Claude Abrams, Author at

Week 6/4: What exactly is success?

MOST of us think of success in terms of victory or completion or getting something right or doing well.

That’s totally understandable. That’s how most of us are raised or conditioned to think of success or what we are exposed to seeing. That’s how we tend to use the word.

There isn’t really a right or wrong answer to what it means. Each person has their own definition of success.

John Wooden, the great American basketball coach, coined his own understanding. “Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to be the best of which you are capable.”

Jemma and Jade, who this week completed week 4 of the Amazing 12 Chichester at Core Results Gym, both said that to them success meant “doing their best”. Jade added that, for her, being successful meant being happy.

And yet sometimes when Jade does her best, she doesn’t feel happy, because she feels she should have achieved more. Catriona, now at the end of week 6 of 8, often feels the same.

I would argue that for most of us success is defined more by the outcome than it is the process.

Each week teaching the Amazing 12, I deal with reactions and responses to effort that result in disappointment as well as joy and satisfaction.

Success is just a moment in time.

Professor Sarah Lewis said, “We thrive not when we’ve done it all, but when we still have more to do.”

In simpler terms, the journey is more important and rewarding than the ending.

In the context of the Amazing 12, the goal for some is to just reach the end of the program. For others it is to cherish each stage and moment or to hit certain targets that they have determined to be important, while some, like Reg, will consider the Amazing 12 as a part of a grander objective.

Successes, though, can be big or small. They can come every minute, hour, week, month or year.

SOLID FORM: Jade squatting low, keeping her torso upright

And while we see failure as the opposite of success, can failure actually be a success? Isn’t success and failure only a relative term?

After all, we tend to learn more from our errors than when things run smoothly. I’m not suggesting we try to fail, but if mistakes and struggles have great value, shouldn’t we also celebrate setbacks as successes?

I have heard it said that “the choices we make under pressure define our character.” Character is something we should all endeavour to develop.

Character is what keeps us strong when everything around us is falling apart or chaotic or difficult. Character is what enables us to be resolute in the face of a storm of opposition. Reputation is what you are perceived to be, whereas character is who you really are. You can only reveal your true character by exposing yourself to arduous and testing circumstances.

In terms of the Amazing 12 and strength and fitness training, one’s character will come under examination in order to improve and usually when we are being challenged.

To those who dislike or resist change, understand that there is no progress without change.

FOCUS: Jemma’s in the zone with these lunges

In week one, Jemma, for instance, would get uncomfortable whenever she felt her muscles burn or if a weight felt or looked too heavy. Those were character-testing moments.

But now, four weeks into the program, I can see the changes in her. I notice how she’s got more inner steel when the going gets tough. She grits her teeth instead of panicking. She embraces her strength instead of conceding she is weak.

I got an excited text from her near the end of the week. She’d been running in the morning. I told her to try to complete her course without stopping. When she tried it in the first week she had to stop eight times and found it tiring. But now she’s able to do it non-stop.

“I’m so thrilled,” she wrote.

In the four weeks since she started, Jemma has lost nearly a stone in weight. She’s noticed her body firming up, that she can run better and faster, that her recovery from exercise is improving. “It’s mad how much stronger I have become,” she said.

She hasn’t missed a day of training, though sometimes her mind is elsewhere. Concentration and focus are areas I try to work on with her in every session.

PERSEVERENCE: It took Jemma a while to get the hang of this, but she did

She gets anxious and stressed a lot, but the training always seems to help. “I’d much rather do this [Amazing 12] than just work out in a regular gym,” she said.

Making progress is a success for Jemma. “I would say putting in as much effort as you possibly can and knowing you’ve done your best to achieve results,” is how she defined it. “And if you have a goal, then reaching it is a success, too.”

But how we frame our goals and achievements will make all the difference. For example, Jemma felt as if she had struggled with one movement last week as she didn’t do as well as she had wanted. Then I revealed to her that, in fact, she’d completed more reps and lifted a heavier weight than a few days earlier on the same movement. In the space of one second she went from feeling like a failure to a success just by altering the perspective.

Jemma also expressed how she wanted to get as strong or as lean as some of the other girls who have done the Amazing 12. But then she felt disappointed at the prospect of it not being possible. She decided for herself what success and failure would mean. Most of us do.

I answered her in the same way I do everyone else: You can only be the best and strongest version of yourself.

Jade, like Jemma, has been ever-present since week one. She’s now a third of the way through. She found defining success to be a tough question in spite of the fact she’s achieved quite a lot in athletic terms.

“Success is having a goal and completing it,” she said. “I want to be the best I can be.”

But what is being your best?

Jade admits she can be lazy. She told me before she started the program that she wants to “better herself” and “more of a push”.

Being ‘our best’ is relative to a given time frame. It could be for one game or a season or over a number of years or a lifetime. It needs to be quantified.

I would suggest that being the best you can be is striving for mastery, because mastery is rarely achieved.

By setting an objective that cannot be achieved it means you keep working and practicing and refining and there is no end game – unless you give up, in which case you definitely won’t succeed.

When there is an end game, it means that you stop. Then what? Who wants to stop when the value is all in the process?

RINGING THE CHANGES: A long, but steady journey ahead for Reg to get back into shape

Reg has understood from the beginning that the solution to losing weight and regaining his fitness isn’t a quick fix.

His aim is to get down to 18st from 25st. At his peak, Reg hit 26st. He stands 6ft 1in. “I may have to do this [Amazing 12] three times!” he said. “I’m looking at about a year [of training and eating well].”

Working out each evening has helped him. “It’s usually a time when I would get hungry and eat,” he said. Instead, Reg is training, building muscle, moving his body and developing his fitness.

Sometimes it is more about introducing more good habits into your lifestyle than it is removing the bad ones.

Reg had to miss one session this week. He hurt his knee playing golf. But the next day, he and Jemma put in a good shift.

POWERHOUSE: you can see why Reg has a strong drive to his golf game

“Once you’ve done a session it feels good,” said Reg as we finished with some sledgehammering on to a tyre.

While Reg’s knee is his problem, Catriona is hindered by an old shoulder injury, leaving one side clearly weaker than the other.

It doesn’t cause her pain, but it is the weakest link in her chain and the Amazing 12 has exposed it to the point that she maybe now realises the importance of addressing it.

In reality, Catriona can only be as strong as that shoulder allows. As the body is all connected, you can’t take the shoulder out of the equation.

Her list of definitions for success included “believing that you can” and “overcoming fear” and “learning something new each day” and “not giving up” and “celebrating small victories” and “understanding you control your own destiny”.

PROGRESS: At week one Catriona could barely squat with any depth

Those are all positive and valuable. But I want to put it out there that success can be in everything and I mean everything.

I’ve alluded to how we learn the most from when things don’t go according to plan or when we are enduring hardship.

When we switch our attention to how we can benefit from ALL experiences, success is around us continually. You just need to recognise it.

Winston Churchill captured it best for me. “Success,” he said, “is the ability to move from one failure to another with enthusiasm.”

The next wave of the Amazing 12 will begin in September. This isn’t a program just to improve strength, conditioning, body composition and technique. There is so much more. It will challenge the way you think, prepare, plan and live. If you want to be considered for the program or to find out more, please send me an email at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

Week 5/3: The curse of expectations

ANOTHER ONE IN THE BAG: a tough, but progressive week

IT doesn’t matter what I say or how often I write about and explain it, people will have expectations of what they want to happen and what they can achieve and how quickly.

Impatience and unrealistic expectations almost go hand in hand.

