| The Purposeful Primitive approach to the art and | | | | executed with great physical intensity than a |
| science of physical renovation is deceptively simplistic. | | | | super-sophisticated plan executed in a lackadaisical |
| By using a few basic tools and food purchased from | | | | fashion. Those of us who belong to commercial gyms |
| the grocery store, you can radically alter the way | | | | have no doubt noted that the vast majority of |
| you look while simultaneously improving health, vitality | | | | regular members never ever change physically |
| and energy levels. The Primitive approach has two | | | | despite being diligent and regular in their training. |
| irreducible goals: tone, strengthen and increase muscle | | | | These diligent gym goers stay the same for very |
| mass and function, and the systematic reduction of | | | | real physiological reasons: the human body does not |
| body fat. This methodology has been used by the | | | | transform itself in response to sameness; the human |
| athletic elite for decades and is shorn of fluff and | | | | body changes its molecular structure only in response |
| bloat.There are three core elements to any effective | | | | to the self-inflicted trauma of intense physical |
| fitness regimen: progressive resistance training, | | | | effort.This is an inconvenient fact-of-life that |
| cardiovascular training and nutrition . These are the | | | | promoters of commercial product gloss over or |
| three legs of the Fitness Triad. A Purposeful Primitive | | | | purposefully obfuscate. They want you to believe |
| uses an unending rotation of simple yet effective | | | | that their miracle product will allow you to by-pass all |
| methods within each of the three Triad component | | | | the blood, sweat and tears associated with true |
| disciplines. Inter-related and inter-locking, the three | | | | transformation. Wish it we so but this is the number |
| disciplines compliment, stimulate and accelerate | | | | one fitness myth. Intense training effort must be |
| progress when linked and executed in a balanced, | | | | coordinated with a disciplined approach to |
| sane fashion.The goal is to establish physical | | | | nutrition.The Purposeful Primitive understands that |
| momentum and then keep the progress ball | | | | intense physical effort is required trigger muscle |
| rolling.Any fitness expert worth their salt will tell you | | | | hypertrophy and intense effort is required to mobilize |
| is that stagnation is always just around the corner. | | | | and oxidize stored body fat. The tools needed need |
| The typical trainee finds a particular weight training | | | | not be sophisticated but the intensity generated |
| routine, cardio routine or diet that they like and then | | | | need be sufficient to pull the hypertrophy |
| proceed to stick with it for far too long. The dirty | | | | trigger.Generating training intensity is a learned trait |
| little secret of fitness is that almost any program of | | | | and need not be hurtful, harmful or injurious. The |
| diet will produce results for the first 3-6 weeks. By | | | | good news is that by training intensely we need not |
| exposing the body to a new and different mode of | | | | train often - in fact by training as hard as we should |
| behavior (regular training, disciplined eating) progress | | | | in our progressive resistance training, too much |
| will occur.The problem is the human body is | | | | training done too often is down right |
| remarkably adaptive and from the time you begin | | | | counter-productive.Cardiovascular training, a.k.a. |
| using the new procedure, be it a weight training | | | | aerobics, are an indispensable leg of the fitness triad. |
| regimen, new aerobic routine or the latest diet craze, | | | | Progressive resistance training builds and strengthens |
| the body is seeking to neutralize the impact. If you | | | | the 600+ muscles on the human body; cardiovascular |
| stay with the new training or eating approach long | | | | training improves circulatory function, builds the |
| enough the human body will find a way to 'normalize' | | | | internal heart pump muscle, increases the size of |
| what was once radical and effective. For this reason | | | | capillaries and prevents hardening of arterial walls. In |
| just about any new fitness or eating regimen will | | | | addition aerobic activity burns calories and elevates |
| yield results for the first month or so. The inevitable | | | | the basal metabolic rate. Cardio exercise is the |
