Download a transcript of this episode
Topics:
- [4:35] Straight Bar Muscle-Ups: Training Movement or Goal
- [12:36] Peeling Sweet Potatoes
- [15:11] High Temperature and Stress
- [23:49] What To Eat After Donating Blood
- [25:41] Colloidal Silver
- [28:50] Aversion To Eating Meat and Vasovagal Syncope
- [34:11] How To Exercise With a Herniated Disc
- [42:32] Women Getting Bulky
- [49:56] Eyesight, Vision, and Myopia
Questions:
1. Is the straight-bar muscle-up an effective training movement, or just a training goal?
Erik says:
Robb and/or Greg,
I’ve become a big fan of doing straight-bar muscle-ups, usually performed in ladders of 1/2/3 reps. Is this worthwhile to include in my regular routine? In your opinions, could they replace or at least partially displace pull-ups and dips? Or is it just something you do every now and then to track progress and prove you can still do it, rather than being an effective training tool in and of itself?
I’ll incorporate them and see how things work out, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
2. Peeling sweet potatoes?
Four Lokavore says:
I know why you’re supposed to peel potatoes, but I also know that sweet potatoes are only distantly related. It makes sense that they would still carry toxins and so on in the skin, but what’s the actual deal here? Should I keep peeling my sweet potatoes or is this unnecessary?
3. High temperature and stress
Joe says:
Hi Robb and Greg, keep up the podcast! You guys joke that you’ve been doing it ‘too long” but it’s seriously my favorite paleo podcast and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks so. Robb, btw, get Mat Lalonde back on the show sometime, he said on a recent podcast he “changed his mind” on legumes and if you know what he means by that I’d love to hear what he has found.
So now my question, hope this makes it to the podcast! On wikipedia under the Sauna article it states that it can reduce stress overall but it raises your cortisol levels temporarily as a reaction from the heat exposure. I assume the same goes for Bikram hot yoga, which only half way through at 45 minutes i’m drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. My body runs hot after bikram yoga, like for 4-6 hours after my face is flush, my circulation is good and I feel overall pretty warm.
So what’s the deal? What’s your take on stressing the body and at the same time de-stressing the mind? Does this mean my body is stressed the hell out and it might not be a good idea to do this more than 2-3 times a week along with weight training 1-2 times a week? I’m 6’2″, 210lbs at about 12-15% BF. I was told I move like a bodybuilder at Yoga and I’ve taken that as a sign I need to regain some flexibility.
4. What to eat after donating blood?
Kris says:
Hi Rob,
I love your podcast and have been a faithful follower of the Paleo diet for almost a year now. My question revolves around what Paleo-friendly gluten free snacks you would recommend after donating blood. I try to donate blood once every 3 months or so. When my donating is complete, I’m encouraged to drink cranberry juice cocktail or sugar-filled pop and eat glutenous cookies or crackers to get my blood sugar up. What Paleo-friendly foods would your recommend for this occasion?
Thanks,
5. Collidal Silver
Laura says:
Hello!
My family has been making/using Collidal Silver for years and the positive benefits have far outweighed any touted negative effects all over the internet. I was wondering if you could review CS, as I am weary of taking it.
6. She Doesn’t Like Meat?!?
Matt says:
Hey Cavemen (Greg gets honorary status),
It’s true. My girlfriend doesn’t like meat. I have been trending towards the Paleo diet for awhile now, going the more healthy than fried chicken->Zone->Paleo route, and am trying to get her to pick up on the trend. Imagine me standing in the kitchen, preaching the multiple boons of such a diet, when she drops the hammer with, “I actually don’t like meat.” My response: what DO you eat??
She sticks to this line so much that she recently spent a year on a vegetarian diet, but went off of it on the New Year. Being the supporting man that I should be (even if the devil in me curdles at the prospect of missing out on steaks and bacon for that long), I rejoiced quietly over her decision to return to the world of sanity, and have been trying to subtetly slip her back towards the Paleo realm. However, I don’t think that it will be the easiest trip in the world. And while there seems to be a particular hatred of red meat, all meats are under fire.
