It’s not a simple question when you’ve been in this industry for 10+ years and have been working on your physical health and fitness for over 25….when you’ve tried your hand at everything from road cycling to power lifting, from Muay Thai to breathwork all in search of improvements in aesthetics, performance and pain management.
It has taken me many years of injuries, setbacks and mistakes to come to the point I’m at today. I’ve also had a lot of highs but if I’m honest they were always clouded by doubt and nagging voices as my body always felt on the edge of breaking down. I’ve had points where I never believed I would be able to move the way I wanted to again. I’ve missed work, events, time with friends and family and many many training days.
I’ve abused substances to numb the pain and hurt from injuries and feeling trapped in a broken body.
On the flip side I’ve also been jacked and tan (which as a Scotsman is my most impressive feat to date!), I’ve cycled multiple centuries and I’ve run 20km+ in under two hours then gone to work for the day. I’ve bench pressed body weight, squatted 1.7x times bodyweight and deadlift 2x bodyweight for reps.
I’ve participated in a powerlifting meeting, competed in cycling races and trained for an IronMan.
I’d just never been able to do all those things at the same time and without pain……up until recently.
When my focus changed from my ego to my movement quality my performance improved.
When I stopped training myself and my clients as though the only way to measure progress was by improving the squat, deadlift and bench press, those lifts improved.
When I stopped accepting stiffness and tightness as a by-product of lifting weights, my movement quality improved and so did my athleticism.
When I stepped away from the exercises and loads that caused me pain and worked on balancing my body I missed less training and made more progress.
So now my philosophy is simple – you should strive to have strength, control and power in ALL ranges and in ALL positions. From there you can build the skills and experience required to do anything with your body.
Additional Beliefs that guide my process:
Traditional “gym workouts” contribute to increased stress and inflammation and are counterproductive to most of our clients’ goals until basics such as sleep, nutrition and walking are addressed.
Your feet are a mess. Their feet are a mess. Start with the feet.
You don’t lose weight in the gym
Most people should stop fasted cardio and start walking regularly to control body composition
The easiest way to lose weight is to reduce BOTH calories consumed and time spent not moving
If you are unable to control your impulses for food/alcohol/drugs/movement then you need to seek help from a trained professional
Barbell Squat, bench press and deadlift are EXERCISES not MOVEMENT PATTERNS
General population clients need more extension training especially in hips and shoulders to counteract their daily lives
Barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells etc should be considered as specialized sporting equipment and are primarily tools for adding load and challenge
Most trainers add load to their clients too early and beyond their capabilities
If you can’t control and move your own bodyweight you have no business adding external load
Train and teach movement patterns and you can learn and perform any exercise with practice
All movements are good for you, some exercises may not be
Movement is like a language – you need to understand and practice the basics then build your vocabulary over months and years
Squatting/deadlifting heavy loads is a strength skill that takes YEARS to develop
