On My Bicycle: Cairo to Cape Town in a Podcast

I cannot believe how freaking long it has taken to get all this posted but finally the full audio series/podcast is out on sound cloud and iTunes.

So why has it taken so long? Well that could take a book in itself to explain. I think after cycling the 10 526kms across Africa I was on this high. I was going from radio interview to radio interview, speaking engagement to the next and being the scenes my life was kind of falling apart. Everything around me was changing. When the dust finally settled I felt so unsure of myself, so beat down by life that I felt like complete shit. I suddenly wasn't proud of anything in my life.

Find your way again, it will be the greatest thing you ever decide

And then you grow up. Time does that and Im grateful that I had it, many peoples lives end long before they find any clarity or meaning. I was fortunate enough to have that time to wrestle with ideas I had harbored for way to long.

Some Advise: If this is you, if you are in the biggest hole you of your life perhaps try some of the following

1) Cut off the dead branches: 
Don't get me wrong, you are not cutting people out of your life because you think you are better than them or because you don't need them. You are doing it for other reason. You need to hear your own voice again. Dive deep into your thoughts, your passions and who you are. So slowly withdraw from the people you need to

2) Find Help: 
Do not find a spiritual leader for help when you need help with psychological things, it will only confuse you more. Go to a professional who can guide you in the right direction.

3) Time: 
Don't make to many decisions all at once. Take your time, grow in stature in your new role in life. Learn to trust the person you are becoming, I understand that is hard, but if you have taken a step back and decided to start making conscious decision to improve life and the things around you then its time to trust the new you.

Just some tips and thoughts on that, theres many different ways to skin a cat, perhaps find something that helps for you.

So here it is, the podcast finally! Go enjoy it and let me know what you think. If you want any questions answered email them to me, will be happy to address them in the next podcast keeganlongueira@yahoo.com

Listen to the Podcast here: Cairo to Cape Town  (sound cloud) or follow the "Podcast Link" on apple

This is what the podcast will look like on Sound cloud

What I learnt from my year of business: 5 lessons

Millions in the bank? Nope. Plenty of failures? Absolutely. Worth it? Of course. I never dreamed I would have my own business, I have always been the joint owner of ventures. Last year I stepped out on my own and I have learnt some huge lessons. 

This is what the gym looked at before I ever opened up. There was tons of equipment to move and a lot of cleaning to be done. I thought I would never be ready in time. 

On 1 Septemeber 2017 I opened the doors of my new gym in Witbank South Africa. I was tucked into a large workshop building a local school had no need for. The floor, a rugged, wrecked paint job on a concrete floor. The roof, a flaking damp polystyrene covering. The windows were cracked and broken. I had some close friends help me drill a pull up rig into the wall as well as put up my barbell rack. Besides that I had very little besides the dust on the floor and a big open space. I was terrified. On the Friday I opened I had three member start training with me not many had backed me in succeeding in the venture. Something in my heart was sure, I loved this, it was my passion to give to people this gift I had discovered while training at my old CrossFit Gym. 

I got some equipment and with the help of some amazing people who believed in me, I started putting everything in place. You can even see the floor not painted. I wish you could see the dust. 

1) Trust Yourself: 

If you have done your research, put down the original investment. It is time to trust in your own abilities and walk forth in the dream for yourself. Others may doubt you and even slander your attempts but trusting yourself is key. There is nothing like standing crouched down in an attempt to lift a heavy weight above overhead in a technical weightlifting movement and a couch shouts out "Trust yourself" its the same here. The results and small things will fall into place. 

I started coaching some youngsters from the school in preparation for their rugby season. I coached so many school kids and classes I just had about 5 outside members in my first 3 or so months. 

2) Start with what you have: 

Being over exposed financially is very draining. You do not need millions of rands worth of equipment to start coaching and helping people. A space and an opportunity is all you need to help someone shed 10 kilograms, get fit and change their lifestyle into one of health. Start small and start simple. 

3) Always put back into the business: 

Each month I make it a goal to add something extra to the gym. A dumbbell or two, some painting, some renovations. The members see this and appreciate you investing in the place they train. People start offering help and advice to make the place they train look good. People look after their equipment. 

Over the course of the year I slowly started adding equipment.

