@@carolinebrett2634 Also not a bad idea. I'm lucky to have a trained arb guy teach me when I do tree work on a local estate each week. Learned so much about avoiding putting yourself at risk by your own bad technique.
I came here to say exactly this! A friend’s neighbour died a few years ago working alone with a chainsaw, slipped and severed an artery in his leg. Bled to death way before anyone found him. Chainsaw chaps are very cheap insurance!!
Mark, I see your point. 16 months ago, my daughter was born, and life changed. Between full-time work and studying for my degree, I no longer have time for long rides or runs. My biggest concerns were which direction did I go in for the multiple hours I had to train. Now, I use kettlebells for 30 minutes each morning before my family wakes. It’s a quick way to build strength, csrdio and sets me up for a great day. While I’m not as fit as before, I’m still in great shape. Good luck, my man.
Sir Adam, do not despair, there are running buggies, at some point you will be able to run with your toddler in a special buggy and both of you will get fresh air, while you get super fit - you will probably earn points with whoever has a toddler free house to lounge in or tidy up.
It feels bad watching my montly workout volumes on strava before our twins were born. Yes I can still get some exercise done but not even close compared to time before kids.
@e1tuomas i share a similar experience. But upon reflection, it is a superficial metric to be looking at. Check out the concept of goodharts law. Remember why you exercise in the first place. If it is for health, you do not need huge amounts to reap the benefits. There are also many other aspects to health other than fitness/physical. If it is for performance, understand that progression is not linear. Pushing your limits whilst your duties require attention would likely be detrimental to both aspects of your life. Congratulations on twins. That sounds like a wonderful challenge
@@e1tuomas Twins are the worst.....hopefully they won't read this. When our boy was born my wife did 5 nights per weeks with him and I did 2. When the girls arrived it was 7 each. Getting sleep when you can becomes far more important. Around that time I didn't really have any fitness to protect though so it wasn't a big deal.
You'll dial in. It took me nearly 2 years to get used to the time management necessary for working out with family duties. Add lack of sleep, exhaustion etc. - it's not easy. After my daughter was born I developed real anxiety for the first time in my life - I was just stressed out because of... everything around me? I had several realistic nightmares that smth would happen to my daughter, I remember one night I had a dream that I was holding my daughter and dropped her and she suddenly disappeared between the mattress and the bed frame. I woke up all covered in sweat and started digging into the bed frame, trying to turn the bed upside down. That was it, I decided I needed to do smth about it. About 16 months after my daughter was born I slowly started to get back to my normal routines, including prioritizing workouts. It's necessary for my mental health. It will get better, just keep rolling.
In my experience, it is not so much about time, but rather energy. Some situations, activities and emotional states just eat up way more energy on the regular than others. Like building up your home, care work, stress and worries in general. If you happen to be in a stable situation with low energy drain, good on ya! Do something with it!
People also underestimate the lack of energy that doing nothing creates. If you don't exercise and do things then your body doesn't magically conserve energy, it just has none. I have more energy when I move. When I exercise. Yes exercise tires you out but it also gives you energy in general. Day to day life no longer beats you down quite so much.
Tip from a farmer and long term fan - stop buying toys :P - an axe vs a log splitter, hand thumper vs petrol post thumper - you will stay as fit as a farm dog! Until your joints fall apart from arthritis due to the impact of both aforementioned activities :)
I was just saying this to my girlfriend. Anytime I feel like i need to go to the gym, I park the machinery and pull out the wheelbarrow. It's easy to add resistance out here lol.
Mark, thank you, thank you for making me feel normal again. I am a former Royal Marines PTI who has always trained and competed in some way since I was 14-15 years old. Post military I feel my time to train has reduced and my excuses have increased ! I just don’t know why? …..but then you just reminded me……i am now 47, I have 4 boys, a dog and a job I hate……so any spare time I have is usually spent drifting in and out of sleep on the sofa and drinking tea…..i can’t seem to find the natural motivation I once had or work out why I no longer have it……this video has definitely just helped me realise that I am not alone…..thank you, and keep the videos coming 👍🏻👍🏻
Have been a subscriber for a number of years now, and very much enjoying these later years as you are learning more about life, as am I too. Although not near your level, have followed a similar, but at the same time different life and fitness path, as I would think many of your significant subscriber base have. That may well be the enjoyable aspect your story; people can relate to perhaps not all, but many of your stories. Looking forward to seeing how your new home, gym and both of you develop. Love your work. Cheers from Aus.
You make some very valid comments. I have missed three days without running purely as a result of being knackered from shift work (late and night shifts) as once in a while the tiredness simply creeps up on me. The biggest challenge for me at the moment is to stop using words like " should" "must" and avoid feeling guilty. Looking forward to watching more of your posts.
Hi Mark, I watched you 3-4 years ago for a full year and you inspired me to start training for physical fitness and cardio. Great to see you are still going. Keep it up!
I prefer to say "this isn't a high enough priority right now" over "I don't have time". This helps me remember that I have choice in the matter. I'm not awesome right now at exercising, but that's because I have chosen to prioritize an elimination diet, work, 4 kids, farm animals, my parents moving, and sleep over working out right now and I am pleased with that choice for the moment.
I do remember a video of yours years ago where you spoke about how people take hours on cleaning their car and don't have time for their health. To this day I have a filthy car. 😅
Great video, and I'm loving seeing the progress on your place. Quick note that you didn't quite cover: some people, like that farmer, but also lots of people with manual jobs, are actually doing lots of exercise - that's just part of their job. Exercise doesn't have to be lycra-clad Zwift sessions, or bro-split weight training. In fact, everyday activity exercise will burn a truck load of calories, do wonders for your cardio, and build muscles you've never even heard of.
yes and no - you burn a lot more calories and you retain greater flexibility and everyday strength as you age, compared to an office worker, but farm chores aren't enough for V02 max optimisation nor do they build sufficient strength to counteract sarcopenia after 50
Thanks for your videos! You always strike a great balance between humor and meaningful messages. As a father of a toddler, a husband, and someone with a full-time job, I’m happy if I can train four times a week and still make time for other hobbies. Then I see a clip of Huberman saying he was in the worst shape of his life when he was running three times a week and lifting weights once, which makes me start to undervalue my own training. But it’s videos like yours that help me put things into perspective and remind me that everyone’s situation is different.
3 young children, a house, a dog, old parents, a small business and of course, the wife! It takes a massive effort to make time for the gym or for a run. Always so happy with myself when I do, then before I know it, it's been a few days, a week and Iv'e not been, then it becomes a thing, then you push yourself real hard to go when your energy is low.
I'm in a similar quandary. Two years ago we moved into an old house that needs work. Prior to that I had nothing to do but train. I've built myself a workshop and love DIY and making things. I find the only way it works for me is to train first thing. Nearly every time I promise myself to train in the afternoon I fail and carry on with the project I'm working on.
exactly my experience. Chores are satisfying to complete but they never end. Once you're going on them, it's very hard to stop before day's end. And then you're too knackered to train. You have to time-block and commit to early morning, first thing, training, and it helps to remind yourself that you need to do this training as you age if you are going to keep chorin' on. your property
Also, probably preaching to the choir but I appreciate that you keep reusing clips like falling off your Swift and the one from the walking video. Really tickles my funny bone.
I miss the old mark. Loved the pushing yourself into uncomfortable challenges and proving to us normal people maybe we are capable of things we never dreamed we could do. Your open videos of how you improved yourself over time will have helped alot of people. Ive just completed my first ultra and the early days of the mentality shift were ALOT down to you. I will back you on here whatever content you upload and great to see the genuine happiness you are getting from your new home. :)
I think it might be normal that sport as an priority can fluctuate in a persons life. It can't be a priority all the time, motivation might get low after years hard training. It probably will spike up again when you start to miss it, finding new challenges and motivation.
