- Many people give me a bizarre look when I tell them not a cheetah, not a horse, lion or tiger can compare to humans when it comes to running. Humans are the greatest runners in the world. This is evident in not only our biology but through flat out physical world observations as well (I know you may still be skeptical so here is some science) . Yes, a cheetah, horse, lion or tiger would beat us out in a full on sprint but we are not meant to be sprinting against other animals, humans were built for the grind. We are built for distance running. If you STILL don't believe me, there has even been recent showings of our running superiority, in 2013 four Kenyans ran down cheetahs that were killing their goats!
- This is where the most badass (in my opinion) and oldest form of hunting comes from it's called, persistence hunting . Let's say for example we are chasing an large herd of Elk, the Elk would undoubtably sprint away from us (for the obvious reasons), but with our superior intellect and physical prowess we could catch one. A 'team' of men so to speak, would work together to ambush and tactfully take down the Elk. Let's say 2-3 men charge the herd while 2-3 are off in a designated area waiting with spears; initially 2-3 men (the runners) pick out an Elk and try to isolate it, they then charge the herd in turn causing panic and one of the Elk to separate itself from the herd and hopefully it will run toward the other men waiting with spears. Whether the spears hit the Elk or not they would then have to follow its tracks for however long it takes us to catch up to it (it would rarely die instantly even if hit). This whole time the animal has put out a massive amount of energy and it begins to overheat (you'd be tired too if you were running from a group of cavemen trying to eat you). Due to this overheating the animal searches for shade or pants constantly to help cool its body. THEY CANNOT DO THIS WHILE RUNNING. Meanwhile, while the animal is trying to recover from exhaustion and overheating, slowly but surely the team is running it down and closing the gap. Unlike the Elk, we can continually run because of our sweat glands which are constantly helping us cool down; our bodies were designed for this kind of persistence. As a few hours pass the men close the gap and the Elk is in their sights, the Elk is still either overheated and exhausted or slowly bleeding out. The Elk, now very tired and overheated or wounded has a lot of trouble walking let alone running, and is in prime condition for the kill.
- My favorite example and my inspiration for deciding to create this work out regime came from The San of the Kalahari Desert (yeah, and people want to say that the Paleo diet is just a 'fad'). The San have been using techniques like persistence hunting for thousands of years, why? BECAUSE IT'S EFFECTIVE. That video (to me at least) further PROVES that we are truly the apex predator, not only are we smarter than every other animal but we are also physically superior (it's also perfect evidence to fight the vegans/vegetarians with when they say humans shouldn't eat meat).
- If you have ever read anything on this blog before then you know I am the kind of person that likes to give reasons, examples, and evidence to why my thinking is the way it is. Well, now that I have got that out of the way let's get to the juicy part, THE WORK OUT! Basically MY training will consist of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA at night during the week and/or light running and KB in the morning and go to work during the day.
- When my week is over and Saturday and Sunday arrive, I change my workouts from my full body Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA training to a 'Caveman' oriented training regime. This is where the high intensity running and weight training come in. I will incorporate sprints, distance running along with strength training. My family has recently adopted a dog, he is a rescue black lab named Tripp. Being that Tripp is my BFF I am going to bring him along and get his ass in shape along with mine. This will add some excitement to what could be a boring workout, it helps myself and Tripp bond (being that I have been at UConn for the last 5 months) which is always great and I simply enjoy his company. Along with Tripp I will have my GF Cassie or a friend with me and we will both switch on and off each workout.
- Here it is, ***we will be on one end of a football field with a 25lbs and 35lbs kettlebells next to me, I'll be facing the opposite endzone right next to Tripp. Cassie will be between the two of us and throw a tennis ball as far as she can and I will be racing Tripp to get to the ball. She can throw it about 60 yards plus what the ball will roll, so lets go with 80 yards. I will be racing Tripp (a FAST dog) to that ball, (this will essentially be me running full clip at an animal and trying to grab it or cut it off from it's herd) but if Tripp grabs that ball before me I have to run 1/2 a mile around the track and do it all over again until I eventually snag the ball at LEAST 3 times. After I hopefully grab the ball for a 3rd time I will jog back to my starting position and swing my kettlebell.
- 10 cleans each arm (35lbs)
- 10 swings each arm (35lbs)
- 1 minute of Russian Twists (35lbs)
- 5 Turkish get-ups each arm (35lbs)
- 2 minutes of KB crunches (35lbs)
- 20 pushups
- 10 clean and presses, each arm (35lbs)
- 10 swings (35lbs)
- I would have run 80-100 yards full sprint about 5-8 times,
- Ran about 1-2 miles between sprints
- Swung the kettlebell for around 10-15 minutes
- Ran 2 miles
- Walked with weights.
