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The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
The Four Goals That Run Every Training Programme — And The Adaptive Engine That Serves Them When a new disciple opens Iron Church, we don't ask them to pick a "split." We ask them what they actually want. There are six options on the screen, but four real adaptations underneath. The New UI for the Iron Church "Aesthetics" is simply hypertrophy with a specific visual slant. "Just get me training" is a default for the undecided. But the four truly meaningful goals, established as distinct physiological processes by sport-science literature, are: Get Stronger Build Muscle Lose Weight Feel Healthier Each one trains a different system. Each one has a different evidence base. Each one demands a different discipline, a different volume profile, and an entirely different relationship to fatigue. The most common reason lifters stall isn't a lack of effort—it's training for one adaptation while expecting another. A powerlifting [...]
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
And what the science — and AI — say about how to stop them. I would leave work after a long, hard day in the city and simply have no energy to attend my GoJu Ryu Karate training. I’d call my wife, as though for permission to quit, and she would always talk me into going. So, I did. I would always call her back after the lesson, almost high from how awesome it felt to use my body. She knew exactly what to say to get me to go, always motivating and tailoring her advice to me. So perhaps people quit fitness because the system they are using treats them like the average of their demographic — just a spreadsheet entry saying “Male, 28, Intermediate” — rather than a unique athlete whose capacity shifts from week to week. Life intervenes on us all, and real psychology is incompatible [...]
Announcing my new book: Trials & Tea Ceremonies: Misadventures in Far Away Places.
A hilarious and heartfelt journey for anyone who has ever wondered: "Is this it?" What happens when the life you've built no longer feels like your own? For Basho, turning thirty felt less like a milestone and more like "a splinter in the mind." A series of personal crises convinced him and his partner, Cesca, to make a radical choice. They walked away from their careers, put their lives in storage, and set off on a year-long, unscripted adventure across a dozen countries to answer one question: Is there a better way to live? Their path takes them from the rugged shores of Australia to the spiritual heart of India and the serene temples of Japan. But between the moments of transcendent beauty, a deeper, wilder journey unfolds. They must face down spitting alpacas, chaotic farm hosts, a terrifying encounter with the world’s largest spider in a Laotian toilet, [...]
The Storm King’s Thunder and the Dragon’s Bane
There follows the campaign we have played all through the 2020 lockdown. It has helped us all resist the mental anguish of the COVID virus, recover from the infection itself and be a beacon of bright enjoyment for all. Truly the great value of this magical game cannot be overstated when played with attentive and imaginative children. So, I present the chronicle of my son, my daughter and my wife playing their first campaign after the starter set, Storm King's Thunder!
Remembering Catherine
"Remembering Catherine" by Basho Today, on the anniversary of her passing, I present a new painting; a present for my mother in law. This digital portrait was painted in Rebelle 5 Pro.
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
The Hidden Context in some Great Movies
I love the cinema and movies. I also make films myself. What stared as a simple passion for the action and adventure in films has become a life long urge to understand what the filmmaker, [...]
Basho’s bonus modules: Rime of the Frostmaiden – an Adventure with Pirates
When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 45 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own players! Our players: the piplins! [...]
Beijing and the Great Wall – Our final days in China
"So," said Cesca loudly and clearly, just as I was drinking from a water bottle, "What's all this about China and Tiananmen Square?" I almost did a spit take. "Quiet!" I said and I looked around, wiping water running [...]
The Alam Clock Lesson
Early in my leadership career, I had a junior member of staff who was late to work. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, for are we not all occasionally late into the office? Most of us commute and moreover [...]
A Wild Sheep Chase
**Caution this post contains spoilers for The Wild Sheep Chase!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the United [...]
What is Daoism/Taoism?
Before we start I should add a caveat to this article: I am a philosopher and a Daoist. As such, I suppose, I am open to accusations of bias and a lack of objectivity. This is unavoidable. However, if one [...]
Yaks for tea and Tibetan Temples. Living the high life in Shangri-la
"You have to imagine," said the man in broken English, "that this..." he gestured his hands at the view in front of us, "big lake... flood wide and deep... great water!" He broke into a wide toothy smile.
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Children of the Red Rose
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Children of the Red Rose!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the [...]
Jawbreaker – Ultimate AI Upscaled 4k edition
I was at the gym and, as usual, I was watching downloaded films on the gym's TV while cycling or rowing. I decided to watch the documentary "Samsara" by Ron Fricke and was amazed to see that I had [...]
Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, green tea and finding inner peace
I have written before about travellers wanting a point to it all, to travelling. In part this is perhaps seen as them wanting to justify the vast cost of travel; to have a point for spending all that money, [...]
The day I met the Buddha, and killed him
Delhi. Many people say they have “done” Delhi, but in all honesty they haven’t. They have perhaps done the tourist parts of New Delhi, or maybe spent some time in an Ashram there – which amounts [...]
