Squat, deadlift, push, pull and various body bracing activities might be the meat and potatoes of our programs for strength.
BUT, I also add in the spices so to speak. Practicing various forms or jumping, crawling and getting up from the floor adds spice to our movement vocabulary and prepares us for when we might actually need the skill… it’s also great fun to play with these physical movements!
Falls, trips and accidents happen, whether during sport or day to day life. But did you know that many people just don’t know what to do when falls happen – they don’t know how to get up when injured, how to crawl or carry themselves to safety or to get help.
Practicing these simple movements, moving us from standing to the ground and back up not only make us stronger and fitter, but better prepare us for ‘woopsadaisies’.
Amazing 12 will show you how to release your UNLIMITED potential without drugs, gimmicks, and most importantly, without PAIN. Through careful manipulation of the mathematics of training progressions, your training will propel you forward in ways that will amaze you.
We help people struggling to get lasting results …
Most people feel inadequate in their ability to get results in the gym. They believe it’s impossible for anyone to achieve significant natural gains in strength, muscle gain, fat loss, and cardiovascular conditioning simultaneously in ANY period of time– let alone in 12 weeks. And they think that anyone promising to deliver that must be selling snake oil…Wrong.
… Get the superhero’s body you’ve always wanted
The Amazing 12 program has delivered hugely substantial gains in physical strength and cardiovascular performance that are accompanied by aesthetic changes of an incredible magnitude in just 12 weeks. We can do that because we know you already have the strength potential that can take you there, right now without building anything new. There’s a specific way to unleash this, and almost all other programs fight your efforts and shut you down. However, once we show you how, the sky’s the limit.
Amazing 12 programs safely and comfortably perpetuate gains in strength, hypertrophy, fat loss, and cardiovascular conditioning simultaneously, and at levels never before thought possible drug free. We’ve created almost 10,000 jaw-dropping physical transformations with men and women, of all ages, shapes, sizes and genetics, and are regarded as the world’s number 1 body transformation program.
If you want to be successful you’ll need to:
Be willing to invest in yourself
Bring a positive attitude
Be fully committed
Be motivated to achieve your best possible result in 12 weeks
Be willing to learn technical excellence in the exercises involved.
Have the courage to meet ‘the real you’, for potentially the first time, at the end of 12 weeks.
A12 Express at FitStrong Strength & Wellness
The A12 Express is another part of the proud A12 lineage, designed by A12 creator Paul McIlroy, specifically for people on the go! At just 45 minutes per session, including the warm up, 3 times per week, the A12 Express is designed to produce the biggest ‘pound-for-pound’ (or minute-for minute) result imaginable in the most efficient way possible!
The A12 Express, with only 105 minutes of training time per WEEK, and 36 total sessions in 12 weeks, the results are astounding.
What’s involved in The A12?
#1 Optimisation of Exercise Technique – We’ll show you step-by-step the optimal (and required) techniques and their subtleties to master each exercise and minimise risk of injury even as you progress through higher and higher strength levels.
#2 Optimisation of Nutrition – The food you eat is very personal and if you battle through hunger or if your body craves something that’s missing, you will suffer needlessly. And then you’ll stop and eat what you want. The stakes are higher when it comes to fitness programs because the diet versus exercise debate has traditionally accepted the view that “It’s 90% diet.” We’ll teach you how the reality is that it’s actually 90% training when it comes to a body TRANSFORMATION (sounds bogus we know, but look at our results…we’ve proved it and we’ll prove it again and again).
#3 Optimisation of Exercise Programming – Great technique and great nutrition are not enough. For optimal results, you need optimal programming. And since the vast majority of programs out there do not get results (and most fitness coaches fail to deliver results for their clients), something is clearly broken with fitness programming. The main problem is the accepted view of “no pain, no gain.” It’s inspiring talk, but it’s no way to get long term results and is physiologically counter-productive. The reality is “Any pain, no gain.”! To perpetuate progress we shouldn’t leave our comfort zone…we should EXPAND it until it envelopes our previous limits.
When and Where can you join?
The Amazing 12 Brisbane is run in Albany Creek throughout the year in the privacy of the FitStrong Strength & Wellness gym.
The next wave is due to start in early 2022. Due to growing interest, I am building a list. If you would like to express your interest in taking part in the Amazing 12, the first step is to meet up, talk through the details and get added to the 2022 list.
Due to the detailed coaching and support offered, only a small number of people can be taken through each wave.
If you want to see people just like you, how they started and how they transformed, check out the gallery of transformations. You can even compare age groups, over and under 40s ladies and gents.
It might be ages away yet, but we’re already taking bookings for the very successful Amazing 12 ‘2022’ wave.
Maybe treat yourself this Christmas (yikes, I said Christmas) to a place on the Amazing 12 Total Body Transformation program.
If you’re in the Brisbane area, this program is ideal for you. However, even if remote, very soon a solution may be available to still avail of the A12 benefits from home. More on this later.
The A12 guarantees Strength, Fitness, Physique transformation and a solid education. #brisbanegym #brisbane #amazing12 #paulmcilroyamazing12 #totalbodytransformation #transformation #albanycreekgym
The new year sees a lot of people try to jump into their ‘new me’ with strength training or running etc, when their body actually needs some mobility first-off. These are awesome goals, ones that I stand by and help my clients develop; but, if you’ve done no exercise over the past month, 6 months…
No one appreciates the values of strength until weakness becomes a reality of life. A straight-up statement but it’s based on the realities I see whenever someone decides to start training. I’ll hear some of the following… and you can fill in the blanks with any number of verbs. ‘I struggle with ____ing’. ‘I can’t…
For a Strong Life Over 50 Walk into any gym and you’ll see a multitude of ‘stuff’ happening. Stuff is an apt description! Some of it might look awesome, inspiring, frightening or downright weird! Is any or all of it a requirement for optimal or maximal physical health? Do you really need to do dozens…
Hanging or Brachiation offers many health, strength and conditioning benefits.
Shoulder, elbow, wrist and spine health has been proven to benefit from supported or full weight hanging. Grip strength will vastly improve as will hand conditioning. If you’ve not quite mastered pull ups, hanging is a great starting point.
Hanging whether supported or full, can be carried out both active (with muscle activation) or passive (fully relaxed).
How much? It would be great if everyone added a minute of hanging every day and build up the accumulation of daily hang-time to multiple minutes in the ideal scenario. But, start small and add a few seconds here and there.
How resistance training will strengthen your bones and slow down osteopenia Wish I had a more interesting title for this post, but I want to be clear, so here we go! Our bones aren’t just our scaffolding, and we don’t often think about their well-being as we go about our day-to-days. Bones are living tissue…
It can happen in an instant. A literal bulb flashes above you like an internet meme; an inspirational notion to do something urgently, to change yourself, the direction you’re going or stop something toxic you’ve let into your life. It happened to a client of mine and thankfully I had the solution to the problem…
As a personal trainer I have always put my clients needs ahead of mine and found it easy to hide my own wobbly waist under baggy T-shirts and singlets. Deep down though, I felt guilty for not putting my best, more inspiring self forward to lead by example to my clients.
My business ‘had’ mostly focused on helping people gain strength and movement skills, like lifting heavy stuff, headstands and joint health. All great activities, but I had avoided going down the weight loss path for many reasons. We’re not a judgemental gym. We celebrate good food, whiskey and wine as well as movement.
However, 2021 showed me that there are a growing number of people who gained some Covid kilos! It was time to face the proverbial elephant in the room – no, not me! It was time to start reaching out to offer some new assistance.
In early winter – July 2021- I decided to sign up and dive into some very deep study with the worlds most successful transformation program The Amazing 12.
The Amazing 12 – click for more transformations
The A12 training mantra follows a similar model to my own PT business in that it is not a beat-down program. The A12 program supports reasonable, repeatable efforts that in fact, does not stress the body to change, but encourages the body to progress by expanding the bodies comfort zone.
It’s such a well designed program that people up to 70 years of age have graduated and many other people graduate and then restart another wave again. It’s so reasonable and effective that participants can follow it on a continual basis! Not many, if any transformation programs can claim that.
Immediately after successfully certifying I undertook the 12 week program myself.
Our photographer took the before photos which was a reality check! I had appeared to embrace the dad bod a bit too much.
My job over 12 weeks was to follow the training and nutrition program as best I could to re-define the ‘dad bod’.
Quickly it became apparent that the program was even more special than the study made it out to be. The Amazing 12 founder, Paul McIlroy, is a genius with training program mathematics and this was very clear as every session smoothly progressed without ever feeling stressed or under pressure. The nutrition plan too was very simple to follow. It’s what I call a non-diet as it focuses on building a healthier, well rounded relationship with natural foods. Supplements were not even needed.
