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Week 10: The CANs and CAN’Ts

BACK TO LIFE: Stacey during one of her more high-spirited sessions this week

MY best friend and I, when we were much younger, used to play this game when things didn’t go according to plan. It was called “10 good things”.

How it went is that no matter how bad the situation or circumstance, we had to come up with 10 good things about it.

This game used to annoy the hell out of a girl I was seeing at the time. But in spite of the eye-rolling glances she used to give me, I’m grateful we discovered it. Yes, I could come up with 10 good reasons why!

It could be my friend’s influence or that game that’s helped me to see the proverbial cup more as half full than half empty.

Like anyone, I have my moments when the world seems bleak, but, thankfully, most of the time I’m optimistic rather than pessimistic, hopeful rather than in despair, searching for solutions rather than fixated with the problem.

The fact is that in life we’re going to be served with curve balls and sometimes demolition balls and we need to know how to deal with them. Avoiding or running away from them just isn’t always possible, realistic or even productive.

As I mentioned in my last blog on the Amazing 12 Chichester, Rich Evans suffered a knee injury in practically the last exercise he did during that week’s training at Core Results. He’s had surgery on the knee twice, first from when he played football over 20 years ago and then from playing tennis. He’s had to give up both.

Periodically, the knee has flared up and caused niggles here and there. But last week, as he started pushing the prowler, it ‘went’. He was stopped in his tracks and couldn’t continue, grimacing.

He had it checked out. It got better after a few days’ rest, but then Rich inadvertently caught his foot while walking and the sharp pain instantly returned. He felt as if he was back to square one.

TWISTS AND TURNS: injured Rich having to adapt

Determined as he is, Rich still came to train as week 10 commenced. We did what we could. He could barely bend the left knee or put much weight on it. That’s a massive limiting factor. So he and I had to adapt.

It would be easy – and understandable – to want to give up. Rich admitted those thoughts ran through his mind. He had a mini-slump, when he felt the world on his shoulders.

But Rich is a resourceful guy. He’s a creative rather than reactive man. So he quickly pulled himself together, contacted people who could help diagnose the problem and started mapping out a road to recovery.

BALANCING ACT: finding a way to continue getting fitter and stronger without worsening his injury

We continued training, modifying the program almost exclusively for the upper body. After his final session of the week, early in the morning on his 49th birthday, Rich said: “I actually feel really good after that. It was so good to know I could get a good workout without using my legs.”

The crux of the story is that we focus on what we CAN do rather than what we CANNOT. It’s the underlying thought that drives all these incredible athletes who compete in the Paralympics and events of that ilk. They can take on the role of victim or decide to make the best of what they have.

It’s like owning two pairs of glasses. Through one we see everything as impossible (can’t) and the other everything appears possible (can). The question is which glasses do we choose to wear.

Again, as I’ve written about a lot on this blog on the Amazing 12 Chichester, it’s a mindset thing. Yes, Rich’s injury is physical. But how we best cope with it is mental. Where we place our attention is mental.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL…early morning training this week

Rich’s injury looks like cartilage wear. Until we have a clearer idea to the extent of the injury, Rich will be training mostly upper body from here on. We have no option.

It wasn’t a smooth week for Stacey Satta either. At least not to begin with. Her lack of sleep has continued to plague her. She missed two days training on week 9 and still looked shattered at the beginning of this week. I had to scale back parts of the program to compensate for her lack of recovery, meaning she’s not progressing as well as she could.

For two weeks her weight or body fat percentage hadn’t shifted much. And while Stacey has made massive progress from day 1, those numbers not changing has bothered her. The data is not surprising when you consider an estimated 60 per cent of our fat-burning occurs when we sleep and Stacey barely sleeps.

LOADED: Stacey during warm-up for her squats

However, by the end of week 9 she was the same weight and body fat percentage as when she finished her first Amazing 12. The difference is that she’s much stronger. And that’s where she could place her attention.

Rich looks at her in amazement sometimes because shifting fat is his primary goal. However, as Dr Jade Teta, who specialises in knowing about metabolism, points out, women have an advantage. They burn 65 per cent more fat during exercise than men; they can process carbs by between 50-100 per cent times better than men and, finally, they produce almost double the fat-burning hormones than men do.

But Stacey’s fat-burning potential is reduced by (a) her lack of sleep and (b) potential to train optimally through being tired.

Nonetheless, just as we can focus what we can do rather than what we cannot, we can also reflect on what have HAVE achieved rather than what we HAVEN’T. Thus far, Stacey has accomplished a lot – in fact, an incredible amount considering her circumstances.

By the end of this week Stacey had rebounded from her slump. She admitted, “I’m really pleased with where I am so far, considering the sessions I’ve missed the the sleep problems.”

She put in two great sessions this week, in one back-squatting during a warm-up more weight for reps than she could manage as a maximum after the first Amazing 12! Then, when deadlifting, she topped what she achieved on the first Amazing 12 and, on a few occasions when she found her groove, looked at me in astonishment, saying, “that felt so easy.”

That was a lightbulb moment for Stacey – the realisation that with the right technique she could make deadlifting – or any other movement – feel simple and, because it appeared so effortless, she now knows her potential is much greater.

What we’re really talking about here is the difference between efficiency and inefficiency and the secret is to be consistently efficient.

In what was an up-and-down week for her, Stacey can either reflect on the tougher moments or her successes. I think I know which I’d go for.

Rich, for example, half-joked this week that when he said to me earlier in the program that his weight was going up, I replied that it was good as it signified he was putting on muscle. This week he said his weight was going down and I replied that it was good, because he was getting leaner.

HANGING IN THERE: often times you have to in order to see the gains

“How can it be good when it’s going up and good when it’s going down?” he said.

My answer is that it’s always good, meaning that you have to find the good (or the positive) in everything. It’s about feeding ourselves with information that’s going to nourish and grow our confidence and not deplete it. It’s also about receiving feedback and using that feedback to improve us, not destroy us.

I could see Rich’s spirit was lower than usual after the injury. That was understandable. He’d invested a lot in his training. And, sure, getting injured is annoying, especially at this stage. But it’s not the end.

You know I like a mountain analogy, so here’s another. Climbing a mountain, you hurt yourself as you near the peak. Do you turn back and return to base camp or find a way to reach the summit?

If you turn back, you face frustration and disappointment. If you soldier on, finding a way to safely continue, you achieve a sense of accomplishment and sometimes even a greater sense of accomplishment from having overcome an impediment.

Life is going to continually present us with hurdles and unexpected challenges and we have to be ready for them. We need to be trained for them. Every time we soldier on, we are teaching and reminding ourselves that we CAN. We’re strengthening our resolve. We’re creating a habit. That’s progress.

Yes, the Amazing 12 Chichester is primarily about physical change. It’s about gaining strength, developing fitness, creating an optimal physique, but in reality, as Rich and Stacey are discovering, it is more far-reaching if we recognise all the opportunities for growth that come on the path to completing a dedicated program like this.

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!

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?

Weeks 7&8: What does your vision look like?

SLAMMING: with the ball and sledgehammer

THE question of ‘what do you do when you are finished?’ to an Amazing 12 graduate is about as standard as the ‘where do you get your protein from?’ query to a non-meat-eater.

Jemma tells me that she is often asked what happens when the Amazing 12 Chichester is over for her.

It’s a question I have written about in previous blogs and continues to – and probably always will – surface. Obviously, people are curious to know what is the next step beyond the Amazing 12. It’s a valid question.

Jemma and I joke that her answer should be, “Well, I thought I’d go back to doing no exercise, drinking alcohol and eating whatever I liked.”

Clearly, Jemma has no intention of doing that.

In fact, she said to me this week: “I don’t want to stop [the A12]. I love it.”

Jemma is clear on what she doesn’t want to do, but uncertain as to how to continue moving forwards in her training.

A starting point, though, is to have a vision. That’s what is driving Jemma right now. It doesn’t have a time frame. It’s a goal and a mental impression of where and how she wants to be. The Amazing 12 is a vehicle towards that goal.

When the Amazing 12 finishes, the task is then to continue making progress towards the end goal, in whatever shape and form that may be, and that could mean enlisting the assistance or expertise of whoever can help, if need be.

Without a vision, though, you won’t know where are you heading?

Jemma’s vision is to regain her body, confidence and the strength she’s always had but just hasn’t ever realised it. The clearer and more defined her vision, the greater her chances of succeeding. If the vision she now has fades, she may lose impetus or motivation. If her vision changes, she may take a different direction.

But my point is: first find your vision. Make that your focus. Use your vision to drive you onwards and leapfrog all the bumps and obstacles that come your way. Be committed to the vision.

BIG LEAPS: Catriona started with no lifting experience

Catriona succeeded in her goal to learn how to lift weights and now she wants to maintain the physique she has built.

She and Reg have finished their eight-week stints. Jemma and Jade are now into week 9.

Catriona continued to train with me and Reg returned to action after a 10-day break.

In just over a week of inactivity, big Reg could feel the difference. “My God, I’m glad I decided to train,” he said. “I needed that.”

But now he’s off on holiday and that can be a pivotal time. It’s good to get rest and allow your body to recover after a long training stint. Sometimes, though, too much rest can lead to laziness, a loss of motivation and deviation from healthy eating habits. Before you know it, you could be back to Square One.

NATURAL STRENGTH: Reg deadlifts 100kg like it’s nothing

Reg, though, has a vision, which is to get himself closer to 18st from the 25st he started at. That vision is what spurs him on.

Week 8 was a particularly good one for Jemma, having missed her first session (during week 7). She was annoyed about that, because she wanted to finish the 12 weeks without skipping a single workout.

But these things happen and it’s not worth beating yourself up over. Jemma moved on and quickly.

UP AND DOWN: Jade’s gaining fitness and strength, but finding the eating a challenge

For Jade, who hasn’t missed any, it’s been an up-and-down couple of weeks. She’s been battling with the nutritional side of things and admitted to me she’s strayed several times from the plan. Also, with the training there are clearly some days she prefers more than others.

It happens. Some people find the eating guidelines hard to follow and some do not. Catriona strolled through. Jemma had some issues to begin with but now admits, after getting into her stride, “it’s not complicated and there are loads of options. I now find it quite easy.”

With the training, though, I often say it’s usually the movement and training your least enjoy that you need to do the most.

TECHNIQUE: Jade and Catriona holding form

Let’s remember what the Amazing 12 is: a program designed to bring about the best possible results in a given time period.

Sometimes the training can be a hard slog or deeply challenging – mentally as well as physically – which is a necessary part of making improvement and bringing about adaptation. You just don’t want to go there too often.

The real examination is to see how you respond in situations like that. Do you rise to it or shrink away from it?

Jade’s least favourite day happens to be the one Jemma likes best. And while the program feels like it is sailing by for Jemma, Jade feels as though it’s dragging. That’s just how it is. We’re all different.

In spite of her moments of impatience and missing eating certain foods, Jade’s making progress. There aren’t too many people on this program – men or women – knocking out 65 chin-ups in 15 minutes at this stage. In most of her lifts, she is well ahead of the curve.

But Jade can be difficult to please (which she admits) – except for when you play Country and Western music during training! She can be quite tough on herself. I keep reminding her that results come from being patient and following the script – precisely what she finds difficult to do.

DRIVE: Jemma’s focus and commitment is paying off

Jemma’s been on the ball and, to be honest, I’m staggered by how her fitness and strength has improved. She has also dropped more than 1 1/2st in weight.

“I want to give it everything I have,” she said. “I don’t want to finish this and be left thinking ‘what if?’ I’ve made a lot of sacrifices and don’t want to let myself or anyone else down.”

The question you want to ask yourself is ‘have I done everything possible to give myself the best chance of achieving the results I was after?’

As you can tell, attitude plays a big part in success. And on programs like the Amazing 12 – and challenging circumstances in life – your attitude is pivotal.

To spice up the training I added a little competition into the mix. At Core Results this month there has been a gym challenge that involves pulling a sled up and down the gym six times for a given time. It’s a 50k load for ladies and 70k for men. I decided to incorporate it into the program.

Jade, unsurprisingly, has notched up one of the best times and Jemma, incredibly, isn’t far behind!

But to give Jemma’s accomplishment some context, the first time she tried (at the end of week 7), her time was 2:18. Four days later she did it in 1:37 – a difference of 41 seconds!

In fact, everything is beginning to look easier for Jemma even though it should be tougher. Why? Because she’s getting stronger and her mental resolve has shifted.

GRAFT: Catriona, typically, working hard

Catriona also made huge improvement with the sled time from 2:25 to 2:09 to 2:04 – which is 21 seconds in a week!

When I compare Jemma now with the girl who started two months ago, I see someone not only leaner, but more confident and positive and undoubtedly better conditioned.

What makes Jemma trainable, in spite of her propensity for complaining (which I addressed a few weeks ago and, admittedly, has reduced), is that she’s open to learning and making changes.

Jemma takes it in. She gives it a go. She doesn’t always get it first time. She doesn’t always remember. But she is willing.

As I heard someone say this week, “You’re either in or in your way”. Which are you?

The next wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester begins on September 18 at Core Results. Do you want a life-altering challenge? Have you got the commitment to see it through? Are you after results from your training? Do you want to learn about how to eat to get leaner? You’ve seen the results the Amazing 12 can deliver. Make your application today. Places are limited. Send all messages to: Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk

Reaching 50: staying healthy in a changing world

DECADES APART: less hair, but still lifting

I CAN recall quite vividly a conversation I had back in my teens at a gym where I regularly used to train. During that exchange I said to whoever it was, “my goal is still to be training when I’m 50.”

Back then 50 seemed ancient. When you reach 50, you still feel young at heart – or at least I do. So now, if asked the same question about why I train, I’d add that I hope to still be lifting weights and working out when I’m 70 – if I get that far!

And without the lycra shorts!

Longevity has never been my aim. But for as long as I am alive, I want to be in good health. As the saying goes, “the idea is to die young as late as possible.”

Sports, athletics and training has always played a significant part in my life. Thank God I discovered it.

Growing up, I never got into excessive drinking or smoking or drugs because (a) it didn’t make sense to me (b) I took my sport (boxing at the time) seriously and (c) I valued my health enough to not want to subject my body to abuse (ironic considering the sport I chose).

It wasn that way from the beginning. As a child and young person I had a sweet tooth. I’d spoon sugar straight from the sugar bowl and spend my pocket money on chocolates and fast food. Then, over time, I realised the relationship between food and health and human performance and that to have any advantage, I needed to make the right choices.

So while many of my friends were dealing with peer pressure growing up, I was always largely excused. I was in training. That was my escape.

Amongst my peers I was always known as the one who didn’t drink. I designated myself the driver on nights out, which again gave me an ‘out’. When out on the town and, inevitably, asked why I didn’t drink alcohol as though I was someone from Mars, I always felt confident and comfortable in saying it didn’t interest me, that I didn’t ever feel the need for it and wasn’t fussed on the taste.

BACK IN THE DAY: feeling invincible in my 20s

Without thinking about it too deeply, I cherished being well far more than I did the experience of getting drunk or intoxicated or out of my mind. It wasn’t that I was ever a sick child and scared of being ill again. Quite the contrary. But maybe I saw enough sickness and drunkenness and hangovers around me to make me decide ‘I don’t ever want that’. And the occasions when I was unwell or injured, I remember the feeling as being less than enjoyable.

Let’s face it, being unwell is pretty miserable. Why would I choose that?

As you get older, it becomes more important to stay ‘fit’. The odds begin to stack against you.

We only have one body, which has to serve us for a lifetime. It’s senseless to destroy or weaken or abuse it.

It’s difficult enough as it is, with the best intentions in the world, to remain impregnable against the cascade of attacks on our health. There’s no way to fully avoid all the pitfalls of living in a modern world. But we can limit the damage.

Life can throw curve balls at you at any moment. You have to be ready. I know that the stronger and healthier I am, the better I can respond and the greater my chances of survival.

We have an epidemic in western and First World culture of people crumbling and dying from over-consumption of food and, more precisely, foods deficient in nutrients and laced with toxins and substances we’d often prefer not to know existed. This epidemic is made worse by a consumer culture driven to make life as comfortable and convenient as possible which, consequently, has resulted in populations of individuals becoming ridiculously inactive, physically.

REASONS TO BE HEALTHY: playing with my children

The advent of the technological age now threatens our children and younger generations, many of whom no longer aspire to play freely in the fresh air, but instead would prefer to be fixated, with limited movement, looking at devices that provide all their entertainment.

Additionally, we walk mostly on concrete, wake up to alarm clocks, work in artificial light, live in heated and air-conditioned buildings, wear our feet in tight shoes, over-use prescriptive drugs for illnesses which, largely, can be avoided, find ourselves continually filling the space of every spare second of the day (thus increasing stress levels), all the while no longer really needing to employ much energy or guile to locate, collect and prepare our food in the way we were originally designed to.

It’s not a mystery why many of us are ageing well ahead of time. And so many people look and seem helpless to protect themselves.

It’s easy to fall into the trap. Although I have always been active and gone to the gym or trained at least four-five times a week since I hit puberty, I was for much of my adult life – without even realising it – what they call “active sedentary”.

WRITING DAYS: travelling the world, meeting elite athletes

If I knew at 18 what I now know, I’d have possibly made some different choices in life and career. For instance, I worked as a journalist for more than 20 years in the heart of London. My job required that I commute by train practically every day. I sat at a desk for hours in an office and on a train and in my car. Now the idea of being pinned to a desk all day doesn’t appeal at all. Back then, though, I never gave it a second thought.

I believed, as many of us still do, the one hour or so of exercise each day could offset the endless hours perched on and hunched in a chair in a soul-less building and away from the elements we were supposed to be in contact with. It can’t.

I travelled the world, meaning I spent hours glued to a seat on aeroplanes, breathing cabin air, going across time zones, disrupting my internal body clock, all of which steadily takes a massive toll. The experiences I had may have seemed priceless, but they most likely came at some cost.

It’s all a trade-off. But is it a fair exchange if you don’t know all the risks – if you’re not made aware, for instance, that sitting at a desk for years, as our children do in schools, is likely to wreak havoc on your posture and body later in the life? We still don’t know – because it is a relatively new invention – the full impact of how our addictive mobile devices are affecting us.

Trying to uncover the truth within the war of information isn’t easy. Those that feed us the ‘facts’ have ulterior motives or a strong bias. Sometimes you have to dig and we’re all too busy to do any digging, so we listen to conflicting opinions and messages, wind up confused and, consequently, do nothing.

However, doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it’s the wrong thing. Why? Because if you recognise you’re going the wrong way, you can always change course. It’s never too late.

For instance, about 12 years or so ago I made the choice to stop eating animal products. It was controversial in my inner circles. I’ve never regretted it for a second, though. I feel better for it. I’m not advocating it for everyone. But it was right for me and it still remains so.

I didn’t exactly go about it in the right way, however. But making mistakes is how we learn. Initially, being the only non-meat-eater in my family and amongst my friends, I was defensive of my choices, sometimes fiercely so. I think I offended some people.

I’m a lot more now of the thinking that everyone is entitled to make their own choice. But, armed with the information and feelings I now have, I’d have probably changed my eating much sooner.

Overnight, I went from being a meat-eater to raw plant-based. That was a shock for my body. I lost a lot of weight and fast (not that I wanted or needed to). I tried to say I felt good, but I didn’t – at least not always. I knew the food choices I was making were healthier, but not the healthiest. How I transitioned wasn’t the best.

After I heard people discussing and being concerned for my health because of the weight loss, I made a U-turn and then, in a more sensible manner after educating myself some more, eliminated the foods I no longer wanted to consume.

I’ve found more balance now with how and what I eat. It takes time. I know a lot more about it. I became informed. I’m not obsessed. I just realise it’s important because it affects everything. Much of our immune system begins in the gut. What we eat is therefore critical. For that reason it gets my attention and is a priority.

I feel healthier, stronger, fitter and more nourished and energetic than in a long time. I’m more flexible and mobile even if I am still lacking in flexibility and mobility. I’ve always got work to do, because the work is never over.

As gymnastics coach Chris Sommer says, “You’re not responsible for the hands of cards you were dealt. You’re responsible for maxing out what you were given.”

Had I known sooner about the philosophies of people like Sommer, I probably would have changed my approach to training a long time ago. I didn’t grow up in a world where, unlike today, information was at my fingertips or Youtube existed (technology does have its advantages!).

I did a lot of fumbling around to find a system and methodology that made sense and worked. I made a ton of mistakes. I did a lot of experimenting to figure out a way of eating that also worked and was sustainable.

SHARING: coaching enables me to help others to grow

Doing the Amazing 12 program and learning from Paul McIlroy about training and food has revolutionised how I approach strength and conditioning.

I read a lot and I’m considered in what I read. I listen for hours to podcasts on inspirational and from informative people. I’m a sponge for learning more from the many incredible individuals out there leading the way in that market of the world today.

DISCOVERY: kettlebells and smarter ways of training came late, after much experimentation

I’m older now and don’t have the drive to compete like I used to. I’m happy with that, though. I wasn’t a world-beater as an athlete, even though I had aspirations to be. I’ve let go of that. I’ll leave it to the youngsters.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter to me greatly whether I’m first or last in something. It matters if I try my hardest and if I’ve executed a task with the standards I have set for myself and if I’ve made progress. I’m more at peace with any need to attract recognition for my achievements and exploits.

Of course, it’s nice to be applauded or revered, but it’s not essential or, for me, even required. What’s more important is how we feel about ourselves.

The real challenge is how to find equilibrium in our world with all the demands and distractions it places upon me and my well-being.

We are being bombarded by stressors from every direction. That’s why now the simpler things bring me the most pleasure.

I’m determined to be conscientious for the future of mankind and healthy, to serve and support my family, to be active and fully able to participate and play and interact with my young children for as long as possible. I strive to share what I know with others who feel there is something to learn from me and to help them to help themselves discover the promise that each and everyone of us has the right to.

MY TRIBE: women’s weight-lifting on Sunday mornings

The emphasis has shifted from what I can do for myself – as it does when you are younger – to how much of a positive impact I can have on other people.

And while I feel more selfless now, I still make myself a priority. That may be a paradox, but I’m of no use to anyone – in fact, I become a burden – if I’m not fighting fit for life and operating from a place where my essential needs have been met.

Life is, indeed, a journey of twists and turns and falls and delights and anguish and ecstasy and heartache. But it’s also an amazing place and with so much to explore and learn and experience. Sometimes I feel as if I will run out of time to fully appreciate and discover all I want to.

Many years ago my best friend, Bob Lesson, and I were in France on a beautiful sunny day and he said to me, “I’ve probably only got another 25-30 summers left.”

I’d never thought about my life in terms of summers. But, being a summer person, that’s one way of viewing how, potentially, little time remains and how precious each moment is.

I don’t know how, but I’ve been fortunate from when I was very young to be able to seek, find and go after what it is that really brings me to life. I almost have an inability to settle for less. I hope I don’t lose that.

AMAZING 12: a way of training and eating that I wished I’d have discovered years ago

Sure, I’ve had some jobs and periods where I felt listless, frustrated and as if I was heading nowhere, but the reality is that those moments served a valuable and essential purpose in getting me to and preparing me for where I did want to be. It nearly always does.

I’m far from perfect. But I try to work on my many imperfections. I’m patient because I have to be and because I know and have learned and understood that’s often how a process works.

If there’s one thing getting older gives you that should be really valued and cannot be ordered on Amazon, it’s experience.

Life should be a long and enjoyable journey. But, even when it’s not, I remind myself that change is constant and the most arduous paths eventually lead to some type of promised land.

Week 8/6: Where has complaining ever got you?

HARD AT IT: Catriona is all business here

THE Amazing 12 Chichester is now at the halfway stage for Jemma and Jade, whereas Catriona and Reg have come to the end of their eight-week version.

This weekend, when they have their photos taken, I’ll see, visually at least, how much progress Catriona and Reg have made. It’s already quite apparent, though.

A few moments stuck out for me this week during training at Core Results Gym. One was when Catriona deadlifted 65kg for multiple reps and sets with good form and stayed strong throughout. She weighs only 51kg (having lost 4kgs since beginning the program – that’s the lightest she can remember being).

But considering she had zero lifting experience when she started and a few weeks back had struggled with a weight that was significantly lighter, it was quite a proud moment to see that sort of progress.

STEP AHEAD: Reg is moving faster and better

The second was during a warm-up when I had Reg push the prowler. Instead, though, he started jogging with it. So to have seen Reg go from a hobble to struggling to crawl to walking quickly to a light run was quite a staggering transition given that at a starting weight of 25st-plus, he had issues with his knees and heel that caused him to miss a few sessions.

Those were the highs. But there were some lows. This week more than any other I noticed the level of complaining reach a new level.

Complaining is nothing new to a gym environment or my waves of the Amazing 12 Chichester for that matter. This program isn’t exactly a walk in the park – and it can’t be to get the results that are achieved. I’m used to listening to grumbling.

It’s also quite a British thing to moan, especially about the weather and traffic and whatever else.

But it made me think about how self-defeating complaining really is.

I understand some people complain to let off steam or to deal with fear or to get attention or without even realising how much they do it. But I can only reach one conclusion.

Complaining is simply a waste of energy.

Here is my question: how does complaining enable or help you to become the best version of yourself?

UP THEY GO: But Jemma frequently faces her doubts

I hope that if you try to answer it sincerely, it stops you in your tracks and makes you take stock of how pointless complaining is. At the very least it should make you assess for a moment how much you might be complaining about things and how much you are selling yourself short by doing so.

When I look at successful people or high-achievers or people we generally aspire to be like, I don’t see complainers. I see doers. I see people who take action. I see people who are effective and, more importantly, decisive at making changes.

I see people who get on with things. I see individuals who refuse to join in the drama and are focused on what they want to achieve. I see people who use their energy to inspire, motivate and encourage rather than blame or complain. I see people who find solutions rather than moan about the problems.

Most importantly, I see people who have the antidote to complaining: gratitude.

That’s to say that if you complain, you generally see things negatively and if you are grateful, you see things positively.

This isn’t something you are born with. This is learned and practiced behaviour, which means it can be reversed or changed – if you want it to be.

However, I still catch myself complaining. We all complain. But the degree to which we complain and the time we spend complaining is significant and varies.

The key to my statement is that I ‘catch myself’ complaining, meaning I realise it’s something I do from time to time almost unconsciously or habitually. But I’d rather not and I try not to.

TRIUMPH: That moment in the deadlift for Catriona

Some of us, though, are chronic complainers. You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to figure out that if you complain a lot you can’t be very satisfied.

If you’re not satisfied, it’s not the complaining that will change your circumstances. It’s taking action that makes the difference.

A friend of mine and former British boxing champion from the 1980s, Gary De’Roux, once said to me when I was complaining to him about something during conversation many years ago, “don’t complain. Do something about it.”

His words packed a punch. Gary’s a no-nonsense sort of guy. Sounding off doesn’t do anything but produce hot air. Your situation remains the same and you run the risk of creating negative energy around you.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Jemma taking on the weight and how it makes her hands feel

On a neurological level, though, there’s good reason to take complaining seriously. There’s a direct link between complaining and negativity. And there’s a strong connection between negativity and depression as there is between negativity and worry and, consequently, stress.

Stress affects all aspects of our health and well-being. In its most negative form, it is draining and weakening and life-threatening. Stress also raises our cortisol levels, which makes it harder for us to sleep soundly. This, amongst other things, limits our ability to grow and recover. It can also lead to weight and fat gain.

Yet research shows that most people complain at least once every minute during a typical conversation.

REFLECTION: Do we see things as they are or as we want them to be?

Complaining, though, can feel good to some of us, because sometimes you feel as if you are sharing an experience that’s bothering you and getting a worry off your chest. But every time you complain, you wire your brain to do more complaining.

Studies out of Stanford University in America have shown that complaining shrinks the part of the brain responsible for intelligence and problem-solving. This is the same part of the brain that deteriorates in patients who have Alzheimer’s.

In my world of training people to get stronger and fitter and move better, I hear complaints all the time that range from “do we have to?” to “I can’t do that” to “this hurts” to “that’s too hard” to “I’m bored with this food” to “can’t we do this instead?” etc. The list is endless.

DR. DREAD: Reg finds crawling more daunting than anything else

Complaining is a disease as well as a form of resistance – not accepting things as they are. Resistance is going against the flow of life and thus makes what you may be complaining about even worse.

Let’s not confuse complaining with speaking out. One is negative and the other positive. As author Eckhart Tolle wrote, “When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power.”

Getting and achieving results more often than not doesn’t involve a process that is enjoyable or easy. You have to make a sacrifice. But you can either fight it or accept and get on with it or find a solution. I know which options make the most sense.

GETTING ON WITH IT: Catriona in work mode

Essentially, complaining is wasting valuable time. As Randy Pausch wrote in The Last Lecture, “if you took one tenth of the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you’d be surprised how well things can work out.”

However, if you are locked into a pattern of complaining, you’re going to have to work hard to change it.

Training the body is a process of change through repetition and adaptation. So when we complain there’s a process of practice and repetition taking place in our brains. We’re hard-wiring ourselves to get better…at complaining!

Complaining, from my experience, weakens my attitude, makes my thinking more fragile and leaves me more likely to fail in a given task. It takes away any pleasure, too.

MIND GAMES: Once Jemma tames her thinking she will go to another level

As they say, “Complaining is a zero return investment.”

If you are aware you complain a lot and don’t mindfully try to fix it, you’ll simply get better at it and the issues or problems taxing you will remain or escalate. However, if you are aware you complain and want to change, you can try to tackle it the same way you would if your aim was to change your fitness levels or lose weight or gain weight or get stronger.

You show up every day with the intention and commitment to do better than the day before. And like learning any new skill, initially, you have to think hard about and work hard at it – until it becomes your default response.

Complaining is verbalising a negative thought. Your thoughts determine your actions. It’s impossible to think negatively, act negatively and yet produce positivity.

Here’s the challenge.

Each time you complain, catch yourself and try to either think of a positive alternative or solution instead.
Don’t beat yourself up if you struggle or else you’ll just be complaining again. It’s a process and will take time.
Try going 24 hours without complaining and see what happens.

HURT: This week left Reg’s legs feeling a bit sore

The Amazing 12 Chichester isn’t just about the physical. Often our bodies are an expression of what and how we are thinking. So to make a complete transformation and get the optimum results, we sometimes have to start with the mind and our attitude.

We can only be as strong as our weakest link and often that is in the way we are thinking.

Progress requires patience, time, effort and consistency. Complaining just means you don’t enjoy the experience.

Think you have what it takes to do the Amazing 12 Chichester like Catriona, Reg, Jade and Jemma? Catriona is continuing for another two weeks before she goes on holiday and Reg is going to do the same before he takes a summer break and then embarks on another round of the program in September.

I’m taking applications for the September wave that begins on the 18th and ends in mid-December. Contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for more details or if you have any questions.

Week 6/4: What exactly is success?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Success is just a moment in time.

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

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

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

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

SOLID FORM: Jade squatting low, keeping her torso upright

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOCUS: Jemma’s in the zone with these lunges

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

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

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

“I’m so thrilled,” she wrote.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But what is being your best?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week 5/3: The curse of expectations

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

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

Impatience and unrealistic expectations almost go hand in hand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

She’ll say, “Inches and fat.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But comparing yourself to others is another disaster area.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remember this: “Peace begins when expectations end.”

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

Week 3/1: Choose wisely

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We also choose:

•What’s most important in your life.

•To give up or continue.

•To give your best or worst.

•To be positive or negative.

•To be open-minded or closed-minded.

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

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

•To fix a problem or let it continue.

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

•To tell the truth or lie.

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

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

•To trust or not to trust.

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

•To be committed or not be committed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MOTIVATED: working together has spurred them on

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

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

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

BATTLE: Jade has no love affair with cardio

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GOOD FORM: Catriona’s been working on her deadlift

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

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

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

WARM-UP: nothing better than some crawling

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

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

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

Choose wisely.