The P90X Book Club

Quite a few of the folks in the P90X videos have made films, ranging from comedies to dramas to hardcore porn. But did you know that even more of 'em write books?

Tony Horton wrote one. (IMHO, it's not very good, but whatever.)

So did Pam the Blam (under her "Nashieqa Washington" pen name).

And let's not forget Mark Sisson.

The latest author to emerge from the P90X ranks? Joe Bovino.

I know it's been awhile, but you remember Joe from the "P90X Shoulders & Arms" video, right? The guy with fully-shaved armpits? He's written a book describing the "ethnic and regional subcultures of American women" in the format of a bird watching guidebook.

And no, I'm not making this up.

You have no idea how much I wish I had a copy of the book to review for you, but the "Field Guide to Chicks" isn't out yet. You can, however, click here to visit Joe's Facebook page and check out a preview of the book.



I swear: P90X is a gift that just keeps giving.

(Thanks to David Kohrell for the heads-up!)

Do It Do It Do It

This past weekend, Dan Benjamin of Hivelogic posted about his transition to a Paleo diet:

[F]ollowing this diet (which involves avoiding gluten, among other things) has resulted in dramatic health benefits for me and my family. The Paleo diet, which resembles but differs in some important ways from low-carb/slow-carb or 4HB diets, has been around for several decades, and has a great deal of science behind it.

Weight loss is an almost guaranteed side-effect (but not necessarily the goal) of this diet, which isn’t so much a “diet” as a lifestyle change, and ideally a permanent one, that you’ll make to the way you eat and live. As a family, over the last year (but very soon after starting the diet), we saw the alleviation of allergies and eczema, cholesterol issues, improved energy, better sleep, and most importantly, the elimination of something I’d struggled most of my life with: hypoglycemia. Most people who share their experiences with eating this way have similar results, but it’s kind of hard to believe until you experience some of the benefits for yourself.

(In his Paleo post, Benjamin provides helpful links to a few select Paleo resources: Robb Wolf, Mark Sisson, Loren Cordain, Kurt Harris, Richard Nikoley, Sarah Fragoso, Angelo Coppola, the Primal Palate folks, and -- last but not least -- my wife!)

Okay, gang: Have you tried going Paleo yet? If not, why not? Give it a shot -- stick with it for 30 days and see if you don't look, feel and perform better. What have you got to lose?

There are lots of great Paleo primers out there -- but since this is my blog and all, I'll put in a plug for mine. Check it out here or click the "Eat Paleo" button on the nav bar above.

(Source: Hivelogic)

Paleo Enough?

I'm catching up on the past month or so of Robb Wolf's Paleo Solution podcasts, and was struck by a couple points he made in Episode 52 in response to a single question: Is taking BCAA supplements a violation of the Paleo diet's rules?

The question was from a listener who -- like me -- is following the "early morning fasted training" version of Martin Berkhan's LeanGains intermittent fasting protocol. Generally, when on the LeanGains program, one starts fasting after dinner and abstains from eating until lunchtime the next day. According to Berkhan, the fast is ideally broken "at noon or shortly thereafter," immediately after a workout.

Unfortunately, "[t]his poses a dilemma for those who can only train in the early morning hours." As Berkhan points out:

If you're training first thing in the morning and finish at 7 AM it would call for a feeding phase of 7 AM to 3 PM. That's just a bit too early for my liking. Could you still do it and start the fast in the middle of the day? Sure. But generally speaking, this would compromise diet adherence for most people.

Berkhan's proposed solution:

Most clients maintain their 8-hour feeding-window between 12-2 pm and 8-10 pm on all days. For those doing early morning fasted training, I have maintained that feeding window and added small feedings of BCAA pre- and post-workout.

Similar to fasted training, 10g BCAA is ingested pre-workout. However, instead of initiating the feeding phase immediately post-workout, which is the standard protocol for regular fasted training, another 10 g BCAA is ingested two hours after the first. A third dose may then be ingested depending on when the client prefers his feeding-window.

That's exactly what I've been doing on the days I exercise. Take this morning, for example. I woke up in a fasted state (having not eaten since 7 p.m. last night), changed into workout clothes, and gulped down 10 grams of BCAAs mixed with water before heading out to my 5 a.m. CrossFit class. An hour post-workout, I guzzled another 10 grams of BCAAs. And then another 10 grams two hours after that.

For a while, I used Vitamin Shoppe's generic brand of plain-jane BCAA powder, but it tasted like hell. So on Berkhan's recommendation, I bought a couple containers of Scivation's XTEND brand of BCAAs -- but the ingredients, which include "Red #1," "artificial flavors" and sucralose, are decidedly un-Paleo.

So what's the verdict, Mr. Wolf? Should I drink the stuff?

Robb's point of view: Chill the fuck out, people. (I'm paraphrasing slightly.) No, BCAA powder wasn't available to cavemen, and the chemicals in the stuff are in no way consistent with Paleo eating. But so what? According to Robb, the drawbacks of the small amount of BCCA supplementation recommended on the LeanGains plan are overshadowed by the need to maintain appropriate protein intake for muscle recovery and growth while on an intermittent fasting program. In other words: Go for it.

