Description: Longtime PrimalCon presenters and Primal Blueprint Luxury Retreat hosts Vanessa and Adam discuss their outstanding new Fitness App called “Unveil Your Wellness.” This product provides a perfect opportunity to keep the momentum going after participating in Marksdailyapple.com’s 21-Day Challenge, which occurred in January. The app provides an assortment of options and guidance to make good diet and exercise choices every day, and has the unique community-building element where fellow users share their feedback, questions, and concerns about their health and fitness goals.

[00:01:00] To start the podcast, Vanessa and Adam talk about how sleep deprivation is perhaps the number one stumbling block for health/fitness enthusiasts failing to reach their goals. As a firefighter, Adam is intimately familiar with the problem, which is a huge concern in his industry. He explains that insufficient or poor quality sleep leads to sugar cravings and insulin resistance. Vanessa and Adam also mention their upcoming Costa Rica retreat! Details about the Bee the Wellness App and retreat can be found at beethewellness.com.

[00:04:27] Vanessa and Adam describe how working at PrimalCon was a great opportunity to connect with small groups of enthusiasts. Their Bee the Wellness website has details about an upcoming retreat in Costa Rica in paleo adventuring, which also allows for similar, small group interactions. Brad points out that their coaching emphasizes playfulness and fun for workouts, rather than sweating it out through the common routines that usually come to mind. Furthermore, they focus on the safe and correct ways to do workouts.

[00:08:07] Vanessa is a recording artist under the name Nesta! and can be found on YouTube. Singing comes into play during her and Adam’s paleo retreats.

[00:08:43] Brad asks them about the way they connect with the broader audience.  Not all folks can find their way to Malibu or Costa Rica to take advantage of the Lamberts’ coaching. But they have some apps available to help bridge the gap. They took the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge and converted it into an app, which takes the content of the challenge and pares it down into manageable lots of information. They’re also spearheading the Unveil Your Wellness Challenge to help people find their own personal path.

[00:12:17] The 21-Day Challenge is $9.99 and Bee the Wellness is $19.99 per month.  For the latter, you can decide to do it one month at a time, one season at a time, or once per year, depending on the situation. The app is for smart phone, tablet, or desktop and provides education, exercise support and guidance with something new every day. It is about behavior modification and allows folks to connect with each other through a social media platform.

[00:16:47] Adam talks about the two kinds of people he and Vanessa had in mind when designing their platform. There are those who want to know everything about what they’re about to embark on, and there are those who simply want to dive in with pragmatic instructions, without the background explanations.

[00:17:19] Brad asks about what Vanessa and Adam contribute to these applications on a day-to-day basis. Answer: they are on it daily and available to respond to any questions to make sure their information is being understood.

[00:18:35] They discuss their thoughts on the obstacles people run into when trying to balance their busy lives with getting healthy and fit. Adam thinks sleep deprivation is a main concern. The next is sugar and carb cravings. Vanessa talks about how there is never enough time in people’s lives, so time management is of utmost importance to provide the best opportunity to maintain health and fitness.

[00:20:20] The two then discuss how sleep deprivation is connected to sugar cravings.  Even missing a few hours of sleep can lead to a significant amount of insulin resistance in the morning, which makes you hungrier. Brad mentions that there is a section in the Primal Blueprint Expert Certification Program about sleep deprivation and how using screens before bedtime tells your body to stay awake. Screen use after dark encourages the body to produce stress hormones, which suppress melatonin production, thereby kick-starting the negative chain reactions that lead to sugar cravings. Vanessa points out that once people get good restorative sleep in their lives, they will definitely notice the difference. Overall, they talk about how people don’t realize they’re sleep deprived and how it decreases their productivity.

[00:26:15] Brad points out that it is very expensive to be unhealthy. People work hard trying to earn money, but neglect their sleep and family time in the process.  He quotes Steve Jobs, who said he regretted worrying about how pretty the iPhone was instead of spending more time watching his children grow up.

[00:26:57] How do Vanessa and Adam get their message out?  BeetheWellness.com will give an overview of their year-long program, including the focus of each month and season. The strength and conditioning component of their program sets them apart from other trainers. There is accessible content for people of all skill levels. Vanessa mentions that their site doles out information in small increments so that it’s not overwhelming.

[00:29:48] Brad asks them about the flexibility of their training recommendations. There are many opinions about how many hours or days per week one should train (let alone how many reps one should conduct or how much weight one needs to lift). Adam says there is no doubt that people need to lift. But how many reps one needs to perform, and how often, should be greatly influenced by individual preference, rather than a strict regimen. For people with specific goals, however, it is a lot easier to set up a plan. But for people with vague goals, e.g. “I just want to be fitter,” this can be more difficult. The Lamberts’ idea was to use the seasonal approach to add variety to training plans, since weather patterns can affect outdoor activities. Similarly, host Brad Kearns and Mark Sisson are addressing these topics as they work on the new upcoming book Primal Endurance.

In closing the podcast, Brad reminds listeners to visit Beethewellness.com to grab one of the remaining spots for the Costa Rica Retreat!

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