Getting Started

dont quit

The Most Important Thing

Don't forget the power of compounding. Warren Buffet made 95% of his wealth in the last 15 or so years.

coaching

Against the Current

You need to start swimming against the current. You need to arm yourself for that swim by curating the barrage of information and snake oil around you.

ArvTraining

Should you work out indoors or outdoors?

It's not for everyone but for those of us who enjoy getting out, who will take the pebble along with the smooth path, the grime and grind.

framework

Friday Thought: The Law of Inertia

It is not really laziness but when something is not yet our habit, going against the current is hard. And we give up and do something else that's easier. Which is to continue going down the path of least resistance.

coaching

Learn from yourself

Have you learned something fundamentally true about yourself from someone else? Something that you could not have come up with by steadfastly sitting with yourself and your organised thought? I seriously doubt it.

diet

Why That Person's Miracle Diet Didn't Work for You

You are looking for something. You want social proof. The objective thinker, the "Show me the facts" person in you might not fall for it. But we all have moments of weakness and send that fellow away to the back room.

dont quit

The Time Delay in Your Body and Why it is Useful

It takes a while to build momentum. And it takes a few days for results to show.And sometimes, it won't show for a couple of weeks too.

dont quit

Fear of the Start

You are worried if you are gonna make a fool out of yourself. You are concerned that you might get hurt. You are unsure if what you are doing is good for you. You are a bit embarrassed at your current level of fitness and don't want to be judged.

framework

The Boring Truth

But the truth of most matters has not changed in a long time. Most of the fundamentals about lifting and nutrition have been around from before I was born.

ArvTraining

barefoot running in winter

Most of my initial learnings were from watching my body, and occasionally from doing idiotic things. But just by listening to my body, and shutting my brain (which knew nothing about fitness) I was able to navigate.

framework

Biohacking 101

do-it-yourself biology aimed at improving performance, health, and wellbeing through strategic interventions

discussion

The fun world of contradictions

All diets work. None of them works. You can eat doughnuts and burgers and lose weight.

coaching

The Core, Part 2: Breathing and Bracing

A fundamental concept of strength training, explained with metaphors of car tyres and candles. Your output at your gym will go to the next level with this article.

dont quit

Calluses and bicycle seats

When you start something new, it is difficult. It chafes. It hurts. It is mighty uncomfortable. But as long as you persist sensibly i.e. finding the challenging point where your skill meets its sticking point, you will get rather good at it. You will adapt to it.

coaching

What the heck is the core?

What is the core? Is it a specific body part? Like the lats or biceps or whatever? Does it refer to the abs? Then why wouldn't we just say abs?!

coaching

scales and beats and rolling and crawling

You keep repeating the same thing and you do it marginally better. You flop around. You try to roll and fail. You try to hit a scale and hit 3. You get better. But it is not consistent.

framework

How to solve the motivation issue

Motivation, unfortunately, is not a tap you can turn on when you want to. Wanting something really hard and a lot is not adequate. You have to do the work. Obviously. And to do the work, you have to want to do the work.

mental models

Escape velocity

Or why do you keep losing the same 5 kilos every few months?

diet

What is a calorie deficit?

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed.

challenge

how do you find the right method for you?

There are a gazillion options for fitness out there. There are umpteen diet protocols. And there are more and more people on the coaching side of things, as the fitness landscape opens up.

coaching

Your fitness journey as a mass movie

It does require a hero's journey to make it here. You have to conquer your demons. You have to solve your problems and solve them well. You just cannot keep running away from them and hope it will go away. And so, when you step up, you find that you can beat it.

coaching

find your "me" time

9 times out of 10, you don't go to the gym. You don't do much about your nutrition. You don't get those results. You fail. You get angry with yourself or the gym. Or both. And you give up. You set yourself up for failure from the start.

framework

Do you want it simple? Or easy?

There's value in understanding what the toll of a task is. Some demand more time or more energy or both, and they form a barrier to entry. Calorie counting for me is impossible and D9 is second nature, but for a lot of folks, it is the other way around.

discussion

break the rules

"You cannot have ice cream for breakfast", for example. What kinda stupid rule is that?!?!

coaching

why kettlebells and the story of Daedalus and Icarus

Everything a dumbbell can do, a kettlebell can do. Plus, there are ballistics with a kettlebell. So, that's simple. Barbells vs KBs is a bit harder. But knowing what we wanted to coach and offer - GPP - meant there was only one clear winner.