SO you think the Amazing 12 is beyond you? You don’t have the time or lack the discipline or willpower or you live too far away from the nearest coach or you believe with a family it’s just not possible or you’re just intimidated by going into gyms or you have a history of starting but not finishing things and it’s not worth beginning?
You’d be surprised. And while the above are all legitimate reasons why participating in and completing the Amazing 12 could be made more challenging, it doesn’t mean it cannot be done.
Firstly, you have to want it and be prepared to do what it takes. Change doesn’t often come easily and why should it? And you certainly don’t want to reach the point where something goes dreadfully wrong with your body before deciding it’s time to take effective action for greater health and well-being.
There is something deeply satisfying to be had from digging deep, testing your metal and discovering your untapped potential. I don’t know about you, but often when I hear people recount events in their lives, they talk with the most pride about and best remember the moments that took them closest to the edge of their comfort zone and maybe even beyond it or where they were challenged.
There is more satisfaction to be had from overcoming something that seems impossible or difficult than completing a task that is easy or you know you are capable of.
Still not convinced you have it in you?
Here are just two men who have, by sheer desire for change, overcome obstacles or limitations that would have deterred most people. It’s often the determined, driven and motivated who are most likely to create changes and then stick with or build upon them. Before you say ‘that’s not me’, understand we ALL have the capability for that mindset.
It just means you need to find a legitimate reason to take action – a driving force inside you – and keep that in mind during those times when things get testing, when you may find yourself questioning what you are made of.
Remember giving up never gets results or creates lasting change. It’s the starting, being brave, believing and persevering that does.
MOTIVATIONAL stories don’t get more powerful than Keith’s. Only days before deciding to do the Amazing 12, Keith was feeling as if he couldn’t go on with life. He was at rock bottom. His wife of 17 years, five months pregnant with their daughter, had passed away suddenly, without warning, from a brain haemorrhage.
In his own words, Keith said, “I was a totally broken man.”
With two daughters to raise, he could see no light at the end of the tunnel.
He recalled one particular visit to his wife’s grave. “I said to Lorraine, ‘wherever you are, I need help. Work your magic’.”
Keith realised he had two choices: to waste away or pull himself together. He remembered how at the entrance to the graveyard where his wife was buried he could see a gym. It was a gym (GP Fitness) belonging to Gan Power, who runs the Amazing 12 program in Waterford, Ireland.
“I walked in, chatted to Gan and he signed me up,” remembers Keith, who had never done any weight-training previously.
Keith’s lifestyle was poor: drinking; smoking; on prescription medicine; strength levels low.
“What happened to Keith was a nightmare,” said Gan. “I can’t comprehend something like that happening. Keith just went through the motions the first few sessions he came in here. But as the weeks went by I could see his personality and focus change. His life became structured. It gave him routine.”
“I was coming to the gym with the weight of the world on my shoulders and dumping it on the floor through exercise,” recalls Keith of his A12 experience. Soon enough changes began happening, not just physically.
“I could walk out of the gym and juggle the world a lot better,” he said.
When he started the program, Keith recalls how he couldn’t do a single chin-up. By the end he was doing multiple chin-ups with 20k attached to his body.
“I became a different man, physically and mentally. This program gave me the foundations to move on in life. My physical appearance, confidence and self-esteem shot up. My thinking became positive.”
There’s a great follow-on to Keith’s story. He decided to go back to college and study sports psychology (a four-year course). “I want to make something of my life and, at the same time, help others.
“I look at what I achieved in 12 weeks on the Amazing 12 and think what I can do in four years. I’m doing it for myself and the kids.”
GARY was told by doctors at the age of 22 that his injured back was never going to get better – that he’d have to learn to live with the pain and pain-relief. Consequently, he was forced to retire from his sports, hurling and football.
Surgery was an option, but he was warned against it. Too risky, the doctors advised. And they couldn’t guarantee it would help.
Gary’s pain was constant. He had gone from winning an under-21 championship with his club and having social connections through sport to nothing. With it went his motivation, fitness and network of friends.
This went on for five years. Gary tried everything, but to no avail. He felt as if he had aged 10 years in the process. Then he decided, almost as a last resort, to try surgery. “I always believed this would solve my problem,” he said.
In March 2014 he had the first of two procedures in Dublin that left him with two metal rods the length of his spine that would remain there permanently. He was told to allow for a year before returning to any kind of gym activity or sport.
Then Gary, with little muscle on his frame, limited flexibility and anxiety about how he looked and felt, approached Colm Callanan in Galway, Ireland. Gary was coming off two operations, four weeks in hospital, four months out of work and 18 months of recovery.
“I was in a rut and had no idea where I was going with regards to my fitness and nutrition,” he said. “Colm asked if I’d have a go at the Amazing 12.”
Gary’s first reaction was: “Absolutely not. I’m nowhere near that level.” But after talking to Colm, he decided to give it a go.
“Never in a million years did I think I would be in the gym at 6.30am five days a week and enjoying every minute of it,” he said. “After two weeks I had slipped into the routine of it and flying through it.”
Gary made it work. “It’s like a collection of positive steps,” he said. “You get a discipline you don’t have to force. You have a personal trainer watching and helping you progress. It wasn’t tough considering what I got out of it.
“I’m now looking at the prospect of playing sport again, seven years after being told I would never be able to. I have always been a positive person, but I’ve become even happier, more proactive and motivated since doing the Amazing 12.”
*The next wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester starts on January 9, 2017 at Core Results. Book in for a free consultation to find out more. Contact: Claude@Intelligentstrength.co.uk