I mention the distinction between thriving and surviving quite often on this blog, but I’m not sure I make it often enough, or explicitly. So, here it is: surviving is not thriving. There’s a massive difference, and though the two states of being ideally concur, we too often conflate the two as a rule, to our ultimate detriment. In my opinion, life’s true barometer is experience gained, rather than raw time accrued. What’s the point of living to a ripe old age if you never taste the fruit? Longevity coupled with happiness and experience, good. Sheer longevity for longevity’s sake, miserable, diseased, and decrepit? Bad.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Maybe you’ve found yourself feeling self-conscious on evening walks while five people pass you (perhaps twice) in their best running forms. Perhaps you spent the day at the lake canoeing or hiking around the beach and later felt guilty for not having made it to the gym. Or maybe you’re frustrated having to mow or rake over the weekend because it means giving up workout time in exchange. Message for the day: shed the guilt, forget the self-reproach, and enjoy a little affirmation.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Thanks to the several readers who have pointed out this recent article in SEED Magazine which once again dredges up the tired argument that humans evolved to be long-distance runners. Most of you know by now that I totally disagree with that theory. I say humans evolved to be excellent slow movers (walk, jog, migrate, forage, crawl, scramble, etc) burning mostly fat. We also developed into pretty decent short sprinters, but we did NOT evolve to run long distances. Sure, early humans were all-around fit enough and capable of the occasional long easy jaunt after an animal, but to think that natural selection redesigned our simian shapes to run the Boston Marathon is, in my opinion, ludicrous.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Ideally, we should look forward to exercising. Dreading an integral part of a healthy lifestyle makes falling off the wagon more likely; if you like what you’re doing, you’re more likely to keep it up. The easiest way to achieve this is to incorporate the Primal concept of play into everyday life, whether it’s Ultimate Frisbee, playing with your kids, or going for a hike. Activities like these can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone who’s physically able, and they’re legitimately fun – the perfect disguise for actual exercise. But what about the requisite weight lifting or intense aerobic activity prescribed by the Primal Blueprint? Excepting of course the gluttons for punishment (and there are many among us), it can be difficult to make those fun. Sure, they’re highly rewarding and we always feel better for having worked out, but they can be – by definition – fairly unpleasant.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Thanks to Andrew Rubalcava for this Guest Post! Andrew’s site Go Healthy Go Fit is a newcomer in the health and fitness blogosphere having just started a couple months ago. Be sure to drop by and read Andrew’s interview of me if you haven’t already.
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Everyone has got a different schedule these days. Whether you’re a business person working 9 to 5, a college kid with a varying schedule, or anything in between, eating healthy and staying fit poses the same challenge to any lifestyle or schedule. On my site, Go Healthy Go Fit, I break up different lifestyles by categories that encompass a certain type of schedule. This way you can identify what category best matches your current lifestyle and read about the tips. It’s just about tweaking it to fit your particular schedule. So here are a few helpful tips about staying Primal in any lifestyle!
Posted By: Worker Bee
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