Primal Blueprint Podcast

Today’s episode featuresWomen’s Beach Volleyball League legend, fitness icon, actress, author, and social advocate, Gabrielle Reece. Named one of the 20 Most Influential Women in Sports by Women’s Sports & Fitness,Gabby first came into the spotlight for her prolific volleyball career. In 1997, competing with the best global beach volleyball players ever assembled, Gabby’s 4-person team took first place at the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championships. She continued playing across the next decade until she was five months pregnant in the summer of 2007. Besides her time as a player, Gabby has been featured in feature films, top-rated television shows, and magazines. As a role model, Gabby has taken the opportunity to advocate healthier eating for future generations. She has an ongoing relationship with the American Heart Association Teaching Gardens, an initiative benefiting needy schools through the planting of organic gardens, by which she speaks to children about the importance of eating healthy

Technology has improved our lives, whether through the creation of new tools or by upgrading existing ones. But are there limits to technological progress? Can technology improve everything? We’ll find out. There’s talk of a “food revolution” brewing in Silicon Valley, helmed by engineers and entrepreneurs convinced they can do food better than both nature and traditional agriculture. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Some foods and flavors are just made for one another. Bacon and eggs. Strawberries and cream. Basil and tomato. Oil and vinegar. Sweet and sour. The list goes on and on. But what’s behind these classic and nearly universal combinations? Does taste alone drive the decision to, say, add fresh herbs to a charred piece of meat? And if pairings are driven by taste, which sounds reasonably, could it be possible that healthy pairings naturally taste better because we’ve evolved an innate draw towards these powerful combinations? The jury may still be out on that one. Nevertheless, some foods, when taken together, make surprising nutrition sense. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

We’re told time and again that in order to get healthy we need to let go of our “lower” instincts (e.g. conserving energy on the couch or preferring to go out and have fun) and embrace future goals. We need to take things seriously – have concrete objectives and clear steps to execute them. It’s about getting down to business and whipping ourselves into shape through the grit of sweat and discipline. Or?  (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

This is a guest post from expert biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of Don’t Just Sit There! What research has demonstrated in the last few years is that people aren’t either active or sedentary—they can be both. Even the active people are, by a new definition coined in movement research, actively sedentary. Our totally body movement often tends to boil down to what we do for a bout of exercise each day. Trying to extract all of your movement needs from one or two hours of daily exercise is like trying get all your dietary needs from a single daily meal crafted from the same handful of foods every day. This approach just won’t do.  (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

On today’s special show, Mark Sisson and Katy Bowman discuss their exciting joint project, “Don’t Just Sit There,” which is a comprehensive multimedia educational course designed to help people overcome one of the major health hazards of modern life: prolonged sedentary periods that compromise your health at the cellular level. Katy is a biomechanist (someone who studies living structures like the human body), author, and popular blogger at KatySays.com. Her focus is on how movement and variability are the keys to a healthy work environment. It turns out that true movement variability at work requires more than simply transitioning from a sitting to standing position at a standup workstation. And it’s not just about assuming the correct ergonomic positions at your keyboards, either. Anytime you have prolonged stillness, you are putting undesirable “loads” upon your cells that can lead to pain, dysfunction, and disease. This includes your eyes gazing at a computer screen at a fixed distance for hours.     Ka

Today’s an exciting day for me. One of those jump out of bed early in anticipation of what’s to come days. Today is the day I get to announce the launch of Primal Blueprint’s Don’t Just Sit There program, packaged and perfected with my friend and world-renowned biomechanist Katy Bowman. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

What I want to talk about today is something I’ll call hinge habits. They’re choices we make that – for our individual mentality – set the board for the rest of our day. The relative success and sanity of the day literally hinge on these simple practices. When we do them, the rest of the day seems to fall into place. We at least have an easier time staying on a solid, healthy path. Skip them, however, and everything else feels “off.” We flounder. Some days we can nonetheless steady ourselves, but it requires more effort. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

How much are we like our mammalian cousins in the animal kingdom? And what can they teach us about our mental and emotional lives? Elle Russ tackles these questions in a riveting interview with Dr. Loretta Breuning, blogger, former professor, and founder of The Inner Mammal Institute, which studies how our neurochemical makeup guides our feelings and behaviors in similar ways to our non-human relatives. Dr. Breuning began studying the brain chemistry of animals because she was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. When she learned that our happy brain chemicals trigger survival behaviors in animals, she retired from her career as Professor of Management at California State University, East Bay to connect the dots. Now, her books and resources have helped thousands of people worldwide to make peace with their inner mammal. Her books include Beyond Cynical: Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity; I, Mammal: Why Your Brain Links Status and Happiness; and the forthcoming Habits of a Happy Brain:

Computers, laptops, tablets, phones, iWhatever, big screen T.V.s, portable players – not to mention the infinite libraries of apps, Netflix, Hulu and (of course) the Internets. Let’s face it. All those Baby Einstein DVDs seem quaint compared to everything a kid could do on a smart phone these days. With their phones, computers, T.V.s and other gadgets, teenagers’ tech use might be well over eleven hours a day of screen time, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. The average 8-year-old isn’t far behind with eight hours of screen usage. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I recently linked to a couple of research articles that connected typical childhood activities (for adults) with health benefits. (Just when our parents thought we were wasting time or getting into trouble…) As we head into the final weeks of summer, I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about how acting like we did all those years (or decades ago) can take our Primal living and inclusive health to a new level. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)  

