CHANGE IS THE POINT

Journal

Articles, blog posts and written reflections exploring fitness, training, philosophy and self-awareness.

The Sacred Way

The bus ambles along the winding road, the smog of Athens fading in the rear view. We pass through timeless villages, stretches of olive groves and jagged rocky outcrops. The Sanctuary of Delphi lies ahead, nestled upon the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The Greeks believed it to be the centre of the world; the omphalos, or navel. For thousands of…

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The Space Race 2025

I’ve been doing “The Space Race” for the last 3 years. It’s an initiative from – what used to be – nonprophet; a community of practitioners who explore the intersection of physical fitness and psychology. The Space Race was – in their mind – a way to see out the year and start the new one on the right foot,…

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#007 – Chapter One: The Space Odyssey

I read an article in took me 18 months to write. The article documents my attempts to decipher what I learned during an experience I call The Apprenticeship; a 4 week intensive in Salt Lake City America, led by Michael Blevins in his gym, The Space. I offer this as a demonstration and reminder (to myself), that learning is an…

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Ego-Lifting

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 and appropriate load management. Logically,…

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Tuning In

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. It looks hard; some high…

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The Philosophy: 051025

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 shift. As they should. Because…

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The Anti-Social Gym Club

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 the background. But noone listens…

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Caf-Fiends

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 decided to take a…

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Built To Do

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 I never would have had…

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Attention. And Creativity.

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 did train, they didn’t do…

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A Little Less Insulated

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 are either adapting and becoming…

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Thinking about Thinking

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 squatted overhead position in one…

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Aiming at What?

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 to their whims, their insecurities…

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A Better Perspective on Health and Longevity

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 really all that profound. Being…

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Chapter One: The Space Odyssey

I first learned to learn from my mother; a librarian with an insatiable appetite for books. Because she reads so much, she knows many things. She impresses at trivia, tells gripping stories, has memorised the platitudes of history’s greatest philosophers and is well versed in all current and “newsworthy” affairs. Most would agree, she is extremely well learned.  My mother…

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What I Want To Learn: A Letter To Michael

Four days after my arrival in Salt Lake City, and with things not going the way I thought they would, I took the time to write a letter to Michael; to help clarify to him – but perhaps more accurately, myself – what I wanted to learn. At the time I think this was a way to hopefully instil some…

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The Space

Michael describes The Space – the nonprophet events centre – as “the green building across the road from the strip club”. There isn’t anything particularly special about it; just a dull cement block in downtown Salt Lake City. A vacant lot next door is frequented by the homeless – the unofficial waste collection department – who hoard the discarded belongings and…

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Introduction

My presence as I enter the classroom is barely acknowledged. The students continue their private conversations with backs turned to the stranger, not bothering to hush their voices. Some slouch in chairs tilted on two legs, testing to see how aggressive an incline they can manage; the loud thud of teenager against wall indicating the loss of balance. Another group…

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