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Author: Tom

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Move

Definitive Guide To Using Ropes In Your Cardio Workouts.

Ropes are easily one of the most demanding types of cardio workout that you can do. This is real heart in your throat stuff and you should definitely seek a doctors approval before performing any of these exercises.

Now that that’s out of the way.

These cardio exercises are performed with a 15m (or longer) length of 38mm diameter rope that has been looped around a study object like a pole or another suitably imovable object <insert joke about spouse here>.

This rope is seriously heavy and you don’t want the anchor point to move about whilst you perform these exercises. So choose wisely.

Each exercise is performed in rounds of 30 seconds followed by 1 minutes rest. Simply choose one (or a variety) of the excercises below and go for it. More advanced atheletes can try performing two 30 second rounds back-to-back before taking a break.

Here is a 10 round workout I sometimes put my clients through. I call it The Grind, give it a go and you’ll see why. You’ll need a kettlebell and a set of ropes in order to perform it.

The exercises:

  1. Waves
  2. Alternating Waves
  3. Alternative Waves to a Squat
  4. Uppercut

Waves

Starting Position

Knees slightly bent, hands holding onto ropes.

Performance

Move hands up and down together.

Alternating Waves

Starting Position

Knees slightly bent, hands holding onto ropes.

Performance

Move hands up and down in opposite directions.

Alternating Waves to a Squat

Starting Position

Knees slightly bent, hands holding onto ropes.

Performance

Move hands up and down in opposite directions whilst performing squats.

Uppercuts

Starting Position

Knees slightly bent, hands holding onto ropes.

Performance

Alternate performing an uppercut motion with each arm.

Categories
Eat

The Worlds Best Beef Burger

Beef Burgers

These are the worlds best beef burgers (in my completely ubiased opinion) and I’m going to teach you how to make them. 

The secret to great burgers is to start with quality beef and then to enhance the flavour with a few simple ingredients. Make sure you use regular mince, not the lean mince variety as you’ll miss out on all the delicious flavour the fat adds to the burger.

Say it with me, “fat equals flavour”. The keto crowd know what I’m talking about.

Five more tips to make your burgers truly world class. 

  1. When making these burgers make sure you let them sit for at least an hour in the fridge (or ideally overnight), as this will allow the flavour to develop.
  2. Season your burgers with both salt and cracked pepper when the time comes to cook them. Don’t season them ahead of time.
  3. Make them chunky. A good burger should weigh about 250 grams. 
  4. Flip the burgers once, and only once when cooking. Also please don’t squish them down to make them cook ‘faster’ as all this does is squeeze out the delicious juices.
  5. 3 to 4 minutes of cooking per side should be sufficient for a good chunky burger. A slight pink colour in the centre is perfectly fine. 
Finally, one bonus tip to make your guests think you’re some sort of internationally reknowned burger chef. Buy a burger press. These allow you to press your mince into neat round patties that look great on a plate.
The Worlds Best Beef Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1kg fatty beef mince
  • 1 Onion (diced)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mixed herbs
  • 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 3 eggs
  • sea salt and ground black pepper.

Instructions:

  1. Mix the beef mince and all other ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Form into 8 equal size burgers.
  3. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least an hour (or overnight).
  4. Season with salt and pepper and place on a hot grill.
  5. Cook the beef burgers for 3-4 minutes each side.
  6. Enjoy!

Serves: Makes 8 beef burgers

Categories
Eat

Fast and Easy Keto Breakfast

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When looking for breakfast ideas on the internet, I notice that authors sometimes get a bit caught up trying to create something unique.

In an attempt to stand out from the crowd they incorporate clever techniques and unusual ingredients into their recipes.

I’m not interested in becoming a chef. I just want to fill my belly with something tasty. 

Here is one of my go to breakfast options. It’s quick, flavourful, and utilises easily found ingredients.

Fast and Easy Keto Breakfast

Ingredients:

  • 1 Avocado
  • 180 gram block of Feta
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 rashes of Bacon
  • 150g Beetroot, Feta and Cashew Dip (feel free to choose something else.)

Instructions:

  1. Mash the avocado and half the block of Fetta together in a bowl.
  2. Cook the Bacon.
  3. Poach or Fry the eggs.
  4. Place a generous dollop of Beetroot dip on two plates.
  5. Split the Feta/Avocado mix between the two plates..
  6. Add 2 rashes of cooked bacon to each plate.
  7. Top with the cooked egg
  8. Enjoy!

Serves: Makes 2 serves

Categories
Explore

Why is time in the wilderness important?

