Men’s Health and Performance

[Jeff Forrester]

Just really started exploring the Society pages today. This is a thread I can get behind.

I am still pretty young, I'll be turning 33 this year. A lot has changed though from when I was a personal trainer and single. I used to train 2 hours a day, 4-6 days per week, I could certainly still do that but then I am compromising time with the kids and wife.

In late 2025, I had a reckoning of sorts, felt like shit, looked like shit, everything felt like it was going for the worse. The simple answer would have been to get outside, workout, hang out with good friends etc, but finding that time felt daunting. I ended up going to Vegas (against JV's advice) with close friends, we saw the Grand Canyon, got drunk, and connected (no homo). It would have been a complete trip if we had gone hunting, but I am taking baby steps with this group. Bottom line is it gave me clarity on how I needed to get my shit together and how to stop walking around like shit manifested in human form.

Since then I am back to working out regularly, nothing too crazy but the main goal for now is consistency. I take a heavy dose of weighted jump ropes, sand bag hang clean and presses, sit ups, and front squats. The sand bag is brutal and unforgiving but it keeps me grounded and the physicality of it is aggressive, grueling, violent, and I recommend it to anyone with the physical ability of using one.

Awesome @brianhanley48 getting started is the key. Also, if you are looking to ease into adventure be on the lookout for hosted trip offered by FE Outrider. It is a great way to get around likeminded people doing cool stuff!

 

[brianhanley48]

Awesome @brianhanley48 getting started is the key. Also, if you are looking to ease into adventure be on the lookout for hosted trip offered by FE Outrider. It is a great way to get around likeminded people doing cool stuff!

Indeed, I scan them frequently and intend on it soon enough!

 

[Al "Shifty" Schultz]

THIS

Until a year-and-a-half ago, I was a very stressed out lawyer and would lose my shit way too easily. A mentor suggested therapy to me and it has done wonders. She has given me great tools to manage my stress levels and get my temper under control. It's one of the best things I've done. It has also helped with my blood pressure.

Interestingly @YETI my partner is an attorney and she also deals with a lot of stress related to her job (I'm just a small part of it )
But she participates I would say quarterly, in week long "retreats" or "conferences" similar (IMO) to group therapy sessions. One is called "psycho -drama" and it explores each participating individuals personal traumatic events. The most recent one she did was coincidentally called "Ethos".
I'm no attorney, just a retired door kicker, well semi retired, I have a private business and kick doors for hire now, so I don't participate in the group with her and other attorneys but I have hung out with the group at gatherings outside of their sessions just dining, dancing and Karaokeing and they are all terrific people that really seem to benefit from it.
Actually, I'm hosting one of their weeklong events out here at the farm in June. The folks that run the thing just met with me yesterday to tour the farm house and grounds and they are really excited about having it here which is kind of cool. Usually they do it down in Cabo or some other exotic places.
At any rate Yeti, I think you're spot on. There's something to be said about taking steps to reduce our stress.

 

[YETI]

Interestingly @YETI my partner is an attorney and she also deals with a lot of stress related to her job (I'm just a small part of it )
But she participates I would say quarterly, in week long "retreats" or "conferences" similar (IMO) to group therapy sessions. One is called "psycho -drama" and it explores each participating individuals personal traumatic events. The most recent one she did was coincidentally called "Ethos".
I'm no attorney, just a retired door kicker, well semi retired, I have a private business and kick doors for hire now, so I don't participate in the group with her and other attorneys but I have hung out with the group at gatherings outside of their sessions just dining, dancing and Karaokeing and they are all terrific people that really seem to benefit from it.
Actually, I'm hosting one of their weeklong events out here at the farm in June. The folks that run the thing just met with me yesterday to tour the farm house and grounds and they are really excited about having it here which is kind of cool. Usually they do it down in Cabo or some other exotic places.
At any rate Yeti, I think you're spot on. There's something to be said about taking steps to reduce our stress.

I guess I'm a mix of you two; I was a door-kicker (0311) and now I'm an attorney.

Also, I think your partner's group is onto something good there. My best friend is also a Marine and practice law in the same field as I do. Most of our camping, fishing, and hunting trips turn into "retreats" too as we talk out the shit we have to deal with on a daily basis and I always feel back to normal after our trips.

I'm planning on retiring within 3 years with the plan being to move out of California and buy a house on some property.

 

[Al "Shifty" Schultz]

I guess I'm a mix of you two; I was a door-kicker (0311) and now I'm an attorney.

Also, I think your partner's group is onto something good there. My best friend is also a Marine and practice law in the same field as I do. Most of our camping, fishing, and hunting trips turn into "retreats" too as we talk out the shit we have to deal with on a daily basis and I always feel back to normal after our trips.

I'm planning on retiring within 3 years with the plan being to move out of California and buy a house on some property.

I just stayed kicking doors... Started out as a logger working with some pretty rough men in junior high through highschool, Marine Corps 0311/0321 for 6 years, then was a long haul truck driver for a bit, then operated heavy equipment and started my own logging business for a bit, before going to work at Boeing after the spotted owl thing, and then after 9-11 I went back to door kicking on the SWAT team until I retired in December 2024.. now I'm doing it privately..

 

[RWS]

Lots of great advice here. I’ll add that you should have an annual full body skin exam with a dermatologist. With all the time we spend outdoors I urge you to do so. My Doc biopsied a mole on the top of my head during my last visit. Came back positive for melanoma. Stage 0. Had surgery to remove it about a month ago. Now I’m scheduled to go for a checkup every three months for the next two years. Having caught it this early was a blessing.

My friend’s sister is dying of melanoma that has spread to her brain, liver and lungs. She’s in her forties and now has the shitty duty of preparing her three children for a life without her.

 

[Jeff Forrester]

Lots of great advice here. I’ll add that you should have an annual full body skin exam with a dermatologist. With all the time we spend outdoors I urge you to do so. My Doc biopsied a mole on the top of my head during my last visit. Came back positive for melanoma. Stage 0. Had surgery to remove it about a month ago. Now I’m scheduled to go for a checkup every three months for the next two years. Having caught it this early was a blessing.

My friend’s sister is dying of melanoma that has spread to her brain, liver and lungs. She’s in her forties and now has the shitty duty of preparing her three children for a life without her.

Great advice!!! So many people put off annual check ups because they "feel fine" but don't know there is something just waiting in the shadows.

 

[YETI]

Great advice!!! So many people put off annual check ups because they "feel fine" but don't know there is something just waiting in the shadows.

My mother and dad have both had melanoma, multiple times. I get checked at least once a year and go in for anything suspicious.