Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. This week’s story is about the strength and courage of a father who has ... Read More ..read more

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. This week’s story features a man who received an assignment that would have made most men resign and certainly all men feel the flush of fear in their gut. This is the story of Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Maynard was born in 1684. He joined the English Navy, and served as a British Royal Navy officer as a third lieutenant. When Maynard was 34, he ..read more

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. This week’s story is about one of the most consistently brave characters in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. He is courageous, sincere, well-mannered, and poised. Sometimes he annoys those around him, but he reliably steps up to the plate when a dangerous situation presents itself. And he’s a mouse. Of course C.S. Lewis would pack all th ..read more

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. This one is especially remarkable to me for one reason… the modern day GPS.  It’s hard to imagine a time prior to GPS. In the last few weeks, I have driven 1,000+ miles, and you can bet that a GPS has told me where to go every single one of those miles. This next story is one of an adventurer who lived well before the GPS.  This guy ma ..read more

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. And God is a great story-teller. Here’s one from Daniel chapter 3, featuring three Jewish exiles living in Babylon. This story captures the strength of conviction, and the courage required to take a stand despite the risk of death.  Here’s the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, made a massive gold ..read more

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us. This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action. And God is a great story-teller. Here’s one from Judges chapter 3, featuring Ehud. This story has elements of courage in taking action despite the risk of failure, as well as some entertaining elements through amazing story-telling. Here’s the story of Ehud. As a result of their sin, the people of Israel were conquered by Eglon, the king of Moab ..read more

Figuring Out Apartment Workouts   Years ago, my wife and I lived in a tiny apartment just north of New York City. To say that we didn’t have much space would have been an understatement.  The apartment complex we lived in did not have a gym, and we had to find ways to do apartment workouts without annoying our neighbors. For the year we lived there, we found several different apartment workouts we could do, using very minimal equipment.  This article shares five apartment workouts and routines you can do in your apartment. These apartment workouts are ones we have either done in ..read more

What is a Kettlebell Goblet Squat Curl? This is the bigger brother of the Kettlebell Goblet Squat. All you are doing is adding a bicep curl at the bottom of the squat. This is a powerful movement that can build serious strength in both your upper and lower body. The key to this movement is a strong core, a deep squat, and a firm grip.  The Kettlebell Goblet Squat Curl is a full-body exercise with an emphasis on the following muscle groups: Core Back Shoulders Biceps Legs How to Do a Kettlebell Goblet Squat Curl (Instructions): Stand over the kettlebell, with the bell between your ..read more

What is “DIY Fitness”?    With the popularity of home improvement shows in the last few years, DIY projects are a familiar concept. We’ve all felt the tug to renovate or have spent the capital to plan and complete improvement projects that we can do ourselves in our homes.    What I’m calling DIY fitness follows that same framework. A “Do-It-Yourself” approach to fitness is the activity of stewarding and strengthening your body without the regular employment or 1/1 coaching from a professional.    Admittedly, the DIY fitness journey is never done in absolute isola ..read more

What is Kettlebell Training?   Kettlebell training is a mode of exercise that uses the ultra-versatile, extra-portable, and compound-movement friendly kettlebell for your training goal. Using this cannonball with a handle can completely transform your training, as it did mine.    Almost a year ago, I was stagnant in my home gym routine. I wanted to add some weight into my bodyweight training, but I was tired of the monotony of dumbbells and didn’t have the space for barbells.   I stumbled across a video of someone doing kettlebell complexes (here’s an example of one). The r ..read more