CHANGE IS THE POINT

We all know an Ego-Lifter. Every gym has one. And if you don’t think your gym does, it’s probably you. In bro science – anecdotal fitness and bodybuilding advice – an Ego-Lifter is someone who prioritises lifting the heaviest weights possible to impress others and boost self esteem, at the expense of proper exercise technique…

It’s a gusty Thursday afternoon. I’m tired and a little tender. I don’t feel like training. The usual suspects are here pumping out quarter squats, and taking long menacing stares at themselves in the mirror between sets. It’s all terribly un-motivating. I place my things down on a vacant bench and consult my training program.…

TO THOSE INTERESTED IN A DEEPER CONVERSATION, I have always struggled to articulate exactly what this philosophy represents. At times it is incredibly broad and all encompassing, and at others, intricately resonant with a particular quote or action. As I learn, so does the philosophy, while the ideas and practices also continue to change and…

Modern gyms aren’t really known for being social hubs. Apart from the lone personal trainer and the couple of gym bros at the back pumping out partial reps and complaining about how sore they constantly are, no one talks. The music, a mix of early 2000’s pop songs that everyone’s since forgotten about, plays in…

I love coffee. A lot. And because of that, I have prioritised it while travelling. Slowly sipping on a delicious local brew at the resident coffee shop has become a cornerstone of my day. And synonymous with exploring a new city, to plan for the adventures ahead. With the trip coming to a close however,…

I’ve been doing a lot of walking lately. It’s a great way to explore a place, on foot. You really get to know it. You get a feel for it. Your aching feet are proof of that. In Milan, I’ve stumbled across cute little cafes, and in Amsterdam, secluded green parks, the like of which…

Gyms are weird places. They are air-conditioned boxes stacked with artificial weights which people pay to lift up and down to make their lives harder. If you described this to someone 200 years ago, they probably would have laughed. Not only were their lives hard enough as they were, but even to the people who…

We live such insulated lives. We live in air conditioned rooms, our food is delivered straight to our doorsteps and we have instantaneous access to information. Our lives are – relatively – comfortable and easy; not the case for most of our short history. We are shaped by the conditions in our environment and we…

I got asked about cueing the other day and it’s got me thinking about thinking. “What are you cueing yourself when you are doing that?… What are you thinking about?” I am performing a Snatch. It’s a highly complex olympic weightlifting movement that requires the player to hoist the bar from the floor into a…

You have to aim at something. As Jordan Peterson would say. It’s fundamental to our existence. We can’t act without aim. When it comes to fitness, most of us have no idea how to define it. And if we can’t define it, how do we know what we’re aiming at? The modern human is subject…

There isn’t anything I can tell you about the basic principles of health that you don’t already know. But just to humour you, here is a diluted list: eat real food and drink clean water, get a good nights sleep and manage your stress, develop close knit relationships, and exercise moderately. None of this is…

I can be a condescending dick sometimes. It’s my default setting in an argument. Call it the curse of the intellectual; of thinking that because some would consider me a “deep thinker”, a “smart dude” that I know more than the rest who seem perfectly content in their blithering ignorance. There I go again. I…