Primal Blueprint Podcast

Strength training can improve performance. Yes, even if you replace some of your miles with time in the gym. Yes, even if you spend less time running and more time lifting. Yes, even if you lift heavy, you’re not going to “get too big and unwieldy” enough to hamper your running performance. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

On today’s show, Elle sits down with Tommy Brice, one of California’s top primal-aligned physical therapists. He is a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI where he attained a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a doctorate in Physical Therapy. Tommy’s focus is around orthopedic rehabilitation, sports medicine, concussions, manual therapy, grade five passive mobilization and practiced trigger point dry needling. But now, Tommy has been facilitating more Physical Therapy treatment with nutrition in the quest to treat the whole patient and help heal injuries from the inside out.Elle and Tommy discuss how Tommy’s incorporation of a primal lifestyle has had a big impact on the patients in his clinic. More specifically, Tommy has seen dramatically improved recovery outcomes from various injuries, including faster overall healing times. The two of them cover topics ranging from pain management, injury prevention, proper exercise form, and the dangers of over-training. If you have a body, you wo

While we Primal types are ridiculously far from being any kind of majority, numbered are the days perhaps of the Primal/paleo pariah. For the second year in a row, in fact, paleo was the most Googled diet. And while U.S. News & World Report might wish the “caveman” diet would just go away, it doesn’t appear we’re going anywhere but apparently more mainstream. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Print this out. Bookmark it. Send it to friends who don’t quite get the Primal thing. Consider this a valuable resource for all-things Primal. It’s a nice, alphabetical encapsulation of what it means to lead a Primal lifestyle. It’s not everything, of course. You can always dig deeper into the details, but this summary gives a high-level look at just about everything.(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

This brand new Primal Blueprint guide explains the 23 weight loss stumbling blocks I see most frequently trip people up (and how to overcome each one), describes the eight most common weight loss plateau archetypes (and how to figure out which one you are), and shows you how to use the information from the previous two sections to construct a weight loss plan that will work for you. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

Host Brad Kearns talks to testosterone expert Christopher Walker, who details a remarkable story of self-healing from serious endocrine problems. Don’t flinch at the title—Chris’s approach is the opposite of the magic supplement obsessed blather you typically hear on the topic of testosterone enhancement. Chris was a college student at Duke and a hardcore triathlete when he first experienced some debilitating symptoms of low testosterone. When tested he was found to have a hideously low serum level of 11 ng/dl, where the normal range for his age group would be 400-1000 ng/dl. He was also discovered to have a pituitary tumor, which in addition to adverse lifestyle practices, was the cause of his serious disorder. Chris boldly chose to forego the medically advised approach of either surgery or hormone replacement therapy and embark on a holistic lifestyle transformation. In a short time, he cured his condition and his testosterone level skyrocketed to 1192 ng/dl! Chris’s key to recovery included an assortment o

Let me add my final two cents on the subject with these last two critical dimensions of foodborne illness risk and prevention. As always, I’m not offering medical advice to my readers—but lifestyle options for their personal deliberation. These last two themes are, of course, core Primal territory—and elements of the issue you don’t read much about in most discussions of food safety.   (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

It happens to the best of us. You start sneaking a few more bites of bread when out to dinner and trying your buddy’s delicious-looking pizza. Your workouts trickle to once a week, sometimes none. You walk less, couch more. And then one day, you realize you’ve gone off the wagon. You’ve gained belly fat. You’re getting winded going up the stairs. Your once-pleasurable hikes have become grueling affairs that you dread and end up avoiding. Your fridge is full of takeout boxes and you realize you haven’t cooked in two weeks. You need to restart your Primal lifestyle, and fast. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Brad Kearns visits with Mark Sisson to discuss the delicate balance between striving for ambitious peak performance goals and pursuing longevity. Sometimes it’s a delicate balance that even the most experienced athletes might screw up by getting a little too ambitious with their performance goals and compromising health in the process. Mark mentions his lifelong athletic, competitive mindset that essentially leaves him with a 62-year-old body and a 21-year-old’s competitive intensity.  Aging gracefully is an important concept to embrace, which will enable you to set appropriate goals and accept an inevitable gradual decline in fitness that comes with chronology. Brad and Mark offer suggestions to recalibrate one’s competitive goals based on age and lifestyle circumstances while covering other interesting topics in this landmark broadcast that will change the way you think about fitness and longevity.

A little discussed phenomenon is disturbingly common among health-conscious eaters, especially those diligent about eating plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains. Granted, not very primal, but even super-primal-aligned folks suffer from digestive difficulties related to eating their abundant servings of veggies and fruit. The condition is called Fruit Belly—a bloated cranky, gurgly, and visceral-fat-hoarding abdomen that grows (or refuses to budge) despite your best efforts to eat healthy, and even despite your success at sculpting the rest of your body. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Today’s the day for another primal giveaway! Over the last year I’ve teamed up with Thrive Market to give Mark’s Daily Apple readers (you!) free jars of coconut oil, free jars of Primal Kitchen™ Mayo, exclusive eBooks, and even a $500 primal shopping spree. Not to mention dozens of free memberships. But now we’re taking things to the next level. Today, Thrive Market is offering Mark’s Daily Apple readers a chance to win a $1000 shopping spree. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

