If you want your kids to be good at racing then seek positive race experiences from a very young age => link the sensations of racing with “fun” in their young minds
I was taught that all my (financial) problems would be solved if I made enough money.
Money, absent saving, doesn’t work.
Spending, absent reflection, creates golden handcuffs.
Living a big-city lifestyle had my younger self trapped. His large spending created a hurdle that would have taken him years to overcome.
Valuable years!
Put another way, the weight of my spending was preventing me from launching towards my true self => meeting a wonderful wife and creating my current life in Colorado.
My solution was simple
Save half my take home pay
Get myself to a low-cost environment
Create independent income streams to cover my cost of living
Surround myself with people who lived my values
All well and good, and my 30-something self got some things right.
What he wasn’t able to see was the Window of Time. It didn’t matter to him because he was rich in time, and knew it. Having his basics covered, he risked time on changing direction.
For the prudent, the march of time will eventually require a change in approach.
Each of us is free to change our approach at any time.
At some point, all of us are going to realize that our wealth in time is approaching the point where we have more wealth than time.
This is most likely to occur in what we call the “peak earning years.”
It’s really hard to change direction when you’re coining it.
I know, I did.
Cutting spending, leaning into saving, buying an extra couple years before I’m old…
…all trades you should consider.
Even if you don’t change your path, knowing that you could will strengthen your ability to act with integrity.
So the two landmines I hope you avoid are:
Peer-driven spending that leads you away from what fills your heart
Creating capital for future family members, when they’d rather spend time with you now
In the Steep Gullies of A-Basin, teaching my son how to lead men
In your 50s and 60s, you’re going to have the money to do neat stuff.
Are you going to have the body?
I propose three goals to guide your training:
Burn fat
Add muscle mass
Maintain sexual function
If you’re still into race performance then bookmark me and come back in a few years.
Why?
Because you might be screwing up all three by leaving sustained tempo in your program.
🙂
The ability to do fun stuff with those I love. A form of wealth.
Now, you’re probably thinking that it’s impossible for an older person to add muscle mass.
You might have even resigned yourself to a long, slow decline in personal function.
That’s certainly the way aging was taught to me (by members of your profession).
Are you sure?
An elder surgeon confided in me that “half the stuff I learned in med school, turned out to be false.”
Perhaps a shift in approach could get you a better outcome?
Besides, there is little downside from shifting your program, away from endurance fatigue, towards doing what it takes to add functional strength.
My son’s definition of heaven. Bit of a survival ski for me.
So how might we do that?
During the pandemic, I learned this protocol by accident.
I was locked in my house, with three high-energy kids, and I needed a way to chill out before endless days of Home School.
I turned to weights, a lot of them.
I worked my way through Rob Shaul’s SF45 program. The full program was eight modules and took me 60 weeks to complete.
Total body transformation.
Not only did it transform my body, my wife started having fire fighter fantasies. 😉
I became much better at moving through the mountains.
Rob’s redone the modules and now splits them by age (40, 50, 55 and 60). You can find them under General Fitness Plan Packets on his website.
I’ve taken what I’ve learned from Rob and interpreted into my life as a coach to kids, adults and elders. I use pieces of Rob’s protocols to address specific concerns (balance, fall risk, muscle activation, injury prevention and rehab). I tweet about these on Wednesdays.
I use Rob’s stuff for creating a valuable form of stress on my 53 yo body.
Gaining functional strength
To do neat stuff
Outside
With the people I love
For as long as possible
My training schedule is built around placing my key days (my strength-focused days).
I never skip a strength day but… I do delay it when I know it would be counter-productive to stress myself further.
Can you spot the gully entry above my son? Me neither. We had to billy-goat a bit.
So how to place those key days?
That was my central problem across 2021.
I kept getting run down, I felt old, my mood was crap, I was worried that I was “done” as an athlete.
To be sick of sickness is the only cure
– The Tao Te Ching
Eventually, I committed to do whatever it took to get my recovery on track. If that meant “getting old” then I’d just have to deal with the consequences.
It wasn’t all that complicated. My Garmin watch had be collecting resting heart rate data for years. Data that I had been ignoring because I was scared to recover properly!