4) Look back once in a while:

To see how far you have come is probably the most rewarding thing ever! Take that time to celebrate the small successes. While aiming for the stars, don't forget to see how far you have travelled from earth. 

5) Be thankful and humble: 

Everything is given by grace and can collapse overnight. The economy could collapse, an earthquake could destroy a building. Always switch of your light of your business when you leave and be thankful for every thing you have. You have not conquered anything, it has only been entrusted to you for a brief time. 

Some of the members training

I have a member who through hard work and diet has lost over 45 kilograms. This week he lost another 5% body fat in one month and is making huge strides towards changing his life. The moments looking into his eyes and seeing him able to reclaim activities in his life, those are the moments you are so grateful to be part of the fitness industry.

Getting to help people get fit and in shape is one of the greatest joys I have. 

Your spine is out of place

Im not a builder but I understand the importance of a correctly built foundation. Scratch that...I understand the importance of a correctly built foundation for the goals your house/building needs to meet.
If you want a half story, broken down, walls crumbling house, any foundation will do. If you want  a skyscraper, a deep solid, well designed structure is a must. its funny though, the most important part of the building is not seen, just as the most important part of out bodies (The spine or backbone) is not seen, just as the most important part of our spiritual life is also not seen.

I like to consider myself a healthy guy not because of the way I look or appear today but rather because of the years and months of hard work I have put in. I read a quote one day that said "the amount of time it takes you to get out of shape, is the amount of time it will take you to get into shape." It was the most heart wrenching quote to a young athlete who had lost 20 kilograms in two month but had layers and layers of skin covering my belly. I just couldn't get rid of it! The truth was that there was no shortcuts. For years and years I had conditioned my body to eat what it liked and be generally unhealthy. I now needed years to fix that period. Its safe to say, I have put in many many years. Years that people will never ever see.

Now the fruits of the labour, thats different. That can be seen. A great pair of legs and arms and strong core, these can all be seen and the world has found a way to package and market this look to make it look easy in a sense. Hard work has been made to look bad, its the enemy, path of least resistance, make a quick buck, get a 6 pack in a week or two, thats the goal. But what if this is the path to a deep feeling of unfulfillment. The definition of unfulfillment goes a little something like this: lack of execution.

Our faith has been packaged in the same way. A quick fix, a quick read a quick verse...life solved, life healed. I believe that there is nothing we can do to fall in and out of grace, nothing separates us from that Love God shows us. Jesus did the work, there was nothing quick and easy about his life. It was 30 years of a foundation based in God, and based in himself. Only after 30 intentional years was he ready for the world to see the fruits. We need to change our minds regarding everything.

One quick last story, and my main story I would say. My friends and gym partners always speak about this craze of going to a chiropractor. To be dead honest I had no interest at all. As I say, I have put in the years of hard work and feel I am the most flexible I have ever been, the strongest and the healthiest. There was nothing wrong with me...except one thing. I have a niggle in my left glute/buttocks after a heavy squat set, snatch set or clean and jerk. The next day it is really tight and I could never figure it out. But I have "learnt to live with the pain"

lets remember this "learn to live with the pain" keep this in mind as we press on. I have suppressed it, learnt to live with that discomfort and written it off as a norm in my health and fitness walk. Yesterday I decided I would visit this mysterious Chiropractor, for reasons I have no idea, i just felt I needed to go. So off I went not knowing if this was the guy you used cups to suck on your muscles, a person who stabbed needles in to you or a person who walked up and down your spine while burning incense. Thankfully it was non of these.

I explained my niggle to the doctor and told him why I was there and told him that I thought I didn't really need to be there but just wanted to try it our for my members at the CrossFit so I could advise if they ever needed to go see him.
"Ok Keegan, lets do a little check...."
He twisted me into some stretches and I felt my glute really being tested in certain positions and then he straightened my legs after the routine and to my horror said...
"So your left leg is about 2cm shorter than your right leg because of an irregular hip rotation. Your hips are out of alignment with your spine and its causing a problem in your mobility in your hips..."

Slowly it started to dawn on me all the exercises I was struggling with but was putting through regardless of the pain. Then we got into the business side of things. He pulled and pushed at me till every bone in my spine and his were manipulated back into alignment! I walked out of there feeling taller, no jokes. I felt weird man, super weird! But I felt good!