To drive home his point, Robb quoted an online commenter, John Ryan, who sagely wrote that "Paleo is a logical framework applied to modern humans -- not a historical reenactment."

Makes sense to me!

Paleo eating is supposed to make you healthier and stronger. The point isn't to slavishly replicate a caveman's actual diet just for the sake of being super-Paleo. Ancestral diets point us in the direction of better nutrition. It explains why we're not evolutionarily equipped to thrive on grains, legumes and dairy. It gives us clues as to why the Standard American Diet's emphasis on carbohydrate consumption is a very bad thing. But it shouldn't dictate every last morsel we stick into our mouths. Many of the foods I eat today weren't available to my prehistoric ancestors (unless they were regularly chowing on avocados, bacon, mac nuts and coconut flakes), but as long as they're not detracting from my health -- and I continue to look, feel and perform great -- who cares?

Of course, this means I probably ought to revisit my criticism of Mark Sisson's Primal Fuel for not being sufficiently "Paleo"...

(Photo: Stefan Kloo)

Who Doesn't Like Venn Diagrams?

I'm a visual learner, so I found Melissa McEwen's infographic illustrating the similarities and differences between Atkins, Primal and Paleo eating to be incredibly helpful:

More details can be found on Melissa's site.

I'm in the PaNu camp right now, but looking to move a bit more to the sweet spot where all three circles intersect.

(Source: Hunt.Gather.Love.)

Check It Out: Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution"

I'm an unabashed fan of Robb Wolf's. Robb is, among other things, a former research biochemist, Loren Cordain disciple, powerlifting champ, unfairly excommunicated CrossFit affiliate owner, and a current owner of one of Men's Health's top 30 gyms in the country -- and in just a few years' time, he's become one of the paleo movement's biggest names and greatest assets.

For months, I've been soaking up everything I can from Cordain, Sisson, the Eades, et al., but Robb's weekly "Paleolithic Solution" podcast has been my go-to resource for all things paleo. It's incredibly informative and entertaining, with Robb (and co-host Andy Deas) answering questions from the peanut gallery.

For as long as I've been listening, Robb's been working on a book about paleo nutrition and fitness. As soon as it was available for pre-order on Amazon, I bought it. But even though the book was finally -- FINALLY -- released last Tuesday, my copy wasn't delivered until the end of last week. (With most other book purchases, I wouldn't have given a crap. But I found myself actually getting pissed every day I came home to find that "The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet" hadn't yet arrived. That's how much I was looking forward to reading Robb's book.)

I'm still reading it (and sharing with M, who's also digging it), but "The Paleo Solution" has already become my favorite book about the science behind and implementation of a paleo lifestyle. It's reader-friendly (unlike Gary Taubes' excellent but dense "Good Calories, Bad Calories"), but not too Reader's Digest-y (a quibble I have with Mark Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint," which is narratively compelling but skips over a lot of the science underpinning the paleo/primal approach).



I'll try to post a more comprehensive review once I actually finish the book, but in the meantime (if you haven't already jumped on the bandwagon), you can read an excerpt of Robb's book yourself over at Tim Ferriss' blog.

Squat!

I can't believe it took me until now to stumble across Paul Chek's excellent three-part 2004 article on the importance and mechanics of the squat. (Check 'em out here: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3.) I'm convinced that squats -- with or without a barbell -- are among the handful of the best exercises one can do.

So if you're P90Xing: SQUAT!

Or if CrossFit's more your thing: SQUAT!



Want to hang out on a street corner in Asia like the locals? SQUAT!



Stiff and sore? SQUAT!



A disciple of the Primal Blueprint? SQUAT (to poop and stretch and exercise)!

The best thing about squatting? It's easy -- all it takes is a little practice.

Link Dump

Peruse at your leisure:

Kids should go barefoot. Big, stiff, cushioned shoes can damage the development of their feet.

What sort of damage? Research published in podiatry journal The Foot in 2007 suggests that structural and functional changes can result from the foot having to conform to the shape and constriction of a shoe, rather than being allowed to develop naturally. And the younger the foot, the greater the potential for damage.

I may not have convinced you to give paleo eating a try, but would you be more open to it if an awesome world-class athlete did it?

Although fitness DVD sales are still going strong, free exercise programs are disappearing from the boob tube:

"Too many of the exercise shows became too similar," says Frank Nunez of Chicago's UNICUS Fitness, which is headquartered at the Fitness Lair at Michigan and Wacker. "It was always the same kind of thing, where the exercising was done to music or some kind of eight-count beat. All studies show that the only people that this appealed to were people who were already going to work out."

It's what we all suspected: Mark Sisson's WOWs look a hell of a lot like CrossFit WODs. (The differences, if any, are superficial; for example, instead of saying "as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes," he says "maximum cycles in 12 minutes.")

Eating meat made humans smarter:

Meat is packed with lots of calories and fat. [When our prehistoric ancestors started eating meat, o]ur brain -- which uses about 20 times as much energy as the equivalent amount of muscle -- piped up and said, "Please, sir, I want some more."

