Recipe time: Heart = power

This has been a pretty great week so far. Lots of things are happening. I'm getting really excited for the first annual New York City Barefoot Run, which happens this weekend. I've completely redone the Fifth Ape Meetup schedule to increase variety and fun - check it out here.

I've also been working on business and website stuff, which will soon be up and running. I know I've been saying it for awhile, but we are getting EXTREMELY close to launching Fifth Ape training on the world. I even went "shopping" yesterday in the woods - I found a recently fallen tree which I sawed into three pieces, then lugged two of them a half mile uphill back to my house for drying. That was quite a workout.

 So, how do I have energy for all of these wonderful activities? Two words: organ meat.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww" I hear you say.  This is a common reaction these days and one we need to squash. Organ meat is extremely nutritious, most of it is delicious, and we could all do with some remedial "waste not" education. Given its current low demand, organ meat is also very cheap, so it's great if you're on a budget. I'll try to bring you a few good recipes over the next few months.

Let's start with the heart, which is probably the most like a normal cut of meat - after all, it's just another piece of muscle. It's a pretty tough muscle, though, and we'll need to take that into account.

Ingredients: 1 cow heart (local and grassfed); 1 cup olive oil; 1/2 cup raw vinegar; 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 1/4 teaspoon cumin; 1 bunch collard greens.

1) Cut the heart into strips, remove any hard bits, then cut into 1-2 cm cubes.

2) Mix the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin in a bowl. Add the cubes of heart and mix well. Cover the bowl and place it in the refridgerator for 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours... this one takes a little forward prep.

3) After 24 hours, set your broiler to low and cover a broiling rack with tin foil. Arrange the heart cubes on the rack, pour on some of the marinade, and pop it in the broiler for 5 - 10 minutes.

4) While the heart is broiling away, chop the collard greens into bite sized pieces and steam them. If you don't have a steamer, you can use a normal pot - add a very small amount of water, add the greens and heat on the stove until the water boils and produces steam... should only take 5 minutes.

5) Remove the heart from the broiler, remove the greens from the steamer, plate everything, and eat it!

Enjoy - let me know what you think!

"No hands" Turkish get up

I think I saw Erwan Le Corre doing something like this in one of his Sicfit interview videos and thought it looked like fun. After a little experimentation, here's what I came up with:

The "no hands" comes into play because the hands and arms aren't used to brace against the ground at any point, as is done during a normal TGU. The key is to use the momentum generated from swinging your legs to power an explosive situp. The rest is just hip mobility.

I realized after watching this that I used the same leg configuration for both lifts. Whoops. That's actually my weaker side, so maybe it's a good thing?

Give this one a try - I think you'll like it.

Change Your Body, Change The World: Part II

We're back with Part II.  Did you see Part I? Did you buy the book?

I'll get to the party in just a sec, but a bird just flew into my house and is causing mayhem in the kitchen. Excuse me for a sec...

...okay, he's been escorted safely out - a chickadee if you want to know. Things get pretty exciting down here in Chapel Hill. Anyways...

I flew in to Seattle on Thursday and was met at the airport by Frank. In the garage was his car - a Honda Element that had undergone a slight modification since the last time I saw it: A fiberglass rhino horn had been bolted onto the hood. "The Element seems like a rhino to me, so it needed a horn," explained Frank.

Chock full of awesome.

The party wasn't until Saturday evening, so the next two days were spent playing. We went to the climbing gym on Friday. I'd never done any "real" climbing before and immediately fell in love. By the end, my hands and arms were barely working. I learned a lot just by watching Frank smoothly conquer some pretty crazy routes.

Saturday morning found us at the Mountaineering club, where the party would be held later in the evening. We were joined by my friends Josh Leeger and Sebastian Alary for a little bouldering. Just the thing for my already-shredded hands...

 We started setting up around 2:00 and the party itself got going around 5:00. We opened with a great presentation by Frank on a panoramic view of what he calls "the primate's predicament."  After a quick movement session we sat back down and the Barefoot Sensei stood up to talk. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mick Dodge, a.k.a The Barefoot Sensei, see this and this)

There is no way I could reproduce what Mick said here - it was a fantastic talk, full of humor and passion. He is truly one of a kind and the next time I am out in the Northwest I am looking forward to spending some time in his Earthgym on Whidbey Island.

Next, I was thrilled and honored to help lead everyone through a series of games. Seby and Dawni Rae got things started with some partner resist challenges. Josh took everyone through his hilariously fun Evolution Training. I led a few rounds of Equilateral Triangles - and we finished with a big Jump for Joy. Judging by the smiles and some of the great feedback, I think people enjoyed it.

Then the party started in earnest and we all got to mingle and talk. I was thrilled to finally meet Barefoot Ted, who was incredibly nice. Erwan Le Corre came running in after his MovNat workshop finished - great to see him again. I finally met Anna Floyd and felt like I'd known her for years. There were many others as well, including Barak Rosenbloom, Jennifer Nerio, and Butch Trail, to name a few. I ended up running outside to climb again (my poor arms!) and the night finished with a big drum circle in the dark.

The rest of the trip was a blur. We went back to the climbing gym where Frank made me do ascents without using my hands. We went to a fantastic park near Lake Washington for a barefoot run. We ate a lot of salmon. Before I knew it I was on an airplane home.

The only downside to the whole adventure was the absence of some stalwart Exuberants. Kwame Brown, recently married and rocking the cause at his new job. Charlie Reid, dreamboat and rockstar extraordinaire. You guys were missed. Next time, for sure.

It was an incredible trip - my gratitude to everyone who made it possible, especially to Frank - your vision is an inspiration. Now get busy on another book so we can do it again soon!