But you have to ask, why are so many of us that way?

William Shakespeare once wrote, “Expectations are the root of all heartache.”

From my experience, not only are these expectations often unreasonable, they are one of the primary causes of disappointment, failure and the decision to quit.

I’ve had it in practically every wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester I have run. And the craziest part of all is that the expectations are self-determined.

Imagine that – you become the source of your own disappointment!

For example, Jemma, who along with Jade has now finished week 3, might say to me, “my scales show I’ve put on weight this week.” I’ll reply, “Are you trying to lose weight or lose inches and fat?”

She’ll say, “Inches and fat.”

I’ll typically respond with, “So why are you paying any attention to the scales?”

It’s the same when it comes to movements or exercises that are difficult or challenging. To master or gain competency in a movement isn’t going to happen overnight. It requires time, patience and practice and more practice. To want – and expect – it to happen any quicker is unrealistic and, most importantly, skipping the best part of any skill development, which is in the process of learning and mastering.

STEADY IMPROVEMENT: in form, fitness and body shape for Jemma and Reg

Reg and Jemma both admitted they’d invested heavily in getting out of shape, which is a process in itself. For years Reg has been drinking almost seven bottles of wine per week, litres of Pepsi Max daily (and before that fruit juices on a large scale), overeating and not moving enough. Jemma said she was drinking up to two bottles of champagne weekly, eating chocolate, drinking wine etc.

It soon adds up, as they eventually realised. And then they reached a point where they wanted and needed to do something about it, but the task seemed huge and kept being delayed. Finally, they each took action and signed up for something like the Amazing 12.

But to think the excess is going to disappear instantly isn’t realistic. And if you’ve neglected the movement of your body for long periods and have a static job, your body is going to need re-training in how to function optimally. It takes time.

This week I had a rare bout of stomach illness that knocked me sideways for the best part of six days during which I didn’t train at all and moved little. But it reminded me in a short time – because my body felt awful – how crucial it is to move.

Once I recovered, though, I didn’t go back immediately to what I was eating and lifting before. It was an integrative process.

Similarly, someone who is not fit (aerobically and anaerobically) isn’t going to develop magical fitness in only a few sessions. The best and lasting results come steadily and are hard-earned.

Progress can be impeded many ways: by rushing or not pushing hard enough or trying too hard all the time or being deflated by successes you deem to be too small or slow. Getting the balance right is key, which is why a coach is useful to those who can’t manage that fine line well by themselves.

Reg and Jemma both admitted they couldn’t (at this stage) do this by themselves. They need guidance.

Inevitably, when you get a group training together there will be situations where one or the other excels in a given task.

But comparing yourself to others is another disaster area.

“Why is she looking lean and I am not?” or “why are they lifting big weights and I’m not?” or “they got all their reps and I didn’t”.

No wonder it is said that “comparison is the thief of joy”.

There are fewer better ways to throw yourself off your game than to become preoccupied with what everyone else is doing.

On the Amazing 12, everyone is on their own, personal journey – or at least they should be. While the program fits everyone, it’s not identical for everyone.

If you’ve had a lifetime of comparing yourself or setting unrealistic expectations, it’s not going to change overnight.

Like a body that’s been allowed to get out of shape, you have to work on your thinking and the patterns of your thinking to get it into shape, too.

I try to make it clear that everyone is unique – and I mean it. Our bodies are all different. Things like long and short limbs are genetic and cannot be changed. While some of us can naturally move fast or are more adept at going steadily for longer or are stronger physically, we can improve our strength, speed and endurance.

Some of us will lose weight or body fat fast and others will do so slowly. We are all physiologically different, which is why comparisons often don’t serve us well.

The universal objective, though, is to improve towards our intended goal, not to be upset or feel derailed by becoming envious of the progress others are making.

The Amazing 12 program is about making you the best version of yourself – not the best version of someone else or your imagination. And I certainly don’t have the ability to make someone with short legs develop long legs or vice versa.

My current group of four training at Core Results Gym all bring something different – and positive – to the table. Catriona has endurance. She’s focused and doesn’t slacken. She wants to be the best she can be. She even had to whip a few of the others into line this week with a call of “stop complaining!”

Catriona, like Reg at the end of week 5, is happy that she’s shed 4kg and flattened her tummy, something she’s never been able to do from years and bucket-loads of cardio.

Jade has natural athletic ability. She’s competitive, got good technique and is dynamic and strong. Jemma is enthusiastic and committed. She’s so into the program. Big Reg is a mood-enhancer. Everything’s so jovial around Reg. He brings laughter to the group. He’s realistic about where he is. He does his absolute best and is strong.

This week had, for the first time, all four training in the same session. Jemma, who’s complained of tiredness a lot this week, was concerned she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Jade and Catriona. But keeping up is not what it’s about. Instead, use others who may be quicker or better to improve your performance, as Jade and Catriona often do.

GOT TO START SOMEWHERE: Reg’s bulk makes it hard for him to grip any narrower

Reg has had to step up his game since being joined by Jemma and, for one day each week, Jade. But he’s become much fitter for it and everyone has noticed.

Jemma’s eagerness for change often gets the better of her, though. She’s already made great strides and there’s nothing wrong with wanting improvement, which is why everyone is on the program, but it’s how we go about it that matters.

And, as you can probably tell from most of my previous blogs, it’s what goes on in our heads that gets in the way of what our bodies can deliver. I’m continually reminding the group of what they have achieved rather than what they failed to achieve. So far, in a short time, it’s considerable for them all.

My advice to anyone training – and especially on the Amazing 12 – is take each day as it comes and use it as a stepping stone. Do your best. Don’t label your sessions as good or bad. Don’t go home and look at yourself in the mirror 10 times every day. Don’t keep stepping on your scales to torture yourself.

Turn up, follow the program, eat the right foods, be patient, experience the journey with all its ups and downs and try to be better than the day before. That’s how the best results occur.

Remember this: “Peace begins when expectations end.”

My next wave of the Amazing 12 is going to start in September (exact date to be determined). I’m already accepting applications. For more information, please contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

Week 4/2: The MAG-ical pain solution

HITTING IT HARD: sometimes you need to go all out

THE first week on the Amazing 12 Chichester can hurt…sometimes. I won’t pretend otherwise.

Here’s why. Usually when you start the program, you either come from a place of inactivity or being untrained. It’s therefore a shock to the system and muscles and you get what’s called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

Even if you do train regularly, the Amazing 12 being different – unfamiliar movements and different programming – can cause a reaction.

But then the muscles get used to it because you’re training five days per week (this is called conditioning) and, generally, that degree of muscle soreness doesn’t reoccur often.

ALIGNMENT: strength work on deadlift day

I recommended that Jemma at the end of week one of our training at Core Results Gym, when she was telling me about her sore arms, take an Epsom Salt bath. Reg, now at the end of week 4 of an 8-week program, said he’d take one, too, but then admitted he probably wouldn’t be able to fit in his bath!

Epsom salts, though, contain magnesium and this incredible mineral relaxes and soothes the muscles.

It is MAG-ical stuff and that’s probably an understatement.

I’m not sure Jemma took my advice. But she’s at the end of week 2 now, half a stone lighter and still a little sore.

While Jemma likes to have a moan, she’s repeated umpteen times how “I can’t believe how much stronger I am.” She added, “I don’t think my upper body has every been this strong before and we’re only in week 2!”

