The 'Primal', 'Paleo' or 'Caveman' Lifestyle, What is it?

Before I became a Mother, I was a Personal Fitness Trainer and a Competitive Rower. During the past two years, I have stepped back from the fitness industry and the world of competitive sport in order to raise my children, but I have continued to read and research the subject as it still remains a great interest of mine.

Maybe it's because of my absence from the fitness industry or that I now have freedom to read my choice of material (as opposed to what I was required to study to keep my P.T registration up-dated) or that I no longer have to adhere to a pre-set training plan regardless of my energy levels, but my perspective on what health and wellness is has definitely changed and I am now 100% sure that the majority of what I previously learnt about Exercise and Nutrition is incorrect.

What I now believe to be the most effective way to achieve optimal health and well being is to follow what is known in various circles as a 'Primal', 'Paleolithic/ Paleo' or 'Caveman' Lifestyle. The deeper I venture into the subject the more I am amazed by how intricately our bodies are tuned to the earth and the more I realize I need to write about what I have discovered in order to spread the word about this ridiculously simple way to achieve an abundance of health and energy.

Being such a broad subject, I am going to start off with a brief overview. I also welcome any questions that you may have or suggestions for blog posts that would be of interest to you, you can do this by posting in the comments box below.

So, What is Primal Living?

Once upon a time, us humans only ate what we could hunt for or forage for with our bare hands (or maybe if we were lucky, a stick!) This hunting and gathering was also one half of our physical exercise, the other half was protecting ourselves from larger species that were hunting after us for their food!

The result of our ancestors lifestyle was a body free from the diseases and ailments so common today, a physique that would match that of an Olympian and an energy level unknown to most of us who now live with the malaise that results from the overtired, overstimulated, overstressed world of today. To live a Primal Lifestyle in 2011 is to replicate within our culture the life our paleolithic ancestors lived and thrived on.

What is Considered Primal Nutrition?

In short…

• Meat 
• Vegetables
• Fruit 
• Nuts 
• Seeds 
• Coconut 
• Eggs
• Seafood
• herbs and spices
• Water
• Limited dairy
• Preferably local, organic produce

What is NOT Considered Primal Nutrition?

• Anything that comes in a Packet
• Grains
• Legumes 
• Margarine
• Hydrogenated Oils 
• Sugar
• Alcohol 
• Artificial Sweeteners e.g nutra-sweet, Equal 
• Anything that wasn't around for your great grandparents to eat

What Is Primal Exercise?

Our paleolithic ancestors exercise was purely hunting and gathering for food as well as protecting themselves from becoming food! To hunt, paleolithic man would of walked around looking for his prey and then attacked using his maximum capacity of speed and strength in order to make the kill. To Gather, he would of walked around looking for the produce the current season had to offer by climbing trees and lifting up heavy things such as rocks and branches in order to locate his next meal. Therefore, Primal Exercise in 2011 is replicated by lots of low level intensity such as walking at a comfortable pace interspersed with short maximal efforts that utilize sprinting, heavy lifting and body weight exercises.

What ISN'T Primal Exercise?

Our paleolithic ancestors did not jog or power walk (unless it was a life and death situation) because it was not efficient and would leave them fatigued, therefore more susceptible to becoming prey for the animals who were higher up the food chain. They did not repeat isolated exercises within small muscle groups e.g bicep curls or crunches because it was unnecessary and they did not use exercise machines.

I hope to share with you the things I am continually learning about this way of living, my personal experiences as well as some of the more practical solutions to modern day Primal Living such as recipes (most of the recipes I have previously posted are Primal), what to look for when buying food, dealing with social situations that offer non-Primal food, Children and a Primal Lifestyle and deciphering the way your body tells you if it likes or dislikes your food and/or your exercise regime.

Loving......Etsy Rainwear.

Last year, when I was in New York during their 'Fall' we had a few rainy days. The people of Manhattan don't have the luxury of driving everywhere in their cars, many of them commute on foot even when the rain is falling, and I have to hand it to them, they do so very fashionably! with funky rain coats, gumboots and umbrellas.

Here's a snippet of some Etsy finds that remind me of New Yorkers in the rain.......

