Are you ready to finally get on track with a consistent program that will not only shape your body but fortify your mind?
As the saying goes, “Growing old is not for sissies!” If you are middle-aged or older, seeking to extend your healthspan, vitality, athletic performance, and enhance your personal safety, you’ve come to the right website.
My name is Randy LaHaie, a lifelong self-defense instructor, career law enforcement trainer, and critical incident performance expert.
Through decades of study, training and teaching, I’ve delved deeply into the self-discipline needed to optimize, protect and prolong your health, resilience and performance.
Toughen Up isn’t just a workout program; it’s a philosophy, a lifestyle, and a path to becoming the best version of yourself.
It is what I consider to be, “the holy grail” that I’ve tirelessly pursued through my personal journey and career as a self-defence and law enforcement trainer, and now I’m excited to share it with you. Together, we’ll embark on a journey that transcends traditional health and fitness approaches.
Toughen Up represents the book I wish I’d discovered at the beginning of my quest to “Toughen Up,” in my own life. By engaging with the content on this website, we’ll create a powerful, life-enhancing solution that aligns with your goals and values.
These words resonate deeply with me and form the foundation of what I’m trying to accomplish with Toughen Up:
“To write a great book, you must first become the book.”
Naval Ravikant
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
Toni Morrison
I don’t know about you, but I’m a “book guy.” Rightly or wrongly, I believe that the solutions to most of life’s problems and challenges can be found in books. If I have a problem I want to solve or an interest I want to explore, my “go to,” is to seek out and read the best books I can find on the subject.
I’ve come across many excellent books and resources over the years, but not quite what I have been looking for. This website is my effort not only to create the ultimate resource but to discover and embrace the principles and concepts needed to master behaviour, achieve optimal health and unlock peak performance.
The Toughen Up Training Circle
Central to the Toughen Up philosophy is what I call the “Training Circle;” a four-quadrant curriculum that will guide you to attaining a rock-solid foundation to support athletic, combative and critical incident performance.
- Minimalist Training: In this quadrant, we explore the concept of your MED (Minimum Effective Dose). It’s about achieving maximum benefits with minimal time, effort and resources. You’ll learn to train anywhere, anytime, with minimal equipment. Calisthenics, kettlebell training, and range & resilience training are the primary focus of Toughen Up training.
- Combative Drills: This quadrant is about utilizing combative techniques as a form of exercise to enhance health and performance. Not to be confused with “learning how to fight” (we cover that in other aspects of the Toughen Up program), the primary focus is on training safely and properly. Activities such as punching and kicking a heavy bag, focus mitt and various movement drills to enhance health, fitness and athleticism. That being said, the conditioning and skills you will develop are a powerful “fringe benefit,” should you ever find yourself in need of having to defend yourself.
- Lifestyle Factors: Your workouts are just part of attaining the doctrine of Toughen Up. You can’t out-train a bad lifestyle! This doctrine delves into simple, common-sense lifestyle factors that will support and amplify your health, resilience and performance gains.
- Adherence: The best training program in the world is worthless if you don’t do it on a consistent basis! As we say in Toughen Up, “Knowing is not doing.” The Adherence Quadrant delves into the art, science and nuances of self-discipline and its related factors: motivation, willpower, habits and consistency. Overcoming obstacles like laziness, procrastination and self-sabotage are also addressed.
With the Toughen Up Training Circle as your guide, you’ll not only build a strong foundation for improved self-defense and critical incident performance but also a level of emotional resilience so important in challenging times.
As I refine the content of this website, and my delivery of lectures and seminars associated to it, I seek your input, feedback and question. Your engagement will shape the ultimate content and direction of Toughen Up.
So tell me, what resonates with you? What challenges are you facing on your journey to optimal health and performance? Your insights and experience with this material will help me craft content that resonates even more powerfully with your needs.
Let’s embark on this journey together and redefine what it means to Toughen Up!