Training gets you stronger physically, but, as I get older, I’m increasingly convinced its biggest value is mental.

After a big gym session and a 4 km run in fresh shoes, I reflected on why I keep training with such consistency: it helps me meet the rest of life with more energy, resilience and capability.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s finding movement you genuinely enjoy, then building a cadence you can maintain through poor sleep, busy family seasons, stress and the normal messiness of life.

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After 16 years of bodybuilding, powerlifting, running, cycling, Olympic lifting and CrossFit-style training, I am finally getting clearer on what actually works for my body.

The answer is not one perfect discipline.

My goal for the next 12 months is to become jacked, fit, fast, healthy and capable. That means returning to varied hybrid training, preparing for the Turf Games, continuing Olympic lifting, increasing my running, potentially adding swimming and finally taking mobility and prehab seriously again.

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Why do we keep abandoning worthwhile goals for something newer and more exciting?

After finishing a leg session, I found myself thinking about two connected ideas: the way you do one thing is often the way you do everything and one of the greatest threats to a goal is the temptation to chase another one.

00:00 Two ideas from today’s training
00:23 The way you do one thing
01:00 Training for ego versus longevity
01:59 Intent, mechanics and avoiding injury
02:48 Setting the next annual goals
03:10 The wrong kind of temptation
03:48 Why I abandon training phases
04:07 Choose a goal you can finish

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The marathon is finished. There is no new race on the calendar. Yet, for some reason, I keep putting on my shoes and heading into the darkness.

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Today was a return to the roots.

Heavy squats, hip thrusts, overhead squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, the kind of session that reminds me why lifting heavy has always been one of the foundations of my movement.

This one is not really about chasing a new PR or proving anything. It is more about fighting fragility. Fighting the slow drift backwards. Fighting the easy slide into weakness, stiffness, and comfort.

The point is simple: find the form of motion you actually enjoy, then keep returning to it for long enough that the compounding benefits become unavoidable.

In 20 or 30 years, you will thank yourself.

Mere Mortals In Motion #32.

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This episode is less about running, lifting, or getting fitter, and more about what movement actually does for my head.

Yesterday I didn’t train in the morning. I wasn’t sleeping well, wasn’t feeling great, and although I did get out for a walk later in the day, something was off. The day felt heavier. Work felt more frustrating. My patience was lower. My ability to handle the normal chaos of life just wasn’t there in the same way.

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The marathon is finished… but the movement hasn’t left the bloodstream.

This episode is a short reflection from a morning run after the big race. No clear plan. No new 10K, half marathon, marathon or competition locked in. Just that strange post-event feeling where the thing you trained for is gone, but your body and mind are still asking for something.

Maybe it becomes another race. Maybe it becomes a Spartan, Tough Mudder or some kind of adventure. Maybe it is simply getting back into the gym, rebuilding the legs, recovering properly, and staying prepared for life.

Because that is what movement is starting to feel like now. Not just performance. Not just chasing a number. But being ready. Ready to run around with the kids. Ready to carry the body through a full life. Ready for whatever comes next.

This is Mere Mortals in Motion #30.

0:00 A rosy red morning run
0:24 Running is still in the bloodstream
0:45 Getting back into the gym
1:12 No race locked in yet
1:36 The itch for another adventure
1:56 Movement as preparation for life
2:42 The post-marathon comedown
3:14 Recovery, rebuilding and what comes next

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One week after the marathon, the mission changes.

This episode of Mere Mortals in Motion is a short and sharp training note from the rebuild phase. 

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This final episode closes the Marathon Journey series with the raw reality of race day: no sleep, injury fears, brutal cramping, blisters, walking through pain, and still crossing the finish line. More than a story about running, this is a reflection on gratitude, discipline, family, and the quiet power of finishing what you said you would start.

Thank you for following the Marathon Journey series.

Juan out.

00:00 - Less Than 24 Hours To Go
00:32 - Race Morning, No Sleep & Pre-Marathon Nerves
02:36 - The Brisbane Marathon Is Done
03:08 - Why This Journey Was Documented
04:08 - Blisters, Injuries & Four Days Later
04:32 - The Final Weeks Of Doubt
05:26 - Deciding To Line Up Anyway
06:03 - Race Day Begins
07:09 - The First Half Felt Good
07:28 - When The Marathon Turned Brutal
08:29 - The Mental Battle Of Walking Through Pain
09:13 - Would I Do Another Marathon?
10:21 - Returning To Strength, Gym & New Goals
10:43 - Why Running Still Matters
11:56 - Family, Support & The Reason To Finish
12:30 - The Final Lesson: You Get To Line Up
13:08 - Closing The Marathon Journey

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One week before the marathon, I finally head out for a run again.

After injuries, sickness and weeks of interrupted preparation, the sensible decision may be to let the marathon go. But before making that call, I needed to test the body, move the legs and see what was still there.

00:00 - Back Running Again
00:34 - No Target, Just Testing the Body
00:58 - The Marathon Is One Week Away
01:05 - Injury and Sickness Changed Everything
01:38 - Could I Still Finish 40 Kilometres?
02:07 - Why I Missed Running
02:35 - What Happens Next
03:01 - A Small Comeback 

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