Vintage Rain Coat from Max and ChiChi

 Yellow Rain Jacket from Todos Los Dias Grises

Pink Rain Coat from Just Kitsch

Vintage Umbrella from Vandylee Vintage

Vintage Waterproof Black Rubber Wellies from Vintage Darling

Happy Rainy Days!

From Old T-Shirt to Dolly Sling (No Sewing Required!)

Only 7 more weeks now until Jacinda becomes a Big Sister! 

She loves playing with her Dolly, she also loves imitating me! So, I am getting her prepared for our new arrival by showing her the ways I'll be caring for her new brother or sister, and giving her some little handmade items, such as this sling, so that she can 'Copy Mama' by looking after her baby too.    

You Will Need:

• A old, adult sized T-Shirt or Singlet, in a stretch material (to avoid fraying and make putting dolly into the sling easy for little ones)
• Scissors

To Make:

• Place the T-Shirt on a flat surface and cut off the neckline and sleeves so that you are left with only the body.

• Choose a side seam and cut down either side so that you are left with a single layer of fabric.

• Place the Fabric diagonally around your toddlers chest and back, securing with a knot on the shoulder. Adjust if needed.

• Pop Dolly in the sling for a cuddle!

My Experience with Crossfit During Pregnancy

I am currently in the final weeks of my 2nd pregnancy, in which I have been able to maintain a steady Crossfit program and am astonished by some of the comparisons between my experience with my 1st pregnancy, in which I followed the standard and vague advice of "taking it easy", and the more confident approach I've had this time around, of continuing with Crossfit and adapting it within the boundaries of my Pregnant body. 

When I found out we were expecting our first baby, I was what I'd have called fit at the time. I had 9 years of competitive national level rowing behind me and a couple of half-marathons recently completed. Being a qualified Personal Trainer I was quick off the mark to put into action my very own pregnancy training plan that was strictly within all the recommended guidelines. This included wearing a heart rate monitor and dropping the intensity of my workouts to no more than 140 bpm, (I later discovered by reading Andrea Nitz’s article in the Crossfit Journal that...."Until 1994, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology did recommend keeping the heart rate at or below 140 bpm during exercise, in order to maintain a safe core temperature. They revised this guideline when they discovered no evidence of correlation between the two. It turns out that the heart rate doesn’t have anything to do with core temperature, as originally thought. Besides, the real risk factor turns out to be intensity specifically, high enough intensity to subject the baby to oxygen deprivation—and 140 bpm is not as intense as it sounds. A pregnant mother has an increased blood volume that gives her a higher relative bpm in all activities, rest included. So she may hit  140 pretty quickly, without much exertion as normal. She even may hit 150 —but if she isn’t gasping for air at that point, her baby probably isn’t either.") meaning I was restricted to walking, swimming laps and lifting a few easy weights - not too bad one may think, but for a competitive person like myself who had trained at a high intensity for years I found this regime tedious, but I unwillingly chugged through it anyhow, all the while yearning for the surge of energy that comes from a burst of moderate- high level intensity exercise. 

I was fortunate enough to have a complication-free birth and a beautiful, healthy baby girl. However, I did feel like a piece of the puzzle was missing; and that was my fitness level. Once I had the all-clear from my midwife, I started running and doing 'erg sessions' again on the rowing machine in order to 'increase my base fitness'. This style of training, just like it did in my pre- pregnancy days, was a way to start to the day nicely by getting some fresh air in my lungs and my blood pumping but that's where it stopped. Physically, I was drained for the remainder of the day, craving carbohydrates and in dire need of a nap by the time 2pm rolled around, there HAD to be a a better way of exercising! I now had a young baby to look after. It wasn't practical for me to constantly feel like this. 

Then, everything changed. I joined my local Crossfit affiliate, Crossfit Birkenhead. The first few weeks I was sore after each workout, as I expected, but as the weeks passed and the soreness eased it’s way out of my muscles I became aware of my consistent gains across all 10 of the Crossfit Principles: strength, endurance, power, flexibility, balance, agility, accuracy, stamina, co-ordination and speed. More importantly though I felt full of energy for the remainder of the day following an early Crossfit class and able to keep up with the demands of being a Mother. 

