Making it Natural

Okay, so here’s a hard one.  How do we make natural come natural?  Our lives are so busy, so full of stress, so full of super important crap that we just cant forget about for just one second.  How are we supposed to relax, eat right, and exercise also?

We have to make it natural and forget about it.  It’s not  “I’m on a diet” it’s just how I eat.  Lets all take a deep breath for a second and get our minds clear.  This is bound to be a rambling post, but bare with me.

The easiest way to make a massive life change is to embrace it, make the change, and forget about it.  Figure out what works, and once you have that set in your skull, make the change and don’t spend anymore time thinking about it, but be ready to absorb new info as it comes in.

Example: 1

I have read both Mark Sisson’s The primal blue print, and Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution.  I’ve read through all the chewy science bits, looked at them and said, “Well, that makes a lot of sense. I agree.”  And after that I don’t worry about it.  It may be easier for me to dump large quantities of info out of my skull once I read it and make my judgment.  But, it works.  Sure, if I ever have to give a talk on the subject of insulin in front of a large group I will have to do some quick cramming.  But, until that happens I am not going to stress over it.

Example: 2

It is so much easier to remember a small list of things that I don’t want to eat rather than 30 reasons why they are bad for me for every food on that list.  I can navigate the basic reasons with little thought, and that’s all anyone who asks what this whole primal/paleo thing is all about wants to hear anyways.  If they want more info, I point them to the experts.  The massive amount of information available to us can be overwhelming.

These are my own little ways of relaxing, and avoiding stress.  This approach has worked very well for me.  If I’m not worrying about the reasons, or second guessing facts I’ve already agreed with, the entire lifestyle is so much easier.  So much more natural.

Oh, this doesn’t at all mean I have quit learning about the paleo/primal lifestyle.  Far from it.  I read around 20 blogs a day, chat on Facebook with primal friends, tweet my little tweets back and forth with the community, and of course educate others in the BASICS.  But it is relaxed, there is no stress.  I don’t worry about when I’m going to eat, what I’m going to eat, when I’m going to train, or if I’m training too much. 

Just relax my friends, and enjoy the ride.

As I’ve said, this was going to be a rambling post.  The words were falling out of my head faster than I could organize them.  I would love to hear any thoughts you all might have on this subject.

Poppabear

By the way... I do quite a bit of chatting and posting on Facebook and twitter, as I have said above.  If you would like to send me a friend invite please do, or you can follow me on twitter @PoppabearsCave.

The Primal week that was

And what a week it has been! I am on day 37 of my 30 day primal challenge as we speak, and have been taking this last week to drive my efforts up a notch.  This week I began training in earnest to reach my fitness goals.  To this end, I’ve gotten a new coach, A man who inspires me with his fitness approach, Mike French.  It’s a good two for one deal, as his wife Tami French is also an amazing coach and helps me out as well.

I have really been reaching the intensity I’ve been searching for in my training sessions lately.  It’s not just going through the movements any more trying to get finished.  It’s focused and every rep is as close to perfect as I can get it.

The RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) conditioning is coming along very nicely, I feel stronger every day!  I really want to push myself and buy a heavier Kettlebell, but I have a training plan and am going to stick to it until I can make the requirements, which are:

200 2hand swings (done)

20 a side Clean & Press (done)

20 a side snatches (done)

15 a side Turkish get ups (not done!)

So the Turkish get ups are the focal point for progress here.  I have found a very good youtube tutorial on them here.

The running has been coming along smoothly, I have increased my distance to 4 miles, which I ran 2x this week in my Vibrams.  I finally got into the zone and it felt so good, to run by myself through the woods listening to my 80’s rock on Pandora.  At one point I was starting to flag a bit around mile 3, when “eye of the tiger” came on.  I laughed out loud and picked up the pace.

Here is the numbers for week 5:

192 week 1 weight

185 week 4 weight

183 current weight

Another nice easy 2 pounds dropped this week.  Well on my way to my goal of 170.

I LOVE THIS LIFE!!

