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 or this time last year, there’s a smarter and ultimately a safer starting point.
If you’re feeling stiff, unfit and struggle with every day tasks, adding more intensity right off the bat will usually just compound your problems and end your ‘new me’ goals.
Mobility training will ready your body, your joints, improve your posture, and actually make your fitness and strength training safer and more realistic.
Mobility training isn’t just stretching as many believe. It’s also not complicated and doesn’t require straps, bands, rollers and expensive gear. Mobility training helps you to regain the movement, control and articulation that your adult joints and muscles are meant to have.
I have a few open time in my schedule so let’s hit the reset button this new year and get you ready for your 2026 goals.
Reply RESET and let me help you bulletproof your body and your goals.
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 of movements to benefit?
I’m a long term practitioner of essentialism, verging on minimalism even. In fact, the most successful program I run is the Amazing 12 transformation program that utilises just five strength movements to create outstanding physique and strength development.
Now, as for the top, essential movements for a healthy, strong and fit life over 50, let’s learn about five essential movements for optimal health and strength.
In terms of adding to our lives productively, we should endeavour to practice movements that will consider our physical design as well as movements that will make us more resilient for our future lives.
What’s this mean? Our design dictates that we should physically push, pull, lift things up from the ground and bend our oftentimes creaky knees to squat down. The 5th I’ll add here will most likely result in a raised eyebrow or two… …Getting down to the ground and learn to move around down there aka ‘ground based locomotion‘.
This brief list of movements might sound like a physical day in the garden. You lift up bags of compost, dig a few holes, plant some new perennials, wrestle the mower around and trim a few of the neighbours branches overhanging your property.
This might also sound like a potential day in the future looking after the grand children (if you’re not there already). Bending over picking up toys or little Liam and Olivia, pushing buggies around the shops, crawling around the floor playing games or heavens knows what haha. The grandparent thing is not quite on our schedule yet, but the Daughter is just starting university, so new chapters are on the horizon for all of us, you included.
To be more tolerant, physically for all the exhausting parts of life, requires practice and preparation. And that’s what an essentialist gym program is perfect for.
Apart from getting physically prepared for life now and the future, strength training also adds to our health. Increased bone density, stronger joints, lowered blood pressure, improved heart health, lowered LDL, lowered body fat, lowers blood sugars, reduced risk of diabetes, decreased risks of developing cancers, decreased risk of developing cognitive decline and associated disorders. Any kind of google search on ‘disease reduction and strength training’ will pop up numerous supportive studies.
Okay okay, I will now get to the good stuff; the exercises I like to promote.
What I’ll do below is briefly introduce the key movements and then go a bit deeper with some video demos. Keep in mind that each key movement is part of a family. Pushing for example includes multiple forms. Squatting too may include a wide variety of options. There is always a solution for every body regardless of limitations or experience.
ONE
Lift stuff up from the floor. Also known as deadlifting or hip hinging, this movement is probably the most common activity of a physical nature that we undertake frequently. For my over 50 trainees, I like to build this in with loaded carrying. This bonus movement is just an add-on to lifting a weight up. Lift and carry for a number of steps and put the weight down.
TWO
Pushing is a vital movement that recruits our upper torso muscles like the chest, shoulders and arms. Done correctly (read safely) any pushing movement should involve the whole body or as many muscles as possible.
THREE
Pulling movements are the act of pulling something towards us from above or from in front of us (or any angle between these). Yet again, done correctly a pulling move will strengthen the upper back and arms but will utilise as many muscles of the body as possible.
FOUR
Squatting is yet another high frequency movement we all perform daily. From sitting down on anything and getting back up to perhaps squatting down to tie your shoelaces unless you’re a cool kid with slip-ons of course; is all part of the squat family.
FIVE
Ground based locomotion is perhaps one the most essential practices an over 50 exerciser should perform. If you came to me and said, “hey Jamie, I’ve only got 15 mins a day to do some strength training, what should I do?” I’d give ground based locomotion as my preference to practice. Number five on this list actually includes two key parts. The getting down act and then the ‘moving around whilst you’re down there’ part. Oh, and then you have to get back up too. Ground based movements include a massive family of activities, but here’s just one quick post I made a while ago. READ ON
Let’s summarise
Push, pull, squat, lift stuff and get down to the ground can be just as simple as that.
