It’s been very quiet on the blog post sharing front over the past few months and for a very good reason.
We’ve been planning our relocation to Ireland. Yes, we’re moving from sunny Brisbane to the cheery city of Limerick in the south of Ireland. So much planning and organising behind closed doors until now, when I tell you all about this development.
I will be continuing to share and teach about moving strong. I will get back to releasing new online programs with an app based platform and I will be rebranding as MoveStrong when I start to work in the awesome TBB in Limerick.
In particular I will be focusing on helping people with their personal transformation with my Amazing 12 Limerick. In addition I will be reaching out the older population to create a new wave of Super Seniors much like I have here in Brisbane.
If you want to reach out and talk more, please do get back to me.
The incredibly successful total body transformation program, the Amazing 12, creates outstanding results. This is because it has a system that optimises exercise selection, progressive programming and nutrition. These three key areas of optimisation are tied together by focusing on five core components I will get into below.
Stay in the ‘no threat’ zone
Whilst most programs focus on ‘going to the max’ and muscular failure, this only leads to gradual central nervous system stress and eventual plateau or worse still, injury and / or emotional burn out. With the A12 system, you do not “go to the max” and get shut down by your own central nervous system (CNS). Instead, you use a level of effort that is comfortable for your body to stay in the ‘no threat’ zone.
Learn to communicate to your Central Nervous System
Your central nervous system (CNS) overseas and governs your bodies reaction to physical stress. If your training entails maximum efforts there will come a time when the stress is deemed excessive and the CNS will shut you down. A cramp, extreme fatigue or injury are all ways the body will react to repetitive high physical stress in order to stop you. It is a self defence method albeit an unpleasant surprise when you least want to experience it.
This type of traditional and all too common training is based on falsehoods. Maximum efforts does not always equal beneficial results. A younger, enthusiastic beginner exerciser may progress for a few months with this method, but thereafter, it is an incredibly risky behaviour to continue.
The Amazing 12 program ‘speaks to the CNS’ and uses the language of pain and comfort, threat and safety, effort and risk. We make sure the CNS always feels safe about your actions by remaining in your comfort zone, thus perpetuating the fastest and safest possible progress to take place.
Release your inner superpowers
Every single one of us has untapped strength and fitness within us.
Our CNS is the reason why we’ve all heard tales of spontaneous feats of superhuman strength. What is happening during these feats is your central nervous system is allowing the use of more motor units than it would under normal circumstances.
Normally, your CNS prohibits this because if it ever allowed you access to 100% strength, your muscles would actually break your bones. We’re all incredibly strong and the central nervous system has a trip switch that controls this access.
The A12 system never triggers this threat response in the first place, allowing fast and profound gains.
Mathematically hack the superhero system
With the A12 training system, you’ll begin training in a place of extreme comfort. Then we skilfully expand what is comfortable without ever going to a peak, without ever triggering a threat response from your CNS.
The A12s Ai manipulates the maths behind the program’s progression so that the weights used increase at a pace proportionate to your progress.
By using mathematical manipulation, your CNS consistently allows your comfort zone to expand, effortlessly pushing the peaks of strength and performance higher and higher.
Expand your comfort zone until it envelops your limits
Possibly the biggest misconception in physical training is that in order to make any significant progress in any given time period (let alone just 12 weeks) we must first ‘leave our comfort zone’. The irony is, once you fully understand how the body BEST makes progress, you quickly realise that the polar opposite is actually true. There exists a direct correlation between time spent training in relative comfort and the ultimate long term productivity of the program.
The magnitude of the gains you make are directly proportional to how well you can manipulate the maths to perpetuate numeric progress, NOT how difficult the training is.
Attention to detail and applying multiple 1 percenters to the Amazing 12 program takes it above and beyond the abilities of other transformation programs. I am very blessed to able to coach this program.
To discuss how to become an A12 candidate in Limerick in 2023 this, hit the button.
At MoveStrong 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 crossfit 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 50s training plans. Sensible, safe, progressive and cheerful.
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.
The Amazing 12 also fits nicely in here. Check it out folks …
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 Limerick 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 truly is an ‘awesome’ program with fantastic outcomes.
If you are curious to learn more about strength training for you, why not get in touch?
Much of the time people exercise to accomplish an outcome, a result or even just for the sake of it, because it’s healthy, to burn energy, calories or time!
Whilst just working-out is fine, wouldn’t it be awesome if our exercise endeavours actually prepared us for the physical needs of an active life?
Having bigger muscles might seem like an ideal, but really, when you’re getting old, no one will care how much you bench pressed, how big your guns were or how many insta-likes you had. “What’s instagram”? They’ll ask!
What really matters is how well you will function.
Can you balance, carry heavy ‘stuff’, climb, step up, crawl, run and jump? Can you get to the ground and back up effortlessly?
Strength training with machines, bars and dumbbells and kettlebells are great tools. They will build specific strengths, but they don’t always carry over to the real world apart from building general resiliency. The human skills to move and age with strength, power, purpose and fitness is something that takes a different form in the gym – if indeed a gym is even needed.
At MoveStrong we practice all the usual strength exercises from squatting, deadlifting, pushes and pulls etc but we back these up with heaps of practice of natural movement, real world strength and fitness skills that will support you during the weekend gardening spree, house renovations, that big weekend hike and much more over the coming years.