Host Brad Kearns joins Chuck Hixson, CEO of AVAcore Technologies in Michigan, exclusive manufacturers of a phenomenal recovery product known as the RTX (Rapid Thermal Exchange) cooling glove. The product was developed in consultation with Stanford University researchers who made a stunning discovery in the laboratory related to improving peak performance—dramatically—by quickly cooling body temperature.     The glove works by quickly cooling the brain, vital organs and muscles by applying cool circulating water and a slight vacuuming effect to the temperature sensitive AVAs—a network of veins in the palms of your hands that regulate body temperature with a highly variable blood flow based on environmental temperatures. Physical performance is strongly associated with body temperature. When you get hot, you slow down—key enzymes change shape and malfunction when overheated, stopping cellular metabolic processes. If you are able to cool off during a workout (say, with a 3-minute session wearing the glove), yo

Announcing the opportunity for three hard-working, passionate individuals to receive a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to the The Primal Blueprint Expert Certification program. To apply, write up a 250 word or less essay on how you think The Primal Blueprint Expert Certification would change your life and why you are deserving of a scholarship. Submit it by August 25th by using the form on MarksDailyApple.com. We’ll look over all the submissions and reach out to our picks to grant them their full scholarship access to the program. And even if you don’t get the scholarship, we’ve made it easier than ever to join, with only $1 down and $89 a month for 12 months. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

While resting heart rate has long been the gold standard to measure an athlete’s general state of stress and recovery, heart rate variability (HRV) takes biofeedback to the next level by delivering more nuanced readings that accurately reveal conditions like hyper-arousal or burnout.I’m so enthusiastic about promoting the concept of HRV that I partnered with the industry leaders at Sweetbeat Life LLC to create a customized iPhone app called PrimalBeat HRV. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Conventional wisdom demands skepticism. Whether it’s the official stance on high-fat diets (“they’ll give you heart disease, don’t work, or do work but not for long!”), exercise (“you must jog at a moderate pace for an hour a day, four days a week!”), organic food (“it’s nutritionally identical to conventionally-grown food!”), or sun exposure (“you must always wear sunblock!”), I always question conventional wisdom. And when it’s lacking (as is often the case), I rightly skewer it. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Host Brad Kearns welcomes Dave and Romy Dollé to the Malibu studios, all the way from their home in Switzerland, during their West Coast vacation. This couple is a wealth of insight and inspiration on all matters of health and fitness. Romy is the author of an exciting forthcoming book from Primal Blueprint Publishing called Fruit Belly, originally published in German as Früchtewampe. Dave is a leading fitness trainer and coach who operates two training centers in the Zurich area. This show discusses the curious condition of Fruit Belly, where health conscious eaters can experience intestinal bloating and pain from eating too much of the good stuff: fruits, raw vegetables and other natural foods. Dave and Romy venture into an assortment of other health and fitness topics during this lively show. So you won’t want to miss it!

If you’ve been keeping up with Mark’s Daily Apple, you know that standup paddling is a longtime favorite pastime of mine. And though I was into it before it was “cool,” I’m certainly not the first. Fishermen have been paddling their water vessels from a standing position for thousands of years and pre-contact Hawaiian surfers employed long paddles to reach the best waves on their 3-5 meter-long boards. In the mid-20th century, Oahu surf instructors would lead classes atop longboards with paddles, but it wasn’t until Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama started standup paddling (and being filmed doing it) that the sport gained broad “sport” status and board makers began producing dedicated SUP boards. So, a lot of people have asked: why do I love paddle boarding so much? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I've got another sweet deal for you from Thrive Market: become a new member and get a free full-sized jar of Primal Kitchen™ Mayo. Just pay S&H of $1.95. If you’re an existing member, don’t worry. I wheel and dealed a perk out of Thrive Market for you too. Click here and you’ll get an extra 10% off your next order. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Time to take an informal poll. Who here fits in two strength training sessions, 1-2 sprint/interval sessions and 3-5 hours of walking or low level cardio on top of ample play time – every single week? I’m betting there’s still a lot of hands raised in this crowd, but I’m going to wager I lost quite a number as the list went on. In an ideal world with a perfect schedule, we’d all consistently reach these goals. The best results come from this general protocol. That said, this level of regularity is probably the exception rather than the rule if you’re talking about the long-term – month after month, year after year. And, yet, plenty of us are in great shape – even if we didn’t always fit in the above full regimen. Hmm… Maybe the concept of consistency is more nuanced than we normally give it credit for. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

This is a guest post from Todd Kuslikis of AShotofAdrenaline.net. Warning: Some of you are about to think I’m crazy. For those of you who haven’t heard of isometrics, this strength building concept is going to make you think I’ve officially walked off the deep end. Functional strength and awesome muscle mass gains with out even moving? This must be some kind of joke, right? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)