Grenz's Bookshelf: The Primal Blueprint

I am often asked, “If you had to choose one fitness/nutrition related book for someone to read, what would it be?”  The answer is The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson.  Mark is a paleo lifestyle guru who educates people through his web site www.marksdailyapple.com. 

Below are the ten Primal Blueprint Laws from his book and brief descriptions of each:

1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals:  Try to eat as close to our Paleo ancestors as possible. 
2. Avoid Posionous Things:  Try to avoid man made foods that raise insulin levels which can cause fat gain.  Also, avoid artificial colorings and flavorings as well as white sugar.
3. Move Slowly at a Frequent Pace:  Instead of “Chronic Cardio” move for long durations at a very slow pace.  A great example would be using a Pedometer and getting well over 10,000 steps/day.
4. Lift Heavy Things:  Instead of spending hours in the gym try a few short, intense 25-minute workouts each week.  This can minimize the risk of overtraining and/or mental burnout.
5. Sprint Once in a While:  This is a simple way to increase testosterone and growth hormone.  Try it once a week when energy and motivation levels are high.
6. Get Adequate Sleep:  Try to go to sleep at the same time after doing something to calm the mind versus watching television or being online prior to sleep.  Also, try to get enough.
7. Play:  Try to have some unplanned, unstructured physical fun each day.  It doesn’t need to take long either.
8. Get Adequate Vitamin D:  Try to spend as much time as possible in the sun.  If you can’t get much (live in Minnesota) get your Vitamin D levels tested a couple times each year and supplement accordingly.
9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes:  Little things like avoiding texting while driving, speeding or wearing a seatbelt might keep us from unnecessary danger.
10. Use Your Brain:  This can be in the form of creative thought (i.e. me writing blog posts), learning a language and putting together a puzzle or playing a board game during free time.

In the future I will write additional posts on the Primal Blueprint and on other paleo nutrition books.

This post is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.