Cancer cells heart fructose.

How did Tony Horton escape getting profiled on Click On Detroit's list of the "5 Most Annoying TV Workout People"?

Are you gymorexic? (I might be.)

Check It Out: Primal Blueprint Fitness

Mark Sisson just launched his Primal Blueprint Fitness program -- and he's giving it away for free. Here's how Sisson describes it:

I’m confident that Primal Blueprint Fitness is the right formula for people of all ages and skill levels to get lean and functionally fit for life with minimal time commitment, pain, suffering and sacrifice and, more importantly, with as much fun, enjoyment and ease as possible. No, it’s not the only way to get fit, but it might just be the most efficient, effective and pleasurable way.

In short, Sisson doesn't claim that his Primal Blueprint Fitness regimen will get you in the best shape of your life; rather, he makes clear that the point of his program is to get you "functionally fit" with as little effort and time commitment as possible.

I've only had a chance to quickly flip through the program materials, but it looks altogether consistent with Sisson's Primal Blueprint prescription for physical activity: (1) move around a lot, but slowly; (2) lift heavy things once in a while; (3) sprint occasionally; and (4) play outside. The Primal Blueprint Fitness contains a weekly schedule that consists of 1 day of sprinting, 2 days of lifting heavy things, and 4 days of slow movement and/or free play. Plus, once a week, Sisson's going to post a bodyweight-focused "Workout of the Week" (or "WOW")  on his site that readers can substitute for one of their two weekly heavy-lifting workouts.

My first impression: This looks like a watered-down version of CrossFit, with WOWs instead of WODs, sprinting instead of metcons, and bodyweight resistance exercises instead of technical O-lifts and gymnastics.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. The best fitness regimen is one that's sustainable -- and a sustainable program is one that you find doable and pleasurable. A lot of people don't have the time, money, energy or commitment to devote to a P90X or CrossFit routine. Equipment is expensive, and the sessions arguably take too long -- especially for those with school, jobs and/or family obligations to juggle. And frankly, the prospect of starting P90X or CrossFit can be intimidating. I'm sure plenty of folks can't fathom spending 60 to 90 minutes with Tony Horton every day, and would sooner chew glass than do a Fran or Angie WOD every other day. If Sisson can get these people eating according to the Primal Blueprint, they're already well on their way to improved health; add a few sessions of intense exercise per week, and they'll no doubt see even greater results -- all without having to throw themselves into a crazy-rigorous fitness program.

But if you're the type of person who thinks exercise is actually fun rather than "pain, suffering and sacrifice," the Primal Blueprint Fitness program may not be your cup of tea.

Link Dump

It's been a while since my last link dump, so this is going to be a big one. In no particular order:

Take your vitamin D.

And a cold shower.

Jesse Jackson Jr. made the list of The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People (on Capitol Hill) – not because of his involvement in the Rod Blagojevich scandal, but because he’s a “fitness nut” who converted a racquetball court in the Congressional gym into a “space dedicated martial arts, yoga, Pilates, and the P90X exercise program.”

“Toning” shoes = snake oil.

You can work out anywhere – and not having shoes is no excuse.

Here’s how to run an ultramarathon.

The China Study is bunk, so eat some meat.

I’ve successfully made my own beef jerky. Is pemmican next?

Mark Sisson’s about to unveil his Primal Blueprint Fitness program, which will center around Workouts of the Week (WOWs) posted every Monday on his site. From the description, WOWs sound a lot like CrossFit Workouts of the Day (WODs), which led one reader to ask Sisson to distinguish between the two. In the comments section of his blog post, Sisson responded:

There will be some similarities between WOWs and WODs, but some distinct differences, too. Most notably, we’re working on constructing WOWs that:

a) occasionally use specialized equipment, but with a focus on workouts where you can use ANY kind of weight (where a dumbbell, kettlebell, weight vest, heavy rock, etc. will do equally well)

b) occasionally use specialized equipment but with weightless (i.e. bodyweight) variations also provided

In other words, Sisson's WOWs are going to be very similar to WODs, but updated less frequently, and with less equipment to buy.

Lastly, it appears that I may be an addict. (And if you’re reading this, you’re probably one, too.)

Coffee, Tea or Me?

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to gradually phase out my caffeine intake, but it’s been a spectacular failure.

I was actually doing okay for a few days. Despite getting up before dawn and the soporific effects of my long, boring commute, I fastidiously avoided coffee and Diet Coke. Until today.

Today started with a particularly brutal workout, and after getting ready for work, I had back-to-back meetings pretty much from 8 a.m. until now. I’m dead tired, and not looking forward to battling the bumper-to-bumper traffic back home. Before I knew it, I was down in the company café, cradling a big-ass caffeinated beverage.

I guzzled it before my brain even registered any guilt. And I feel better.

But it got me thinking: What exactly does caffeine do to us? Does it impact physical performance, fitness or weight loss?

The “experts” are all over the place on this one.

Some believe that caffeine is an unmitigated disaster. They point out that when caffeine is consumed, it wreaks havoc on your system by:

• Triggering the production of adrenaline, giving you a temporary spike in energy (but causing you to crash later);
• Inhibiting the body’s absorption of adenosine, a hormone that calms your body;
• Increasing your body’s levels of cortisol – the “stress hormone” – which can sabotage your weight loss and other health goals;
• Increasing your dopamine levels, making you physically dependent on the substance.

Mark Sisson has sounded the alarm as well:

As a stimulant, caffeine offers the temporary benefits of improved concentration, enhanced memory and an extra bit of energy. However, this “heightened” state has some unappealing physical effects as well. Obviously, there are the proverbial caffeine jitters and, for a few people who are either caffeine sensitive or who regularly overindulgence, even heart flutterings. But there’s more. Recent caffeine consumption can reduce blood flow to the heart during exercise.

And, apparently, some of us are “slow caffeine metabolizers” (who knew?). Being part of this crowd and partaking of caffeine, some research shows, puts us at increased risk for non-fatal heart attacks. Caffeine has been shown to also raise blood sugar levels in those with type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, caffeine induces heartburn in many people. Given that prescriptions targeting acid reflux are so common these days, we often wonder how much caffeine plays into many people’s symptoms. At a certain point for certain people, caffeine probably isn’t worth it just from that standpoint alone.

But others have staked out the opposite side of the argument, and claim that caffeine actually enhances endurance and helps drive weight loss. According to The London Times,

researchers investigating caffeine’s influence on fitness and sports performance are discovering that an amount considered acceptable by most health experts — only a cup or two a day — is needed to get better results at the gym. They have shown that there are substances in caffeine which trigger the release of body fats into the bloodstream during activity.

Plus, as we all know, caffeine can help stave off fatigue:

A study at the University of South Carolina, published in the American Journal of Physiology (2003), revealed that one or two cups of coffee up to an hour before a gym session can delay or prevent post-exercise tiredness by up to 60 per cent: “People seem to be able to work harder without realising it when they take caffeine before a workout,” says Louise Sutton, the principal lecturer in sport and exercise nutrition at Leeds Metropolitan University.

And the American Journal of Cardiology published a study purporting to show that

caffeine may help to boost nitric oxide (NO) levels, resulting in increased blood flow to muscles. According to a study done by Japanese researchers, when young, healthy males were given 300mg of caffeine pills, the dilation of their forearm blood vessels increased as a result of greater production of NO. As a result, some have taken this to mean that “drinking caffeine before a workout will not only give you a boost in stamina and strength, but it may also lead to a better muscle pump and, over time, greater muscle hypertrophy (growth).”

Who to believe? The more I look into the question of whether caffeine is bad for you, the more I’m convinced that the answer is a resounding “maybe.”

As Robb Wolf explained in one of his Paleolithic Solution podcasts, the answer depends on the dosage of caffeine that’s ingested, as well as the individual’s response to the caffeine’s effects on his/her central nervous system. While caffeine intake may negative affect some folks’ hormone levels and lead to diminished performance and addiction, it may have little effect on others – aside from providing some of the benefits described above.

In other words, I just wasted a crapload of time trying to hunt for an easy answer that doesn't exist.

Oh, well. I've decided to once again try to abstain from caffeine – not because I’ve concluded it’s evil, but because I can save a ton of money by drinking water instead.

Plus, I have a headache now, and caffeine will only make it worse.

Why Not Do Another Round of P90X Classic?

"Are you ever going to do P90X all the way through again?" M asked me after finishing tonight's workout. At long last, after doing months of ChaLEAN Extreme (and sprinkling in a mix of Insanity, P90X, P90X+, and Jillian Michaels DVD routines), M's thinking about starting her first 90-day round of P90X Classic. I guess she wanted to see if I might want to join her.

"I don't think so," I replied.

But her question got me thinking. Why not do another round? Plenty of P90X grads have repeated the program several times and continue to see improvements in their overall fitness. And God knows I haven't yet mastered all the moves introduced by Tony Horton -- especially the twistiest ones in Yoga X. So why didn't I repeat P90X immediately after finishing Round 1? And why don't I have plans to do another 90 consecutive days of P90X?

I can think of five reasons.

Sal Eats Primal

I don't ingest anywhere near as much caffeine as Bryan Batt -- the guy who played Sal on "Mad Men" -- but otherwise, his diet looks pretty much like mine: Lots of plants, animals and eggs. Who'da thunk that Sal's a Primal eater?

Calories In, Calories Out

I’m guessing that -- like me -- lots of folks got into P90X, Insanity, Turbulence Training, or other exercise program as a way to drop a few pounds and “tone up” a bit. But in the excitement of starting a new, challenging workout routine, we sometimes forget that diet's actually more important than exercise when battling the bulge.

