Something we do at least three times per week is take our kids to one of the two large parks in our town.
Nine times out of ten, we don’t see another soul. A fact I find particularly sad considering we most often go to the park that’s maybe two hundred metres from a combined infant and junior school immediately after it chucks out (we pick our eldest up and head straight over so the kids can play for half an hour or so).
What are the kids getting up to, if not playing in the great outdoors?
I cannot say for certain.
But if you put a gun to my head and demanded I speculate, I’d posit whatever it is involves a smartphone and a parent who isn’t all that interested in their kid(s) being fit, strong, and healthy.
Harsh?
Perhaps.
But my speculation is not baseless. For proof, about a month ago there was some big “thing” on at the main park in the centre of town that was attended by probably a couple of thousand people.
On that day, the kid’s play park was full to bursting with parents and kids who were so obviously unfamiliar with the environment it would have been amusing but for the depressing implications.
The parents hovered over their kids like chinooks, physically guiding them through basic tasks like walking up a slight incline to access the climbing frame.
It got so bad, I had to prematurely end Connie and Marcus’ play session because I kept losing sight of them in the mass of blubbery bodies, making them easy pickings for the PDF-files who haunt parks on busy days like these.
Where am I going with this?
A couple of places:
1) To stress to you the importance of making physical exercise a fixed, firm, and “ordinary” part of life if you have, desire, or are in some way responsible for (e.g. nieces, nephews, cousins, etc) children.
Why?
Because they truly mirror the adults they look up to in all things, so if they don’t see you training without fuss or hassle, they almost certainly won’t do it themselves.
More:
Training equips you to play a full and active part in their exercise, so you can clamber around on the climbing frame with them instead of nervously shadowing them as if you’re both foals on ice.
.And…
2) To point you in the direction of “The Constance Chronicles” which is a series of 30 letters I wrote to my daughter in January 2024 (one for each day of the month apart from the first because I forgot I was starting the project).
These lay out the complete training philosophy I intend to pass on to her so she has everything she needs to get (and stay) fit, strong, and healthy in an increasingly toxic world.
The book is also structured in such a way that just about anyone could read one letter per day, implement the teaching inside, and, by the end, be well on their way to getting strong(er) and (more) in shape the sustainable way.
It’s on sale for a hearty discount until 23:59 tonight (Wednesday the 16th).
That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to get it at the lower price, but there is still enough time as of this sending for you to carefully read the whole sales page to inform yourself properly before purchasing.
If you decide you want it, make sure to enter the code SALMON at the checkout to claim the discount (don’t enter your payment info until you see the price change).
Here’s the sales page I mentioned:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/chronicles/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman