Exploring the role of feasts throughout history, highlighting how they foster connection, reinforce cultural values, and celebrate abundance, this post examines our evolutionary tendency for overconsumption during feasts and offers strategies for enjoying these occasions mindfully without compromising health. By approaching communal meals with intention, we can maintain balance and celebrate without overindulging.
We had a great turnout for the first-ever BTG Baby Barkley this past Saturday, with eleven people participating. The weather was beautiful, and actually was quite comfortable for most of the duration, only getting really hot in the afternoon hours. Read the full post for my recap of my (just under) 6 hours’ effort on the mountain!
Kicking off the 2024 race season and the ultra training plan…and then getting COVID! Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face, as “Iron” Mike Tyson used to say. Here’s what I’m doing to keep moving forward.
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
One common thing people mention as a goal when we first talk about trying to eat better is weight loss. For some, it's just "a couple of pounds" and for others, it's pretty significant. The reasons behind wanting to lose weight may be to improve some health markers, to move better and feel less day-to-day aches and pains, to "look better naked" or for similar aesthetic reasons, or simply because of some preconceived notion of what they "should" weigh. Some of those reasons also feed into emotional and mental well-being, and can affect our self-confidence, self-image and happiness.
The truth is, most people don't NEED to lose weight to be healthier, and with the right mindset, they don't NEED to lose weight to be happier or more self-confident either.
Read more…
From Spartan Races to rediscovering joy in movement, this journey explores overcoming fear, embracing endurance, and confronting burnout after years of relentless competition. With 2025 as a no-race year, it’s a chance to rebuild strength, rediscover passion, and find a new ‘why’ beyond finish lines. A raw reflection on resilience, growth, and the evolving purpose of fitness.
Read a raw, start-to-finish recap of the 2024 Around The Lake Give'R Take 30K, featuring brutal weather, challenging trails, and mental grit. Join me as I push through fear, anxiety, and pain to beat cutoff times and conquer personal limits. Discover insights on pacing, race-day strategy, and why doing the hard things is always worth it.
I'm facing a tough race with challenging weather and terrain, and I'm not sure I'll make the cutoff. To succeed, I'll need to sustain a pace I've rarely managed before, and there's a real risk of failure or injury. But it's not just about finishing—it's about pushing beyond my comfort zone, testing my limits, and seeing what I’m capable of, even if it scares me. Sometimes you just do stuff anyway.
Exploring the role of feasts throughout history, highlighting how they foster connection, reinforce cultural values, and celebrate abundance, this post examines our evolutionary tendency for overconsumption during feasts and offers strategies for enjoying these occasions mindfully without compromising health. By approaching communal meals with intention, we can maintain balance and celebrate without overindulging.
We had a great turnout for the first-ever BTG Baby Barkley this past Saturday, with eleven people participating. The weather was beautiful, and actually was quite comfortable for most of the duration, only getting really hot in the afternoon hours. Read the full post for my recap of my (just under) 6 hours’ effort on the mountain!
Embarking on a transformative journey in 2024, I'm taking on two monumental challenges: my first 50K mountain ultramarathon and my first Spartan Race Ultra on my 50th birthday. Despite recent health setbacks and injuries, I'm determined to reach peak physical condition. Join me as I document this journey of resilience and self-discovery - it won't be boring!
If you want a good chance of succeeding on the hanging obstacles on a Spartan Race, you're going to have to train your grip and learn to swing like a primate!
While being able to do pull-ups is great, it's not really necessary if you have a strong grip and good technique. It's also less important how long you can statically hang than it is to be able to grip HARD and release over and over again.
Combined with that, it is important to learn how to properly move your body in space while hanging to control your momentum and smoothly load / unload your hands. This can help you to be much more confident in transitioning from one grip event to the next as you move through the obstacles.
Put it all together, and you have brachiation.
