Unleash the Monkey Army

Let's recap. Ever a glutton for punishment, I allowed myself to get talked into entering an indoor rowing competition.  The appeal? I'd heard they've a great atmosphere, it would give me a target to work towards and it would be a chance to chance my arm in a pond slightly bigger than my utility room! I've never been that dedicated to, or hot on the erg [indoor rower]. And over the recent years have not invested a lot of time and energy into developing my fitness. Granted, I completed the burpee year but between April and 1st June, when I started the rower ladder, I did nothing which didn't look like picking something up and putting it down again (and, in truth, precious little of that)! In fact, it was that ladder and starting the dog days of summer  that led to the suggestion being made to me. So there I was, the day after my 2nd ever Strongman event, logging on, entering my payment details before thinking "Oh nuts, what have I done now?!" (n...

So, it has been just over two months since I completed the 100 day burpee ladder (and popped out a few extra to round up the total). Since then I have noticed a couple of things: People who didn't take part feel like they missed out People who started but didn't see it off, well, they feel like they missed out   People like me, and others who aren't like me but still finished it, we feel like we're now missing out on something. So, inspired by Burt Bacharach (he was the man who sang "what the world needs now, is burpees, more burpees" wasn't he?), I'm going to hang out a chance for everybody to scratch that itch. Another ladder, but let's make it a year to remember, a burpee year to remember!   Day 1: do 1 burpee, day 2: 2, day 3: 3, etc etc until we get to day 365 when we'll pop out a cheeky 365 reps.   But, lest a few people miss out on the chance to test themselves to their own capacity, we're going to add in a couple of s...

The first flush of the new year is out of the way and many resolutions have already been cast aside, dismissed like a credit card bill pending a better set of circumstances in which to respond to the call. Now is probably a good time to visit the perennial January question - goals. Picture from Reuters.com Now, we "know" that the setting of goals is a good thing. I mean, those of us who have the double-edged blessing of working for pretty-much any sized organisation will have had it drummed into us that that it is vitally important. It also stands to reason that achievement is more likely when the objective is set. But what doesn't often get mentioned is that this is not merely a matter of temporal inevitability like night follows day; rather, it is a likely but no guaranteed sequence like Summer following Spring in the UK (you know it should happen but quite often it seems to go from Spring to Autumn/Winter with barely a pause for breath in between). Go...

There’s something I’ve noticed as I’ve grown older. It’s something that cuts across work, sports and social situations. There’s an almost universal demand for respect. Not really for anything, just because. There’s no indication or inclination toward reciprocity, just a demand that because I am here or, so that the older generation don’t feel left out, because I have done my time there should be some recognition. And when the world shrugs its collective shoulders there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. I was brought up to have more compassion than to just shrug, so instead I ask the question “what of it?” Too callous? How about this – “so what have you done with your time?” Yes, there are marks for attendance in my book. That act puts you ahead of a good selection of the rest of society. But, as I have said before, just turning up is not enough. Whether you are early in your journey, or further along, it’s a start but not the end. What will you do? These are important things to ask ...

There is a degree of trending in life - in so much as heightened awareness and confirmation bias mean that we pick up on strands in our existence. I think that's probably born of an evolutionary survival mechanism but that's not the point of today's thought. In both spheres of my "working" life I find myself presented with discussion and implementation of opportunity and fairness. As a coach my passion is to help people realise their potential, as best I can. As a coach my job is to present the best possible opportunity for my charges to develop. The bigger the group, the less tailored to the needs of the individual my interventions can be. That's just an economic approach - getting the most for the most from the dwindling resource. That said, I can scale workouts and exercises to open the door for as many as possible. And here's the thing, I am holding a door open for people. I encourage and occasionally cajole but the step over the threshold is the c...

There is no such thing as an entirely level playing field and to pretend otherwise is naive and delusional. My issue with hankering after one is that it puts you, the individual, anywhere other than at the centre of finding a solution (how we like to externalise blame!). "If we could just catch a break we could turn this on its head"; "If the referee would just stop penalising us we could get back in this"; "if they'd just advertised that job in the one idiosyncratic publication I happen to read I could have applied". What are you doing about it? If you're sitting back waiting for a leg-up or investing your energy in complaining about the situation you are missing the point. For reasons of endocrinology or physiology or psychology - hormones or rest or genetics or fuelling or mental acuity or physical positioning - in every field of human endeavour we will find ourselves different to the people we are with and against. Even if that wasn...