The Primal Blueprint Revealed a Potential I Didn’t Know I Had

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The Primal Blueprint revealed a potential I didn’t know I had. I was never an athlete. Fitness has always been a struggle. But underneath that was a potential I didn’t know I had. At 39-years-old I now look, move and feel better than I did at 19. And I’ve begun engaging in adventures that my younger self couldn’t dream of. Here’s how it happened.

The process started in 2012. I was taking acid reflux medication and needed to lose weight. Already at 32 I felt old. I started doing calisthenics at home and took a long hard look at my diet. I tried everything. I even dabbled with a mostly plant-based diet. The sheer volume of nutrition, fitness and training advice caused me to jump around. Eventually I started drawing towards aspects of Paleo. In particular I starting eliminating highly processed carbs and fats. It was a struggle, but I started getting results.

2016 was the pivotal year. In February, a friend at work approached. “I just heard a guy named Mark Sisson on Joe Rogan. It was really interesting. You’d like it.” After listening to the interview, I immediately read Primal Endurance, and then Mark’s other books. I dove into Mark’s Daily Apple.

The timing was perfect. My wife was due with our first child. That meant a family would be coming soon. And it had me freaking out. Playing like a kid with my kids in my forties would be a challenge, but it had to happen. I wouldn’t be the broken down old man with young kids. I was motivated to make big changes.

I focused on eating plants and animals, and the diet just clicked. I reorganized my training to make it more Primal. I focused on moving frequently at a slow pace. And I started sprinting. I also started noticing how lifestyle factors affected my health and recovery.

It’s hard to give an accurate picture of the process. It wasn’t uninterrupted success. There were many setbacks. There were lessons I had to learn and re-learn. But in the end, I earned a six-pack for the first time in my adult life. With my increased recovery and my focus on sensible, sustainable training, I made serious progress. I built muscle, leaned out and starting moving better than ever.

As I got more comfortable with the diet and lifestyle I began adding new skills. I started skipping breakfast and spent the winter in Keto. I even bought a pair of Vibrams.

Primal also got me to rethink my potential. Looking at our ancestral heritage, I thought, why couldn’t I have a body built for high adventure? Isn’t it our genetic birthright? The idea fascinated me. I had always loved travel and adventure, and when I was younger, I had engaged in both.

In 2017, I decided to go all in. I became a Primal Health Coach. The education gave the Primal Blueprint’s organizing principles new depth. Plus the education, including the business modules, inspired me to keep pushing my limits.
In 2015 I had read about MovNat, in the book Natural Born Heroes. At the time, I thought younger, fitter people might enjoy the training, but I never entertained the thought of trying it myself. Primal changed that. In 2018 I started training MovNat, and at 38-years-old I became a MovNat Master Trainer. I could not have dreamed of participating in such intense, difficult training before I discovered Primal.

Things that seemed physically impossible in my twenties will be very doable in my forties. I anticipate playing like a kid with my grandkids. And I’ve started a coaching business to help others achieve similar results. Because of Primal I’ve started a new chapter of life that I couldn’t have imagined when I first listened to Mark. Thanks.

—Chris Redig

You can connect with Chris at Adventure Driven Fitness or Instagram.

Also, check out his past guest post on MDA here.

The post The Primal Blueprint Revealed a Potential I Didn’t Know I Had appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.