Grappling with my mortality
Lately, I cannot shake the sense of my mortality. Why? For the very first time in my life, I am truly feeling my age. Not so much in the day to day stuff, but definitely in the gym and out on the road. Here’s what I mean by that: Few weeks back, I decided to […]
11 signs you need a break from training
1. The programme you are running tells you it is time to take a break for a week or whatever (obvious, but you’d be surprised how many don’t do this – including Yours Baldly, once upon a time), 2. You feel as though you can’t relax until your training for the day is done, 3. […]
35 is the new 70
I’ve long known my current way of eating (meat and veg only twice or thrice daily with the occasional “carb up” meal) is the most efficient and effective way for me to go. However, it’s only been fairly recently that I’ve gone “all in” on this approach, instead opting for a fairly “normal” (albeit clean) […]
Tormented by daemons wielding salt and lemon juice
Last “big” injury I had was in 2011. I’d been training about eighteen months and got it into my head that it’d be a great idea to enter a powerlifting meet (despite not being very strong or especially skilled in the squat, bench, and deadlift). Anyway, it got to about a month out from the […]
Desert Island Lifts
I used to listen to a lot of BBC Radio 4 back in the day. One programme I enjoyed in particular before the station became an outlet for successful upper-middle class establishment types to whine about their perceived victimhood was “Desert Island Discs”. Basically, the guest is asked for the eight records they would want […]
The preventable injury with a 33% 12-month mortality rate
“6% of people with hip fractures die within 30 days, and roughly one third die within 12 months.” A pair of statistics I wouldn’t believe, had I not spent the best part of my late teens and early twenties charging around on an ambulance. A typical run of shifts would yield at least one person […]
Cautionary tale for those still trying to do too much
True story: There was this guy who frequented the gym I used to train at a long time ago. He was, if I remember rightly, in his early 60s; still putting in an ungodly amount of effort (to his credit). But. And it is a planetoid-sized, cellulite-cratered but. His efforts were crippling him. Guy was […]
What to do when you get injured
Is the following, in my opinion: 1) Find and pay an appropriately qualified MEDICAL professional (i.e. a physio or doctor, not a quack chiropractor or, heaven forefend, personal trainer) to diagnose the issue and prescribe an appropriate course of treatment. 2) Do exactly as they command (including all the parts you don’t like or agree […]
How not to get stronger abs
Back when I was young and dumb, I got it into my head that my squat and deadlift weren’t moving in an upwards direction due to a lack of abdominal strength. It was not an incorrect diagnosis, but it was an incomplete one. Moreover, the thinking that led me to this incomplete picture also resulted […]
How chasing the strength to lift a house can make you look worse
Many years ago, when my self-worth was still intrinsically linked to how much I could squat, I was fortunate enough to receive a reality check from the late, great Don Styler. We got to talking about training when I asked him what his best ever squat was. His response? “Oh, about 400lbs” (That’s 180kg or […]