Here’s the kicker: she also has Neurocardiogenic Syncope (a.k.a. Vasovagal Syncope). Without enough water, I can find her passed out in the grass like she suddenly decided that walking was a fad in need of dismissing. Any amount of moderately hard effort leaves her on the brink of going “lights out.” This is scary for the both of us, and frustrating for her as something as simple as a trail bike ride can cause an issue.
So here are my questions: Is there any way that I can introduce a taste of meat to her so that she might find a tolerance of it? It will probably be through her feeling less of the effects of her heart condition, which leads me to my next question: is there any particular focus that should be taken when eating Paleo for someone with this issue?
Some other stats: she is 5’10”, 120lbs and generally has no issues with eating “healthy” as defined by her dietician mother. It’s a start, but there is still a ways to go.
7. Paleo BJJ roller with a herniated disc dude this sucks PULLUPS and what else?
Ben says:
Hey Greg and Robb,
My question: What would you recommend as a good home fitness program for someone who has a herniated L5 disc?
I’m a 32 year old male, lean and very active. I’m in good shape – never get sick, feel good all the time, sleep 8-9 hours daily, smile a lot, blah blah. I practice BJJ usually 5 times per week. BJJ is pretty much a huge part of my life. All that stopped on 12/5 when I lifted my cast iron skillet at home in my kitchen (in other words I wasn’t doing anything strenuous at all) and all the sudden I had acute lower back pain. I hung tough with the pain, stopped all training and just lived quietstyle for two weeks hoping it’d repair itself. No luck.
I finally went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life. Nice enough guy. He gave me an Xray, and while as you prolly know Xrays don’t show soft tissue, looking at the vertebrae on the Xray you can clearly see that two of them are sandwiched hella tight; meaning that the soft tissue disc in there is squeezed and bulging, which is putting pressure on my nerves which is giving me pain. I’ll be getting an MRI in about one week but nevertheless I’m starting 3 months’ of “decompression” treatment on a DRX machine with this Chiro. Feel free to chime in with any opinions you may have regarding this. (if you’re not familiar with this thing – it seems like it’s a machine that essentially holds your hips in one place while kind of pulling your upper body away from them, thus putting your spine into traction)
Essentially if I put my spine into flexion I’m in pain and have no strength to do anything. I can walk around, sit in a chair and lie in my bed with little problems so day to day life is more or less OK. I can not do anything dynamic – so I can not train at all. Frankly speaking this is hitting me hard on a spiritual/emotional/whatever level because the endorphin-release/whatever from the BJJ, the comradarie, etc I get from my training I feel is crucial to what allows me to be the chipper, positive person that I hopefully am in the rest of my life. I digress.
Trying to turn lemons to lemonade I’ve been starting to view this as a challenge. I’ve been thinking of things I can do at home that, once this is all done, will bring me back even stronger than I was before. I’ve been doing at home pull-ups (luckily I’ve always had a bar in my home) and plain old pushups to maintain and I’m feeling fine doing those. I started a program to improve my pull-ups so this is already fun and a beginning challenge. Just wondering what you would do if you were in this situation. I’ve been strict paleo for two years. Food is no problem for me: love paleo, love starch. Meat and potatoes (and some green stuff) never went out of style.
I’ve written in twice over the years and you’ve answered both questions so thanks very much for that.
My question: What would you recommend as a good home fitness program for someone who has a herniated L5 disc?
PS: greg, you’re a good co-host. Dry, witty – you keep it from going too far off the rails.
8. Women bulking up
Daryl says:
Greggy Greggy bo beggy banana fana fo feggy, fee fi mo meggy, Greggy!
Hiyah Greg! I have a question that may or may not completely annoy you.
Nothing gets my goat more than all the weightlifters and Cross Fitters alike who say “women don’t bulk.” Sure, women may not gain proportionately as a guy would, but women still do, right?
Still…I listened, I believed, I tried. I started lifting weights to test this notion. I focused on lots of dumbbell full-body exercises taken out of “The New ME Diet,” and the exercises seemed innocent enough…nothing to that of picking up a huge barbell. Well, low and behold, one day I noticed my shirt sleeves were fitting a little tighter…then I started getting comments on how buff I was looking. Err…not what I was expecting.
So here’s the question. I would like a healthy discussion on the relative idea that “women don’t bulk up,” and let me also ask what proper protocol would be for a female looking to add strength while maintaining a slimmer figure? Is my question confusing? I basically want to be fit while not looking bulked–even the female version of bulked.
