For those of us tired of complicated BS

Once upon a time I discovered a book by Pavel Tsatsouline, Power to the People.

The book rocked my world and changed everything about my training.

Next I was getting kettlebells shipped to my apartment. This was way back in 2003, doing kettlebell swings and presses on my apartment balcony.

The kettlebell is a hit because of simplicity

They didn’t call it the handheld gym for no reason.

Here’s what the kettlebell teaches you:

• Movement-based training is better than training in isolation
• Simple movements can have endless variety (many combinations of the swing, for example walking, one hand, two hand, height differences, etc.)
• You can use the same weight for different exercises and get by with having just a few different weights

This simplicity applies to other areas of your life, primarily work

A good example occurred the other day. I scheduled a meeting over the top of another meeting where a bunch of folks were marked optional.

I was alerted to this clerical error. But is it an error? Why go to something if you don’t need to be there. This is common in corporate America where people complain of meetings yet continue to go to ones where they won’t provide much value.

Also, you can’t have multiple priorities at the same time. A good story about this involves Richard Branson of Virgin. Darren Hardy told this story where someone wanted him to speak, and were willing to pay mucho dinero, but Branson declined. It didn’t move forward his primary focus.

Focus on a few key things. With the kettlebell swings, snatches, presses, and goblet squats are pretty good.

Dads who train at home

This could be the title of a YouTube video. Here’s the thing.

We don’t need any more fatherless homes, or homes where the father is like Homer Simpson or Al Bundy. We need sharp, strong men who aren’t addicted to alcohol or other vices.

Dads who are present and aware.

And I admit I sometimes struggle with this—I’m thinking of a school email right now that I should probably be more engaged with—but I’m aware of it.

And I’m not watching sports all weekend long or taking long marathon training sessions away from my family.

The other thing is that when you train at home you let your kids see you and you can talk about health and exercise.

A final thing is you’ll see flaws in your training. If you train too hard, you don’t have energy for your kids or your family and you might be a bit snippy.

What does this have to do with the title?

I’m seeking a simpler method. Hacking away the unessential. Whether it’s unessential thoughts or things, getting back to a simpler path is mandatory for stress and recovery and a more joyful life. Plain living and high thinking.

Get rid of BS attachments…to food, to drink, to information. Slow down.

That’s what’s going on here.