With so little time to prepare going into my Spartan Death Race (I fly out in 2 weeks!), I'm not going to be able to do anything to meaningfully alter and train my body for the physical demands of this kind of ultra-endurance event. It's simply not possible. Preparing to take the step up from around where my current conditioning is at to run a multi-day endurance race is usually achieved on the timescale of years (yes, YEARS, plural), not weeks, so I'm just going to have to "run what I brung" to use an old motor-racing phrase.
But I can't help having some real moments of deep self-doubt. Like, literally tears streaming down my face while out on a walk or run, "who the hell do I think I am to attempt this?" and "I am in WAY over my head" kind of moments.
So, knowing that I can't change myself physically, and working through my moments of self-doubt, what CAN I do to prepare?
I went into last weekend's Step Up For Cardiac Health event with zero expectations. I was just there to put in my best effort and support a good, local cause. To end up finishing as the first place male and second place overall was honestly quite a shock.
I can't remember the last time I was first place at anything. I honestly don't know that I've EVER been first place before. Maybe sometime in grade school at a Sports Day event...? Nope- just remembered. Raina and I won first place in the Boys & Girls Club Car Rally back in 2002, I think.
Anyway, here are a few things I learned along the way…
One common thing people mention as a goal when we first talk about trying to eat better is weight loss. For some, it's just "a couple of pounds" and for others, it's pretty significant. The reasons behind wanting to lose weight may be to improve some health markers, to move better and feel less day-to-day aches and pains, to "look better naked" or for similar aesthetic reasons, or simply because of some preconceived notion of what they "should" weigh. Some of those reasons also feed into emotional and mental well-being, and can affect our self-confidence, self-image and happiness.
The truth is, most people don't NEED to lose weight to be healthier, and with the right mindset, they don't NEED to lose weight to be happier or more self-confident either.
Read more…
In an article from Mountain Tactical Institute's website that was recently featured in their newsletter, the writer used the term "Recreational Hardship" to describe the idea of doing hard stuff when you don't have to (I.E. it's not your job, or a requirement for your life in some way) in order to train your body and mind to be resilient and persistent in the face of the challenges that life brings your way. I really like that, as it clearly and simply defines, for example, participating in Spartan Race events.
Read on for more…
One of the keys to maintaining a lean, healthy body is eating enough protein. In addition to the energy (calories) it provides, protein also provides essential amino acids that are needed by your body to rebuild and renew tissue, vitamins and minerals to support your body’s day-to-day functions, AND it can help rev up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to break it down than it does for carbs or fats.
Ideally, we should be getting most of our protein needs from whole foods, but sometimes it’s tough to know what to buy, especially if you’re on a budget. For that reason, every once in a while, I take a cruise through the local grocery store and update this protein price guide for the reference of our members at The BTG, and now I’ve decided to share it with all of you!
As part of a program I was going through when this blog post was originally written, we were asked to examine our fears with regards to the program, and that got me thinking about the nature of fear when it comes to failure or success of achieving goals or tasks we set ourselves.
There will always be things that are genuinely beyond our control that can influence our success or failure at something, but here we are talking about the things we CAN control – our own behaviours and choices.
So, what do “Fear of Failure” and “Fear of Success” really mean?
When it comes to making lasting change, one stumbling block that I’ve seen with clients and come up against in my own journey of self-discovery and behaviour change, is the apparent dichotomy between loving and accepting one's self as-is versus the desire to improve and be one's best self.
Have you ever wondered why there are certain things you just...CAN'T...STOP...EATING?
It may have nothing to do with willpower.
There's a whole industry dedicated to creating hyperpalatable foods that hit all of the sensory triggers that compel you to keep on plowing through that bag of chips, box of cookies, or bucket of chicken. They are like fireworks in your brain, a party in your mouth...you get the idea. (READ MORE…)
“What we dwell on, we become." —Oprah Winfrey
The quote above from one of the most successful women in entertainment history highlights the simple idea that what we focus our attention on begets more of that thing, even if only in our own mind, and it is in our MIND where our reality is constructed.
Read the full article for some ideas on how to take control of your self-talk to build the identity and self-image you want…
