Feeling Down? Go Lift!

There is no better medicine for what ails you than lifting heavy objects. Find out one essential lift you should be doing to keep away the Grim Reaper.

Lifting is built into our DNA - how else do you push an angry gorilla off your chest or lift and carry the deer you just killed, out of the woods?

These were part and parcel of the 99 problems of Paleolithic man - inactivity ain't one. Man had to deal with ample physical demands, daily, and our bodies became well adapted to it. Let’s fast forward a few hundred-thousand years to our present epoch.

The Curse of Modernity

We’re more likely to sit than do anything else during a regular day. Most Canadians sit an average of 10 hours a day! Your Paleolithic genes are not well adapted to the stooped over, rounded back screen gazing we‘re all guilty of. This will lead to dysfunction and injury if left unchecked.

Luckily, this trend can be reversed.

Lifting provides us with a wealth of benefits: increased mood, lower blood pressure, increased bone and muscle mass, attractive biceps and a 20% decrease in all cause mortality!

That's right, a recent study showed that of a cohort of elderly men and women, those who regularly lifted were 46% less likely to die over a 15 year period. That's HUGE.

I get it though. Most of you reading this are not 65+ so how does this correlate?

Regularly lift and reduce your chance of dying by 46%

Make Some New Habits

Imagine you're 65 and the doc says,

"Start lifting weights today or you'll probably die sooner than later."

Even with the threat of death, there's a good chance you won't implement a lifting program simply because you've never done it before. So the moral of this story is START LIFTING NOW!

If the only thing that's stopping you from lifting is paralysis through analysis...let me put that to rest. I want you to start with one simple exercise that you can watch and follow along in my video below.

This exercise - The Two Handed Kettlebell Deadlift is one of the best strength builders out there. Simple, functional and effective.

If you don't have kettlebells, that's ok. Start with anything lying around the house: bag of sand, a cinder block, a toddler - it doesn't matter.

Do 3 sets of 10 and rest 1-2 minutes between sets. That's a killer workout in under 10 minutes.

Looking for a bit more?

Go BEAST MODE

Come and check out my new 12 Week BE.A.S.T. (BE Active to Stimulate Testosterone) Program that I'll be launching September 30th. This program is designed for men to optimize their lives through increasing testosterone levels and is designed around the 3 pillars of a man's health:

1. Primal Lifting

2. Instinctive, nutrient dense nutrition

3. Improved hormonal health
   

Shed some belly fat, increase energy levels and learn to live in your optimal state.

Sign up as a BETA TESTER before Sept 30th, 2019 and get a HUGE discount before this program blows up!

Sign up in the form here:

Train Hard, Fight Easy

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Dave is a retired infantry officer and Afghanistan war veteran. He's the creator of the HRD2KILL training program that was built on the principles that got him from not being able to get out of bed to competing in the Crossfit Open, Spartan Races and the Montreal Gaelic Athletics Association. You can find more mobility based exercises in his new book, "The Nimble Warrior", now available on Apple Books and Amazon or tune into his new HRD2KILL Podcast

Running High

Hands up if you think this is about the euphoric feeling you get after you finish a good run?

Well, you're not entirely wrong.

I've recently started experimenting on myself with different cannabis products and running performance and I wanted to make you aware of my findings.

Since this is an n=1 sample size, there is clearly NO statistical significance to my research however, like all good research, it will definitely lead to some questions and new hypotheses and theories. Let me indulge you in what I've discovered so far.

This is not an excuse to get "stoned"

Here's the backstory. I started using different cannabis products to help with pain management for my back and knee. I've never been a smoker and am a total lightweight when it comes to cannabis consumption. I wasn't one of the cool kids smoking weed at lunch in high school or smoking anything for that matter.

My impression of "weed" wasn't very good either. I saw it as a drug that led to laziness and laughing at dumb shit. That impression was created in high school when the guys I knew that smoked all had the typical, "stoner" lifestyle of baggy clothes, laissez-faire attitude and nine out of ten times, no athletic prowess.

I wrote it off as, 'not for me' - I'll stick to good 'ol beers and gin as my drug of choice.

Well, times have changed and so have attitudes. In under ten years, we've gone from getting severely reprimanded in the Army for having THC in your system to one of the most open/progressive marijuana policies for its consumption, on the planet.

I'm a curious monkey so I decided to give it a try, seriously, after I got back from Afghanistan.

Holy Shit - I got high AF. But, man did my back feel good.

Fast forward a few years and good 'ol JT (our Prime Minister) comes through and legalizes marijuana in Canada and the floodgates open up. Now, my scientific curiosity is piqued and I want to try EVERYTHING.

I've smoked, vaped, eaten a wide variety of new products. For the purpose of this study that I'm conducting, I'm only using one product - MedReleaf's Avidekel softgel.

Intro to Organic Chemistry

A quick chemistry lesson before we start...

THC is the acronym for tetrahydrocannabinol. This is the psychoactive molecule that is produced when you break down the precursor molecule tetrahydrocannibinolic acid (THCA).

Molecular differences of THC vs CBD

CBD is the acronym for cannabidiol one of many active cannabinoid molecules found in marijuana. This molecule does not have the psychoactive properties of THC but still attaches to our cannabinoid receptors that can help with pain management.

