Fitness lessons from prison
One of my biggest influences (perhaps THE biggest) is the late, great Gary Halbert. He was not an athlete or a bodybuilder or someone who has much of anything to do with the fitness industry (beyond writing a number of wildly successful fitness and supplement ads for various clients). Rather, he was a copywriter. Arguably […]
How to protect your family from deranged bladesmen on public transport
Many moons ago, a friendly policemanofficer (who turned up to assist my colleague and I with a troublesome scene, long after we’d calmed the situation and got to treating the patient) made the following remark which has gone on to inform my thinking in all sorts of ways: === “When seconds count, the police are […]
The “easy” way to get kids into running
Lately, Connie has taken to joining me on a lot of my early morning walks. It all started about a week ago when I asked if she wanted to come along, as she’s now old enough to hold a sensible conversation and keep up. She agreed, and off we went on my usual loop through […]
Training the yoof
Couple of weeks back, Connie managed her first “two hands anyhow”. If you are wondering, the two hands anyhow is an old-timey strongman lift where your aim is to put as much weight overhead as possible using one implement in each hand (usually a barbell and kettlebell). The record is 203kg, set by the great […]
Don’t know why he bothers
Guy I know is trying to Do The Right Thing™ by training to set a good example to his kids. But, alas, he might as well not bother. Why do I say that? Simple: He tells me he goes to the gym a handful of times per week (good), picks a random selection of exercise […]
Training advice for stressed-out parents (and those who are just busy in general)
Yesterday, I mentioned how the unique challenges of parenthood demand you adopt a different approach and attitude towards training, lest your efforts be doomed to failure. Now I am going to expand upon that point: Training didn’t exactly “rule” my life before I became a father, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t […]
Perfectly innocent teaching inspires wanton slander
For about a year now, Jess has been badgering me to put something together for parents who want to set the right example to their beloved offspring by being strong and in shape. It’s a great idea, albeit one I have resisted because: 1) I’m burned out on book writing (have lost count of how […]
Why shame needs to make a comeback
Few things recently (won’t go into specifics) have gotten me to thinking about the moral dimension of obesity. The long and the short of it is, it’s my humble (albeit accurate) opinion the causes of overweight and obesity are primarily moral, not medical and ought to be treated as such. Yours Baldly’s remedy? Shame. Something […]
Lengthy tirade about hypocrites and liars
Sweetest thing happened while I was training the other day. Little Connie (who is very quickly becoming not so little) came into the garage to see what I was getting up to. She promptly showered me with praise, saying how amazing it was to see me shifting some “really big weights” (alas, in truth, they […]
If I sound like a broken record, it’s because I am
Few things sadden me quite like the state of the local parks. And by “state” I mean the absence of children, especially during the school holidays. If this sounds like I am a broken record, it’s because I am. It’s a serious problem, and I’m going to keep talking about it no matter how many […]