Bonus question: What about testosterone dominance? Can that be problematic in this context?
9. Myopia
Nick says:
Robb,
First off I want you to know that I have not made it through all of your podcasts yet. I am on 34 and I started listening/following a couple of months ago. If this topic is already covered then I apologize for wasting your time.
In the subject of myopia. I am having a hard time understanding myopia and hyperopia. These two conditions make no sense from an evolutionary standpoint in my opinion. One would think that a genetic defect of the eyes would have been phased out due to our need to hunt, gather, identify threats and terrain. This leads me to think that these conditions are only a recent event and is caused by environmental sources. If this is true then it could be safe to say that these conditions can be prevented and hopefully reversed.
Do you know if nutrition can do this or am I completely off base on this? If this is something that can be reversed what steps should be taken before I or anyone for that matter would throw in the towel and get LASIK or accept the fact that bad eyes are always going to be bad eyes?
Thanks Robb for your time!
Great show as always, guys. I kind of chuckled at the mention of colloidal silver products. We have a couple of people around here with argyria who are, kid you not, BLUE. They have blue skin. Really. Nice folks, tho…
I’d like to mention that at the wound healing center where I work, we do use quite a bit of products containing ionic silver like Silvasorb gel, Melgisorb absorptive dressings, etc. BUT, if the wound is actively infected we always combine that with antibiotics, both topical and systemic. Topically applied, silver products are antimicrobial for several days and are effective against MRSA and other MDROs (multi-drug resistant organisms).
To my knowledge there are only two microbes that have been capable of developing resistance to the action of the Ag+ ion, and they must be babied in labs. You’ll also find silver in IV lines, foleys, Endotracheal tubes, and other medical supplies. Again, not to fight existing infection, but to prevent one in the first place.
That said, don’t drink the sh!t out of a bottle of colloidal silver, you’ll turn blue, and I’m pretty sure there’s some heavy metal toxicity that comes with ingesting that much silver. Make one what that does to their normal skin and gut flora…
Tom
CHT
There’s a huge difference between applying it to skin microbes and ingesting it. Ag+ can actually kill keratinocytes which are a type of skin cell. Typically, people who apply silver to their skin will have less infection but also longer recovery time because of skin cell death. It just shocks me that people are willing to ingest a substance they know very little about. Its not like a supplement such as whey protein which has been studied for YEARS. This type of silver treatment (collodial, Ag0 nanoparticles) is still very new and unregulated.
How much did it cost Robb to rent the giant empty warehouse where this was recorded?
Another note on the myopia: I read in one of my school text books (I’ll dig it out later and cite it) that there is a high positive correlation between children that have/had nightlights in their bedroom and children with myopia.
This makes sense for me personally because I’ve never fallen asleep easily and can remember laying awake in bed and staring at my nightlight or any point of light outside my window for as long as it took me to get sleepy. I’ve worn glasses for nearsightedness since I was 16 and probably needed them since I was 7. I know, it’s correlation not causation but it’s interesting all the same.
I read an article awhile ago hypothesizing that sunlight into the eyes of kids was protective against myopia, which would also be consistent with the “newness” of myopia. I do think reading a lot might be a factor…in my n=4 experiment (my 3 sisters and I) the two of us who are big readers are the ones who have myopia. Not sure if that’s because of focusing short too often or sunlight or even general sibling gene variation, but it’s interestin because we ate the same food and lived in the same house with the same parents.
I got PRK and it is freaking awesome. So sci-fi! Go for it, but be sure to pick a good Dr with a lot of experience. That is definitely something to not go for the biggest bargain on!
Hilarious innuendo in this podcast. Love it.
Regarding DRX spinal decompression: my wife had severe, chronic lower back pain lasting several years. Nothing seemed to work — except DRX decompression. Took 3 months, and a lot money, but it worked for her. She went from an 8-9/10 of pain during nearly all walking hours before the DRX treatment to 0-1/10 of pain now after the treatment.
epic echo on the laughing makes you guys sound evil. awesome!