It's a myth that working out is the key to losing weight. As I’ve mentioned before, the scientific consensus is that exercise alone doesn’t drive significant weight loss, but this message just isn't getting through. On shows like “The Biggest Loser,” overweight contestants are shown getting their asses handed to them by trainers who march them through up to six hours of exercise per day -- all in the name of surviving a humiliating “weigh-in” process at the end of the week. Yes, some onscreen time is devoted to doling out nutrition tips, but the grueling workouts remain the primary focus of the program. (I have to admit, though, that gawking at people who exercise to the point of vomiting is much more visually arresting than a watching a guy put three ounces of chicken on a kitchen scale while droning on about portion control).

But even outside of reality TV, there's a widespread assumption that exercise produces a post-workout “afterburn” that torches calories well after you've changed out of your gym clothes. As the New York Times points out:

“Many people believe that you rev up” your metabolism after an exercise session “so that you burn additional body fat throughout the day,” said Edward Melanson, Ph.D., an associate professor in the division of endocrinology at the [University of Colorado] School of Medicine ... If afterburn were found to exist, it would suggest that even if you replaced the calories you used during an exercise session, you should lose weight, without gaining weight — the proverbial free lunch.

But after conducting a study among athletes and non-athletes, University of Colorado researchers "found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced ‘afterburn.’ They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not."

The problem, it seems, is that vigorous exercise makes us want to eat more.

"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn't as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser ...

The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.

Plus, people tend to overestimate the calories they’ve burned, while underestimating the calories they ingest to sate their workout-induced hunger. The electronic calorie counters on fitness machines don’t help; in fact, many of them (especially the ones on elliptical machines) wildly overestimate users' calorie-burn.
              
In other words, while you may think you just torched 500 calories after a hardcore session on the elliptical (and that you're going to benefit from a post-workout afterburn, too), your actual output may be closer to 300 calories. And now, you're famished, but if you wash down a banana and a PowerBar with a bottle of Gatorade, you'll have consumed 460 calories.

[T]here's the rub: Few people appreciate the amount of activity required to compensate for even small amounts of food. To lose 500 calories through exercise would require a daily eight-kilometre walk or run, or an hour of vigorous exercise.

"It's always disheartening to be on the treadmill and be sweating and sweating and sweating, and you realize, this is just 200 calories? It's not even a candy bar," says Amy Luke, an associate professor in the department of preventive medicine and epidemiology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

People can overcompensate for the calories burned during a typical workout before even leaving the gym. The Dairy Farmers of Canada recently began promoting low-fat chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery drink, based on studies suggesting that the protein found in chocolate milk helps recharge muscles.

One 500 ml carton of 1% chocolate milk contains 332 calories.

"For the vast majority of gym-goers that would be about an hour's worth of exercise," says Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an Ottawa doctor who runs an obesity treatment clinic. "So, at best, you're breaking even. At worst, you come out behind."

One of Mark Sisson’s mantras is that “80% of your body composition will be determined by your diet. Yes, exercise is also important to health and to speed up fat-burning and muscle-building, but most of your results will come from how you eat.”
                        
I believe it. Towards the end of Round 2 (which -- as you’ll recall -- involved frequent Insanity sessions), I found myself taking in a lot more food after my workouts. In particular, I was loading up on carbs. I guess this shouldn't have come as a surprise; after all, calorie compensation “can be triggered by particularly intense workouts,” and we're conditioned to crave carbs when we're hungry.

[T]he desire to compensate is … physiological, says Church. "No doubt the body wants to replenish," particularly after a grueling exercise routine.

The widespread availability of calorie-dense, carbohydrate-heavy foods complicates the problem, says Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Many people crave carbohydrates after a workout but, to a degree, that "taste" has been engineered by the marketing of energy bars and drinks packed with sugar, she says. "We've been conditioned, like Pavlov's dogs," says Bonci. "I don't know anyone who really craves a salad after working out."

So after a tough Round 2 session of Max Cardio Conditioning or whatever, I'd often reach for some lavash crackers and slather 'em with peanut butter. I'd eat them along with a banana. And maybe a cheese omelet -- sometimes with toast. And a big handful of nuts. And possibly a protein shake. In my hungry, exercise-addled mind, I'd burned so many calories during my workout that it didn't matter what I decided to eat afterwards.

I was wrong. I put on almost five pounds between the end of Round 1 and Round 2 -- despite doing crazy-intense interval training with Insanity.

With Round 3, I’ve renewed my focus on what I’m eating. No, I’m not counting calories (unlike M, who now has a BodyBugg and is logging all her food into the BodyBugg website with an almost religious zeal), and I'm certainly not depriving myself, but I’ve stopped eating mindlessly after my workouts. In fact, just cutting back my intake of carb-y, calorie-rich grains has made a huge difference; in less than three weeks, I’ve returned to my pre-Round 2 weight -- and I’m no longer hobbling around from too-frequent high-impact Insanity sessions, either.

I’m rambling now, so I’ll stop. But in case you missed it, here's the moral of the story: Exercise is awesome, but if you’re looking to lose weight or stay trim, don’t lose sight of the importance of diet and nutrition.

Still want more info? Check out this post by Nerd Fitness on "How to Lose Weight Without Doing One Minute of Exercise."

