Red Nail certification

I certified on bending the red nail today under the witness of Marty Gallagher and company. The bend was done at his home in conjunction with what he called "Deadlift Woodstock." 10 people in a snowy garage in Pennsylvania, training the deadlift and feeding on free range protein and natural cooking. It was a good day!

My official certification was really only a fragment of the awesomeness of my day. It started with Sandy Sommer, RKC picking me up at 8am and us making a quick stop to pick up Dr. Chris Hardy. Much of the conversation revolved around primal eating habits that we have strayed away from since leaving a hunter & gatherer lifestyle -- a topic that I am extremely interested in and believe in the benefits of. Anyway, Dr. Hardy is not only a medical doctor who specializes in nutrition, occupational & musculoskeletal medicine but he is a strength & conditioning specialist, Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and Chief Resident at Johns Hopkins... yeah... and I got to ride with him and ask him questions. Nice!

Once we arrived at Marty's we promptly went out to the garage and started training the deadlift under his watchful eye. Marty is champion powerlifter and trainer of champions and there is not a more qualified person on this side of North America to learn how to press, squat or deadlift from. I topped out at 470 with more in the tank and left the garage with some significant changes to my technique that I'm going to start working on immediately.

After the workout we headed into the house where I bent the red nail in accordance with the rules taking exactly 17 seconds. Then it was 3 more nails in 52 seconds. I hearted a horseshoe for Marty's wife and rolled a frying pan for the man himself. We talked a little grip amongst the group and then headed into the kitchen where we dined on a meal like no other.

On the menu was grassfed lamb, beef and free range chicken. Everything we ate was was organic, healthy and delicious. I have a new appreciation for natural eating, especially after listening to Dr. Hardy talk. It's not as hippie and tree hugger as I once thought it to be. I've been keen on this ever since I read the Anti-Estrogenic Diet and the author drew comparisons between pollutants in our food and they're estrogenic effects on the body. We've decided to make a dietary overhaul in our own home and go organic... I'll talk more about that later. Let's just say that I haven't had that good of food as I had at Marty's for a long time, and possibly ever.

A good day.