Book review: primal endurance
I first read this book in 2015 because of my love of running (namely three nyc marathons, to raise awareness of brain tumour and un-carbo-loaded). But its many takeaways changed my lifestyle and his think about the ultimate endurance, longevity.
My biggest takeaways:
Eat as humans used to in the early 1900’s. Meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Avoid the harmful industrialised seed oils, grains, and sugar. Our bodies have an innate ability to switch between burning carbohydrates and fats as fuel sources efficiently, no matter our endeavour.
Just because we run, doesn’t mean we have good muscle tone. We need weight training.
Add some sprints to your routine throughout the week. Endurance training teaches your body how to run for a length of time but slow. Do a thorough warm-up and follow that up with a few 100-meter sprints. 5 x 100’s are great.
Often we do our exercise in the morning then tend to relax for the rest of the day. Focus on maintaining movements throughout the day. Park further away from the building, to get your extra steps. Do calisthenics throughout the day to continue to build strength. Move to move!
Rest as hard as you train. Cold showers and baths help the body calm down from the hard work. I’ve been doing these since my first marathon in 2011. I do 2-3min, start with 30s. Get in fast, don’t fight it esp with your shoulders or holding your breath. Think of the benefits you’re getting. Go with it!
Compression sleeves or socks act like a pump to keep pushing blood back to the heart. You’ve no pump in your lower body, so calf raises work wonders here too.
Hydration - Make sure to rehydrate right after your workout. We don’t need the colorful marketed beverages. Plain water or a splash of unflavored electrolytes would do the trick.
Refuel with real food. Beer and soft pretzel sounds so much better to the mouth, but how do you want to feel the next day?
Sleep - To perform to the best of your ability, you cannot burn both ends of the candle. Set a goal to start getting 7-8 hours of sleep per day. I’m perfect around 9!
Let it be - Stop stressing about race time or age placements and start focusing on the joy of your running practice. Oh the places you’ll go! Let things happen naturally and you will find more joy!
