pa title=”PrimalCon Lake Tahoe 2013″ href=”http://primalblueprint.com/products/PrimalCon-Lake-Tahoe-2013.html” target=”_blank”img class=”alignright” title=”PrimalCon Lake Tahoe 2013″ src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA%202011/primalconLT2013_320x240.jpg” alt=”primalconLT2013 320×240″ width=”320″ height=”240″ //aBack in July, when I announced a title=”PrimalCon Oxnard 2013″ href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primalcon-2013-registration-now-open/#axzz29aH3Zwat”PrimalCon IV (April 11-14, 2013 in Oxnard, CA)/a, my team and I were absolutely floored to watch the event completely sell out in only nine days. Clearly, PrimalCon has grown from its modest beginnings (33 brave souls came to Oxnard in a title=”PrimalCon 2010: Live Blogging – Day 2″ href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/live-blogging-from-primalcon-2010-day-2/#axzz29aH3Zwat”2010/a) to become a centerpiece of the Mark#8217;s Daily Apple community and the Primal lifestyle. Meanwhile, it’s been breaking my heart to repeatedly turn down interested folks who inquire about next April’s Oxnard event. After all, we publish testimonials describing the retreat as “life changing”, and the a title=”PrimalCon Oxnard 2012: Live Blogging – Day 1″ href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/blogging-from-primalcon-2012-day-1/#axzz29aH3Zwat”food/a as the “best you will ever eat.”/p
p title=”Camp Richardson – Lodging”Clearly, something had to be done. And […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

I don’t put up too many guest posts on my site, but JC wrote one exclusively for my blog that I couldn’t pass on. I was chatting with him about getting stubborn body parts to grow…and that I haven’t discussed this much on my blog. I know this is one of his specialties, so asked him if he would be up for a guest post.

He came up with a much more comprehensive post than I was expecting. Not only does he give out a great strategy, he outlines 2 different detailed workouts to use to get a stubborn body part to grow.
Specialization Training
Making Those Stubborn Body Parts Grow

Have you been training a while, but have a few body parts you’d like to bring up or actually make grow a bit faster than the rest of your body?
Most of us will have a major need in our training careers to specialize […]

Original post by admin

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Alcohol” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA%202011/alcohol.jpg” alt=”alcohol” width=”320″ height=”212″ /What do we make of alcohol? In sufficient amounts, it#8217;s a poison. It#8217;s incredibly addictive. It destroys a title=”Alcohol abuse among Native Americans.” href=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3068262″ target=”_blank”entire communities/a. It tears families apart and compels otherwise reasonable, upstanding individuals to commit terribly senseless acts. On the other hand, it#8217;s a powerful social lubricant. The good stuff tastes great and can enhance the healthfulness of certain foods while inhibiting the unhealthfulness of others. It#8217;s fun, it#8217;s pleasurable, and it brings real (if chemically enhanced) joy to people. Moreover, we have a long and storied history with alcohol; it#8217;s been an integral part of human culture and society for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years./p
pSo, what#8217;s the deal? Is it good, or is it bad? Is it poison, or is it a gift? Let#8217;s take a look at both sides of the story, which, as is […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

I normally don’t feature professional bodybuilders on my blog, but this video will be an exception. Dorian Yates does a spot on job on how to do bent over rows properly. His approach is what I recommend if you are trying to add serious thickness to your back, while avoiding injury.

Here are the big takeaways from the video:

Bend over so your lower back is in a powerful position. This does not mean parallel to the floor. Your upper body will be up a bit upright from the parallel position.
When you take this position where your lower back is more protected, you will be able to use much heavier weights. Lock your upper body in that position for all your reps.
Underhand grip works lower lats a little better, but a higher risk of injury. I wouldn’t recommend that.
Dorian recommends exploding the weight up. Pull the weight to your lower abs, not […]