The Old Mark is still here, it's the old content I think you miss. I think Mark is hedging his bets that his personality draw is strong enough to keep his subscribers engaged whilst he is in a fallow training period. He is probably right for now but I do think a return to some of the content that helped build the channel is required to keep everyone engaged as after all it was an interest in fitness and challenges and learning about new events (Hyrox for example) that brought most of us here.
I just watched the video without waiting for my wife because we agreed recently that the channel is now... fine... but it's not the must watch it used to be. It's Mark's channel, it's Mark's life, but yeah, it's not what it was :(
Likewise I feel the same. It used to inspire, make me push myself and show me cool / funny stuff Mark was up to and how he did it. I miss it! For me it doesnt do that any more. Perhaps it will get back to the same sort of thing in the future again - I hope so.
This is the problem of getting a “big house”. It’s nice and all, but it generates a never ending amount of work. If you like that, then no problem, but it can drain time and money. There’s a lot to be said for having a contained, modest, low maintenance and low running cost house. Be careful before you give that up.
True, and I've come to that same realisation. I think the best balance is a small house but in a beautiful rural area. You just need a big enough garden to sit in when the weather's nice, and maybe grow some tomatoes because, if you live in a nice place, you can just go out and enjoy the countryside.
sadly most of us younger people are thinking of affording rent and daily living let alone thinking of big house vs small house jobs. Being busy is still being busy though, though most of us would do the big house work if we could 😅
Having lived in a large home (5 bathrooms) and now a modest one (2 bathrooms) I can suggest it's better to live in a house slightly smaller than your needs vs a house slightly larger than your needs. I have a nice gym and tennis courts and bike trail nearby, those are enough to keep me in shape at 47yo. I now spend more time cooking healthy meals and less time cleaning bathrooms and ordering takeout food!
@@jamescanjuggle No you wouldn't - trust me. You might find it novel and even fun, at first - but by the 200th time you've had to climb a ladder and work on a corrugated iron roof in 35 deg C summer temps to remove tree branches and clean gutters - you'll realise you're in groundhog day
I definitely haven’t been able to find time to train before. We moved 700 miles last year without using movers or contractors to prepare the old house to sell and fix things in the new house. Lots of moving pieces, bikes packed up or in the wrong location, and jobs to boot. Currently getting back in shape after losing all my fitness , so now there’s no time to make TH-cam videos! Good video, man. Videos showing super-human feats are great, but relatable content showing the realities of life is awesome.
Welcome to the last 12 years of my life. Bought a 30 acre farm in Devon with an old house in need of renovation and a few acres of overgrown woodland. It’ll certainly keep you fit but I realised I wasn’t really getting the cardio fix I needed because while I was active I didn’t actually move very far. I’m getting back to running and cycling again this year to regain some of what I used to have.
Proud to say i found time... i wake up at 4.45 and walk 10k steps daily till 6.30 then the day begins. I also run a business so i know how busy it can get. I imagine in a year or two youll ve on top of most of the house tasks, hopefully 😊 just subscribed.. loving the channel
Our Dear Mark was today years old when he discovered that people's circumstances are different and the privilege of it being possible to find time is a *privilege* not a character trait. They grow up so fast *sniffle*. How many creators do you know would actually make a video about having had a few bites of humble pie? I really appreciate hearing someone talk about reality.
Great content and insight… have to remember the old sayings of ‘you can’t do everything’ and ‘there’s only so many hours in the day’, to succeed at most things takes a load of sacrifice, so if you want to exceed at multiple things, it’s just really hard. Especially when in that typical mid 30’s and 40’s when you have, kids, house, career and keeping fit takes more and more effort. Most important thing is to be realistic with yourself , to avoid frustration. If you do no exercise in a year, but family happy and career doing well, then accept you’ve made some choices and done your best!
I did a personal coaching July to December. I invested the money AND the time. I spent around one hour each day of cooking / mealprep. I have done 15k steps a day consitently every day AT LEAST for excercise. So that alone takes 2hours give or take. Add to that weight lifting 3 times a week plus 3 days running. (half / marathon training). I am very aware not everyone is able to put in that time. I am lucky to have a husband that is my biggest fan and enabler. And also a job that allows for a 2h lunch break / random half days off when I want them. Not everyone can or wants to invest that time.
What you say is true but it's not untrue to say that a LOT of people have the time, maybe even the majority. Most people are awful at time management and prioritize things other than health, even if they aren't things the individual particularly values, and a lot of those people have convinced themselves they don't have the time, or means... both of which can be remedied with just a little thought and effort. Of course there are exceptions and I know a few of them, but almost everyone else I know could make a change if they wanted to or if they realized they could. I myself was one of those people til I started not to make excuses for myself. My job was tiring and I couldn't work out after it, so I got up at 4:45 to train. I told myself I couldn't eat healthy when I really just couldn't be bothered to cook. I still make excuses, I'm still lazy, I'm still fat in places I don't want to be, and my cardio is atrocious, but I'm a work in progress and I'm finally seeing some of that progress after 4 decades. Better late than never, I suppose, but I wish I'd started sooner. Like I said, there are exceptions and I don't want to take away from the genuinely busy, hardworking people out there. They deserve more credit because a life with that little time is a life I couldn't even begin to do!
Exactly. The majority of people who say they have no time watch hours of TV every night. Thats fine if thats what you want to do but don't complain that you don't have time. I have twins under 2, work a full time job and keep a house. My partner works nearly full time as well. You make time for what you want to do. I have very very little time outside of work, parenting and running the house and I choose to spend much of that time exercising. As a result I don't have time for much TV outside of doing indoor training rides. Its all about priorities. Oh and there are always exceptions to every rule. People need to understand that the exception doesn't invalidate the rule. Most people are overweight because they eat too much and eat crap. Some people are overweight due to medical conditions. That doesn't mean the 98% of people who aren't should be using that as a valid excuse for their weight.
i think you'll find that Mark's situation is more about lack of energy rather than lack of time being a legit reason to not train once you're 50+ and have a physical work day
I'm a single dad to a teenage autistic boy, taking care of my 85 year old mother and a full time job, and I have terminal cancer. Fitting in time for any training is quite difficult.
Yes, Mark, making time for working out is a constant battle. The fact is, whether you make time to work out, or not, it means sacrificing a time slice that may have been directed toward some other pursuit. For me, this goes back to high school cross country. I remember always been glad when the end of season would roll around and my afternoons were opened to practice guitar, go mountain biking, or even computer program (this was in the late 80s/early 90s). It’s always been a balancing act for me, and it drives me crazy to this very day.😂
Hey Mark, all good points. A wise man once said "everything in moderation (even moderation)". I'm a workaholic about to turn 65 and still am searching for that balance.
I don't know mate, you could find time if you had too. Truth is your priorities have changed, and that's fine too. Mentally beating ourselves up over not exercising is a mistake either way.
Especially when the reason you don't make time anymore is because your life has you on your feet all day anyway, the need for excess movement goes down, putting it lower on the list of priorities only makes sense
The difference here though is that Mark isn't having to run his small holding as a business, he could choose to not do 'that job' whatever it is that day and exercise but as he says, he is for now enjoying those jobs more than exercise, so he does have time to train if he wanted to. It is a different situation to those people who have to do those things just to pit a roof over their head and food on the table with dependents.
When I was running hospitals I worked a 70 hour week. Also did on call. I got fat. I changed jobs and lost a couple of stone but then started a course. So again no time…. Working three full days and studying for four. All the weight went back on. So now I’m back training (course is finished) to try and loose what I lost and gained and hammering the gym. Takes so long to get fit as you age I find….
