Volcano in the distance

I live on the edge of town in a High Desert Plateau. It is about 6,500 feet above sea level and there is not a tree in sight. It is a barren windy, sandy plain and it is where Roger De Rok and I like to hike, explore and do arroyo sprints. It is pretty brutal… rarely is there a cloud in the sky, as mentioned earlier there are NO trees and literally NO shade. There is typically a stead state wind of 25-30 miles per hour with gusts usually of around 45. Temperatures average anywhere from 90 to 110 and the dryness and the altitude just add to the brutality. I would equate each mile you travel out here to about 3 miles anywhere else as far as how taxing it is on your body.

Anyways, about 6 miles from my house across these high desert plains and mesas are a series of old volcanoes. I have always wanted to go out and climb around on them but just never got around to doing it. For the last year or so Roger and I have talked about bushwhacking out there and we finally decided to do it yesterday. Fortunately the temperature was only about 90 degrees but the sun was unrelenting and the wind was punishing.

I was prepared with my vibrams, light clothing, a light long sleeve shirt (Believe it or not cooler in these conditions), a boony cap and a pack full of water and lunch food:

Me

Roger on the other hand does not own a single piece of clothing that is not black! (even his vibrams are black lol).

Roger De Rok

Ultimately when we got out to the base of the first volcano, we ran into a vicious barbed wire fence that ran as far as the eye can see which is why I say that the government won in the end. Still we had a good adventure, good exercise and we never would have known if we hadn’t done it.

So Close

Along the way we did find this little basalt pit that was pretty neat. Walking on these rocks in vibrams though was killer on the feet!

Basalt Pit

In a world where hardly an inch is left unexplored, most people don’t even think about unleashing their inner explorer. As man, we have this inherent desire to see and conquer new places that is a very basic primal urge. I urge and challenge everyone to get out there and explore something new to you know. It doesn’t matter if you live in the middle of a big city or out in the middle of nowhere. Pick something that you have been wanting to explore for a long time but haven’t done it yet (It could even be a museum). If possible make the journey on foot and get some good exercise along the way!

Do you have place that  you have been wanting to “explore” or an adventure that you have yet to embark on?

-The SoG

This is my idea of a "fun" workout

“I Hate Working Out”

I hear this a lot (mostly from Roger De Rok).

If this is you or how you feel as well then I have some good news for you.
YOU DON”T HAVE TO WORK OUT TO BE HEALTHY AND IN SHAPE.

If you think that what I just said is unprimal… think again.

How often do you think Grok thought “Man… I need to work out more”?
He didn’t.
Instead he thought “Man… I need to get some food” or “Man… I need to build some shelter” or “OH CRAP THAT THING HAS BIG TEETH… I NEED TO RUN AWAY”.

All these things translated into exercise which we do need to be healthy and in shape. “Working out” is not the only way to get exercise though. Planned and scheduled “workouts” do not have to be part of the equation.

Working out is indeed a good way for us to get exercise and for us to make up for all the things that Grok did standard that we no longer do. Working out is also quite convenient when you don’t have the time, weather, or opportunity to get exercise in other ways. Some people even enjoy working out itself and more power to them. I myself have been working out 1-3 times a week depending on how active I am outside of working out. I have been doing a fair amount of outdoors activity lately and so have not felt a need to work out too much. I have been going to the lake the last couple weekends which involves a lot of swimming, jumping, climbing etc.

If you hate working out though, don’t stress! Just make sure that you are getting your exercise through other means. This can be done any number of ways including playing a sport, taking a hike, exploring, yard work, home improvement projects. Just be active!

If you can find a manner of exercise that you enjoy, then getting exercise will never seem like a chore. Also, if you get bored of getting exercise one way, switch it up and find another. It is why the workout crew likes to switch up their workouts so they don’t get monotonous.

Don’t let your lack of motivation or your distaste for working out keep you from a healthy happy you!

Ready to jump back down!

Why do I live here then? Well it’s a long story but I own my house… can’t afford to move somewhere I would like to live and frankly it is rather cheap and inexpensive to live here. In fact it is so cheap that they call this the “land of entrapment” (a play on our state slogan “land of enchantment”) because it is so cheap that once you live here you can’t move away and if you do… you usually end up back. Anyways I am now ranting and it is completely irrelevant so back on track….

I live on the Westside of Albuquerque. This side of town is basically built on a true high desert plateau. I live on the edge of this. What this means is not that I have access to mountains and the like… I have access to a wide open space of dirt, sagebrush and million year old lava flows.

But if life gives you lemons, make some lemonade. I started doing Arroyo Sprints. Roger De Rok has joined me once a week for these and it has become more than a workout or excursion… it has become a down right primal ritual for us.

Here is how Arroy Sprints work:

Shirtless and barefoot (well Roger wears a t-shirt and converse), walk 4 miles through the desert that looks a little like this…

Steep dirt hill between us and the PTG

Top of dirt hill. Lava flow hides PTG

It really is a nice hike aside from being the desert. You are surrounded by desert wildlife. There are jackrabbits, birds and lizards everywhere.