The A12 is not just about the six pack. The program really does help trainees build a healthier relationship with exercise techniques, appropriate intensities, training consistency and of course, not overcomplicating nutrition. Additionally, the A12 is a performance program. Whilst my own 5rep max Squat increased to a 30 rep ‘sub-max’, my Bench Press 10 rep max increased by 10kg even though I never worked that hard. My wife, also a graduate, increased her 10rm Bench Press by 75%!!! She also added 55% to her 5 rep max Squat… but did it for 30 reps haha – my wife is a legend. But, this all proves the A12 adds real strength as well as body fat loss.
Having just graduated the program last week, I am happy to share my Before and After photos as I am very proud of my accomplishment. I never thought I could lose 11kg or get a hint of a six-pack, but here’s the evidence. By the way, I’m not that guy who normally whips his shirt off in public, so my sharing these photos is justice to my pride in accomplishing graduation as well as being an Amazing 12 Instructor.
I am now working with a small group of people in Brisbane who are on track to achieve similar awesome results just in time for Christmas. Then it will be time again to launch another 12-week wave for the successful applicants.
APPLICATIONS
If you are keen to transform your physique, strength and fitness, head over to Amazing 12 Brisbane for more information and to book a chat. Maybe you want to redefine the dad bod too… or mom bod.
The direction of virtual / online training is evolving at FiStrong with specific directions for the key areas I coach.
Generally the online membership has provided programs in a rotating periodisation. From a well rounded healthy program to a hypertrophy based program to a strength based program. The membership site also includes many random 10 minute works outs but honestly, I see no value in these. I gave into peer pressure to provide random acts of exercise. Haha
The rotating program periodisation works great in the gym under my supervision but I acknowledge that’s not the way many online customers want to train.
Moving onwards, I will be providing training programs, or products in three categories.
Health and movement focused.
Strength focused.
Fat loss focused.
These will be thorough programs with updates as and when I see the need to update any methods or refinement.
These will be one time only purchases rather than a subscription.
The current online membership content will continue to be available for a one time only purchase. The content of this membership amounts to over 5 years on continual training at this point. That’s quite a volume of structured programming and still very valuable, but it’s not the direction I want to continue with.
To access the library of online membership programs, it can be found under ‘services’ tab on the main website menu. Click the button below to be directed to this site.
The new specialised programs will be made available in the coming months. In the mean-time, if you would like some personal guidance in your training, please do get in touch.
Every single one of us has the capacity to change, to transform, to lose body fat and reshape our physique, strength and fitness. But why do so many people struggle to get the results despite working SO hard in the gym?
The Amazing 12 Program.
Unlike traditional fitness programs that do not deliver transformative physique and performance change (and then blame you or your genetics when they don’t), the Amazing 12 system optimises exercise techniques, the programming and nutrition, using a groundbreaking artificial intelligence version of the program creator Paul McIlroy. This is how certified trainers around the world deliver outstanding results for clients as if Paul himself was running the sessions!
The Old Way – Train to Failure
Most Transformation Programs:
❌No pain, no gain mentality – Leads to overtraining, injuries, and starting over.
❌ Training to failure – Tells your central nervous system that you’re a threat to yourself.
❌ Lifting to your max too often – This only finds limits, it doesn’t raise them.
❌ Success is directly proportional to effort – It’s not!
❌ You lack the will to succeed – You can’t use ‘will’ to change wrong to right.
❌ You’re not taking the right supplements – Success doesn’t come in a tub or a tablet.
❌ Push your limits until you break through them – You end up breaking yourself.
Our Way – Expand Your Comfort Zone
The Amazing 12 Program:
✅ Any pain = no gain – There is a direct correlation between time spent training in comfort and long term productivity.
✅ Train Sub-maximally – Expand your comfort zone and your max will take care of itself.
✅ Success is directly proportional to numeric progress – not the discomfort of a single workout.
✅ Unlock your amazing strength – It’s already there, you’re not building anything new.
✅ No need to EVER peak – Expand your comfort zone until it swallows your previous limits.
How do we build and maintain amazing transformations?
The Three key Optimisations
#1 Optimisation of Exercise Technique
You cannot sustain progress if your training injures you. Injuries will slow you down, impair your recovery or require time off. As a result you lose what you’ve gained, training momentum and motivation – hardly a recipe for success.
If you continue to still make the same technical errors (which are often extremely subtle), you just get hurt again. The cycle continues.
Rapid gains present with consistent safety, not off-technique, intensity and injury.
Strength and safety should be synonymous and optimal exercise technique should increase both strength and safety simultaneously.
As you progress, your technique must get refined to maximise strength acquisition – and that requires mastery of numerous overlooked subtleties.