"Some questions about ourselves cannot be answered in the office, or on a website, or in the home. Some things can only be found with the help of wilderness. To discover the answers, you must explore."

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"He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial."

Jack London The Call of the Wild 1903

The Call of the Wild by Jack London was one of my favorite books growing up.

I loved to read about the journey of the comfortable and spoiled pet dog “Buck”, whom after being stolen away from his warm and comfortable life in California, was forced into work as a sled dog in the snowy territories of the Canadian Yukon.

Throughout his journey Buck experiences cruelty and kindness, both at the hands of man and nature. He is cruelly beaten into submission and starvation almost kills him. He endures the freezing trails and the savagery of other dogs. His beloved John Thornton, who saved him from certain death, is killed. Yet despite, and perhaps because of this, Buck is transformed from a domestic dog and into a wild beast of the forest.

Jack London’s evocative descriptions of the savage and beautiful icy frontier never failed to send a shiver down my spine, such was his skill as a writer. Each time I read the book I was transported away to a chilly landscape that I found both frightening and thrilling. Life in the Yukon winter existed on a knife edge, one that could kill just as easily as it could transform, and it was far more likely to kill.

The message that strength and wildness could be found even in the most desolate and cruelest of landscape excited me and it became a source of hope to my young mind during tough times.

"It filled him with a great unrest and strange desires. It caused him to feel a vague sweet gladness and he was aware of wild yearnings and stirrings for he knew not what."

Jack London The Call of the Wild 1903

Inspired by Bucks adventures, I began to sneak out at home late at night and would wander through the dark streets of my home town.

Living as I did in a small country town, only a handful of streetlights illuminated the main road at night, beyond which the town’s houses were rendered in a colorless grey by the moons pale light. 

Through these streest I would walk until I reached a small river on the towns outskirts with a small pumping station on its bank. Once there I would climb over the fence, walk along the pumps gantries and drop down onto the rivers edge. There I would lie down and look at the starry night, listen to the river flowing by, and feel the gentle touch of the wind on my face as it moved through the trees.

As I grew into an adult and moved out of home, I would continue to seek out wild landscapes. I began making trips into the alpine areas of my region. Even though Australia is the most arid inhabited continent in the world, we do have alpine areas where snow falls in winter and I would visit them when I could.

If you’d asked me then what drew me to those landscapes, the best answer I could offer was that I simply enjoyed being there. Maybe it was because they provided an antidote to modern urban life. Maybe it was because, like Buck, these places spoke to a part of me that felt more at home in these cold wild places. Maybe there was a more clever sounding scientific rationale that I just couldn’t think of.

But at the time I didn’t know, I just liked being there, which was reason enough.

"Not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again."

Jack London The Call of the Wild 1903

Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that our preference for natural landscapes is shaped by our evolutionary past. Meaning that evolution has molded our minds and emotions to prefer and be attracted to landscapes where our survival needs are most likely to be met, thereby increasing our chances of survival.

This could explain why images of vibrant green growth and sounds of flowing water soothe us – unconsciously we know that they indicate that resources necessary for our survival are likely to be found nearby and so we find ourselves gravitating towards those landscapes, or trying to recreate them at home with images, indoor plants and recorded sounds.

Research has also shown a link between development and movement, showing that children need opportunities to move so they can learn. Movement literally helps to build our brains, and the outdoor world is full of opportunities to crawl, climb, run and jump unlike our relatively sedentary indoor spaces.

Further studies have shown that even as adults that our health and well-being are enhanced when we have access to natural environments and fresh air. Going beyond the “access to resources” argument of the evolutionary psychologists, they show that time spent in natural environments influences our ability to experience balance, thoughtfulness and compassion whilst providing a host of additional health benefits, such as reduced levels of inflammation and stress hormones.

This is vis medicatrix natura, literally the healing power of nature.

And yet whilst science can be a useful tool to discover the how, it struggles to determine the why. Surely if the impulse to survive was the only thing that mattered we would never leave our well stocked and warm houses. Yet as a child and as an adult I found myself irresistibly and paradoxically attracted to the cold alpine landscapes where survival must surely be an unpleasant and cold struggle.

Clearly there was some other need, some other reason, that was being satisfied by my trips into the snow and I begin to suspect that time outside spent in nature is a critical component of human development and that it’s absence costs us dearly.

It’s clear to me that there are benefits to spending time outside in nature, that there is a mystery that calls us into the outside world, to explore.

But where there is mystery, there is also risk.

"But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book … “

Jack London The Call of the Wild 1903

The sky was a brilliant blue as we explored the snowy heights of Lake Mountain. The sun felt so warm on our faces that we shed our coats and packed them into our backpacks despite the cold layer of snow that crackled underfoot.

Encouraged by the wonderful weather, we decided to stray from the path in order to investigate a nearby vantage point that promised a good view for us to enjoy whilst we had lunch.

As we ate, the wind picked up and grey clouds started swiftly billowing over the mountain range. The sun vanished behind a cloud and the temperature dropped rapidly. We packed away our lunch, retrieved our coats and started walking back in the direction of the the path.

Snow flakes started to fall, lightly dusting our hair and the surrounding vegetation. It was a lovely sight and we took some photos.

By the time we reached the path, snow was falling heavily. Heavy gusts of winds sent flurries of snow spiraling in all directions. Within minutes visibility was reduced to zero and the way forward vanished.

A large boulder that had broken in two provided us with shelter from the wind and snow. We crouched together and looked at each other. Our faces were flush with a strange mix of fear and excitement. Neither of us had experienced a sudden change of conditions like this before. We understood the potential for things to go bad.

We took a moment to take stock of the situation. 

We had a rough idea of the direction we needed to head but couldn’t risk moving due to the possibility of falling down an unseen drop or getting completely lost. We had told others of our trip and our phones were working so we could call for assistance. We had a compass and a good idea of how far we had traveled. We were warm, sheltered and had food. 

After a brief discussion we decided to stay where we were, wait, and then reassess the situation when the weather eased.

And just like that, as quickly as it had began, the snow stopped. The sun quickly chased away the clouds and blue skies covered the sky once again and the path forward was revealed.

We shook the snow from our clothes and walked back to our car, talking excitedly about what we had just experienced. It was an exciting moment, but only in the hindsight afforded by not having anything terrible happen. We both knew it to be a reminder of the dangers that can be encountered when exploring the wilderness.

"Sometimes as he crouched there, blinking dreamily at the flames, it seemed that the flames were of another fire, and that as he crouched by this other fire he saw another and different man from the half-breed cook before him"

Jack London The Call of the Wild 1903

I must admit that I’m not entirely comfortable reading articles suggesting that the wilderness has something to teach us.

For one thing I think the wilderness, or rather the plants, animals, fungi, insects, bacteria that together make up ‘the wild’, all have lives all of their own. That they don’t exist just to teach us, generally have better things to do and would probably rather you didn’t disturb them.

They certainly won’t stop what they are doing in order to impart some great lesson to the brightly coloured buffoon who has wondered into their home on a day trip expecting an epiphany.

However there is also no denying that there is something out there to learn. It’s just that our relationship with the wilderness is more complex than that of a typical teacher/student. You’re not a passive observer having the answers handed to them, but an active participant that needs to search for them.

Sometimes I see the recommendation that you practice mindfulness when out in nature. This refers to the practice of simply observing your thoughts as they arise and letting them pass without becoming attached to any of them .

In the right setting this is an excellent practice.

When out and about in the wildnerness however, sometimes thoughts wonder into your head that you simply must pay attention to as your survival may depend on it. It may be some clue that you’ve noticed on the edge of your awareness, something that causes your guts to twist up in a physical warning of danger ahead.

Something that demands you pay attention or else.

In this way time in the wild can help you sort the necessary from the unnecessary. Thoughts about outstanding bills? Let it go. Workplace issues? Let it go. A sudden drop in temperature? Pay attention. A sudden noise? Pay attention.

At lifes extremity, survival situations have a way of whittling down your concerns to a very small set of choices. Do we stay and wait out the snow storm? Or do we wander off in the direction that we think will get us to safety. Each choice has a consequence. The storm may last for hours. We may walk blindly in the wrong direction. Mindfully observing the situation without become attached to any one thought will not help you. You need to make a decision and you may only get one chance to make the right one.

I will point out however, that in the scenario I described earlier, waiting was the right choice. It usually is when lost.

Fortunately you need not worry about finding the most wild and remote area possible in order to start exploring your connection to wilderness. You certainly don’t have to climb the nearest mountaintop in order to learn something about yourself. Start by locating parks and green spaces near you; wild spaces are readily available to all of us if we just go outside. It does not take much looking to find places where nature is reasserting itself from under the imposed order of modern society.

However if you do decide to go somewhere wild and remote, remember to take appropriate precautions. As a minimum you should let someone know where you are going.

When you find a place that speaks to you, simply spend time there. Don’t worry about having a set goal or expecting an epiphany. Simply spend some time noticing your thoughts and emotions as they come and go. Notice what draws your attention and what repels it, ask yourself why?

Quietly observe and thoughtfully interact with that place. Do this over a long enough period and you may start to gain an insight into a better way of living and a path to a new you. Just like Buck did.

"Some questions about ourselves cannot be answered in the office, or on a website, or in the home. Some things can only be found with the help of wilderness. To discover the answers, you must explore."

Categories
Eat

Berries and Cream

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For simple recipes like this dessert, it’s important to get quality ingredients so that their individual flavours really shine.

Fresh in-season blueberries and organic cream make this simple dish something special.

Berries and Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen).
  • 1/4 Cup Organic Thickened Cream.

Instructions:

  1. Combine and serve.
  2. If using frozen berries, combine the ingredients and pop them in the fridge until the berries are defrosted.

Serves: 1 serve

Categories
Eat

Refreshing low carb drinks.

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Sparkling Herbal Tea

Ingredients:

  • 1.25 L bottle of mineral/sparkling water.
  • 1 teabag of your preferred herbal tea (I recommend something fruity).

Instructions:

  1. Open the bottle of mineral water, insert the teabag (remove any label) and screw the lid back on.
  2. Put the bottle in the fridge until chilled.
  3. Pour a glass and enjoy.

Lemon water with electrolytes

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Add all the ingredients into a glass and stir until the salt has dissolved.  
  2. Enjoy.
Categories
Eat

Balls of Meat

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Ok, so it’s not my most creative title.

This will make a big pile of balls of meat, just throw them into your lunchbox with some salad with your choice of dressing and you’re ready to go.

Balls of meat

Ingredients:

  • 1kg mince meat.
  • 2 cloves garlic.
  • 3 eggs.
  • 4 rashes of Bacon. (without the rind) diced.
  • 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs.
  • 2 tablespoons of worchester sauce (I like the spicy version).
  • Salt to taste.

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (fan forced).
  2. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together (easiest to do with your hands).
  3. Shape into about 18 golf ball size balls.
  4. Cook in oven for 25 mins or until cooked through.
  5. Enjoy with a fresh salad and dressing of choice.

Serves: 3-4 balls per serve

Categories
Eat

Chicken Curry

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This is a great meal that can easily be made in bulk, tastes great and is very filling. Just freeze any leftovers for later.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

  • 2kg skinless chicken thighs sliced into thick strips.
  • 2 cloves garlic.
  • 2 litres chicken stock or bone broth eggs.
  • 230g jar of Yellow Curry.
  • 1kg mixed frozen vegetables.
  • 2 400ml cans of coconut cream.
  • 2 tbsp Ghee (or choice of fat for cooking).
  • Salt to taste.

Instructions:

  1. Melt ghee in a large saucepan or oven tray on your stovetop.
  2. Add chicken thighs and cook until they start to colour.
  3. Turn down the temperature to the lowest setting.
  4. Add garlic and yellow curry. Mix until chicken is covered.
  5. Add chicken stock/broth.
  6. Place lid on saucepan and simmer gently for 1 hour.
  7. Add frozen veges and continue to cook for 15 mins.
  8. Turn off the heat and mix in the 2 cans of coconut cream.
  9. Ladel into large bowls and serve.

Serves: Makes about 8-10 serves.

Categories
Explore

The Importance of Speaking Up

"Most often there is nothing to be gained by sitting in silence when speaking up is required. Sure, you may risk an uncomfortable disagreement, but you also risk solving the problem at hand. Perhaps that’s worth the price of a little discomfort."

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In speaking up you risk the discomfort of disagreement – something that we seem hardwired to avoid. In fact this fear can be so great that we go to great lengths in order to avoid any discomfort, tolerating an undesirable situation for years, even for a lifetime.

We do this by telling ourselves, “just hang on till retirement”, or “it’ll get better if I wait”.

Or even worse, “the screaming next door will eventually stop.” Eventually. Maybe.

"Don't rock the boat" people say to you, meaning "why upset a stable situation"? But it's a poorly constructed boat that can't stand a bit of rocking.

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Consider the stability in your life. How is it gained? Is it through hard work and confronting life’s problems head on? Or through indulging the comforting delusion that things will get better and that your problems will magically solve themselves, if only you wait long enough.

Someone else will surely come along and fix things for you eventually. No need to make a fuss and risk experiencing something disagreeable.

