A Friendly Nudge - Our Balancing Act

...because we all could use a little encouragement!

Nov 02, 2024

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It’s interesting how things work out. 14 years ago, my doc told me I had heart disease. It felt like getting hit in the head with a board since I’d been convincing myself that I was amazingly healthy.

For whatever reason I’d decided that if I ate enough “heart healthy whole grains” I had a free pass to eat as much ice cream as I wanted every week.

Fortunately for me, my son-in-law recommended that I check out Robb Wolf’s book, The Paleo Solution and that turned out to be life changing. Even with a biology degree, I’d never given any thought to the fact that we’re almost genetically identical to our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

Wolf’s book explores some of the ways that our hunter-gatherer tuned metabolism runs into problems when it’s asked to navigate a landscape filled with foods that have been processed and engineered to be irresistible.

What slowly dawned on me as I read Wolf’s and other authors and researchers in the ancestral and evolutionary biology space like Art DeVany, Loren Cordain, Daniel Lieberman, Mark Sisson and Rick Johnson (with his work on fructose metabolism) was that our bodies are doing exactly what they had been optimized for.

Our distant ancestors' survival depended on their ability to store fat when food was plentiful so they could burn their stored fat when times were lean. Our ancestors could have never imagined being surrounded with such an effortless abundance.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest that we start living in caves and eating bugs. Instead I’m going to suggest that we leverage some of this information to help us take some of the hassle out of getting and staying healthier.

We’ll explore that a little more from time to time, in the meantime, let’s make something to eat that’s tasty and focuses on the basics.

Easy Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Grapes & Kale

I love meals that are delicious and easy, and that have flavors that wake up our palates. Sometimes this is done with spice, other times it’s with a pop of acidity. With this meal (inspired by a dish in the New York Times), it’s done with the contrast of the acidity of the balsamic vinegar with the sweetness of the grapes and cooked shallots.

Ingredients:

1 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin - silver skin removed
3-4 pinches of oregano
1 fat pinch of salt
1 fat pinch of fennel seed (optional but recommended)
1 fat pinch of cracked black pepper
2 shallots - sliced thinly
1 bunch Kale - stems removed and discarded and leaves chopped
20 grapes = halved
2-3 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Trim any excess fat and the tough, shiny connective tissue called silver skin from the tenderloin.

Combine the oregano, salt, pepper and fennel seed in a small bowl and then rub that into the tenderloin.

Cut the grapes in half lengthwise.

Remove the stems from the kale and then chop the leaves.

Add a glug of olive oil to a hot skillet on medium - high heat and then add the tenderloin and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, turn over and cook for another 3 minutes.

Move the tenderloin to one side of the skillet, add a little more olive oil to the skillet and add the sliced shallots. As those begin to soften in a couple of minutes, add a handful of kale to the skillet. As it begins to wilt, continue adding more kale and additional olive oil if needed.

Once the kale is wilted, move the tenderloin to the middle of the skillet and place the kale on each side and then add some glugs of balsamic vinegar to each side of the tenderloin. (The recipe called for 3 tbsp but I might have added a touch more since it’s going to reduce.) Add the grapes and continue to cook until the internal temp of the tenderloin reaches your desired level of doneness. I was looking for 135℉ but I know so folks want theirs more in the 145℉ range.

Remove the pork to a rimmed baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the pork into medallions and add them back into the skillet and serve.

Enjoy!

Now let’s put together a workout

Not all of the following exercises are going to be the right level of difficulty for everyone. Find the ones that resonate with you and do those individually or string them together as a circuit. The goal is to challenge yourself but not to the point that it’s painful or that you’re so sore the next day that you don’t want to move.

Foam Rolling Duration: As much time as needed

There’s a reason that every week starts with these. Foam rolling is a nice way to begin getting your muscles ready for exercise. When you find a sore or tight spot, hang out for 20-40 seconds. Check with your doc if you have osteoporosis, osteopenia or other health issues. Avoid your armpits, lower spine, neck, front or back of knee.

Easy Warm Up Duration: 2-5 minutes

You’re just waking things up and getting your body ready for exercise. I’ve added some extra time here because giving your body enough time to get warmed up is time well spent.

Slam Ball: Duration 5 “slams”

We’re working on our power production and we’re letting off a little steam.

The reason that we’re doing so few reps is because we want them to be explosive. I want you to throw the slam ball down like you mean it.
This is another time where you will double brace your core. Hopefully it’s becoming a little automatic by now.

Farmer’s Carries: Duration 1-2 minutes

Life involves carrying things. Groceries, grandkids, luggage, something is always needing us to move it from point A to point B. Kettlebells are great, but if you’re just getting started a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. Start where you are.
Proud chest, shoulders back, core engaged (including your pelvic floor) and go for a walk.

