workout Archives » Thrive Primal

Let’s cut to the chase: you want six-pack abs, a toned yet shapely butt, and arms that don’t have jiggly bits underneath. You want to get rid of those stubborn kankles, ease the constant chafing between your thighs, and not have sore knees, hips, and back ALL the time. Heck, you might just want to fit back into that old pair of jeans you allow to lurk at the bottom of your drawers, in the hope that one day, one day, they’ll slip back on like a glove. Well, the answer is simpler than you think.

Workouts don’t need to be complicated, drawn out, unenjoyable affairs. They don’t even need to be that frequent, to get the results you want. I’ve spent the last 10 years perfecting the ultimate paleo workout routine, from what protein to consume to which exercises to perform, and it’ll have you transitioning from flab to fab in no time (guys – feel free to replace the decidedly feminine “fab” with something manly like “jab”, if it makes you more comfortable).

So without further ado, here’s quite possibly the best workout routine you’ll ever lay your eyes on.

Your pre-workout routine

First, know that your body won’t respond well to strenuous exercise if it’s tired or still recovering from a previous workout. Ensure that you haven’t done an intensive weight-bearing workout in at least the past 2 days, preferably 3. Also ensure you got enough sleep last night, as your body is already stressed in this case and you don’t want to introduce any more stress into your life with a hard workout.

Step 1: prepare a protein source

For me, this is almost always a protein shake. While many people have been led to believe that whey protein isn’t that great for your health, it’s hands-down the best protein source for workouts if you get hold of the good stuff. That means whey from grass-fed cows, that has no additives or artificial flavors, and is preferably organic. This protein powder ticks all those boxes, and it’s been my go-to protein powder for the past 4 years. If you’re completely against whey protein (just FYI, often people with dairy allergies respond well to whey protein isolate, which shouldn’t contain lactose or casein), then you can always try an organic pea protein powder. Or even just a big hunk of meat, preferably the size of your palm. Your choice! Aim for around 30 grams of protein.

Drink half the protein shake 10 minutes before the workout, and half after the workout. This allows your muscles to synthesize the protein while you work out, which means faster muscle gains and quicker muscle recovery.

Step 2: warm up

Here, we just want to get your blood flowing and your muscles limber, so you don’t do any damage during the workout. This means 2 minutes of jumping around, shaking, dancing, or doing star jumps like nobody’s watching. I hope for your sake that no-one’s watching, as you’re going to look like a complete nutcase.

Your optimum paleo workout

After you’ve knocked back half your protein smoothie (10 mins before exercising) and warmed up a little, it’s time to get down and dirty. A couple of important points to keep in mind:

Use whatever equipment you have available. I regularly work out using a 10 liter container of mineral water, as it’s a good weight for many exercises and has a handle – kind of like a rudimentary kettlebell. Nothing beats an actual kettlebell, however – I’ve found that a good starting kettlebell for ladies is 6 kg or 8 kg, and 10 kg or 12 kg for men.
Perform the reps (reps = repetitions) to failure, unless otherwise stated. This means doing as many reps as you can of a given exercise until you literally can’t do any more. This will shock your muscles as much as possible (a good thing), which means faster fat burn and greater muscle mass development. No half-arsed attempts, people!
Ensure your form is spot on! If you have to practice an exercise at a lighter weight initially, so be it – you need to do the exercise how its supposed to be done, or risk injury.
Take a 1 minute rest between each exercise – use this time to have a sip of water and write down how many reps you did! You’ll need to keep increasing these reps with each new workout, in order to grow muscle mass.

Workout #1 (day 1)

10 glute activators (essentially just hip thrusts which you can do on the ground or on a bench that help to activate your glutes, which are often dormant going into a workout)
kettlebell bicep curls (remember to keep your arms in by your sides, and you can just do one arm at a time if you only have one kettlebell)
wide-grip pull-ups – the guy in that video cracks me up, but he’s right about how to do it! (use anything around the house or gym for this – could be a lateral tree branch, a pergola, a doorframe, or a chin-up bar. If you don’t have any of these, just skip this one)
full-extension kettlebell crunches
crazy ivans using your kettlebell
slow pushups (5 seconds down/5 seconds up. You don’t have to do it on your knuckles like this guy! Keep your hands in line with your shoulders)
alternating kettlebell lunges
kettlebell deadlift (slow and steady wins the race with these bad boys!)

