I’ve always felt that fitness is important, even as a kid. I also believe fitness is a very important part of ‘being prepared’… especially in these uncertain times.

Before I dive into this article I just want to say: I am not a doomsday prepper. I am simply an ordinary person who believes in preparing for unknowns if there are any signs that it might be a good idea to do so. Being in a post-GFC world, PLUS COVID, lockdowns, civil unrest, purported (and/or potential) state-sponsored cyber-attacks, other domestic and/or overseas/international unknowns, etc I feel ‘being prepared for unknowns’ might be a good idea.

I wish I could see the future, but since I don’t know what is ahead for us in the next 2, 5, 10 (etc) years, I choose to spend time on YouTube, in books and from other people learning skills I currently don’t possess.

I am an optimistic person so my hope is the economy as we know it will continue for many, many years to come in this country (Australia where I am based), NZ, US, UK, etc. However, like any business person (or anyone in general), I know things can change. I also know MANY other countries do not live the amazing quality of life we do. I also believe in creating contingencies.

Maybe this is because of my business background, or partly because I have been involved in the Scouting movement since I was a kid; where their motto is “be prepared”, or because I grew up on a farm where ‘scarcity of resources was the norm’, or because my Father was involved in Community Disaster Management (employed by Emergency Management Queensland), or because I have friends in other countries (like South Africa) that are living in far from ideal circumstances (and that’s putting it lightly). My point: economies, civil liberties, haves vs have-nots, our weather, etc can change… sometimes in a blink of an eye.

Side note: At the time of writing this article, I am 42 years of age. The older I get, the more important looking after my body is becoming.

The last time I got myself relatively fit was in 2013 when I was introduced to CrossFit (which I luv!).

Since 2015 though my fitness has declined (I explain why towards the end of this blog article). I have now though created the opportunity to change that…. so I have started a 12 week challenge.

Please note: The information in this article is ‘general information only’. Please consult with your Doctor or medical specialist before considering ‘body recomposition’, ‘aggressive fat reduction’, aggressive ‘strength gains’, etc.

My 12 Week Challenge

I am documenting my initial 12-week challenge here in this website. I have just completed week 1.  These are my 12 week challenge goals:

  • To lose 12 kg
  • Increase my fitness
  • Increase my muscle mass by a reasonable amount
  • Be able to walk at least 3 hrs without getting a sore lower back.
  • Get myself ready for waterskiing (see the ski boat restoration project I have nearly finished)
  • At the end of the 12 week challenge, I want to walk to the top of this mountain (Mt Perry)
  • When we can travel overseas again, I want to go visit friends in Japan. Amongst things, I want to go snow skiing and hiking with them.

After the 12 week challenge, I will continue on with my fitness goals to lose a further 38kg AND to also increase muscle strength and density by approximately a further 15%. Once done I’ll re-assess and decide if I want to take my fitness even further.

I am lucky. I trained in swimming, basketball, tennis, other sports, waterskiing, weight training and also went to some cardio classes from a young age, which means I have muscle memory. I’m also a big fan of goal-setting, creating routines, finishing what I start, etc.

80%/20% Fitness Rule

In my early 30’s I was taught the 80/20 rule: ‘It’s 80% about what you quality food you eat and 20% about quality training and activity you do’. Cause it is more complex than that (eg. portion sizes, calorie intake, macronutrient intake (and micro intake), how you train, training intensity, rest, sleep, and other considerations), but it’s still a good general rule that is easy to teach and easy to remember.

I am a big believer in building up slowly. Not only does this create a new habit, but it also ensures I minimise risk of further injury. PLUS it gives my muscles, tendons, ligaments, heart, etc a chance to start to be ‘re-awoken gently’ and to help stretch them.

So over the last 1 month I have been bit by bit cleaning up my diet and also increasing the amount of activity I do at the gym and in general:

  • I started eating a slightly higher fat, lower carb diet. Sort of like Paleo but my own variation
  • Reduced processed sugar intake
  • I started walking more (for 30mins each walk)
  • I started kayaking every week again
  • 1x 15 min CrossFit style workout per week
  • 1x massage every week (good for blood flow for muscle recovery and general health)
  • In the gym I started doing 5×5 style working. here are the ‘buff dudes’ who explain it:

Side note: I realise in a survival situation it is more ideal to have a body that can function effectively without the need for it to be constantly fed. After all, that is why our bodies are naturally programmed to ‘store energy’. Therefore I am not attempting to get ‘cut’ or even close to cut long-term.
However, if I do decide to get semi-cut over the next 6 or 12 months, it will surely be a ‘body challenge’ NOT a way of life.

