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

“Sous Vide” might immediately make you think this recipe involves a fancy, overly precious cooking method that only the food snobs among us will be interested in. But what if we tell you that the two main cooking tools it requires are a picnic cooler and a Ziploc bag, and that heating water is the only cooking skill required?
We’ve been reading about sous vide for some time now, but it took a recipe sent in by Szara Loring for the Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook Contest to encourage us to try it at home. Szara’s recipe for Sous Vide Salmon made us realize you don’t necessarily need expensive, professional sous vide equipment to try the cooking technique out. Turns out, all you need is the aforementioned cooler, a large Ziploc bag and a thermometer.

“Sous vide” basically translates as “under vacuum” and refers to cooking food in an airtight bag submerged in […]

Original post by Worker Bee

Every so often I stumble across something that reminds me why I love Eat stop Eat.
Typically I find this type of stuff on the internet..usually in the form of the ever-conflicting diet advice you can find being passed around on-line.
The type of advice that makes you worry about specific macronutrients or macronutrient ratios in a way that is overly simplified and overly confusing at the exact same time.
But today…Today was different.
I found today’s Diet Confusion in a research paper.
Here’s the weird part..I wasn’t looking for Diet Advice, I was reading on the topic of Alcohol.
Specifically on the topic “Is Alcohol Consumption a Risk Factor For Weight Gain and Obesity?”
(Writing up a follow up piece for yesterdays post on Diet Hacks)
So…what stopped me dead in my tracks?
I’m going to share it with you.
Now remember…this isn’t my diet advice. And, it’s not ‘Paleo Friendly’ so remember…I didn’t write this.
But the basic idea […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

I am very pleased to announce that Bob Perkins will be leading a breakout session at PrimalCon 2011. Atlatl Bob is the world authority on the atlatl and dart, so register today (only 25 of 100 spots remaining) to ensure your spot at this unique, hands-on lecture.
Bob has graciously written the following guest post for Mark’s Daily Apple readers. Read on to learn why throwing was essential to human survival and how the atlatl was an important hunter-gatherer weapon. And if you aren’t familiar with Atlatl Bob check his impressive bio below and then leave him a comment in the boards.

_________________________________________________________________________
The atlatl and dart is the first true weapons system developed by humans. In fact, comparatively speaking, the bow and arrow is a recent development in projectile technology. Invented and introduced perhaps 45,000 years ago, it took the human race from more of a scavenging, opportunistic, hunter-gatherer subsistence strategy to […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

My Favorite Diet Hack…

I’d like to let you in on one of my all time favorite ‘diet hacks’
No, it’s not fasting (that’s not really a ‘Diet hack’ – it’s more of a lifestyle)
Actually, it’s scotch.
Yep, good ol’ Scottish Whiskey (Irish is pretty darn good too, but I digress)
So you’re probably wondering how a ounce of the good stuff (neat of course) can be a diet hack?
Simple..
It’ll save you calories…. lots of them.
An ounce of scotch has about 70 Calories. That’s less than a glass of wine (120 ish) and a bottle of beer (140 ish)…but that’s not the ‘Hack’.
The “Hack” is in the social graces of Scotch.
Let’s say you go out for drinks with your friends…guys order beer, the girls order wine and you order a scotch.
Right away, […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

I was waiting in line to order some food.
I was planning on ordering a walnut and avocado salad, when the 9″ pizza menu caught my eye.
The ‘Rustic Veggie Pizza’ sounded really, really good.
So when it was my turn to order I asked the young girl behind the counter:
“How filling is the Pizza”
her response was that she could easily finish one.
I looked over at the guy standing beside her, and he said “Yeah, it’s small, it’s a lunch portion”
So I ordered it.
I wish I took pictures!
I could have easily split this pizza with another person.
Think about that for a second.
It was more than DOUBLE the amount of food I needed.
Easily.
Here’s the plate beside my laptop as a comparison.

Now, sure it was ‘good for me’…
Loaded with veggies, whole wheat crust, no cheese, a great tomato/pesto type sauce….
But overall…it was too much..way too much.
So here’s the point of this post.
Keep your calories low.
That’s […]

Original post by Brad Pilon

Our concept of health only exists in opposition to its absence. Healthy is the default position. We’re not “supposed” to get strokes, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. Sure, a few people, here and there, are far more likely to suffer the ravages of the degenerative diseases of civilization, but the real numbers are inflated. For most of the population, we can avoid the worst of it, and if you spend a bit of time on MDA or any other ancestral online communities, you’ll see example after example of people taking charge of their health and experiencing newfound vibrancy. We’ve all gotta die someday, but we most assuredly do not have to die at 56 from a clogged artery.
But I cover longevity plenty. As you know, I’m also interested in increasing one’s enjoyment of life; I’m a big quality over quantity guy (both are good as long as the former […]

Original post by Mark Sisson

Boy, oh, boy am I excited about what this next month holds for MDA readers. This year’s 30-Day Challenge (September 7 – October 6) will be all about aligning your lifestyle behaviors with each of the 10 Primal Blueprint Laws. There will be contests and giveaways each day. I’ve lined up some great sponsors this year. I’ll save most of the details for next Tuesday (come back from Labor Day weekend ready to get Primal!) but I will say this: I’ll be giving away an entire cow courtesy of U.S. Wellness, an assortment of unwieldy (and wieldy) Primal fitness gear, Primal foods, Primal toys, and maybe even a Grok spear, totaling over $10,000 in value. And see below for today’s pre-challenge contest.
You don’t have to sign-up to take part in the challenge. Everyone is welcome. But there are a few things you can do to prepare…

How to Prepare for the […]

Original post by Mark Sisson