Poppabear

A brief history of the kettlebell

The first kettlebells were brought over to America by Pavel Tsatsouline.  He swallowed several and smuggled them out of mother Russia in his stomach.  Through many hardships, long ocean voyages, storms etc, the precious cargo was safe inside the Iron Russian.  Once he reached our shores he was able to deliver the kettlebells into the eager hands of his new disciples. (Hence the reason behind the weight measurement of Pood’s for kettlebells)

Ahem…

Actually they go back quite a bit further back.  The earliest reference to the russian kettlebell was 1704, and one of the first published workouts was published in the Russian magazine “Hercules” in 1913.  Since that time it has been the workout of choice for the Russian military, and civilians.

In the 80’s the U.S. was soundly beaten by the Russian track and field team.  It was found that this was due to their extreme conditioning with kettlebells.

Then came Pavel.

See, I told you it was brief.

Next post:  Why it’s important to take supplements on a paleo, primal nutrition plan. 

Poppabear.

Kettlebell Fatloss Training

Well my friends, the first 30 days of Poppabear going primal are in the books.  I'm not sitting back and opening a Mt Dew and chewing on a snickers bar to celebrate.  Instead I'm moving right into the next 30 days and stepping up my fatloss training program.

I was inspired to take this step both by my amazing Beachbody Coach Mike French, and this excellent article by Dragondoor.  Check them both out!

The important concept I want to share with you today is the difference between a workout, and training.

A workout is engaging in an activity with the drive of reaching exhaustion.  The exhaustion is the drive.  Training is engaging in an activity with intent of growing nearer to a goal.  So, with this new philosophy in mind, I will no longer say I am working out to lose weight.  I am training for fat loss.

Look at your fitness rotation and tell me.  Are you working out and going through the motions, or are you training for a result and towards a goal?

Okay, it's a simple concept, and I don't think we need to spend any more time on it.  I'll let that rattle around in your heads a bit.  Here is my training rotation I will be following for the next 2 months.  If there are any changes that come up I will post them as they happen.  I am keeping it simple and focused.

Training Rotation:

Feb 14 – Apr 14

Goals:

Hit target weight of 170

15 a side full get ups

200 2h swings (50 – 100 straight)

15 a side clean press

Tools:

Rasputin (16kg Kettlebell)

Primal nutrition

Vibrams

Rotation:

Kettlebell Strength training 3x a week

Running for distance and/or sprints 3x a week

Recovery 1 day a week

Accountability: 

Strength training results and running times/distance will be kept in a training journal (s).

Weekly weigh in on Sunday morning.

Proper form will be observed at all times. 

Sloppy form on movements will not count toward rep totals.

Training numbers will be posted on blog, facebook, and group messages.

Rewards:

Once KB lifting requirements are made I will be allowed to purchase a DragonDoor 53lb kettlebell.

Improved core stability

Improved balance

less fat, more lean muscle

As I said, I am keeping this simple, but it is very focused.  There is room for change and improvements.  Feel free to send me suggestions.

Poppabear.

30 day primal challenge day 30!!!!

Well, my friends, here it is.  Day 30.  The month flew past!

Lets get this out of the way right at the start.  I’m going to keep going.

I am just starting to see the benefits of living the primal lifestyle.  I am through the hardest part of the adjustment phase, why in the world would I stop now? 

I am going to do a few things different for the next 30 days, and I’ll mention those later.

But first, an honest assessment of my 30 day primal challenge.

Nutrition:

I had zero problem with nutrition.  I did not crave sugars or grains or fast food.  I completely dropped all soda (I used to be a total Mt Dew junkie drinking 5 cans a day).

I enjoyed cooking, and will continue to do so. 

I love spending time with my wife in the kitchen, working on meals.  Excellent bonding time.  I used to pick on my brother for doing kitchen work with his wife after he got home from a stressful day at work.  Now I admit that my baby brother had a good thing going, and I’ve missed out on a lot of quality time with my sweety.  That is a side benefit I had not thought of when I started.

Joy of cooking.

More time with my wife.

I did have one problem with my eating habits.

Beer.

Now this is a total honest report, my 1 reader…  I had not been a heavy drinker before.  Sure I would drink several pints at our BBQ’s and bonfires, but it was not an everyday thing.  

The Devil in a Can

 Halfway through this challenge I started craving Guinness stout something horrible.  Sometimes I managed to shrug it off.. Sometimes I didn’t.  I figure it must have been the liquid bread aspect of Guinness that my body craved.

So here is my weight outlook\

Starting weight: 192

Ending Weight: 185

7 pounds lost with very very little exercise. 