Great video Mark. I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for you to replicate and interweave scenes from Rocky IV with you and Rocky both using farm equipment and snowy fields to stay in shape.
My daughter and son-in-law are keen athletes and are on a parallel journey to you and Jen, but with a 200 year old farmhouse in France. For the first time in their lives, training takes second place to log cutting, wall building and all manner of renovation jobs. Whilst doing this, they’ve also decided to video their journey. Must be mad, but having spent several weeks trying to fix the French farm with them, I can see why watching a bit of Netflix at night rather than going for a bike ride or run is most appealing. Hopefully it won’t last forever - the renovation that is.
I can relate to this. I went from living in an apartment in town and working 9-5, having all the time in the world to go running/cycling/hiking to buying an old detached property needing renovation, getting a dog the size of a horse and having twins. Iv had to put my own self care on the backburner for a year ir two, my god its going to be hard starting exercise again from scratch but such is life. Right now, by the time my day is done, im too wrecked to even consider exercise.
i did exactly the opposite. worked my ass off when i had a house. at 35 i sold the house and bought an apartment in the town.s centre. now i.m 45 and i work only part time. i have all the time in the world to do anything. i.m so happy now
Years ago I had a teacher tell us a story where she spent one summer on her cousins' farm. When she returned home and school started, the PE teacher did the usual start of the term check the students vitals and was surprised at how low my teachers heart rate was. Also how low her body fat % was. Working on a farm is HARD work and it is every bit of exercise as what we perceive exercise to be. Long story short, she went to the doctor only to be told that she had the body of an elite athlete, just from working on a farm, for the summer. My grandfather worked on a farm his entire life. His diet wasn't the healthiest, so he had a bit of a belly, but man he was strong! I think that now that you are so busy on the farm, you have to get strict with your schedule and have a very specific time of day (first thing in the morning?) where you exercise. If you don't have it scheduled, life will fill in the time on its own. I exercise in the morning and I still have to stop in the middle of things to take my kid to school. But I get right back at it when I return home. It's hard, and we have to make compromises.
sorry to tell you but that story is likely a gross exaggeration. I left a rural property and its neverending chores when i was 23 and returned to that lifestyle 25 years later. Farmwork, like all physical activity, is activity-specific. It makes you better at farmwork in terms of strength and endurance for doing farmwork. It cannot in any way give you an elite athlete's body or abilities, and isn't enough for aerobic and muscular-skeletal health as you age you'll certainly age better in terms of mobility and independence than an officer worker, but the unfortunately reality is that we need specific aerobic and strength training as we age to maintain the ability to keep chorin'
Mark - been watching your content for about a year now. Have a very similar situation to you now.. have a property that takes almost all my time - when not working (a 9-5.30) - to maintain. Thankfully decided to get up early to get the Run/gym in - but it is tough and I have a very accepting misses who occasionally gets woken up as I try to tiptoe out the bedroom to go train. It isn’t easy and it isn’t always consistent. But living with some extra functional training makes it all worth while. 🙂. Keep making the content you are fun and an inspiration. Am even dipping my toe into Hyrox.. (well training- if not actually competing). 👍
Exercise is a supplement to inactivity. If you have an active lifestyle that's good! You might have to exercise whatever you are missing. If you are busy but still inactive therein lies the great challenge as you must exercise nearly everything in your free time.
I work full time and raise my 5 children alone (widowed) Finding time to train is extremely difficult but I still do it. Stop making excuses and get on with it 🤭🤭🤭
What is currently helping me is waking up a lot more early and eat something small, do a workout of 1 hour, shower and then have breakfast with the family. And then the work day starts.
I’ll be honest: I initially howled in fury “wheres the damn Zwift video?!” But as you progressed with your thesis, it resonated. Your channel is less about fitness, and more about being a modern man. You are closer to Michael Manns sensibilities, than the average youtuber sweating on a Zwift race. Keep following this path, you will produce profoundly good content, whatever that may be.
Lol I had a similar realisation after we moved to a property with a much larger, mature garden, after being copped up in the city over covid. Went from maybe spending half an hour a week on garden maintanence to easily spending 5 hours every weekend just to stay on top of it. Surprise, surprise, we're now thinking of moving again and the big garden has gone from being a "must have" to a "take it or leave it". Add-in a 1 year old to the situation and I have almost no time to actually train on a weekend, I've had to resort to cranking out short sessions whenever I can - lunch breaks, 9pm when the baby is finally asleep, etc. Used to love swimming and can't find any time to do that at all anymore.
Another funny quality video Mark 👍 I think you’ve discovered the life of a manual work 😏 but has a manual worker myself , I still find time watching shit on youtube when I should have been working out 🤔😂
"Goes to work in the dark and finishes work when it's dark"... just like everyone working in the UK, it's the UK and it gets light after 8am and dark by 3:30pm in Winter. It's not a measure of effort/dedication/time consumption. If someone did the same in Summer, then they'd have my admiration. What you have that most don't 1) motivation 2) money to buy fitness tech 3) no daily child care demands at home, which is the biggest time sink of all.
I am recovering from surgery, so too busy laying down. I cannot wait to get back at it, but accept this is what I have to do. Chopping up a tree, or letting thousands and thousands of micro stitches and a few incisions mesh, both have to be done. Summer 2025 back at it. Love your videos. Maybe you will make that Zwift vid about the same time I am able to get one.
Oh yeah, there are periods in life when one has to prioritize well and for some people those periods are pretty long. For myself I imagine every day as an empty jar and I fill it with big things first, then whenever fits in remaining small slots. So when sport fits it fits, sometimes not and there is a descent reason for that. So, for all run/cycle/yoga/chess/etc buddies here, no blaming and hope you'll fill in your jars the best way possible!
Great timing Mark …. Not sure I could take too many more Zwift rides TH-cam is awash with them if your interests are cycling. I don’t care that someone came 1st or last while riding around Watopia through a Volcano trying to earn a Tron bike then posting on Strava for imaginary bragging rights. Big Zwift fan but really! Excited to see the new direction Mark….now that’s keeping it real 👍
I think alot of ppl say they have no time to train and yet spend hours infront of the telly each evening. The truth of the matter is there are very few ppl who literally have no time to train, for everyone else its more a case of they can't be bothered to train be that early in the morning or in the evenings, its just an excuse.
I like the idea of fitness x Clarkson farm 😂 I live in a semi rural area and do both as well as being self employed. We had 11 years in the country and a house that needed never ending renovations, we lived in the kitchen and back for 3 years too long. As much as I loved the small mortgage, it got very tiring. I do miss the animals though, I’d love to have pet sheep again.
I've thought about same problem for some time cause I know few people who are very very busy but want to get fit , the only thing that comes to mind was 1. How many minutes can you dedicate to training in a time of the day where you still have energy ? So somethins as simple as 10mins in the morning is enough to start , can be even 5 mins , and than focus on other factors that are part of every day life like nutrition and NEAT , something simple like ride a bike / walk to work if your workplace is not that far etc etc
Moving houses can be a deal breaker for exercise. You constantly have a long list of things to do and it seems to never end. You are physically moving through the day and dream of sitting on a couch with netflix for at least 20min. But once you get through the priorities, it's good to find the balance. Eventually, it comes.
You make a solid case, yet counterpoint: We spend (waste) so much time scrolling on our phones or watching TV or sleeping in. If you want to prioritize your physical health, the vast majority of people have the time to do so. It’s a choice.
You have your hands full 👍. Good for you, that a lot of the work your house and estate needs, will give you a decent work out, both strength and cardio. I love to see, that you obviously enjoy looking at your wifes body - and that you are not afraid to show it. You will get to ride that new bike one day, right now you just have other priorities. Other things are more important for you, and that is OK. You are not sedentary, getting fat or in risk if developing diabetes. Best wishes to you and Jen. Stay safe 👍
The best part about this type of manual labor is that it keeps you healthy. Yeah you don’t get jacked but there’s studies in certain countries with centenarians that work for many years into old age and that extra movement and activity keeps them alive a lot longer.
