With all that’s happening in Canada right now — the rise of populist politics; a heated diplomatic war with China; an energy crisis that’s shaking the national economy — it may seem surprising that a simple document outlining healthy eating habits would grab so many headlines. But then again, Canada’s Food Guide has always been Read more Canada’s Food Guide — where’s the beef? […]
Training
Curls Pt. 2 – the right grip for the right job
In my last post I made a case for including curls in your training programs. Biceps have gotten a bad rap over the years, dismissed by “experts” as being superficial & non-functional. This, of course, is ridiculous. Are triceps superficial and non-functional? What about calves? The fact is, biceps — though synonymous with GymBro Douchebaggery Read more Curls Pt. 2 – the right grip for the right job […]
The Case for Curls
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 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 […]
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’) […]
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 […]
Six Million Ways to Die — Choose One
I love working Friday nights at the gym. For an enthusiastic people-watcher like myself, it’s the ideal time to observe male human behaviour in all of its unfettered glory. Bros being bros, yeah. Getting their pump on before hittin’ da club, all crazed on a heady mix of testosterone and Axe. Their rituals are fascinating to behold. (A Read more Six Million Ways to Die — Choose One […]