The Prize:
Do you get tired of seeing the same seven shots of me across the top of this blog? Want to see yourself up there instead? Now’s your chance. Take a fitness photo, and if it’s good enough, it will be added to the rotation of header images for the rest of the Primal Challenge.
Other than being able to gloat to your friends that your photo is plastered on top of my blog, I’m also sending everyone in the photo a free Grok shirt. And for all the female Groks out there who have been emailing me about the lack of lady-shirts, I’ll be coming out with a couple new designs in the next week or so, and the winners of this contest will have first dibs.

The Contest:
Take a fitness photo. What’s a fitness photo? It’s a picture that in some way represents an aspect of Primal Fitness. Whether moving […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

So you’ve committed to Avoiding Poisonous Things for 30 days. You read the articles from yesterday’s post, cleaned out your pantry and fridge and are ready to get Primal. Now what? After Out With the Old comes in with the new, of course, so it’s time to do some shopping. I want you to fill your kitchen with food that Grok would recognize. These are the foods that the human body is meant to consume. The foods that give us energy and vitality, that make us lean and support our immune systems for a long, healthy and happy life. In short and in full: meat (beef, pork, fowl, fish, etc.), eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and healthy derivative fats/oils and butters (with herbs, spices, extracts, and supplements rounding things out).

When making the transition to Primal, giving up grains and minimizing sugar consumption is just part of the equation. The next […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

The Prize:
CSN Stores is offering up a $150 Gift Certificate for Corelle dishware or whatever else you’d like from any of their 200 websites. So, yes, you could technically use this gift certificate to buy something weird like a glow-in-the-dark reindeer Christmas decoration, but I’d suggest sticking with Primal fare like the dishes, cutlery, a barbecue grill, or a Crock Pot from Cookware.com.
But that’s just the half of it. Beyond Pots and Pans is offering up a cherry red Le Creuset Square Skillet Grill Pan for the winner of today’s contest. I’ve featured Le Creuset on MDA before. It’s the stuff I use – the good stuff. As a bonus, for the rest of the month MDA customers can get a 10% discount from BeyondPotsandPans.com by using the promo code “MDA” when ordering.
The Contest:
Send me a picture of your meal. Tonight. Are you eating tonight? Take a pic of that […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

<p>The basis of Tabata Training is 4 minutes of intense interval training/circuit training. What you are doing is taking an exercise we'll use sprints as an example here.</p>
<p>Sprint as hard as you can for <strong>20 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Walk for <strong>10 seconds</strong></p>
<p>Repeat 7 more times for a total of <strong>8 sets</strong>.</p>
<p>So what you have is a total of <strong>4 minutes of workout time</strong>.</p>
<p>Tabata Training can be done with a number of different exercises the idea is to use an exercise that gets the whole body involved or at least the major muscle groups.Tabata Training can be done with Barbells, Dumbells, Kettlebells or just Bodyweight exercises. I'll give you some other exercises and routines to try in a minute but first let me give you some background and how Tabatas work.</p>
<p>Tabata Training was developed by Izumi Tabata (imagine that) at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. They did a study […]

Original post by WP-AutoBlog Import

Over the next 29 days I’ll be bringing you tips, advice and guidance to help you get through each of the 14 mini-challenges. With well over 2,000 articles on Mark’s Daily Apple, I’ve written extensively about all things related to the Primal lifestyle; from solutions to common stumbling blocks, to simple hacks that produce big results with minimal effort. As such, many of the articles during this month will feature the best that MDA has to offer. Even if you’re a regular MDA reader these challenge articles will prove useful. Not only is it good to periodically revisit the fundamentals I’m sure there will be some articles buried deep in the archives that you’ve missed. And for all Primal Leapers, use this and future challenge articles to complement the Primal Leap Guidebook material.
Today we tackle Challenge #2: Avoid Poisonous Things. Let’s remind ourselves what this challenge is all about:

Challenge #2: […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

I am Awesome.
You are Awesome too.
This is important since the first part of becoming Awesome is realizing that you are already awesome….
And that being Awesome is a choice.
So what is Being Awesome?
Well, let me start by saying that this is the NEW Awesome. So don’t think Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure type of  Awesome…
It’s also not the pretentious jerk version of awesome. Awesome has evolved to something greater than this.
Think more along the lines of a mystical force..kind of like the Tao.
It’s something then when you are ‘in-line’ with it, it makes a difference in your life without taking a lot of effort.
If the traditional use of awesome is “That which inspires awe” think of the new Awesome as “That which inspires Awe in one’s self”
So vaguely Being Awesome is:
The ability to inspire yourself and to be inspired by Yourself

(OK so […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, reduce stress, increase energy or just generally look and feel healthier you’ve come to the right place. Oh, and you can win lots of cool Primal gear, too. That’s right, it’s the annual Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge!
Watch the following video and read the article below for all the details.

Before we get to the specifics of the challenge, today’s contest:

Today’s Contest
The first contest of this 30-Day Primal Blueprint Challenge is a two-parter:

Tell your friends and family about this challenge. Call your mom, email your uncle, post this URL on your FaceBook wall, Tweet it, blog about it and otherwise spread the word.
In today’s comment board, tell me what you did to tell the world about this health challenge and contest giveaway.

A winner will be selected by way of a random drawing. The winner will receive a mystery prize valued at $200. I am […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

So I have recently decided to add Hindu Squats into my routine. Due to the fact that I don't want to increase leg mass, I've avoided barbell squats the past 10 years. I'm not saying that squats are bad, there just is a certain point where too much lower body mass becomes cumbersome. In my opinion intense cardio intervals develop legs that are functional and defined without getting too big. That being said, squats do help your body maintain good hip mobility and lower back flexibility. If I'm perfectly honest with myself, I've lost a bit of flexibility these past 10 years. So I have found that Hindu Squats are the perfect solution to get the positives of the barbell squats (mobility and flexibility) without the negatives (excessive lower body mass).

[Here’s a picture from the Holi festival in India. It is a spring festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and others. […]

Original post by admin

1 cycle for time:
25 yards Stone Crawl Push x 4

10 Shot Puts (5 each hand)

10 Overhead Throws
10 Chest Throws

How-to: This workout is best done on a grass field. Choose a round stone (aka “sweatstone”). Use a suitable weight for your ability level (10-30 lb will do for most people). Push the stone on hands-and-feet, always having three limbs touching the ground, so that it rolls away from you. Quickly crawl to the stone and repeat, alternating arms as you proceed down the field. Complete 25 yards.
Pick the stone up and shot put it 5 times each hand. Repeat the crawl for another 25 yards. Now overhead throw the stone with both hands 10 times. Repeat the crawl for another 25 yards. Now chest throw the stone using with both hands 10 times. Crawl once more.
After each of the throws above sprint to the rock.
Record your time. Submit your […]

Original post by Mark Sisson