Workout #2 (day 3 or 4)

10 glute activators
swiss ball abs (make sure to do the full extension. Use a low pile of cushions under the small of your back if you don’t have a swiss ball)
kettlebell swings (if you only have a few minutes to spare, focus on doing this exercise! It works wonders)
side planks

Post-workout

After your exercises, take a couple of minutes to shake it off and loosen up if you feel a bit tight. I find just going for a very quick jog around the yard helps with this. Now its time to drink the rest of your protein shake and rehydrate. Drink lots of water during and after the workout – dehydration is not your friend!

Workout 1 shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes, and workout 2 shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes. Studies show that shorter, more intense workouts are more effective for weight loss and muscle gain than long workouts. Give yourself plenty of time to recover between workouts (I always space them at least 3 days apart, interspersed with days of mild to moderate cardio like walking, running, cycling and kayaking).

I always have my phone with me during workouts – I use it to note down how many reps I do per exercise for each workout, so that I can ensure I’m always increasing reps over time. I also use it as a timer for the side planks. You should also consider getting yourself a good exercise mat or yoga mat, to make your experience a whole lot more enjoyable. And crank those snazzy tunes! Nothing like a good workout playlist to get the blood pumping. I’m digging Spotify’s “Motivation Mix” right now.

That’s it! Easy, right? Try this routine for a month, and see how you look and feel. We’d love to hear if it kicked those kankles and busted that butt!

Up until now, we’ve largely focused on using paleo, primal and ancestral teachings to clean up our diet and lifestyle. Admittedly, these are two of the 3 key pillars of true health and happiness…but what about the third? That third pillar, in case you’re wondering, is exercise, and it’s arguably the biggest element of health that people are most confused over.

Throw your conventional view of exercise out the window

Think of exercise, and your mind turns into an infomercial. State-of-the-art treadmills, high-tech ellipticals, snazzy rowers, bouncy things, multi-purpose things, ab-tightening devices and, if you’re getting a bit racy, perhaps a rack of ultra-polished dumbbells. It’s ok – my mind conjures up much the same images as well, despite the fact that I’ve completely retrained how I approach exercise. That being said, what you need to do before we progress is metaphorically (and perhaps literally, if there’s no-one directly below) throw that cheesy infomercial-style gym equipment out the window.

This equipment is designed to provide a “quick fix” in your quest for a better body. But really all it’s doing is introducing convenience into the mix: with the exception of dumbells, you don’t have to think about the exercise you’re doing. Just jump on the treadmill, tap a few buttons, and you’re free to think about all of life’s other troubles. I still do a double take when I see someone hop onto the stationary bike, pick up a magazine, and just cruise for half an hour. Those same people invariably wonder why they’re not losing weight, when they’re hardly even getting their heart rate up!

Next, stop pounding the pavement and wondering why you’ve got injuries coming out your ears and the weight refuses to budge. Repetitive movements like this put the body under extreme stress, due to repeated impact with hard surfaces and physically jarring the bones and ligaments of your legs and feet. And when the body is under stress, it holds on to all the fat it can – thinking that there are hard times ahead. Do you really want to look like a long-distance runner, anyway? They’re all stringy and unhealthy looking…typically because they are unhealthy!

Finally, stop finding excuses to NOT exercise! You literally don’t need anything to get a good workout – just a few square feet of empty floor space. Abandoning this reliance on fancy gym equipment or even a nice spot to go running will ensure you don’t ever miss a workout opportunity.