Jade, also at the end of week 2, was sore all over during the first week but feels fine now. She’s getting stronger, but still battling her impatience. The Amazing 12 should work well for her because it’s having her do movements and rep schemes she isn’t used to and wouldn’t ordinarily choose for herself.

NO PUSHOVER: Reg won’t give up on the prowler

As for Reg, he’s still moving much better, improving from day to day and changing shape. He tried on some jeans he purchased from High and Mighty before he started the program and now they are too baggy.

He worked himself hard this week and, possibly as a result, has felt tired – and sore again. On the final day of week 4, he arrived at the gym and said (still smiling) he was aching from head to toe – that he could feel every muscle in his body. But he still brings with him to every session a jolly attitude that spreads throughout the group.

Catriona, who is at the halfway point of the 8-week program, continues to flourish even though, frustratingly for her, she had to miss one session this week because of a trip to London.

BOX SQUATS: helping Catriona to find her depth

Strength-wise, Catriona’s progressing. It’s a pity she’s doing only eight weeks as she has so much unexplored potential. She’s moved from not being able to squat anywhere near parallel to down to a box. There’s still work to do on her mobility, particularly around the shoulders, but, fitness-wise, she’s like a real energiser bunny. She’s attacked everything I have thrown at her.

This week, though, she, too, was feeling some sore parts.

However, if (unlike Catriona) a lack of energy is an issue or, like some of my previous Amazing 12 graduates, getting quality sleep is a problem, maybe magnesium could hold the key. It is vitally important for our well-being.

Charles Polequin, one of the best-known and respected strength coaches in the world, calls magnesium “probably one of the best anti-ageing minerals”.

Magnesium is an anti-stress mineral and, because our lives are so stressful nowadays, many of us have become deficient.

We’re not just slightly deficient either. For example, it’s estimated that 80-90% of the United States population is low in magnesium. The chances are that in the UK the figure is not far behind.

So why is it so important and what can taking magnesium do?

Sleep

Magnesium boosts serotonin production. Serotonin is the hormone which helps us to sleep. As serotonin increases, cortisol, the stress hormone, decreases.

Strengthen bones and tendons

Magnesium is essential for strong bones. If our magnesium levels are low, calcium is leached from the bones. Weak bones will lead to osteoporosis.

To help keep our bones healthy, we must not only do some kind of weight-bearing exercise, but also make sure the ratio of calcium to magnesium is balanced.

Enhances healing

Incredibly, magnesium has over 300 unique biological functions (some say even more) in the human body which support our immune system.

Said another way, in the absence of magnesium these 300 enzymatic functions will not take place in the way they were designed to. When we are low on magnesium, we cannot operate optimally.

Magnesium purifies and purges the tissues in our body from acids, toxins, gases and impurities. It is so good at neutralising poisons that it is often used to reduce fever.

Relaxes muscles

Magnesium is the relaxation mineral. It helps with the contraction and relaxation of a muscle. If you get twitches and spasms, it could be that you have low magnesium levels.

Applied topically (to the skin) where we feel aches and pains, it can cause relief, which is how Epsom Salt baths work. Through the skin, our largest organ, is the purest way to absorb magnesium.

I wouldn’t recommend taking it orally, as magnesium has to pass through the kidneys. Unless your kidneys are very strong, this method can cause problems and severe diarrhea.

Regulate blood pressure

Studies have shown that a daily intake of magnesium can help to reduce blood pressure and assist in warding off illnesses like diabetes and obesity as well as reduce fatigue and insulin resistance. This was the finding in one particular study over 15 years using up to 5,000 people!

Nourishes the nervous system

In the same way that magnesium can help relax us when we are stressed, it sooths the nervous system, which comes under attack when we are under too much physical or mental pressure.

Stress quickly uses up our magnesium supplies. The nervous system, like our hearts and brains, depend on magnesium.

However, we live in a time when, if we get tired, we drive ourselves on instead of resting.

If you’re someone who, for example, uses caffeine or energy drinks to boost your system in these circumstances, what you’re doing is effectively adding further stress to the body and, consequently, depleting your magnesium supplies.

Crucial in the role of ATP (energy) production

Magnesium is a fuel supply. In the plant world it is magnesium that helps transform the energy from sunlight into the plant’s living energy. It is what gives plants their green colour and therefore all green foods are good sources of magnesium.

In human beings ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) is our energy which we get from the breakdown of glucose and fat into water and carbon dioxide.

Without getting too scientific, here’s the critical bit of information: ATP must be bound to a magnesium ion in order to be biologically active!

No magnesium, no ATP.

Regulate the menstrual cycle

This one is for the ladies, because it can help to cure menstrual cramping. It does this by assisting the powerful uterine muscles to relax. This also helps relieve PMS and headaches.

In the context of the Amazing 12, I need my group of four to be able to recover from workout to workout and for them to have the energy to perform optimally in each training session. I want them to sleep well, because it is during sleep that all the body’s reconstruction and growth takes place.

On the Amazing 12, I encourage everyone to eat as many greens or green vegetables as possible.

There are all sorts of diets out there claiming to do this and that. But the two consistencies I have found amongst all diets is (1) drink water and (2) eat lots of vegetables – and the greener the better.

The are other foods rich in magnesium, like almonds, cashews, buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, pecans, cooked beans, garlic, green peas and potato skin.

However, food consumption may not be entirely sufficient if you are training hard or unable to cope well with stress or very anxious.

Agricultural changes over generations to the way food has been harvested and produced has diminished the levels of magnesium in our produce, which is why supplementing is sometimes required.

Which magnesium?

There are different types. In Tim Ferriss’ book Tools of Titans, Poloquin recommends magnesium threonate, which is said to be best for improving sleep. There is also magnesium glycinate, which tends to work best on liver and muscle tissue. Magnesium orotate is said to help the vascular system. The same book features an interview with Dominic D’Agostino, an associate professor in the department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida. He lists magnesium as one of his go-to supplements and recommends a citrate powder called Natural Calm.

Personally, I use a high concentration Transdermal Magnesium Chloride spray. I’ve also had the brand Magnesium Ease recommended highly.

Taking magnesium isn’t giving yourself an edge, it’s restoring your body to where it needs to be.

Week 3/1: Choose wisely

ALL SMILES: a sweaty night for Jade, Reg and Jemma

YOU have a choice. In every instant and every moment, you have a choice. Hopelessness is the feeling you get when you believe there is an absence of choice. The reality is that a choice, however limited, always exists.

You choose what goes into your mouth to feed your body. You choose how little or how much to move your body each day. You choose in what form you move your body. You choose how to fill your day and what to prioritise. You choose who to listen to and believe and who not to.

Yes, you choose practically everything, even when it seems like you do not.

ON THE PROWL: Jemma’s finding her feet in the first week

Recognising, accepting and understanding you have a choice can often make a significant difference and in many cases, become a breakthrough moment.

It gives you ownership of your circumstances, be it good or bad. Some of us, of course, don’t want that ownership, so we will fight to hold on to the belief that we don’t have a choice. It’s easier, because we can blame something or someone else.

But once you have ownership, you can do many things and begin to create change.

If your beliefs are too rigid then it’s harder to allow change to happen. Some of our beliefs are so ingrained that they’ve become patterns of behaviour – default actions – and we don’t even realise it.

To have an inflexible mind, though, can create an inflexible body. I should know. My mind may be more flexible now than ever before (as an adult), but I spent years on the other side, thinking something was a certain way and adamantly defending it.

You cannot learn with a closed mind. As late martial arts legend Bruce Lee once said, “The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.”

