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Home » Outdoors

Outdoors

Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic (Hardcover, Kindle and Audiobook Format)

March 4, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Perseverance Life and Death in the Subarctic by Stephan Kesting 3D

I've got something special for you today: a true adventure story set in the Far North that I underwent a few years ago after a kidney transplant. I ended up learning a LOT about mental toughness, resilience, and strategies for making progress when I was absolutely at the end of my rope, lessons that I think are universally applicable. Please check out the first three chapters of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Books, Outdoors, Perseverance Book, Podcast, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Come and Hang Out at the Perseverance Book Tour

February 25, 2025 by Stephan Kesting

Perseverance Book Tour Dates

In March, 2025, I'm doing some free presentations and meet-and-greets in to promote my new book Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic. "Waitaminute," you might say, "I thought you were a jiu-jitsu guy?  What's with this outdoor adventure rubbish?!?" Well, nominally, this book is about a 1000-mile solo trip I did in the Arctic after a kidney transplant, but there's a lot of overlap in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Books, Outdoors, Perseverance Book, The Mental Aspect

Stephan Kesting Alone in the Arctic

December 1, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting alone in the Arctic

As I can remember, the twin passions of my life have been the martial arts and the outdoors. This last summer I stepped off the mat, flew for 2 hours in a 72-year-old bush plane, and stepped into a canoe to do a 19 day solo trip through polar bear and caribou country in the Canadian Arctic. I'm finally getting around to releasing the videos from that trip. Here's episode 1... The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Canoeing, Outdoors, Stephan Kesting, Video

Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo Trip in the Arctic

August 5, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Lessons Learned in the Arctic

Earlier this summer I completed a beautiful and difficult 19-day solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic. There's a lot of time to think on a trip like this, and here are the 3 big lessons I learned... You can order my new book "Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic" on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo/Chapters, or your local bookstore! Three Big BJJ Lessons Learned on a Solo … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Canoeing, Conditioning, Fitness, Injuries, Outdoors, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

BJJ vs Bears – Lessons Learned on a Solo Expedition in the Arctic

July 21, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting Solo Canoe Trip

I just recently got home from a difficult solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic where I didn’t see anyone for weeks. Bears, storms, icebergs and exhaustion, this adventure had it all. Since I was alone, I had a lot of time to think. A big takeaway was how relevant some aspects of this wilderness stuff were to jiu-jitsu. Here are the three big lessons I learned from that trip, and how they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conditioning, Health & Nutrition, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Canoeing, Conditioning, Injuries, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, Training, Weightlifting

Lessons Learned from Extreme Athletes Like Alex Honnold

March 7, 2024 by Stephan Kesting

Matt Pycroft on The Strenuous Life Podcast

From war-torn Africa to climbing remote peaks in Greenland with Alex Honnold, Matt Pycroft has built a very impressive career working as a journalist and filmmaker. In our conversation he goes into detail how he gradually acquired the skills to achieve his goals and the lessons he's learned working with extreme athletes in inhospitable settings all over the globe. Follow Matt on Instagram … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcasts Tagged With: Matt Pycroft, Outdoors, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

Alone on Everest with Jost Kobusch

November 3, 2023 by Stephan Kesting

Jost Kobusch on Everest

On episode 392 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I'm joined by the amazing Jost Kobusch. Jost is a German mountaineer who spent two seasons on Everest trying to ascend the legendarily difficult West Ridge route and the Hornbein Couloir alone, without oxygen, and in the middle of the brutal Himalayan winter. We covered a TON of interesting topics, including 00:00 Jost Kobusch's plans for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Cardio, Jost Kobusch, Outdoors, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training, Video

Physical Endurance and Mental Toughness with James ‘The Biking Viking’ Benson King

September 28, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Physical Endurance and Mental Toughness with James Benson King

Physical Endurance and Mental Toughness with James Benson King (Video Version) James 'The Biking Viking' Benson King is cycling from Alaska at the very top of North America to Argentina at the very bottom of South America. He's covered thousands of miles, endured injuries, dealt with bears, and gone deep into the reservoirs of his endurance.  In this episode we talk about his mental and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Nutrition, Podcasts Tagged With: Conditioning, James Benson King, Outdoors, Podcast, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training

Extreme Whitewater Canoeing, with Paul Mason

February 17, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

Extreme whitewater canoeing with Paul Mason

Paul Mason is one of Canada's foremost whitewater instructors and the son of Paul Mason, the man who introduced canoeing to the world with the "Path of the Paddle" films and book. I was thrilled to talk to him about  extreme bigwater canoeing, steep creeking, quantifiable repeated practice, the most common whitewater hazards, and how to get better at difficult sports as fast as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Canoeing, Outdoors, Paul Mason, Podcast, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training Modalities

How to Get Started in Outdoor Adventures (Podcast)

