It’s time for another round of Primal Blueprint success stories. It’s been a real pleasure receiving these messages from Mark’s Daily Apple readers and being able to share them with the community. As you’ll read, Malika sent hers in recently after reading a bunch of stories submitted by other readers. If you have a Primal Blueprint real life story, I hope you’ll do the same. Shoot me an email with pics explaining how the Primal Blueprint has played a role in your life. Have a wonderful Friday, everyone. Grok on!

Mark,
After reading another half dozen success stories I decided tonight is the night I submit my own.

Right now, as I type this I’ve just downloaded pictures from a photo shoot I just completed in Miami that I can hardly believe is of ME… and that’s all because of YOU and our little community here!
I’m seeing muscles I thought were lost forever […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

HyperMetabolism

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Original post by Brad Pilon

It’s probably the biggest thing that makes some people hesitate in going Primal. Sure, they appreciate the logic and sensibility of the Blueprint lifestyle. They value the chance to improve their health and effectively lose weight. They love the idea of having more energy. They salivate over the prospect of bacon. But then comes the proverbial wrench in the plan. “What about bread?” they ask. (Sometimes it’s diet soda, pasta, pancakes, pizza, Skittles, etc.; I’ve heard it all.) Against all powers of wisdom, self-interest, and rationality, how is it these isolated, deeply entrenched cravings hold such sway over our lifestyles – and diet decisions? Is a baguette really so enticing that it determines a person’s willingness to live a healthier, more vigorous existence? Is the de-grained life really not worth living?
It’s a common refrain I hear: “Oh, I’d love to go Primal, but I just couldn’t give up my breakfast […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

I love a good cow. Its meat is tasty, filling, and, especially when grass-fed and finished, full of fat-soluble vitamins, protein, and healthy fat. A cow’s organs are highly nutritious and affordable, often discarded by butchers, usually ignored by shoppers, and always available for the discerning Primal eater. The cow also produces a magical self-replenishing liquid called milk, which is either consumed straight up (not really for me), skimmed for the rich cream, or fermented (which in turn produces a helpful byproduct called whey) to make yogurt, kefir, or cheese. And those are just a few of the major foods we get from cows. They also poop a fair bit, and that poop has the potential to become fertilizer for plants underhoof. It’s pretty cool how it works – the cow eats the grass, runs the grass through the digestive wringer, poops it out, and, in the course of everyday […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Last week’s post on the buddy system got me thinking about the importance of general camaraderie in physical activity, beyond just the fact that having a person who relies on you to work out will get you off your butt and moving. I think you can go further than a single buddy – how about an entire team of them?
I don’t know where I’d be without my weekly Ultimate Frisbee games. That may sound silly or infantile, but I’m serious: it keeps me sane, melts the stress away, and represents an opportunity to keep up with friends (in person, not over some social network or through texting). In other words, it’s my primary form of playing. And though I realize it’s ultimately my fault, I don’t think I play up Play enough around here. Sure, there was the Definitive Guide some time back, and we all remember the post on […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Near as I can tell, it’s been 7 weeks since my last workout.
Probably longer than I have ever gone without working out in my entire life.
To be clear THIS WAS NOT ON PURPOSE.
Well, that’s not entirely true.
It started off on purpose. It was supposed to be a two week forced break from working out while I researched and wrote about taking time off from working out (see my last two blog posts).
I figured, ‘If I’m going to write about it, it only seems logical that I experience it’
So two weeks went by without training…not a big deal.
Then on the night when I was SUPPOSED to start training again  I had the unfortunate luck of being rear-ended on my way home from work.
Luckily, no one was hurt, and the kids weren’t in the car..
However, for lack of better terms I somehow ‘messed up’ my foot (the one that was on the […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

A quick look at Google Trends shows a clear, undeniable trend: that of regular folks armed with curiosity, questions, and Internet connections taking their health into their own hands and searching for information on “vitamin D.” Search traffic for the keywords is at an all-time high, having steadily increased for years. But just as people are discovering importance of getting enough vitamin D, either through sunshine or supplementation, out comes the official paltry new vitamin D guidelines.
As far as I’m concerned, vitamin D deficiency is one the biggest health issues in this country. I’ve written extensively on the topic here, here, here and here. I’ll continue to get sunlight when it’s available and supplement when it’s not. And I’m sure my fellow paleo bloggers will do the same. (As mentioned yesterday, Dr. Davis does a good job explaining exactly how paltry the new recommendations are.) This is […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Hit 500 reps total, using the following:
Pullups
Pushups
Handstand Pushups
Planks
Weighted Lunges
Broad Jumps

How-to:
Warmup: 30 second Grok Squat, three light sprints at 70%.
Maybe I’m showing my age by making a reference to The Proclaimers in a workout post, but I do so unabashedly. Besides, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” is still one of my top training songs and it always kills at karaoke.
Remember how I mentioned WOWs might occasionally take the form of fitness tests, as opposed to workouts you’d do on a regular basis? That sometimes I’d ask you to perform a grueling, demanding task just to prove to yourself that you could do it, as a mark of progress? This is one of those times.
I’m always trying to come up with new workouts to keep things interesting (for you and for me), and my latest one consists of choosing a number of reps, usually in the hundreds, and then attempting to reach […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Hey KnuckleUp crew! Been an exciting past couple weeks, huh? Had the Jiu Jitsu tournament where Team KnuckleUp had some impressive victories. Then we had the Outer Banks Marathon the very next day and our Boot Campers had some pretty impressive finish times. And of course, our favorite super-trainer hit some Kryptonite, and had to have surgery on his knee. But Matt’s doing better, and seems eager to show everyone his new war wound.
Also new is a pretty cool sports recovery drink head-trainer Morrison Butler brought back from the ATL, Kill Cliff. I don’t put much stock in energy drinks, recovery drinks, or that sort of thing, I just like the taste of one or two, but to be fair, I actually had a great experience with this one. My elbows were screaming one day after a hard Jiu Jitsu class, followed by some sparring in the ring.
I was thirsty, […]

Original post by knuckleup