Featured Blogger: Our First Dad!

Blog: Iron Rogue | Twitter: @apkussma | Facebook: Iron Rogue Blog

Tell Us About Yourself:

I sometimes think of my childhood as being like Tarzan’s: instead of a man raised by apes, though, I’m a nerd raised by jocks. Both of my parents were rowers and throughout my family there are competitive (or even professional) athletes. I can remember tennis, soccer, judo and many other sports as forming the basis of my childhood – physical activity is probably our main religion. When I look at it that way, it really isn’t that surprising that I would later turn my running buddy into my girlfriend and eventually my wife. We don’t run together as much as we used to, but we certainly try to! We have two sons. Our eldest, Shark Boy (3 years old), is so named because he a) loves the water b) had a lot of teeth very early and c) is always moving.

Our youngest, The Lightning Kid (16 months) is pretty dynamic too, and his hair is always standing on end, thus the nick-name. He also has 47 chromosomes when most of us only have 46; known as Trisomy 21 or more commonly, Down Syndrome. While getting that diagnosis changed our world at the most fundamental level, we’ve found we’re still the same family we always wanted to be and we’re carrying on being fun and active. I write metaphorical stories about our journey over at http://meandthelightningkid.blogspot.com; I don’t update as often as Iron Rogue, but the response to it has been entirely, overwhelmingly positive.

Outside of fitness, what are your favorite things to do?

My wife and I try to have regular date nights where we get to try new restaurants. Sometimes it’s a movie instead, and we joke that we’ve been to more concerts as a married couple/parents than we ever did when we were single. We also entertain a fair bit, even if it’s just our extended family and close friends – we also visit both our parents whenever possible. If there’s any time left over, I like to chill out with a TV show or book (including graphic novels/comic books).

How long have you been blogging?

I wrote my first 2 posts in 2008, but then I let it lie dormant until late 2011 and I’ve been blogging regularly since then.

Why did you start blogging?

I originally felt like I had all these ideas kicking around in my head and I always enjoyed writing; maybe someone would end up reading and even liking what I had to say. I registered a whole bunch of titles on Blogger related to everything under the sun (nerd culture, getting married, wireless communications, martial arts), but triathlon (and by extension, multi-sport and fitness) was the only one I was willing to commit to without worrying too much about privacy, career impact or simply having enough to say on a regular basis

How did you pick your Blog name/Title?

Triathlon and endurance sports are steeped in ‘Iron Man’ imagery – being made of metaphorical iron is necessary if you want to hold up against what the distances do to you.

Iron is an important symbol in engineering too. Canadian engineers (like myself) wear an ‘Iron Ring’ on the littlest finger of their working (e.g. right for right-handed people) hand. ‘The Iron Warrior’ is the name of the Engineering Student newspaper at the University of Waterloo, my alma mater.

But ‘Iron Warrior’ was taken on Blogger. Which is just as well, since I’ve often been drawn more to characters who use wits, guile or even trickery rather than brute force as a means to their ends. These characters are ‘Rogues’ and like them, I look for sneaky or clever ways to ‘cheat’ on my schedule so that I’m not deciding between training and family or something else, but rather having my cake and eating it too, so to speak. So… Iron Rogue it is! And remember, it’s Rogue as in Scoundrel, not Rouge like make-up.

What motivates you to exercise?

Short answer: It feels good. Longer answer: the short answer is made of a lot of little pieces. I’m less stressed after exercise, so that feels good. Looking good feels good. A sense of accomplishment feels good. Being equal to the tasks set before me (e.g. carrying kids and/or gear around) feels good – or at least not as bad as if I wasn’t equal to the tasks. Connecting with the values I was raised with and my roots feels good.

What fitness activities do you engage in?

Triathlon has 3 baked right in: swimming, biking and running. I supplement these with skiing (especially cross-country/Nordic skiing these days), strength training (I’m starting to dabble in CrossFit) and yoga or even a fitness class here and there. My martial arts and tennis days are mostly behind me, but never say never!

What Olympic sport would you like to try?

Biathlon (Winter Olympics counts too, right?). I love to cross-country ski and this sport combines something completely different – target shooting. The intense cardio of Nordic/Cross-country skiing is the exact opposite of the Zen-like state of mind you’d need to shoot a target accurately – Biathlon embodies what I call ‘The Multi-Sport Mind’. Unfortunately, I have zero interest in acquiring or being responsible for safely storing a firearm.

What advice would you give soon to be or new ~~moms~~ dad?

Get involved early. 21^st Century fathers are more involved in their kids’ lives than any previous generations, yet mainstream media and common perception casts us as idiots who can’t figure out what to do. Books for dads are typically ‘dumbed-down’ or written as if they were car manuals, and everything needs to be broken down to a sports metaphor. It’s easy to fall into that trap, because newborns are basically a part of their mothers and don’t do much interaction. Dads should stake their claim in their role as parents; there’s more than one way to change a diaper or soothe a baby to sleep, etc. My wife has been great in this regard, but I’ve seen other couples where Dad is either not pulling his weight, or simply ‘dumb muscle’.