Sadly for many the realisation that the responsibility for solving the problems in your life was really yours all along comes all too late. Even worse is the realisation that you actually could have solved your life’s problems and that all this suffering was unnecessary. That you and no one else is responsible for your prolonged suffering, and it’s because you stayed silent when speaking up was required. Because you took no action when action was required.

But speaking up can have undesirable consequences, even if it is the right thing to do. So how do we ensure that the risk is worth it? Is there a way to raise an objection that increases the chances of a desired outcome? And if so, can I practice this skill before it is needed?

The first time you raise an objection you may do so poorly. You may find yourself mumbling and inarticulate as you struggle to understand the problem, unsure of what it is you actually want and afraid of retaliation. You may then decide to never raise an objection again due to this discomfort.

So what to do?

To get better at running, you must run. To become a better swimmer you must practice swimming. Time spent researching and reading about a desired skill can be helpful, but eventually you must spend time performing the skill you want to improve.

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Similarly, you cannot get better at the skill of raising an objection without at some point raising your hand and saying ‘I disagree’. As such, you should never pass up on the opportunity to deal with something that you object to, even if the objection is small, as in doing so you develop skills and knowledge that you can then draw upon when something comes along that is really worth objecting too.

“But there are many things in my life that I find disagreeable”, you might say. “Some big, some small. Do I need to object to them all?”

Practice the rule of three. The first time something disagreeable happens, if it’s small note it and move on. It could be a mistake, a fluke, or a simple misunderstanding, it’s nothing to worry about yet.

The second time it happens, you might think “OK this is interesting, something is definitely up”, but again note it and move on.

The third time it happens, it’s clear that you now have a problem that you need to contend with. What’s more, you can now describe three instances that illustrate what is happening and why it is a problem. Even better it also allows you to easily dispense with the claims that “I didn’t mean too”, or “it was an accident” that people commonly respond with when they have been caught out.

You can’t claim something is accidental if it happens three times in a row.

Now that you know you have a problem you need to contend with, now what? I find it useful to answer the question “what is my desired outcome?” You need to choose a direction, a goal. This is what will keep you grounded and increases the chances that you will get a useful outcome. Once you have this it gives the conflict purpose. 

Remember, you’re not objecting for the hell of it, you are trying to achieve something useful.

Now for the ground rules.

Firstly never humiliate, condescend, or be arrogant. It's not helpful and doing so transforms your objection into an attack and the other person will respond in kind.

Behave this way and you will not win, even if they concede to your point of view. You have instead acted as a tyrant and portrayed yourself as an enemy. If you don’t make amends future cooperation will continue to require coercion and force, rather than reasonable discussion and mutual agreement.

This is failure, not success.

Secondly, go into the discussion with the understanding that the other person likely knows something that you don't.

I guarantee that this will be true. Remember that they have their own expertise and knowledge that informs their point of view. Do what you can to discover what this is.

Thirdly, be mindful of when conversation veers off topic.

This happens especially when you or someone else feels like they are ‘losing’ the argument, and you both start veering into unrelated territory to try to undermine each others position and to gain an advantage.

Whilst it may be true that you don’t often take out the garbage, the discussion was about missing money from your wallet. Stay focused.

Finally. Don't be afraid to try.

Even if you fail to achieve your desired outcome, you will still learn a lot about yourself. You may learn that you don’t express yourself as clearly as you would have liked. You may discover counter arguments that you wish you’d anticipated and prepared for.

These are all things that you can work on improving, which you should commit to do.

You may even learn that you are wrong, that they are right, and develop the humility to accept it.

Categories
Move

Don’t Throw In The Towel – Use It To Improve Your Forearm Strength.

I like simplicity. I also like exercises that get the job done, don’t require expensive equipment and teach movements that you actually use in everyday life.

I also like dry towels.

Here is a forearm/grip exercise that ticks all those boxes and doesn’t require that you flap your way through hundreds of useless wrist extensions.

Grab a towel (a bath towel please, not a dainty face-washer) and dunk it in a bucket of water until it’s soaked through.Grip the towel tightly in your hands and wring and squeeze it until it’s almost touch dry.Squeeze it as hard as you can. Make it pay for being foolish enough to fall into that bucket (ok so you may have pushed it in, but it doesn’t need to know that).

Managed to get all the water out? Well done. Put it back in the bucket and start again.

Want to make it harder? Fold it in half. Wet it. Wring it out.

Even more challenging? Fold it again. Wet it. Wring it out.

Do this a few times and not only will your forearms cry for mercy, but you will also have a nice dry towel and a new found appreciation for your clothes line.

Enjoy!

Yes I'm IN!