Pick a movement that fits each description and practice the skills of that movement. You don’t need to train each move to exhaustion in fact that is something quite detrimental to good strength training practice. Best programming entails practicing each movement until your effort may be defined as moderate or 70% of your maximum ability or maybe until you feel you could only perform a few more repetitions safely.
If you’re local to me, I’d be more than happy to build a program for you. I meet people in Limerick and help formulate a routine to practice and this can an ongoing arrangement or an infrequent check up, accountability arrangement.
Don’t think too long about it though, spots are filling up.
Let’s get straight to point for all you over 40s and 50s who want and need to get healthier and stronger now.
When you’re in your 40s and 50s, there really is no time to waste. Random workouts, thrashing it out in group exercise classes, following a ‘killer online program’ that the sexy celebs follow… is all just too general and not for you if you want real results.
By the time you’re in your 50 plus, you really are the very special version of yourself. That’s not necessarily the good kind of special though. You’ll have your own habits like maybe late nights, comfort snack foods, too much alcohol, injury history and a bad case of the ‘used to’. The “I used to squat 200kg and live on pizza and keep my body fat at 15%”!
Loaded carries
I turned 50 a couple of years ago and on reflection, I’ve spent 30 years as an athlete and a trainer of others and I have consistently tried to figure out what matters in training and especially for those who are stuck in ‘not enough time to train’ mindset.
I’ve tried the gadgets and different gym equipment, and whilst some are legitimately better than others, they pale in comparison to the important overarching principles. I have in fact within the past lot of years become a principle based trainer rather than a barbell, or a kettlebell or a CrossFit based trainer.
Principles
Getting healthy, stronger, fitter in our 50s plus comes down to practicing the skills in the 5 keys areas below.
The big 5 keys:
Sleep 7-9 hours a night
Aerobic fitness
Real life strength
Body composition
Flexibility and mobility
For long term results we really need to focus on these 5 key areas and plan our lifestyle and exercise with that in mind. Short term gratification needs to step aside in favour or longer term achievements.
“You’re an adult, eat like one”. I refer to this line from coach Dan John I heard him discuss in a podcast a few years ago. It rings true for most adults who commiserate, celebrate or generally cushion their emotions with food, and not always great food.
Results and a good plan go hand-in-hand. If you truly want to live a healthier, strong, fitter life, a life where you feel capable of joining in any activity without risk of embarrassing or injuring yourself; we start with a progressive plan. Now don’t be thinking this will result in gut wrenching pain. Nope, the goal is to stretch your comfort zone to build strength and fitness.
Sleep is paramount to recovery and adaption to the physical demands of exercise and life. Crappy food and alcohol will disrupt this process. We start with little steps towards improving nutrition and cutting back on the booze to allow for better sleep and hence recovery.
A healthy aerobic system starts with the simple task of just getting your heart rate up to a comfortable rate for a few hours week. The specifics depends on you, but to be honest, frequent brisk walks are that most people need.
I talk of real life strength. You are most likely not a powerlifter or bodybuilder right now, so training maximal strength is superfluous but building up a wide base of relative strength will logically improve your maximal strength, for when you need it. A plan using your body for strength movements that prepare you for real life physicalities is most appropriate. Think pushing and pulling movements, lifting and carrying, learning to brace your torso – these category of moves work best rather than isolated muscle exercises on machines.
Progressive training can lead to great strengths, even as we age.
Strength movements should stay pertinent to safely building healthy strength that will benefit your life moving forward.
Body composition and fat loss goes back to eating like an adult. Whilst we may have our favourite dishes, sweets and delights, we aught to practice mindful eating and of course portion sizes. Unprocessed meats and carbohydrates, unlimited vegetables and suitable flavourings like sauces, herbs and spices are on the cards along.
No one should have to torturously weigh food, or count calories. You can, but there is a better use of your time when time is limited.
I have tried and practiced many of the movement systems taught in the fitness industry over the past 18 years or so (since mobility started to become a focal point). Whilst I enjoyed them, many have not ticked the boxes of being a reasonable practice for everyday people. These days I prefer a flexibility and movement practice that anyone can join in and complete without feeling like a fool.
Mobility training keeps joints healthy and ‘lubricated’
If a routine is reasonable, it will more than likely be practiced often and that is the goal. It’s common that I ask clients to practice their mobility / flexibility routine daily and in most cases, this happens without hesitation.
Change is difficult, especially if we have become stuck in our ways, but if we can get out of our way and let in a few reasonable changes, we can allow the positive changes to happen, and that feels good.
Making little changes like walking a few times a week, following a guided strength and flexibility plan won’t rob the time bank.
A healthier, stronger life is achievable. It requires some guidance at times but don’t be thinking you have to crush yourself or take time away from your already busy life.
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 they had at that moment.
The epiphany moment? There’s always an epiphany, a shock of reality. In this case J (let’s call him J) was sitting down to a burger and chips with the family on a Saturday lunchtime and catching a glimpse of a roll of body fat tightly pressing into his shorts button and his t-shirt caused an instant upset. “How the hell did that happen and let’s change it now.” That’s what he told me, the words that ran through his head in that moment.
It felt like he had just woken up overweight and unhappy with what he saw.
But the moment was hot and J was geared up to take action.
Thankfully J spoke to me first thing the next morning in the gym. He’d seen the results of the Amazing 12 program with other clients and now all of a sudden, he wanted in. The Amazing 12 program helps clients lose body fat, gain strength, fitness and learn how healthy eating is very possible and simple.
To cut a long story short, J completed the program and lost his spare tyre around his waist and continued to get stronger at the same time.
You can see these results and other clients in the before and after photos below.
The light bulb can flicker on at any time, and I’m proud to say I have the keys for successful waistline, strength and movement transformations ready to go at any time.
I’m here to help, I’m just waiting for you and your epiphany.
Has anyone ever told you the quickest way from A to B, like a secret shortcut when driving to Dublin from Limerick for example, or how to make BBQ sauce taste better with even fewer calories? Imagine being told and knowing something awesome and then doing the same as usual – absolutely nothing!!!
‘If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten’.
The same goes for successful training and nutrition.
If there is a reliable way to get great results with a solid program, you can be pretty sure that many people ‘kind of’ followed the program or ‘added a bit’ of their own training …. and then the results didn’t magically appear.
Programs that work haven’t just been plucked out of no where. They have been tried, tested, tweaked and adjusted all for the purpose of building a better and better program for better RESULTS.
SECRET RELEASE
In bullet form, here are the ingredients to dropping KGs, lbs, stones or any other unit of body fat weight, as proven many, many times over with people who have followed the program.PS here is our transformation page with a handful of people who actually followed the program, whilst having a life.
Do this every week for 12 weeks or for most of your life.
There you go. My secret is out.
Now, if you’d like the finer and fancier personal details of the recipe just for you, I’m happy to help you.
I am taking on 2-4 people NOW getting into late Winter and Spring for personal or small group training right here in Limerick. The goal? Getting stronger, fitter, leaner and more confident in what you eat.
MORE…
On a totally self serving note (to serve you too of course) the next round of the Amazing 12 is kicking off in Limerick in new locations. The places will fill quickly, so get in touch now to talk more about this totally amazing Total Body Transformation program.
Feeling Stiff and Not Strong, Not Fit?? Feeling like being over 40 is over the hill???
It’s time to Get ‘Connected’.
With this simple 6 week training program you’ll meet your body where it is rather than commence an unrealistic routine un-matching of your current abilities. You’ll nourish your body with healthy movement and stepped progressions and before you know it you’ll be baffled at how well the training carries over into your everyday activities.
Message me to get on the access list.
