish glycogen stores. The transporting hormone is none other than the diabetics best friend, INSULIN. Insulin does its best at transporting the glucose from the blood to the liver and muscles but when the muscles are not pumped and primed to need more glucose, and there's too much sugar in the blood, it is stored in the fat cells. Over a long time of sugar abuse, the pancreas (organ that produces and releases insulin) shuts down due to stress and overuse. Diabetes and obesity are the result.

Fat is like running on solar panels in the desert. There is an initial investment in the panels (high quality fats aren't cheap and neither were those extra pounds you carry as reserves), but they pay off quickly with unlimited free fuel in a state that sees 300 days of sun a year, AZ!! Using your bodyfat as fuel is the bodys' most dependable source of energy. But in order for your body to burn fat, you have to eat fat.

"But if I eat fat, won't I just gain fat?"-Fat freightened American that bought some stock in the NONFAT craze that swept the country, replacing healthy fats with added carbohydrates (sugar).

It is important that you train your body to burn fat. The only way to do this is by eating plenty of healthy dietary fats and eliminating sugar. America needs to go on a NONSUGAR craze in order to fix the diabetes and obesity epidemics that have swept our country caused by the NONFAT craze.


Healthy fats are those found naturally occuring in: fish, nuts and seeds (walnuts, almonds, flax, sunflower, hemp), and fruits (avocados, olives, coconuts). As long as you stick to fats that are found in nature, it is of good benefit to your health eat a good amount of fat every day. The fats that are denatured and altered by the cooking process or refining process are the fats that need to be feared and avoided (trans-fats and hydrogenated fats).




Benefits of Eating Healthy Dietary Fats (Omega-3's, Monounsaturated)
as Your Main Fuel Source Instead of Carbohydrates (Sugar):

-Fat burns slow giving you sustained energy to go the distance

-Fat helps control insulin release keeping blood sugars in check until needed by your muscles

-Eating dietary fat trains your body to burn fat so when you work on an empty tank the body burns stored body fat

-Fats tastes delicious and makes you feel full much quicker than sugar, helping you eat less

-Fat lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and raises HDL (good) cholesterol

-Reduces risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, lowering blood triglycerides, and removing fatty plaques from you artery walls.

-Improves your vision. Omega 3 fatty acids are used by the body to make retinol tissue making your vision stronger.

-Some other benefits include: good absorption of fat soluble vitamins, healthy skin, improved brain health, improved heart health,
improved liver health, improved lung health, optimal nervous system function, Reduced cancer risk, reduced inflammation, reduced PMS symptoms, strong cell walls, strong bones, strong immune system.


If you want to perform well, without needing gatorades and powerbar gel packets to endure (keep your blood sugars elevated), you must eat fat.

Try my favorite pre-workout meal 90-120 minutes prior to a long hard workout and have plenty in your gas tank to complete a full marathon (if you are so inclined to run one). The best combination of nutrients prior to a long workout is fat and a low glycemic carbohydrate. This recipe combines the healthy fats of nuts and seeds with a slower burning carbohydrate to create the ultimate fuel that will not only deliver power but will automatically switch to solar power (bodyfat) when the tank runs empty.


Little Rascal Pre-Workout Cereal
-cook buckwheat in rice cooker or on stove (1 cup buckwheat:3 cups water)
-add berries
-add walnuts/almonds
-put in refridgerator
-serve a cup in a bowl and pour on flax milk
-sprinkle cinnamon over the top
-enjoy

A Healthy Dose of OC, Implementing Healthy Rituals

I already know what you're thinking. You read rituals and automatically think OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). But being OC isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, if you are OC about washing your hands every couple minutes, that could interfere with a normal life. But, having healthy rituals and being a little on the OC side when it comes to your health and lifestyle I think is a good thing.






For the sake of saving my image I wont get into the depths of my own obsessive compulsiveness. I relate the words passion, love, dedication, commitment, discipline to obsessive compulsive.

Here are 10 ways to healthily add a dose of OC to your lifestyle and have it benefit your health in a fast way.





1. If you live somewhere with stairs, everytime you go down or up them run one or two quick laps


2. Hang a pull-up bar in your bedroom doorway, everytime you walk under it, do a couple pull ups or leg lifts


3. Do a quick set of 10 jumping jacks/burpees everytime you walk through a doorway in your house


4. Brush your teeth standing on one leg switching legs when you go from top teeth to bottom


5. Earn every meal by doing a couple quick sets of squats, push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, etc, 5-10 minutes before you sit down to eat.

6. Start EVERYDAY with a brisk functional walk before breakfast, even if it's a short quick walk around the block. You are more likely to walk a little further once you start a walk than if you don't walk at all, so set a minimum goal and stick to it, be obsessed.

7. While you watch tv, stretch on the floor, roll out on a foam roller, practice some yoga poses. During the commercials, run fast in place, do jumping jacks, burpees, bounce on a mini trampoline, shadow box

8. Never ride an elevator or escalator, always hike the stairs. Remember "a man's health can be judged by which he take two at a time- pills or stairs." -Joan Welsh

9. Park a distance away from where you're going so you have to walk a little more. Wear a pedometer, steps add up.

10. Practice jumping into handstands whenever you're just standing around. As you get better balance you will have increased impulses to randomly jump upside down!! It's FUN!

The Marvel-Us Lifestyle in a Nutshell

On Days of Heavy Exertion / Play


Diet

Blood Type/ Genotype Specific Paleo


Exercise
Climb, Hike, Calisthenics, Martial Arts




On Days of Light Exertion / Rest



Diet
-Fast (Juice, 20-4, 18-6, Master Cleanse, Water, Herbal Teas)
-Raw Vegan
-Vegan
-Fruitarian



Exercise

Yoga, Slackline, 'Barefoot' Walking, Rebounding, Meditation




Key Substances to Eliminate From Diet


-Sugar
-Gluten
-Most Fast Food
-Soda
-HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
-Trans Fats
-Fried Food
-Milk
-Alcohol
-Microwaved Food
-Ciggarettes
-Prescription/OTC Medications
-Coffee