Often, PT's, strength coaches and everyone else who is in this game will get so caught up in researching fitness, programming nuances and the like that when they do finally want to look into something else they feel guilty.
Guilty for wanting to consume something other than fitness information.
Of course, you should be guilty, you absolute monster.
Indeed, I joke.
To be the best coach you can be you should probably have a diverse range of topics you consume. You will learn various things about your craft from these other areas even if you don't realise it.
An example I use is that when reading a book by the comedian Stewart Lee, it made me consider that putting various people against each other in a fun way is a great way to teach fitness classes.
So don't feel guilty for looking into other subjects because those subjects can still improve you in your field. Plus you only live once, so if you want to research something else and you are in the position to do-so then in my book, you should go for it.
Recently my cross-listening has been smashing through the INCREDIBLE podcast THE HISTORY OF ROME by Mike Duncan which ran from 2007 until 2010.
According to Wikipedia, in 2010, it won BEST EDUCATIONAL PODCAST at the 2010 Podcast awards and I can understand why having listened to many educational podcasts and e-books over the years and being, shall we say, underwhelmed by the delivery.
That being said, The History of Egypt Podcast is pretty fucking great too.
Mike's easy-going voice and well-researched podcasts are mostly somewhere between 10 and 25 minutes so are easily digestible and because Mike is an obviously funny guy, you find yourself being drawn in.
He clearly loves the subject matter and the passion comes through in every single episode.
I think my listening record for this podcast is something like 10 podcasts in a day. It is just so addictive.
Mike follows the Roman empire from its humble beginnings until it's ultimate fall (which at the time of writing I haven't reached yet.)
The only downside for me (and it's not a downside at all) is that my reading list is suddenly massive/even more massive than it already was. So it looks like I will be cross-researching for many more years to come.
You can find his podcast on most good podcast providers by simply typing in 'The History Of Rome' and getting your listening binge on from there.
I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do!
And take it from me, in fact, no, have a listen yourself, some of the stories coming out of Rome throughout its history are some of the most METAL stories you'll ever hear about.
See you again next week!
Remember to follow your passion into every field you want to explore.
Chris Kershaw
The Heavy Metal Strength Coach