Earlier in November I turned 39 years old. According to Stats Canada, in six short months I’ll officially become a middle-aged man, meaning soon I can pontificate upon whatever the hell I want and blame all of society’s ills upon “kids today”, my opinions protected by the thinnest veil of wisdom imaginable. In preparation for Read more The Case for Bicep Curls […]
Isolation vs Compound Exercises
Today I did dumbbell flies. INCLINE dumbbell flies, to be precise. I don’t remember the last time I did this exercise. I’ve been trying to expand my exercise repertoire, incorporating movements I’ve previously ignored for whatever reason. Like many lifters who came of age during powerlifting boom of the early aughts, I fell victim to Read more Isolation vs Compound Exercises […]
Something I learned today
A friend once said every now and then you have to try and lift a weight that scares you. This was good advice. I’ve always been a conservative sort of lifter. I keep my weights manageable, rarely ever working to failure. I save the gut-busting sets for bodyweight exercises where there’s less risk of suffering Read more Something I learned today […]
The Order of Things
“I was a little too obsessed with the technical aspects of music & I had to do like many of the great jazz musicians have done: learn everything then forget everything.” – John Frusciante ~ In school we’re taught that there’s an order to how training programs are structured. First, there’s the mobility work/warm-up. This Read more The Order of Things […]
Consistency — the only “life hack” anyone needs
There is an irrefutable law of living that everyone understands yet so many fight against, and that law is this: if you want to get good at something you have to do it a lot. The more often you do this thing, the better you will be at it. This concept is called “practice”. You Read more Consistency — the only “life hack” anyone needs […]
Don’t try
I’m a procrastinator. Like most folks, I have grand ambitions, BIG ideas, a desire to achieve. Yet, like most folks, I tend to waste my time pursuing things that do nothing to support these ambitions. My ideas often go to waste. The list of my life’s achievements is neither long nor impressive. I say these Read more Don’t try […]
Get Strong (or die tryin’)
Minimalizing is addictive. The more fat I trim from my life, the further I want to keep going. Clothes I haven’t worn in a year: gone. Books I know for certain I’ll never read: gone. Gadgets/cables/duplicates: gone, gone, gone. My immediate goal is to one day board a plane for an extended vacation with nothing Read more Get Strong (or die tryin’) […]
You Do What You Can Do With What You Got
Last month I started a new job. For the last two years I’ve been in charge of my own schedule, training people and leading fitness classes on my terms. This meant I had lots of free time to train myself and even more time to recover. Now, I’m a full-time employee with a health & wellness Read more You Do What You Can Do With What You Got […]
Simple Kind of Life
In the gym, I’m all about simplicity. If an exercise requires hundreds of hours of focused practice in order to perform it effectively, or a specialized piece of equipment that you’re unlikely to find outside of an elite training facility, I will find a different exercise. There is always an alternative approach to whatever it is Read more Simple Kind of Life […]
Straight To Hell
My last post was more than two months ago. For someone who made a solemn, silent vow to blog at least once a week, this is unacceptable. I apologize to whomever it is — aside from my wife — that may be following my “work”. The problem is I’m holding myself accountable to no one. Read more Straight To Hell […]