Tag: amazing 12 Chichester

Week 9: Lessons from the Blue Zones

FINISHER: Rich brings the week to a close, but hobbles off

BLUE Zones are areas of the world where people have lived healthy and long lives. These are locations – Loma Linda, California; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; highlands of Sardinia, Italy; north main island Okinawa, Japan – where people are measurably happier and can thrive beyond 100.  

Dan Buettner has studied the Blue Zones for decades in his capacity as a journalist and author for the National Geographic.

So when I heard his fascinating interview on a podcast recently with ultra runner Rich Roll, it got me thinking along many lines. While I’m not fixated on longevity, I do think what matters more is quality of life.

As our health and well-being directly impacts the quality of our life, should it not be something we take seriously?

The premise of the Blue Zone data was that our health and wellness is very much shaped by our environment and lifestyles.

The people who live in the Blue Zones are active, eat healthily and mostly plant-based, belong to and form strong communities, enjoy the outdoors – all common factors in contributing to their vitality and happiness.

COMMITTED: Stacey gives her all

So how does this all tie in with the Amazing 12? For starters, the Amazing 12 promotes strength, movement and a wholefood way of eating. And everyone who does the Amazing 12 is seeking transformation. Transformation is change. Change, for many of us, is difficult. In many cases it requires us to break habits and habits, as I’ve written about many times previously, are sometimes hard-wired into us.

Therefore an important aspect is how we support change. Forcing change doesn’t often work. But what if by changing the smaller things in our lives we can impact the bigger issues?

Our environment is what surrounds us and this could mean the location of where you live and work, the size and style of your home, your streets, the people you share your time with and your support network etc.

For example, you probably have a greater chance of adopting a poor diet if you lived next door to McDonald’s than if your neighbour was a health food shop.

Someone with a garden is likely to be more active and spend time outdoors than someone who doesn’t have one.

An individual who needs more movement and fresh air in their life will possibly have more success if they don’t drive. They’d instead walk and be outdoors more. They’d probably save money and be much fitter as well. Conveniences, for all their benefits, make us lazier. 

The Blue Zones tell me that we can do more to stack things in our favour. The people who live in the Blue Zones never go to a gym because they don’t have to. Most of us, though, don’t live that type of life. 

ANTIDOTE: we need strengthening exercises to make up for the way we spend most of our days

Those of us who go to gyms often do so to make up for what our lifestyle doesn’t offer us. It can also be protection against what our lifestyle is doing to us.

I see the Amazing 12 as an effective means for accelerating the process of physical transformation (no matter what level you are at). It’s not super-quick, but it’s as quick as it can get without using harmful substances. It is by no means the end either, because there should be no end. If you value life, you should value your body. That means making it last. 

If we take the same approach to training and movement as the people of the Blue Zones do to work and activity, we won’t stop until our dying day.

In the northern part of Okinawa, Japan, the word for “retirement’ doesn’t even exist in their vocabulary and a more commonly used word is one that translates to having a “reason for which to wake up in the morning”. A purpose.

COMFORTABLE: Stacey lifting beyond what she finished with on the first Amazing 12

On the Amazing 12 one has a purpose. It is to train five days a week in the gym, follow a healthy eating plan, get sufficient sleep in order to recover, sometimes do additional training outside of the gym sessions etc.

It requires dedication, commitment, organization, application and discipline. But how do we each create our own Blue Zones to make following a program easier?

As Colin Hudon, a physician of Traditional Chinese Medicine said, “Discipline is difficult only until it becomes a habit.”

When I coach people, I ask about lifestyle because I know it’s an obstacle. I’m invested in their results and success.

I’m writing about the findings of the Blue Zones because having the awareness of how much our environment can influence our behaviour is a critical starting point. Some of us probably haven’t ever considered its significance.

EFFORT: Rich pushing the envelope

While going to the gym or working out (in the right way, of course) or playing sport is important for our health, what matters just as much, if not more, is how we spend the rest of our hours in the day. Is it sitting down? Is it under stress? Is it in a physically demanding setting? Is it indoors in artificial light? Is it facing a computer screen? Is it working endless hours? Is it commuting long distances? Is it doing something that brings us little joy or fulfilment? 

Often, in order to get the most effective results, we need to combine the right activity with the right lifestyle. Does someone in a frenetic job require an intense form of exercise or something more calming? Usually, we seek out a form of movement or activity that either matches our personality or state of mind when, in all honesty, maybe the opposite is needed.

NEAR EMPTY: Stacey squatting well, but too tired to finish the week

The ongoing battle with Stacey, now nine weeks into the Amazing 12 Chichester alongside Rich, has been a lack of sleep. This week she was feeling more exhausted than normal. It reached a point when she pretty much could no longer function. Even though she wanted to work out, she was better off resting than training. She understood that.

For Rich, who had an excellent week of training and continued to make progress, it ended on a down note when he jarred his suspect knee (which has been operated on several times) near the end of the final session.

It was serious enough for us to cut the workout short. I’m hoping it’s not going to put him out of action.

The long-term answer for Stacey, though, is finding a solution to her sleepless nights so not only can she effectively recover from training, but massively improve her quality of life.

For anyone who struggles to sleep, the question is whether they’ve consistently laid the foundations to promote a good night’s rest.

It is made more challenging for Stacey because she has a young son. But she can still load the odds in her favour: black out her room; begin winding/calming down two hours before going to sleep; turn off electronic appliances one hour before sleep time; read a book; drink teas that help; use liquid magnesium; try meditation; wear an eye mask; create the right room temperature…

Buettner has proven how by changing the environment you can change the person. He has set up a company in the United States which, by invitation, facilitates the remodelling of cities where the health of the population is in urgent need of rescuing.

They, for example, created more parks, planted more trees, introduced more cycle paths, more restaurants with healthy options and provided access to fruits and vegetables at affordable prices.

In many of these cities people, without being told, began eating more healthily, moved more, spent a greater time outdoors and in natural surroundings. Consequently, the rates of disease began to fall and quite rapidly.

VALUES: Rich makes his training and diet a priority

Learning about the Blue Zones made me also think about Rich, because he rides his bike to the gym and back to every session (five days a week). This choice means he spends more time outdoors in the fresh air (unless stuck in traffic), gets added exercise (a good warm-up and warm-down for training) and saves on fuel and wear and tear for his car.

“Sometimes I’ll go months without driving,” says Rich, who also walks a lot, which is a trait of people who live in the Blue Zones.

Health and strength matters to him. He has created important cornerstones in his life that are in harmony with the goals he has for himself.

The crux of the information is that, even if we aren’t fortunate enough to live in a part of the world with a great year-round temperature or oceans or mountainscape or greenery, there’s still a lot we can do to increase our odds for success.

Ask yourself first how you want your life and health to be and then what choices you consistently make to bring them more in alignment with your aspirations.

 

Week 8: Over the hump

BREAKTHROUGH: progress comes with patience

SEVERAL weeks ago, almost at the beginning of the Amazing 12 Chichester and after Rich Evans had completed a set of back squats, I scribbled down a note that it was “challenging”.

Later, throughout weeks five, six and seven, Rich felt depleted, mentally and physically. Stacey Satta hit a wall during the same period.

We’re now at the end of week 8 at Core Results – three-quarters of the way through – and Rich and Stacey each appear to have gone over the hump.

How, you might ask, if the program is progressively more demanding, can they now feel better?

It’s called adaptation.

SKIP IN HER STEP: it’s amazing what Stacey can do with some sleep

Stacey even managed this week to get some sleep on successive nights – four hours or thereabouts – and it made the world of difference to her workout. For any normal person, that would be a crisis point. But for Stacey it was cause for celebration. She had bundles of energy.

Rich has had an added bounce to his step, too. When he did his squats, he looked as if he completed them more easily in week 8 than in week 2, when he felt it was testing. But now he has more weight on the bar. And there’s much more to come.

The signs of progress keep coming. Stacey has already equalled her deadlift weight from the first trip around the Amazing 12. In fact, when she did it in June, I recall the weight she is at now being significantly tougher. I remember how she couldn’t complete the workout as prescribed and we had to back-track to enable her to regain her confidence, which she quickly did.

LOADED: walking the weights

Similarly, her back squat is now near to where she ended the first A12. Stacey can also walk lengths of the gym carrying a weight she once found difficult to deadlift for a single rep (on the first Amazing 12).

Stacey this week comfortably performed multiple Turkish Get-ups with a kettlebell she couldn’t complete a single rep with only a few weeks ago. And on one particular exercise she achieved a level beyond anyone I’ve previously taken through the program. 

Yet by the final session of this week, with a few more sleepless nights thrown in and life being a little more stressful than usual away from the gym, Stacey was ready for some reprieve and much-needed recovery.

ENERGY: there was a noticeable difference in Rich

Rich, by contrast, was back to his normal self. “Generally, I feel so much better,” he said. He’d also dropped 5lbs in weight and was looking leaner. His recovery has improved. And, as someone who tracks everything, he observed how his heartrate had gone down, too – both when resting and training hard – indications his conditioning is getting better.

It’s always a nice feeling to get over the sticking points as they can cause a lot of self-doubt and knock confidence. But with experience, patience and know-how, you can break through.

FRIENDLY COMPETITION: bringing the best out of each other

As you go through a process like this, you come to understand just how magnificent the human body is and how limitless, when challenged intelligently, our potential for growth is.

Rich and Stacey have worked well alongside each other, too. You can see how one spurs on the other. Even though I don’t purposely make the Amazing 12 competitive, some personalities are that way inclined.

WORKING HARD: there’s a time and a place

If Rich achieves a certain amount of reps, Stacey will sometimes try to match or better it and vice versa. That’s all fine in my book, so long as quality of movement isn’t sacrificed. But it does reveal how our limitations are often a mental construct – that if training alone, perhaps Stacey or Rich, without a number to chase or standard to match, would possibly produce or settle for less.

As a coach, I’m always looking for the combination that brings out the best in people. If competition does that, I encourage it. If it doesn’t, I’ll say it doesn’t matter and to focus on themselves.

GETTING STARTED: Stacey warming up

The conversations we have during training – when Rich and Stacey are resting (I don’t advocate talking while working) – are often on how much psychology plays a part in human performance. They’ve come to understand better that this is an area which requires as much attention as the training itself. And the same can be said for rest and recovery.

It’s easy to understand why the latter – the recovery – is underestimated and overlooked when the spotlight is always so brightly fixed on the training.

ADAPTING: getting used to his new rope

The emphasis these days is on the workout and the reps and the pain and the weight and the fancy gear or equipment that makes us look better. But none of it matters if our recovery isn’t sufficient to promote growth and repair. The adaptation happens when we stop training.

As respected and accomplished American strength and conditioning trainer Dan John said in his book Intervention, “We have this work ethic that somehow we are sinning unless we train at maximal effort each and every workout. That’s simply not how the body works.”

It’s not only about muscular recovery. Even when our muscles feel pain-free, continued stress from training coupled with a stressful lifestyle and poor food choices takes a wicked toll on the nervous system.

FOCUS: the TGU is a great way to slow down

The beauty of the Amazing 12 is that the program, when properly administered, has a defence system built into it. It’s designed in such a way that the participant often recovers at the rate needed in which to take on the next challenge.

It didn’t surprise me to see Rich and Stacey bounce back this week. And there may be another hump to navigate before the finish. But when all the boxes are ticked – training, rest, nutrition, stress, technique – it’s easier to succeed.

REFLECTION: finishing a more enduring workout

For some of us, the idea that physical success can be “easy” goes against what we’ve been led to believe or contradicts the commonly-marketed image – that results come purely from increased effort and repeatedly knocking through the pain barrier. 

I’m not knocking effort. But I do question effort for the sake of effort and intensity to cause pain and exhaustion. I value efficiency over effort. Training smarter trumps training harder – in most cases. 

The Amazing 12 requires hard work on many levels. But the goal is to make you greater, not weaker. The aim is to develop, not crush. The intention is to make you cleverer in your approach. The desired outcome is to create progress, not puddles of sweat.

If my training philosophy resonates with you and you have targets you want to achieve and need guidance on how to make it happen, why not sign up for some personal training? Alternatively, I run a boxing fitness class for women every Tuesday from 1-2pm at Core Results. From next January I start another round of the Amazing 12 and a women’s weight-lifting program on Sunday mornings. Email me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for more information or any questions. 

 

Week 7: On the ropes

ANIMAL INSTINCT: crawling is a natural but forgotten movement

I GET asked frequently if everyone on the Amazing 12 does precisely the same thing. The answer is no. Not exactly.

As we’re all unique, a tailored approach is needed for each individual. That’s how effective training ought to be.

Not everyone going into a doctor’s surgery seeking health gets exactly the same prescription. But the healing process works in a particular way and, as with the Amazing 12, the principles for developing strength and fitness and losing or gaining weight are consistent.

There will always be occasions when, for one reason or another (usually because of injury or mobility restrictions or body composition or fitness levels or age), different exercises or movements or levels of intensity are necessary.

It’s happened on the Amazing 12 program many times previously when somebody simply can’t perform an exercise correctly and, rather than plug away and risk injury, I substitute the movement for another that can be executed with better technique.

FLOORED: pressing her way to a stronger body

Stacey, who along with Rich has now come to the end of week 7 on the Amazing 12 Chichester, has, for example, had a niggling pain in her rotator cuff. It’s not so painful that she screams in agony, but it’s restrictive and there’s enough discomfort to suggest we try an alternative.

We’ve experimented a lot the past four weeks with the goal being to continue making progress without worsening the injury.

What makes it undoubtedly tougher for Stacey is her lack of sleep as it’s during sleep that the body does its repair work.

Your training program is only as good as your ability to recover from it.

Having had rotator cuff injuries in the past – mainly from over-use and, when I was younger, not being shown how to lift weights properly (especially in the bench press) – I’m reluctant to take anyone down the path of let’s-push-it-and-see.

Pain in the body is like an internal alarm telling us something is wrong and that we should do it differently or not at all.

But we need to understand the difference between pain and discomfort.

GET-UP AND GO: one of the best movements going

I’ve modified some of Stacey’s program. And, given her sleep issues, I have to be careful not to push her over the edge when her energy levels are low.  

On some days she’s brilliant and on others she is completely spent. I can’t expect her to excel on the latter.

But not a week passes when I don’t think what her potential could be if she were to get a good night’s rest every day.

One day this week at Core Results, after about the fifth consecutive night without any sleep, she came in looking wrecked, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Having had insomnia for the best part of 10 years, Stacey has grown used to it yet still looks amazing. She can function in situations where many of us who sleep well simply would fall apart.

SLEEPLESS: Yet Stacey can still crush the deadlift

So for Stacey to look tired, I knew she was seriously deprived of rest. And yet, in spite of the fact that most of our fat-burning takes place during sleep, Stacey still dropped more weight and fat.

Rich and I just looked at each other and wondered how it had happened. Overnight, Stacey looked as if half her body had disappeared. Whether it’s her magical watercress and pea soup she’s concocted that’s doing it or not, she had reached a point where she was as light as she’s been since she was 16!

The main difference, though, is that she couldn’t back squat 70kg comfortably when she was a teenager and can now.

However, having already missed a day this week (through tiredness), Stacey didn’t want to skip another. I was reluctant for her to train. She was keen to see what she could do. So we took it step by step. She got some work done and we agreed when it was time to wrap it up.

SHOPPING PRACTICE: functional training at its best

The important lesson here is to learn to listen to your body. Don’t wait until it breaks to take notice. The body continually feeds back information. There’s a difference between being in a state where you haven’t recovered and can barely stand up and just not being in the mood to move or work.

Understanding the difference requires experience. Some of us wake up with a runny nose and decide to put our feet up and stay in bed, while others put on the running shoes and head outside for some exercise and fresh air.

Rich has been ‘feeling it’ this week also. By contrast, he sleeps really well. But he’s been feeling physically tired from the training (fairly common at the halfway stage). He’s clearly getting stronger and fitter, but not yet as lean as he would like to be (there are still five weeks to go).

NEEDING A LIFT: remaining strong through a tough week

Rich is an interesting case – and this goes back to how we are all so unique. As I mentioned a few weeks back, Rich has had almost every test going to figure out why his body hangs on to fat. Some of his testing has revealed that, for whatever reason, his body clings to fat in circumstances where others will shed it. He has a “moderate fat-burning response to exercise” and a “susceptibility to carry more weight and lose weight slower”, all of which stems from a “severely limited ability to release fat from fat cells and into the blood for energy use.”

For Rich, who loves a question and, even more so, an answer, not knowing the cause is more frustrating than having tried so many different options without success. 

Being vegan, he’s on a different diet to Stacey and we’re also experimenting with some other techniques which could accelerate the process of shifting body fat and improving his metabolism.

GRIND: it’s been a tough week for Rich

Training and diet, like life, is often a game of trial and error – working out what is the most effective way to do something. I’m adapting the Amazing 12 program to best suit someone like Rich.

Theoretically, as Rich increases his muscle mass – which he is doing – he should burn more fat. And as he continues to eat a wholefood diet with quality ingredients and in the right proportions, he should become leaner.

Over the next five weeks his strength is going to shoot up and so, too, should his muscle mass.

PREP WORK: getting the muscles ready for a workout

Rich, though, is concerned he won’t be able to maintain pace. He gives his all in every session and, consequently, has felt “battered” and as though he “running on empty”. He admits, though, that following his mum’s passing only a few weeks ago it’s been an emotionally tough time as well.

Although he “feels” like he’s running on fumes, what he’s actually achieving remains impressive.

It’s different for everyone. I’ve had participants feeling fantastic at the halfway point and bouncing with energy, while others feel completed wasted. The key remains to see it through to the end. The Amazing 12 journey isn’t complete at three, six or 1o weeks and there are many cases where the significant changes have happened from week 10 onwards.

What the participants often don’t see is the numbers – the data I collect from every session. Training sessions can feel tough and exhausting. And Rich’s tendency to search for his limits will contribute to that. But as someone’s strength and fitness increases so does the ability to extend themselves.

IMPROVED: Stacey’s way ahead of where she was last time at week 7

Stacey has already surpassed in most of the exercises on the program her performances from the first time she completed the Amazing 12. She’s not finding it any easier, though. The experience feels quite different. 

These guys are going through a proverbial storm. If they were boxers, they’d be on the ropes. But they are still in the fight. That’s the main thing and for as long as they are standing they have a chance to share the spoils.

As author Brendon Burchard posted this week, “No-one who has ever achieved greatness avoided struggle. They met it, engaged with it. They knew it was necessary.”

 

Week 6: The Inner Game

GRAINY: when our thoughts lack clarity, like this picture of Rich, the body can become confused

IN the world of high-level sports the difference between first and second is often what takes place between your ears.

The inner game – that ability to stay calm and focused amidst chaos; to put out of our minds a mistake; to rebound from a lost opportunity; to forgive ourselves; to overcome failing to meet an expectation, to cast aside doubt when times are troublesome; to deal with pain or discomfort or injury; to cope with pressure; to ride in the face of fear…

However, when it comes to skill and mastery – and this may sound like a contradiction – often the execution of a given movement or skill to a high standard doesn’t involve much thought at all. It’s instinctive. It’s reactive. It’s something that has been practised so frequently that it just happens. The mind is off. The timing is exquisite. The body knows what it needs to do.

There are two entities: the body and the mind. When working together, they can be formidable. When there is friction, progress or function seems sticky or stationary even.

Just like our muscles have to dance between tension and relaxation to enable us to operate at our highest, our mind has a yin and yang of its own, too.

In terms of lifting weights, for instance, we take in the information, process it, instruct and remind our bodies what to do and, using our senses, practice until we get better and it becomes easier.

There comes a point when we do more feeling and less thinking. This is having the intuition to know when everything is positioned as it should be and then it just flows perfectly. That takes repetition. Lots and lots of repetition.

REPETITION: that’s how improvement is achieved

The inner game also takes years to tame for most of us. Maybe ‘tame’ isn’t the right word, because I’m not sure we ever fully tame our minds. But we can definitely train our thoughts. As I wrote in my Week 5 blog of the Amazing 12 Chichester, we are all programmed uniquely, be it athletically or academically or creatively, and it is this that gives us an advantage or puts us at a disadvantage depending on our circumstances. 

To change and improve is a process – a process that is as applicable to the mind as it is the body.

As coach Vic Braden wrote in Mental Tennis, a book I read many moons ago, “You should approach the process [of change] with the understanding that the brain does not change a software package quickly.”

Some of us, when learning a new or unfamiliar task, have to work harder and think harder, too. That point was highlighted this week on the Amazing 12 Chichester, as Rich and Stacey reached the halfway mark.

Midway, Rich had a frustrating night when practising the deadlift, a movement that has confounded him for many years. He was so consumed by frustration that it left him more listless than normal for the exercises that followed even though he was determined to make amends.

And the next day, when we resumed training, he was still mulling over the events from the night before, perplexed by how he just ‘couldn’t get it’.

BETTER SPIRITS: Rich getting back into full flow

As a questioner, Rich wanted to know ‘why?’ Was it a lack of mobility? Was it a lack of strength? Was it poor balance? Was it a weak core? Was it because he doubted himself?

What made it more frustrating was that the previous week Rich had made sizeable strides in the right direction and so he felt like he’d taken a massive backwards step.

As Braden explains, “in motor learning you might know what you want to do, but the brain replies, ‘Well, that’s fine, but I’ve still got a package up here and I’m hanging on to it’.”

Braden adds: “We get accustomed to functioning in a certain way and, psychologically, that way becomes very comfortable for us…bear in mind that psychological comfort is a very powerful quality for all of us. You might have to get a little uncomfortable before you can make the change you are after.”

There are several more tiers to Rich’s situation. (a) The expectation of thinking that we should be able to accomplish something in a given time when often our forecasts are unreasonable. How can we know how long it takes to learn or improve something when we are all so different?

(b) Sometimes we have to accept we can’t always have our questions answered or that we can’t have them answered in the way we want. There are times when we just have to let go – take the situation for what it is, move forwards and keep practicing, knowing the next day provides a new opportunity and that, with persistent effort, the breakthrough moment will come.

(c) We can view setbacks as positive and as learning and defining moments in our development. As I wrote in week 3, the path for progress is seldom linear. Often we take two steps forwards and one step back. We shouldn’t be disappointed on the occasions we don’t feel as if we are advancing.

(d) Each setback provides the opportunity to change a pattern of thinking: to bring awareness to a response or reaction that doesn’t enhance our experience. From there we can work towards introducing a new pattern/way of thinking – overwrite the old software, so to speak.

(e) There’s the overthinking. We can try so hard to work it out that, with too many thoughts flooding our brains, nothing works at all.

(f) Injury prevention. Rich has hurt his back in the past. When our body senses a threat or fears danger or the brain is sending a message of concern, the Central Nervous System goes into preservation mode and the body can tighten up to protect itself and thus make it harder to follow instructions or perform.  

Rich can see how the ‘inner game’ plays a critical role when the stakes are high in top level sports, but what about the everyday athlete?

MOVING UPWARDS: every opportunity and experience provides learning

Put it this way: every top athlete was once an everyday athlete and the ‘inner game’ of a champion had to be cultivated from early on. He or she, using experience, had to train his or her  thinking, just like muscles.

We need the inner game for everyday life, too. The gym is a place, like many, that allows us the opportunity to get better at it.

Having one ‘bad’ session on the Amazing 12 is like losing a point in a game of tennis. Don’t let that point lose you the match.

What determines the healthfulness of our bodies and minds is what we put in our mouths and heads respectively. 

With Rich’s head in a muddle, I decided to take a gamble midweek. At Core Results, where we train, there is always a monthly gym challenge and I had Rich do it a few weeks ago as a finisher and as a marker to see where he was, fitness-wise, so I could have him try it again later. It involved goblet squats and heavy ball slams. It was a relatively short but high-intensity workout with low risk for those who aren’t so technically blessed.

BALANCE: we can train the mind as we can the body

I had Stacey do it as well a few weeks back. Typically, Rich attacked it with everything he had, finishing in 5 mins 48 seconds and, given how he went at it, I thought it would be a challenging time to beat.

Low and behold, someone came in the next day and knocked a good chunk off it, reducing the leading time to 4 mins 21. And then it went down further, to 3 mins 28.

Stacey also went for it with all she had at the end of one of our normal sessions and got the job done in an impressive 4 mins 58, but it took everything out of her.

This week, without prior warning, I had them both retry. Stacey didn’t want to. She said her legs were aching from the night before and that there was ‘no way’ she’d better her time. I just told her to do her best.

LEADERBOARD: A12 duo doing well in first and third

Even with a couple of no-reps, which she had to repeat, she registered an emphatic 4 mins 33 (25 seconds improvement in 13 days).

To sum up just how her mindset had shifted afterwards, Stacey, who doubted herself beforehand, said confidently, “I think I can do it faster.”

My ‘gamble’ on Rich was in order to lift his spirits. I felt, in spite of his funk over the deadlifts, that he could beat his goblet squat/ball slam time to at least remind him he was getting fitter and stronger. I was confident he could do it. If he didn’t, though, he might beat himself up further and conclude he was going backwards rather than forwards.

“I’ll give it a go,” he said. And he did, finishing in 4 mins 53, which is a staggering 55 seconds quicker than his first attempt two weeks previously, the one I thought would take some beating!

DRILLED: Stacey on her back squats

These are just little finishers, but they reveal progress. They tell me if someone is getting fitter and they can also help form a stronger mindset. In training, there are small victories to be had all the time if you are prepared to see them.

Battles are won this way. Change is difficult, but takes place incrementally. However, we need to know how to handle the moments that don’t go as anticipated or desired. Failure only exists when we fail to learn from our setbacks. Nothing is a waste of time, because every situation offers an opportunity to learn and develop.

To be at our best, we should perhaps take a leaf out of the book of the finest. Braden explains that the great tennis players (and this applies to most top athletes) “respond to their momentary failures and mistakes on court by pushing and willing themselves toward mental recovery. They never submit to their cycle of self-doubt, the cycle that starts with the silent cry, ‘I’m finished’.”

You’re only finished if you believe you are finished. Belief is a thought about something. And we can always change our beliefs if we permit ourselves to.  

So here are a few questions to ponder: what beliefs do you hold about yourself that aren’t true? How do you respond to setbacks and what language do you use with yourself in those instances? Is your attitude to change and transformation a positive one and, if not, what can you do to improve it?

 

Week 5: Why repetition is so crucial

SECOND NATURE: Rich and Stacey can skip on auto pilot because they’ve done it so often

HAVE you ever tried learning something – it could be anything – and it just seems an endless struggle? Or have you noticed how some of us pick up new skills or perform tasks far easier than others?

We’re all different. We learn in different ways. Physically, mentally and emotionally, we are hard-wired differently.

It doesn’t mean we are better or worse than the next person. Only different. And if we want to improve or change, we can. But the way we are programmed means that change is often slow and only those who persevere with the process reach their destination.

The people I’ve worked with on the Amazing 12 Chichester transformation program have all had contrasting strengths and weaknesses.

My current pair, Rich and Stacey, now at the end of week 5, are no exceptions.

PRACTICING: Rich working on the hinge pattern

Rich, for example, has always found it hard to get the hang of the hinge technique which is essential for the deadlift and kettlebell swings, whereas, by contrast, Stacey finds it almost effortless. There could be anatomical reasons for this also.

“I just don’t understand why I find some things so hard and Stacey makes it look so easy,” said Rich this week.

But what may explain how some of us take more easily to certain tasks and challenges than others is that we are all programmed uniquely.

Our programming covers everything, from the way we think to how we move to our beliefs and desires.

I’ve noticed how there are things Rich has adapted to much better than Stacey, again highlighting how each of us is unique.

UNIQUE: some movements are easier for us than others

Crucially, Bruce Lipton, a cellular biologist and an expert on this subject, explains how most of our programming is done during the first seven years of life and some of it pre-birth.

By the age of seven we are very much set in the way we do things, hence the expression about “show me the boy at seven and I will show you the man”.

It may explain also how some of us seem so naturally talented. This ‘talent’ is programming that’s either inherited or learned during those seven years.

Our programming is stored in our subconscious, which is where habits reside. According to Lipton, we operate from the subconscious 95 per cent of the time.

“The subconscious mind is like a machine,” explains Lipton. “It records, pushes a button, plays back.”

SPEED WORK: sprinting with the prowler

Everything we do is being recorded, whether we like it or not. For example, the person who comes home from work, plonks himself on a couch, watches television and doesn’t move for the next four hours each day is recording a pattern he or she may not even realise is being recorded.

Or, as I have written about previously, the person who complains repeatedly is re-recording the same pattern. Or the individual who automatically reaches for their phone upon waking is reinforcing a pattern…

Lipton says the process for changing habits shouldn’t be rushed because it takes time, which, of course, conflicts with our impatience for results.

“You don’t want it to change very quickly, because otherwise habits fall apart,” says Lipton. “Habits are resistant to change.”

MODIFICATION: Stacey pressing with a football bar

The good news is that the programming can be changed. The bad news is that it requires work, action, discipline, commitment and patience.

Some challenges may seem impossible. But remember that on the other side of impossible is the possible.

So what is the best way to change this programming that is within each of us?

According to Lipton, there are three main ways. One is hypnosis, because, as Lipton explains, for the first seven years of life our minds operate at a low vibrational frequency. Many athletes successfully use forms of hypnosis to improve their performances.

The second – and more common method – is repetition: doing something over and over. “Practice, repeat, practice,” says Lipton, which is how it works often in the gym with developing and honing techniques and skills. It’s why, for the best results, training needs to be repetitive.

“It’s about habituation,” says Lipton. “Where you make a practice out of something every day and repeat it over and over again.”

GROWING: Rich’s strength is on the increase

However, the process starts with awareness – recognition of our behaviour. To change something, we need to be conscious of what’s going on. But, as Lipton explains, the conscious and subconscious mind operate differently.

Our thoughts are hugely important in this respect. Earl Nightingale, the famous American author who studied human behaviour, once wrote: “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition will one day become our reality.”

Lipton adds to this that “the picture you hold in your mind creates the behaviours and biology you express in life. Take fear, for example. Fear causes 90 per cent of illnesses on the planet. It’s all generated by the perception of the mind.”

Therefore, a vital cog in the wheel of change is the belief that you can change. Practice and repetition in the right way can help to foster confidence that encourages belief that leads to change.

Energy grows where energy goes, so to speak.

HARD WORK: week 5 must go down as the toughest so far

Belief is something that can ebb and flow. I notice with Rich and Stacey how on some days and weeks they are more focused and confident than others.

This week at the Core Results Gym was particularly hard for them both, especially Stacey. She took a day off on the final day. I don’t encourage skipping training sessions, but there are times when it’s the best course of action. With the training getting harder and her continued lack of sleep, Stacey’s body badly needed some reprieve.

Stacey’s finding her journey through the Amazing 12 much tougher second time around, mainly because she’s stronger and therefore the loads she is having to lift and move are greater.  

Rich, too, felt it was a grind after flying through the first four weeks. He works tremendously hard in every session. But he admitted he had to dig especially deep this week and felt depleted by the end of it.

It won’t remain that way. That’s the magnificence of the human body (if treated respectfully). With sufficient rest, it recovers, adapts and comes back stronger than before. This is physical change.

ONE MORE REP: Rich is not one to give up easily

Remember the graph I used in my Week 3 blog illustrating a typical path of progress? It doesn’t always take a straight line, but the overall trend is upwards. This was one of those weeks where the line of progress was flatter.

Physical change can be a lot easier to alter than habitual change. For instance, Rich drives himself to the limit all the time and there are occasions where I don’t want him to (for good reason). He has had to learn to control that habit.

In fact, when you watch people train, as I do every day, you can see how the vast majority of actions and thoughts are dictated by habitual behaviour.

William James, the American philosopher, wrote in 1892 that “all our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits.”

TESTER: crawling can challenge the brain as well as the body

According to Charles Duhigg’s excellent book The Power of Habit, “habits never disappear. They are encoded into the structures of the brain.”

It explains how and why we can slip back into old habits. To change means overwriting one program with another.

“Habits, though, are as much a curse as they are a benefit,” says Duhigg. In training, someone who has a habit of losing concentration can cause themselves injury, while someone whose habit is to never give up won’t ever need motivating.

With regards to food and eating, bad habits, we know, can undermine our best intentions. Good habits keep us on track.

Therefore we need to identify (awareness) the habits that are holding us back and work on re-patterning and replacing them.

When I coach Rich and Stacey, I look to how they move and breath and think and respond to different stressors and cues to identify habits. If they need modifying, I remind them, sometimes repeatedly. Consciously, they will then try to perform or think differently until the action becomes subconscious and doesn’t require much or any thought.

SMILING: it doesn’t matter how difficult it gets, Stacey tries to grin through it

Whether or not 12 weeks is long enough to bring about lasting changes depends on the individual and how committed they are to the process of change and how deeply ingrained the original patterns are.

“Habits, as much as memory or reason, are the root of how we behave,” wrote Duhigg. “Once they are lodged within our brains they influence how we act – often without realization.

“They shape our lives far more than we realise – they are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense.”

Here’s the challenge for this week: try to identify the habits in your behaviour and thinking and decide whether they are in alignment with your best intentions and beliefs.

 

Week 4: Why muscles are a life-saver

BENEFITS: not many exercises can beat the Farmer’s Carry

IF you really knew and understood fully the purpose, function and importance of muscles, you might not be afraid of them. You’d probably re-evaluate your thinking or maybe even consider lifting weights or explore how to begin a resistance training protocol.

I have written about muscle before, but it never hurts to revisit a subject or expand on it or write about it from a different angle.

When people see the Amazing 12 Transformation program, it is commonly assumed that the process is purely in search of vanity – that the training and lifting weights and attention to nutrition is only to reshape our bodies so we look and feel better.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course. I’m all for improving the way we look and feel. Who isn’t? It’s the most common reason people go to the gym. But it’s the add-ons and where having muscle us useful that often gets ignored.

I shared a short video clip this week on my Intelligent Strength Facebook page that outlined the importance of muscle and how the latest research supports this (not that it was ever in doubt).

MOBILITY: I get shoulder envy watching Rich do these

We are usually at our muscular peak around the age of 30 and thereafter it becomes more difficult to retain. We start to lose more than we gain and this process of atrophy accelerates between the ages of 50 and 60.

But rather than resign ourselves to becoming week and frail, we CAN do something about it. According to the film clip, researchers have discovered that “as long as we keep challenging our muscles, we can hold on to and even increase mass into old age.”

I’ve found this to be true not only personally but also in people I coach. The problem is that as we age, we tend to reduce our activity levels and shy away from demanding jobs or tasks, when we actually need to work harder and manage our diets more smartly in order to retain the muscle that’s going to be essential for old age.

“A lack of muscle mass causes a lot of deaths in old people because they can’t prevent themselves from falling over and they struggle to look after themselves,” the film said.

Muscle helps preserve and maintain bone density. In the absence of muscle your bones become frail.

NEVER TOO LATE: Extraordinary Ann, 77 years young

I currently have a 77-year-old training with me and learning to lift weights. She’s incredible. It’s never too late to start!

Rich and Stacey, now at the end of week 4 on the Amazing 12 Chichester, are 48 and 38 respectively. Hardly old, but on the other side of 30.

Each has a clear understanding of the benefits of weight-training. They know also that while the program is designed to improve their appearance, it will boost their strength and fitness significantly, too. Stacey, after all, has done it before.

More importantly, they each comprehend that the journey doesn’t end after 12 weeks – that this needs to be a life-long commitment because that’s how long we are going to require our muscles to be strong and useful.

GROWING: Rich’s strength keeps increasing

“Having muscle is an essential part of growing old gracefully,” said Stacey. “It will enable me to move and function the way I want to.

“I want to be as strong as possible and if that means looking muscular, which some may not find attractive, then so be it.”

If you’ve not exercised in a long time and are overweight or out of shape, the idea of getting fit and strong can be a daunting one.

That’s why a program such as the Amazing 12 works so well. It can help someone go from next to nothing to making ‘amazing’ progress in a relatively short period whilst also providing a clearer understanding of what it takes – in terms of nutrition and lifestyle – to sustain it. It also teaches and drills important lifting techniques that can be adapted for everyday life.

Weight-lifting is effective because the demand on the muscles is greater (provided you know what you’re doing) than other forms of exercise. Rich, for instance, was doing a lot of training pre-Amazing 12, but found he was burning muscle and not building it.

In the short time he’s been on the Amazing 12, it’s clear, just by looking at him each day, he is starting to develop muscle, which was one of his objectives.

Stacey, too, has a healthy and practical view of what having muscles is about, but finds it frustrating that some can’t see how the benefits outweigh the aesthetics.

“I’d rather have larger muscle mass – and improve the functionality and health of my body – than not,” she said.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Stacey’s more advanced in her progress second time around

“I think it’s a bit of a myth anyway that women bulk up from lifting weights as we’re built so differently to men.

“Muscles are sexy. They show strength. How can someone who is strong, in whatever form, be regarded as unattractive?”

For Rich, part of this process is to become more ‘body confident’. “I’ve never felt happy with carrying a bit of fat. That’s why I’ve done all sorts in the past to find out why I can’t shift it – for both looks, vanity, self-confidence, but also long-term health benefits.”

Results are never instant, though. It’s important when embarking on a training program to be realistic about what you can achieve and how long it will take.

VARIATION: Practicing the Turkish Get-up

Rich and Stacey know the way I work. I’m continually reminding them of the need for patience, taking each step as it comes, enjoying the process, turning perceived setbacks into positives etc.

This week Stacey had to miss one session, her first, as she was so run down and Rich skipped three in order to attend his mother’s funeral. Yet he still did some training I set for him on the days he couldn’t get to the gym.

RAISING THE BAR: Stacey’s paying more attention to technique

There’s a level of commitment needed to accomplish a task or achieve goals or become successful or just stay the course and I’m more than happy with the progress Stacey and Rich have made so far.

To embark on the Amazing 12 or any other dedicated training program is sending a message that you place a high value on your wellness and physical performance. It means you are prioritising yourself and yet it’s something many us have difficulty accepting.

For some this will evoke a feeling of guilt. But is it wrong to want to take care of or take time out for yourself? And, as I often say to my clients, should you feel guilty if you’ve done nothing wrong?

As far as I am concerned, we are all ‘worth it’. Building muscle is one of the greatest investments you will ever make. In fact, in many cases it could be a life-saver.

If results, guidance and a tried-and-tested program is what you are seeking, why not sign up for the next Amazing 12 Chichester, which starts in January 2018? For ladies interested in learning lifting basics in a non-threatening atmosphere, I run a Sunday morning program. And if 1:1 or small group personal training is what you are after, I’m happy to help you achieve your goals. All enquiries to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

 

Week 3: Too much information?

STRAPPED IN: under that shirt Rich has on his heart rate monitor

TO track or not track? That is the question.

We live in a highly technological age where gadgets abound. It is estimated that by 2018 there will be in the region of 250 million tracking devices in circulation globally. Some are more sophisticated than others. But are they beneficial or not?

There are positives and negatives, of course. Take, for example, Stacey, who has now completed three weeks of the Amazing 12 Chichester at the Core Results Gym – her second journey through the transformation program.

She weighs herself weekly, though sometimes more frequently. Before she started the program, she took body measurements and she will do so again at the end to measure any change.

When we track, we are gathering information. Her scales tell her about her weight and body fat percentage. When it goes up, she is likely to feel disappointed and when it goes down, she is delighted or feels she is moving in the right direction or what she is doing is working.

OFF THE PRESS: getting stronger by the week

Similarly, Rich, also on the 12-week program, does his own tracking. Every Friday, he weighs himself and tests for body fat, muscle mass and water retention. With each workout, he checks his heartrate. Daily, he logs his steps. The data is useful for charting progress and can also be motivating. For example, I notice that Rich pushes himself hard in training to see if he can take his heartrate to certain levels. You could say then that his monitoring improves his physical output if nothing else. It all makes for interesting feedback.

Gathering information for the sake of it is pointless, though. It’s what we do with it that matters.

My concern is that sometimes it can get in the way – that all the information can, if you allow it to, play with your mind and interfere with the experience.

With data overload we can end up over-analysing and in training we need to make space for our intuition. The more time we spend in our heads, the less we use our intuition, which is the ability to feel what is right and what isn’t.

When I did the Amazing 12 several years ago, I never weighed myself once. I took no measurements at all. Never stepped on a scale. All I did was train, eat and notice how I looked in a mirror and, if not more importantly, felt in my body.

In the absence of all the figures, maybe I had less to be anxious about and my ability to sense what was working and not working improved. I didn’t have statistics that could, potentially, derail my focus and cause any highs and lows.

CHANGE OF SCENERY: outdoors for some smashing

So, really, the answer to my initial question of whether tracking or not tracking is worthwhile comes down to the individual and what type of person you are. It also depends on what you are doing and attempting to achieve.

Rich, for example, has an enquiring mind. He wants to know the answer to most things. So the information, to some degree, keeps him satisfied.

Stacey, however, has a tendency to worry. I know from experience that if I put a weight on a bar and tell her to lift it, she is more likely to succeed not knowing how much she is lifting than if I were to tell her. Yet she still wants to know.

Therefore, the question to ask is if the tracking works to your advantage or disadvantage. If you know you do better without, then surely it makes sense to not track.

PATTERN OF PROGRESS: Notice it doesn’t typically go in a straight line

One thing we should be aware of when it comes to tracking is that what matters is the pattern over the long haul and not a matter of days. Our bodyweight, for instance, can shift from day to day and even during the course of a day. If you’re going to weigh yourself, do it on the same scales, at the same time and on the same day of the week. But not every day and multiple times on the same day!

More important is knowing what are we tracking and why? If your objective is to become stronger, knowing your bodyweight isn’t necessarily important. If part of your goal requires you to perform at a certain weight – like a fighter – checking the scales and controlling what you eat and drink is key. If you’re an athlete who needs to improve his recovery, checking your heartrate becomes almost vital. And if you are a top level athlete and looking to fractionally improve performance, the information from tracking can often be the difference between winning and losing.

Recognise that progress isn’t always linear, though. The path to change is full of ups and downs and plateaus, therefore, someone who monitors their performance closely and frequently or obsessively can easily become demoralised as they ride the roller coaster towards completing their objective.

Compare this approach with a more intuitive one that is to turn up, do your work, enjoy the experience, give your best each time, feel what is effective and not worry so much about the outcome. The latter, for me, has an essence of adventure that can be lost when too much emphasis is placed on details and numbers. But there’s a balance between the two approaches that works best. 

HAVING A BALL: Stacey’s getting down to business

As a coach, I record the details of every workout on the Amazing 12 and it’s essential for guiding an individual through the program safely as well as charting progress. However, I also rely on my experience and knowledge to know how to encourage progress.

Often you can just sense when something is working and when it is not without even having to refer to the data.

After three weeks on the Amazing 12, Rich commented to Stacey, “you’re looking a lot leaner,” and she replied, “I feel much leaner.”

Stacey said to Rich – and not out of politeness either – “you’re looking more hench,” and Rich admitted he was experiencing and seeing physical changes even though his body fat measurements were not necessarily budging much. And, as we joke, how on earth can he put on muscle when eating only a vegan diet? 

Without seeing any numbers, I can see clearly how Rich is recovering so well from workout to workout – despite putting in a good shift every day. It’s something he had struggled with when I worked with him several years ago.

Sometimes, though, what we see and feel can be undermined by what is shown on the scales or whatever apps we may be using.

STAYING FOCUSED: Rich doing his circuits

Understand that there will always be good weeks – and we should enjoy them – and tougher weeks – and we should appreciate them, too. Why? Because it’s often during our setbacks and when we are being challenged and feel as if we are struggling that the potential for change can be greatest.

As a coach, managing these moments is critical to progress – ensuring the overload is just right makes all the difference.

This week was especially tough on Rich, whose mother sadly and unexpectedly passed away. He had to miss a day of training and will have to skip more next week, but he wanted to get back in the gym. Under the circumstances, he did tremendously well.

STRAIGHT BACK: Ball slams with good form

For Stacey, who is still struggling to consistently get restful sleep, her body is not recovering as well as it could. She’s getting lasting aches and pains. Therefore, she needs to make sleep a priority.

There are apps that can assist with sleep and assessing how well we sleep, too. The same rule should apply: if they help, use them. If they don’t, ditch them. But try to avoid relying on them.

If you’re interested in the next wave of the Amazing 12 (starting January 2018), some personal training in small groups or 1:1, women’s weight-lifting or women’s boxing for fitness, send me a message at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk. I don’t bite, but I am dedicated towards producing results. 

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Week 2: It’s all in the practice

STILL GOT IT: Stacey’s squat is one of her best movements

WE’VE all heard the saying ‘Practice makes perfect’.

The correct version of the saying is that “perfect practice makes perfect”. Or there’s another version that goes “practice makes permanent”.

The essence is that you do something over and over and work at doing it well until it sticks.

Repetition plays a vital part in the process of improvement. For some that is tedious or boring. But you don’t get good at kicking a ball without kicking a ball. 

However, in the fitness world we are bombarded daily with videos and images of amazing people doing amazing things, which, while awe-inspiring and motivating, can also be massively distracting.

One day you see someone lifting insanely heavy weights, the next running super fast or completing an astonishing gymnastic move or finishing an incredible endurance event or performing some dance variation or working out with a new fancy type of equipment or completing a heroic training session. The list goes on. We then get hooked or think, ‘I’d like to try that’ or ‘I’d like to be like that’. Before we know it, we are hopping from one thing to another and, consequently, making no advancement.

You know I like a good Bruce Lee quote, but the one about how “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times” comes to mind.  

MAKE EVERY REP COUNT: As Rich is discovering here

I can’t recount the number of people I’ve met (because there have been so many) who’ve been doing some form of training or exercise for years and complain they’ve made no or little progress. Usually, it’s because they don’t stick to what’s necessary for long enough for it to make a difference. 

Progress comes from being consistent and, in an intelligent way, challenging yourself to make advancements. It also means being patient, staying the course and not taking on too much, too soon.

What we often don’t see on all those Youtube videos are the countless hours each of these impressive individuals spent diligently working on their given craft, movement or skill. We see the finished product.

The foundation of the Amazing 12 is practice. We do select movements and practice them, because that’s how we get better and stronger. It’s not just about lifting weights and performing reps – attention to form is also paramount.

ALL HANDS ON DECK: some groundwork exercises for Stacey

Good technique isn’t only about avoiding injury. It’s also crucial for carrying out a task in the most efficient manner.

“The way you do anything is the way you do everything”.

That may not apply 100 per cent of the time, but there’s a lot of wisdom in that sentence.

My 11-year-old son, for example, wants to be good at football. I tell him to tidy his room, tuck in his shirt (when he goes to school), take pride in his homework etc. What’s this got to do with football? The way you do anything is the way you do everything, I tell him.

If he has no standards or pride in how he does everyday tasks, it will spill over into his footballing performance. If he’s lazy most of the time, he’ll be lazy when he steps on the football field. If he can’t be a team player with his family, he won’t be much of a team-mate on the pitch. It’s a mindset thing.

FOCUSED: slamming a ball repeatedly is as mentally challenging as it is physical

In the gym it’s important to be focused. A lapse in concentration can be costly. Switch off mentally when you are deadlifting and you risk damaging your back. Fail to get your breathing right on a heavy back squat and you can hurt yourself.

The movements are not risky. How you carry out those movements is.

Most of us don’t realise it, but we’re in practice ALL the time. Everything we do and think is a form of practice. Some of us do so consciously and others unconsciously. Our bodies like to follow patterns and forming habits.

Make sure your habits serve your best intentions. 

Stacey and Rich are now at the end of week 2 on the Amazing 12 Chichester at the Core Results Gym. And for two weeks they’ve been doing drills. For five days a week they come in and practice. I’ll watch their form, correct them when needed, motivate them if necessary and make any other necessary adjustments to ensure they are on course to meet their goal.

Some weeks will be tougher than others. There will be doubts and questions and aches and complaints. But we still practice. Because without the practice there is no progress. Stacey and Rich are committed to getting the best out of the program.

Turning up every day, whether they want to or not, is practicing commitment. Sticking to nutritional guidelines is practicing discipline. Doing the extra training I assign them and without me knowing if they’ve done it (and properly) or not is practicing integrity. Dealing with the ups and downs of training in the gym is practicing the art of cultivating a positive mindset.

SUNSHINE: Stacey enjoying the last few days of summer

It all counts, because these skills can be taken into and used in our everyday lives.

We can easily become obsessed with our weight or appearance or fitness or body fat levels, but let’s not overlook just how important it is to cultivate our attitude and mindset.

Many people will look at the Amazing 12 or any form of training as only a means to becoming aesthetically transformed, but, as a tool for growth and personal development, the gym or movement arena is as good a place as any other if you care to take advantage.

I am now taking applications for the next wave of the Amazing 12, starting in January 2018. I am also available for private personal training, either 1:1 or in small groups. For more information, or to enquire about my weekly women’s boxing fitness class or Sunday morning women’s weight-lifting, please contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

 

 

Week 1: Off and running…and crawling

WARM-UP: It never fails to get Rich’s heart rate soaring or hit Stacey’s arms and legs

WHAT’S the common thread with people wanting to do the Amazing 12?

The answer: they want results.

The Amazing 12 has a history of success stories going back for more than a decade and across the world. So on this round of the Amazing 12 Chichester I have one graduate coming back to pick up where she left off and another who’s tried everything but not achieved the results he is after.

Stacey finished the program last April. When she started last time, she hadn’t done any training for the best part of 18 months. She’d had a child (who is now over a year-old). She was carrying extra weight and didn’t feel good in herself.

NO PRESSURE: Stacey wants to achieve even better results this time

Yet she achieved tremendous results – as you can see from the photos and if you read the blog. Her weight dropped from 10st 2lbs to 8st 10lbs and she increased both her strength and fitness. But now her goal over the next 12 weeks is to see how far she can progress, not just with her body composition, but also in terms of maximising her strength.

Joining her on this wave at the Core Results Gym is Rich Evans, a personal trainer himself (he runs Playground Fitness) and someone I’ve trained previously. Rich is on a mission to get leaner. He’s tried everything, he says, but can’t find the secret sauce.

Seriously, he’s had blood tests, urine tests, hormone tests to discover why his body is holding on to body fat. There could be reasons he’s not considered, like stress, or even the possibility of how having the belief that your body won’t release fat can be the cause of it.

However, Rich has never done the Amazing 12 program, though first enquired about it several years ago. The timing wasn’t quite right back then in terms of finding a three-month window where he could devote himself fully to the training. But now is the time.

FORM: For someone who isn’t keen on weights, Rich has good technique

This is going to be an interesting journey. Rich, 48, is a vegan. He’s never been a big fan of weight-lifting either. He has knee issues from multiple operations that don’t stop him moving, but have to be managed carefully. His lower back is sensitive also. 

For the past three months he’s been training mostly by himself, doing mainly bodyweight, high-intensity-style training and lots of cycling. As someone who records everything, Rich supplied me with the data – his diet, training, weight charts etc. He measures his food meticulously and monitors his heart rate.

FINISHER: to the session and a solid week

Many of the practices he is used to will be different from the Amazing 12, which will be a challenge in itself for him. His last three months saw him lose about 10lbs in weight and some body fat, but the biggest marker for me was the loss of muscle mass. Most of his workouts were cardio, which would partly explain why.

Effectively, he was burning muscle, which is the body’s best weapon for burning fat!

On the Amazing 12 the goal will be to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. His weight will be whatever it will be. It’s not a key measurement. But this week his weight has increased and body fat remained the same, suggesting the process of muscle building has already started. Early days. 

EASY START: Stacey back into her deadlifting groove

Stacey comes in at about 6lbs more than when she finished the last wave five months ago, which is impressive. We’ve trained almost weekly since then, but not with anywhere near the same intensity or frequency as on the Amazing 12. She even admitted that her diet hasn’t always been great. But Stacey’s retained much of her muscle and strength.

What she has achieved this week compared with the first five days of her initial round of the Amazing 12 is quite staggering. She’s a different beast – and I mean that in the nicest way possible. The soreness this time round – which is typical on the first week – isn’t as severe as it was last time either. 

Her greatest challenge, though, will be to achieve quality sleep to help to recover from one workout to another. As I’ve written about previously, sleep is where all the magic happens. It’s when your body transforms. Little sleep equals less transformation.

It’s not easy with a young one in the family, but as Stacey has never been a good sleeper anyhow it makes the situation twice as hard.

Somehow, Stacey functions and looks great on little shut-eye. But if she can improve her sleeping patterns, her potential for change is going to be greater.

We had one session this week where I had to cut back the load as Stacey was pretty much a walking zombie. Three days later we tried again and, despite her telling me she thought the outcome was going to be the same, she actually did 120 reps more!

At the end of this first week she’s already dropped weight and body fat.

The workouts have been a bit irregular in terms of times, though – some in the morning, evening and early afternoon – which takes getting used to. Stacey and Rich both prefer training first thing. Rich, normally an ace sleeper, said his sleep had been unusually disrupted this week and there could be many reasons for that.  

FIRED UP: Rich is giving his all every day

Rich had certainly put in a solid shift this week. As you can see from the photo, he’s a determined character. I couldn’t have asked for more and the thought did cross my mind on the last day of training whether he can sustain this level of commitment and intensity to the end.

He’s persevering with my nutritional guidelines even though it’s the opposite of what he’s been used to doing. He bombards me with dozens of questions daily, but that’s what I’m here for. 

Rich likes to know the ‘why?’ in everything. So when I change something or suggest something he’s not used to, that’s the question that comes back. It keeps me on my toes, as I need to know my stuff. Plus, my father always taught me that ‘why’ was the most important question.

STEADY: getting the technique right before adding weight is vital

I may be the coach, but my clients are always teaching me, too. I learn through them. That’s just one thing I like about this job.

But it’s also possible to over-think things. Rich understands how it’s also essential to trust in the process and allow it to do its thing. That requires an element of surrender.

The week ended well. Both Rich and Stacey were a bit sore going into the final session. Rich was absolutely buzzing by the end of it. And his tenacity is unquestionably motivating Stacey to step it up a notch. It’s an exciting thought to see where we go from here.

 

Jemma (August 2017)

THE PAY OFF: Jemma’s new body after her hard work (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

EVERYONE has a story – a past, a life of experiences. Some are worth telling and some not. 

What you may not know about Jemma – and would not from simply looking at her photos – is that as a teenager, she was, quite literally, all skin and bones, down to 5 1/2st (77lbs) and losing a battle with anorexia.

If you had suggested back then that at close to 30 she’d complete a three-month program that included lifting weights five days a week, eating healthily and dramatically ramping up her fitness levels, it would have seemed unfathomable.

What it shows, though, is that no matter how grim things are, there’s usually a way out and a way to move forwards.

Jemma admits that anorexia nearly took her life. She was hospitalised. It caused a lot of misery and suffering. But she survived.

However, Jemma’s relationship with her bodyweight has been a rollercoaster ride. When she was anorexic (for five years between the ages of 12 and 17), she said her skin was grey and her hair falling out. She doesn’t know how she didn’t die.

When you take that as the starting point, she’s done incredibly well to get to where she is now.

Overcoming anorexia didn’t mean the fight with body image had ended. Before starting the Amazing 12, Jemma was still unhappy with her appearance. She’d gained weight. None of her dresses fitted. Looking at her reflection, she was frequently reduced to tears. It’s a scenario that, sadly, many people can identify with.

This time when she saw herself as too heavy, she was closer to 13st (182lbs) than 5st. Jemma admitted it was down to poor lifestyle choices. She held herself accountable. 

“I was lazy,” she said of her mindset before the program. “I used to cry every night looking at myself. I wasn’t happy with how I’d become. But I just didn’t do anything about it. I was drinking a lot, eating take-aways, not doing much exercise.

“Now [after completing the Amazing 12] I know what it takes. I feel so much better. I don’t miss drinking [alcohol]. Whenever I eat bad food, I feel terrible.”

NO GOING BACK: Jemma’s determined to maintain a healthier lifestyle (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

Jemma had reached the point where her desire to change was greater than her desire to stay the same. She chose to take action. She made changes. She signed up for the Amazing 12 Chichester almost without hesitation.

Often it takes a lot of bravery to embrace change. There’s a lot of fear involved.

In many cases we, as humans, would prefer to remain unhappy rather than face uncertainty.

Jemma didn’t know the intricate details of what she was signing up for, but she’d seen the results, had read on this website about what the program could do and how previous graduates had coped. Then she decided to take that leap.

If fact, I can’t recall anyone I’ve guided and coached through the program who has been more enthusiastic from beginning to end. She simply didn’t want it to finish. 

That’s not to say it was smooth sailing by any means. It was tough for Jemma. She complained – a lot!

But, as I have written in previous blogs, the limiting factor for Jemma was her thinking and not her strength or technique or fitness levels. I could always see her potential and knew, with her level of willingness, anything was possible.

We worked on it during every session. It’s a process. I tried to remind her that EVERY training session and EVERY day presented an opportunity for change and improvement. That’s the reality for us all.

In 12 weeks I got the best out of her that I could. Through consistency and commitment and application, she lost 32lbs in weight! But the transformation was even greater than that number might suggest, as she clearly developed muscle while also shedding fat.

TOP GUN: Now Jemma has biceps, but not just for show (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

She can undoubtedly go on from here to becoming stronger and fitter. Jemma’s already said she wants to do the program again next year, before she gets married.

Her transformation is not just about how her body looks. It is also about what her body can now do, how she feels in herself, her approach to nutrition and the increased self-belief she has cultivated. 

“I feel so much happier,” she said. “Even people at work have commented how I’m back to my old self. There’s no way I’m going back [to being overweight].

ACHIEVEMENT: getting the results she was after (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)

“I did the Amazing 12 to lose weight, tone up and change my lifestyle. I wanted to better my knowledge and learn how to lift weights correctly.

“It’s made me much more confident about my body. I’ve even had my legs out without tights on! This was a no-no before. And it’s given me the confidence to know what I’m doing in the gym is correct.”

Jemma is so much more empowered. I’ve seen her blossom in the past 12 weeks, not just in physique and fitness, but also in stature and confidence.

This girl showed tremendous discipline. She missed only one of the 60 training sessions and still hasn’t completely forgiven herself even though she couldn’t do much about it.

“I was very dedicated and had great support in my home life which made it easier for me,” said Jemma. “I was worried having a full-time job and the travel and also getting another puppy would get to me. But it was doable and the time has flown by. It was well worth the hard work.

“I was so down and depressed before. But this [the Amazing 12] turned me around. I’ve learned so much. Claude has been the best coach and so supportive.”

There were times I had Jemma do some training by herself in addition to the gym sessions with me – which is all part of the program – and I don’t suspect that she skipped any of it.

FEEL-GOOD FACTOR: discovering how training can be a fantastic mood-enhancer (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

Sometimes she was tired and aching, but she still got it done. Often I’d get a text message in the morning telling me how great she felt for doing so.

There were numerous occasions, too, when Jemma came to the gym feeling stressed or worn out or sore or not on her game and practically every time, though, she’d leave feeling much more upbeat and revitalised.

“It’s amazing how that happens,” she’d say repeatedly.

In terms of following and sticking to the eating plan, Jemma found it tricky in the beginning, but had it figured out most of the time.  

“It did seem a bit daunting at first,” she admitted. “But once I got into it I wasn’t having to prep hardly as much and it was simple. I mostly enjoyed it. I didn’t feel hungry at all and having a cheat day made it even easier. I’ll be sticking to a similar way of eating going forwards.”

Jemma’s mindset throughout was ‘I have invested too much into this to let myself down’.

Because she applied herself completely and had total trust in me and the program, the Amazing 12 really worked well for her. The weight kept dropping off and her strength and fitness increased. 

Especially during the last few weeks, I could see her shape changing. By the end, she not only looked like an athlete, she was stronger  – physically and mentally – as well.

TECHNIQUE: creating the arch for a strong bench press

“No-one is going to accuse me of being Photoshopped,” she said. “I’ve worked bloody hard.”

Week after week and session after session, almost without fail, Jemma would repeat, “I just can’t believe…” and would follow those words with “how much stronger I am” or “how much fitter I’ve become” or “how much weight I have lost”.

To say she felt proud and those around her were proud of her also, is a massive understatement. And she deserves every morsel of praise for her efforts.

It’s not as if she lives around the corner from the Core Results gym either. Jemma travelled each day from Waterlooville, near Portsmouth. Most days we’d finish training around 9pm.

PULLING HER WEIGHT: in terms of devotion if not kilos

Jemma may have been impatient at times – actually, most of the time – but she embodied the other factors I consider crucial for progress with any training program: commitment and consistency.

At first she was desperately self-conscious of her movement and worried about how she was doing. After all, she was fairly new to the type of training on the Amazing 12. She’d compare herself to others and be concerned that she was slowing everyone down. She’d fret over never being good enough or that 12 weeks wouldn’t be long enough for her to make the necessary changes to her technique.

Gradually, as she changed and learned and improved, those worries began to disintegrate as easily as some of the excess weight she was carrying in the beginning.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: Jemma’s shaping up on the final day

Her fitness levels altered quite dramatically. Where she struggled during short workouts at the beginning of the program, by week 12 she was going for much longer and with heavier weights and at a higher intensity without compromising her form.

“I feel ABSOLUTELY AMAZING,” she said after she’d finished. “I can’t describe my happiness in how I look and feel.

“Even my fitness has literally rocketed and I can run without stopping and aching. I feel so much stronger and energetic.

“Confidence-wise, I’m even pushing through reps when it gets tougher instead of thinking I can’t do it.”

I recall how, when she started with me and we had a training session before the program to assess her strength levels and how she moved, Jemma told me how she felt she had no upper body strength.

LOOKOUT: keeping a watchful eye on Jemma’s form

Here are some examples of how much progress she made. I started her with 7.5k for the Military/overhead Press and she finished with 26k for reps. For the bench press, she began with 15k and wound up lifting, for reps, 40k. Her back squat needed so much work that I had her begin with a 20k bar with the aim of getting her to squat more deeply and she ended up doing 77.5k quite comfortably (meaning she could do more) for two reps and impressive technique. Her deadlift, for multiple reps, went from 30k to 75k. There are many more examples I could give. On all of those lifts, she has the capacity to continue improving.

Jemma’s determined to keep going. She knows she has to stay on top of the way she eats. She knows how easy it is to start consuming take-aways regularly again and see all the hard work disappear.

There has to be a balance. There is no escaping the fact that to stay in shape and healthy requires paying greater attention to what you eat and how much of it your consume. Like it or hate it, that’s just the way it is.

GIRL OF STEEL: Jemma discovered her inner and outer strength (photo: Sue Saunders Photography)

Jemma’s come to recognise through this experience how much cleaner food, a dedication to training, following a progressive program and keeping a more positive mindset can be transformative.

“There’s nothing I’d change about the Amazing 12,” she told me. “Everything was spot-on and I felt really looked after and well informed throughout.”

To those contemplating doing the program, she said this: “Do it. You won’t regret it. It was the best experience ever. Loved it. I was so chuffed with my transformation.

“If you want to be physically and mentally stronger as well as improve your lifestyle and fitness, this will help you. But you have to be fully committed and willing to learn.”

*If you’re in need of or desire a transformation, want to learn how to train smartly and effectively, would like to challenge yourself to get stronger and fitter, require guidance with food and nutrition and are inspired by Jemma’s results, get in touch at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk. The next Amazing 12 Chichester begins on September 18. Don’t delay. Places are limited and results are achieved only by taking action.