Why my training is a hot mess

Not a week goes by when I don’t get asked the question about my fitness training regime.

Specifically, people ask me most about how I plan my training – why I choose particular workouts?

People see my training (I post all my workouts almost every week) and see a lot of variation, and for many it looks a bit like a mess.

But there is method to this madness!

A bit of background

When I turned 30, 12 years ago, I was very overweight (nudging 100kg). But that wasn’t for the lack of trying:

- I almost never ate junk food

- Rarely drank

- I went to the gym 3-times a week

- I followed conventional dietary advice

In 2010, I got intro triathlon, and in 2011 did my first Ironman triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run).

I trained for triathlon and Ironman until 2015, and while I had gone down to 82-83kg by then, I was still overweight, bodyfat 15%+, my blood sugar was out of whack, and I just didn’t feel great.

The revelation

In 2016, I decided to change things over: I dusted off my knowledge of biology and physiology, immersed myself in the worlds of science of sports nutrition, medicine, and performance, and came out of it with a completely new approach to training.

1. Focus on health, performance will follow

2. Each person’s body responds differently: there is no such thing as a universal diet or training plan

3. Your diet, training and recovery (sleep) are messengers: they trigger hormonal changes, and those changes impact everything about your health and performance.

By adopting a range of new strategies based on these principles, I got leaner (body fat ~12%), faster, stronger, and more resilient. I improved my sleep and my health biomarkers (blood sugar, inflammation, etc).

I’m healthier in my 43rd year than I’ve been in my entire life!

The even BIGGER revelation

As I started exploring the “physical” side of training at a deeper level, I started searching for a “philosophy of training”.

“What am I training for”?

It’s not to compete as professional: I’m nowhere near good enough at any particular sport.

After much soul-searching, and heavily influenced by my love of ancient Stoic philosophy, I developed my own “philosophy of training”:

“I WANT MY BODY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE ANY REAL LIFE SITUATION WHICH CALLS UPON IT TO PERFORM”.

What does that mean?

- You’re on a small boat with a friend, the boat starts to sink: can you swim 5km to safety dragging your friend behind you?

- You are walking down the street, and suddenly a rabid dog goes after you: can you pull yourself over a wall or up a tree?

- You’re with your child and your car breaks down on a mountain road: can you carry your child and walk uphill for 2 hours?

- You’re walking down the street and a drunk attacks you: are you able to defend yourself or your loved one?

These are scenarios in life which have 2 characteristics:

- The probability of those happening is very low; BUT

- The impact of them happening (the price to pay) is very high.

It’s the same reason you wear a seatbelt in the car: the probability of an accident is very low – but the impact of an accident (the pain) is very high.

So…

I have thought of dozens of such scenarios – and put together a list of things EVERY HUMAN BEING SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IF CALLED UPON.

And I build my training throughout the year to improve my abilities in ALL of these areas.

Here is the current list (I say “current” because it’s always evolving):

Lifting, carrying, strength

- Lift heavy objects off the floor

- Carry heavy objects (or person) over a distance

- Carry a heavy backpack and cover distance over hilly terrain

- Pushing something heavy off your chest

- Stand up off the floor while holding something heavy

- Pull a rope attached to something heavy

- Push something heavy (e.g. car)

- Pull yourself up on a bar, a rope or beam/branch (and hang)

Moving over various distances and speeds

- Running short distances fast

- Running long distances

- Swimming short distances fast

- Swimming long distances

- Climbing and descending 50-100 floors

- Walking up and down a mountain / hiking for hours

- Doing all of the above in rough weather (cold, rain, heat, wind)

Mental strength skills

- Be comfortable being cold and wet

- Be comfortable being hot and miserable

- Learn to stay calm in chaos (sparring is very good practice)

Skills

- Defend yourself in a fight

- Safely operate a firearm

- Administer first aid

- Ski

- Ride a horse

- Rappel down a rope

- Ride a bicycle

- Filter water

This list is always evolving – and I certainly haven’t mastered any of those. I keep working on them and adding to them.

Added bonus: because the list is so varied, you will never get bored – and you can introduce fun into training!

I’m no longer coaching individuals, but if enough people are interested, I can create a training program based on the above and make it available for a very competitive price – let me know (reply / comment).

Don’t be the one who NEEDS RESCUING.

Be the one DOING THE RESCUING.