Nutty Chocolate Coconut Protein Bars

I've been getting into this Primal Blueprint stuff, so I whipped up some protein bars this weekend, borrowing (and slightly modifying) a recipe from Mark's Daily Apple:

• 1/2 cup (60 g) toasted slivered almonds (Trader Joe's sells 'em, or you can toast some almonds yourself in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally)
• 1/2 cup (42 g) pecans (toasted or not)
• 1/4 cup (15 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup (65 g) almond butter
• 1/4 cup (50 g) coconut oil (available at Whole Foods or your local health food store)
• 1/4 cup (30 g) almond meal (I got some at Trader Joe's, but you can make your own by using a food processor)
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (60 g) protein powder (I used Muscle Milk's Protein+ Chocolate Shake powder)
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened pure cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (75 g) dark chocolate chips (the higher the cocoa content, the better -- shoot for over 60%)

Using a baking sheet, toast the shredded coconut in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring/shaking occasionally. Take the coconut out, but keep your oven on. (You'll need it later.)

While you're toasting the coconut, put the coconut oil and almond butter in a large bowl and nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Take it out and add the vanilla extract and salt. Stir the mixture until smooth.

Pulse the slivered almonds, pecans and toasted coconut in a food processor until they're the consistency of coarse bread crumbs.

Combine these "crumbs" with the almond meal, ground flax seed, protein powder and cocoa powder, and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then, mix in the egg and egg white. Stir in the chocolate chips, too.

Press/flatten the mixture into a 4 by 8 loaf pan, making sure it's evenly distributed. Then stick it in the preheated 325 degree oven for 10 or 12 minutes.

(Optional: After the pan comes out of the oven, sprinkle some more coconut and chocolate chips on top. Place the pan under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the coconut is golden brown.)

Let the pan cool to room temperature, and then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. (The bars hold together better when they're cold.) Cut into 12 pieces.

Each bar is kind of tiny, but chock-full of protein and good fats, low on carbs, and surprisingly filling. Plus, I'm digging the chocolatey, sweet-but-slightly-salty flavor.

The Primal Blueprint & P90X

I'm reading Mark Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint," and while I'm not yet sold on everything in it, I'm finding myself swayed by many of his arguments.

Here are Sisson's Ten Primal Blueprint Laws:

1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals. Enjoy the natural, satisfying foods that fueled two million years of human evolution.
2. Avoid Poisonous Things. Avoid processed foods (sugars, grains, and chemically-altered fats) that are foreign to our genes and make us fat and sick.
3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace. Enhance fat metabolism and avoid burnout by keeping active but taking it easy.
4. Lift Heavy Things. Short, intense sessions of functional, full-body movements support muscle development and delay aging.
5. Sprint Once in a While. Occasional all-out sprints trigger optimal gene expression and beneficial hormone flow.
6. Get Adequate Sleep. Avoid excessive digital stimulation and sync with your natural circadian rhythm for optimal immune, brain, and endocrine function.
7. Play. Balance the stress of modern life with some unstructured, physical fun!
8. Get Adequate Sunlight. Don't fear the sun! Adequate sun exposure helps synthesize vitamin D to ensure healthy cellular function.
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes. Cultivate hypervigilance and risk management to avoid the stupid mistakes that bring "avoidable suffering" to modern humans.
10. Use Your Brain. Engage in creative and stimulating activities to nurture your mental health and overall well-being.

Most of these are fine by me; I've even been following the no-grains-or-legumes policy for the most part, and feel great (but check in with me again the next time I'm offered pizza). In his book and on his website, Sisson goes into a lot of detail about each of his points above, though I've been curious about how Laws 3, 4 and 5 jive with my current crazy patchwork quilt of an exercise program. Today, Sisson explained his perspective on P90X (and CrossFit) on his site:

I get a ton of reader emails about both CrossFit and P90X; in the Primal world, they’re probably the two most popular programs out there. Some people are pleased with their results. They get stronger, fitter, healthier, and better-looking by following them. But others aren’t so happy. These other readers talk about being burnt out, overworked, overtrained, or even injured. As much as I admire both programs and their creators, I think both could be improved upon.

I don't disagree that there's a risk of overtraining or injury with any frequent, intense exercise program, though I also find it interesting that Sisson's writing about the deficiencies of P90X and CrossFit now -- less than two weeks before he launches his own "Primal Blueprint Fitness" workout program on March 17.

But who am I kidding? I'm totally going to check it out.

(Thanks to David K. for pointing me to Sisson's P90X review.)

Yabba Dabba Doo Time

In the Comments section, Ben pointed me to this video of John Durant's appearance on “The Colbert Report”:

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Durant, as you might recall from this post, was featured in a recent New York Times piece about modern cavemen -- strict adherents to the Paleo Diet whose exercise routines emphasize natural movement.

(I especially enjoyed Durant’s jokey description of the perfect girl to share his cave: A meat-eating, lactose intolerant girl with celiac disease. And by the way, did you notice that Durant is wearing Vibram FiveFingers?)