Knees Over Toes Heel Raises Duration: 10-25 reps

This is more work from Ben Patrick’s Knees Over Toes work and it’s a workout for our soleus muscle, which is important for knee health, ankle mobility, walking, running and standing up straight. Important stuff.
I do this in the mornings while I’m waiting on coffee to be ready.
Place your hands on a counter or wall for balance, bend your knees over your toes and do heel raises.
It’s important that you find a pain free range and position for these. We’re working to build strength and capacity and we have to avoid injury to do that.
Once two legs get too easy, you can dial it up by doing it with one leg.

Tandem Balance Duration: Work up to 30 Seconds - 1 Minute

This one is surprisingly challenging. Just put one foot in front of the other one and keep your eyes on the horizon. You can do this one beside a wall or next to a chair if you need something to steady yourself against.

Dead Bug Variation Duration: Start with 5 per side and work up to 12 a side.

Dead bugs and bird dogs are bound to be in the physical therapists hall of fame - because sooner or later they always show up in the programming. There’s a reason for that, they’re great full body exercises.
If you have low back pain or weakness this one may be too advanced for you.
Start by holding a stability ball off of the ground with a hand and the opposite knee and then extend the opposite arm and leg. Be sure to brace your core and tuck your pelvis to protect your low back. You want to feel like you’re pressing your low back into the ground. Return your hand and knee to support the ball and switch to the other arm and leg. That’s one rep. See if you can do 5 good reps.

Standing Hip Mobility: Duration - 1 minute per side

A lack of mobility or range of motion in your ankles and hips can have a big impact on how your knees work and feel. It’s why I like this exercise. It helps you explore your range of motion in your hips and it can gradually help you expand your range of motion.
Avoid any movement that causes pinching, catching or pain. You want to expand your capacity and grinding through pain is not the way to accomplish that.
Engage/stabilize your core because you want to keep your core stationary and have the motion come exclusively from your hip.

Seated Rows Duration: 8-12 reps

I love being able to use resistance bands to do this great gym exercise at home.
Braced core and proud chest. Feel your shoulder blades go forward (protraction) when your arms go forward and feel your shoulder blades retract when you pull back against the band.

Side Lying Glute Medius and Minimus Duration: 8-12

Your glute medius and minimus are like the rotator cuffs of the hip and they frequently get ignored. Balance, walking mechanics, knee and ankle health, there are lots of reasons that we don’t want to ignore them.
This exercise will make sure they know you’re thinking about them.

tep Up to Balance Duration: 1 minute

As we age, our quality of life, and even our life itself, can depend on our balance since falls are the leading cause of accidental death in folks over 65. So we’re going to make sure that we work on it every week.
If you have a few minutes while you’re waiting on your coffee to brew, spend a few minutes doing this drill or one of the other balance drills we’ve covered.
With this exercise we’re combining balance, coordination and light conditioning.
Focus on the feeling of stability as you raise your leg at the top.
I rushed a couple of mine. Take your time with yours.

Ground to Standing with One Hand Duration: Up to 5 per side

Being able to get up from the ground without someone helping us up is an essential part of independent living. Knee problems may rule this one out for some folks, but if you’re able to kneel, this is a capacity that you need to amplify. Getting your upper body leaning forward makes this one a lot more doable. See if you can work up to where you can do this without using your hands.

Standing Chest Press with Band Duration: 8-12 reps

You can use resistance bands that have handles or just wrap a resistance band around your shoulders and put your thumbs through the loops.
A set of resistance bands give you so many home exercise options.
Proud chest, engaged core, shoulders retracted throughout the movement.
Use a band that will let you do 8-12 reps.

Stability Ball Leg Raise Duration: 1 minute accumulated time with each leg and rest as needed

This is a new one and it’s challenging but so valuable.

Sit on a stability ball that is against a wall and engage our core and raise one foot off the ground. This one will challenge your balance, your core, your hamstrings, and your glutes. It is a new favorite of mine.
Please let me know how you like it.

This week we’ve got an assortment of strength, balance and mobility exercises and when you do the strength exercises be sure to modify them to meet you where you are in your exercise journey. You don’t need to grab 2, 50# kettlebells for the farmer’s carries, just partially filled jugs of water are a great place to start. Same concept applies to the resistance band exercises, ease your way in with lighter bands or even the therabands.

I don’t talk enough about walking but it's so important for our health and wellness. If you’re having a tough time getting motivated to exercise, no problem, put on your tennis shoes and go for a walk. And who knows, maybe when you get back you’ll feel like picking up a couple of jugs of water and doing a few farmer’s carries.

Have a wonderful week and play with your food.

I’ll see you next week!

Jim