I think that there are certainly some periods of time when finding a balance between your regular life, work, and exercise is extremely difficult. However, I do think it's important to try to find at least a little time each week to do the tiniest bit of exercise. I used to be basically completely sedentary - on most days I'd be lucky if I did 2k steps by moving around the house. I have a job that involves sitting at my home desk for many hours, and I have other medical issues that cause me to have lower energy levels and thus not be able to do too many activities in one day. I am morbidly obese, and so moving is also made more difficult simply due to the added kilos. I've started working on the weight loss front a few months ago, but it's slow going. Even so... Ever since I started taking at least 20 minutes a day to do laps (of walking) around the house, I feel - physically and mentally - so much better. I am very glad and thankful towards myself that I finally realized the two friction points that stopped me from exercising could actually be removed: - the idea that you *have* to do it for a certain, longer amount of time each day/each week, or else it doesn't matter - the fact that I had to get dressed, put on shoes, and go outside to exercise in what could possibly be terrible weather I decided that actually, no, any amount of exercise you do that's greater than zero is good. And instead of going outside for my cardio, I simply do laps around the house. For my strength training, I just do a few bodyweight exercises for a few minutes every other day. Some people I'm sure wouldn't enjoy this exercise routine very much, but for me this is the most comfortable thing - to be able to just walk barefoot in my house and do simple resistance exercises, take a break if I need it by sitting on a comfortable chair, and go shower immediately after I'm done exercising. I'm not the picture of health, my goal is to reach 5k steps a day, and whenever I manage to reach 6 or 7k I'm very happy. But I do feel so much better even doing this relatively small amount of exercise. And by the way, I started even lower by just incorporating 1k extra steps per day (which meant I was reaching maybe 3k), and slowly ramped up to 5k steps a day. Obviously, there are some times when I may be too exhausted to exercise, and that's okay. But I'm sharing my experience with this to highlight something I wish I had understood earlier in life: doing a tiny bit of something good is better than doing none of it, and it *will* still have a good effect even if it's not "optimal".
As a 50 yr old with one remaining small child out of 4 who lives in 10 acres in the woods, I'm going to try to empathize with you. Some days it the exercise just doesn't happen, and that's ok. On those days, I try to at least do a set of pullups or take a walk around the property if I've been sat all day for work. For the most partI find that I can generally find 30 minutes every day to move and be physical. Some days go well and I get a couple of hours to myself for running or climbing. But yeah that country life takes up a large amount of time. Welcome to the club. I also like to find ways to use farm work as training. Chainsawing and caring firewood for biceps. Splitting wood for back and shoulders etc. Bet you could find a whole video serious in there somewhere for that. Glad you're having fun.
"How am I going to balance that?" Carefully, like all of us. Best decision I made (ok, they decided themselves) is getting kid 1 into swimming, kid 2 into track and field. I drive them to training (sometimes we bike), I train while they do - because driving back and forth is really a waste of time - then we return home. I swim twice a week and run once (on average). No new personal best in sight, but I can eat those chocolate chip cookies and not put on more weight!
How do you propose to use your new gym, when it's ready then? Is it going to be just looked at most of the time? You could give off an hour perhaps to do something...?
My two cents, if you have a desk job (even a 10+ hours a day one) and make a reasonably comfortable living, try to find time for exercise. Its one of the best things you can do for yourself. In a year you will realize that time is much better than time spent relaxing in other ways when you don't think you have energy for exercise. How to get started, sign up for something. 5K or anything else. I have lived both ways and hope I am lucky enough to live a life with exercise for a long time. I am a better person when part of me is being an athlete and other busy athletes I talk to feel the same way.
Everyone has the time. Some prefer not too, don't have a string incentive or it's not a priority. You'll find those people who say they don't, do have time for a netflix series.
Goats only eat grass when there is no other option. They graze on stuff at head height or above. They prefer grazing on your overgrown hillsides. Goats that eat where they poop, get worms. Goats are escape artists. Clarkson's farm and Harry's farm are awesome,(they're neighbours).
I hear what you're saying, but i do feel that you've fallen into a trap. @ 7:30 you talk about not having time and watching tv. You have the time, you've just made a choice. And your choice is fine, you've been active all day. You will have done plenty enough steps and exercise, but dont lie to yourself. You still made a choice.
This is what you do mark. Figure out a nice area of the property to put a tiny home and then find a person to live in it in exchange for rent. It’s a win win situation for you and said persons. Also allows you to get more time to do your content.
I have a full time job and a 2 year old and 4 year old and care taker of my elderly parents. I find motivation and time hard to get, not to mention winters are are hard here and I hate commercial gyms. By the time I have time it’s dark and cold
There is no such thing as time management, only task management. I think, for you just now, it’s about redefining what training and fitness is in your current context. I think about all the opportunities for functional fitness you are now surrounded by (enter Rocky IV montage of training in a Siberian winter). Awkward shape farmers carries, woodcutter chops (awesome for your back). There is so much you could do. How can you prioritise and organise your daily property based tasks to form an alternative “fitness routine”? Keep in mind all property based projects will slowly come to an end as you gradually convert the property to the the way you want to use it. Do reach out if you want to play this idea out…
Where is this all going ? long term viewer and i appreciate your life change with the off grid world but i am struggling to see the above average Mark coming back 😢
Get chainsaw safety trousers. Legs tend to be important for running / cycling etc.
Good pair of chaps!!
Totally agree. First thing I bought after the first kickback off the nose of the bar 😳😆
And maybe a weekend training course at a horticulture college
@@carolinebrett2634 Also not a bad idea. I'm lucky to have a trained arb guy teach me when I do tree work on a local estate each week. Learned so much about avoiding putting yourself at risk by your own bad technique.
I came here to say exactly this! A friend’s neighbour died a few years ago working alone with a chainsaw, slipped and severed an artery in his leg. Bled to death way before anyone found him. Chainsaw chaps are very cheap insurance!!
Honesty and authenticity is rare these days. Love what you do. Admitting mistakes is way beyond most people’s egos.
paying bills too and not being mentally exhausted after is hard to do
Mark, I see your point. 16 months ago, my daughter was born, and life changed. Between full-time work and studying for my degree, I no longer have time for long rides or runs. My biggest concerns were which direction did I go in for the multiple hours I had to train.
Now, I use kettlebells for 30 minutes each morning before my family wakes. It’s a quick way to build strength, csrdio and sets me up for a great day. While I’m not as fit as before, I’m still in great shape.
Good luck, my man.
Sir Adam, do not despair, there are running buggies, at some point you will be able to run with your toddler in a special buggy and both of you will get fresh air, while you get super fit - you will probably earn points with whoever has a toddler free house to lounge in or tidy up.
It feels bad watching my montly workout volumes on strava before our twins were born. Yes I can still get some exercise done but not even close compared to time before kids.
@e1tuomas i share a similar experience. But upon reflection, it is a superficial metric to be looking at. Check out the concept of goodharts law.
Remember why you exercise in the first place.
If it is for health, you do not need huge amounts to reap the benefits. There are also many other aspects to health other than fitness/physical.
If it is for performance, understand that progression is not linear. Pushing your limits whilst your duties require attention would likely be detrimental to both aspects of your life.
Congratulations on twins. That sounds like a wonderful challenge
@@e1tuomas Twins are the worst.....hopefully they won't read this. When our boy was born my wife did 5 nights per weeks with him and I did 2. When the girls arrived it was 7 each. Getting sleep when you can becomes far more important. Around that time I didn't really have any fitness to protect though so it wasn't a big deal.