- Now, this is a pretty intense work out, it is not supposed to be an exact mimic of the San tribe but it incorporates a lot of what they do (lots of running in short sprints and over long distances, as well as carrying heavy bizarrely weighted objects) and it is always subject to tweaks and changes, I hope to add steel maces, tires, weights/weighted sled and battle-ropes (all in good time) . I will sometimes utilize my training mask which helps to increase cardio and mimics high altitude training (it's not bs, I love it! It really does work).
- High intensity sprints
- Long distance running
- High intensity strength training
- Low intensity strength training
- Slow cool down process
- Lots of Sun
- Functional cardio and strength training
- These workouts are going to be burning a lot of energy, I will change my diet accordingly to how I feel but for a general blueprint here is what my average Saturday would look like...
- Wake up, drink a tall glass of water
- Breakfast: Coffee mixed with 2 tbsp of unsalted kerrygold, 1-2 tbsp of MCT oil
- WORKOUT
- Lunch: Kale & sprout/spinach salad with Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar, 1-2 eggs, glass of water with 1 tbsp of grass-fed collagen, 1 piece of fruit with some cinnamon and local honey
- 2-5PM: Lots of water, sit down, relax, recover
- Dinner: Wild Salmon, sprouts, broccoli, and kale salad with Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar
REST AND SLEEP ARE NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED...
- Sleep, affects everything from tissue repair and muscle building to hormone regulation. When we do not get enough sleep (or if we are really stressed out) the cortisol levels in our blood increase, which in turn creates insulin resistance by pumping glucose throughout the body. Insulin resistance causes weight gain (plus the cortisol telling your body to hold onto some extra fat doesn't help!) along with that, cortisol imbalances as well as lack of sleep lowers the immune system, it becomes more easy to get sick, longer to recover and even takes longer to digest food! Not only that, but believe it or not the ecosystem in your gut, (you know the trillions of bacteria we play host to?!) becomes damaged and it can cause things like digestive issues as well cause some gastrointestinal problems. Lack of sleep can also cause adrenal fatigue which can cause thyroid problems and an even larger host of hormonal imbalances. Many people do not understand the importance of sleep and recovery; you should not be in the gym everyday, your body needs to recover to not only repair itself from the stress you just put on it but to also build muscle and replace damaged tissue with healthy tissue which in turn helps your muscles grow. Recovery and sleep are very important, over training is doing your body a great disservice. This is something hunter-gatherers do. They will have spurts of physical exertion and then take a couple of days to relax, rest, and get plenty of sleep. Stress can wreak serious havoc on the body. Increases in cortisol and imbalances in hormones caused by stress and sleep deprivation is a great way to gain weight and steadily decline in health.
Things that are good to get optimum sleep...
- Sleep, affects everything from tissue repair and muscle building to hormone regulation. When we do not get enough sleep (or if we are really stressed out) the cortisol levels in our blood increase, which in turn creates insulin resistance by pumping glucose throughout the body. Insulin resistance causes weight gain (plus the cortisol telling your body to hold onto some extra fat doesn't help!) along with that, cortisol imbalances as well as lack of sleep lowers the immune system, it becomes more easy to get sick, longer to recover and even takes longer to digest food! Not only that, but believe it or not the ecosystem in your gut, (you know the trillions of bacteria we play host to?!) becomes damaged and it can cause things like digestive issues as well cause some gastrointestinal problems. Lack of sleep can also cause adrenal fatigue which can cause thyroid problems and an even larger host of hormonal imbalances. Many people do not understand the importance of sleep and recovery; you should not be in the gym everyday, your body needs to recover to not only repair itself from the stress you just put on it but to also build muscle and replace damaged tissue with healthy tissue which in turn helps your muscles grow. Recovery and sleep are very important, over training is doing your body a great disservice. This is something hunter-gatherers do. They will have spurts of physical exertion and then take a couple of days to relax, rest, and get plenty of sleep. Stress can wreak serious havoc on the body. Increases in cortisol and imbalances in hormones caused by stress and sleep deprivation is a great way to gain weight and steadily decline in health. 
- Get at least 8 hours
- Black-out shades and a pitch black room
- No lights at all, LED lights are bad to have on during sleep, particularly blue LED lights
- Try to wake up with the Sun , it helps to regulate our circadian rhythm as well as help our bodies produce the proper levels of cortisol.
- Perhaps eat some fat before bed (maybe 1 tbsp of coconut oil) clean fats before bed gives your body a ready supply of energy; even though we are asleep our bodies are going to war. Fats like grass-fed butter, hemp oil, and coconut or MCT oil are all great choices. While asleep our bodies turn the fat into ketones and in turn helps our bodies have fuel to heal itself as well as burn fat.
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