If you’d like to chat about this and how it fits your lifestyle – let’s catch up over a coffee, mug of tea or a glass of wine, seriously.
I can design you and your family a routine I can take you through at the gym, or make you a follow-along at home routine, with any variety of things you may have lying around. Traditional gym equipment is not a requirement!
Start to think about moving well, moving often and being useful to your future self.
If you’ve ever had a sore, stiff, twitchy or achey back, you’ll recall that you would do anything to get rid of it.
Whilst a couple of pills or a massage might help in the short term, they do nothing to address the underlying reason the back get annoyed in the first place.
In the majority of cases a causal factor is poor strength and mobility throughout the body. The inability to stabilise the spine in awkward position with poorly conditioning core aka torso muscles may result in tweaks and strains and the inability to place the body into awkward positions due to over tight muscles will also lead to increased risk of strains and pulls.
Without going into a lengthy post, I want to share something that helps most people most of the time to strengthen their torsos and in particular, spinal stability.
One movement series we carry out daily is the Birddog. So named due to fact you look like a hunting dog pointing at its quarry.
The Birddog consists of kneeling on hands, knees and feet (initially) and extending a leg and opposite arm whilst maintaining posture and balance.
The progressions are simple:
Hold the limb extended position for a number of seconds.
Extend slowly throughout the set.
Add in flexion of the torso to bring a knee and opposite hand, forearm or elbow into contact.
Keep the feet off the floor at all times.
Keep the knees off the floor at all times whilst performing the Birddog on the foot and hand.
The videos below demonstrate these and really, they can be quiet challenging even to those who consider themselves ‘barbell’ strong.
The basics are always mastered before progressing to the next level.
A wise man once told me how motion is lotion. How true these words ring with me.
Let me explain.
I’m getting older and I seem to be training greater percentages of people in my age demographic. Yes, I still train people much younger and older than me who present themselves with their own physical strengths, limitations and goals but, what I see in everyone in their late 30s to 50s is really quite specific.
The pain points that resonate are both actual pain points as well as intrinsic pain points and drivers. The problems facing each of us include:
Posture related issues from years of working behind a desk
Old sports injuries or other acquired injuries and strains
Stress from work and modern life
Lack of exercise full-stop
These are the problems or burdens of course, the pain points are deeper and emotional. Lets look at the above list to develop the pain points you may see reflected in yourself.
Posture issues = pain, stiffness, sore heads, poor sleep. These things are what you want to feel less of and experience more of the opposite.
Old injuries = almost as above but if you exercise or still desire to participate in your sport of choice, you might want a way to still exercise, play sport but without the old injuries resurrecting.
Stress = relationship strain, poor work performance, no balance or escape. You simply want away from those stressful environments to work on activities that are not stressful. Play, fun, uplifting physical activities have been shown time and time again to help cope with stress.
Lack of exercise = feeling weak, unfit, old, achy, tired all the time, unable to cope with stress and pretty much most of the above! If a lack of exercise is acknowledged it can be daunting and confusing deciding how to start an exercise plan.
For all these issues, the salutogenic factor is the lotion of motion.
Motion is the purest and simplest remedy to many physical and emotional strifes.
Old Trainer!
As a trainer, getting older, with a list of old injuries from sports, early gym endeavours (yep, I made a fair few mistakes in the early years and I paid for those experiences) I can empathise with my peers. Now, 5 years ago I would be advocating all the big barbell lifts. Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, Military Press and flipping big tyres but you know what, as fun as they are, they just a few things we can do, should do and are designed by nature to do.
Moving well should be the first priority, long before a barbell should be hoisted up for action. If we can’t move ourselves through a variety of positions, then should we really be attempting to move a heavy external load? If you feel you can answer that with an honest rational, then please do.
We owe it our bodies to best prepare it for life and all nature has planned for us in the future. How do we do that then? By just playing with movement.
I’m not saying to drop the kettlebell or barbell exercise, don’t get me wrong, I love my kettlebell training but, I probably wouldn’t be able to do exercise with kettlebells or bars if it wasn’t for the other ‘stuff’ that I play with.
I’ve always loved calisthenic movements, even though I play mostly with the simplest, rudimentary forms of them but, they keep me lubricated, greased and ready for doing the heavy stuff.
In the past couple of years I’ve been introducing more body movement activities, from the systemised Original Strength to other movements, and less heavy activities especially for my age demographics. Mostly, the pain points get addressed, actual pain is reduced, the sense of wellness increases and one great testimony I receive is …
I leave the gym feeling better than when I came in!
That right there, is what I want to help more people with. But, to start with, I need to get more people on board with doing more body weight exercise.
The problem most exercisers have with unloaded body weight exercise is that they see it as something too easy, something real beginners do cause they don’t have weights equipment to do trix with yet!
And yes, Trix are for kids, but kids mostly still move and play…..AND SO this brings me to close this rather lengthy post.
This week I’ve introduced a Strength Mobility Challenge to FitStrong.
No weights, no kettlebells, just three body weight movements most people can do.
You are more than welcome to give it a try and post your results below. I’ll be running open events for FitStrongers to give it a go too and of course, I shall undertake the challenge very soon myself.