You'll dial in. It took me nearly 2 years to get used to the time management necessary for working out with family duties. Add lack of sleep, exhaustion etc. - it's not easy. After my daughter was born I developed real anxiety for the first time in my life - I was just stressed out because of... everything around me? I had several realistic nightmares that smth would happen to my daughter, I remember one night I had a dream that I was holding my daughter and dropped her and she suddenly disappeared between the mattress and the bed frame. I woke up all covered in sweat and started digging into the bed frame, trying to turn the bed upside down. That was it, I decided I needed to do smth about it. About 16 months after my daughter was born I slowly started to get back to my normal routines, including prioritizing workouts. It's necessary for my mental health. It will get better, just keep rolling.
In my experience, it is not so much about time, but rather energy. Some situations, activities and emotional states just eat up way more energy on the regular than others. Like building up your home, care work, stress and worries in general. If you happen to be in a stable situation with low energy drain, good on ya! Do something with it!
People also underestimate the lack of energy that doing nothing creates. If you don't exercise and do things then your body doesn't magically conserve energy, it just has none. I have more energy when I move. When I exercise. Yes exercise tires you out but it also gives you energy in general. Day to day life no longer beats you down quite so much.
Tip from a farmer and long term fan - stop buying toys :P - an axe vs a log splitter, hand thumper vs petrol post thumper - you will stay as fit as a farm dog! Until your joints fall apart from arthritis due to the impact of both aforementioned activities :)
I was just saying this to my girlfriend. Anytime I feel like i need to go to the gym, I park the machinery and pull out the wheelbarrow. It's easy to add resistance out here lol.
splitting wood by hand is fun...for about 30 mins, if you stop right then and don't need to do any more later that week.
We can all use some empathy for other people's situations. Good reminder.
Mark, thank you, thank you for making me feel normal again. I am a former Royal Marines PTI who has always trained and competed in some way since I was 14-15 years old. Post military I feel my time to train has reduced and my excuses have increased ! I just don’t know why? …..but then you just reminded me……i am now 47, I have 4 boys, a dog and a job I hate……so any spare time I have is usually spent drifting in and out of sleep on the sofa and drinking tea…..i can’t seem to find the natural motivation I once had or work out why I no longer have it……this video has definitely just helped me realise that I am not alone…..thank you, and keep the videos coming 👍🏻👍🏻
Have been a subscriber for a number of years now, and very much enjoying these later years as you are learning more about life, as am I too.
Although not near your level, have followed a similar, but at the same time different life and fitness path, as I would think many of your significant subscriber base have. That may well be the enjoyable aspect your story; people can relate to perhaps not all, but many of your stories.
Looking forward to seeing how your new home, gym and both of you develop.
Love your work. Cheers from Aus.
You make some very valid comments. I have missed three days without running purely as a result of being knackered from shift work (late and night shifts) as once in a while the tiredness simply creeps up on me. The biggest challenge for me at the moment is to stop using words like " should" "must" and avoid feeling guilty. Looking forward to watching more of your posts.
Hi Mark, I watched you 3-4 years ago for a full year and you inspired me to start training for physical fitness and cardio. Great to see you are still going. Keep it up!
I prefer to say "this isn't a high enough priority right now" over "I don't have time". This helps me remember that I have choice in the matter. I'm not awesome right now at exercising, but that's because I have chosen to prioritize an elimination diet, work, 4 kids, farm animals, my parents moving, and sleep over working out right now and I am pleased with that choice for the moment.
+1 to that
I do remember a video of yours years ago where you spoke about how people take hours on cleaning their car and don't have time for their health. To this day I have a filthy car. 😅
Yep, a bit of moss cant be that bad.
@@hanswoast7 i pressure washed the moss off my car this summer, should be good for the next 5 years!
Great video, and I'm loving seeing the progress on your place. Quick note that you didn't quite cover: some people, like that farmer, but also lots of people with manual jobs, are actually doing lots of exercise - that's just part of their job. Exercise doesn't have to be lycra-clad Zwift sessions, or bro-split weight training. In fact, everyday activity exercise will burn a truck load of calories, do wonders for your cardio, and build muscles you've never even heard of.
Zactly! Now he's exercising all day
yes and no - you burn a lot more calories and you retain greater flexibility and everyday strength as you age, compared to an office worker, but farm chores aren't enough for V02 max optimisation nor do they build sufficient strength to counteract sarcopenia after 50
Thanks for your videos! You always strike a great balance between humor and meaningful messages. As a father of a toddler, a husband, and someone with a full-time job, I’m happy if I can train four times a week and still make time for other hobbies. Then I see a clip of Huberman saying he was in the worst shape of his life when he was running three times a week and lifting weights once, which makes me start to undervalue my own training. But it’s videos like yours that help me put things into perspective and remind me that everyone’s situation is different.
3 young children, a house, a dog, old parents, a small business and of course, the wife! It takes a massive effort to make time for the gym or for a run. Always so happy with myself when I do, then before I know it, it's been a few days, a week and Iv'e not been, then it becomes a thing, then you push yourself real hard to go when your energy is low.
I'm in a similar quandary. Two years ago we moved into an old house that needs work. Prior to that I had nothing to do but train. I've built myself a workshop and love DIY and making things. I find the only way it works for me is to train first thing. Nearly every time I promise myself to train in the afternoon I fail and carry on with the project I'm working on.
exactly my experience. Chores are satisfying to complete but they never end. Once you're going on them, it's very hard to stop before day's end. And then you're too knackered to train. You have to time-block and commit to early morning, first thing, training, and it helps to remind yourself that you need to do this training as you age if you are going to keep chorin' on. your property
Also, probably preaching to the choir but I appreciate that you keep reusing clips like falling off your Swift and the one from the walking video. Really tickles my funny bone.
I miss the old mark. Loved the pushing yourself into uncomfortable challenges and proving to us normal people maybe we are capable of things we never dreamed we could do. Your open videos of how you improved yourself over time will have helped alot of people.
Ive just completed my first ultra and the early days of the mentality shift were ALOT down to you.
I will back you on here whatever content you upload and great to see the genuine happiness you are getting from your new home. :)
Agree
I think it might be normal that sport as an priority can fluctuate in a persons life. It can't be a priority all the time, motivation might get low after years hard training. It probably will spike up again when you start to miss it, finding new challenges and motivation.
The Old Mark is still here, it's the old content I think you miss. I think Mark is hedging his bets that his personality draw is strong enough to keep his subscribers engaged whilst he is in a fallow training period. He is probably right for now but I do think a return to some of the content that helped build the channel is required to keep everyone engaged as after all it was an interest in fitness and challenges and learning about new events (Hyrox for example) that brought most of us here.
I just watched the video without waiting for my wife because we agreed recently that the channel is now... fine... but it's not the must watch it used to be. It's Mark's channel, it's Mark's life, but yeah, it's not what it was :(
Likewise I feel the same. It used to inspire, make me push myself and show me cool / funny stuff Mark was up to and how he did it. I miss it! For me it doesnt do that any more. Perhaps it will get back to the same sort of thing in the future again - I hope so.
The shot selection, for when you said, "I'm very lucky" 👌
not daft is he
Get back up that ladder 😂
That was cheeky!
Great video. Lovely balance of honesty, humility, humour and common sense. Thank you as always for your content.
This is the problem of getting a “big house”. It’s nice and all, but it generates a never ending amount of work. If you like that, then no problem, but it can drain time and money. There’s a lot to be said for having a contained, modest, low maintenance and low running cost house. Be careful before you give that up.
True, and I've come to that same realisation. I think the best balance is a small house but in a beautiful rural area. You just need a big enough garden to sit in when the weather's nice, and maybe grow some tomatoes because, if you live in a nice place, you can just go out and enjoy the countryside.
sadly most of us younger people are thinking of affording rent and daily living let alone thinking of big house vs small house jobs.
