I'm Darryl Edwards (aka The Fitness Explorer), founder of Primal Play, this website is no longer being updated - please check out www.primalplay.com for current details on my work, passion and lifestyle approach.

What is Primal Play? 

Eat for Health, Move for Life!

More about me...

More about my services... 

Recent Updates
Latest Tweets

We Love Paleo Documentary

Learn more about We Love Paleo



Facebook

Link Love
Search The Site
Newsletter

 Join my newsletter today for FREE. No Spam. Ever!

--------------------------

Categories
Reading List
  • Animal Moves: How to move like an animal to get you leaner, fitter, stronger and healthier for life
    Animal Moves: How to move like an animal to get you leaner, fitter, stronger and healthier for life
    by Darryl Edwards

    Animal Moves

    • improve strength, speed and stamina
    • increase mobility, flexibility and stability
    • look, feel and perform better

    Find out more and details on how to purchase at www.animalmovesbook.com

  • Paleo from A to Z: A reference guide to better health through nutrition and lifestyle. How to eat, live and thrive as nature intended!
    Paleo from A to Z: A reference guide to better health through nutrition and lifestyle. How to eat, live and thrive as nature intended!
    by Darryl Edwards

    "If you are looking for a simple way to better understand Paleo concepts, Darryl's Paleo from A to Z guide is the go-to resource.
    -Mark Sisson, best-selling author of The Primal Blueprint and publisher of Mark's Daily Apple

  • Paleo Fitness - A Primal Training and Nutrition Program to Get Lean, Strong and Healthy
    Paleo Fitness - A Primal Training and Nutrition Program to Get Lean, Strong and Healthy
    by Darryl Edwards, Brett Stewart, Jason Warner

    "This book is a useful reference to enable individuals just starting out on the Paleo path as well as those who want to explore more challenging, playful and interesting ways to move."

    -Robb Wolf, New York Times best-selling author of The Paleo Solution

     

  • 7 Day Introduction to Paleo Fitness: Get Fitter, Get Stronger, Get Healthier in Seven Days. Move as Nature Intended.
    7 Day Introduction to Paleo Fitness: Get Fitter, Get Stronger, Get Healthier in Seven Days. Move as Nature Intended.
    by Darryl Edwards
  • The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet
    The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet
    by Robb Wolf
  • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
    Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
    by Robert M. Sapolsky
  • Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health & Boundless Energy (Primal Blueprint Series)
    Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health & Boundless Energy (Primal Blueprint Series)
    by Mark Sisson
  • Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things
    Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things
    by Rick Smith, Bruce Lourie, Sarah Dopp
  • Wahls Protocol, The : A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles
    Wahls Protocol, The : A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles
    by Terry Wahls, Eve Adamson
  • Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
    Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
    by Christopher McDougall
  • In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating: An Eater's Manifesto
    In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating: An Eater's Manifesto
    by Michael Pollan
  • Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
    Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
    by Michael Pollan
  • The Paleo Diet for Athletes
    The Paleo Diet for Athletes
    by L. Cordain
  • Vegetarian Myth, The
    Vegetarian Myth, The
    by Lierre Keith
  • The Second Brain
    The Second Brain
    by Michael D. Gershon
  • The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
    The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
    by Loren Cordain
  • Eat Drink Paleo
    Eat Drink Paleo
    by Irena Macri
  • Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL is Wrong with My Numbers?
    Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL is Wrong with My Numbers?
    by Jimmy Moore, Eric C. Westman
Tuesday
Aug242010

Does muscle weigh more than fat?

How many times have you heard or even used the expression.

"Muscle weighs more than fat!"

Well it's not something I've really questioned before. But however you look at it - this phrase is misleading. A kilo of muscle and a kilo of fat placed on a scale would both weigh exactly the same. A kilo.  It is something we come to terms with when comparing feathers and lead, but it seems subliminal to many with reference to body composition.

What people are really comparing is not weight, but density and volume. Muscle tissue has greater density than adipose (fat) tissue and so fat has a greater volume.  Or more strictly speaking muscle has more weight by volume.

Imagine if a kilo of muscle was the size of a grapefruit, a kilo of fat would be 3 times larger.  This could mean a significant difference to body composition, shape, size and health when the percentage of your body fat changes.


I've also been asked by clients:  

"What exercises can I do to convert my excess fat into muscle?"

For clarification it is a complete myth that you can turn fat into muscle with training.  It is also a myth that your muscle will turn into fat when a training regime subsides.  Fat and muscle are completely different tissues. They have different composition and respond to training in different ways.

I will discuss this in more detail in a future post, but in simple terms: 

  • to decrease fat, make the right nutritional, activity and lifestyle choices;
  • to increase muscle, overload muscles with resistance activity.  Different training programs can be used to: increase strength, increase muscle size (hypertrophy), improve tone, density and efficiency (or all of these simultaneously);
  • muscle cells burn more calories;
  • fat cells store calories;
  • focusing on body weight alone is not enough, a woman who weighs 60 kilos (9 stones 6 or 132lbs) and has 12% body fat will look completely different to a woman who weighs 60 kilos, but has a body fat percentage of 20%
Monday
Aug232010

60 Second Interview: Erwan Le Corre (MovNat)

 

 

Who are you?

I'm Erwan Le Corre.  A man with a vision, that aims to explore life and be true to my nature.  To enjoy and share my experience with others.

What is fitness to you?

I am interested in movement, the way we move in nature.  To be fit, is to be 100% practical and adaptive.  To prepare me for life, not a mirror or to look good on a beach.

What are your goals?

Moving naturally is the best way.  I want to make this vision accessible to everyone.  That everyone feels free to exercise any time, anywhere.  The way that humans have been moving for millions of years, efficient, strong, healthy and free.

What is one of your main concerns in relation to health?

That fact that people have lost the ability to move, squat, walk.  That one day everyone will become couch potatoes.

There needs to be a cultural shift, which goes beyond fitness.  It is a philosophy.  To be strong, happy, healthy and free.  Not weak, depressed, sick and imprisoned.

What is your favourite exercise/activity?

Jumping!

What is your favourite meal?

Organic scrambled eggs, bacon, coconut oil on a bed of green leaves and walnuts.

Blog:

http://www.movnat.com

Monday
Aug232010

Workout: Randomiser

Warmup:

  • 10 Squats
  • 10 Push-Ups
  • 10 Lunges
  • 10 Sit-Ups
  • 10 Back Extensions
Workout:
 
30 minutes of:
  • Press-Ups variations, very slow and very fast tempo
  • Scorpion Press-Ups
  • Turkish Get-Ups
  • Kettlebell Clean & Press
  • Knee-To-Elbows
  • Crocodile Walks
  • Elephant Walks
  • Barbell Roll Outs
Monday
Aug232010

Video: Primal Walking Lunges (concrete block overhead)