The Academy

39 Ways To Not Be Like Everyone Else

Found this on Jason Ferruggia's Renegade Strength And Conditioning website. Thought it was worth sharing! Check it out.- Jay

39 Ways To Not Be Like Everyone Else

The problem with being like everyone else is that everyone else sucks.

My advice is not to do it…

How do you start your day each morning?

Do you angrily smash the alarm clock and roll out of bed exhausted, dreading another day doing what you hate?

Or do you spring up fresh and well rested because you went to sleep before 11pm like you know you should, and get excited to tackle another day doing what you love?

After hitting the bathroom do you stagger into the kitchen and get a pot of coffee brewing as fast as humanly possible?

Is that what it takes for you to wake up in the morning and actually feel alive?

If you eat, sleep and train properly the last thing you should ever need is caffeine to wake up.

What about your workout regimen?

Do you do focus on big compound lifts, advanced bodyweight exercises, strongman training and avoid machines and isolation movements like the plague?

Do you keep a detailed log book and track your progress week after week, year after year?

Do you stick with a program for longer than a week? It takes at least four to even have a clue what’s going and what’s working.

When it comes time for cardio do you hop on the elliptical or stair climber or do you go find a hill and sprint up it until your heart beat is visible through your hooded sweatshirt?

There’s always an easy way out. You can always live a life of mediocrity and unhappiness and do what everyone else does. Or you can choose to not be like everyone else. You can choose the road less traveled.

How do you do that?

Here are 39 ways that would be a good start.

1)    Eat only organic produce and organic, grass fed meat. Avoid any factory farmed meat like the plague and try your best to avoid conventionally grown produce when possible.

2)    Eliminate sugar from your diet completely. Fruit doesn’t count.

3)    Cut out all processed foods.

READ MORE......

Arthur Haines On Paleo "Myths"

Here's a great video from Aurhur Haines, one of our original students and first Brown Belt. He's a primitive skills instructor, and amazing wealth of knowledge. Check it out! -Jay

I can't afford to eat Paleo!!

There is hardly ever a conversation about the Paleo/Primal way of eating that doesn't involve heavy concerns about the cost involved.  For some reason we think that eating crap is cheaper.  Fortunately Robb Wolf has written a great article addressing just this topic.  Please take a minute to truly educate yourself so you're making food choices based on real information.  Here ya go:

This way of eating, like virtually any way of eating, can be made much more, or mush less expensive. Now, similar to cooking or meal options, I thought this was a pretty straight-forward concept (if you are broke, buy cheap, if you have some cash, kick your heels up a bit) but alas, it is not. So, I’m going to walk through some basic shopping and put an arrow in the head of the “Paleo is expensive” idea, then we will look at some basic finance ideas as I think some folks may benefit from that. Continue Reading.......

Supplent Basics: Multi-Vitamins & Re-Cap

Last in this series, is general vitamins and mineral content. Most commercially raised food is raised in over farmed soil. The planets topsoil is disappearing, and what we have left is becoming devoid of nutrients. No nutrients in the soil, means no nutrients in the food. If you get your food fresh from a “permaculture” type of farming, you don’t need a multivitamin supplement. If you eat factory farmed foods, you probably do. What do I do.... You guessed it, Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Now in the Spring and Summer, I get my vegetables from a local permaculture type Community Supported Agriculture. I get some stuff from the store but not as much. In the Winter it's store bought for sure. Now, just so happens that in the Winter, I also tend to not get Sun. So, no Sun= Dose of CLO. CLO= D, and Multi! Done, and done. Summer= Sun, and more nutritionally sound food. So, no CLO.

 

So, just to recap;

If you eat wild caught/range fed food, grown on quality soil, eat naturally fermented food, and get exposed to the elements like real water and sun….. You don’t need to take anything. Imagine that.

But, things are never ideal. So, What I try to do is, eat clean as hell. Eating only wild caught/free range sources, and including naturally fermented foods. I don’t get much ocean exposure so, I’ll try to take an Epsom salts soak a couple of times a week. And, on days where I don’t get any sun, I take about a tablespoon of Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Yeah, it’s gross, but it has a ton of Vit D. It’s a traditional food source. And it’s a boost of not only O3’s but probiotics as well. Because it’s made of liver, it’s essentially a multivitamin. That makes only one “supplement” if you can call traditionally fermented cod liver oil a supplement.

