I discovered Dan John in the late 2000s while reading about training with sleds, kettlebells and sandbags. At the time, he was a college & high school professor, a strength & conditioning coach, a writer, a blogger and a popular kettlebell trainer. I watched many of his videos, read through his forum posts and purchased one of my favorite books about training and life. Although I got a lot from his content, I stopped following him closely in 2017 when I changed my workouts to focus exclusively on gymnastics, calisthenics and bodyweight exercises.
With my recent foray back into the functional training world, I looked him up again because his name kept popping up in kettlebell forums and articles. Sure enough, he quickly became one of my favorites again.
At 68 years old and retired from academia, Dan and I share a lot in common. We’re lifelong exercisers who have built a life centered around training, but also family, work and commitment to own’s own ideals.
I am learning quite a bit from him on transitioning from middle-aged to a senior (gasp) fitness lunatic who is part of the % of a % of the US population who has made exercise a core part of their lives.
Even more, I like to hear him talk about life, aging, injuries, training etc. We’ve nothing experienced a lot of life over the past half century.
One of the things I’ve noticed this time around is that he frequently references mentors who guided him throughout his life. As often, he cites books that influenced him. He does this often enough that I now recognize names of his high school & collegiate coaches, colleagues, other trainers, friends and the like. He usually does this while crediting them as a source for his ideas, programs and philosophies.
It is refreshing.
If you haven’t thought about the people who have made your life better, influenced you in key ways or helped you grow, I highly recommend it.
Every time I do it, even if only inside my head, I am a better man because of it.
Here are two podcasts with Dan John that I currently follow: Dan John Podcast, The Pat Flynn Show