Jamie
PS It’s going to be just €10 or 17 bucks until the end of the year!!!
Moving better, moving stronger, moving more often are all traits of being a healthy, functional and useful human. Launching very soon is my new program, aptly called CONNECTED.
It’s a minimal, essentialist program that’s designed for you busy folk who don’t have time to get to the gym never mind look out your training gear.
This 6 week program needs:
no equipment,
Just up to 30 minutes per session
3 sessions per week.
The program launches very soon and for subscribers, it’ll be real cheap.
I’ll deliver the full program with an easy to follow PDF that includes full tutorials for each of the 7 movements we’ll practice. I’ll include appropriate regressions and progressions. I’ll lay out how you can build the program to develop your full body strength and fitness. And more of course…
Amazing 12 Limerick will show you how to release your UNLIMITED potential without drugs, gimmicks, and most importantly, without PAIN. Through attentive manipulation of the mathematics of training progressions, your training will propel you forward in ways that will amaze you.
I help people struggling to get lasting results …
Most people feel unhappy with 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 at the same time, let alone in 12 weeks. They think that anyone promising to deliver that must be mad or just wrong.
… Get the ‘super’ body you’ve always wanted
The Amazing 12 Limerick program delivers substantial gains in physical strength, cardiovascular performance and aesthetic changes that can be jaw dropping in just 12 weeks. There’s a specific way to unleash this, and almost all other programs fight your efforts and shut you down. However, with this smart program, the sky’s the limit.
Amazing 12 programs safely and comfortably perpetuate gains in strength, muscular development, fat loss, and cardiovascular conditioning simultaneously, and at levels never before thought possible drug free. The A12 as it’s become known, has created almost 15,000 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 a successful A12 graduate 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 with MoveStrong 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 Limerick is run in Limerick throughout the year in the privacy of a private PT studio.
The A12 Limerick is ready for you NOW. 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 2025 and 2026 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’s always very rewarding to learn time and time again that completing the Amazing 12 is not just about weight loss, gaining muscle and strength…
Graduates repetitively report how much more confident they have become in the gym, and in other every day physical tasks. They report how the discipline they’ve developed helps makes healthier choices much more easily and that now, going to the gym has become an easy habit, not a chore!
The next round of the Amazing 12 starts in September. Get in touch to talk about grabbing a place
Build An Incredible Physique, Athletic Performance & Confidence in 12 Weeks…
…And with just 3 weekly sessions of 45 minutes!
The Amazing 12 program is designed to unlock your boundless potential and help you attain the incredible levels of strength, fitness, and fat loss that have eluded you thus far in the gym. So get ready to unleash your true capabilities and achieve the remarkable results you have been striving for.
The A12 delivers an unprecedented body transformation in a surprisingly short period of time, every time, no matter your age, experience or genetics. If you’re a beginner or an advanced exerciser, following this program will work for you.
The A12 program delivers an advanced system of optimal nutrition, optimal exercise choices, optimal techniques and optimal programming that is tuned to your ability for every single training session.
What clients have to say…
Stephen: The strength side of the training blew my mind. I trained hard but at the same time, I walked away not feeling exhausted. By the end I was lifting heavier than I thought was possible, given I’ve lost over 20lbs!!
What you get:
Professional 12 week program
1 technique week
Private, safe, clean gym in Limerick
Realistic and achievable results
Advanced coaching and support throughout
Sustainable habits once the program is complete
Before & After Photoshoot to see how much you’ve achieved
No fad diets, no drugs or unsustainable lifestyle
No starvation
No egos, shouting or negativity
No soul destroying workouts
To secure a place, you will need to:
invest in yourself for 12 weeks
be able to train 3 x per week for 45 minutes
bring a positive attitude and motivation to change yourself
be coached to train at sustainable efforts (no training to failure)
be willing to learn technical excellence in the exercises involved
If this is you, click through to the Amazing 12 Limerick website to arrange your FREE consultation.
LEARN MORE AND SET UP A CONSULTATION HERE 
Professional 12 week program
No fad diets, no drugs or unsustainable lifestyle