How does all this relate to the Amazing 12? I shall explain.

HARD WORK: the best lessons often come from the hardest challenges

Every situation, especially the challenging ones, are opportunities for learning and growth. In the Amazing 12 those opportunities are plenty. But we have to choose whether to use them to help us rise or let them leave us defeated and deflated.

We also choose:

•What’s most important in your life.

•To give up or continue.

•To give your best or worst.

•To be positive or negative.

•To be open-minded or closed-minded.

•To learn new things or stick with what you know.

•To do what you are good at or work on what is your weakest link or makes you most uncomfortable.

•To fix a problem or let it continue.

•To go to bed early and be rested or stay up late.

•To tell the truth or lie.

•To be honest with yourself or to lie to yourself.

•To investigate what you are told or just believe everything.

•To trust or not to trust.

•To step out of your comfort zone or remain within it.

•To be committed or not be committed.

I could go on. Most, if not all, the above choices relate to the Amazing 12 Chichester and the journey my foursome are on at the Core Results Gym.

LEAP OF FAITH: Catriona’s challenged herself by taking on a program like this

I’m now at the end of week 3 of the Amazing 8 for Catriona and Reg, while Jemma and Jade have completed week 1 of the Amazing 12.

I see progress in them all the time. But do they recognise their own progress? Do they prefer to reflect on what they did not achieve rather than what they did achieve? It, again, comes down to choice.

“I can’t believe how much stronger I have become in just five days,” said Jemma following the final session of her opening week.

“I can really see my progress,” said Catriona after one workout.

It’s certainly been a fun and interesting week. The groups have become larger. The personalities are so different. The strengths, weaknesses and levels of experience and expertise are varied. How they choose to respond to my instructions varies. How they choose to react to their own efforts and results is fascinatingly contrasting.

They all made a choice when signing up for the program, taking a decision, for whatever motive, to create change.

Some will resist the training and nutrition protocols more than others.

MOTIVATED: working together has spurred them on

Jemma, 29, a combination of enthusiasm and anxiety, is often concerned about if she has done a movement properly or projects difficulty before she has attempted a task. She doesn’t want to let anyone down. Her lack of confidence at times affects her concentration. But I look forward to witnessing the change as her confidence improves.

Already I’ve noticed it. Even after one week she’s stepping up to the bar and getting on with a movement without giving me those am-I-doing-it-right? glances.

Jemma wants to be good and, like Catriona, is impatient about it. Jemma, almost excitedly, is already thinking ahead to the end of the 12 weeks and the results she may achieve, but I try to bring her back into the present. That’s where everyone’s focus needs to be for the best results and the most satisfaction.

BATTLE: Jade has no love affair with cardio

For Jade, who’s a PT, good athlete and footballer, I see how she fights with herself to do her absolute best. She sets high standards. Maybe even unreasonably so and often feels disappointed if she doesn’t reach the target she has set for herself.

Catriona is similar. It makes me chuckle to see Catriona get annoyed with herself. I don’t mean that in a nasty way. I just know it’s self-inflicted and, eventually, Catriona will be at peace with it.

Jade, the youngest of the group at 22, dislikes cardio. Catriona loves cardio. Jemma hates to sweat. Catriona loves to sweat. Jade’s a sprinter-type, so doesn’t relish multiple reps (which is why it will be good for her to do them).

Big Reg, who is already talking about doing the 12-week program in September, doesn’t complain. “No matter what we’re doing, I know I just have to get on with it,” he said.

EARNING THEIR STRIPES: progress comes from putting in the time and practice

“The program is phenomenal. It’s incredible how your muscles are able to quickly adapt.”

Reg has already lost the best part of a stone in weight. Even if something’s a struggle, he gives his best effort. He is moving so much better, even though this week, working in pairs or small groups, Reg found it tougher going. The girls are driving him on. Having a training partner has a way of providing extra motivation.

Sometimes, though, if someone doesn’t achieve the number of reps I ask them to shoot for, they might label themselves (in their thoughts) ‘a failure’. Or they may think they are not doing well enough.

So I find myself a lot of the time trying to keep the boat steady, so to speak – to manage all those self-depreciating thoughts and stop them from spreading.

GOOD FORM: Catriona’s been working on her deadlift

They are all very encouraging of each other, but often not enough to themselves.

For me to get results – both immediate and lasting – I try to help identify the areas which are holding someone back. Often, though, it’s in our heads. Our bodies will respond to the training – if our heads/thoughts don’t get in the way.

Training doesn’t just apply to the body. “One can’t build physical strength without mental strength.”

WARM-UP: nothing better than some crawling

Therefore, choose what serves you best, not what works against you. That requires training, too.

Bruce Lee also said: “The mind is a fertile garden – it will grow anything you wish to plant – beautiful flowers or weeds. And it is with successful, healthy thoughts or negative ones that will, like weeds, strangle and crowd the others.

“Don’t allow negative thoughts to enter your mind, for they are the weeds that strangle confidence.”

Choose wisely.

Week 2: Rome wasn’t built in a day

RETURN: It’s been a while since Reg has deadlifted

WHEN things seem impossible or insurmountable, what do you do? How do you respond?

For some the reaction is to dig in deeper and fight. For others it’s to abandon ship.

It’s easy to quit or not get started. The only guaranteed way to fail at anything is to give up. And the best way to not achieve anything is to not attempt it in the first place.

If you stay in or enter the race, you always have a chance, so to speak. When people quit at something, quite often it’s at a critical time – when they are about to reach an important turning point. They just don’t know it. So always hang in there.

The next time things feel or get hard, ask yourself why you started in the first place.

A great example is David Goggins, an ultra distance runner I have mentioned in previous blogs. He posted a story on his Instagram feed this week that made me think about Reg and Catriona, now at the end of week 2 of an 8-week Amazing 12 Chichester program at Core Results.

Goggins used to be a huge, heavy guy and was recalling the day when he decided he was going to become a Navy Seal. But first he had to lose the extra weight he was carrying (106lbs in two months).

With all the will in the world, he stepped out of his house to go for a three-mile run at 6am. He made it a quarter of a mile down the road and then, with his head hung low, lungs aching and feeling like a failure, walked back home.

If you know anything about Goggins, he’s a man who embraces every challenge in life and uses it to create a stronger version of himself. He’s one of the greatest competitors on the planet. He doesn’t quit at anything. But he wasn’t born that way.

SLOWLY DOES IT: Reg back under the bar squatting

When I see Reg walk into the gym each day, he’s practically shuffling. Part of the reason for that this week was down to the soreness in his legs from our first squat and deadlift workout (pretty common response when you’ve not worked a particular body part for a while).

But it’s also because Reg is carrying a lot of baggage he needs to lose. The extra bodyweight tires him out quickly, especially with any kind of aerobic activity. Even walking upstairs. But it will get better.

What’s great to see in Reg is that he shows up every day (well, nearly, as he had to skip a session this week to play in a golf tournament), gives his best and, little by little, is making improvements in a very short time.

It’s when you see someone perform an action or movement more easily, with better form and a greater load that you know they are making progress.

CARDIO QUEEN: Catriona’s strength is endurance

I’m seeing the changes in Catriona, too. She’s someone who once never believed she’d be able to run far. Until she was 30, she did no training at all. And when she first started running, she, like Goggins, only made it halfway down the road before being out of puff.

In eight weeks, she lost 2st.

She went from a deconditioned starter to someone who (before the Amazing 12) was training every day and sometimes twice daily. She has energy to burn.

Taking that step into the world of lifting weights, though, was also a scary proposition, particularly for someone who generally avoided what she’s not good at.

ALL OUT: working hard with the battle ropes

“I’m loving the training,” she told me. “I can’t believe we’re already at the end of two weeks. I still get frustrated with myself [Catriona is impatient and a perfectionist], but I’m seeing and feeling the progress, which is nice.”

When working with Catriona, I’m often reminded of a film clip of a guy I once saw who used to be a paratrooper and badly damaged his legs following a jump. He was told he’d never walk again because he was wheelchair-bound.

But he refused to accept defeat. Every day, mostly through yoga to begin with, he tried to get moving. Every day, he would fail and fall flat on his face, literally. But he kept going. And then, as he began to lose the weight he had gained through inactivity, he regained strength and defied what all the experts had said.

His mantra was: “Just because you can’t do it today doesn’t mean you can’t do it tomorrow.”

That phrase has always stuck with me and I’m reminded of it when I see Catriona getting frustrated at her inability to nail a particular movement first time and Reg gasping for breath or straining to bend down to pick something off the ground.

I know the breakthrough is down the road. It’s a matter of time. Experience gives you patience.

LOOKING UP: Reg is improving with every workout

I know if Reg keeps showing up, working hard and following the eating advice I have given him, he will see results.

Reg and Catriona are already getting stronger and fitter. They are both determined and successful people. Next week they will be joined by two new starters doing a 12-week program.

What was hard for Reg in the first week is less difficult now. But they are at opposite ends of the spectrum: Catriona is aerobically super-charged and Reg isn’t…yet; Catriona is discovering her strength, while Reg, who used to play lots of sports when he was younger, is uncovering his.

The message for the week is…give it time and cultivate patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a strong, healthy body.

Week 1: Laying the foundations

CONTRAST: The lean runner and the golfing powerhouse

I’VE been coaching the Amazing 12 Chichester now for several years. You get all types on the program. Their starting condition and shape are different. Their goals are different. How they adapt and cope with the training is different. Their mindsets are different. What they find easy and struggle with is always different. That’s part of what makes my job interesting.

This week at Core Results I kicked off another wave, over eight weeks. I couldn’t have two more contrasting starters.

Reg, with his George Foremanesque stature, hasn’t done any form of physical training in three years and has a lot of weight and body fat to shift. Catriona is slender, a runner and no stranger to cardio classes, but has never done any weight-training before.

While Reg is naturally strong, he’s huffed and puffed his way through the first week when dealing with any kind of aerobic activity whereas Catriona is looking to increase her strength to go with the staying power (aerobic capacity) she already has. She likes the long, steady-type workouts.

Sometimes, when I tell her to rest/recover between sets, Catriona gives me that look of ‘really? What am I supposed to do?’

Runners, typically, just keep going. They’re not used to the weight-lifting and strength-building protocol. So it’s all going to be a learning experience.

It’s taken Catriona years, literally, to step into a weights gym. But she’s here now. She overcame one hurdle to begin this program. She will overcome many more before she is finished.

Learning that more isn’t necessarily better and that recovery is where the growth and change happens is another important lesson.

CHANGE: Reg going from no exercise to constructive training

For Reg it’s a case of getting moving again. He’s a dentist, works hard and, aside from being a fairly low handicap golfer, doesn’t do much in the form of exercise. His diet hasn’t been great. Up to two litres a day of Pepsi Max has taken its toll.

Reg, who turned 49 this week, knew he had to take action. This is the first step. He’s eating cleanly, drinking water instead of the fizzy stuff and now lifting weights. The process will take time. You don’t spend years getting out of shape and reverse the process overnight.

It’s about changing habits – living habits, training habits, thinking habits.

When these habits work against us, they begin to weigh us down. But it’s not always instantly noticeable. That’s why we continue…until we can’t.

As Samuel Johnson once wrote, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”

But Reg is determined. He has accomplished a lot in life. So I have faith in him. He’s a big, hearty man with a personality to match. He weighs around 25st, but the immediate goal is to get down to 20st.

Reg is under no illusions that’s going to take patience, perseverance and, perhaps most importantly, adherence to healthy eating choices. He’s only doing eight weeks, but admits it’s going to take much longer. This is just the beginning. I hope he can last the distance. I keep reminding him that it’s a long process.

STRUGGLE: even fully extending his arms is proving difficult in the beginning

This first week calls for some readjustment to lifestyle and eating habits. It’s about laying the foundations. Reg has his family behind him for support. He gets up early (before 6am) to do some extra cardio I have assigned him. He’s working on getting his meals for the week prepared in advance.

But the extra pounds in bodyweight come at a cost. Reg’s already-suspect Achilles tendons and a knee started to ache and he had to sit out one workout this week. I thought it better he take a rest than push through with a sensitive injury of that type (I ruptured my Achilles many years ago).

In fairness to Reg, instead of crying off hurt, he still came into the gym to see if we could find a way around it.

Reg knows the weight doesn’t help him. He also knows that when the bulk comes off he’s going to probably feel and move much better. Plus his golf will probably improve.

Already there have been signs of progress. Put it this way: I had him crawl a short distance when we started. He could barely go forwards and not at all backwards. It left him exasperated.

“I’m going to beat this thing,” he said with determination as the sweat dripped off his head. By the last day this week he was going back and forth far easier. I could see the amazement on his face.

Catriona is all too knowledgeable about the effects of poor lifestyle choices. She’s been a doctor for over 20 years. Most of it [the illness] is self-inflicted.

CO-ORDINATED: coming to the top of the deadlift and dressed to match

Being a doctor who knows what’s best for her is partly what shoved Catriona into finally opting to lift weights. She runs a lot, but doesn’t want to be scrawny.

At 50, she’s already in great shape. But she wants the strength to go with it and to learn how to lift properly and safely.

Prior to starting the program, I gave Catriona a few taster sessions. When we did the squat and deadlift, she could barely do either very effectively. In a short time, she has already made progress. Her deadlift technique is 100% better.

She’s a quick learner, maybe because she dislikes not being good at something.

If you listened to Reg training, though, you’d think he was in a torture chamber, but that’s just how he is. The extra size gets in the way of him being able to move how he should. But I’m already noticing positive changes. We’re taking small steps towards a big goal.

It did make me laugh seeing him pick up the slam ball from the floor with one hand as though it were just a tennis ball. And I thought the ball was going to explode when he drove it into the ground. No wonder he can belt a golf ball!

The first week is now under their belts. It’s the primer before we apply the paint. Remember, the Amazing 12 is progressive. It’s an intelligent program design. No-one gets thrown in at the deep end.

Stay tuned to see how this pair continue. And in two weeks I have another pair starting on a 12-week program to join Catriona and Reg.

I’m now taking applications for my September wave of the Amazing 12. For more details send an email to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk.

Want the best results? Follow the program

SUCCESS: Jo dropped 8kg, the weight of the kettlebell she’s holding (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

DURING the final week of the Amazing 12 Chichester, Jo Walsh celebrated her wedding anniversary and Ben Brundle had a birthday. Both came to train at the gym on those respective days.

It’s not that they put the training first. They put themselves first. That’s what getting fit, strong and healthy is all about.

While it may sound selfish – and a lot of people have a hard time reconciling that – the reality is that it’s incredibly selfless.

A stronger, healthier, more vibrant and confident you helps everyone you come into contact with.

However, it wasn’t always straightforward for Jo and Ben. Each struggled through the Amazing 12 in their own way. For Jo it was commitment and diet and Ben understanding what to eat and when and taking responsibility for that.