While it’s important to think positive and focus on all the things you should be doing to achieve your goals, it’s equally important that we focus on those things that interfere with our goals and remind ourselves to avoid doing them. Some call it the “not to do list,” which I like. Many of the behaviors on not-to-do lists are deal breakers, so it’s arguably more crucial that we identify and curtail those that apply to our lives. But that’s hard; these are behaviors we might already be doing. Heck, they might be bad habits we’ve developed, or biases we’ve internalized. And so before adopting good behaviors, we should clear out the bad ones. Otherwise, we’re just pissing in the wind. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Host Brad Kearns catches up with CrossFit legend Bill Grundler, a 46-year-old retired firefighter and proprietor of CrossFit Inferno in San Luis Obispo, CA. Bill has defied the normal notions and realities of aging by competing in the Open division of the CrossFit Games—challenging the best athletes in the world despite having a couple decades of seniority on the pack. Bill subscribes to what he calls a firefighter mentality, where “you just get the job done. The fire doesn’t care how old you are.” After suffering an ACL tear during a qualifier for the 2014 Open CrossFit Games, Bill endured an arduous recovery and, with minimal expectations for 2015, agreed to enter the Masters division to compete alongside his brother James. The Grundler brothers became the first brothers ever to compete together at the Games. The 2015 Masters contest featured an especially tortuous series of events (detailed by Bill in the podcast), and Bill finished a close second to an Australian when it was all over. Bill is a lifelong a

The idea here isn’t to spread fear or panic – those saboteurs of a good life and, in this instance, a good meal. It’s about how to minimize risk with a measured, reasonable amount of time, effort and thought. I think there’s a sweet spot to be found here, too, as in most areas of Primal living in the modern age.(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)

A few months ago, I wrote a guide to napping that included how, why, and when to flop down for a spell. That wasn’t a random throwaway post. It was the first salvo in a new war. I’m on a mission to legitimize the nap, to destigmatize the siesta for the average working human. And it’s not a selfish thing, because I can already pretty much take a nap whenever I want. I’m concerned about you. In a chronically sleep-deprived population such as ours, a 45 minute foray into the land of dreams can rejuvenate the mind, make up for sleep debt, and make us healthier and happier. Yet those who nap —or simply want to nap — often feel guilty about it, even if they have an hour or two to spare and are falling asleep at their desks. Perhaps it’ll make you feel better to know that some of the world’s greatest thinkers considered naps to be an integral part of their day — and their success. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

A couple months back, I gave you a list of Primal Laws that didn’t quite make the cut, either because they weren’t “big” enough or didn’t apply to enough people. Turns out I was probably wrong: the response was huge and many of you were on the same wavelength. You even offered up some of your own ideas for honorable mentions. So today, I’m giving you 7 more honorable mentions that almost deserved a spot on the final list of Primal Laws. Read the post, take what resonates with you and discard what doesn’t. But give the article a fair shake and really consider how adopting these laws could improve your life. (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

Host Brad Kearns welcomes the red-hot author David Epstein to the show, on the heels of his whirlwind global tour to promote his bestselling book, The Sports Gene: Inside the science of extraordinary athletic performance. This is widely regarded as the seminal book on the topic of genetics in sports, and in it Dave dispels many widely held misconceptions and prejudices that people harbor relating to how genetics affects athletic performance. In this conversation, Epstein discusses the pop culture of the “10,000 Hour Rule” (first presented by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, Ph.D, and popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in the book Outliers.) Epstein dispels the accuracy of science behind the concept and the practical application of the concept. Basically, it’s BS! Genetic factors are relevant, as illustrated by the amazing “Tale of Two High Jumpers” featured in Chapter 2 in the book. Besides great physical attributes, there are genetic elements to the all-important athletic success factor of “desire to train.” People (lik

It’s a regular headline: “# of People Sickened by Contaminated Food.” Most recently, it was a case of imported cucumbers with salmonella (one of the most common and serious foodborne pathogens) that resulted in at least 341 people ill and two dead across 30 states. It’s difficult when public service information shifts us toward viewing our food with a nervous eye. The CDC estimates approximately 48 million people get sick from foodborne illness each year. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalized and about 3000 die. So, what do we do with this information? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

I’ve always loved to camp. From my early days as a kid growing up in Maine (where it seemed like everyone camped), to my death-defying adventures with Outward Bound in the wilds of New England as a teen, to my current setup running a business in the Malibu hills, I’ve been a camper. Even when I’d dedicated my life to endurance training and had little time for anything else, I always made it a point to get away to the woods with the family for a few nights whenever I could. The reasoning was basic: it was relaxing, enjoyable, decompressing, and just plain fun. And that’s why most people camp. It just feels right, doesn’t it? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)

It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon. What’s the condition of your backside? Can you feel your legs, or did at least one of them fall asleep a few hours ago? And your back? Neck, shoulders – how much tension are they carrying at this point in the day? Not to mention your mood and concentration? Does your attitude take a nosedive this time of day? Has your brain turned to mush? Did you just have to read the same set of instructions or email memo a couple of times because your mind wandered off? How often do you end up feeling like this in a typical afternoon? (This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Brock Armstrong)