Later that day I did a maximum 1 rep max squat at 170kg...easily, got the video to prove it on my instagram! As I lay in bed last night, Jesus whispered into my heart.

"People have learnt to live with a pain they don't need. They are living around something, ignoring the pain and not functioning at their best, not living the abundant life. Their spirits are not in alignment with mine, their hearts are not in alignment with mine, their minds are not in alignment with mine."

I got goosebumps. I lay their, looking at my ceiling and just cried out to God and realized the following and I believe the message and principle has the power to change your life forever, if you let it!

If the fruit of your life is undesirable to you, even despised by you. Perhaps there is a niggle in your life that you need to get in alignment with Jesus. Jesus can show you what that is, he can pull and push you and gently get you back into place! If we can't love people, perhaps its because we can't love ourselves. If we can't forgive, perhaps its because we can't forgive ourselves. If we can't get over our pasts, perhaps its because we don't fully grasp the wonderful work, the full work, the completed work of Jesus on that cross.

We are a completed work! You cannot be more or less complete. The three things we can learn to live by that can transform our lives are simple:
- Intentional living (why do you respond like that? why do you react like that? why do you always do the things you don't want to do...ask God to reveal the "niggle" in your life, its usually as simple as a painful memory.)
- Stop living around your niggle- Face it head on and ask God to put you back in alignment to see his thoughts and his will for you and your life. Often when we see through our minds, pride can cloud and push Jesus out of the picture. Let him back in, practice stopping in a moment, recapping and skiing God what he sees.
- Patience -  Stop crucifying yourself! Jesus has completed that work. Be kind and gentle to yourself, show yourself the same love Jesus shows you daily. You are forgiven, by his works you are free from every chain. Start believing that. Be patient with yourself...commit to learn, this is long term, not a quick fix.

Can you commit to building that foundation in Christ, regardless of your past (that is wiped clean by the way) to commit to being the person your soul truly desires you to be. It will take some lying on Jesus's Chiropractor bed, it will take some awkward moments and movements and it will for sure involve some pain, but the long term effects will change your life forever!

"When your endurance is fully developed you will be strong in character and ready for anything." James 1:4

Guinness World Record attempt...again

Since getting back from the Cairo to Cape Town expedition I have been doing a lot of training with a local CrossFit Box in Witbank. The CrossFit Box (Mammoth) have really adopted me into the family and have agreed to train me for my next trip (which I won't give away yet). What happened next, well I wasn't really prepared for.

CrossFit Mammoth was single handedly responsible for the most pain I have experienced in my life!


Francois who runs the gym met up with me at a local coffee shop before one of my sessions to discuss a possible fund raising event for Operation Smile at Highveld Mall in Witbank. The point was to promote "Health and Fitness Week" at the mall and just shed some light on what CrossFit is about. After throwing some ideas together in the gym we reached a verdict, we would be doing burps. The format: 12 Hours, 10 Athletes, Guinness World Record, Burpee relay. (please click the word Burpee if you have no idea what it is)

As a current holder of a record I agreed to register the record on their behalf as the response time would be much quicker. The date was set for 6 June between 8am and 8pm.
The Thursday before the event however there were some last minute cancelations from athletes who had otter commitments. They were down to 7 names and needed at least one more name...you see were this is going?

The 8 Athletes that set the standard for the Guinness World Record on Saturday 6 June at Highveld Mall, back right, me, a confused looking cyclist thrown into the deep end of CrossFit not to sure if I cried after the picture, but it is possible.

Needless to say, the week before, the sound of "NO REP, NO REP..." was all I could hear between what I defined as a burpee during a session. They believed I could get it right and chucked my name into the list of athletes.

From this, I am happy to say that I was part of the attempt. We raised one surgery for Operation Smile. It was one of the hardest single day events I have ever done, mentally challenging, physically energy sapping and just all round hell. The saying, "Gone to hell and back," really made sense to me yesterday! We completed the 12 hours and managed 13 697 burpees establishing the new baseline for the Guinness World Record!

Just for the record, typing this today, I have rolled over from my bed, wrote as quickly as I can with the only part of my body that can move (my fingers) and will now be rolling back into bed. Have never felt this type of pain, but I would do it all over again, the body is an amazing thing, it is capable of anything, its only the mind that limits it. Over and out...have a lovely end to your Sunday!

Thanks to Francois for putting on a great show!