Mount Wudang and the Meaning of Life
In China, Daoist temples atop mountains are so numerous that there must be something about these high places that answers a longing for cliff edges and being above the clouds. A simplistic analysis of this, one using that most ignoble [...]
The Iron Church: Why Most ‘AI’ Fitness Apps Are Just Marketing (And How I Built One That Actually Works)
7 AI Pipelines ? 5 AI Prompts, 2 Deterministic Engines. Discover the technical strategy behind building The Iron Church—an AI fitness trainer defined by periodisation science, multi-prompt architecture, and serious consideration of your real equipment. This article is the [...]
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background.
You’re the Pretender – a Tier 1 tribute
A loving tribute to 5 years of Tier 1 Military Simulations events. They say that it is only when you lose something that you realise the value it had. That emotional wrench requires a loss of access. Not that [...]
OMEGA Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” review
THE SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL MOONWATCH. For well over half a century, the OMEGA Speedmaster has witnessed events that have tested the limits of physical endurance and human courage, including the first manned lunar landing in July of 1969 and every one of NASA’s piloted missions since March of 1965.
Chan Buddhism, Daoism and Zen – Journey through the East
Writing an article about Zen is almost a contradiction in terms. That is unless I simply leave the rest of it blank... Just a finger, pointing to the moon… But, I don't want to do that! At its basic [...]
The Purpose of Travel – Now Published!
We often take arriving at the destination to be the purpose of travel. Taken in this way the journey itself is not the point, rather it is the serious business of transporting our bodies from one place to another. Getting [...]
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist | Dungeons & Dragons
**Caution this post contains spoilers for WDH!** My players (9-year-old children, my wife and her 70+-year-old mother) just completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and there follows my write up of the adventure. The piplins! [...]
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Sunblight
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Sunblight!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 46 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own [...]
Basho and Cesca visit Bangalore, and kind of wish they hadn’t
Bangalore is a strange place because it is just like cities at home. Almost slap bang in the middle of [...]
Cambodia – Journey to Angkor
Spiderville stands between us and the wats, can we escape the 8 legged freaks?
Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, green tea and finding inner peace
I have written before about travellers wanting a point to it all, to travelling. In part this is perhaps [...]
“CHOJUN – A NOVEL” Review: The real Mr. Miyagi
It is said that you can only truly know someone by fighting them, for in the stress of combat the [...]
Basho gets a press pass for Baselworld!
About Baselworld Baselworld is the world's foremost show for watches, jewellery, precious stones and related industries. It interconnects the [...]
What is consciousness? Is it the “self”? Is it “me”? Basho argues no!
You are in possession of the one of the universe’s most mysterious objects. Your personal copy of this object differs [...]
Death Proof
Deathproof is another movie from QT that speaks of his private obsessions; deep things that are really a part of his psyche...
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Chan Buddhism, Daoism and Zen – Journey through the East
Writing an article about Zen is almost a contradiction in terms. That is unless I simply leave the rest [...]
New Zealand WWOOFing at Furneaux Lodge
Will the second time be any better than the first?
Bodh Gaya and the Tree of Enlightenment
“Who are your inspirational hero’s?” I asked a friend.“Dunno. King David, I guess, would be one.”“Awesome answer,” I said, impressed [...]
Mysore
In India, catching a tuk tuk and negotiating the fare – or even the simple existence of the destination – is a national pastime. Not one driver, in three months, took us where we wanted to go without comment, argument or an all out fight. At first, this grates on the nerves and then you cant help but be brought down by it. Then you feel victimised for being western and (relatively) rich. You start to think that they are all out to get you personally. However, it is none of these; it is an official sport. Take it as a sport, a sparring match, and you suddenly find it fun.
Kerala, the heat and the wonder of Southern India: part one
Kerala the beautiful; the green of a million palm trees, the blue of warm waters. Kerala the red of the [...]
Outside Context New Zealand articles now on iPhone
The most common question I have been asked by people after returning home is, “which was your favourite country to [...]
Killing for Pleasure?
This post is a break from the normal schedule. It is a corollary to the “Philosophy Bites?” post a few [...]
Varanasi – City of the Hindus
Many Indian cities are a jumble, a mix of the ancient and modern, but nowhere [...]
This Is India Podcast
Hello and welcome to an experiment! Cecsa and I have sat down and recorded a podcast of our time [...]
Dell Alienware M11x Review: Portable Gaming Heaven?
When I was considering taking a year off, I started looking around for a computer that I could take with [...]
The American War
They say the better part of travelling is meeting the people from the countries you visit. They do not say how much that meeting will affect you, neither how heartbreaking such encounters can be. The first time I met a one legged man in Laos, while visiting COPE – the charity for the war injured, I asked him how he lost his leg? “The American’s took it,” he replied.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation BLADERUNNER
My first ever commissioned film was released today and stands as a landmark for Basho films. I have learned more [...]












