We’ll show you step-by-step the optimal (and required) techniques and their subtleties to master each exercise and minimise risk of injury even as you progress through higher and higher strength levels.
#2 Optimisation of Nutrition
You also cannot progress if you find yourself in a battle with yourself (your inner superhero). The food you eat is very personal and if you battle through hunger or if your body craves something that’s missing, you will suffer needlessly. And then you’ll stop and eat what you want.
The stakes are higher when it comes to fitness programs because the diet versus exercise debate has traditionally accepted the view that “It’s 90% diet.” You’ll have to accept (often painful) limits or else you won’t progress.
But this is just the nutritional program equivalent of saying “No pain, no gain.”
We’ll teach you how the reality is this: “It’s 90% training.” At least when we are talking about a body TRANSFORMATION (more about this later).
Nutrition is crucial, BUT…it doesn’t have to be a battle! (In fact, it’s important that it’s not. The last thing you want is your central nervous system deciding you’re a threat and start to push back physiologically.)
We’ll show you how to optimise nutrition to avoid a battle and to get the transformations needed
#3 Exercise Programming
Great technique and great nutrition are not enough. For optimal results, you need optimal programming. And since the vast majority of people do not get results (and most fitness coaches fail to deliver results for their clients), something is clearly broken with fitness programming.
The problem is too many people think in terms of sets, reps, days … but 3×10, 6×6, 5×5, 8×8, 10×10, anything x anything, does not constitute effective strength / size programming.
And this problem is magnified because these sets and reps are geared to the accepted view of “no pain, no gain.” Breaking through your pain sounds great because we like the idea of pushing our limits and taking ourselves absolutely to the edge. It’s inspiring talk, but it’s no way to get long term results and is physiologically counter-productive.
The reality is “Any pain, no gain.”
Don’t speak the language of pop culture, speak the language your central nervous system understands. You have to discreetly hack the central nervous system to allow you to EXPAND the boundaries of your comfort zone. Only your inner superhero can do that and you have to know how it reasons to convince it. Once you do, you will perpetuate progress and your comfort zone will envelop your previous limits and make you stronger while transforming your physique.
If any or all of this strikes a chord with you, makes the hairs stand up, gets you excited and sets off your spidey senses, get in touch to see about signing up to the next wave of the Amazing 12 Brisbane.
A successful transformation program is only partly about Weight Loss
In the health and fitness industry, the area of TRANSFORMATIONS can refer to many outcomes. Mostly though, people will associate a ‘transformation’ program as exclusively a ‘weight loss’ program.
It’s a commonly held notion also that losing weight alone will result in satisfaction and a ‘happy’ outcome!
But, does just losing weight really equal happiness, satisfaction, complete wellness or a sense of purpose?
How about strength, fitness and physical confidence – will losing weight alone make you feel stronger, fitter and more competent?
Are these even factors that are considered part of the outcome of most weight loss programs?
Being totally honest, almost anyone can lose weight by not exercising and starving themselves or at best, following a well balanced, healthier eating lifestyle. I’m not discounting weight loss by any kind of process, as it can still be challenging and rewarding. If you really want to go under the knife – that is your choice!
However, and here is my professional point of view; losing weight to look leaner is only ONE part of a greater package of what a transformation program can be.
Losing unwanted body fat, feeling great, moving better, feeling strong and more capable and resilient against all that life can throw at you – I believe these are the ingredients of a real transformation. But, just losing weight from calorie restriction is not going to result in that. You can’t diet yourself strong.
In a recent study, people were assessed following popular intermittent fasting protocols. I do like intermittent fasting, but I also like to exercise. These people fasted only. No exercise. While both lost fat weight, both lost muscle tissue. What’s the problem? Muscle is the engine that continues to burn calories. If we lose muscle, we lose the capacity to continue to burn calories, therefor requiring us to consume fewer calories – or food. Who wants that? Food is great.
A successful transformation program will include healthy, sustainable eating habits – and real food – along with a well designed exercise program that addresses aerobic fitness and strength, safely.
Balanced nutrition, exercise and planning = successful transformation
Being fitter, stronger, happier in our skin is being in a position of celebrating our lives, our lifestyles and looking forward to tomorrow – who really wouldn’t want that?
Summing it up:
Performance is not something often considered when looking for or engaging in a transformation program, but maybe if you consider the points I raised above, maybe you do want to move better, stronger and feel better in your own skin.
If you’re nodding your head and thinking ‘Yes, I want to be fitter, stronger and happier with my physique’, let’s talk.