Being busy is still being busy though, though most of us would do the big house work if we could 😅
Having lived in a large home (5 bathrooms) and now a modest one (2 bathrooms) I can suggest it's better to live in a house slightly smaller than your needs vs a house slightly larger than your needs. I have a nice gym and tennis courts and bike trail nearby, those are enough to keep me in shape at 47yo. I now spend more time cooking healthy meals and less time cleaning bathrooms and ordering takeout food!
@@jamescanjuggle No you wouldn't - trust me. You might find it novel and even fun, at first - but by the 200th time you've had to climb a ladder and work on a corrugated iron roof in 35 deg C summer temps to remove tree branches and clean gutters - you'll realise you're in groundhog day
It’s not that you don’t have time. It’s that working out isn’t a priority.
It seems like your dogs have no regrets about the move to the country. Love to see them enjoying the lifestyle.
💯
ya like dags?
Your widespread use of the speed-walking clip really is impressive.
I definitely haven’t been able to find time to train before. We moved 700 miles last year without using movers or contractors to prepare the old house to sell and fix things in the new house. Lots of moving pieces, bikes packed up or in the wrong location, and jobs to boot. Currently getting back in shape after losing all my fitness , so now there’s no time to make TH-cam videos! Good video, man. Videos showing super-human feats are great, but relatable content showing the realities of life is awesome.
Welcome to the last 12 years of my life. Bought a 30 acre farm in Devon with an old house in need of renovation and a few acres of overgrown woodland. It’ll certainly keep you fit but I realised I wasn’t really getting the cardio fix I needed because while I was active I didn’t actually move very far. I’m getting back to running and cycling again this year to regain some of what I used to have.
The Mark Davis to Beau Miles tranfsormation is complete
"My wife - Far from zero maintenance" lol
There is not many people who can deliver a little bit of sexism in such a funny way that the sexism turns into well-earned self irony. ;)
I laughed out loud at that line…. Then was dumb enough to show that to the wife. 😂
Same! Wife overheard it here 😂@@andrewpantke1533
Proud to say i found time... i wake up at 4.45 and walk 10k steps daily till 6.30 then the day begins. I also run a business so i know how busy it can get. I imagine in a year or two youll ve on top of most of the house tasks, hopefully 😊 just subscribed.. loving the channel
Our Dear Mark was today years old when he discovered that people's circumstances are different and the privilege of it being possible to find time is a *privilege* not a character trait. They grow up so fast *sniffle*. How many creators do you know would actually make a video about having had a few bites of humble pie? I really appreciate hearing someone talk about reality.
Great content and insight… have to remember the old sayings of ‘you can’t do everything’ and ‘there’s only so many hours in the day’, to succeed at most things takes a load of sacrifice, so if you want to exceed at multiple things, it’s just really hard. Especially when in that typical mid 30’s and 40’s when you have, kids, house, career and keeping fit takes more and more effort. Most important thing is to be realistic with yourself , to avoid frustration. If you do no exercise in a year, but family happy and career doing well, then accept you’ve made some choices and done your best!
It's a mark (heh) of maturity when you can fess up to a mistake. It takes even more maturity to correct your behaviour.
I did a personal coaching July to December. I invested the money AND the time. I spent around one hour each day of cooking / mealprep. I have done 15k steps a day consitently every day AT LEAST for excercise. So that alone takes 2hours give or take. Add to that weight lifting 3 times a week plus 3 days running. (half / marathon training). I am very aware not everyone is able to put in that time. I am lucky to have a husband that is my biggest fan and enabler. And also a job that allows for a 2h lunch break / random half days off when I want them. Not everyone can or wants to invest that time.
That Snatch reference is absolutely incredible.
What you say is true but it's not untrue to say that a LOT of people have the time, maybe even the majority. Most people are awful at time management and prioritize things other than health, even if they aren't things the individual particularly values, and a lot of those people have convinced themselves they don't have the time, or means... both of which can be remedied with just a little thought and effort.
Of course there are exceptions and I know a few of them, but almost everyone else I know could make a change if they wanted to or if they realized they could.
I myself was one of those people til I started not to make excuses for myself. My job was tiring and I couldn't work out after it, so I got up at 4:45 to train. I told myself I couldn't eat healthy when I really just couldn't be bothered to cook. I still make excuses, I'm still lazy, I'm still fat in places I don't want to be, and my cardio is atrocious, but I'm a work in progress and I'm finally seeing some of that progress after 4 decades. Better late than never, I suppose, but I wish I'd started sooner.
Like I said, there are exceptions and I don't want to take away from the genuinely busy, hardworking people out there. They deserve more credit because a life with that little time is a life I couldn't even begin to do!
Exactly. The majority of people who say they have no time watch hours of TV every night. Thats fine if thats what you want to do but don't complain that you don't have time. I have twins under 2, work a full time job and keep a house. My partner works nearly full time as well. You make time for what you want to do. I have very very little time outside of work, parenting and running the house and I choose to spend much of that time exercising. As a result I don't have time for much TV outside of doing indoor training rides.
Its all about priorities.
Oh and there are always exceptions to every rule. People need to understand that the exception doesn't invalidate the rule. Most people are overweight because they eat too much and eat crap. Some people are overweight due to medical conditions. That doesn't mean the 98% of people who aren't should be using that as a valid excuse for their weight.
i think you'll find that Mark's situation is more about lack of energy rather than lack of time being a legit reason to not train once you're 50+ and have a physical work day
I'm a single dad to a teenage autistic boy, taking care of my 85 year old mother and a full time job, and I have terminal cancer.
Fitting in time for any training is quite difficult.
Yes, Mark, making time for working out is a constant battle. The fact is, whether you make time to work out, or not, it means sacrificing a time slice that may have been directed toward some other pursuit. For me, this goes back to high school cross country. I remember always been glad when the end of season would roll around and my afternoons were opened to practice guitar, go mountain biking, or even computer program (this was in the late 80s/early 90s). It’s always been a balancing act for me, and it drives me crazy to this very day.😂
Hey Mark, all good points. A wise man once said "everything in moderation (even moderation)". I'm a workaholic about to turn 65 and still am searching for that balance.
I don't know mate, you could find time if you had too. Truth is your priorities have changed, and that's fine too.
Mentally beating ourselves up over not exercising is a mistake either way.
100%. We always make time for our priorities
Especially when the reason you don't make time anymore is because your life has you on your feet all day anyway, the need for excess movement goes down, putting it lower on the list of priorities only makes sense
The difference here though is that Mark isn't having to run his small holding as a business, he could choose to not do 'that job' whatever it is that day and exercise but as he says, he is for now enjoying those jobs more than exercise, so he does have time to train if he wanted to. It is a different situation to those people who have to do those things just to pit a roof over their head and food on the table with dependents.
When I was running hospitals I worked a 70 hour week. Also did on call.
I got fat.
I changed jobs and lost a couple of stone but then started a course.
So again no time…. Working three full days and studying for four. All the weight went back on.
So now I’m back training (course is finished) to try and loose what I lost and gained and hammering the gym. Takes so long to get fit as you age I find….
Great video Mark. I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for you to replicate and interweave scenes from Rocky IV with you and Rocky both using farm equipment and snowy fields to stay in shape.
Not sure “time” is the right metric, but your “priorities” and where does exercising rank against, staying warm / earning money / cooking / etc
My daughter and son-in-law are keen athletes and are on a parallel journey to you and Jen, but with a 200 year old farmhouse in France. For the first time in their lives, training takes second place to log cutting, wall building and all manner of renovation jobs. Whilst doing this, they’ve also decided to video their journey. Must be mad, but having spent several weeks trying to fix the French farm with them, I can see why watching a bit of Netflix at night rather than going for a bike ride or run is most appealing. Hopefully it won’t last forever - the renovation that is.
