Health, movement and feeling good in my body

How I train

During a normal week, I try to cover my shoulders, arms, chest, back, core and legs.

There is no strict schedule. I care more about making sure that nothing is consistently forgotten.

Most training happens at home in sessions of around 30 to 40 minutes. Once or twice a week I usually go to a commercial gym, where I train for roughly an hour to an hour and a half. I also try to include a cardio-focused session such as fitboxing.

My favorite exercises are relatively simple: pull-ups, push-ups, squats, kettlebell and dumbbell movements, gymnastic rings and, increasingly, handstands.

When strength training, movement quality matters more to me than how impressive the weight looks.

I want a weight that requires noticeable effort while still allowing me to maintain good posture and control.

With exercises that train one side at a time, I normally start with my weaker left side and then match the number of repetitions with the stronger side.

I am not trying to discover the maximum amount of weight I can move once.

I am trying to build a body that works well.

Mobility

Mobility is one of the main reasons I train.

I have read many stories about people reaching an older age and struggling with basic movements: bending down, putting on socks, getting dressed or moving comfortably through everyday life.

I do not want that to become normal for me.

My goal is not extreme flexibility. It is much simpler:

I want to keep being able to move without pain.

Handstands: a skill in progress

I recently started practicing handstands.

I cannot yet hold one properly without a wall, and part of the challenge is simply becoming comfortable being upside down.

My biggest obstacle is psychological rather than physical: I am still afraid of falling badly and hurting my neck or back.

For now, I practice cautiously next to a wall and treat it primarily as a movement skill I would like to learn.

It is a useful reminder that even as an adult there are physical skills where I can still be a complete beginner.

Cardio is one of my weaker areas

I do not particularly enjoy running, and pretending otherwise would not make this page more useful.

I walk quite a lot. On normal days I try to get outside in the evening and reach at least around 6,000 steps. When travelling on weekends, 15 to 20 kilometres of walking in a day is fairly normal.

I enjoy hiking, previously cycled regularly, sometimes use the rowing machine at the gym and use fitboxing for more intense cardiovascular work.

Compared with strength and mobility, however, cardio is an area where I could be more deliberate.

This page describes what I actually do, not the perfect routine I wish I followed.

Working at a desk

One of the health problems I think about most is not training.

It is sitting.

A workout in the morning does not change the fact that I may then spend six or seven hours at a desk.

So I try to interrupt sitting whenever possible.

I move between meetings. I hang from gymnastic rings to stretch and decompress. I use a gym ball and foam roller for my back and neck. I occasionally use a massage gun, and I have small massage devices around my desk.

The most useful lesson for me has been that movement does not need to wait for a workout.

Five minutes counts. Ten minutes counts. Getting up and moving between two meetings counts.

My basic food principles

• Make water the default drink.
• Eat fruits and vegetables regularly.
• Get enough protein.
• Prefer recognizable, relatively minimally processed foods.
• Keep added sugar limited.
• Avoid drinking calories by default.
• Cook simple meals.
• Stop eating before feeling completely full.
• Do not turn imperfect meals into guilt.
• Leave room for food that exists simply because it is enjoyable.

Supplements

I prefer food to be the foundation of my nutrition.

I also use protein and creatine and occasionally take some nutritional supplements.

I do not view supplements as shortcuts and I am still refining how I approach them.

This is one area where I prefer to stay cautious rather than continuously add new products because they are fashionable.

Alcohol

I barely drink alcohol.

There is no great discipline involved because I simply do not particularly like it.

I can have fun without it, and I dislike the dehydration, worse sleep and weak feeling that can follow drinking.

There are occasions where I enjoy the social ritual: a glass of wine during a romantic dinner or a beer while talking about life with a friend.

For me that is enough.

Again, balance works better than ideology.

Recovery does not always mean doing more

Recovery for me can mean sleep, sauna, lighter training, stretching, spending time outdoors, reading or simply doing nothing.

I do not believe in pushing through every signal the body sends me.

If I feel unusually tired, I reduce the intensity, train something else or rest.

Sometimes resting is the training.

Nature

Nature is particularly effective for me.

Even a short walk through the fields and watching the sunset can noticeably change my mood.

I like being near water and sometimes even work from there.

I enjoy sunshine and notice that long, dark winter periods affect my mood.

I probably still spend less time outside than I would like.

One version of a future home I often imagine is very simple: being able to sit inside while looking directly into nature.