Experiment - Abrahangs for Grip Strength

Another experiment to increase tendon and grip strength.
Training with Giants

I’m approaching my mid-fifties, it’s an age where I’m thinking about my end of days, or at least my retirement days. We review our partner retirement planning spreadsheet on a 6 monthly basis, keen to make sure we’re on track and that I have enough set aside to fund my...
Strongman Panic Attack
I turned up at the competition venue for East London’s Strongest. I signed in, collected my t-shirt and then the anxiety started building. I looked around at the scattered weights and I began to doubt myself big time. I’d already told myself that it didn’t matter if I couldn’t do...
Year in Review - 2023

Sciatica was an overwhelming feature of 2023. For many months I was struggling to get about due to severe numbness down both legs - from buttocks to the soles of my feet. It wasn’t particularly painful but significant discomfort meant walking was severly impaired, sometimes managing only a few hundred...
Year in Review - 2022

I started the year on crutches so it feels somewhat of a success to reach the end of the year standing firmly on my own two feet. Apple Health confirms that my walking steadiness has indeed climbed throughout the year and I am now just OK. I thought I’d do...
Ankle Fracture Recovery Progress

I broke my ankle at the very end of November when two large dogs running at full pelt, collided with each other and the back of my leg. I pirouetted and crumpled with a crack to my knee followed by another to my ankle. I thought it might be interesting...
Experiment 5 - Increasing Grip Strength

Latest experiment to increase my resilience by training and improving my grip strength.
Grip Strength Monitoring Spreadsheet

Since I broke my ankle late last year, I have been relying on my wrists a lot more than usual to support my daily activities and I have come to see them as my latest achilles heel in my resilience journey. They just aren’t strong enough for a day of...
Experiment 4 - Knees Over Toes

A couple of years ago a surgeon told me I needed a knee replacement but he wasn’t prepared to operate until I’d lost a shed load of weight. I never really felt convinced that my knee did need to go, perhaps I was just running scared but accepted that the...
Stop Breathing to Run Faster

At 50m the air a scuba diver breathes, starts to slowly and painfully poison them. A single but very long breath can enable a freediver to sink a whopping 200 toxic metres. While freediving has its attractions, my extraordinarily buoyant body precludes me from this activity. This hasn’t stopped me...
Weightloss Update - DexaScan

2 years ago I was offered a free Dexascan to reveal what lies beneath. Since then I’ve been booking myself in for 6 monthly progress reports at BodyScanUK. Most of these scans revealed only micro improvements to my weight. However, having this scheduled check-in booked, seems to curb the worst...
Experiment - Operation Healthspan

My third experiment aligns with the start of the New year. A new year full of hope for global health and well being. This last year was truly an odd one. Where the world did its best to tackle the covid-19 pandemic, I managed to adopt a few healthy habits...
Experiment - Getting Inverted with a FeetUp Trainer

I’ve long been sold on the benefits of getting inverted, especially for people who lift heavy stuff. It is said to decompress the spine, counteracting the relentless foreshortening of gravity but also leads to heart rate reductions and stress relief. While I am totally up for the concept of bodily...
Experiment - Warrior Arts - The Mace

I’m a big fan of projects, if I haven’t got focus and novelty in my life I tend to drift off course. From today, taking inspiration from Raptitude and his series of experiments in life, I am going to start documenting these experiments more formally here in the blog. As...
Wendler 5/3/1 Strength and Powerlifting Template

I am now making available the spreadsheet I use to calculate and track my weight training program which is based on the classic Jim Wendler 5/3/1. It’s a relatively simple program with increments determined by your historical performance rather than a blind drive to add plates. I’m a big fan...