| problem is resistance to change: once the progress | | | | perfect complement to progressive resistance |
| vein is exhausted, rather than recognize stagnation | | | | exercise -- one exercise form provides what the |
| and rotate in a fresh new approach, trainees stick | | | | other does not and vice versa. When both are |
| with the now ineffectual mode.Among fitness | | | | practiced on a regular, systematic basis, the |
| adherents there is a disturbing and predictable | | | | combination (in conjunction with performance eating) |
| phenomenon: developing an unhealthy and | | | | causes the body to respond to a degree that is not |
| counterproductive allegiance to a once-effective | | | | possible if one exercise form is practiced to the |
| routine or diet. Out of loyalty or a misguided sense | | | | exclusion of the other.PERFORMANCE EATING AND |
| of stick-to-it-ness, they take what was once (and no | | | | SKINNY-FAT PARADOX: Exercise need be |
| longer is) effective and turn it into a religion.The | | | | coordinated with a specific eating strategy. Most |
| Purposeful Primitive recognizes that all routines and | | | | will-driven, serious fitness adherents under-eat. You |
| diets, no matter how sophisticated or effective run | | | | need to eat enough calories to support the intense |
| their natural course and peter out. We recognize the | | | | training. The combination of intense exercise and too |
| indisputable fact of life and always have another | | | | few calories is a recipe for disaster. Catabolism takes |
| equally effective routine or eating strategy ready to | | | | hold when the human body is over-worked and |
| roll out. Progress is the most important | | | | under-fed.In the PP lexicon we call this 'prison camp' |
| product.ENTHUSIASM TRUMPS WILLPOWER EVERY | | | | nutrition: work the prisoner to death through intense |
| SINGLE TIME!A key element to success is being able | | | | physical activity then starve them. Oh sure you will |
| to develop a genuine enthusiastic love for the | | | | lose body weight by using prison camp methodology |
| physical renovation process. If you view the fitness | | | | but the result is the "skinny-fat" syndrome. Skinny-fat |
| as drudgery and dread the thought of training and | | | | occurs when the fitness adherent loses as much or |
| hate the idea of preparing foods that enhance the | | | | more muscle tissue as the do body fat during the |
| performance-eating portion of the fitness equation, | | | | dietary process. The end result is the individual ends |
| then you are doomed to eventually quit.Those with | | | | up a miniaturized version of their old fat self. True, |
| fabulous willpower last longer then those with lesser | | | | they might lose 100-pounds of body weight -- yet |
| mental discipline, but regardless, all acts of will come | | | | they still retain a high percentage of body fat. They |
| to an end sooner or later. As any competent | | | | have succeeded in replicating themselves in a way |
| psychiatrist will attest that while willpower is great for | | | | that is lighter but still fat, fat, fat.The reason is |
| getting a life-changing process or procedure started, | | | | rooted in simple physiology: when the body senses |
| at some point in the foreseeable future, willpower | | | | starvation, as it does when a person slashes too |
| and determination must morph into enjoyment.If you | | | | many calories too quickly, a primordial mechanism |
| are able to develop enthusiasm (and love) for the | | | | triggers that causes the body to hang onto body fat. |
| process, effort will magically regenerate itself and | | | | Body fat is form of fuel and the last line of defense |
| develop a self-sustaining, self-regenerating | | | | against starvation. If a starvation situation is sensed, |
| momentum. When workouts become enjoyable and | | | | the body's innate wisdom holds onto the fat at all |
| something that you look forward to, when you look | | | | cost.The body actually cannibalizes muscle tissue to |
| forward to eating great tasting diet meals that | | | | preserve precious body fat. Rather than expend its |
| happen to be good for you, the battle is won. | | | | precious body fat in the face of starvation, the body |
| Physical transformation becomes not a matter or if | | | | will strip muscles of amino content to serves as fuel |
| but when. Variety is one critical element to | | | | to power activity. The PP avoids this metabolic |
| developing self-sustaining enthusiasm for the | | | | catastrophe by never slashing calories. If you train |