Four months later..... just as my Husband, Dave and myself became complete Crossfit converts we find out that we are expecting a little brother or sister for Jacinda! and oh, how my perspective on exercise during pregnancy had changed. There was absolutely no way I was going to go 9 months without doing what I believe to be, one of the best things I've ever done for my heath and fitness. I quickly jumped online and searched for information from respected sources about Crossfit or moderate-high intensity training during pregnancy but apart from a few personal blogs there was very little information to form an opinion from. So, I decided to trust both my knowledge and my body's signals and continue on with my Crossfit program while following a single ‘Golden Rule’: That I would only do what felt comfortable and either stop or scale if any discomfort arose. 

Initially, not a lot changed. Being such early days I wasn’t sure if I should tell Paul (my coach) about my pregnancy, but after he tried to talk me into breaking my PR on a heavy back squat I though it was best to! and I’m now glad I did because he then did a brilliant job of helping me keep my ‘Golden Rule’ by ensuring I formed the habit of taking some deep breaths between sets, had my water bottle within reach, reminded me to take my eyes OFF the clock as well as a few sneaky ‘talk tests’ in there! 

Around week six I encountered the first challenge of pregnancy, the dreaded Morning Sickness. It was intense and threw all my good intentions of following a Paleo style diet out the window. I resorted to eating whatever would stay down (even if it was something that would usually make me cringe!) Unfortunately, the nausea lasted longer than average for me and It wasn’t until late into the 2nd trimester that I could handle eating meat and vegetables again, although on a positive note, my absence from Paleo did re-enforce just how amazing it makes me feel! 

Entering the 2nd trimester I could start to feel my belly grow and this marked the start of scaling my WOD’s. I absolutely hated it at first! not only was my name slipping off the board for the strength exercises but that ‘RX’ I knew I could nail would have to wait for now because.... 

● Sit-up’s, toe to bars and knee to elbows changed to Press-ups or Kettlebell swings, 

● Cleans and Snatches now started in the hang position, 

● Squats lost their depth, 

● Thrusters changed to push-presses and 

● GHD back extensions changed to Good Mornings 

More importantly though, the intensity of my nausea was easing, I was feeling strong and my Midwife was extremely happy with baby’s growth, my unchanged blood pressure and the results of my routine blood tests. 

  

It is now 8 weeks out from the arrival of our baby and despite a few ‘fat jokes’ from fellow crossfitters I am still able to maintain my Crossfit program at a comfortable level of intensity. However, the list of exercises that break my ‘Golden Rule’ is rapidly growing at the same rate as 

my belly. Depending on the WOD.... 

● Snatches have changed to Power Cleans, 

● Box Jumps have changed to Box Step Ups and 

● Running & Double Unders changed to rowing for awhile but have now defaulted to Box Step Ups also (when baby arrives I never want to do another box step up again!) 

and of course my weights are at a comfortable level that challenges my muscles without discomfort. 

A couple of weeks ago I watched an interview with Tanya Wagner, 2009 Crossfit Games Champion, on Crossfit.com and found it reassuring to hear that she had an almost identical approach when it came to training through her pregnancy. It re-enforced to me how being in tune with your body and knowing how to read it’s signals is such an important skill to have, not only in pregnancy but at all times because it gives you a sense of control over your health and wellbeing. This skill can only be mastered by consistently engaging in high intensity exercise, and learning what your limitations are. 

What I have learnt the most from continuing with Crossfit throughout this pregnancy is that there is no reason why (providing there is no complications and you are conditioned to the demands of Crossfit) you cannot reap the benefits of a moderate-high intensity Crossfit program that follows the ‘Golden Rule’: ‘Only do what feels comfortable’. 

Sunday Snapshot.....

Saturday Snapshot........

31 weeks and counting.....

Summer Knitting for Baby

Lately, I have been the very nostalgic picture of a pregnant mother; sitting under a shady tree in my deck-chair knitting a blanket for the little one whom I am yet to meet.

A basic garter stitch matched with an uncomplicated design allowed the rhythm of my needles to set the perfect tone for hot, weary summer afternoons and let my mind wander.......

To Re-Create:
You will need approx 9 balls of wool  (3 in each colour) and 3.25mm needles

1. Cast on 180 stitches in colour 1
2. Knit 16 rows of garter stitch in colour 1
3. Change to colour 2 and knit 16 rows in garter stitch 
4. Change to colour 3 and knit 16 rows in garter stitch 
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until work measures approx 70cm
6. Cast off and weave in the ends.

Enjoy the process,