Ian Birch

Ian Birch stepped into the world of health and fitness by setting himself the challenge to become a Firefighter. He was 55 and in a very poor state of fitness and health. And yet he did qualify just after his 56th birthday and went on to serve as a fully operational Firefighter into his 60s. And he also took on various challenges for the fun of it, but most importantly he was finally able to take his kids hiking in the mountains.

No stranger to fitness, Ian rowed competitively at university, then spent a career in mineral exploration working in remote and wild places like deserts, jungles and even the Arctic Circle. He applied those experiences, together with extensive research into modern training techniques, as a junior rowing coach. He helped introduce a scientific and fun approach to training. And they started winning.

But things changed. At 55 he faced a personal dilemma of failing fitness and health. Looking to get active again, the only exercise he could manage was a brisk walk. So he developed a plan, set out walking and it worked. And it can work for just about anyone.

Through all this, Ian realised that he was not alone because so many people try to get active to improve their health and fitness, but struggle. Many fail because it can be tough. But he has a simple message, “If you can walk, you can do this”. "The Power of Walking" is the first in a series he is writing to try and help people to build regular exercise into their lives, reclaim their health and fitness, then get their lives back. Like he did!

Before releasing the second book in the exercise series, Ian set out to record his struggle with diet & nutrition following the debilitating illness that caused him to leave the world of mineral exploration. The result is his new book "A Diet You Can Live With". It’s a helter-skelter ride through 25 years of research and application that crystalises into 3 diet hacks. Because they are based on the base nutrients we all need, just about anyone can use them to build a diet to power them up for life.

Surprisingly perhaps, it is about what to include in your diet, not what to leave out.

Which brings everything back to the second in the series of exercise books, “Walk, Run Train”. His first introduces the basics of Heart-rated Training. The second will show how we can all activate our different energy systems. It’s not how fast you run, it’s the metabolic effect you create that is important. So, even if a brisk walk is all you can manage right now, you can still do this.