Fitness Finds: Vibram Fivefingers, Mark’s Daily Apple, CrossFit, Workout Brothers

I’m doing fairly well in my pursuit of a fit lifestyle. I’ve committed to not only exercising and eating right, but also to reading, researching, and learning as much as I can along the way. It takes time and a bit of discipline, but I’ve decided that never again will I just take someone else’s word for something.

Here’s just a few the things that help keep me going each week.

Vibram Fivefingers

After doing a bunch of reading and research on “barefooting” and the barefoot lifestyle, I bought a pair of Vibram Fivefingers. These are the shoes that look like feet.

Long story short, it’s healthier ALL AROUND to go barefoot. Shoes hurt your feet. Even the ones designed to keep you from hurting your feet. Shoes make us walk wrong and cause our feet, ankles, and lower legs to get weak. I don’t want weak ankles!! Don’t listen to people who say you must have shoes or you’ll hurt your feet…think of all the rickshaw drivers all around the world who are barefoot or wear cheap, thin sandals. And remember the freedom of being a kid and running around barefoot in the grass! Woohoo!

So, around the house and yard, I go barefoot. And 99% of the time when I’m out and about (including working out and exercising) I’m wearing my fives.

Find yourself a pair: VibramFivefingers.com (You might have to find a retail outfitter that carries these. They are in HIGH DEMAND.)

Mark’s Daily Apple (.com)

One of the websites that I frequent daily is MarksDailyApple.com. It’s a website chock full of “primal” fitness information. I usually springboard from there to other sites and studies, but that’s usually where I start. Mark presents most, if not all, of his fitness and nutrition articles, from an evolutionary standpoint (which I’m not necessarily into), but the information is amazing.

I like to think of it more from an “isolated tribe in the Amazon” kind of a way.

Here’s the skinny: Eat meat, fruits and veggies, nuts and berries, and get a lot of exercise.

This website is overflowing with cool ideas, recipes, and informative articles about a healthy lifestyle.

CrossFit (.com)

From a Workout from Last Summer

Keith and I workout together almost daily. He’s a certified personal trainer and after this weekend will be a certified CrossFit instructor. Typically, our workouts are some variation of a CrossFit WOD (Workout of the Day). You can find these daily at CrossFit.com. There’s a small CrossFit group in our area, but we’ve not worked out with them yet.

I wouldn’t encourage beginners to go full steam ahead right into these workouts without an instructor or trainer (I have Keith) but if there’s a CrossFit group or box (gym) near where you are, you might want to look into it. Be warned though, it’s not for the fitness faint of heart.

Workout Brothers (.com)

WorkoutBrothers.com: This is where my brother, Jon, and I (and a friend named Keith), chronicle our health and fitness journey. Keith writes a lot of informative articles. A lot of times we post our results from a workout, or a confessional video, or even just cool links from around the web. Head over there and hit us up on facebook, too, if you’re on a journey of your own, we’d love to journey together!