| process.Expose yourself to a wide range of training | | | | intensely you need to eat. The PP loves to eat and |
| modes and systems, and amongst them you will | | | | eat often. Performance eating is the art and science |
| most certainly find one or more that you actually | | | | of eating plenty of tasty food; yet paradoxically you |
| enjoy. Ditto for nutrition: the key to eating correctly | | | | are able to simultaneously oxidize stored body fat. |
| is taste. Learn how to prepare great tasting foods | | | | Sound impossible? Champion bodybuilders eat |
| that also happen to be absolutely the perfect foods | | | | upwards of 10,000 calories a day while maintaining |
| for you to consume. When all three elements are in | | | | 4-8% body fat percentiles.How do they do this? |
| continual rotation and when you look forward to | | | | Over time they have build up the body's ability to |
| engaging in each leg of the Fitness Tripod then | | | | consume calories without shuttling these calories into |
| inevitably the human body will undergo a positive | | | | fat storage compartments. They have turned up the |
| molecular transformation.PRIMITIVE SYNERGY: When | | | | body's thermostat and burn tons of calories while at |
| all three elements of the Purposefully Primitive fitness | | | | rest. This is the opposite of an obese person's |
| triad are in place and practiced in a balanced and | | | | sluggish metabolism. A champion athlete burns calories |
| proportional fashion, a physical synergy occurs | | | | at a tremendous rate while an out-of-shape individual |
| wherein results exceed all realistic expectations . | | | | needs very few calories to exist. By engaging in |
| Better to do a bit of each discipline than a whole lot | | | | intense physical activity and eating foods not easily |
| of any one or two elements.Typically a fitness | | | | converted in body fat the Purposeful Primitive raises |
| adherent will latch onto one (or two) of the | | | | their basal metabolic rate.Does this mean we want |
| irreducible core elements and work the hell out of it. | | | | you to eat 10,000 a day? Hardly, but in the finest |
| Unfortunately this approach will only get you so far. | | | | tradition of Prometheus, the PP will expropriate the |
| When progressive resistance training, cardiovascular | | | | tactical architecture used by elite bodybuilders to aid |
| training and performance eating are all present and | | | | the average individual build muscle, loss fat and stay |
| accounted for and executed in a systematic, | | | | healthy, sane and gobbling ample amounts of tasty |
| balanced fashion, results occur at a phenomenal rate | | | | food.PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Purposefully |
| that has to be experienced to be believed.The | | | | Primitive methods will work for you. Based in science |
| Purposeful Primitive begins the transformation | | | | and biology and drenched in decades of hardcore |
| process by realistically accessing how much time they | | | | empirical experience, this approach to physical |
| have to devote on a weekly basis to the total | | | | renovation yields significant, indisputable results in a |
| effort. Then the available time is apportioned in a | | | | short timeframe - provided you implement all three |
| fairly equal way. The PP allots time for meal | | | | legs of the fitness tripod in a balanced fashion.Marty |
| preparation and grocery shopping and plans ahead on | | | | Gallagher is a former fitness columnist for He is also a |
| all fronts. Ample amounts of quality food need be | | | | former national and world champion powerlifter. |
| prepared ahead of time, ready to be consumed at a | | | | Marty's articles have been featured in Muscle Media, |
| moment's notice. This notion of balance and | | | | Muscle & Fitness, and Powerlifting USA magazines. His |
| proportionality carries over into the composition of | | | | website, assimilates years of accumulated knowledge |
| the individual meals. Primitive tactics used in a | | | | from the athletic elite and makes them accessible to |
| balanced fashion create critical mass. Physical synergy | | | | the common person. The "Purposeful Primitive" way |
| is real and when achieved results occur rapidly.HOW | | | | has been proven effective time after time after time |
| WE TRAIN: Athletes know that training intensity is a | | | | for weight loss, increasing muscle tone, and complete |
| force-multiplier. Better to have a second-rate training | | | | physical transformation. |