It’s easy to dismiss Durant as just another attention-craving New York hipster glomming onto an obscure fad for the sake of getting noticed. But if you can get past all that, there’s some really interesting stuff beneath the surface. Even if you’re never going to give up eating grilled cheese sandwiches and don’t plan on running through a jungle and pole-vaulting onto a bunch of boulders, we can all learn a little something from the caveman lifestyle.

First, let's start with the article that generated the current mainstream interest in Durant and his fellow modern cavemen: "The New Age Cavemen and the City."

The article quotes Loren Cordain, a professor at Colorado State University and the author of “The Paleo Diet,” who discusses the source of the caveman movement to a 25-year-old New England Journal of Medicine article, which stated that the "diet of our remote ancestors may be a reference standard for modern human nutrition." Cordain offers quite a bit of information on this approach to nutrition on his website, and he's also written a number of books on this subject, including "The Paleo Diet for Athletes," which may be of particular interest to you hardcore P90Xers. In it, he describes "the essential dietary principles for the Paleo Diet for Athletes":

You can eat as much lean meat, poultry, seafood, fresh fruit, and veggies as you like. Foods that are not part of the modern-day Paleolithic fare include cereal grains, dairy products, high-glycemic fruits and vegetables, legumes, alcohol, salty foods, fatty meats, refined sugars, and nearly all processed foods.

There are a number of crucial exceptions to these fundamental rules ... Case in point: Immediately before, during, and after a workout or competition, certain non-Paleo foods should be eaten to promote a quick recovery. During all other times, meals that closely follow the 21st-century Paleolithic diet ... will encourage comprehensive long-term recovery and allow you to attain your maximal performance potential.

Wikipedia features a lengthy article about the paleolithic diet, too.

The New York Times article also mentions Erwan Le Corre, one of the "patriarchs of the paleo movement," who has been called "one of the most all-around physically fit men on the planet." Le Corre is the founder of a survival-based physical discipline called MovNat. Here's a video of Le Corre doing his thing:



Last year, Le Corre was profiled in Men's Health magazine by Christopher McDougall. The article, entitled "A Wild Workout for the Real World," is an engrossing read. McDougall, who's best known for writing the bestselling "Born to Run" (the book that first got me and just about everyone else hooked on barefoot running), visited Le Corre's training base in the Brazilian rainforest, and after three days, ran a 12-station obstacle course in the jungle, "springing up into trees, contorting through the branches, and shinnying down 15-foot poles."

[Le Corre] has us hoisting heavy logs on end and flipping them, top over bottom, up a hill. He has us crawling around stakes in the ground and snaking on our bellies beneath an overturned dugout canoe mounted a few inches off the ground. Even a small cabin comes into play: He has us vaulting through one window and out the other.

As I approach the end of my second lap, I have only two obstacles left -- a leap from the porch and then a quick climb up a 20-foot pole braced between the ground and a branch high in a tree. I'm trying not to show it, but I'm on the verge of grinning with pride. Two days ago, my heart was in my throat before every jump. Now, after just 72 hours, I feel unstoppable.

As McDougall's article points out, Le Corre's MovNat is based on Méthode Naturelle, an approach to survival fitness pioneered by Georges Hébert at the turn of the last century. Hébert's teachings greatly influenced the development of parkour and freerunning.

And to tie all of this back to P90X, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Mark Sisson -- the P90X supplement creator who pops up in those post-workout commercials for overpriced Beachbody supplements -- is the author of "The Primal Blueprint," a diet book rooted in paleo concepts. You can read more about it on Sisson's blog.

Some think that eating and running like our prehistoric ancestors is stupid and weird. To them, it's just a fad -- a momentary, knee-jerk throwback that ignores all the progress we've made as a species. But clearly, there are those who believe that technology -- including processed foods (even grains) and highly-engineered footwear -- are getting in the way of true human potential.

I, for one, am not about to ditch grains and dairy altogether (although I'm largely abstemious of both already). Plus, I'm naturally risk-averse, and you won't find me heaving large rocks while balancing on a tree branch. But I am considering whether to reasonably fit some paleo concepts (e.g., limiting intake of grains and dairy, focusing on functional exercise, etc.) into my diet and fitness routine.

Post-Workout Carbs?

You know how the P90X Nutrition Guide tells you to ingest a relatively high-carb drink or meal immediately after your workout to boost your recovery?

This concept's already been disavowed by Mark Sisson -- the guy who created the P90X Recovery Drink -- and now, a group of scientists are backing him up, having concluded that low-carb post-workout meals are better at boosting your metabolism, energy level, and general health.

After a round of aerobic (active movement) exercise, eating a lower-carb meal helps the body store sugar from your bloodstream in muscles and other tissues, making more energy available for your life, and your next exercise, if you're fairly regular about it. The side benefit is a generally improved metabolism, and a means of helping avoid insulin insensitivity, a pre-condition that often leads to diabetes.

