The Buffed Historian

Summer 2019 (280 lbs) vs Summer 2023 (206 lbs) While this blog is dedicated to health and fitness across history, I'm often asked about my own fitness journey, especially since I don't look like the stereotypical "bookish" type (whatever that is). The following is a bit of background on my personal journey, with basic overviews of my current routine. This is not an advice column, but  simply a very brief summary of what has worked for me. It may or may not be what is right for you. "Books and Biceps" 😁Hmm, the pic on the right makes me look like I have 20" arms. In reality, they're not even close to that. Honestly, it was just a good camera angle!  Some Background:  As of this post, I'm forty-eight years old, leaner, fitter than at any time in my life, often mistaken for someone in their early to mid-thirties. To be fair, I use lots of face moisturiser, and my hair colour comes in a box! 😄Those who've only known me for the past few years

  My thirtieth book,  Soldier of Rome: Beyond the Frontier (Book 6 of the Artorian Dynasty) , has been released! For twelve years a disgraceful pall has hung over the Roman Empire. Trouble along the Germanic frontier forced an abrupt end to Emperor Domitian’s war against King Decebalus of Dacia. The terms were an embarrassment to Rome and a drain on the imperial coffers, with two million denarii paid to the Dacians every year. Now, a new Caesar is firmly ensconced upon the imperial throne. Emperor Trajan vows to subjugate the Dacians, humble their king, and restore honour to the Empire. A massive force numbering over 100,000 soldiers, one-third of the entire might of Rome, gathers along the Danube. It is the largest Roman army assembled in over a hundred years. Tiberius Artorius Castus has matured into his position as Deputy Prefect of the Imperial Horse Guards over the past three years. Still a young man, he is a world away from the naïve youth who first came to the capital nine years

  Steve Martin as Orin Scrivello, the sadistic dentist in Little Shop of Horrors (Warner Bros. 1986) You'll be a dentist! (You'll be a dentist) You have a talent for causin' things pain! (Pain) Son, be a dentist! (Son, be a dentist) People will pay you to be inhumane! (Inhumane) Every six months, the classic song from Little Shop of Horrors echoes in my mind. Thankfully, I was born with good teeth, never required braces, and my dentist visits are usually brief and painless. It helps brushing twice a day, having an electric toothbrush that can reach way back to my wisdom teeth ... and because I actually floss! I've also never smoked and rarely, if ever, consume processed sugar. But what of our ancestors? We all know the stereotype, as seen in endless films, of the medieval peasant with either missing or black, rotten teeth. So naturally, going back another thousand years or so, we must assume the Ancient Romans also had wretched teeth, right? Actually, on the whole, neit