Why some blog posts work and others don’t: an analysis

As a blogger, have you ever taken to the time to examine your readership statistics to discern what seems to garner the most attention…and what doesn’t? I’ve been blogging for a year now and have published dozens of posts. During that time, I’ve had some spectacular failures as well as a few relative successes. […]

The dark side of the Gym

This blog is about to get real. This morning I read an excellent post from Awkward Brown Guy (https://theawkwardbrownguy.wordpress.com/ – I highly recommend his blog) in which he describes his motivation for going to the gym, and how it’s changed over the years. It got me thinking about how we all like to post about […]

YouTubular – The best videos of the week

I watch a lot of YouTube. I have “cable” TV, Netflix and Amazon Prime but I only tend to browse through the choices/channels on the weekends and, typically, give up and pick up a book instead. Youtube, however, is addictive. There is a lot of bad content so the trick is having a “nose” for […]

What a year of blogging has taught me.

This post is not about how to blog. At this point in the game, I don’t think I’m qualified to opine on the art of blogging. If a blogging “how to” is what interests you, this is the most cogent blog post, from the uber-talented and prolific Cristian Mihai, I’ve read on the subject thus […]

Starting Strength – The vegans of the strength-training community

Yes, the title of this post is very much tongue-in-cheek but, like all humor, there is a lot of truth to it. On the surface, the communities couldn’t be more different. Peruse any Starting Strength forums or groups and you’ll quickly realize that their 2nd favorite topic is probably the consumption of meat. And I’d […]

The reasons that absolutely nobody should be intimidated by strength training

We’ve all been there. Most of us mere mortals have been in lousy physical shape at least once in our lives. At some point we think “hmm, I should really go to the gym” but we hesitate. A quick perusal of social media, YouTube videos and blog posts reveals that a big reason many people […]

The Mythical Land of Oz

I was born in The Land Down Under. While it wasn’t exactly an accident of birth (heck, I was even conceived in Oz) my birthplace is not one of my more salient facts. If you met me today absolutely nothing about me screams, or even whispers, Australian. I am relatively unsullied by and downright ignorant […]

Been down so long looks like up to me

To those of you who started reading this post because you are fans of Richard Farina – my apologies. This post will not discuss his seminal novel of the same name/title (see above). For some reason when I sat down to ponder reverse culture shock this phrase/title literally popped into my head. Score one for […]

The best books you’ve never read

The purpose of this post is share my all time best literary “finds”. My definition of a “find” is a work that is not mainstream but undeniably brilliant. These books are, in my opinion, masterpieces. A masterpiece is, in my experience, a book that is usually not very accessible at first but once […]

The Safety squat bar – the best exercise you should, but don’t, do

Pros: It will straight up make you stronger for squats and deadlifts You’ll be the vegan of your powerlifting crew, that condescending dude who has staked a claim on the moral high ground (could also be considered a “con”) Physique gainz, son Cons: Really hard Not for beginners When coming out of the hole, all […]