Leading into this post, I promised myself that I wouldn’t try to dissuade people from running marathon(s) or any long distance races. I already do that plenty in other posts, so today’s is geared toward the folks that simply are going to run a marathon or marathons, regardless of what I say. I know these people exist because I used to be one. Running a marathon can be a huge bucket-list accomplishment. With that in mind, when people write in to ask me about training for a marathon, I think about what I would do in that situation knowing what I know now. How would I train to do the least damage and get the most benefit? Truth is, if I put my mind to it, and you had elite level potential, I could most likely train some of you to win the thing outright, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is about finishing the race without embarrassing and/or hurting yourself. It’s about accomplishing something big, something special. It’s about training for a decent, respectable showing in a marathon. One (or two, or three if you must) and done.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how becoming an efficient fat-burner helps mitochondrial function, and last week I went over some of the nutrients and supplements most important for your mitochondria. All good and all useful, but today I’m going to talk about another route: exercise. It makes intuitive sense that mitochondria are profoundly affected by exercise, doesn’t it? They are the power plants of the cells (and that goes for muscle cells), they are the organelles that convert fat, protein, and glucose into usable energy – and continuously producing ample amounts of cellular energy to lift heavy things, run really fast (or really far at a slower pace), or jump high is what exercise is all about. What I like about exercise is that it’s an entirely self-contained lifestyle modification. Modifying your energy pathways from sugar to fat and obtaining certain nutrients requires eating different foods and different amounts of those foods, and supplementing (obviously) requires taking supplements. But exercise is entirely up to you. If you want to. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one. And an empowering one, if you ask me.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Gym class was not a great time for me.
To understand exactly how painful grade school PE was back in my day, you must experience “Go, You Chicken Fat, Go.” Back in early 1960s, PE was all about preparing for and passing the Presidential Fitness Test, which was JFK’s youth fitness standards. “Go, You Chicken Fat, Go” was a ridiculous song written expressly for the Presidential challenge and sung by a guy named Robert Preston. Every single day during PE class, we did calisthenics as it blasted over the PA system on repeat. We’d do pushups, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, chinups, all while listening to this masterpiece – I think I’m finally realizing why I hated strength training and gravitated toward long distance endurance events for the bulk of my youth! We occasionally got to play dodgeball, and those were good days. Head shots were allowed and even encouraged. No PC stuff anywhere.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Mark’s Daily Apple readers Joanne and Ed submitted this Primal Blueprint Fitness video as their entry to this year’s Primal Blueprint Workout Video contest. This is one in a series of recipe videos, workout videos, Grokfeasts and other contest submissions that will be published all week long. View them all and vote for your favorites later this week. Grok on!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Mark’s Daily Apple reader Suz submitted this Primal Blueprint Fitness video as her entry to this year’s Primal Blueprint Workout Video contest. This is one in a series of recipe videos, workout videos, Grokfeasts and other contest submissions that will be published all week long. View them all and vote for your favorites later this week. Grok on!
Posted By: Mark Sisson
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