February 4, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

How to get started with outdoor adventures

In episode 354 I chat with Mikaela Ferguson who has been introducing people to the outdoors for years with her guiding and with her writing.  This is a subject near and dear to my heart, so we geeked out about how to get started in the outdoors, paddling safety, dealing with bears, gear choice, surviving thunderstorms and more! How to Get Started in Outdoor Adventures, with Mikaela Ferguson … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: Canoeing, Mikaela Ferguson, Outdoors, Podcast, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Exploring the Remote Northern Wilderness with Adam Shoalts

November 9, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Exploring the Remote Northern Wilderness with Adam Shoalts

Canadian explorer Adam Shoalts is back to talk about some of his recent expeditions, including a search for a mythical beast in the wilds of Northern Labrador. We also discussed balancing family and adventure, the early explorers, his approach to selecting gear, food and travelling companions, and much more! Find out more about Adam at adamshoalts.com, follow him on Instagram at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Adam Shoalts, Interviews, Outdoors, Podcast, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

The 2021 Seal River Expedition

August 13, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Seal River 2021: Tadoule Lake to Churchill MB

The two things I have enjoyed doing more than anything else in my life are training martial arts and spending time in the wilderness. A few years ago I undertook a 1,000 mile solo trip in the Canadian Subarctic and Arctic. Although I was way, Way, WAY out of cell phone range for that trip I did manage to upload pictures and stories from the field using a finicky satellite dish.  People really … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Canoeing, Conditioning, Outdoors, Seal River 2021, The Mental Aspect

5 Principles For Evaluating Physical Risk

November 23, 2020 by Stephan Kesting

5 Principles Stephan Kesting Uses for Assessing and Mitigating Risk

I've participated in a quite a few inherently risky activities in my life. Obviously there's the training, sparring and competing in a variety of martial arts including BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai and full contact stickfighting.  But in addition to the martial arts stuff I've also been a firefighter since 1999, hazardous materials responder, a whitewater kayaker and solo expedition canoeist, all of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Competition, Covid 19, Firefighter, Outdoors, Stephan Kesting, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

An Interview with Frank Wolf – Explorer, Adventurer, Author, Filmmaker

November 19, 2020 by Stephan Kesting

A Podcast with Frank Wolf

In episode 295 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk with Frank Wolf who exemplifies endurance, determination and perseverance. His first major expedition 25 years ago was an epic 8,000 kilometer paddle across Canada in a single season and he hasn't slowed down since. Whether it's cycling 2,000 km on the frozen Yukon River in winter or paddling the entire coast of British Columbia he's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Frank Wolf, Interviews, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

An Interview with Adam Shoalts, Canadian Explorer

August 6, 2020 by Stephan Kesting

My interview with Adam Shoalts, the Canadian Explorer

Adam Shoalts, author of "Alone Against the North" and "Beyond the Trees" is a professional adventurer and explorer.  He has completed a 4,000 km solo trip across the Canadian Arctic, explored unknown rivers in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and is a fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.  I was thrilled to have him on my podcast, and I hope you enjoy his tales of adventure as much as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: Adam Shoalts, Interviews, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Video

My Solo 1000 Mile Journey from Missinipe Saskatchewan to Arviat Nunavut, Updates from the Field

October 31, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

I'm started this post before setting out on a 1000 mile journey by canoe, alone across the northern boreal forest and Canadian tundra. 12 days before I started the trip I shot a video answering most the questions I got before the trip (what about bears, what kind of boat, will I be fishing, etc.) and going into detail about my plans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrAU1acJCEM The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Canoeing, Conditioning, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect

How to Achieve Giant Goals

October 4, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

Lining a boat on the 1000 Mile Solo

Big goals take a long time and a lot of work to accomplish, otherwise everyone would do them! The 1000 Mile Solo trip that I pulled off in the summer of 2019 had actually been a looooong time in the making. It was actually in 1992 that I first heard of Nueltin Lake and the Thlewiaza River and thought that someday, somehow, I would like to do that journey. (I came across this route while … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Motivation, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

The Realities of Wilderness Travel

September 17, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

strenuous life podcast

In the Instagram lifestyle you only see people's highlight reels.  That one perfect photo of someone doing something much cooler than you. But this is a heavily edited and curated version of that person's life. What that perfect photo doesn't convey is all the blood, sweat and tears that went into setting up the situation in which that photo could be taken. This topic of reality vs … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

Why Do a Major Wilderness Trip Alone?

September 17, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

solo trip

When I told people I would be going on a canoe expedition in the arctic for 6 to 7 weeks alone (The 1000 Mile Solo), most thought it was a strange thing to be traveling in complete solitude for so long. Here's the thing... as a species we are mostly pack animals, but I also think it's an important part of the human experience to be able to do things on your own once in a while. If you are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

ABT, or “Always Be Thinking” (Podcast Episode 224)

September 17, 2019 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan on Nueltin Lake

When the going gets tough then the tough get thinking! This episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast was recorded by me in a tent on the 1000 Mile Solo. Nominally it's about the difficulties of navigating across some of the biggest and most complex lakes in North America, but the larger concept of not shutting off your mind when things get difficult definitely applies to many different kinds of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Podcasts Tagged With: 1000 Mile Solo, Outdoors, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting

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