My Weight Loss and Fitness Plan:

I’ve started a low carb, higher ‘good fats’ and ‘higher protein intake’ fat loss diet. I’m aiming for a total ‘per day’ calorie intake of around 2,000 cals (though I have not got macros calculated yet so this may change). I’m also shooting for 200g of quality protein per day.

Using good scientific method of ‘data collection’ I am currently tracking the following:

  • My daily meals (food intake)
  • My daily exercise
  • My weight
  • I’ll take body measurements soon

Note: I am not going all ‘bio-hacker’ YET. Therefore I am not tracking blood sugar, ketones or anything else explained in this video:

Some of the videos I have watched which are going to aid in my 12-week challenge are below:

In the above video there are a few exercises I can’t do in this cardio workout YET (due to injuries), but I will scale and modify as needed. I’ll also only do 20mins instead of 40 mins… so as to build up over time.

My weekly routine I’m aiming for:

  • 3 days of weight training
  • 2 days of high-intensity cardio
  • 3 days of light cardio
  • 1 or 2 hr kayak per week
  • push-bike riding as time allows My food intake from yesterday is attached.

Some of the CrossFit style exercises I will be doing:

I own a few kettlebells, speed rope, sit-up pad, old vehicle tyres, light weights, boxing spring ball and a few other things.

I’m looking to find or buy the following shortly:

  • Buckets and bags containing sand
  • A sledgehammer
  • Old tractor tyre
  • Barbell and some weight plates
  • Maybe a rowing machine

Atm I am doing 10min CrossFit style workouts. One of them is an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) for 10mins:

  • 2mins rowing machine
  • 10x kettlebell swings
  • 10x air-squats
  • [Repeat for 10mins/ AMRAP]

I’ll scale it up to 15mins soon and then 20mins.

I’m not going as far as a full ketone diet yet. Just doing a lower carb, higher fats and proteins diet for now (with minimal processed sugar intake).

If of interest this is how I got overweight during the last 5 years

Thanks for reading this blog article to this point. If you’re interested in knowing how I got myself so overweight, I have written a short explanation below. There are 2 main reasons:

1/ Some of the weight gain has resulted from injuries that have bit by bit made me feel less included to train regularly:

  • I hurt my upper back 4 years ago pushing myself into a kayak when helping teach Scouts how to do deep-water rescues. I’m still waiting for another MRI to find out what the actual issue is, so it can get fixed. This pain causes pain when I train. However, after watching the Ronnie Coleman doco on Netflix the other night, I am not going to let this pain stop me.
  • I’ve dealt with chronic lower-back pain in the past due to ‘bulging discs’ which were operated on about 9 years ago. This still gives me some pain sometimes but it is a lot better than it was.
  • I also tore my left knee ACL about 8 years ago.
  • I now also have heal pain

2/ I own a business in a very competitive and high-pressure industry (my life revolves around deadlines).

My fitness decreased because I was doing too much of the work in my business myself. It took a good 5 years to find and build a good team:

  • Finding the right people
  • Training them
  • Assisting them
  • Training them further
  • Building good processes for them to follow
  • Automating certain tasks
  • Leading the team
  • etc

Now that I have a team, I am able to find at least 2 hrs every day to train, so that I can get my fitness back.

I can now also get to bed each night by 11pm, instead of 1 or 2am like I was doing. You can imagine, when working from 6am, 7am or 8am to around 12pm each day, then 1hr or 2hrs of Netflix to wind down at the end of the day, that this also meant I was eating poorly and also eating at the wrong times of the day (eg. eating my evening meal at 10pm or 11pm at night).

Growing a business is not for the faint-of-heart. It takes a LOT of work and commitment. However, the rewards are great! Especially in that permitting the western economy continues to be ok, I will have ample time for fitness and lifestyle in this next phase of my life (my 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, etc).

Business growth requires sacrifice. I had to sacrifice my health for a few years, to grow and ultimately achieve ALL my goals (including health goals) long-term. I knew though I only had a relatively short window of time do to this, so I made it happen. It took 5 years, whereas I was hoping it would only take 2 or 3… but at least I’ve now achieved it.

Thanks for reading this article. It’s definitely a ‘blog style article’ more than a general ‘informational’ article so I hope you don’t mind that it was ‘all about me’. Hopefully though there is some useful information within this article (especially in the videos) you can take away if you’re on a weight loss or fitness journey or 12 week challenge of your own.

Credits: I want to thank all the people who have created the amazing videos I have included in this article. Thank you heaps! I have learned so much by watching them! Your commitment to creating incredibly excellent free content amazes me. I take my hat off to you!

Once I regain more strength, I might then look to enroll in Jeff Nippard or Chris Heria’s program: