THERE are no bad experiences, only opportunities to learn and grow.
As a finance man, Ian Barnett understands fully the path of progress – that in the world of stocks and shares, for instance, there are many fluctuations and no guarantees.
In the gym, where he is making a comeback to fitness and investing in his strength and health on the Amazing 12, it is much the same. There will be fruitful days and there will be difficult days. It’s what is achieved over the long haul, not day to day, that counts most. The idea is to cover a lot of ground with small steps rather than boldly taking giant, often unattainable, leaps.
IN THE BAG: another session complete for Sue
Sue Crabtree, also on the Amazing 12 Chichester, discovered how this process is one of ups and downs also. This was her second week and she was struck off entirely with a cold that literally took her voice away.
When things don’t go to plan, you can do several things: wallow in your misery; give up entirely or pick yourself up and keep going.
So Sue, determined not to be outdone and to complete the program in its entirety, is going to extend her training by a week to make up for the lost days and give herself the best possible chance of maximising her results.
“I just don’t want to miss out on training as I’m loving it so much,” she said. “I don’t get sick often, but when I do, I go down hard.” This week she was hit hard.
SET-UP: Sue prepping her deadlift
Sue is on the mend, though, and ought to be back in the groove for week 3. She’s a nutritionist by profession, so I don’t have any concerns about her following instructions on what to eat and drink.
However, Sue is new to lifting weights – or at least the type of weight training I prescribe. Her previous experience was with light weights only and she found them dull to work with and got bored.
Before beginning the Amazing 12, I taught her and Ian the basics. Then we use the program to make improvements. Every session at Core Results is an opportunity to refine technique, learn and develop experience.
ON THE CRAWL: warm-up time
So while it could be better for Sue – and getting ill is one of those things you can’t legislate for – it’s going well for Ian.
He has been buzzing all week and feeling changes in his body, which is hardly surprising if you have been inactive a long time and begin training again (so long as the introduction isn’t severe).
As a father of three and business owner, the stumbling block to taking part on this program for Ian, 46, was finding time in his busy life.
Most mornings we are in the gym, ready to go, by 6am. And with the weather being as chilly as it has been, the early rising is an additional challenge.
MECHANICS: seeing if Ian’s squat has been affected by years at a desk job
However, on the final day of his first week, Ian said to me, “It’s freezing cold, 6am, but it’s so good we’re doing this. I didn’t think I’d be able to find the time, but I am.”
Anything is possible. Really.
Ian has found some of the training challenging this week. But when I pointed out to him the progress he had made in just a matter of days, he was blown away.
It’s not unusual, in the beginning, to make rapid strides. Ian used to do a fair amount of sport when he was younger, before work and a family took over. He’s put on about 2st (28lbs) since getting married five years ago. My job is not only to get him back into that type of condition, but go beyond.
RUNS TO GUNS: building some muscle
Sue, 48, wants to become strong. She’s a runner, though isn’t afraid of muscle.
“I know I have to change my exercise according to my body and age,” she said, meaning that she understands the need for having a stronger body.
I don’t doubt for a second that Sue and Ian have the commitment that’s needed to succeed. They also both have a maturity, realistic expectations and understandings of how the process works.
That’s a great starting point because, as I’ve said many times previously, one of the greatest impediments to making progress is a lack of patience.
JUST BEGINNING: the first stage of Reg’s transformation (Photos: Sue Saunders Photography)
TO make a significant and lasting change, you have to be a willing participant in the process. If you need to lose weight or body fat or have a desire to get fitter or want to overcome some form of addiction, no-one else can do the work for you.
Screaming at and pestering and forcing someone to change doesn’t work. At least not in the long term.
So when Reg first came to see me, it was with the full understanding of what he was taking on. His wife had bumped into Stacey Satta shortly after she’d completed the Amazing 12. They’d previously worked together and chatted about Stacey’s experience. Stacey passed on my details. Reg’s wife and I then began a conversation.
It was clear from the beginning this wasn’t going to be a typical Amazing 12 transformation. Reg, at 6ft 1in, is a big man. Lifestyle had directly contributed to him piling on the pounds. He had reached a whopping 25st.
EARLY DAYS: Reg working hard
Drinking and eating the wrong stuff had taken its toll. As a dentist of 24 years, Reg admitted he didn’t move a great deal during his working day. He was consuming two litres of Pepsi Max daily, drinking wine, eating large portions of food. Combine that with a lack of movement and, before you know it, your body changes shape and composition and begins to strain under the increased load.
Reg had a problem with his heel and, periodically, his knees. He had to miss a few sessions early on because of the pain, but Reg could feel how the addition of movement, training, healthier eating and drinking water to his daily routine was making him feel much better. From 40 training sessions, Reg missed five.
He admitted before starting: “The image I had of myself was not the true me. At home we don’t have any mirrors. They are only from the neck upwards.”
Basically, Reg thought he was slimmer than he actually was.
But one day Reg was out shopping, saw a full-length reflection of himself and was shocked. “I know I am overweight,” he conceded.
PROGRESSING: every session he gets better
When we first talked, I made it clear this was going to be a long-term project. Although Reg wanted to sign up for the eight-week program, I knew he’d need more. So did Reg.
But he had a family holiday planned and we went into the eight-week program with the mindset of it being just the beginning of a grander transformation. This was the first phase.
Reg, 49 and the father of three children, was unhappy with his physical appearance. Moving was difficult. Breathing was even challenging at times. Going up steps was taxing. Yet he was up for the job.
DETERMINED: Reg has the drive to succeed
Reversing years of neglect doesn’t happen in a few weeks, though. You take it a day at a time. Slowly, you replace unhealthy practices with healthier ones. It took a lot of courage for Reg to enter a gym from scratch, expose the truth of his condition and even take off his shirt to be photographed.
It shows, though, how committed Reg was. As someone who comes from a family five generations deep in the medical profession, he knew his health had to improve. “Getting fit [again] will allow me to do more things,” he said.
Reg hadn’t even returned to his native Ghana for years – decades – because of his weight! The last time he saw his mother, Reg weighed 17st. “She was so aghast when she saw a picture of me recently,” he said.
When he came to England in 1990, Reg weighed about 13-14st. He was 18st when he got married in 1997.
REPETITION: perfect practice makes perfect
Prior to the Amazing 12 (8), Reg hadn’t trained for three years. He played golf regularly – and to a good standard – but hadn’t done any other kind of exercise.
He wanted to lose weight, get fitter and gain leaner muscle mass. But there were obviously concerns.
Would he be able to stick to the diet, find the time to train each day, be consistent in his training, be fit enough, handle training with other people?
BENCHING: Reg on the final day of the program
We did a week of training before we officially started. I wanted to show Reg the movements and see how well he could move his body.
Reg trained mostly evenings – at a time when he’d usually be reaching for food – although several times we started early in the morning; whatever was needed to get the job done.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Reg’s grip is wider than recommended, but as he loses weight his form will get better
Reg was obviously strong and powerful. But he was panting hard from any kind of prolonged exercise of a slightly higher intensity. He’d bide his time going from one movement to another, doing what he could to manufacture extra recovery.
Steadily, though, we progressed. Reg was always in good spirits and great company for those he trained alongside. You couldn’t meet a more likeable man. He tried hard, always.
HIS NEMESIS: Reg’s love and hate affair with crawling
I got him doing things he hadn’t done since he was probably a baby – like crawling. This he found harder than anything else – and it was only the warm-up!
The first time we tried, I had him crawl forwards about six feet and then backwards. He just about made it forwards and couldn’t reverse at all!
Fast forward eight weeks and Reg progressed to a 30m crawl without stopping. The look of amazement on his face was priceless. He made it back about a quarter of the way before needing to stop.
He lost about 2st in weight overall, but most of it fell off his lower body which is why the comparison photos don’t look dramatically different. His trousers were all hanging loose. His legs no longer fill his jeans.
But this eight-week stint wasn’t so much about a transformation of body shape. Reg’s transformation was more about what you CANNOT see in the photos. It was about starting a man on a journey to get himself healthier, stronger, fitter and leaner.
POWERHOUSE: lots of raw strength in this man (Photo: Sue Saunders Photography)
Body fat will disappear over time – with commitment and consistency to training, diet and improved lifestyle. The loss of two stone from the body of a 25st man is less noticeable than on an individual half his weight or less.
But beneath the cloak of excess fat is a strong body waiting to come out. If Reg keeps going, as he says he will, his full transformation will be revealed.
SKY IS THE LIMIT: Reg keeps working towards his goal
The greatest pride I have from watching and training Reg is in how he now moves so much easier, how he recovers from prolonged bouts of more intense exercise far better and the weights that he found to be a struggle to move about four weeks into the program are significantly lighter than what he was lifting relatively effortlessly at the finish.
In the first weeks, he had trouble bench-pressing 32.5kg for multiple reps, yet finished with nearly 70kg, which was nowhere near his limit. He also had difficulty strictly shoulder-pressing 15kg for reps in the beginning, yet increased his working weight to nearly 40kg in two months.
THE PROWLER: Reg starts to move with more bounce
Fitness-wise, I had him push the prowler up and down the gym 10 times as fast he could at week 1 and then again in week 7. His time dropped from 4 mins 32 seconds to 2 mins 51 seconds and, if I’m honest, there was more in the tank. A week later he even started jogging with it!
Those are just a few examples, but Reg’s transformation was, for me, a dramatic and inspiring one for more reasons than I have already stated.
This is a story of a man with the odds stacked against him. A man who could very easily look at the task before him and be overwhelmed by the enormity of the mission, but instead chose to take it on with the mindset of ‘I’ll get it done no matter how long it takes’ and ‘I have to do this because the alternative is much worse’.
Reg’s attitude was excellent, his spirit strong, his laugh infectious, his commitment first class and, with us both being sports nuts and Liverpool FC supporters, his company super-enjoyable.
The intention now is for Reg to resume the program in September, this time for 10 weeks, but he will have the experience of knowing the movements, recognising his abilities, understanding the diet and his body will be better conditioned.
If you are seeking results, need guidance on lifting, training and nutrition and ready to make the commitment to make that happen, send a message to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for further details on the Amazing 12. The next wave begins on September 18. Places will be limited.
THE greatest changes in appearance and increases in strength on the Amazing 12 program come towards the end. But here’s the catch: you need the first 10 or so weeks under your belt in order to maximise and trigger those benefits.
Everyone nowadays seems to want to take shortcuts. We want to gain in five minutes what normally requires much longer.
But many things are worth waiting for. Why? Because otherwise we miss out on the process and it’s in the process that we learn and grow the most.
Jo pushing that prowler and herself
When I look at the Amazing 12 program, I don’t just see the difference between the starting photo and the end one. That’s just the cherry on the cake – a visual display of hard work and dedication. It’s the cover on the book, so to speak. But the words on the pages tell the true story.
Having nearly guided my Amazing 12 Chichester crew through their journey at Core Results Gym, I see how they’ve grown stronger or overcome different challenges or learned from their failings or developed a different mindset or understood the importance of eating and sleeping well or noticed that it takes more than just training to reach optimal health or realised how vital it is to move well or they feel a sense of pride in having lasted the course or improved their technique in one or multiple lifting/movement skills or have proved to themselves they are stronger and more determined than they thought possible. I could go on and on.
The real you: Ben has so much untapped strength and fitness
It’s not just a program to enhance appearances. Amazing 12 boss Paul McIlroy says it best. “If you’re looking into the mirror and who’s looking back is someone not in shape, with low self-esteem and weak, then that is NOT the real you.
“The real truth is that the transformation took place a long time before the Amazing 12 – and took years to achieve by eating tons of junk food and being doggedly determined to move as little as possible. So what you see in the mirror is NOT you.
“What the Amazing 12 program does is transform that person back into the virile human being they were in the first place!”
That’s why my motivation and desire as a coach is to instill in my clients and those who read about my work the importance of leading a healthy life and what that actually entails.
Fully extended, Stacey slamming the ball
I understand that there is genuine confusion as to what ‘healthy’ really is amidst the mass of conflicting information and advice and that the average person’s comprehension of nutrition and movement and the negatives of their lifestyle choices is as limited as their motivation to change even when awareness is increased.
The Amazing 12 is about building confidence (for self-esteem), muscles (to make us leaner and protect our joints and heart), endurance (for resilience and usefulness), discipline (to take on the jobs we have to do even if we don’t want to), knowledge (so we are equipped to continue when it’s over and make informed choices in order to improve our healthstyle) and emphasising commitment (the turning up no matter what).
The Amazing 12 Chichester is now coming into the final week, the time where the emphasis is on reaching a peak. And the challenge now is to be focused and pay attention to the little details I have given them in order to achieve the best possible results.
In the zone: Jo’s almost meditative approach to battle ropes
They have worked hard and should want to see and feel the full extent of their efforts. There’s no crash-dieting involved or use of synthetic products or dehydration.
From Day One the priority has always been to eat as cleanly as possible, drink lots of water, exercise intelligently and sleep abundantly.
Even though a few of them haven’t followed the program exactly or have struggled with sleep or have missed too many sessions to say they’ve done the Amazing 12 as prescribed, week 12 is worth experiencing. With the exception of Adriano, who graduated in 2015, none of them has been through it before.
Squat queen: Stacey getting good depth
But that’s what life should be about: new experiences. It teaches us new things about ourselves. Getting to know ourselves and evolving is, for me at least, part of life’s fascination and joy and purpose.
Some new experiences are greater than others. Some of my group dislike any change. So I purposely move things around – for example, I try not to do back squats in the same place each week or set equipment up exactly the same way or use the same bars for lifting. And I’ve encouraged them to try new foods and ways of eating and strategies for continuing with a healthy diet and challenged them to break patterns of thinking and behaviours/habits that don’t serve them well.
Recovered: Ben showing no signs of being restricted by injury
The Amazing 12 changes throughout, but often in too subtle a way for it to become a concern.
However, what they can do now is vastly different from what they could do when they started in January. They’ve taken micro steps. It’s one reason why the Amazing 12 works so well. It encourages you to allow yourself to become stronger, because while strength is a skill – and therefore must be practiced and honed – ultimately it comes down to whether the body feels a given task is too great a threat or not. Confidence is key and confidence can be destroyed by being overly ambitious or impatient.
When I look back through my records of what Stacey, Ben, Jo and Adriano have achieved, it’s quite astounding.
Jo knows she’s become much stronger – in spite of skipping sessions and falling off the wagon with the diet for several weeks. So has Ben, who was set back through injury briefly, and Adriano, who has already surpassed what he achieved two years ago. And Stacey, who at the beginning said she was “shocked” by how much strength she had lost after becoming a mum, is now doing for reps more than what used to be her maximum when she was in full training.
Making steady progress deadlifting
However, irrespective of the physical successes and changes, it’s going to be easy after the Amazing 12 has finished to slip back into making the choices and living the lifestyle that prompted the need for change in the first place.
There will be a sense of now-it’s-over-and-I-can-do-whatever-I-want. But I can’t stress enough the importance of resisting those urges, for obvious reasons.
Lifestyle matters – GREATLY.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about it because it is such an critical factor in how healthily we evolve and perform and how we look and, most importantly, our susceptibility to disease and illness which dramatically impacts our quality of life.
Getting harder: it’s more challenging in week 11, but everyone is fitter
Some of us may be at a genetic disadvantage but Dr. Sara Gottfried, who I’ve written about previously and has studied over 2,500 research papers on our genes, says that “90 per cent of the time” our illnesses and sicknesses and demise is caused by poor lifestyle choices.
If that isn’t a clear warning to take more seriously how you choose to live and take care of yourself I don’t know what is.
It means we’re mostly not genetically predisposed to certain illnesses or being overweight. We have the power, through choice, to determine what path we take.
And, in my opinion, a massive and integral part of any plan to stay well should include exercise/movement and resistance training in addition to resting and eating healthily.
So if you’re interested in my next Amazing 12 wave (over eight weeks, starting in May) or want to learn to lift and join one of my ladies weight-lifting groups on a Sunday morning or are interested in an upcoming course on using kettlebells or would like personal training sessions, send a message to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk
Sometimes – but not always – an all-out effort is required
HOW many times have you wanted to try something but decided not to because you are afraid to fail?
The nine-week mark of the Amazing 12 Chichester is the point at which I notice most drop-outs on this transformation program occur (although it is a very small percentage). I can’t really imagine why you’d go this far and not finish, but one reason is the fear of failing.
Sometimes that fear of failure can be a tremendous motivator, but often it can also provide crippling pressure.
But let me say this – failure is a state of mind. And in the right state of mind, failure does not exist.
Stacey continues to surprise herself
That my group of four training at the Core Results Gym have advanced to the three-quarter mark in tact speaks volumes for their sticking power and physical resilience.
I must admit one or two have wavered at various times. The Amazing 12 asks searching questions. But they can all be proud for getting this far. They should recognise in themselves the fortitude that’s required to be this dedicated.
Untapped potential, Ben just needs to sort out his diet
Ben has had a few shaky days and Jo’s faced her demons. But they have come through the other side. They are still in contention. They are still working hard and giving everything I ask of them when in the gym.
This week was a tough one and has left them all flat out a few times. But, from my experience, these are the weeks when the greatest changes happen.
Ben showing his hand speed on the battle ropes
Now, with only three weeks to go, it’s about buckling down and maximising what can be achieved. Tunnel vision is needed.
It’s much easier to hold that focus for three weeks instead of 12. But those who are able to stay organised, disciplined and mentally strong for the full three months get the best results. It’s a simple fact.
As I’ve said before, you get from the Amazing 12 what you put in. The magic is in the detail. Progress, like change, is so incremental the participant sometimes doesn’t notice. Often they will say they don’t feel as if they have changed much, but when they get to the finish they are blown away by the results. It’s easy to forget how they were at the starting point.
Even if visually there isn’t much to shout about, I can assure them all that the gains in strength and physical performance are already quite staggering and that’s what is worth reflecting on.
Ben may be rueing the fact he’s not got his head around the diet and Jo’s been brilliant when she’s been consistent, but overall has missed a lot of sessions.
Jo’s a good lifter who just needs to be consistent
Then, just when she was on a roll this week, Jo dropped her purse getting out of her car and pulled a muscle in her back, causing her to miss one session and move a little uneasily in the others. The positive outcome is that Jo didn’t allow it to set her back. Similarly, Ben, after his chest injury, appears to be where he was before he suffered the freak damage a few weeks ago.
I’ve written out a diet plan for Ben for the final three weeks which, if he follows it to the letter, may help him shed some excess pounds that haven’t yet come off. There’s no question he’s become stronger and fitter and everyone has noticed. For someone who hasn’t ever been in a gym or taken much care of himself, Ben’s displayed impressive potential.
“I’m quite shocked, really, at what I’ve been able to do,” he said on reflection.
The Amazing 12 experience has shown him that when it comes to getting into shape, the diet has to be addressed first and foremost. That’s his weakest link.
Highlighting areas that need attention the most is also what the Amazing 12 is about. It’s easy for us to stick to what we are good at, because it makes us feel good and we’re not intimidated by it. But to neglect what we don’t find so easy not only can cause physical imbalances, but also be the result of us being fearful of not looking or being good at something.
If Ben – or any of the others – gets to the end of 12 weeks and isn’t in great shape it doesn’t mean he has failed, however.
As martial arts supremo Bruce Lee used to say, “Defeat [or failure] is an education”.
Pushing hard, Stacey can still smile her way through it
When we falter or fall or fail or struggle, we have a choice – to be upset and resigned OR take from it important information to enable us to become stronger, wiser and better. It’s YOUR decision. You have to listen to the experience and by that I mean open your mind to what you have learned about yourself. The information is valuable only if we use it and are completely honest with ourselves.
That’s why the ‘don’t be afraid to fail’ mantra is so important. We need to progress without an ego. Fear keeps us from moving forwards, from doing, from challenging ourselves.
It’s in the adversity that we make the most progress. It’s in the process of practicing over and over with sufficient resistance and without harsh judgement that the body adapts and develops and becomes resilient and refined.
That’s not to say I push my group to their limitations. The idea is to challenge them in a safe way – to lift their confidence and to empower them, physically and mentally, to see what they are capable of.
Digging deeper on squat day
I can’t recall precisely the number of times Stacey has said to me “I don’t feel very strong today” and then had an outstanding session. She did it to me again at the start of this week when she turned up with a stuffy nose and having had little sleep after her son kept her awake all night and I then revealed to her after she had finished that she was lifting comfortably a weight she had struggled with on the previous session.
Adriano, her husband, has been consistent also. The experience of having done it before (2015) has held him in good stead. He’s much more in command of the diet and understands the process of the training. All being well, I’m hoping to take him further than he was able to go two years ago.
Working on his form, Adriano has had a shift in focus
What’s particularly satisfying about Adriano is how he has shifted his attention to why training needs to be a continual process and quality of movement trumps work capacity.
Ben’s much newer to the business of training and was a little gung-ho in the beginning, eager to see what he could do, but has learned this lesson through the injury he sustained.
So the message from this week is to soldier on and understand, as the saying goes, “we either win or we learn”. The only way to lose, I suppose, is to fail to learn anything.
The process of strength and fitness training, done correctly and with the right mindset, should promote health, confidence and physical ability. That’s why I’m passionate about what I do. If you want to experience the Amazing 12, but in a shorter version – over eight weeks – send me a message. I am taking applications for a two-month journey beginning in May. Contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk
THERE are thousands of training programs out there. Most of them, to some degree, work. Some work better than others. So why even consider the Amazing 12?
The obvious is the extraordinary changes that can occur to your strength, fitness and physique in a relatively short time (12 weeks) to people of varying ages and body types. There are now countless examples of these transformations that have taken place around the world.
But I think it’s most important to look to what or, more specifically, WHO is the wizard with the long red beard behind all the magic.
Anyone can prescribe or devise a fancy workout and then tell you to do it. But the real value of a program or method of training is judged by its results. Nothing else matters.
Until the Amazing 12 went global, only those who trained out of Paul McIlroy’s Centaur Gym in Belfast could experience it.
To really appreciate the Amazing 12 (if you haven’t been through it – and even if you have), you should understand who Paul is, what he has done and his credentials.
For starters, he is highly qualified. While I know Paul himself isn’t impressed by fancy titles, he has a BSc degree in Sport and Exercise Science. He is also certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). As an athlete, he was gifted and accomplished in many disciplines: amateur boxing (in a tough and competitive region); track and field; swimming. But probably his greatest success came in powerlifting (bench press, back squat and deadlift). There he won regional, national and then world honours as a junior, setting world records in the process.
For most of us, excelling in one sport is an achievement. But Paul has done it in multiple disciplines.
He still does Strongman training, bends the most impossibly tough nails, runs powerlifting, arm-wrestling and steel-bending clubs and last year (2015) himself competed in the kettlebell world championships in Dublin.
However, as a coach, Paul has, in my opinion, surpassed what he achieved as an athlete. For example, 18 months ago he formed a Girevoy Sport Kettlebell Club, the prerequisite being that the participants had to be athletic but without any previous kettlebell training.
Paul wanted to see how far he could take them and in the quickest time.
Thus far, from the group of seven, there have been 15 national gold medals (two national championships are run each year), two European silvers and one gold and bronze and at world level one gold, silver and bronze. That’s highly impressive.
“So I guess the experiment could be deemed a success,” Paul told me.
The inspiration for that ‘experiment’ was the experience Paul had training his wife, who he coached out of their family kitchen shortly after she had given birth by C-Section and having had zero sporting background. With only eight months preparation, she was able to go to Russia and win gold. That’s no fluke. Actually, it’s undeniably incredible.
Fionnhbarr Toolan at the world championships
The most recent success of Paul’s was Fionnhbarr Toolan, one of the group of seven, who captured world kettlebell championship glory in Kazakhstan (October 16). Toolan’s programming was devised by McIlroy. “Paul’s coaching is world class on so many different levels,” he said.
In fact, Paul would regard his work with Toolan as one of the most exciting projects he’s worked on.
“It’s not just that he has won Irish, European and World titles in the past 10 months, but HOW he did it,” explained Paul.
“He beat a Russian and four Kazakhs in Kazakhstan! He also scored the highest jerk total in the championships irrespective of weight class, beating Russian super-heavyweight World Amateur Champion by two points.
“Bare in mind that Fionn is a kid who weighs less than 67k soaking wet and had never done the kettlebell jerk in his life prior to 18 months ago!”
Red Nail
Another great passion of Paul’s is the official certified bend of the IronMind Red Nail. Paul is working with three men on this, one being Barry Mairs, who has only been in training for it for FOUR MONTHS. Barry is about to certify and Paul says his progress has been “insanely fast.”
The other two are Ben Mattingly, an Amazing 12 coach in Cork, and Adam Johnston. However, Paul has added another dimension to what they are attempting to accomplish.
Captains of Crush hand-gripper chart
Dissatisfied with aiming to certify the Red Nail, on the same day they will bid to make a certified close of the Number 3 Captains of Crush hand-gripper. To give this some context, the Red Nail is a feat of extreme strength. Not more than 100 people worldwide have achieved it in the last 21 years and 200 in the past 25 years.
But only ONE man in history has ever officially achieved both on the same day.
To make it even more taxing, Johnston will try to accomplish the Red Nail with an underhand grip, which is regarded as tougher.
As you can probably tell, McIlroy’s forte is to take the seemingly impossible, see how he can up the ante and then create a way to make it possible and often relatively easy.
He has been at it for years. The honours roll on for those Paul has coached: Men’s Health cover competitions, EAS Body for Life (biggest transformation challenge in the world) winner in 2006. There are many more examples.
Nowadays Paul has scaled things down a little. He spends much of his time caring for his mother, who has fallen ill. He doesn’t get to train as often as he would like. So he has to be more selective in where he channels his focus.
“I work with a limited number of athletes in different sports/endeavours, which at the minute includes fighters, powerlifters, arm-wrestlers, kettlebell lifters, steel-benders and grip sport athletes,” Paul told me.
“Strength/power and its perpetual progression is my life’s passion.”
So when you consider what you are getting on the Amazing 12 – the answer is not just the world’s best body transformation program that has been churning out success stories for more than 10 years. Perhaps more crucially, you get access to Paul’s vast – and I mean VAST – knowledge, experience, savvy and expertise as a renowned training program designer as well as a man who has been champion and created champions.
The Amazing 12 is a culmination of Paul’s life’s work in the world of fitness, strength and body transformations. Anyone who knows him will recognise Paul has an extraordinary mind and talent for what he does. If you want the best – which is what I did – don’t hesitate to sign up with one of the many coaches now around the world.
All of us have been schooled in the Amazing 12 by Paul and supported in our development as coaches by him.
“The Amazing 12 has done an enormous amount of good for thousands of people the world over and that, for me, is a coaching/creative achievement,” said Paul. “No amount of weight lifted by me will ever top that.
“The achievements I have enjoyed the most have been the coaching ones – genuinely and hands down. Taking someone from a square one start and putting them on top of the world in some way never gets old. Just that moment of awe, at themselves and what they are capable of, which in some cases they never thought possible…nothing beats that!”
Sue Saunders Amazing 12 Chichester
My next wave out of the Amazing 12 runs out of Core Results, Chichester, starting January 9, 2017. Become the next graduate. I’m happy to discuss details. Contact me if you are serious about making some changes and uncovering your potential.
Highlighting areas that need attention the most is also what the Amazing 12 is about. It’s easy for us to stick to what we are good at, because it makes us feel good and we’re not intimidated by it. But to neglect what we don’t find so easy not only can cause physical imbalances, but also be the result of us being fearful of not looking or being good at something. 
THERE are thousands of training programs out there. Most of them, to some degree, work. Some work better than others. So why even consider the 
To really appreciate the Amazing 12 (if you haven’t been through it – and even if you have), you should understand who Paul is, what he has done and his credentials.
For most of us, excelling in one sport is an achievement. But Paul has done it in multiple disciplines.
All of us have been schooled in the Amazing 12 by Paul and supported in our development as coaches by him.