For my 100th post I figured, why not take it back to basics! You can't out run a crappy diet, all that hard work in the gym can't cancel out poor choices when it comes to food. You need a combination of real, whole, natural foods, and some supplements if you feel the need in order to attain or maintain a healthy and lean body.
So today I'll be showing you how to make a great, quick, and easy paleo and primal diet friendly breakfast or snack shake! Here's what you'll need!
- 3-5 Ice cubes
- 1-2 large table spoons of your favourite nut butter
- 1 large banana
- 1 Cup of light coconut milk or almond milk
- 2 Dashes or cinnamon
- Optional Protein Powder (chocolate or vanilla)
- Optional mixed berries
It's simple, put all the above ingredients into the blender and blend them up together until it becomes a smooth shake! Serve in your favourite glass and enjoy! I also add berries to this shake some times to switch up the flavour or to add extra anti-oxidents. Play around with the recipe, add different kinds of nut butters, try coconut milk, then try almond milk, add berries, try it without protein powder and with protein etc. This way you'll figure out what you like best and enjoy the most!
I get asked all the time questions like, "Tim, how many pull ups do I have to do before I can perform (insert skill here)?". This could be any fitness skill such as but not limited to pull ups, chin ups, dips, muscle ups, human flags, back levers, push ups from your toes etc. The fact of the matter is, there is no amount of pull ups that will allow you to do the human flag, and no amount of dips will allow you to perform a muscle up. You do need a base level of strength to perform theses movements and yes you must be able to perform dips before you can do a muscle up, and you do need to be able to perform a set of pull ups before you can even hope of holding a human flag. However, these exercises alone will never allow you to perform either of these skills. In order to achieve a certain skill you must practice that skill and become familiar with it inside and out. This means working on muscle up progressions if your goal is performing a muscle up, or finding the right grip and practicing straddle flags if you want to be able to hold a full human flag. It means treating your training to achieve these skills as practice, and practice should be performed perfectly and often without working to failure until the actual skill is achieved. This means continuing to perform supplemental exercises such as planks, advanced planks, pull ups, dips, hollow rocks, supermans, and more in order to avoid muscle imbalances and improve your functional strength. It's a process, and it takes time, attention to detail, listening to your body, finding out what's right for you, and working on the actual skill. Anyone can achieve any skill they want, this means you can too! Just remember that it takes time, and fitness is a journey and not a destination. Check out the video above for more details!
Something that a lot of people battle with on a day to day basis is chronic lower back pain. The first thing to do when you're suffering from lower back pain is consult a doctor, chiropractor or massage therapist. A combination of the three would be a wise choice!
Your lower back pain can be caused by any number or reasons, more than I can list, but today I'll be covering three predominant reasons that many people suffer from reoccurring or chronic back pain and how to help stop your pain forever.
1. A lack of spinal mobility: Joint mobility is the ability to move your joints effortlessly and without pain through a full range of motion with complete control. When you're spine has a lack of mobility you're just asking for trouble! Other than injury, a lack of spinal mobility could be the result of not bending, twisting, turning, or taking your spine through the full range of motion on a regular basis each day. Something incredibly common for anyone who sits all day during working hours! A simple joint mobility routine performed each day, and before each workout can help improve your spinal health and help reduce your back pain. Try performing each of the mobility exercises shown in the video above slow and controlled for 20+ reps in each direction.
2.Tight Muscles in the low back, hips, quads, and hamstrings: Tight muscles in your lower body due to sitting all day, working out often or playing a lot of sports and not stretching can lead to intense lower back pain and lower back injuries. Believe it or not you actually have muscles in your legs that attach to the hips and lower back, when these muscles are tight your lower back can become a little more than cranky! Tight hip flexors can also be the cause of an upset lower back, when the hip flexors become too tight it causes a pelvic tilt that puts a strain on the lower back. A regular stretching routine that works the entire body but also has a focus on the hips, quads, hamstrings, and lower back will help to improve muscle imbalances caused by tight muscles and reduce some of your lower back pain. Try some of the stretches that I have demonstrated in the video posted above, hold each for 12-30 seconds and repeat 3-4x.
3. A lack of "core" strength and stability: The first function of your core is to support your spine during movement and not allow you to spin all the way around or break over backwards. Your core is worked during almost every single exercise, and some of the best exercises for improve your core strength are squats, dead lifts, push ups, pull ups, L-sits and more. Yet, if you're experiencing back pain due to a lack of core strength, some of these movements might be too advanced and could cause you more harm than good. Simple movements at first such as planks, side planks, super mans and glute bridges can help bring your core strength and stability up to par and set the foundation needed to be able to perform more advanced exercises that will continue to improve your core and over strength. Try some of the exercises that I've shown in the video above, try holding each position for 30sec-1min and repeat for 3-5 sets.
So there you have it, some simple ways to help improve your back health and help reduce or eliminate your lower back pain. If you've enjoyed this post, please share with your friends/family or subscribe to the blog, youtube, or facebook page!
Here's a great, quick, and effective body weight workout for all of you to try. It's based off of basic gymnastics style body weight exercises and you only need a pull up bar and a suspension trainer like the Life Line Jungle Gym or a set of gym rings to perform this workout!
Warm up with some dynamic stretching and joint mobility. Than after the mobility and dynamic stretching you'll perform 3-5 mins of jump rope. After that you'll be ready to start the real workout!
It's simple, perform 5 rounds without any rest between rounds or exercises. Perfect form on everything!
1 round =
P.S. I'll be coming out with a new e-book very soon titled "Ancient Training For Modern Results". You'll learn dozens of body weight exercises that have been used by warriors and combat athletes for centuries. Also, the book will show you how to make your own Mace or Gada, a tool that has been used by Hindu Wrestlers for superior conditioning. You'll also learn how to use the Mace and integrate it into your workouts! It will be available at www.Jungle-Fit.com with in the coming weeks!
Here's a little video I made detailing what I feel ... nope I take that back ... what I KNOW is the #1 way to ensure amazing results from your fitness and health program. Check it out, and no it's not about some gimmick or pill so don't worry!
I've been receiving a lot of requests to show how my pull up bar was made or to send out plans on how to make my pull up bar. The truth is, I didn't make it so I can't give out the exact plans. However, what I do know is that it's not very hard and it's a simple design. The whole pull up bar is made from steel pipes and have been threaded at the ends. All in all the free standing pull up bar stands about 9 feet tall is around 4 feet wide, and the base bars are around 2 feet long on either side. Check out the video if you're looking to get a cheap pull up bar that can handle ring training as well. It's not by any means technical because I am the furthest thing from a handy man ... but it should help none the less!
Here's a little post I created about 7 of the most annoying things that personal trainers experience on a daily basis with their clients. If you've hired a personal trainer in the past or right now then please watch this video, you might just be doing 1 or more of the things that annoy your personal trainer more than anything else! The funny thing is that these don't just annoy your personal trainer, they actually directly effect your fitness and health results! So it might not be your trainer that's messing up your results ... it might be you!