Below are examples of people just like you and me who dedicated 12 Amazing weeks to transforming their lifestyle, physique, strength and fitness.
The Amazing 12 Brisbane
Beyond the six-pack, Nicci progressed from doing machine pull downs to performing pull ups with a 32kg kettlebell hanging off her waist along with a very strong personal best deadlift of 140kg! This kind of strength improvement is not uncommon for Amazing 12 graduates.
At FitStrong we practice the skills of strength and mobility aka moving strong and well.
Oftentimes however, outsiders have a mixed thought about what ‘practicing strength’ means.
Is it bodybuilding, is lifting to the extreme to boast our achievements at the end of the week, is it like the stuff you see cross fit doing – or is it something else?
Let me briefly define how I would categorise the key three areas of strength training that we practice and who these forms are generally for.
Restorative strength
This is what I recommend to people who feel weaker through lack of activity, busy lives and work etc. This could be described as rebuilding the strength we know we should have. The ability to do gardening all morning without feeling worn out. The ability to play with our kids, or grand children if we’re at that stage. The ability to be able to get down to the floor and back up without difficulty.
Restorative strength forms the basis of my over 55s classes that run two mornings a week and hopefully a new class midweek (early evening).
This service is also available on a one-to-one basis and is covered in some of my current shared small group sessions.
Restoring our natural strength and abilities is well in truly covered in customised MovNat programs.
Progressive strength
For sports, special endeavours and explorations. When we have established a good level of strength and want to take it further.
This a service I provide on a one-to-one basis owing to the specialised nature of the programming.
This often occurs in small group training when it’s a common goal.
Transformation strength
Strength is a wonderful tool, an attribute every human was born to possess. Strength can be used to transform someone physically, to lose unwanted body fat, increase fitness and flexibility, increase self esteem and learn valuable lifestyle habits.
Our Amazing 12 program is the service I run throughout the year in waves to help people meet the person they know they are. I know that sounds cheesy and full of hype – but it truely is an ‘awesome’ program with fantastic outcomes.
If you are curious to learn more about strength training for you, why not get in touch?
I’ve been a health and fitness professional since 1997.
In that time I’ve ventured from regular run-of-the-mill gym activities like group exercise, circuit training and centre management. I new that wasn’t what I was looking for or destined for.
Moving to Australia opened doors to explore other areas, especially areas operated in by the most successful trainers. Not financially, but in terms of results, health and physical gains.
Kettlebells and the teachings of Pavel Tsatsouline provided underpinning principles of strength. OrIginal Strength taught how movement can be restored. MovNat inspired us to contextualise our training to reflect on life’s needs.
Whilst I know I can help people feel great with movement and strength, one missing link always bugged me though.
Feeling good feels good, and moving better is a part of that. But I have to recognise that many people want to feel better about how they perform as well as how they ‘feel in their own skin and clothes’, and this includes what they see in the mirror. Some people will tell me they don’t see who they really are.
Enter the Mentor from Centaur
For years I’ve admired my fellow Irishman Paul McIlroy who runs an old-school gym called Centaur – the centre for all things strength and conditioning, creating super strong individuals – and his transformation program, The Amazing 12.
Two months ago I met with his program director via zoom and got the ball rolling to become a certified Amazing 12 coach. After a deep study block of 3 weeks (80 hours) I am now certified to operate and coach the Amazing 12 here in Brisbane. The first for our city and state and only the 3rd to become certified in Australia!
The Amazing 12 offers unprecedented body transformations in a surprisingly short period of time (12 weeks) every time, no matter your age, condition, or genetics. There are no special dietary purchases, required – just simple wholesome nutrition. This is not a bootcamp, or a train ‘till you drop program – it’s just perfectly individualised programming with a simple template. It can be called simple now, but it’s taken 15 years of fine tuning and the programming genius of Paul. This is not solely a weight loss program, it’s a physical strength, fitness and mindset transformation program.
The lives of 10000+ people have been impacted by their participation in the Amazing 12.
Just check out the transformation gallery from other certified Amazing Trainers around the globe.
In case you don’t want to click that link, here are just four examples of two ladies and two gents.
I am proud to announce that The Amazing 12 Brisbane will be a new offering from FitStrong in only a matter of weeks, both as a small group program and a one-to-one service.
I totally understand that this commitment might not be for everyone, but you the reader, keep in mind anyone you know who might fit the bill – please forward this for their consideration.
For more information, please head over to the dedicated Amazing 12 Brisbane page.
