Caveman Exercise

So what kind of exercise should I be doing?  People advocating the low carb lifestyle offer several suggestions, none of which involves cardio in the traditional sense..

According to Dr. Bernstein, exercise is the second most important thing I can be doing to achieve normal blood sugars.  But not cardiovascular exercise, at least in the traditional meaning of that phrase.  He recommends progressively more difficult weight training as the best option to build up lean muscle mass.  He says walking is okay, but minimal, and should be supplemented with weights.  That Nice Girl I Married and I usually walk together every morning, and have done so for years.  In good weather, we walk outside with our pooch (but during the winter, he gets the treadmill).  Bernstein suggests a way to supplement walking is to carry a three pound weight in each hand and do curls and swings while walking.  I guess she will have to hold the dog leash from now on.  This is a sensible suggestion that would fit into my current activities quite nicely.

The Drs. Eades and a fitness guru named Frederick Hahn suggest doing an intense, 30-minute weight lifting regime, once per week, where you lift to the point of exhaustion.  They’ve even written a book about it.  Their web site is one big promotion for the book, but it at least sounds interesting.  Check out the book reviews on Amazon.com before deciding whether or not to buy the book.  For the most part, they look quite positive.

Another school of thought is caveman exercise.  What did our hunter/gather forebears do to stay fit?  Mark Sisson, author of Primal Blueprint, has a nice little graphic and explanation about his philosophy of exercise.  He suggests walking frequently, at a slow pace; lift heavy things upon occasion; and give an all-out, sprint-like effort once every seven to 10 days.  See the video below for one explanation of caveman exercise.