As part of a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers fed one of three meals to test subjects after 90 minutes of exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike. One was relatively balanced between carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and had a moderate amount of calories. One was otherwise balanced, but scaled back on the carbs. A final meal was lower-calorie, but had a higher amount of carbs. The results:

In all three exercise sessions, researchers say there was a trend for an increase in insulin sensitivity. But when the participants ate the low-carbohydrate meal following exercise, it increased their insulin sensitivity even more.

In your FACE, P90X Nutrition Guide!

Check It Out: The Primal Blueprint

Remember Mark Sisson, the guy responsible for all the P90X supplements? You know – this guy:

Sisson's not just a supplement designer. He's also the author of “The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health and Boundless Energy” and runs an informative health and nutrition website called “Mark’s Daily Apple.”

His book and blog focus primarily on the benefits of evolutionary fitness and nutrition – the concept that, from an evolutionary and biological standpoint, high-carb diets eaten around the world today are not suitable for optimal human nutrition. Rather, we should revert to a simpler, more “primal” approach to diet and exercise: Eat mostly animals and plants, lift heavy stuff and move around (frequently and slowly, with an occasional sprint) like our ancestors did. According to Sisson, low carb is the way to go; we’ve been poisoned by modern food – including not just processed snacks and fast food, but also grains, sugars and chemically-altered fats.

(For a more detailed review of “The Primal Blueprint” from another P90Xer, check out Jeff Pickett’s excellent fitness blog, Life Isn’t Over.)

I’ve come to really enjoy Sisson’s site, and I subscribe to a lot of what he's said about nutrition in “The Primal Blueprint.” (It’s also great that he’s a fellow barefoot running and Vibram FiveFingers enthusiast.) Especially in my first month of P90X, a super-low-carb diet was the catalyst for a significant change in my body composition. I’m a firm believer in eating whole, unprocessed foods whenever possible, and I’m perfectly happy eating salads (with some protein: meat, nuts, beans, etc.) for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

BUT (and this is a pretty big BUT):

The “Primal Eating Plan” is totally anti-grains, which poses a problem for me. As Sisson puts it in his “Definitive Guide to Grains”:

The bottom line is this: grains = carbs. Unnecessary at best, but flat out unhealthy at worst, they’re not the wholesome staples they’re made out to be. Talk about double taxation: Our bodies pay for what our trusty government subsidizes Big Agra for. The best – really the only way – to achieve a low carb, whole foods diet is to ditch the grains. (Your body will be better off without inflammation, the insulin roller coaster, not to mention the constant onslaught of creepy gluten and lectins.) A diet very low or entirely without grains (low-carb) has been shown to decrease risk for problems associated with diabetes, to lower blood pressure, alleviate heartburn symptoms, and shed abdominal fat. Finally, low carb diets have been associated with significant “reductions in a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules.”

One of the selling points of “The Primal Blueprint” is that it encourages you to simplify – to stop worrying about calorie counting or tightly-scripted exercise routines. But by effectively banning grains outright, Sisson actually makes it a lot harder to stick to the “Primal Eating Plan.” It hurts my head to think of the planning and forethought required to come up with a substitute for our pizza-loving kids, or the pain of having to scoop out the insides of a burrito to avoid eating a whole wheat tortilla.

I’m no expert, so I can’t speak to whether Sisson’s vehement arguments against grains are scientifically valid or not. But regardless, I don’t think that I can – or want to – eliminate grains altogether from my diet. It's just not realistic. I’ve already drastically limited my consumption of carbs over the past half-year; cutting added sugar almost entirely out of my diet and loading up on bananas and whole grains only after a hard morning workout. Grains help keep me from bonking when I push myself hard while working out. And besides, they fucking taste good.

[UPDATE: I eventually gave up grains. Really.]

One last note about Sisson, "The Primal Blueprint" and P90X:

“The Primal Blueprint” suggests that even those carbs that are ingested immediately after a workout should be avoided. But didn’t Mark Sisson create and help market the P90X Recovery Drink, which happens to be loaded with carbs?

Sisson’s response is a bit surprising – particularly because he now appears to be disavowing his own creation, and distancing himself from the claims he made in Beachbody's advertisements:

I did design the P90X post-workout shake. My main “business” is actually designing supplements, which I have done for several companies including my own. In the case of the P90X shake, I was contacted to design a product line to meet their particular demographic and price specs. At the time of design, the main challenge was to refill muscle glycogen immediately after a relatively longer and harder workout such that you could be ready to go again the very next day, so the main exercise premise deviated from PB [The Primal Blueprint]. Also, the diet being espoused by P90 staff dietitians was a higher carb diet, so I had to create something that would give the carb-burners a continuous source of muscle glycogen.

The prevailing technology at the time was to combine 80% carb and 20% protein, which I did using mainly fructose. I added antioxidants and creatine along with a few other recovery assists and made it the best tasting drink on the market. I appeared in their advertising at first as part of the deal, but I am no longer affiliated with the P90X program. Apparently, my interviews are still being used by P90 and there’s nothing I can do about that. Obviously, technology has changed in the years since that product was designed and I personally don’t follow a [post-workout] carb-loading strategy.

I'm no fan of Beachbody's P90X supplements, but that’s pretty different from what he was saying a few years ago: