I’m Back

Yes, that’s right, I’m back to writing after nearly three and a half years off.

From a 40km 'training' run

I guess I should explain the name change first. The old name (Back to primal) was never something I felt suited me, but it was the only name I could think of at the time which put together some of the themes in my thoughts. Both the natural method and a more ancestral view of health and fitness (Paleo/primal diets etc) were central to my journey at that stage. While I still feel strongly connected to these two themes, they are less central to my own path now; not to say they won’t take a greater role again in the future.

For a long time now I have thought of myself as an enthusiastic amateur (so much easier to say than to spell for a dyslexic like myself). I love getting stuck into a topic or pursuit as an amateur. I’m there to have fun, improve myself and learn new things, without needing to compete at a high level or ever be the best at a thing. This is how I feel about gymnastic strength training, powerlifting, trail running and Brazilian jiu jitsu. So the change of name makes it a bit easier for me to write about these different topics, without feeling like I have to keep tying them back to the natural method or ancestral health and fitness.

So, what have I been up to for the last three years? The biggest change in my life has been having a child (figure of speech, really it was my wife who had the baby). As of writing (Jan 2021) I have a two and a half year old daughter.  I have spent the last three years trying to figure out what my new ‘normal’ routine is before everything changes on me as our child grows.

So with that said the last three years have been a strange time for me fitness wise. I have continued to train as I can, with the time and energy available to me. I have some posts to write discussing what I chose to focus on, and the how and why of it. I have been enjoying trail running, the more difficult the better, including 24 hour and ultra distance events (as an enthusiastic amateur).  I’ve been able to maintain, or slightly increase my general strength, I can knock out good sets of 5 pistol squats, my back squat is the best it has ever been (5x5 at 120kg) and a max set of 18 pull ups. While these numbers are not in any way ‘impressive’ I consider them to be a good base level of strength for a generalist.  I also received my blue belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu (I will mention this very infrequently; as a blue belt I have very little of value to add to the internet about jiu jitsu other than to say it is well worth trying out).

Going forward, I’ll write up some of the more interesting things I been up to in the last few years and will continue chronicling my trail running and hiking adventures. I like to test my limits in the most extreme ways that I can, so expect to see fastest-know-time attempts and challenge runs that I set for myself, as well as the training and preparation for these challenges. I also have a few more homemade pieces of equipment I have made, which I will write posts on.

Stay tuned from more regular posts, weekly is the plan but I’ll see how that goes.

Hiking the Tongariro Northern Circuit