Hey Radical Health Seekers 👋
This week in your Radical Health Newsletter:
- The best investment you can make for your health…
- A brief history of the underappreciated human shoulder…
- 4 tips to fix your sore shoulders…
- And what 2 years of animal-based living looks like
But first…
Some really bad investment advice
Let’s be real, most investment advice is BS.
Like, remember when Beyond Meat was the hottest stock around?
Anyone who invested in that got BURNED 😬
Look, you already know the best investment you can ever make is in your health…
And eating the rainbow in vegetables, or a weekly pilates class isn’t really gonna’ cut it.
For an investment that truly delivers skyrocketing returns…
🏋️♀️ Lifting weights can’t be beat
Because whether you choose dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell, lifting heavy things promises one of the highest ROIs for the lowest time invested.
And just 2 to 4 hours of lifting weights each week will:
- Build muscle and strength
- Reduce body fat
- Increase your energy
- Improve metabolic dysfunction
- Improve your sleep
- Improve your hormones
- Improve your mood
This radical habit is so powerful that it can literally change how your body and mind performs…
So don’t invest in a hot stock; invest in some weights!
A brief history of the underappreciated human shoulder
Don’t let the picture above fool you, that kid is armed and dangerous.
His ability to throw the ball is a result of a uniquely human adaptation – the shoulder joint.
And while it gets way less attention than the development of language or fire, the evolution of the human shoulder was a major milestone for us as a species.
Because combined with our flickable wrists and powerful hips, we could now throw projectiles at our dinner from a distance.
And this changed everything.
No longer were we relying on scavenging from leftover carcasses…
We were now dangerous hunters!
And we finally got first dibs on the most prized parts of the animal, like the heart and liver 💪
One of the first shoulder-fired human weapons is believed to be a mineral spheroid…
Otherwise known as a rock 🤓
But pretty soon our smart ancestors developed much more effective and lethal weapons, like wooden spears…
Archaeologists have found a bunch in Germany that date back about 400,000 years.
Fashioned from spruce tree trunks, they were up to 9 feet long…
And to prove their effectiveness at a distance, researchers got javelin throwers to test out modern replicas…
The javelin throwers were able to hit hay bales up to 65 feet away, with enough force to kill a large animal.
So we can be pretty sure that our ancestors likely used spears like these against those woolly mammoths we spoke about last week.
Combined with our intelligence, language and tool-making skills, our ability to throw sharp objects was a true gamechanger.
How else could we hunt gigantic elephants or smaller and swifter animals like deer before they ran away?
Our unique shoulders helped transform us from puny primates into the most effective predators on the planet.
But we rarely engage our shoulders in a full range of motion anymore…
(be honest, when’s the last time you threw a spear?)
And just because you don’t need to bring down a mammoth with a spear in 2022 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use what evolution gave you.
In fact, the shoulder is one of the most commonly injured and underutilized body parts…
Maybe it’s time we showed it a little appreciation.
4 ways to show your shoulders some love
#1 Dead hangs
Dead hangs are amazing for your shoulders, especially if you suffer from sore or tight shoulders from driving or working at a computer.
In fact Dr. John Kirsch (who wrote the book on dead hangs) says that 99% of shoulder pain can be cured and prevented by simply hanging from a bar.
Not only do dead hangs stretch your shoulders within their entire range of motion, they also stretch out the rest of your upper back and decompress your spine.
If you are tight or sore, this can feel amazing!
The other great thing about dead hangs is they are super easy to do.
With an overhand grip, just hang from a pullup bar for 30-60 second intervals.
Build up to 2 minute intervals as you get stronger. And if you struggle to hang, you can assist by partially putting your feet on the ground.
If you’ve got sore or tight shoulders, try this daily!
#2 Medicine ball throws
There are many ways to throw a medicine ball… downward slam, overhead, shotput, scoop or over the shoulder. And it’s fun!
Unlike barbells and dumbbells, the twisting, turning, and throwing of a medicine ball engages multiple muscle groups, making it a fantastic functional movement for overall core strength.
It also mimics the type of movements our bodies evolved to do, like throwing rocks!
#3 Shoulder-friendly sports
There are a ton of sports that emphasize throwing, for example basketball, baseball, ten-pin bowling, darts, and frisbee.
Or if you wanted to get real primal, why not try the javelin?
#4 Bone Matrix
We couldn’t talk about shoulder health without mentioning our Bone Matrix supplement…
It’s made with real grass-fed bones (microcrystalline hydroxyapatite), and has a bunch of special nutrients that will nourish your shoulders and other joints, like:
Bovine Activin A, a bioactive peptide shown to enhance bone and cartilage formation;
Type 1 Collagen, crucial for the health of our bones, tendons, skin, blood vessels, and other collagenous tissue;
TGF-b, Osteocalcin, IGF I & II, bioactive growth factors that play a critical role in bone remodeling and remineralization;
Calcium, Phosphorus, Boron and Manganese which are crucial for optimal bone health.
Show your shoulders some love by picking up a bottle of Bone Matrix here!
What 2 years of animal-based living looks like
Diane was suffering from Hashimoto’s, depression, stress, hypothyroidism, and weight gain when she discovered an animal-based diet…
And in two years she has absolutely TRANSFORMED her health:
“On the left is when I first started. On the right is now 2 years later.
I wasn’t just doing this because of my weight.
My weight gain was just an unfortunate side effect of stress, hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s, depression and I can go on… It took a lot of trial and error.
The best decision I ever made was to take charge of my own health. ”
We hope Diane inspires you to realize true healing and transformation is possible!
And if you would like some support on your journey, please know you can reach us here anytime!
Have a radical weekend,
The Heart & Soil Crew
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