I'd hold off fitting out the new gym, you've now got a natural gym on your doorstep that will keep you more than fit.
Agree. There is a reason labourers and farmers are fit. Supplement the daily normal activity, spend SOME time on what you enjoy
He doesnt need a new gym. He wont use it anyways. Way too lazy now.
I can relate to this. I went from living in an apartment in town and working 9-5, having all the time in the world to go running/cycling/hiking to buying an old detached property needing renovation, getting a dog the size of a horse and having twins. Iv had to put my own self care on the backburner for a year ir two, my god its going to be hard starting exercise again from scratch but such is life. Right now, by the time my day is done, im too wrecked to even consider exercise.
i did exactly the opposite. worked my ass off when i had a house. at 35 i sold the house and bought an apartment in the town.s centre. now i.m 45 and i work only part time. i have all the time in the world to do anything. i.m so happy now
Years ago I had a teacher tell us a story where she spent one summer on her cousins' farm. When she returned home and school started, the PE teacher did the usual start of the term check the students vitals and was surprised at how low my teachers heart rate was. Also how low her body fat % was. Working on a farm is HARD work and it is every bit of exercise as what we perceive exercise to be. Long story short, she went to the doctor only to be told that she had the body of an elite athlete, just from working on a farm, for the summer. My grandfather worked on a farm his entire life. His diet wasn't the healthiest, so he had a bit of a belly, but man he was strong! I think that now that you are so busy on the farm, you have to get strict with your schedule and have a very specific time of day (first thing in the morning?) where you exercise. If you don't have it scheduled, life will fill in the time on its own. I exercise in the morning and I still have to stop in the middle of things to take my kid to school. But I get right back at it when I return home. It's hard, and we have to make compromises.
If you have animals, first thing in the morning is feeding the animals. Maybe he could do exercise as the third thing in the morning.
sorry to tell you but that story is likely a gross exaggeration. I left a rural property and its neverending chores when i was 23 and returned to that lifestyle 25 years later.
Farmwork, like all physical activity, is activity-specific. It makes you better at farmwork in terms of strength and endurance for doing farmwork.
It cannot in any way give you an elite athlete's body or abilities, and isn't enough for aerobic and muscular-skeletal health as you age
you'll certainly age better in terms of mobility and independence than an officer worker, but the unfortunately reality is that we need specific aerobic and strength training as we age to maintain the ability to keep chorin'
Mark - been watching your content for about a year now. Have a very similar situation to you now.. have a property that takes almost all my time - when not working (a 9-5.30) - to maintain. Thankfully decided to get up early to get the Run/gym in - but it is tough and I have a very accepting misses who occasionally gets woken up as I try to tiptoe out the bedroom to go train. It isn’t easy and it isn’t always consistent. But living with some extra functional training makes it all worth while. 🙂. Keep making the content you are fun and an inspiration. Am even dipping my toe into Hyrox.. (well training- if not actually competing). 👍
Exercise is a supplement to inactivity. If you have an active lifestyle that's good! You might have to exercise whatever you are missing. If you are busy but still inactive therein lies the great challenge as you must exercise nearly everything in your free time.
I work full time and raise my 5 children alone (widowed) Finding time to train is extremely difficult but I still do it. Stop making excuses and get on with it 🤭🤭🤭
What is currently helping me is waking up a lot more early and eat something small, do a workout of 1 hour, shower and then have breakfast with the family. And then the work day starts.
I’ll be honest: I initially howled in fury “wheres the damn Zwift video?!” But as you progressed with your thesis, it resonated. Your channel is less about fitness, and more about being a modern man. You are closer to Michael Manns sensibilities, than the average youtuber sweating on a Zwift race. Keep following this path, you will produce profoundly good content, whatever that may be.
Lol I had a similar realisation after we moved to a property with a much larger, mature garden, after being copped up in the city over covid. Went from maybe spending half an hour a week on garden maintanence to easily spending 5 hours every weekend just to stay on top of it. Surprise, surprise, we're now thinking of moving again and the big garden has gone from being a "must have" to a "take it or leave it". Add-in a 1 year old to the situation and I have almost no time to actually train on a weekend, I've had to resort to cranking out short sessions whenever I can - lunch breaks, 9pm when the baby is finally asleep, etc. Used to love swimming and can't find any time to do that at all anymore.
Another funny quality video Mark 👍 I think you’ve discovered the life of a manual work 😏 but has a manual worker myself , I still find time watching shit on youtube when I should have been working out 🤔😂
You could've said all this on the bike 😂
😂
Zone 2 = conversation pace. #noexcuses
"Goes to work in the dark and finishes work when it's dark"... just like everyone working in the UK, it's the UK and it gets light after 8am and dark by 3:30pm in Winter. It's not a measure of effort/dedication/time consumption. If someone did the same in Summer, then they'd have my admiration.
What you have that most don't 1) motivation 2) money to buy fitness tech 3) no daily child care demands at home, which is the biggest time sink of all.
caring for your own children isn't the same as child-care or babysitting.
I am recovering from surgery, so too busy laying down.
I cannot wait to get back at it, but accept this is what I have to do.
Chopping up a tree, or letting thousands and thousands of micro stitches and a few incisions mesh, both have to be done.
Summer 2025 back at it.
Love your videos.
Maybe you will make that Zwift vid about the same time I am able to get one.
This is the only type of inspirational speech I need 👏
Yup these old houses take some work!! That’s a lot of land.
Just tell me when the goat 🐐 yoga 🧘 episode is coming out
Thank you, after a 12 hour shift I can barely sit on the sofa let alone go to the gym, now I don't feel that bad about it lol
if you're on your feet, at work, you shouldnt feel guilty about not training at night. But you should strive for 30 minutes first thing,,,
Oh yeah, there are periods in life when one has to prioritize well and for some people those periods are pretty long. For myself I imagine every day as an empty jar and I fill it with big things first, then whenever fits in remaining small slots. So when sport fits it fits, sometimes not and there is a descent reason for that.
So, for all run/cycle/yoga/chess/etc buddies here, no blaming and hope you'll fill in your jars the best way possible!
Great timing Mark …. Not sure I could take too many more Zwift rides TH-cam is awash with them if your interests are cycling. I don’t care that someone came 1st or last while riding around Watopia through a Volcano trying to earn a Tron bike then posting on Strava for imaginary bragging rights. Big Zwift fan but really! Excited to see the new direction Mark….now that’s keeping it real 👍
More empathy for our fellow man is something we should strive for. Good on ya.
I think alot of ppl say they have no time to train and yet spend hours infront of the telly each evening. The truth of the matter is there are very few ppl who literally have no time to train, for everyone else its more a case of they can't be bothered to train be that early in the morning or in the evenings, its just an excuse.
I'm in the same boat, DIY takes time, but almost done with my project and will be back on the saddle soon.
I like the idea of fitness x Clarkson farm 😂 I live in a semi rural area and do both as well as being self employed.
We had 11 years in the country and a house that needed never ending renovations, we lived in the kitchen and back for 3 years too long. As much as I loved the small mortgage, it got very tiring. I do miss the animals though, I’d love to have pet sheep again.
I've thought about same problem for some time cause I know few people who are very very busy but want to get fit , the only thing that comes to mind was 1. How many minutes can you dedicate to training in a time of the day where you still have energy ? So somethins as simple as 10mins in the morning is enough to start , can be even 5 mins , and than focus on other factors that are part of every day life like nutrition and NEAT , something simple like ride a bike / walk to work if your workplace is not that far etc etc
Moving houses can be a deal breaker for exercise. You constantly have a long list of things to do and it seems to never end. You are physically moving through the day and dream of sitting on a couch with netflix for at least 20min. But once you get through the priorities, it's good to find the balance. Eventually, it comes.
