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It’s not about what’s ideal, optimal or perfect.

But what’s realistic with the resources you’ve got.

They’re almost never the same thing.

-J

You’ve decided to prioritise health and fitness goals. You’ve set an achievable goal. A goal that you can expect to get to even when life deals an occasional two of spades*.

Provided you’re willing to make a few sacrifices and embrace consistency and occasional hard work.

Let’s say your goal is to increase your cardiovascular fitness. You could do a moderate pace >30-minute walk two or three times a week. Or, if you already have a decent base level of fitness, aim for one or two short, higher-intensity interval workouts.

Want to get stronger? Two to three progressive 30-45 minute strength workouts a week it is. Or four 20-minute workouts. Or five 15-minute workouts.

You get the idea. Pick whatever works for your schedule. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Because you’ll likely have to adjust your approach on the fly when life deals cards that suck.

*I thought I’d come up with something original (for once!). But after a quick search, I now know that two of spades has Tarot card meaning. Which, of course, is as deep into the BS zone as one can get. But let’s ignore that for now.

-J

Want to set better health and fitness goals and be confident that you’ll reach them?

If you want guidance, accountability and direction to stop second-guessing what to do, I’ve got a few one-on-one coaching spaces open. It’s not for everyone, but it might just be for you.

Reply with your interest, and we’ll chat to see if my coaching program would be a good fit for you.

Once you’ve decided to prioritise your health and fitness for the next few months, it’s time to narrow your focus. To choose a specific goal worthy of your attention and effort.

Which aspect of your health and fitness deserves the most focus for the next three months?

Big goals have their place. A (half) marathon, a challenging hike, or, I don’t know, winning a dance-off to avenge on behalf of your dad, Randy, who just got SERVED by the OC kids.

But when the initial goals are more lifestyle-related (stronger, fitter, leaner, and more energetic), big goals tend to backfire. When you set the bar too high, there’s little room for error. The error being, life happens.

The worst that could happen is that you lose momentum. Enter discouragement, disappointment, and the feeling of failure. The second worst thing that could happen? You reach your goal.

When you reach your huge short-term goal, the work doesn’t stop. You still need to put in the effort to maintain what you’ve got. Which, depending on the actions that brought you to your goal, might be next to impossible. Enter discouragement, disappointment, and the feeling of failure.

How to set better goals?

Look at the actions and habits you need to implement to achieve your long-term lifestyle goals. If you can’t see yourself adopting those actions and habits for the rest of your life, at least in some capacity, choose another goal.

Most of us over-estimate how much we can achieve in 12 weeks. And under-estimate how much we can achieve in 52 weeks.

-J

If you want guidance, accountability and direction to stop second-guessing and reach your health and fitness goals, I’ve got a few one-on-one coaching spaces open. Reply with your interest, and we’ll chat to see if my coaching program would be a good fit for you.

Most of us can only prioritise two aspects of our life at once without at least some unintended negative consequences.

Let’s assume that family (whether that’s an actual family or friends who are like family) is always a priority. That leaves us with the capacity to prioritise one more part of our life.

Most of us will have to choose between health/fitness and work.

If we choose health and fitness, our work has to go into maintenance mode. If we decide to focus on work, we have to coast health and fitness.

This doesn’t mean we quit work or rinse our training shoes in aviation fuel. Instead, we’re not going to actively pursue progress.

Here’s where it’s at.

What goals are you going to pursue in the next three months?

What are you willing to put on maintenance?

Because it’s unlikely that you can make progress in all of them at the same time.

If you want to pursue health and fitness goals, I’ve got a few one-on-one coaching spaces open. Reply with your interest, and we’ll chat to see if my coaching program would be a good fit for you.

We can’t expect everyone to like lifting weights, biathlon, and shadowboxing ghosts.

If you’re looking for new ways to stay fit, this site’s worth the visit.

“Discover new ways to stay fit based on data science and your personality, in under 3 minutes.”

I got judo.

And considering that I’ve been thinking about starting some form of martial arts, I approve.

What did you get?

-J

Here are a few books I enjoyed this year. In case you’re looking for something to read during the holidays.

The Egyptian – This historical novel written in the 1940s is still one of the most accurate descriptions of Ancient Egypt. It’s 700-something pages, but well worth the effort.

Breakfast of Champions – Classic Vonnegut. In every possible sense.

Bandwidth – Dystopian novel or a prediction of the (very) near future? Not necessarily the type of book I would usually pick. But this was r-i-v-e-t-i-n-g.

Napoleon: A Life – In-depth adventure into Napoleon’s personality, life and legacy. After reading Churchill’s biography by Andrew Roberts, this felt like the next logical step.

Raising Boys – Blueprint to what boys need to grow up to be happy, confident grown-ups.

Gulag – As Russia’s leadership is a fucked up as it is, this one’s a timely read. Can we predict the future by looking into the past? I sure hope not.

As I am listing these, I realise that last year I mostly read books written by men. It’s a shame since women often offer insights that men miss (or don’t think of as relevant). Anne Applebaum’s Gulag is a great example.

So, my plan going into 2023 is to read more books written by women.

What books caught your attention this year? I’d love to hear your recommendations.

-J

Too much planning for the future reduces the joy we can feel in the present.

If you struggle to turn off your eating or exercise-planning brain, it often helps to acknowledge that you can’t fail. Every unplanned moment is an opportunity to learn. Those unplanned days are the best times to practice life’s non-trackable metrics.

Patience, satisfaction, grace, adaptability and resilience. We need all those skills to be and feel successful.

Your success for the next few days or weeks might look different to what you’re used to. And that’s what life’s all about.

-J

With a wide range of options and opinions about what’s best for you, it can be overwhelming to decide who to trust.

Here are a few positive signals to look for in an expert.

They agree with the majority of other experts in their field.

If someone’s going aggressively against the grain the chances of that person having some super-special knowledge are slim. It’s possible, but like a Slayer Christmas album, it’s unlikely.

What’s more likely is that they’re better at marketing. Or unethical. Or just batshit crazy.

They use previous experiences and the latest science as their base for their decisions.

Because science and knowledge. It’s ok to have personal opinions. But facts are facts.

They have a proven track record of solving the problems you’re dealing with.

Not only for themselves. But for a wide range of people.

-J

You have back pain.

The podiatrist says you need orthotics.

The physiotherapist says you need dry needling.

The chiropractor says your back needs releasing.

The personal trainer says you need to get stronger.

The therapist says you need to work on your mind.

The surgeon says you need a surgery.

The yoga teacher says you need to stretch.

The massage therapist says you need a massage.

And Tony says you need to eat more Frosted Flakes.

We can’t all be right.

But the fact that you’re getting wide-ranging opinions is a sign of a society with an over-specialisation problem.

And often, this can all occur within the same profession.

Which is a good enough reason to get a second opinion.

-J

Prolonged sitting (or any passive activity) is terrible news for the cardiovascular system, metabolism, strength and muscle mass. Regardless of how we boil it. Even if you hit the recommended weekly activity guidelines (2-5 hours of moderate intensity or 1.25-2.5 hours vigorous intensity).

So that kind of sucks. But here’s a thick slice of hope.

Brief periods of activity (1-2 minutes) every 20-30 minutes can undo most, if not all, of the negativity of sitting. And perhaps then some.

Is it convenient? Hell no.

I get it. If I am deep into work, the last thing I feel like doing is getting off my chair. But I honestly can’t think of a good reason not to do it.

-J