Thanks for the Tuesday morning Paleo chi. Once a week, it’s all I ask. 🙂
On the subject of myopia, there have been some recent research linking myopia to a lack of exposure to sunlight during childhood. Here are some links to a few articles on the topic:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sunlight-myopia/#axzz1ncWg4Xli
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/4140371/Spending-time-in-sun-can-prevent-children-becoming-short-sighted.html
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/12/05/2110197.htm?topic=health
I’m doing my PhD on the effects of silver on bacteria…its scary how much people take without even knowing what it does. I hope no one takes it!!
Anyone have a link to the recent Matt Lalonde interview mentioned?
thanks
Thank you Greg for clearing up the reps and sets volume to add mass. People look at me awkward when I try to make them understand this.
Robb/Greg what do you think about Kettlebell swings for a least-time/max-benefit exercise to improve/protect hip flexiblity by working glutes and abs?
Wife and I had four kids in six years and another one comin’ (guess you could say my hips are _somewhat_ flexible) so getting back to the gym is a long-lost dream for now.
To that end I recently picked up Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell and it seems to be helping. RightPsoas is still disproportionately tighter than I’d like it to be but is better thanks to his flexor stretch. Would love any tips that might ease that bad boy up a bit.
Couple of points…
*Standing desk, I have heard you, Robb, allude frequently to the amount of time you sit hunched over a computer at a desk – like neolithic man. I was wondering why you haven’t made the transition to a standing desk? or have you tried it and it not your thing?
*sweet potato skins, I have found, like corn I cant digest the skin of sweet potatoes, so I have peeled them pretty much exclusively regardless of other factors.
….and because of you I now consume quite a lot of them!
*lastly “telomere degradation” when you said that in the podcast. I thought it was a great name for a rock band 🙂
I’ve tinkered with the standing desk… just not as productive. I think it’s the ADD in me. Soln is gettign up frequently and learnign to turn off the damn computer and do other stuff.
TD would indeed be a kick-ass band name!
Ref: the herniated disc question I had this exact same issue happen to me at exactly the same age in exactly the same sport and I fixed it by finding and applying the McKenzie Method which focuses on extension stretches, stabilizing exercises and improvements in posture. I recommend he get McKenzie’s book asap. My condition was severe as I has drop foot and 2 herniated discs and a spine surgeon said I would need surgery. In my opinion the McKenzie Method is for low back issues what the Paleo Diet is for health.
I vaguely recall Greg and Robb listing out all the weightlifting books that inspired them in this episode, but may be confusing it for another episode. I checked Tools > Amazon Shop, but was unable to find any books on weightlifting. Does anyone, by chance, recall some of the titles?
I’m disappointed in your answer to the second question. I was really hoping to hear more thoughts on what HEAT does to the body. The question mentioned sauna benefits and Bikram (HOT) yoga. I’d love to know if you think intentional exposure to heat via saunas, steam rooms, bikram yoga, etc. is beneficial. I know that I feel good after such activities. But what is the science? Is it truly detoxifying, good for the cardiovascular system, and immune system like so many sources say?
You are disappointed… because I did not affirm the pre-conceived notion you brought to the table? I said exactly what it is, a hormetic stressor. If you do not know what that is:http://bit.ly/xTbxSa
so, now I’ll clarify my answer to you and I suspect you will STILL be disappointed, but here goes: The “detox” story…exactly HOW is that supposed to work? Via sweat? Unless the substances are water soluble, that’s nto going to happen. Our detoxification pathways work just fine if we feed them adequate protein, get some sleep and exercise. GOOD LIVING is good for the immune system.
I think that it is interesting about the nicotine/firefighter phenomenon. I have been an asthmatic (standard AND exercise induced) since I was 6 months old. Well, 5 years ago I quit smoking (bravo! go me!) and my asthma got EXPONENTIALLY worse. I had to start using a nebulizer and actually take daily medication for my asthma for the first time in my life.
My doctors were surprised that I had such a negative reaction to quitting smoking in regards to my asthma–it got so much worse–and I just chalked it up to coincidence. And now I know that the nicotine was probably relieving my bronchoconstriction due to the asthma.
Enlightened! Thank you.
What about setting up a blog on your own domain? Also, is it a good idea to have a comment section similar to yours?
really hilarious, absolutely awrsome podcast.
waiting for more 🙂