However, if you NEED to have plastic bottles in your cupboard, and you eat industrial food…… I suggest:

Vit D

Magnesium

Omega 3s

Probiotics

Minimal Multivitamin

That way you are, as closely as you can, creating a biologically appropriate physiological starting point.

Hope that helped! -Jay

Supplent Basics: Vitamin D

Vit D is the other half of the “Typical 2” (the other is magnesium). And, it is another environmental thing, not, a nutritional thing. We get it from the Sun! Our body makes it in response to sun exposure! And, as we live our lives in a poorly designed habitat, we get less sun exposure than wild humans. So, if you’re in the sun a lot, no need to supplement. If not, some say you can do tanning booths to mimic it, or you can just take a supplement. Again, I stick with my old pal Fermented Cod Liver Oil. It's a whole, traditionaly processed food, that provides a ton of Vit D, along with a bunch of other stuff. But, a Vit d pill is definately better than not getting any D at all. 

 

Supplent Basics: Magnesium

Magnesium is another very common deficiency. It, along with Vit D, are the “typical 2” recommended by even the most anti-supplement crowd. Now as far as how we used to get it. I have a theory. It’s a bit different than most. Most people say that it’s missing in the soil, and therefore our food. But, everything is missing from our soil, so why aren’t all our nutrients as deficient as magnesium? That got me thinking. As I was looking at how to boost magnesium levels naturally, I came across research that said, one way to do it was through Epsom salts baths. It said that people who spend time in ocean water have good magnesium levels by absorbing it through the skin. And that people can mimic this by soaking in Epsom Salts a few times a week. Twenty minutes 2-3 times a week should be plenty! I realized that, that could be how we’re so deficient. We have less natural water exposure than we did in the wild. Being in ocean water, and other mineral rich, natural water sources for all of our fishing, bathing, and water navigating would have unintentionally kept our levels good. Now that is just my theory based on anecdotal evidence. But, it seems reasonable. So, if you’re exposed to ocean, or mineral rich natural water on a regular basis, then you should be fine. If not, then you can “supplement” with a few Epsom salts soaks a week. Or, just take a Magnesium supplement like everyone suggests, if you really want bottles in your cabinets.

-Jay

Back To Supplement Basics: Probiotics

Pro-biotics. Another buzzword. You know they are hugely important to gut health. And now a bunch of research has linked gut health to damn near every aspect of physical and mental health. Well, we used to get plenty of pro-biotics from our lack of cleanliness! We used to eat a TON of soil based bacteria in our food. And it seems like that would be bad, but it actually boosted our immune system and digestion. Then there’s lacto-fermented food. It’s one of the earliest forms of food preservation. And it’s also a huge source of pro-biotics. Make sure you incorporate some form of probiotics into your nutrition plan. Ideally, eat some real pickles, or sauerkraut. If you’re not into that, take some pro-biotics. You could always keep the theme intact and take HSO pro-biotics. Their soil based!

Stay tuned. More supplements to come.

-Jay

Paleo Summit Starts Tomorrow!!

The Paleo Summit is an amazing and FREE online event hosted by Sean Croxton of www.undergroundwellness.com.  This is an 8 day event that will feature presentations by 23 of the most informed and intelligent minds in the Paleo scene.  When you register you also get two additional videos, one by Mark Sisson and one by Gary Taubes.  The event also includes a presentation by Matt Stone who is an independant health researcher who is anti-paleo which will be intersting for those that like to look at all sides of things (which is hopefully all of us). Did we metion that this amazing resource is being offered for FREE?? From what we understand they will also be offering some paid options that include transcripts of the presentations for those that want to be able to refer back to the information. Go to www.paleosummit.com to register now, all you have to do is enter your email address!

Protein And Other Supplements

We just started carrying a brand of protein that I'm extremely pumped about! It's from a company called Stronger Faster Healthier. It's a local company that uses grass fed free range animals, and we are proud to offer their products.