But there are many positives to take from their experience. Firstly, both made it to the finish. Not everyone does that. Jo became stronger and fitter. There can be absolutely no doubt about that. She was even showing me her biceps on the penultimate day, saying “I can actually say I now have muscles”.

For example, I had her do an endurance test on the prowler which the fastest girl at Core Results could complete in just under 2 minutes.

In week one, at which point Jo hadn’t done any exercise for about 18 months, it took her 4 minutes 49 to complete. Jo was shattered. The same test, at week 11, took her 2 minutes 50 and though she was tired at the finish, Jo wasn’t as wrecked as the first time she did it.

MULTI-TASKING: Jo’s a good lifter and determined when she puts her mind to it

During the weeks when Jo was fully committed, the changes to her physically were extremely noticeable. But then she’d lose her way again, her commitment would wane and whatever gains she made would recede.

But it’s those weeks when she had her head together and was focused, organised and driven that Jo should savour. Because that’s where the promise is. That’s where the formula for success existed. That’s where there was more than a glimmer of hope. Had she completed the 12 weeks the way she did those weeks this would be a vastly different story.

CHANGES: Jo clearly firmed up despite struggling with the diet (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

“I’m most pleased about how much stronger I am,” she said. “I can say I faithfully followed the program to week 7, but, as you know, I struggled afterwards.

“Thank you for your support. I didn’t put in 100 per cent, so I don’t hope for 100 per cent results. But I am glad I did the program.”

Jo has fought with depression for about a decade. “I think my depression would have been worse without it [the Amazing 12]. Some days the gym was the only thing I (literally) got out of bed for.”

She found getting out of bed early to go for runs the toughest part. Jo’s not a morning person. She said she did it (running) for four weeks and then stopped.

PROMISE: Enough progress was made in the weeks Jo followed the program rigidly to see what the future could hold (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

So, considering she didn’t run for eight weeks or follow the nutritional plan for the last five and attended 80% of the gym sessions, losing 8kgs (17.5lbs) was an achievement and more than halfway towards what was her overall weight-loss goal.

She weighed 15st 8lbs at the start and finished at 14st 5lbs. Her body fat went from 46% to 42% and muscle mass from 29.5% to 32%.

It’s clear to see, because lean muscle is a fat-burner, that the more muscle you have the less fat your body holds on to. Nothing builds muscle better than lifting weights.

“I don’t plan on stopping,” said Jo after the photo shoot. And she hasn’t. She’s been in for a few weight-lifting sessions with me, has been doing some yoga and running sprints uphill in a group organised by my wife, Jamie, who also did the Amazing 12 Chichester.

Jo’s always had solid lifting ability. She’s strong in the bench press and much better than I recall her being at shoulder pressing. I saw muscles on Jo I hadn’t recognised before.

She can be so determined when she wants to be. By her own admission, she’s an “all-or-nothing” person.

But that can change. I’m a firm believer that anything can change. ANYTHING! But you have to want it and work at it. Not for a moment or weeks or months. But until you make it happen.

When she used to belong to a weight-lifting group around 2015, Jo’s best shoulder press for one rep was 30k, but on the Amazing 12 she got to 32k for reps. Similarly, her best bench press for three reps used to be 46k and Jo reached 49k on the Amazing 12 for repetitions, a number that would undoubtedly have been much higher had she not missed as many gym sessions as she did.

Jo has aspirations to one day complete a chin-up or pull-up. Of course, it can be done. But the same rules about commitment, consistency and patience apply.

I hope Jo takes from her experience the successes she had so she can build on them as well as a healthy view of where she faltered so she can work towards overcoming those challenges the next time they appear.

The great thing about Jo is that while she had many ‘falls’ doing this program, she kept getting up. And that she’s continued since the Amazing 12 was completed shows she has the spirit to eventually succeed.

CAMERA HAPPY: Ben’s at home in his jeans (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

For Ben, whose devotion to the training side of the program was first class (he came to 95% of the sessions), the obstacle was diet and sleep.

Had been able to nail down the eating he’d have had stunning results. I’m in no doubt about that. By the time he had wrapped his head around it, most of the program had elapsed.

It made it more difficult that Ben got up each day early for work and sometimes didn’t hit the pillow until late. Towards the end he was working double shifts – day and night – which is madness. But he has a baby on the way and needed the money.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: You can see how Ben lost body fat and packed on some muscle (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

Probably no-one made as much progress in terms of strength gains than Ben, who was a raw beginner (no previous lifting experience).

I remember the week before the Amazing 12 started, when I gave Ben a few training sessions to show him the movements. He struggled with 8kg dumbbells on the incline bench press and I had to drop him to 6kg. By the end of the Amazing 12 he was doing multiple repetitions of the same movement with 25kg! That’s an improvement of more than 400%!

HARD WORKER: Ben never faltered in the gym

Ben did pick up a chest injury around week 7 that he felt was going to derail his chances of finishing the program. It affected his mojo, for sure. It took Ben over a week to get back into his stride. We had to taper off the weights to protect the injury and build him back up.

Again, I recall before the A12 how he struggled to shoulder press with 12kg for reps, yet finished the program knocking out repetitions with 47.5kg!

He couldn’t squat without his heels coming off the floor or deadlift with a flat back, yet learned those movements really well over the weeks and grew in strength. He was deadlifting 85kg for reps with ease. He has so much more potential.

Fitness-wise, when he first did the prowler test it took him 2 minutes 45 seconds. He gave everything he had and was shattered. Ben eventually got his best down to 1 minute 44 seconds by week 11 – not too far off some of the fittest guys at Core Results.

Ben was a pleasure to train. He was usually first to turn up at the gym. He helped put away the weights and get them out. He didn’t grumble. He learned techniques quickly.

POTENTIAL: Ben’s strength progress was immense (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

However, in the process of losing body fat, recovery, sleep and nutrition is critical.

I’ve said this before but will repeat it again: results on the Amazing 12 can only be achieved by the individual.

To do that, you have to show up, follow the instructions and do the work.

As Phil Earley, one of my Amazing 12 coaching colleagues in Newcastle, has said, “This is the Amazing 12, not the Miraculous 12!”

What Ben’s experience has confirmed to me is that no matter how hard you train, you won’t get the results YOU DESERVE without following a healthy eating protocol and getting sufficient and quality sleep each day.

Lifestyle gets in the way of results. For Ben and Jo, that was often the case. But they now know where to focus their attention the most.

The next Amazing 12 starts on May 8 (8-week version). The next Amazing 12 will be in September. If you want to be a part of either wave, send an email to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk. You need to be committed. Then the results will follow.

Adriano (April 2017)

The transformation (photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

I ONCE (back in 2015) questioned whether Adriano Satta had the commitment to do the Amazing 12 Chichester. He has now successfully graduated twice!

He made me eat my words two years ago when, to test him out, I asked him to turn up every day for a week to show me he could do it. Of course, he did.

Now he’s one of the most committed clients I’ve worked with. I’m not sure if it’s becoming a dad or husband (his wife Stacey also just did the Amazing 12) that has made the difference. But over the 12 weeks he attended almost 92% of the gym training sessions and the few he missed were only because he had to travel to Africa for work for nearly a week during the third week.

Because of his busy schedule, we had to shuffle training sessions several times to make it work. Adriano runs his own business and travels to London several times each week. More than once he got stuck in London during the tube strikes. But he would try to find any way he could to get to the gym in time.

Sometimes we rearranged training sessions for the early morning so he didn’t have to miss out. It was always at Adriano’s request.

MAKING PROGRESS: that’s what the program is about

Tired or worn out or ready for action, Adriano, a former Italian paratrooper in his younger days (19), came in and gave it his all. He was dedicated to getting the best results.

It’s fair to say his first transformation saw him get leaner. But this time round he became stronger and packed on more muscle, which was his aim.

SIDE VIEW: Adriano beefed up through the chest, back and shoulder (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

Being of a small build, gaining muscle had always been difficult. Had he not missed that one week, his progress would have been even greater. Adriano, 40, visibly bulked up his chest, back and shoulders. He dropped body fat and weight, too, going from 68kg to 65kg.

He took nearly a week off after the Amazing 12 and then I retested his strength levels. He had never previously deadlifted more than 95kg, but safely did 115kg!

His back squat went from 80kg (for one rep) to 90kg (for two) and with good form. He did a solid strict shoulder press with 73% of his bodyweight.

Like several others on the program, Adriano came into it unable to do a single chin-up, despite having managed to do them on the Amazing 12 in 2015.

NEW FRONTIERS: Adriano doing chin-ups with a weight attached

By week 11 this time he was knocking out chin-ups again without difficulty and during our strength session managed one with 14kg attached, something he’d never achieved previously.

“I’m very happy with my results,” he said.

Conditioning, though, is an area he wants to concentrate more on as he feels this is his weakness. Adriano has aspirations to do an Ironman triathlon within the next few years.

On the prowler test during the Amazing 12 he struggled for 3 minutes 5 seconds in week 1, but got his best time down to 2 minutes 11 seconds. That’s a significant difference for a short challenge.

Across the board, Adriano made progress. He matched or exceeded what he achieved first time in every movement. For the initial weeks during his first Amazing 12 we had to concentrate a lot on honing the techniques and making sure his form was not compromised, but this time around he executed nearly everything with far greater skill.

I can remember him struggling to press 8kg dumbbells on one movement in 2015, but he was capable of working with 18kg this time.

NOT JUST FOR SHOW: Adriano is stronger, fitter and a much better mover (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

Adriano’s ability to refine his movement has improved immeasurably. We still joke about how out of sorts he was with practically every lift and technique when we first started working together.

The first Amazing 12 experience was different in other ways, too. “It was more a challenge with myself in 2015,” explained Adriano.

“I had never trained with that type of intensity. It was more about learning to go through pain and to commit to something outside my comfort zone. I was counting the days last time.”

On this occasion, though, Adriano says he didn’t once think about the finish.

“It was more about the journey,” he said. “I just enjoyed being more in control of the movements and my body. I was more aware of what I was doing in terms of exercising and working out.”

COMPARISON: Adriano today compared with how he looked when he finished the Amazing 12 first time (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

Adriano had a much better comprehension of why we train and what we eat. He now understands it to the point that his focus is on continuing to develop. He has set himself new goals.

The Amazing 12 is more than about just training for the sake of getting stronger, fitter, leaner and more muscular. It’s an education in strength and conditioning and understanding nutrition.

Maybe Adriano didn’t fully grasp that in 2015. But there was definitely a shift in attitude this time.

“This time the Amazing 12 is the beginning of the journey. Last time it was the end.”

You, too, can have results like Adriano’s. But it takes commitment and discipline. If you think you can stick to the training, follow a healthy nutritional program and are interested either in my eight-week version of the Amazing 12, starting on May 8, or a 12-week wave in September, send an email to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

Jamie (April 2017)

MANY women steer clear of lifting weights for fear of getting bulging muscles or becoming bulky, all of which, for many reasons, is incredibly difficult to achieve.

I like to think after her second journey through the Amazing 12, my wife, Jamie Abrams, personifies both strength and femininity.

She went into the program in pretty decent shape, which makes it more challenging to create change. She follows a good eating protocol as a vegan of more than 15 years. She doesn’t drink, smoke or consume junk food. In the 12 years I have known her, Jamie hasn’t ever even taken medication. As a yoga teacher of 17 years, she lives the life on and off the mat.

For Jamie, who has had two natural childbirths and is aged 37, this experience wasn’t about getting a shredded six-pack. This was also about adding strength and stability to her already flexible body. Jamie is living proof of how to effectively combine yoga with weight-lifting. As you will read, she more than achieved that.

I can’t offer any details regarding body fat or weight loss. We don’t have a set of scales in the house and never have done. Jamie has always gone by how she feels.

“Physically, I was in good shape. I felt fine about my body,” she said. “I knew I had lost some strength since the last Amazing 12. I wasn’t super-unhappy, physically. I just felt mentally and emotionally challenged in my working stratosphere. I wanted to use the physical training to rebuild myself mentally.”

Jamie had recently gone through some big life changes and wanted to work on herself from the outside in.

“In the yoga world, if you go too far in one direction, like have too much flexibility and no strength, you can get injured. I now have a good balance between strength, mobility and flexibility.

“I’m stronger now than I have ever been. I’m not just hanging out in my ligaments and joints.

“My musculature can support deeper movements and positions because I’ve built strength in my end range of motion.

“In yoga there is a lot of pushing, but no pulling movements. The A12 helped add some balance to my system. I got really strong in the pull, because I can now do chin-ups.”

BALANCE: between strength and being feminine. Photo: Sue Saunders Photography

“I wanted to get a stronger body and create a stronger sense of self,” she explained.

“I’d done the Amazing 12 before and knew it gets results. That’s why I decided to do it again. It’s given me a strong body, for sure. By building a strong foundation, it has helped me to become mentally and emotionally stronger.

“In 2015, I was at a different point in my life, both family and work-wise. I can’t compare the two experiences.”

The two experiences were quite different, however, particularly from a coaching perspective. Working with your partner or spouse isn’t for everyone. There are many personal trainers who simply refuse to. I’ve been warned against it. There’s clearly a dynamic shift that takes place and it’s simply better for some relationships to not take on that test.

In the past I’ll admit I’ve found it challenging coaching my wife. But this time round it was a relative breeze. I can’t pin down why exactly. Maybe it’s because she knew the ropes and just got on with it. But it was certainly a different – and smoother – experience.

PAUSE: floating the kettlebell during the swing

That’s not to say Jamie didn’t put in the same kind of effort. She most certainly did. I’m very proud of her effort and devotion to following the program. She worked really hard, attending 95% of the gym sessions, only missing a few days because she had to help teach yoga in Lithuania.

“I learned from this experience that my husband can train me,” she said. “A lot of people can’t train with their spouses. He’s patient, focused and meets the person where they are. I felt safe because I knew the programming was intelligent and Claude wouldn’t give me anything I couldn’t do.

“I knew if you showed up consistently that you would get the gains. For the Amazing 12, having a coach is massively important. I don’t know how to do programming and make strength gains. I’d be shooting in the dark [on my own].”

As I said already, she went into this in pretty good shape. She’d had periods of inactivity following the first Amazing 12, but was training reasonably consistently at Core Results prior to the program.

The gym world is very different to her life on the mat. My wife’s like Roger Federer. She’s consistent and steady. Like the great Swiss tennis master, her expression doesn’t change a great deal, even when things get tough.

You watch Federer play tennis and he’s never gasping for breath. His hair isn’t out of place. There’s often a joke about Jamie when she trains that she keeps a yoga face. She’s also a big Federer admirer.

There’s a part of Jamie’s personality that doesn’t allow her to go pedal-to-the-metal. It can be a real asset at times. She doesn’t push when it becomes uncomfortable and, on the Amazing 12, that works almost perfectly.

Jamie doesn’t think of herself as especially fit, but I don’t agree: I see her as someone who paces herself well. She didn’t slacken off during any of the sessions. Her prowler test run went from 3 minutes 31 seconds in the first week to 2 minutes 45 by week 11. And, given that the prowler is a piece of equipment she’d been used to working with fairly consistently, making progress was always going to be slightly harder than for someone trying it the first time.

When I first started working out with her (about 10 years ago), she’d get grumpy if I directed her near to the zone of uncomfortability. I saw that face a good few times over the 12 weeks.

Once or twice she’s threatened me with divorce papers and tried dropping kettlebells on my toes (she claims otherwise).

STEADY: keeping the pace with slam balls

But it was worth it. She looked genuinely pleased with herself when, at week 12, she banged out 33 chin-ups in 15 minutes having not been able to do one at the start. Then, three days later, she got 41!

Strength-wise, she became much stronger than two years ago on her first Amazing 12.

Here are some examples: her working weight for the bench press in 2015 was 33.5kg compared with 45kg this time; on shoulder press she went from 28.5kg in 2015 to 35kg; her deadlift improved from 68.5kg for reps to 77.5kg and back squat from 45kg to 56kg, again for multiple reps.

LEGS DAY: Back squatting in her funky leggings

Even better is that with all those movements, her form was significantly better. Improved technique, greater results. That’s what this type of program, when combined with a nutritious diet, is all about.

Jamie had to eat differently to the others on the program. While the nutrition side of things felt challenging in 2015, Jamie found it pretty plain sailing this time.

“I was switched on, food-wise,” she said. “I felt like I ate cleaner than before. It reinforced the fact that I am a healthy person. I barely had sore muscles. I wasn’t sick at all even though we trained through the winter season. It shows I’m in good health. The program highlights consistency, which is common sense.”

I’ve seen a level of commitment from Jamie that I haven’t seen before. Since completing the program, she’s been training three times each week under my guidance and set up a small, local sprinting group.

To those contemplating doing the Amazing 12, Jamie said: “What are you waiting for? If you want changes then you have to change what you are doing. If you want lasting changes this might be the program for you.

MOTIVATED: Jamie has risen to a new level

“The Amazing 12 is about changing habits around how you train, eat, how often you train and learning about how to have the energy to get through the day and not feel tired.

“People see the pictures and think it’s purely about aesthetics, but for me it’s primarily a strength and conditioning program.”

Want to achieve results in strength, fitness and body composition? Feel you can follow a training and dietary program for eight or 12 weeks? Want to learn how to lift properly and safely while under supervision? Want to achieve physical changes you’ve not seen or experienced before? Then send me an email – Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk – for information on the next Amazing 12 Chichester wave. An eight-week course starts on May 8. The next 12-week wave begins in September.

Stacey (April 2017)

IT’S a minor miracle Stacey Satta finished the Amazing 12 Chichester program or managed to attend 92% of the gym sessions or did the extra training I prescribed her or got the incredible results that she did.

For years, Stacey, 37, has got by on minimal amounts of sleep. I’m talking literally a few hours here and there.

Somehow she looks fantastic for it.

Also, eight months ago she became a mum and her sleeping got worse. Prior to giving birth (by C-section) she hadn’t done any training for months. By her own admission, she basically sat around eating what she liked and put on weight, took it easy and that became her life pattern.

So when she decided to do the Amazing 12, I had to be sure she was ready – that her body was ready, that her mind was ready.

The sleep was always going to be an issue. Stacey worries a lot. And as sleep is a vital component in helping the body recover and grow and allowing the brain to replenish, I couldn’t be certain how Stacey would fare day after day for three months.

Sleep also is a massive cog in the wheel that drives fat loss. That Stacey was able to go from 10st 2lbs (before the program started) down to 8st 10lbs at the end is a grand success. She hadn’t been under 9st since her teenage days!

Even better was how she went from 26% body fat at week four to 21% at the finish. I’d confidently say that with a better sleeping protocol her results would have been even more spectacular.

A few snippets of Stacey’s training journey

She did the Amazing 12 with her husband Adriano. They would work out separately at Core Results Gym. Only once – in the final week – did they co-train.

So while one looked after baby Leo, the other would go to the gym. Then they’d hand him over. That’s pretty much how it worked.

Instead of saying, “we can’t do it with a young baby,” Stacey and Adriano found a way. They really wanted to do this.

I’ve trained the pair of them on and off for several years. Stacey used to get a lot of migraines (still does) and that would make her miss training. This was another concern. But her attendance and commitment was first class. More often than not when she came in looking spaced out from a lack of sleep and said ‘I’m not feeling great today’, I’d just tell her to do her best, but inside I was always thinking ‘Stacey seems to perform better whenever she says that’.

Stacey must also be one of the few people I’ve ever coached who can maintain a great grin even when she’s up against it. I’ll take that any day.

She didn’t just transform the way she looked physically, but just as importantly – if not more so – Stacey grew stronger and fitter.

Less than a year on since her wedding day

She sent me a photo of herself pregnant on her wedding day last year so I could compare it with how she now looks. It’s extraordinary.

When I think back to the first week of training it seems almost laughable. She was struggling to move 15kg for reps on her bench press, but eventually reached 40kg for multiples, which was more than her previous 3-rep maximum.

Similarly, when I had her shoulder press with 8.5kg, she found it hard and I recall the moment when, flabbergasted, she said “I’m really shocked at how weak I have become”.

But the Amazing 12 did wonders for her shoulder strength and at the end she was pressing 30kg for multiple repetitions, again better than her previous 3-rep best.

Stacey’s always had an excellent squat and though it was also challenging to begin with, her body grew stronger. In the final week I had her warming up with a back squat weight equal to her previous best for three reps. She put the bar back in the rack and said, “I felt I could have done more.”

Stacey worked hard for those muscles (photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

In terms of conditioning, Stacey’s first effort with the prowler, which is one implement I used to measure conditioning improvement, was an agonising 4 minutes 8 seconds. Stacey was able to bring that down to 2 minutes 30 seconds and, in the future, wants to go below two minutes which I have no doubt she can.

And then there were the chin-ups, which she’d never been able to do, not even in her CrossFit days two years ago. But in the final week I asked her to go for it. She gave me an unsure glance and then pulled herself over – not once, but, over 15 minutes, nearly 40 times!

“I was totally amazed,” said Stacey. “I could hardly believe my own strength!”

When I think back to before Christmas, when I sat down to talk to Stacey about doing the program, her priority then was to regain her fitness. “I’m not as bothered about my appearance,” she said. “It’s a bonus if I look good at the end.”

Also, Stacey had never previously stuck to a clean-eating diet. She loves chocolate cakes, biscuits and sugary stuff. That was her biggest concern going into the A12. But the results speak for themselves.

“You’ve been amazing, Claude,” she said in appreciation, which is nice. “We couldn’t have got to where we have without your support and guidance.”

But, as I’ve said before, though, I can guide, but the participant still has to do the work. Stacey followed instructions, came to train and stuck to the eating plan. She’s now going to join my ladies lifting classes on a Sunday morning and continue training with me so we can continue to build on her progress.

If you want results like Stacey’s and to be a part of my next or a future Amazing 12 Chichester, send me an email to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk. My next wave, over eight weeks, begins on May 8. I’m going to do another, over 12 weeks, in September.