We Were Genetically Designed To Be Lean and Muscular!

We Were Genetically Designed To Be Lean and Muscular!
In the Paleolithic era cavemen and women were lean and muscular. Now if you eat the way you were meant to eat and exercise effectively 4 times per week for 45 minutes per session to achieve this then by the average person your considered a health nut, obsessive, anti-social, too muscular.
I trained a client who is 14% bodyfat and is very attractive and she told me a story that a colleague of hers gave her the shit sandwich which is a compliment followed by an insult saying that her arms were too muscular which I replied "Is she fat?" Client " Come to think of it yes!" Its just a example of CCOJMB, I recommend leaner friends.
Which means Classic Case of Jealous miserable bitch! Want a laugh read about the phenomenon here
Doctors say your healthy if your between 15-20% bodyfat which is the norm based on the average not what is optimal. Well using that logic and the current trend in obesity rates normal will be 20-25% in the future for males.
Optimal is below 9.9% or less for males and 15%-20% for females. Every girl I train is at or below 15% or is working their way towards it without starving themselves or doing endless bouts of cardio and this nonsense about its dangerous to be this lean is just that nonsense.
The reason I am writing this is that our expectations are too low.
If I had followed the nutritional pyramid by the government and set my expectations so low and used my age 43 by the way as an excuse I shouldn't be below 10% but I am and that's working 60 hours a week with a kid and married.
I am not saying how great am I but can you see that if you accept normal that you do not pursue optimal health
I watched a program 'Insight' on SBS about Male Body image and how bodybuilders are obsessed, anti-social (because they don't eat "normal" foods!), that something is wrong with them psychologically according to a psychologist there who was fat and looked sick - Well kiss my arse!
They are making a sweeping generalisations. The true essence of bodybuilding is supreme health and longevity done in a natural way using the best knowledge from the world of functional medicine, results based training methods and education in individualised nutrition.
Bodybuilding doesn't exist in a vacuum its like anything in life. To excel at it or anything for that matter in a competitive sense you need to do what others won't and adopt its lifestyle which can be demanding.From a lifestyle point of view which is were I am at now as I am not competing any more ( though I want to) is that I am healthier and have more energy to do more whether that be in business, family etc
I am not obsessive just passionate.
I love training, being strong and being healthy. I'm not too tired to play with my 2 and half year old son or handle the stresses of business or have time with my wife, I want to maximise life not be average or get by, thats BS.
That's the true attitude of a bodybuilder and just because your a athlete that does not mean you are not a bodybuilder in some way. The weight room is a integral part of sports when done correctly. Notice my disclaimer correctly based on results.
'Insight' focused on the negative associations with steroid use and OTC supplements which I don't recommend (that's another topic), I just want to balance the ledger as it were.
Bodybuilding in its true essence is about strength, health and looking good naked.
What the bloody hell is wrong with that!
"Strength and Honour" from my favourite movie Gladiator if you love training you'll understand the above if not you'll never get it.

GMO Foods Scary. Is Organic Food Really Expensive?

Australia has very lax laws regarding food labellings and especially in the area of Genetically Engineered Organisms or GMO. Did you know that there is research showing that animals fed a mixture of GMO and natural foods in a bowl ate the natural food and discarded the GMO food!
Another study fed rats GMO tomatoes, well they rejected the tomatoes to the point of starvation then and only then did they eat them!
In the book Seeds of Deception by Jeffery Smith he goes on how the rats fed GMO food developed tumors, developed abnormalities in the liver, brain, testicles and immune systems. He highlights Dr. Arpad Pusztai's research on the matter in the first chapter. He did this research from a $3 million dollar government grant from United Kingdom on the safety of GMO foods.
Want to read more
Which brings me to the argument about eating Organic. Does it cost more? Yes but is it worth it? There are two types of people in the world those who make excuses and those that don't. Am I that dogmatic about people of course not just highlighting a point.
In Denmark a supermarket chain took the punt to only have Organic foods they became the leaders in their market. In turn the farmers had to change their methods to organic and the prices went down as demand grew. In Australia I'd rather spend money on organic food than a Carbon tax! A carbon tax I have no control how that tax is being spent to improve the health of our kids. Changing the big Supermarkets attitude to supplying organics which would naturally follow on to the farmers is a better shift of our expenses which will help the health of our children for generations.