To my resting HR data, I added heart rate variability from an Oura Ring. Recently, I added HRV4Training to better see the differences between my acute and chronic movements.
I don’t use the Readiness Scores because I don’t need precision (and have doubts that any of us can predict outcome on a complex system, like the human body).
All I am seeking is a signal from the raw data.
Red – you’d better dial it down
Yellow – no surges, just aerobic maintenance (ie fat burning)
Green – Go For It, Bro!
Feb 20 (red) – chronic (shaded) and acute are low Feb 11 (yellow) – chronic is in normal range, acute a bit below Feb 8th (green) – chronic and acute both high – I went big at altitude, we see the impact on Feb 9thSimilar info in the resting HR data, which seems to be more sensitive to the elevation where I’m sleeping. During the upward trend in HR, I was sleeping at ~8,500 ft.
So when I’m at home, it’s a simple choice each morning.
Strength or Cardio
Strength is whatever plan I’m using from Rob.
Cardio is a bike workout, usually with a 130 bpm cap.
If I’m not “green” for a strength day, then I dial it down, or delay.
If I’m “red” then I spin easy on the bike (HR < 120) and schedule a neighborhood walk for the afternoon.
ZERO anaerobic load on a “red” day.
By waiting for a green signal, I avoid putting myself into a hole, that takes days to clear.
I’d been running this system (morning strength or cardio) for most of the pandemic (2020 & 2021) but was not paying attention to my HR, and didn’t have the HRV data.
With the HRV data, and guidance from Dr Jeff Shilt, I am able to better place the days that make me tired. Doc J shared his traffic light system, which let me create this article I’m offering you.
This season saw me hand over the title of lead-skier to my son. With recognition comes responsibility.
As we age, how best to define “getting better”?
My proposal…
We will work towards improving the self-confidence that you’ll be able to continue to share outdoor activities with those you love.
We will use a training approach that builds a large physical reserve against the fears we hear from our elders.
Confidence that, while absolute performance is declining, we continue to enjoy the physical side of life.
Confidence that, while we’re all going to “get old” eventually, we will be able to live independently for as long as possible.
This is going to require a shift in focus from “athletic performance” to maintaining “functional performance.”
The very good news is this approach is time efficient.
Yes, the strength days will kick your butt BUT, when they are placed wisely, you will bounce back and end up with more energy across your week.
I am going to show you how to connect spending, time and wealth.
Let’s bring back my 20-something self. He was living in London, working in finance and renting a room to keep his overheads down.
Coming out of college, having more cash flow than he needed, he felt rich.
But was he?
He earned $75,000 and was spending $32,000. How wealthy was he?
Remember from last week, his net worth was $20,000.
Net Worth “divided by” Spending = WEALTH IN TIME
His WIT was 7 ½ months.
Roll forward to my early 30s. I’m a young Private Equity partner and hit $1 million net worth.
I was spending $250k a year, felt flush, but was I wealthy? Let’s find out.
$1,000,000 / $250,000 = 4 Years
Not wealthy, especially when you consider my life expectancy (>50 years).
++
At 31, I realized my spending was buying me NOTHING. What I liked to do was swim, bike and run. I had fantasies of leaving the corporate world. I took action.
I applied to emigrate to New Zealand. Arriving in Christchurch, I was able to buy a five-bedroom house for US$110,000. My cost of living plunged to $25,000 (NZ$60,000).
My WIT jumped to 40 years.
I didn’t return from my leave of absence. Most of my family thought I was nuts.
Tacos del Gnar in Ridgeway, CO On the way to Telluride, worth the stop
Last week, I was in Telluride with my buddy, Mark. He asked me a question, very much on point…
Aren’t you afraid you’ll gain weight?
Why yes, I am terrified!
The context was my current “far less than I used to” training program. Sure, I was scared, and that’s why I kept the volume rolling for so many years.
However, like so many fear-based quirks in my life, my fears proved groundless.
Further, creating a lifestyle catered to misplaced fear crowds out a lot of useful work!
Telluride
Get Off the Wheel of Sugar
AC has been crushing with a series of threads encouraging athletes to improve their stamina and fat burning. The lessons run much, much deeper. Creativity, cognition, and metabolic health – all benefit from working on the low-end of our fitness.