High intensity training for weight loss

High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is all the rage in the alternative fitness circles these days. And it’s with good reason – HIIT offers vast quantities of calorie destruction with just a fraction of the time (and money) investment compared to the average gym or cardio workout. It’s now a well-accepted fact that our bodies respond better to short, focused periods of exercise. A 10 to 15 minute HIIT workout does that – elevating your heart rate, jump-starting your aerobic system, and fatiguing your muscles in a concentrated time slot, which minimizes the amount of stress you’re putting your body under. Remember, less stress means more weight loss, and achieving higher intensity means more calories burned faster. It’s a win-win, really.

In my opinion, if you’re looking to kick that jiggly belly or Beyonce butt fat quickly, ditching the elliptical or long runs and adopting HIIT 2 to 3 times a week is the far better option. If you’re searching for inspiration, a good starting point is to get your hands on a proven workout program. Dr Josh Axe’s “Burstfit” program provides super-intense workouts that’ll get you sweating and probably swearing a bit as well. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Otherwise, if you’re not looking to make quite as much of an investment, this DVD series comes well reviewed and for a fraction of the price.

Heavy lifting and bodyweight for muscle gain

If you’re looking to simply stay toned and slim, a few high intensity workouts per week is probably sufficient. But if you’re looking to bulk up, develop those biceps, broaden those shoulders or chisel those abs, you’re going to have to introduce something else into your life: heavy lifting.

Lifting heavy weights, otherwise known as resistance training, is an excellent way to shock your muscles, which signals to your brain that you need an increase in muscle mass in that region in order to prevent muscle damage. The heavier the weight, the greater the mass added – in theory, anyway. But this doesn’t mean that you should jump in the deep end and start doing 80-pound dumbbell bench presses when all you’ve been doing before is 10 lb bicep curls. Start by performing a 8-10 rep set of the exercise with a given weight. If you perform that set too easily with the weight, increase the weight until it becomes difficult. If you only manage to do 7 reps with that weight, use the next lightest weight. And so on.

Next, focus on key areas for your resistance training. Don’t be fooled by those buffoons who stand in the gym doing bicep curls for what seems like hours – if they’re looking like the Hulk, it’s probably because of all the nasty protein shakes and freaky supplements they’ve been taking. You don’t want to be that guy or gal – they might look good, but they’re not healthy!

Key areas are those that work out a full range of muscles at one time – these include squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, kettlebell swings, and maybe the odd bench press. Compound exercises with heavy weights are better than specific movements with lighter weights.

Finally, keep it short and simple. As explained above, spending too long on a workout can stress the body and curtail your results. 20 minutes max of resistance training, only 2 to 3 times per week, and ideally only 3-5 exercises per workout. It’s quality that we’re looking for, not quantity.

Getting creative with workouts is key

Two of the biggest reasons why many people fail to stick to their exercise goals are:

They get bored of their workout routine
They use lack of access to “equipment” or the gym as an excuse not to exercise

Regarding the first point, it’s super important to mix things up on a regular basis. Changing up your workout at least every 2 months, if not more regularly, will ensure your brain doesn’t get bored and, more importantly, your body doesn’t get bored of the same repetitive movements. Performing the same series of exercises week after week can cause your body to plateau, meaning your muscles become accustomed to the movements and stop growing and/or burning fat. Besides, you want to look forward to your workouts, right? Not dread them. And if you find you can let your mind wander during a workout, you need to change it up, fast.

Regarding the second reason people fail to reach their exercise goals – this is where it can get super fun! When I travel or find myself in a new place, I take great pleasure in hunting around for things that I can use to formulate a workout. People seem to think that you need to have designated exercise equipment in order to exercise. Wrong!!! So wrong. If anything, that equipment makes it too easy to perform exercises, and the whole point is to challenge your body, not take shortcuts.

Even at home, I prefer to use unconventional tools and items to pizazz up my workouts and challenge my muscles and coordination in different ways. At the moment, I’m using a 10 liter container of filtered water as a dumbbell/kettlebell replacement (10 liters = 10 kg, which is a good weight for many exercises – just make sure it has a handle!), and a yoga mat. That’s it. And between the two of them, I can do a huge range of exercises.