You make a solid case, yet counterpoint: We spend (waste) so much time scrolling on our phones or watching TV or sleeping in. If you want to prioritize your physical health, the vast majority of people have the time to do so. It’s a choice.
Here’s to the future… thanks for sharing this journey and being real, Mark.
is the channel changing to a DIY Renovation including fitness 😀. I would love that ! My favorite hobby and obligation combined (guess what's what).
The speed walking never ever gets old
These challenges makes this channel more interesting.
This is a good reality check for everyone. Priorities change constantly in life, find as much balance as you can.
Your health should always be priority #1
@@external25 Sometimes it is someone else's health
Good man Mark!! Finally we're on the same page 😅
30 mins of lifting can be squeezed in mostly, but zone 2 fitness and workouts are a luxury not everyone has.
just wait for spring and summer to see how much more work you’ll have :)
best of luck!
You have your hands full 👍. Good for you, that a lot of the work your house and estate needs, will give you a decent work out, both strength and cardio.
I love to see, that you obviously enjoy looking at your wifes body - and that you are not afraid to show it.
You will get to ride that new bike one day, right now you just have other priorities. Other things are more important for you, and that is OK. You are not sedentary, getting fat or in risk if developing diabetes.
Best wishes to you and Jen. Stay safe 👍
Lol when you said @ 3:50 " My new house was a new build - 300 years ago"
The best part about this type of manual labor is that it keeps you healthy. Yeah you don’t get jacked but there’s studies in certain countries with centenarians that work for many years into old age and that extra movement and activity keeps them alive a lot longer.
I think that there are certainly some periods of time when finding a balance between your regular life, work, and exercise is extremely difficult. However, I do think it's important to try to find at least a little time each week to do the tiniest bit of exercise.
I used to be basically completely sedentary - on most days I'd be lucky if I did 2k steps by moving around the house. I have a job that involves sitting at my home desk for many hours, and I have other medical issues that cause me to have lower energy levels and thus not be able to do too many activities in one day. I am morbidly obese, and so moving is also made more difficult simply due to the added kilos. I've started working on the weight loss front a few months ago, but it's slow going. Even so...
Ever since I started taking at least 20 minutes a day to do laps (of walking) around the house, I feel - physically and mentally - so much better. I am very glad and thankful towards myself that I finally realized the two friction points that stopped me from exercising could actually be removed:
- the idea that you *have* to do it for a certain, longer amount of time each day/each week, or else it doesn't matter
- the fact that I had to get dressed, put on shoes, and go outside to exercise in what could possibly be terrible weather
I decided that actually, no, any amount of exercise you do that's greater than zero is good. And instead of going outside for my cardio, I simply do laps around the house. For my strength training, I just do a few bodyweight exercises for a few minutes every other day. Some people I'm sure wouldn't enjoy this exercise routine very much, but for me this is the most comfortable thing - to be able to just walk barefoot in my house and do simple resistance exercises, take a break if I need it by sitting on a comfortable chair, and go shower immediately after I'm done exercising. I'm not the picture of health, my goal is to reach 5k steps a day, and whenever I manage to reach 6 or 7k I'm very happy. But I do feel so much better even doing this relatively small amount of exercise. And by the way, I started even lower by just incorporating 1k extra steps per day (which meant I was reaching maybe 3k), and slowly ramped up to 5k steps a day.
Obviously, there are some times when I may be too exhausted to exercise, and that's okay. But I'm sharing my experience with this to highlight something I wish I had understood earlier in life: doing a tiny bit of something good is better than doing none of it, and it *will* still have a good effect even if it's not "optimal".
As a 50 yr old with one remaining small child out of 4 who lives in 10 acres in the woods, I'm going to try to empathize with you. Some days it the exercise just doesn't happen, and that's ok. On those days, I try to at least do a set of pullups or take a walk around the property if I've been sat all day for work. For the most partI find that I can generally find 30 minutes every day to move and be physical. Some days go well and I get a couple of hours to myself for running or climbing. But yeah that country life takes up a large amount of time. Welcome to the club. I also like to find ways to use farm work as training. Chainsawing and caring firewood for biceps. Splitting wood for back and shoulders etc. Bet you could find a whole video serious in there somewhere for that. Glad you're having fun.
Chainsaws are better than exercise 😂 absolutely spot on, logging, splitting and stacking, best therapy on the planet.
You should build a trail course and host a Backyard Ultra - that would be epic - and you would only need to host it
I don’t like people 😂
"How am I going to balance that?"
Carefully, like all of us. Best decision I made (ok, they decided themselves) is getting kid 1 into swimming, kid 2 into track and field. I drive them to training (sometimes we bike), I train while they do - because driving back and forth is really a waste of time - then we return home. I swim twice a week and run once (on average). No new personal best in sight, but I can eat those chocolate chip cookies and not put on more weight!
How do you propose to use your new gym, when it's ready then? Is it going to be just looked at most of the time? You could give off an hour perhaps to do something...?
My two cents, if you have a desk job (even a 10+ hours a day one) and make a reasonably comfortable living, try to find time for exercise. Its one of the best things you can do for yourself. In a year you will realize that time is much better than time spent relaxing in other ways when you don't think you have energy for exercise. How to get started, sign up for something. 5K or anything else. I have lived both ways and hope I am lucky enough to live a life with exercise for a long time. I am a better person when part of me is being an athlete and other busy athletes I talk to feel the same way.
I'll be waiting here patiently for the content. You do not owe me nothing ❤
I wish he WOULD own us the content. ;)
Everyone has the time. Some prefer not too, don't have a string incentive or it's not a priority. You'll find those people who say they don't, do have time for a netflix series.
Goats only eat grass when there is no other option. They graze on stuff at head height or above. They prefer grazing on your overgrown hillsides. Goats that eat where they poop, get worms. Goats are escape artists.
Clarkson's farm and Harry's farm are awesome,(they're neighbours).
I hear what you're saying, but i do feel that you've fallen into a trap. @ 7:30 you talk about not having time and watching tv. You have the time, you've just made a choice.
And your choice is fine, you've been active all day. You will have done plenty enough steps and exercise, but dont lie to yourself. You still made a choice.
Thanks for the video Mark
This is what you do mark. Figure out a nice area of the property to put a tiny home and then find a person to live in it in exchange for rent. It’s a win win situation for you and said persons. Also allows you to get more time to do your content.
I have a full time job and a 2 year old and 4 year old and care taker of my elderly parents. I find motivation and time hard to get, not to mention winters are are hard here and I hate commercial gyms. By the time I have time it’s dark and cold
all his children have got out ,even his youngest his away living with his 87year old grandfather
There is no such thing as time management, only task management. I think, for you just now, it’s about redefining what training and fitness is in your current context. I think about all the opportunities for functional fitness you are now surrounded by (enter Rocky IV montage of training in a Siberian winter). Awkward shape farmers carries, woodcutter chops (awesome for your back). There is so much you could do. How can you prioritise and organise your daily property based tasks to form an alternative “fitness routine”? Keep in mind all property based projects will slowly come to an end as you gradually convert the property to the the way you want to use it. Do reach out if you want to play this idea out…
Where is this all going ? long term viewer and i appreciate your life change with the off grid world but i am struggling to see the above average Mark coming back 😢
It's not - this channel follows what I'm up to.....this is what I'm up to.
Do a video of calorie burn on a very active outdoor jobs day vs one of your old training days 👍
Check that screen time people!
Life101. We all have different priorities as we progress through life. Simples.
The comedy is great! :D
since when in the last few weeks has it been warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt in the UK haha.
The uk??