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Kickin' It Old School

Monday starts the new challenge of kickin' it old school. 2 million years-ish old school to be more exact descriptive.

I'm talking about the 30 day Paleo Challenge that just began at my CrossFit gym.

"What is paleo," you might be wondering. The word Paleo is short for Paleolithic, as in the paleolithic era.Think cavemen.

The Paleo diet is more than just a fad diet (it has to be, it's been around for more than 2 million years). It's a way of living.

Man, as he has evolved today, has survived for millions of years (I know, I know, I'm repeating myself, but seriously if it's been around this long it can't be bad) on a diet of food items that can be hunted or gathered. Basically, if you can kill it, pick it off a tree or pick it up out of the ground, you can eat it.

The video below does a pretty good job of describing what foods are Paleo friendly.



Another part of the Paleo diet is exercise. Cavemen didn't run 26.2 miles a day to get their exercise (unless being chased by a predator). More likely, they got their exercise in short spurts by hunting their foods, climbing through perilous terrain, lifting rocks, etc. I am not recommending you go out to a local rock quarry and start throwing rocks and granite slabs around. I like to think we have evolved a little over the last two million years...

CrossFit is perfect for the Paleo lifestyle because exercise is based on high intensity, functional movements. In short, you get a bad@$$ workout in a short period of time.

The 30 Day Paleo Challenge is based on a point system. Meals, exercise and sleeping habits all have an impact on the outcome of the challenge. Additionally, there are three baseline workouts that are performed to compare your level of fitness before and after the challenge.

Max Deadlift: 163 lbs (Current)
Mile Run: Completing on Wednesday
Helen: 15:01;.75 pood Kettlebell, #4 & #1 Band on the Pull-ups

To prepare for the challenge, I've purchased two cookbooks (Paleo Comfort Foods and The Paleo Solution); a boat load of raw nuts; grass-fed, organic beef, pork and chicken; cage free eggs (which I already ate, anyway); and a bunch of organic fruit. It actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be!

Then today on my way home from the gym, I stopped by the Good Earth Natural Foods Company and grabbed some more organic, farm fresh vegetables that I couldn't find at BJ's or Giant. How awesome is that? I get to eat healthy and support the local farmers. I love it!

I cannot wait to share some of my favorite recipes with you and my progress and how amazing I feel on this new part of my healthy journey.


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