Original post by admin

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Wheat” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA%202011/wheat4.jpg” alt=”wheat4″ width=”320″ height=”212″ /Today#8217;s edition of #8220;a title=”Dear Mark” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/dear-mark/”Dear Mark/a#8221; runs the gamut. The topics will be somewhat familiar, since I tackle wheat, minimalist shoes, high-fat diets in the news, and vitamin D, but with interesting spins on each. First, I discuss the link between wheat and asthma. Next, I do a somewhat exhaustive search of the available winter minimalist shoe options, a topic that I#8217;ve never had cause to explore for myself. Since I do this for you guys, though, I tried to help out. After that, it#8217;s my quick but (in my mind) pretty conclusive take on the latest article to pin cognitive decline on a high-fat diet for a reader who#8217;s dealing with a similar condition herself (or himself; the gender of the name #8220;Jo#8221; is somewhat ambiguous). And finally, I discuss whether or not there#8217;s a best time of day to […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Roasted Goose” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA%202011/whole_roast_goose.jpg” alt=”whole roast goose” width=”320″ height=”212″ /Roasting a goose makes any holiday feast merrier. Not only because it’s not the same old turkey or beef roast, but because goose meat is intensely meaty and flavorful and cloaked in a layer of unbelievably rich, crispy skin./p
pAs an extra bonus, a goose also leaves behind a gift: lots of delicious a title=”Animal Fats” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/yet-another-primal-primer-animal-fats/”goose fat/a. You’re likely to run out of the fat before you run out of ways to use it. Roast or sauté vegetables, pan-sear seafood, fry chicken, make duck or goose confit or a title=”Silky Smooth Chicken Liver Pate” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/silky-smooth-chicken-liver-pate/#axzz2C8ujI6Db”chicken liver pate/a#8230;the possibilities are endless. Rendered goose fat keeps for months in the refrigerator and up to a year in a good freezer./p
pspan id=”more-33737″/span/p
pRendering the goose fat is an extra step in the cooking process, but an easy one. And after that, cooking a […]

Original post by Worker Bee

It can be tricky getting dumbbells in place for the regular seated dumbbell press. I do what is I call a seated swinging hammer curl to get the dumbbells in place. It is fine until the dumbbells get up over 60 pounds. At that point, getting the dumbbells in place is trickier than the actual lift.

The standing one arm version is better for heavy sets.
You can use two arms to easily get heavy dumbbells into place. Not even a problem to get 100+ pound dumbbells in place (if you are strong enough to press them). Here’s a short video demonstration showing good technique.

Some people like to pull their upper arms back in line until the dumbbells are facing forward, but I find that this can irritate the shoulder and rotator cuff. Other people suggest lifting with the dumbbells facing each other with their upper arm travelling in front of the […]

Original post by admin

div class=”breakout”
pIt’s Friday, everyone! And that means another a title=”Success Stories” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/success-story-summaries/”Primal Blueprint Real Life Story/a from a Mark#8217;s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me a title=”Contact Me!” href=”http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-book/share-success-story/” target=”_self”here/a. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!/p
/div
pimg class=”alignright” title=”Primal Blueprint Real Life Story” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2009/real_life_stories_stories-1-2.jpg” alt=”real life stories stories 1 2″ width=”320″ height=”240″ /Dear Mark,/p
pI first heard about the Primal Blueprint from Slick Rick, the long haired, five fingered shoe wearing odd ball my cousin married. He had ditched grains four years before and never looked back, and was always dropping jokes about how he loved bacon. I thought he was crazy with his caveman talk and dismissed his low carb philosophy as one that didn’t fit into my […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

pimg class=”alignright” title=”Generations” src=”http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/MDA2010/youngoldhands.jpg” alt=”youngoldhands” width=”319″ height=”211″ /The young native American teen sent off into the darkness with nothing but a bow and arrow and expected to return with a wolf pelt or two or three. The Masaai warrior tasked with stalking and killing a lion in single combat. The a title=”Initiation With Ants” href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGIZ-zUvotM” target=”_blank”donning of a glove lined with stinging bullet ants/a to commemorate becoming a man. Ritualistic tattooing, branding, or mutilation upon reaching a certain age or completing a certain task. The bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah, celebrations of a Jewish boy#8217;s and girl#8217;s respective entrances into adulthood. The Latin American quinceañera. Rites of passage are nearly universal throughout human cultures, both ancient and modern. Universally-preserved behaviors, whether physiological traits, or cultural artifacts, are usually there for very good, or at least very important reasons. So let#8217;s take a closer look. Why do we have rites of passage? Are they still a […]

Original post by Mark Sisson