My Natural Movement workshop with Erwan Le Corre
On Saturday, I participated in Erwan LeCorre’s MovNat workshop here in Austin, TX.
We interviewed Erwan on our podcast which was posted last week, and had a great time discussing what MovNat is and the type of exercise we did as children translated into the adult world.
Not something we attempted at the workshop!
So on Saturday, I got to experience the real thing. It was a cool (by Texas standards) morning when we got going at 7 am. We started with some basic concepts like how to effectively use your body with gravity as opposed to against gravity. We discovered throughout the 6 hour course how to utilize energy most effectively when running, climbing, carrying, and jumping. All exercises in MovNat have a practical function in nature. It was pretty much a fitness re-education for me!
I had a few revelations this day.
One is, we discussed the traditional ways in which people exercise. Erwan pointed out that there is no practical reason to do multiple “reps” of various exercises, [CORRECTION FROM ERWAN: "Actually, we do repeat moves in MovNat! Only that it is not the sole way to train/move. Series of reps are most of the time combined with other movements, to favor the ability to transition (with ease, speed and accuracy), instead of always separating movements (different series for different movements), or reps (taking a break between series of reps). Also, the types of movements that can be performed as series are much more varied that in a conventional approach of fitness. That is because is MovNat, natural movement IS the conditioning. 100% of movements that are performed are either the real, complete movement, or a segment of them, so that repeating them will condition us to ultimately perform natural movement (practical and adaptive physical action) with max efficiency."]
such as the classic 10 pushups. When in nature will you suddenly need to do multiple pushups? Or squats? With the exercise in MovNat, you don’t do things in order to build muscle, but building muscle is a result of the things you do.
After the first part of this course, my view of fitness and exercise was already changing!
The other thing I noticed is, whatever the exercise is in MovNat, it involves using your core muscles. Even though we did a lot of pulling ourselves up and jumping, my arms and legs were not sore the next day- but my abs and glutes were definitely sore!
The course was not brutally hard in terms of the amount of exercise we did throughout the day. However, the last couple of hours with the hot Texas sun beating down on me, I started to fade. While everyone else in the clinic was from Texas and at least somewhat used to exercise in 98 degree temps, the wimpy Californian boy was not! The good thing was, there was no humidity that day, so 98 felt like 98 instead of 108!
We finished up the day with a circuit of sorts, that Erwan invented, using our surroundings- which consisted of stairs and picnic tables. We had to sprint up the stairs, crawl down a few steps, jump up onto a table, and jump down. This was repeated 5 times. After we finished that, I think one of the guys in the class wanted to do more, but I was pretty satisfied with my day overall- and ready to jump in the natural springs pool right next to where we were doing the training.
The pool was cold and felt FANTASTIC! I did a couple of laps, thanked Erwan for the day, and headed home- where eating and sleeping were the order for the rest of the day.
Overall, the MovNat clinic was a physical and mental challenge that opened up my mind to creativity, and has me now wanting to do more of this. I’m already thinking of new routines for my workouts this week, and how I can go back to having FUN at each and every workout!
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Slow the Aging Process: A How-To Guide
While most commercially-available “anti-aging” products are complete scams and a huge waste of money, there are several things you can do for FREE to slow down signs of aging. Here are some 
ideas:
-Reduce your sugar intake. A high carb/sugar diet weakens your immune system and causes wrinkles. Studies have shown that high levels of sugar in the body can be just as damaging to your skin’s appearance and health as nicotine and unhealthy exposure to UV radiation.
-Take fish oils. The Omega-3 essential fatty acids found in fish oils help lower your blood pressure, improve your mood and maintain brain health. All three of those things are associated with longer, healthier lives.
-Eat your greens. Many of the nutrients in dark leafy green vegetables help slow aging and can even prevent age-related illness.
-Get safe sun exposure. Your body needs UVB exposure in order to manufacture Vitamin D. Vitamin D fights cancer, obesity, diabetes, builds bones, and is a general, all-around tonic for enhanced performance. 20 minutes a day of peak sunlight (during warm months) should do it.
-Drink green tea and reap the benefits. In addition to the benefits of anti-oxidants, studies have shown that green tea aids in fat-burning and lowers “bad” cholesterol levels.