Many of us use training protocol as a way to justify our food choices. With the best intentions, we remove a food group, and end up replacing it with sugar.
OR
Starting to train, we shift our nutrition towards “sports nutrition.”
My buddy, Jonas Colting, calls this getting caught in Gel Hell.
Not a win.
Removing the friction towards better choices
Two tips work here:
Aim to eat more veggies than my vegetarian pals.
Stay below my sugar threshold.
#1 requires a bit of effort, but not too much. My main gig is salads and stir-frys.
#2 can be scary – it implies less total duration, less intensity.
Both these changes nudge us towards sustainable choices and, as we age, reduce the risk of ruin from following a Chronic Endurance lifestyle.
More Telluride
Get Strong
Back in the day, folks used to debate the utility of strength training for endurance athletes. Do y’all still do that?
I’m not into debating, I’d rather use something that works.
Strength Training Works.
There is a conscious, and unconscious, attraction to people who move powerfully – moving well, is attractive.
You want to be more attractive, trust me (see below).
Being attractive improves our self-image, which sets up a virtuous circle in our larger lives.
Door #1 was fast, but I’ll go out on a limb and predict my wife would prefer Door #3
Remove One
Trying to change everything at once leaves me feeling scattered and distracted.
It doesn’t work.
Again, here’s what works:
One person, one habit, one pattern, one choice…
Each of us has a habit, relationship or pattern that we can eliminate, for gains.
2 beers before bed
A basket of bread with lunch and dinner
Cheese
Bread + cheese = pizza 😉
French fries
Soft drinks
A friend who’s a feeder
Don’t try to do everything.
Don’t think you need to change “forever”.
Simply take a break for 30 days and pay attention.
With all this stuff, letting go of my fears seems daunting.
No way, I’ll be able to pull that off.
You don’t have to.
Try it out for 30 days and pay attention.
Iterate towards better.
Where do you go that makes you feel at peace? For me, it’s the mountains.
When I moved to the US, I went from a 5 to 30% tax rate.
Why move?
Because it saved me money.
Taxes are one slice of your family budget
I used to live in Hong Kong, a low-tax part of the world. Thing is, it’s a high cost location – especially for school fees and residential housing.
Landing in in the US, I chose a part of the country with an excellent public school system. With three kids, that choice saved me a lot of money.
But there are trade-offs.
I grew up in Canada and my family’s basic healthcare needs were covered by the provincial government.
Not so in the USA.
My insurance, HSA contribution and dental cleanings mean I pay $25,000 before anyone’s gotten sick.
I run the $7,000 HSA contribution down against my family’s $14,000 deductible.
Anybody breaks a leg, I’m quickly over $30,000 for the year.
Still cheaper!
In my last year in Hong Kong (2000) I was living in a place that cost $100,000 per annum to rent. The senior partners paid 3-5x that amount.
School fees: friends pay up to $50,000 per kid, per annum. Mine go to public school, a $75,000 saving.
Taxes are the price we pay for living a wonderful life.
Clean air, pleasant climate, easy access to nature, an ability to avoid traffic.
As a friend pointed out, all those Californians moving to Austin are going to find out something… they’re still complaining about taxes, it’s hot as stink, they’re sitting in a traffic jam AND they lost the benefits of living in Cali.
The ability to escape tax policy is 100% in our hands.
Here’s the game.
Take your tax bill and divide it by your net worth.
In my mid-20s, I worked in London. I earned $75,000 and paid $18,000 in taxes. My net worth was $20,000. My tax bill represented 90% of my net worth.
A change in tax policy, or a move to Hong Kong, would have a material effect on my family finances.
Most of us, can’t change hemisphere’s for work.
Many of us, can work remotely from a lower cost location.
Go deeper.
Consider time.
My former self, he saved 50% of his take-home pay from 1990-2008.
A pack of little rippers at the base of the Jackson Hole Tram
One of my 2020 goals was to establish “ski week” as a family tradition. I booked a week in Telluride for each of February and March.
Feb 2020 : Ski Week 1.0 => Everything was going according to plan. The night before we drove through a storm and arrived ready to shred.