Thing is, selling supplements gets people talking about supplements. And people are asking me what supplements they need. And for most people the answer is none. However a lot of the people training at the Academy are training at levels of intensity that goes way past "recreational" levels. They are training multiple sessions a day, a couple of days a week. These people can definitely use post workout Protein. But, here's the quick and dirty on supplements in case your wondering. I'll start with Omega 3, and move on from there. And yes... This is from the book I'm writing. - Jay

What's missing in your food? Not only are the macro-nutrients generally screwed up by eating all the carbs and sugar that come with the processed food diet we usually eat. But, even if you eat “Paleo” like I suggest, you still have to contend with the hormones, pesticides, and crap that is added to our plants and animals in the standard farming methods. Likewise, our soil is so shot from modern farming that many of the nutrients that should be in our food aren’t any more! Crazy. I would suggest going as local as possible. Find grass fed, free range, permaculture type places. Community supported agriculture. It may cost a little more, but you’ll save more in the long run in health care. It is worth it.

            But, even if you do go with local permaculture, you’ll still be missing some nutrients. That’s because of our modern tastes, and the fact that not all of the things we need, come from food! There’s that damn synergy again. On to some the missing stuff. I’m going to tell you, briefly, what it is, where we would’ve gotten it, and how to supplement if you’re not able or willing to recreate it. Here goes. As usual, I’d rather have everything be natural and synergistic, but supplementation is better than nothing.

Omega 3:

Unless you hide from nutritional information you know the benefits of Omega 3s. Historically we ate every part of the animal, and brains, marrow, and organs are all high in O3s. Yeah, most of you aren’t eating that, so, now what? Well, grass fed meat contains higher levels. So do free range eggs. And you already know seafood is high in O3’s. So, if you eat wild caught/free range and varied food sources, you should be ok. But, supplementing with O3’s are a good way to be sure you’re covered if you’re still eating industrial animal products.Or, if you have higher levels of inflammation. If you do supplement, I like Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Yeah, it’s gross, but it has a ton of Vit D. It’s a traditional food source. And it’s a boost of not only O3’s but probiotics as well. Because it’s made of liver, it’s essentially a multivitamin. That makes only one “supplement” if you can call traditionally fermented cod liver oil that. If you don't like that Idea, Fish Oil pills are a fine alternative.

That was an easy one. Check back as we will be getting into the ones that need a tad more explaining! We will be hitting Vit D, Magnesium, Probiotics, and more.

 

Nutrition For Dummies

I've been working on a book that I've had in my head for a few years now. Kind of my whole philosophy. It gets into all aspects of lifestyle design. It covers philosophy, psychology, exercise, nutrition, parkour, and obviously, martial arts. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the chapter on nutrition. Keep your eyes peeled for the finished product.- Jay

Nutrition Simplified:

People really make this more complicated than it needs to be. This really is simple. If you want an animal in the zoo to attain optimal health, you figure out what it eats in the wild, and feed it that. Or, as close an approximation as you possibly can. So…. How are we different? Figure out what we ate when we were actually still a part of nature, and eat that. Honestly, it’s not that complex. Eat other animals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds in biologically appropriate amounts. Vary your sources. Yep. That’s it. How do we make it so complex? Well, first we don’t really want to do it. And our logic flows from there. You don’t want to give up pizza. So, you use a factoid about a tribe in eastern bumfuck making a grain based, crustlike substance, that you say is very much like pizza crust. Please….. stop. You’re grasping at straws because you just don’t want to stop. Things are complex, and synergistic. Yes, they did eat that. And they also walked an average of 20 miles a day. And slept well. And got plenty of sun. And had virtually no “chronic stress”. And had a healthy social life. And a had a deep connection with nature. And so on, and so on. So, yeah…. Their sporadic intake of this hand milled, organic, minimally processed “crust” food probably didn’t have much of a negative impact on their lives. And yet, it is not a good argument as to why you should be able to stuff Dominos in your fat face while driving your big ass around to the rest of your biologically inappropriate life. The other thing that gets it complex is that not everyone ate the same stuff. A person in the tundra, and a person in the tropics don’t the same diet. The tundra, last I checked, didn’t have tropical fruit just falling from the sky. So yeah, in one sense, they were very different. One eats a huge amount of fats, and the other eats way more carbohydrates. But, here’s the rub. They both ate animals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds in variety. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough. Don’t eat Twinkies and pizza, because you can’t be sure which macro nutrient ratio is optimal. Just stop eating processed, packaged crap. We’re not so special we can be above science. When we want an animal to be optimally healthy, we feed it a biologically appropriate diet. We need the same. Eat like a wild human. Get off the industrial food complex as fast as you can!