For those who read this blog, you may have noticed my absence. I’ve been re-prioritizing where I should focus on time and effort in life. The process has been a bit unnerving, deciding whether to pursue more contracting work, planning some product launches for my startup, or fall back into a full-time job position.
Unflinching freedom is paralyzing, as I say. As part of this work-life shuffle, I decided I wanted to commit at least 20 hours a week to new content on this site. This site is going to be a second job to me. A lot of reflection and talking it out led me to this truth: I love championing fitness and strength, and I want to make it a full time career. So that’s where I am at right now.
Part of this new resolve is some big site updates. I’ll be making changes to:
- New Posting Schedule
- New Name
- New Emphasis
- “The Conqueror’s Mindset”
So what can you expect? Let’s dive in.
New Posting Schedule
I’m going to be posting a lot more content. I used to post once a week. Now, I’ll be aiming for 3 days a week. While I will exercise independent discretion on what I post, I will (probably) have a general theme:
- Monday Mindsets: I’ll talk about the mindset of successful trainees, some of my own struggles that became strengths, and how to thrive anywhere you go.
- Wednesday Workouts: This isn’t another “Workout of the Day” where you see no results. Instead, I teach you new skills for your technique toolbox, new ways to train that keep you focused on your goals, but add novelty and skill.
- Friday Nutrition: Fridays are about nutrition to keep you lean and strong wherever you are. I’ll cover both the mechanical advice of nutrition and habits that keep it all in line.
I am stoked to have the opportunity to write more, and hope I can create a really cool community that’s willing to journey alongside me.
New Name
The original domain “GainTrain” was a running gag about the lifting and fitness community that I kinda liked, but it isn’t my ideal name because it only captures one part of the site. Yes I want you to train, and yes I want you to gain strength. Yes, it rhymes.
But it isn’t enough. I wanted to name the site something more personally effective. It had to be an affirmation that helped make me a stronger person and will help you. Something that creates a conqueror’s mindset that lasts us for life.
I decided on Roam Strong, because the purpose of my own fitness lifestyle is to never feel weak, incapable, or scared in my own body. I want to travel anywhere with the confidence that I look, feel, and perform at my peak. And in you, I want to inspire strength that follows you wherever you go with automatic training habits, eating habits, and recovery habits.
New Emphasis
What will stay the same:
I’m not changing everything. The core is the same:
- Efficient, Smart Training: I’m not going insane with spiritual nonsense. GainTrain was focused on decluttering the fitness world, knowing we shouldn’t train like we have Fitness ADHD – randomly throwing in assorted exercises hoping it pushes us towards a goal. That’s still the emphasis because understanding what behaviors complete your goals is the most important thing you can learn, and knowing those select few exercises and guidelines that guide you are the priority.
- Do What Works: I still support fitness exploration, but only explore once you get down the fundamental reasons why you’re doing these exercises, instead of blindly following a Workout of the Day without knowing the why. I don’t speak for people who aren’t willing to understand this core concept. If you want to get to the store, find it on a map, then run. Don’t jog in a random direction then exclaim you should “be at the store” when you can’t find it.
- Straightforward Advice: The straightforward, tough love knowledge will stay. I will still focus on putting behavior before thoughts/feelings/emotions. Behavior sticks and decides the other 3 sensations for us. Don’t trust your feelings, unless they are telling you to train smart.
What’s changing:
I will be making some tweaks to my approach:
- Mindset: I am still uncompromisingly grounded in science, but I will also focus on the mindset, mental tactics, and intuitive tricks you can use to travel strong.
- Location Independence: Since I often roam to places without gyms (or poorly equipped gyms), I will emphasize location independent exercise and nutrition habits. I will focus a lot on training, eating, and rest habits that don’t require a gym, a Michelin star kitchen or a massive amount of equipment. Instead, I teach you principles of movement, and how you can use your body, a barbell, or dumbbells to replicate each motion with resistance. I’ll be teaching a flexible, principle-driven fitness lifestyle so you never feel you are out of control. Whether road warrior, traveling consultant, or digital nomad, you will find techniques to keep you fit. Be confident you can feel strong, pumped, and powerful anywhere you go.
- Fitness Exploration: I give Workout of the Day and Circuits a bad rap, but they have one good quality. They encourage exploration of body and self through movement. While I don’t support having no goal (see: map example above), I do support exploring your technique options once you start to see progress and have built a habit.
The Conqueror’s Mindset
Lastly, I will focus on creating a “Conqueror’s Mindset”.
With science, experience, and a little ancient wisdom, you’ll learn how to summon the strength to push forward, the strength to stand up when you fall, and the strength to achieve your goals. This style of thinking allowed me to be one of those people who trained daily, no matter what. The type of person who went from finding excuses to skip workouts, to finding reasons to workout. I became the type of person who could not live without striving to be even better.
I wanted a way to express the “roaming confidence” you find in movies. Think to the wandering warriors of shows like Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, who have an uncanny confidence and peerless skills. Or to James Bond, Jason Bourne, or other superspys, who have the confidence and charisma born from a trained strenght.
No matter where you go, you feel confident that you are ready to tackle any challenges in your way. it’s a little like how I imagined these heroes to feel, comfortable in themselves to travel and live as they pleased.
In other words, I want you to roam strong. Whenever you need to remember what you stand for, just remember that you can Roam Strong, and push onward.
What Are Your Needs?
I have my experiences, but this is not just about me. This is all about serving your needs. Is there anything you want clarified when it comes to fitness, habits, or lifestyle? What type of info would best help you to roam strong? What important details should I focus on? Just to prime your minds, here are few example subjects;
- Losing weight without counting calories or strict dieting
- New exercise techniques to hit different body parts and different movements with/without equipment
- The best exercises to use while traveling/on the go to maintain your lean physique
I’m looking forward to sharing my experience and creating a community of confidence and growth.
Roam strong.
