Mon 15 Aug 2011
W.O.W. 8/13/11- Back from the Ancestral Health Symposium
Posted by Doug McGuff under Uncategorized
[6] Comments
After decades of working rotating shifts I cannot understand how a 3 hour time change keeps me trapped in circadian hell for days on end. Perhaps coming back to a long string of rotating shifts does not help. Nonetheless, I had a great WOW on Saturday before work.
SuperSlow Systems Pulldown (done in Jreps 1/3rds)
Nautilus Pullover with SS retrofits
MedX Chest Press
MedX Row with SS retrofits
MedX Leg Press
Without a doubt the Ancestral Health Symposium was the best conference I have ever attended. All of the presenters that I saw were excellent, and there were many that I spoke with that I will definitely go back and watch the videos of their talks. You can also see these lectures at ancestryfoundation.org. Some general comments about the meeting are as follows:
-I have never been at a gathering that had such an outstanding collective body composition. Now this is certainly not a scientific observation, and there is a lot of selection bias when you consider people who are motivated enough about health and fitness to travel from all over the globe, but there is enough observational data to suggest that the paleo diet (in all of its various incarnations) definitely works. There was a wide variation in exercise approaches, but they were almost all high intensity. However, my overall impression is that the diet was most responsible for the incredible condition of this crowd.
-The internet is a powerful tool for freedom. In times past a movement like this could have been crushed by “the powers that be”, and notions of ancestral health and dietary approaches most certainly have been in the past. However, the internet allows such a free flow of information that the best ideas can still percolate through an ocean of viagra ads, porn sites, gambling sites and get rich schemes to be found by a motivated individual. Once a few rational minds find the best information, sparks get thrown off and eventually a wildfire results. The AHS certainly felt like such a wildfire. As Stephen Guynet said “this is like being IN the internet”.
-Once the wildfire is set, it becomes evident that being a high-calibre expert does not require that you come from a prestigious institution. Some of the really excellent presentations did come out of major universities, but some of the best came out of seemingly nowhere. For instance, be sure and watch Denise Minger’s lecture. This is a young lady in her 20’s who refused to bow to the “argument from authority” and disemboweled T. Colin Campbell’s China Study. Finally, the absolute best lecture that I have ever seen anywhere was given by Tom Naughton. Please look for his lecture, as it should be required viewing on the first day at every medical school in this country.
-I noticed a pattern where those participants from prestigious universities felt that “change” in the field of nutrition and metabolism should be enacted through legislation or by bringing supporting data to large regulatory agencies such as the USDA or FDA. Being brilliant themselves, they tend to feel that the really smart people should be in charge in order to make things safer for the populace. Those from more independent backgrounds seemed to have more confidence in the sort of spontaneous organization that made this meeting possible in the first place. To paraphrase Tom Naughton “we need to keep doing what we are doing and in the process show these large institutions that they are irrelevant”. I guess you can tell which camp I fall in.
-The Efficient Exercise Crew (Skyler Tanner and Keith Norris) put me through a quick workout on their ARX equipment. It is a motor-driven resistance system similar to the infamous Cra-Z-Train workout I experienced and many have seen on Youtube. Due to scheduling problems, it had to be done in a storage area of the Ackerman building and the machine was not completely assembled. As a result I got a little too much rest between sets, and the setup on the chest press and belt squat was a little less than optimal. One neat difference I noted was that the turnarounds now involved a definite end-point and squeeze technique rather than the brief respite I experienced on the Cra-Z-Train prototype. Hopefully others got to try it under better circumstances during the movement sessions. If so, please comment.
-The Paleo approach or Ancestral Health field has advanced to the point where there is some significant discourse and differences of opinion. While several theories clashed, the discourse was refreshingly polite. As for me, it seems that all of the incarnations are producing great results for their adherents. In the end it may be most important to “not eat crap out of a box”.
-Having talked with some of the most serious adherents of this approach to diet, I wonder how much my observation data about recovery intervals may be related to how bad people’s diets are and how much more we may be capable of with an ideal diet. I certainly have noted improved recovery and response and wonder what others experiences have been.
-I definitely plan on attending AHS12