Two hours into our powder day, after dropping a double black in style (!), my daughter slipped on a catwalk and fractured her wrist.
We drove home that afternoon.
March 2020 : Ski Week 2.0 => Our trip was blown out by COVID.
I’m not the sort of guy to be put off by setbacks.
I’m patient with execution.
We checked out JHMR last summer.
Feb 2022 : Ski Week 3.0 => Vail, Beaver Creek, Steamboat Springs then Jackson.
A clear day at the top of the Tram. One of the most beautiful places in the world.
“Dad, do these heart-pants make me look like a beginner? I think I need all black.”
We currently have two family traditions, matching Christmas PJs and Christmas in Mexico. Adding Jackson fits with my medium-term goals.
It gives me a forum to relate with my kids in my best environment. I should be able to rip until our youngest is done with high school.
It gives me a forum to expose them to my mentors, Doc J was there.
It gives me a forum to introduce them to younger, role models of outstanding character. Justin Daerr, Ironman Boulder Champ, all around good bro, was along for the week. I’d like to get his wife out for Ski Week 4.0.
The view from my wife’s hotel. We didn’t stay together.
As an athlete, I learned “the first time you go somewhere is usually a hassle.”
This was a reminder to stay put and train… as well as a warning against thinking life is better somewhere else.
The first step is making it work, where you are.
The next step, once it’s working, don’t mess with a streak.
Jackson worked great, eventually.
++
When we arrived, we were greeted by an AirBnB that smelled like stale cigarettes and dog!
My wife and daughter were flying in the next morning.
My son kept asking me… “Are you OK, Daddy?”
I was not OK.
I couldn’t fall asleep.
I got up.
Rather than spending energy assigning blame, I jumped on a travel app and made the problem go away.
I booked a very nice room, slope side.
The bill was large. However, just like I recommend with taxes, I compared the bill to my family net worth… it was manageable. I will remember the lesson, and not miss the money.
My thirst for blame and revenge was replaced by gratitude that I had the insight to make the problem go away.
I slept great, despite the staleness!
Doc J and Me, skinning to the top of Snow King mountain.
Doc J has an athletic wife, kids both older / younger than mine and a family tree where elders live a very long time.
He faces many of the same challenges/concerns as me. Plus, he actually went to med school… 😉
He also has a proven track record of giving me advice that nudges positive change.
He’s a better listener than me.
The list goes on and on…
Daddy Ski Day at Vail – Gore Range out the back – each time I look at those mountains I remember Gary and think about his traverse with Chris
The good doctor is helping me with a project and we are talking about compensation…
You could pay me, but I’m good at earning my own money. What would be better is if you could teach my family in an area where I’m not an expert => finance, money, forms of wealth.
A strategic family relationship, combined with a family tradition, combined with the kids not noticing we are teaching them while they’re having fun.
Similar to bible camp, but we shred.
Justin and my son – hike-to terrain at Steamboat – there will come a time when my lessons are better taught by others – look at the lightness in my son’s stride – that’s bro-joy right there!Alta Chute 3 – Jackson is an Expert mountain – the next day I was humbled one chute over and got to self-rescue with a boot pack up to my lost ski…Final event was waffles at Corbett’s Cabin – highly recommended – the non-expert skiers in your party can bail back down the TramFree cookies are back at Beaver Creek! Many other signs of a return to normal living – Jackson had a tolerant, relaxed vibe.
A thought on kids.
You don’t need to be a parent to have a child reflect your inner goodness back to you.
Teaching kids has proven to be a surprising source of strength, and quiet pride, within my life.
In Vail, J’s first skin, ever. I ran my light setup and was grateful.
It was really nice to spend time with old friends.
Putting my immune system to the test (!) on the Jackson Tram.
Recap:
Spending time, and money, in a way that meets the family’s strategic goals of building its human capital.
Exposing young family members to various lifestyle options, of friends with strong character.
Providing a forum for young people to speak with young adult role models.
Listening to the advice of friends who know me well.
Corbett’s // maybe next time S & S // that ship has sailed
Feel The Byrn 
You must be logged in to post a comment.