Scientists estimate 1%-4% of the DNA in European and Central Asian descended peoples is Neanderthal DNA.
Yes indeed…thank you interspecies breeding.
And according to researchers, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. That’s right, Neanderthal DNA is said to correlate highly with a host of illnesses ranging anywhere from blood-clotting disorders, to obesity.
The obesity connection, I think, supports what I’ve been saying for years about heavier weights being essential to fat loss – contrary to the popular myth that high reps/low weight do the job better.
I’ll explain.
You see, cuz had the prescience to bequeath our species the NEED to LIFT.
(Alright as the former strongman, I might be a tad biased.)
Our bigger, stronger European neighbors – who were also reputed to have ripped abs…just saying – would have had to regularly move boulders, flip fallen tree trunks, wrassle bears, and club a few saber-tooth tigers (not to mention carrying unconscious females back to their caves).
In other words, their whole day was a workout.
And a heavy one at that.
No wonder their bodies evolved to stockpile calories so effectively.
However, such traits are less useful when you sit behind a desk all day.
That’s why I say, if you can’t beat ‘em…join ‘em!
Throw some big poundage around on the regular. Or at least ‘big’ relative to your own capabilities. You can’t fight it, it’s in your DNA (Unless you’re not of European/Asian descent, in which case, humor me, it’s still good advice). The relative intensity and recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibers that come with lifting near maximal loads will light a prehistoric fire under your metabolism!
Try the SBD (squat, bench, deadlift) workout, adapted from my former sport of powerlifting, and ideal for obliterating fat. Warm up, then do 4 sets of 8 reps on each lift. Choose a weight that challenges you, but make sure you can finish all four sets without cheating your reps. In between each lift, throw in a two and a half minute cardio interval with a 30 second sprint after the first minute, to simulate running away from a predator…and there you have it, The Neanderthal Workout. It’s the latest craze to take the industry by storm, soon to be peddled by spray-tanned musclemen and bikini babes in late night infomercials.
Try it especialmente if you belong to the female gender of the species.
Disconnect in your brain the association of lifting weights with BULK.
It’s not real…and frankly a bit nutty.
A stronger female is a leaner female, is a thinner female.
Eventually you’ll possess enough force to turn evolution on its head, overpower the male of your choosing, and drag his limp body back to your woman lair – should that be how you deign to use your newfound powers.
(Can hear Beyonce rallying already…”all my single ladies…all my single ladies…”)
I bid you, go forth…
…Discharge the mighty SBD, and dispatch your fat to the annals of history, like a certain not-too-distant but extinct relative who once wee wee’d in the gene pool.
Og like that.
To Your Ripped Neanderthal Body,
Conor Kelly
P.S. Learn more about my wily, evolution-busting ways…call or text me today at (416) 826-4844 for your complimentary personal training consultation.