Milo and his Bull

The legend of Milo and the bull

Legend has it that Greek wrestling champion and all round hero, Milo of Croton, built up his immense strength by lifting a calf to his shoulders every single day until it was a bull and Milo was an absolute beast.

These days this type of training is called progressive overload.

It's also bears a strong resemblance to "farmer strength". The idea being that a farmer will gradually get immensely strong over decades of daily toil in the fields. He or she never does the same activity to exhaustion as you might in the gym but a little and often delivers serious results.

So how can you apply this to your daily life?

The simplest way and most rewarding way for a young parent lies with their children. As soon as they are born kids are carried, bounced, swung, pressed and thrown. Handily they also get bigger so as they do you can get stronger.

Then you develop "mum" or "dad" strength. This can be the only reason my 5ft 3" mum can move a large wardrobe across a house by herself.

So key take out - playing with your kids can be rewarding on more levels than you might think.

Alternatively ask your local farmer nicely if you can use his livestock.