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45 – Natural Movement with guest Erwan Le Corre
(duration: 36:05)
In this inspiring interview, we explore with Erwan the nature of practical and adaptive movement that enables truly excelling in health and fitness, as well as an ethics of contributing to the well-being of others (an emphasis on collaboration rather than competition). MovNat brings about feelings of personal empowerment, confidence, freedom and efficiency. The more mindful we are of the possibilities of our bodies, the less prone we’ll be to “the Zoo human syndrome,” in which people don’t really engage with nature and with natural movement that challenges one’s mind and body. Combined with a paleo eating lifestyle, MovNat ensures an ideal physique, among other fine things. As Erwan wisely noted, “We can’t brush aside millions of years of evolution.” Simply put, natural movement is about being “strong, healthy, happy and free.”
Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.
Items mentioned in this episode:
Mens Health Magazine – A Wild Workout for the Real World
http://tinyurl.com/24muoxk
The Sudbury Valley School Experience
http://tinyurl.com/23xhbv6 (link to google books)
Black Belt
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084019/
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038
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Is it Possible to Use Exercise to Lose Weight? Part 1
It seems wrong, somehow, to say that exercise shouldn’t be your focus when you’re trying to lose weight.
But it’s true.
There are thousands of fitness plans that tell people to exercise more and eat less in order to lose weight. The benefits of exercise are well-known (even I exercise almost on a daily basis), but is this method effective in successful weight loss and ideal weight maintenance?
Answer: no way! Sure, the people in those (in)famous before and after photos included some form of exercise in their weight loss plans, and most probably followed a restrictive calorie-counting diet with lots of exercise. That may be effective, short-term, but for the most part, these results will not last.
These diets fail because the emphasis is misplaced. Instead of increasing exercise, many people have dropped pounds of fat simply by reducing their carbohydrate consumption – no exercise involved! I’m not recommending a sedentary lifestyle by any means; it’s not healthy. But most (some say 80-85%) of your success in achieving a permanently fit body is a result of your nutrition, not how many hours a day you perform cardiovascular exercises.
The reason this works?
When you exercise, your appetite is often stimulated, and you may be tempted to overeat.
Another reason is that most fitness programs are not sustainable for most people; they simply cannot maintain an exercise-intensive and calorie-restrictive diet.
Finally, exercise can act almost as a fix for psychological addictions to food or certain types of food: for example, a brief period of exercise will often relieve you of your intense craving for chocolate.
In Part 2 we will explore these above-mentioned three aspects of fat burning and fitness plans in more detail.
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Driving is why you're fat?
Ok, here’s a cute web page showing the fittest and fattest states based on how much driving people do vs. walking, biking, or taking public 
transit: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1008/driving-and-obesity-3/transparency.jpg
It’s cute, but is it true?
Well, the text at the top starts off with “It’s a simple equation. Exercise more and lose weight.”
Hold on a minute! I realize that for most of our lives we’ve been told that it’s simply the calories you consume – the calories you burn that matters. And exercise is certainly an important and even vital part of a healthy lifestyle.
But these numbers are a bit misleading. Texas (where I am currently residing), for example, gets horrible marks all around and shows a fat guy and a low rank for fitness levels. And, people are definitely car-lovers here, and there is traffic in the cities. But is this why they are fat? It could be a factor, but given that diet is 80% or more of the fit-or-fat equation, I have my doubts.
For example, there’s a motto here- “everything is bigger in Texas”, and this applies to food above all else! Just the other day I was asked if I wanted a “Texas-sized iced tea”! So this extends to other foods and drinks, and typically the ones that are not so good for our waistlines. I can imagine people are more likely to get Texas-sized Cokes and Texas-sized pizzas too, shooting their insulin levels through the roof and storing these calories as fat.
The driving and not walking definitely does not help, and spending lots of time in one’s car is not part of a healthy lifestyle. But the emphasis on graphs like these is in the wrong place. Instead, let’s take a look at the diets of these Americans and show them how they can even stay slim with a long commute if necessary.
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44 – Good parenting habits, kids and food
(duration 19:55)
Join us in our continuing discussion about childhood eating and the best methods of parenting (feel free to comment below the show notes). Promoting reason, respect, and rational self-interest is key to great eating habits. The quest for good nutritional knowledge must be engaged in by both adults and kids, as a partnership. It’s important not to enable bad eating habits, which entails living with integrity and practicing self-responsibility, which is in line with wanting the best for kids. Oh, and dates are ok carbs (like fruit in general), but should be consumed in moderation to minimize insulin levels.
Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.
Items mentioned in this episode:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_coolers ;)
Stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Erwan of http://movnat.com
http://sandradodd.com/unschooling
More resources:
http://unschooling.com/
http://unschooling.org/
http://unschoolingamerica.com
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038
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The Anti-Wrinkle Diet
I just saw a headline on digg.com for this Anti-Wrinkle Diet.
Here’s the premise:
“When dermatologists checked the skin and diets of 453 people from Australia, Greece, and Sweden, they found that while a healthy diet can’t erase damage done by years of unprotected sunbathing or smoking, it can help.”
I tend to agree with that. An unhealthy high carb diet can certainly accelerate the aging process.
Here’s what the diet consists of:
“Have More of These
Olive oil
Fish
Low-fat milk
Water and tea
Fruit and vegetables
Eggs
Nuts and nut butters Beans”
Not too bad, except the milk and beans may cause some gut irritation.
“Have less of these:
Butter
Red meat
Cakes and pastries
Soft drinks
Full-fat milk
Margarine
Potatoes”
Ok, I agree that cakes, pastries, soft drinks, margarine, and potatoes are good to avoid.
But butter can be okay, red meat for the most part is healthy, and if you’re going to drink milk, full fat is actually better for you than low or non fat!
The rest of the recommendations seem completely reasonable:
“1. Put more fruits and vegetables on your plate.
2. Order salmon when you’re dining out.
3. Have a cup of sugar-free cocoa.
4. Cut back on white bread and sugar.”
Absolutely.
I think “wrinkle-free” is a bit of a gimmick, but they have some of the basics down to avoid wrinkles. Generally, stick with a low carb, no grain diet, and you will be putting yourself in the “anti-aging zone”, and avoiding many of the problems that your insulin-spiked high carb friends are either running into, or will at some point run into down the road.
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43 – More answers to listener questions, eating habits of kids, parenting
(duration 18:28)
In this show we offer further answers to questions by listeners, this time dealing with persuading others, particularly children, about healthy mind fit body lifestyle choices. Ultimately, it’s about respect and understanding, rather than battles of the wills or controlling others’ behavior, such as prohibiting consumption of “forbidden” foods, which at base denies personal responsibility. As we noted in the last episode, much of the time people’s eating decisions stem from how they were treated as children as well as their knowledge (or lack thereof) about food. So, parents need to adopt a healthy lifestyle that models good eating and provides rational guidance for kids, encouraging their own self-responsible choices.
Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.
Items mentioned in this episode:
What Do You Lack? Probably Vitamin D by Jane E. Brody
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html
Longterm Effects of Food Controls (or the lack of controls) by Sandra Dodd? http://sandradodd.com/eating/longterm
bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038
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Not being attached to the outcome
When you are attempting to do something big in your life, whether it’s to start a new business, lose 75 pounds, or simply being a more positive person, it is so important to not be attached to the outcome.
I know I used to have a huge problem with being way to attached to outcomes. Not achieving my goal times in swimming would bring me down. Not earning “enough” money would lower my self esteem. Not having the life I wanted would stress me out!
It is a hard thing to do, but once you accept this idea of non-attachment, life flows a lot more smoothly.
Let’s say you are the person that wants to lose 75 pounds. You jump on this new low carb diet full force, and you lose 3 pounds the first week. The next week you lose 2 more. The following week you don’t lose any weight. “That’s it! I’m going back to pizza!” you proclaim out of frustration. This is exactly why diets don’t work, and why they are always attached to an often immediate outcome.
Instead, a good way to look at it is- I’m changing my lifestyle to health. I am going to eat as healthy as I can most of the time, and I’m not going to step on the scale daily. If I change my eating lifestyle to a healthy one, I know I am doing the best thing for myself that I can. The results will show eventually, and I will be growing as a person and not be filled with stress and anxiety over it.
Try it out with some smaller things. Give someone a compliment today and don’t even worry about their reaction. Do it because you want to brighten their day! Non-attachment is one of the keys to maintaining a relaxed, happy life, as opposed to basing everything you do on someone else’s standard.