Here’s a few other things that you can use when you’re away from home or the gym to get a good workout:

Strong lateral branches on trees, for chin-ups, wide-grip pull-ups, leg raises (abs), or simply hanging
round, heavy rocks (these are great for things like weighted squats, swings, lunges, and deadlifts – just make sure you have your shoes on!)
open fields or parks, for sprints and bodyweight exercises
sledge hammers/log splitters – these two provide some of the best workouts on the planet. Provided you have something solid to hit (like a tyre for the sledgehammer or a log – duh! – for the axe), they work a wide range of muscles throughout your body. Ten minutes with these bad boys and you’ll be hurting! Be very mindful of your form, though, and of your own safety.

The point is, get creative – the world is your oyster when it comes to exercise! If nothing else, investing in a kettlebell is a very wise thing to do, as there’s such a wide array of exercises you can do with them and they’re easy to transport. For men, I’d recommend starting with a 20 lb kettlebell, and for women, 15 lb or less should be effective initially.

Diet can make or break a weight-loss regime

Ok, so you’ve integrated all of the above considerations into your workout routine and you’re still not getting results. What the heck is going on? If you’re not losing weight or putting on muscle as desired, look to your diet.

With regards to weight loss, probably the number one dietary roadblock is carbohydrates. Whether they come in simple sugar form, or complex form, an overload of carbs can provide excess energy that you’ll struggle to burn off, even with those high intensity workouts. Here’s a few weight-loss pointers regarding carbs:

cut your fruit intake back to one or two servings a day. Sure, they’re nutritious, but they also contain a heap of fructose that elevates your blood sugar and is easily converted into fat in your body. If you must partake in some fruity goodness, stick to low sugar-fruits like raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, lemons and the occasional orange.
abolish all processed foods – these invariably contain a truckload of sugar. That includes “gluten-free” products as well.
stick to complex carbs like sweet potato, squash, and green plantains. Don’t go overboard on these either!

Streamlining your diet for maximum muscle gain

Next, if you’re like me and struggle to put on muscle mass, you need more protein!! I can’t stress this enough. There seems to be some notion amongst many people that it’s easy to get too much protein in a given diet – newsflash: it’s not easy at all! You have to eat a LOT of protein to even come close to exceeding your daily maximum, and the truth is that most people aren’t getting enough.

According to Tim Ferriss in The 4 Hour Body (an excellent read, by the way!), you should aim for 1.25 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight, which means you subtract your bodyfat first. I’m 167 pounds and, last time I checked, I had a bodyfat of 14 %, so I aim to eat 143 grams of protein per day. It’s not easy, but it makes a real difference to building muscle mass. Chris Kresser largely agrees with Ferriss, and in some respects advocated even more protein. For more information on the subject, check out this article.

Ultimately, everyone can benefit from more protein in their lives. And I find one of the best ways to increase protein intake is to add in a high-quality protein powder. We’ve talked before about how awesome this grass-fed, organic whey protein powder is, but if you can’t stomach dairy then Chris Kresser recommends this hydrolyzed beef protein – arguably the best source of protein on the planet.

Top tips for success

Scrolled through all of the above but still confused? Here’s my recommendations in a nutshell.

Weight loss:

replace low-intensity cardio workouts with high intensity (HIIT) workouts, 2-3 times/week
mix up your exercise routine at least every 2 months, and get creative!
tone down on the carbs, especially simple sugars.
continue to eat a paleo-style diet

Muscle-gain:

lift heavy stuff! Ensure you factor in 2 to 3 resistance training workouts each week. Limit workouts to 3-5 exercises (e.g. squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press) and less than 20 minutes in duration.
ensure at least 2 rest days between workouts to allow muscle recovery.
get lots of protein. Lots. Consider introducing a high quality protein into your diet.
stick to a paleo-style diet, but considering introducing grass-fed, organic milk for extra protein and fat.

Good luck on your quest to a better body, and let us know how you get on!

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The perfect paleo workout routine for weight loss & muscle gain