Next, once you have THC in your blood, it is then processed by the liver into the 11-hydroxy THC metabolite. The more you have of this metabolite the "higher" you will feel. In the case of smoking or vaping cannabis, you will have less of this metabolite due to many factors such as oxidation, passage of THC past the blood brain barrier and premature breakdown of the THC molecule before it can reach the liver for metabolism.

Metabolic process of THC to 11 hydroxy THC

However, when you eat cannabis products, THC is absorbed in much higher quantities and the liver must metabolize it into 11-hydroxy THC which is a much slower process and results in a much longer "high". Additionally, this process takes longer to initiate as well, so you need a few hours for the effects to take hold.

My Experimental Process

Here are my experimental parameters:

1. Only use Avidekel softgels for study;

2. Consume softgel 2-3hrs before run;

3. Measure run times against previous metrics;

4. Gather qualitative data on (mood, feelings, perceptions);

5. Gather data over a 30 day window.

My first assay was recorded and I've made a video of it that you can watch here. Some key takeaways:

• If you've never had any experience with THC or CBD try some BEFORE you go for a run and get used to how your body feels

• Keep your dose consistent, in my case my softgel has 1.95mg of THC and 19.35mg of CBD.

• Have a benchmark to compare to and try your best to control your variables as best as possible ie (time of day, rest, distance)

I'd love to hear your comments, questions and queries. This is brand new stuff and not much exists in the literature about THC/CBD use in athletics.

Questions to ponder:

• Is THC/CBD a performance enhancing drug?

• Which athletic activities could benefit/harm performance?

Post your comments here or on the HRD2KILL Facebook group.

As always,

Train Hard, Fight Easy

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Dave is a retired infantry officer and Afghanistan war veteran. He's the creator of the HRD2KILL training program that was built on the principles that got him from not being able to get out of bed to competing in the Crossfit Open, Spartan Races and the Montreal Gaelic Athletics Association. You can find more mobility based exercises in his new book, "The Nimble Warrior", now available on Apple Books and Amazon or tune into his new HRD2KILL Podcast

How To Prepare For The Army Run

Running season is in full swing. Some of us have taken on some HUGE challenges and tackled their first half marathon, triathlon, Ironman etc. It's really impressive to see. However, plenty of us just wing it when it comes to preparing for our next big challenge.

Let's look at 3 things you can implement that will get you to crush your next running event.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Having developed my runners legs while in the infantry, I realized I was half decent at it and have since done a bunch of half marathons and triathlons. This year, I've decided to take on the Commander's Challenge at the annual Canadian Army Run this September.

The Commander's Challenge is a 26.5km distance and will officially be the furthest I've ever run, in one shot, to date. Ultimately, my goal is to finally run a marathon next summer and progress to my post Afghanistan goal of completing the Ironman before I'm 40.

The burning question is- HOW DOES ONE PREPARE?

Let me list off a few of my strategies and then you can hopefully get some inspiration as well.

FIRST - Do some math

How far is your distance? In my case I'm going to be running 26.5km. This means that I need to build to at least 26.5km of running per week but ideally add 15-20% to that and make it a nice round 35km per week of volume.

Ok, how do I break this up?

I like to do 1 long run of 15km, 1 x 10km, 1 x 5km and then some high intensity 1-2km interval work (Fartleks).

I've built up to this. As a general rule, do not add more than 10% of your total weekly volume per week. Here's my example:

I started at 20km per week, therefore the next week I bumped it up to 22km. Make sense?

This is to safeguard your soft tissue from too much stress, too soon. Your body needs to adapt and running is really hard on your body.

SECOND - Find a buddy

Look, I can't harp on this point enough. Having shared goals and a training buddy makes you significantly more likely to achieve them.

"But Dave, I can't find anyone to go for a run with me...:("

TRY HARDER - Ok, that's harsh. Here's a solution for ya. Download this APP and add me as a running buddy. Voila!

I may not be literally running next to you but now you're at least accountable to someone else and can shit talk me when you beat my 5km time!

THIRD - Manage your soft tissue

When I was starting out, I wish there was a way to know how to get rid of shin splints and prevent tight calves from hindering my progress.

Well, that's why I wrote my book, The Nimble Warrior, that deals with just that. Also, check out one of my last posts on "How To Fix Shin Splints"

Get a foam roller and a lacrosse ball and get to work. The smallest bit of discomfort can lead to a season ending injury. Don't let it happen. Start making those pain faces!

FREE RUNNING PERFORMANCE SEMINARS

Lastly, I'd like to invite you to my FREE running performance seminars leading up to the Army Run. Registration is easy, simply drop your info in the form below and I'll send you the available times and locations.

Don't live in Montreal? That's fine, I'll be doing video recordings of all my seminars and you can follow along from anywhere on the planet!

SIGN UP FOR FREE RUNNING PERFORMANCE SEMINARS

Train Hard, Fight Easy

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Dave is a retired infantry officer and Afghanistan war veteran. He's the creator of the HRD2KILL training program that was built on the principles that got him from not being able to get out of bed to competing in the Crossfit Open, Spartan Races and the Montreal Gaelic Athletics Association. You can find more mobility based exercises in his new book, "The Nimble Warrior", now available on Apple Books and Amazon or tune into his new HRD2KILL Podcast