Am I disappointed? No, not at all.  This was a learning month, no doubt about that.  I have  been reading no less than 16 primal blogs a day.  Reading Mark Sisson’s book “The Primal Blueprint”  and Robb Wolf’s “The Paleo Solution”  Both books are a must for this lifestyle.  I have been listening to podcasts, and buying paleo/primal cookbooks.  Re-outfitting the kitchen, and just plain learning to cook something other than BBQ.  It has been a busy month!

Winter is a very difficult time to exercise.  There has been 3 blizzards here breaking all snowfall records.  I have spent a lot of time in front of my computer researching and reading.  However, the weather is changing and warming up.  I am setting up a new workout rotation with my coach Mike French (who is totally awesome). 

 I will continue to battle the evils of Guinness, and dial in my nutrition even further.

 The last few days I have just hit ketosis, so I know I am primed for weight loss.  With a goal of 170 lbs, it is totally doable.

What will I be doing different?  More exercise, less Guinness.  That aught to cover it.

I am excited to see what the next 30 days brings!

Poppabear.

           

Field trip day to CSA, Farmers Market, and Meat Market

Wow, Yesterday was a super busy busy busy day.  The entire family got up super early (for them) and we made the white knuckle drive to down town Kansas City for an open house meeting of our local CSA (Not cub scouts of America.. It’s Community Supported Agriculture).  Poppabear is a country bear and does not handle the stress of city driving well.  Especially with two little girls chattering in the back seat like monkeys fighting over a banana.

            We made it there, alive, and the first person I sought out was a good CSA for grass feed beef.  I met up with Tom and Paula Parker, from Parker Farms.  We spent over an hour talking the evils of feed lots, and various other things.  We had a lot of similar views on the important things.  In the end, we signed up and come April we’ll be getting plenty of grassfed beef, and lamb. I am very excited!

            My thanks go out to my sister Joyce for introducing me to CSA’s.

            

 Next, we piled back into the car and made the trip to the Kansas city river market.   

It was off season, so not a lot of the stalls were open.  But we bought spices!!!!  OOOOOOOoooOOOooh we bought spices! 

 

  I picked us a bunch of good curry powder, and cilantro.  My brother Joe pointed out some poblano  peppers we decided to pick up for the grill that night.

            After another white knuckle ride we arrived at McGonigle’s meat market.  The choices of meat were staggering, and we didn’t make it out of there without dropping a good amount of cash on stuff we couldn’t get closer to home.  Kansas City is known world wide for its BBQ.  McGonigle's is where the BBQ pro's buy their meat.  'Nuff Said!

I was happy to find some ox tail, and lamb stew meat.  I picked up some ruby trout fillets for later as well. 

 

We all picked out a steak for the grill, and headed back home.

            

 The plan was for the families to come back to the cave, grill up some food, and then walk around the property and discuss the multi family garden layout for the spring.  We all agreed it was too much work for the day we had just had, so we ate our steaks and called it a night.

It was a good day.

Poppabear.

Kettlebell Snow day (aka Poppabear’s epic workout)

It was a stressful week for Poppabear.  I have spent the last 4 days snowed in, stuck in a hotel room in Oklahoma City.  I was going stir crazy.  To make matters worse, I didn’t bring Rasputin with me.

 

So, I finally got home, grabbed my kettlebell and my Vibrams and headed out into the snow.

 

It was an epic workout.  I swear I could hear “Eye of the Tiger” playing in the background.  My workout was like a Rocky montage.

I am totally blasted! I put everything I had into that workout, form and intenstity.. here's the numbers (cause poundage is fun!) 10 sets of 20 2hand swings, 5 a side 1/2 turkish get ups,15 a side clean and press. All with Rasputin (my 35lb kettlebell).  For a grand total of 8400lbs moved! Hells yea! And I feel it.. every inch.

 

I love working out with the kettlebell, all the intensity and compound movements.  I can’t think of a better workout for the time.  Every action works multiple muscles, and works them HARD!!!  I really needed it after being cooped up in a hotel room for 4 days with only a treadmill.

 

I feel so pumped!

By the way, this is day 28 of my 30 day primal challenge.  Look for a big 30 day summary on Sunday!  Tomorrow we go to our local CSA and talk to the farmers about buying shares in their organic farms.  YUM!!!!

Follow me @PoppabearsCave on twitter!

Poppabear.