We hike until we get to here…

The Top Secret Primal Training Grounds

This arroyo has been lovingly dubbed the “Top Secret Primal Training Grounds”. It is an arroyo that is tucked down between a lava flow and a high sandy bank with lava rocks that is hidden from sight and has probably not seen water in a bajillion years. The trees are the only desert trees really around and for a short time every year bloom into a lovely pink blossom almost like a cherry tree.

Once here, we do 10 short sprints down the arroyo (only 30-50meters) with 10 seconds of rest in between. Once done we immediately, unceremoniously and silently walk away and begin our trek back. It is very cool.

I made a crappy video of it. I seem to be talking like I am intoxicated but I assure you I am not. It was a one take deal with my cell phone… it was very bright and also very hot out and we had just finished our trek to the Primal training grounds. Oh and the hairy (slow) guy with dreads is Roger De Rok (almost 100 pounds lighter now!).

Sprinting in the sand is amazing exercise. It feels like you are trying to run in slow motion. It is hard, its is dirty, it is good Primal fun. These excursions are also great for getting fresh air and sunshine. All in all, this is one of my favorite ways to get a little exercise during the week.

I have often pondered and said that if you give me a competetive athlete and a couple weeks in the Primal Training Grounds, I can delivered insanely improved performance.

You are it!

Remember playing the game of tag on the playground as a kid and how much fun it was? Well I never really grew up. I am still known for going up to my wife, poking her and then running away encouraging her to give chase. Or I might pretend to give her a kiss but stop short and then turn around and run away.  It is just so much fun!

There is just something about being chased or giving chase that really gets your hormones going. Tag is all in good fun but you still get a hint of that fear adrenaline and fun endorphins as you are running away or after someone.

How is it primal? Imagine you are chasing down prey or running away from something trying to make prey of you! There is the hormone response of fight or flight that your body goes through without having to worry about bad consequences like… oh death. Tag is also a great workout in the form of sprints. You sprint away or towards, then you stop and formulate strategy and play mind games, then you sprint again! If your game of tag is like ours, then you have obstacles to overcome too. We jump over couches, run up stairs, circle tables.

If you don’t believe me then try it! Plan a game of tag with your kids, your spouse or loved one or your friends (I like to pretend that I have those). If they don’t seem into it then taunt them into chasing you like I do to my wife! It is a great way to get yourself out of breath. The endorphin rush is great as well!

Do you play tag (either impromptu or planned)? Give it a whirl and post your stories!

Stones are made for throwing

 This weeks primal activity is as simple as throwing a rock!

I went out to the dirt couldesac at the end of the street and threw rocks for a while. There are a couple of dilapidated old dryers someone dumped out there and they made for great targets. This is a surprising amount of fun. It took me back to the days of my childhood skipping stones when backpacking.

As far as workouts are concerned, this wasn’t too much of one (I need to find heavier rocks). There is quite a bit of coordination that is required for getting a good throw though. It involves balance, hand-eye coordination, muscle range, timing and all sorts of good stuff. Most people don’t realize that a good throw requires your entire body. If you can’t throw a rock or a ball without being awkward then you really should practice! Your body will thank you.

How is this primal?

Well for one, Grok most certainly threw rocks. He probably used them for hunting and also probably competed with other Groks for distance and accuracy. Also, throwing a rock is much different than throwing a ball. Modern balls are designed for efficient flight and ease of throwing. A rock tends to be misshapen and unevenly weighted. The bigger the rock.. the harder it is to throw!

So get out there, find a rock, and start heaving it! Oh, but preferably not at anyone. You probably want to stay clear of windows and cars too.

Weeeeeeeeeeee

Sorry for the blurry picture, it was a cell phone camera.

This last Sunday, our good friends held a birthday party for their now 7 year old son. He is a great kid. Anyways, the party was held at this place which is basically a giant warehouse full of inflatable “jumpers”, slides, obstacle courses and tons of fun goodness.

Now you may be thinking good fun for the kids, but this place highly encouraged the adults to join in too! So there we were racing and climbing and running and wrestling around with the kids and each other and having a good old time.

How is this primal you may ask? Well while Grok most likely didn’t have giant inflatable slides to climb, he most certainly ran around with the kids and the guys and gals and had a good old time. We also competed head to head through the obstacle courses much like Grok probably would have done with others. 10 minutes into this play-land and you are exhausted. What a workout. Sometimes it is easy to forget how much of a workout goofing off and playing around is! For us adults, the laughter was a whole workout in and of itself! Chasing kids up trees and over rocks probably had the same effects. Endorphin overload!

Most of us in this day and age get so wrapped up in our 8-5 and our responsibilities that we forget to step back and have fun sometimes. You don’t always have to be the mature, reserved adult. Enjoy yourself! Its healthy for you!