What you appreciate APPRECIATES! The grateful log

Want to sleep better?
Want more of your goals to fruit easier?
The grateful log is a simple yet effective tool
Before bed simply reflect on the things your grateful for
I am exhausted before bed, so usually I collapse but I reflect over my day
What did I learn new today?
Who did I help today?
Who did something good for me today?
This sets me up to think positive before bed but it also subconsciously says that the world is conspiring in helping me out. It's something I want to teach to my son as soon as possible.
Then I go through in my mind thinking about all the things I am grateful for now like my wife, son, clients etc
And if I have something I want to manifest into my life I say what I am grateful for in the future
OK I can hear the scientific brains switch off. Well if you think like that do the experiment for a month then evaluate the results do not predict your data!
Costs you nothing but sound sleep and a tranquil mind.
While on the topic sleep is extremely understated as a fat loss agent!
There is a phrase in the bible that goes " those that have will be given more but those that don't even what they have will be taken away" don't quote me verbatim on that but I understand it now - WHAT YOU APPRECIATE APPRECIATES = Focus on what you have and you will be given more.
Whats this got to do with strength and health?
Everything, you see the way you view the world determines to a large extent your success in the gym, office or any endeavor

Want to increase your vertical jump

You can increase your vertical jumping height 1 to 2 inches immediately after stretching your hip flexors for 5 minutes.
Why is it so?
To activate your hip extensors at their maximum you must have flexible hip flexors so they won't decelerate your jumping ability.
So stretch those hip flexors
This will also help you in the weight room too, for example squatting.

DHA - Strength, Insulin, Pregnancy, Brain,....................

Want to increase your strength in a 1 to 2 week period?
High dose DHA I'm talking 3grams three times per day of this particular Omega 3 fatty acid. You see DHA improves the link between white muscle fibers and the brain. It also helps mitigate better insulin sensitivity and should be taken by women before, during and after pregnancy as the fetus needs DHA for brain development. A lot of women get 'baby brain' after pregnancy, they can't concentrate as well as they used to. A large reason is because their child has exhausted or used up a significant amount of their DHA stores.
Is it safe to use this much DHA? Well there is a theory that the caveman had 300-400grams of omega 3's per week by eating the brains from carcasses left over from fights they had. The animals would fight, scavengers would devour the carcass and the caveman came out of his cave, cracked open the skulls and ate the Omega 3 rich brain which enabled their own brain to evolve to the present day size. If it was good for the caveman then I think its pretty safe for us!

Fat and Happy? Well lets look a little closer

Last BioSignature course I had a phrase ring in my ear from Poliquin "If your obese your depressed!"
People who are obese have low levels of neuropeptide y the molecule linked to motivation
When neuropepetide-y increases leanness increases.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is the most abundant neuropeptide in the brain and is known to be an extremely potent stimulator of feeding behavior.
Fish oil increases serotonin and neuropeptide y. Typically 3 weeks of high dose fish oil gets obese clients out of depression and their nueropeptide y increases which increases motivation.
So its a good idea to give a obese person high dose fish for 3 weeks before getting them to embark on a lifestyle to change their behaviour for fat loss.
The biggest users of anti-depressant in the world are found in Ireland and England and they also have the lowest consumption of Omega 3's in the word. I love it when Poliquin says "People who are depressed don't have a Prozac deficiency"
Interpretation (well the voice in my head) - listen you dumb GP's look at what caused them to be depressed first and give them a natural solution don't just dish out pharmaceuticals willy nilly because you get a kick back or are too lazy to read.
The typically lean, mean and healthy caveman consumed 300-400g of Omega 3's per week!
Today the typical modern man is lucky to get 3-4g per week.