strength training Archives -

Week 1: Laying the foundations

CONTRAST: The lean runner and the golfing powerhouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHANGE: Reg going from no exercise to constructive training

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jamie (April 2017)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PAUSE: floating the kettlebell during the swing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STEADY: keeping the pace with slam balls

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

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

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

LEGS DAY: Back squatting in her funky leggings

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

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

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

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

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

MOTIVATED: Jamie has risen to a new level

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

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

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

Stacey (April 2017)

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

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

Somehow she looks fantastic for it.

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

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

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

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

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

A few snippets of Stacey’s training journey

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

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

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

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

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

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

Less than a year on since her wedding day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regain your health, strength and vitality in eight weeks!

ARE you no longer feeling comfortable in your own body? Have years of poor choices taken a toll on your health? Do you need to do something about it and get into shape, but you don’t know how?

Or maybe you struggle with motivating yourself and need a challenge – something that will give you focus, help you knuckle down and bring about the results you deserve?

Perhaps it’s too easy to cut corners when you are calling the shots. It’s too simple to not get up to run or go to the gym. You want to be held accountable.

Or do you desperately feel the need to shift excess body fat, change a poor diet, but don’t know what you should be doing or eating? Do you need some guidance?

You’ve heard that lifting weights is one of the best ways to drop body fat and get stronger. You’d be absolutely right. It gives you muscles and having muscles is like having fat-burners. Muscles and lifting weights are also essential for good health. But you don’t know how to lift well or safely? You want to be taught properly and have someone watch your technique and guide you carefully?

Even if you know how to lift weights, just picking up barbells and dumbbells isn’t necessarily going to do the trick.

For example, if you know how to drive, have a car and want to get from England to Germany, a map would be handy. Without it, reaching your destination could take forever. You may even never get there. Training without a program – and especially one that works – is pretty much the like being in a car without a map or compass.

The Amazing 12 is a map for getting into shape and regaining your health and vitality. That’s why I’m offering an eight-week version of this program, starting in May.

To participate, you need to be willing to train with me five days a week on consecutive days for eight weeks. That’s all.

I say ‘That’s all’, because two months isn’t a long time for what you’ll get in return. It’s nothing to get back ownership and control of your body. It’s nothing in exchange for being able to move better and be healthier. I’m offering a way for you to whip yourself into shape for summer and make your results the beginning for the health and body you deserve.

What I need from you is two things: commitment and consistency. Be committed enough to turn up every day – regardless of how you feel – and train as I ask, to eat the foods I advise you to consume in the quantities I recommend.

There are no tricks involved. It’s just an intelligent way of training combined with a smart, sensible and healthy way of eating. But, when combined with effort and commitment, it works and works brilliantly.

You’ll not just feel like the person you were always supposed to be – but got derailed by lifestyle choices – but you’ll most likely be stronger, fitter, feel more confident and have the knowledge and skills to better take care of yourself.

You’ll become an asset to yourself, your family, your work, your friends…

You will be fending off illness, ageing, lethargy, inefficiency.

But how much do you want it? That’s the real question. How much do you want that change?

Think about what the future holds on your present path and what the future would hold from two months solid commitment and the platform that would provide.

Believe you can do it? Contact me. I’m looking to hear from committed individuals. My pledge is that I’m prepared to give all I have in experience, knowledge and teaching to help those who want to help themselves.

To register or find out more, send an email to Claude@Intelligentstrength.co.uk

Week 12: Box clever – be the architect, not the spectator

Nearly done…but what’s next for Stacey and Jamie?

BOXING used to be my sport. I spent years – decades, in fact – around boxers and observing them. I saw the very best and the worst.

Most boxers train sometimes up to 12 weeks or more to be in the best possible condition. Then, when their contest is over, some don’t go near a gym until their next fight is scheduled, while the smart ones – and the ones who tend to have the longest shelf life – tick over, keep their weight down and are always in a place from which it doesn’t require drastic work to be ready for action.

Life’s the same. Many of us visit the gym or exercise in bursts. We apply ourselves only for special occasions. Our weight and body fat fluctuates and, consequently, our health stumbles along.

Resting between sets, Stacey and Adriano

But who wouldn’t want to function at their best and feel and look good all the time? The benefits are boundless. But it takes effort, consistency and application.

That’s what is required to complete the Amazing 12 in its entirety. The final week of the Amazing 12 is a bit like the countdown to a big fight, culminating in a workout and a photoshoot just like a boxer has to be ready for the weigh-in and then the contest.

There are more parallels between the life of a boxer and an Amazing 12 graduate. After the Amazing 12 do you switch off until it’s necessary to go into a gym or exercise again? Or do you continue training – to be ready for life and all that it throws at you – and maintain or improve the physique you have created?

I know which I would choose. I know which I did pick after I completed my first Amazing 12 more than two years ago. And, to be honest, it doesn’t require much work to remain in shape – but you need to be disciplined (make the right choices) and consistent (turn up to put in the work).

Picking up the pace, Ben and Stacey in the final week

Food and diet plays an essential part, of course. Ponder this, because it is true: every molecule of food we consume has an impact on our genetic expression – meaning it affects the way our genes perform.

I’ve made choices that support a healthy body. That’s always been my priority.

Why? Because health matters – not only to me, but to my wife, my children, my clients, my world, my aspirations, my desires, my bank balance, my friends, my enjoyment of life…

Why would I not choose health over pain, discomfort, sluggishness, premature ageing, limitation, low self-esteem, unhappiness?

No walk in the park: getting into shape and being healthy requires more than just exercise

I’m thankful I made that choice many years ago. I don’t feel as if I’ve missed out on anything. Quite the contrary. Being healthy and able has allowed me to take advantage of the opportunities that have come my way.

I remember as a child loving sweets and chocolates and spooning sugar straight out of the sugar bowl and drinking Coca Cola and eating hamburgers and Pizza from fast food restaurants and loads of biscuits and fish and chips. But somewhere along the road I made a choice – an informed choice.

I’m trying to push home the point that there’s nothing that sets me apart except the choices I have made. Those choices have a massive impact on the outcome of our lives.

We can either be the architect in our lives or a spectator. You choose.

COMMITMENT: Jamie and Stacey showing up for more curls

The five people I’ve put through the Amazing 12 Chichester the past 12 weeks now have an important decision to make: build upon what they have created and developed or revert to a perhaps more convenient, less disciplined lifestyle.

But I know that what comes with the former choice is more growth, a greater assurance of well-being, the freedom that is having better odds at being able to function every day with energy, strength and confidence.

The world of convenience has its place, but largely it is responsible for enticing many, many people in the opposite direction to where they would rather be.

With the A12 over, there is going to be a shift in accountability. It’s going to be easy to slip into the old patterns of eating and living that are so problematic in our world today.

PROGRESS: Just 12 weeks ago Ben had no idea how to squat properly

I’m hoping they have learned and experienced enough about themselves, the importance of choices and planning ahead to be able to shape a lifestyle that involves an effective and healthy balance of movement, training and eating.

Ben says he’s determined to continue training, that he’s going to sign up at a gym and workout with a friend three days a week. He’s more aware about food intake to know what’s healthier and what is not. The challenge is to make the right choices and do it consistently.

From just one week eating exactly as I told him, he has noticed a difference. Over the 12 weeks, he’s realised which foods don’t sit well with him and which ones do. He’s learned to drink more water daily and that he doesn’t need sugar in his tea and coffee.

STRONGER: Adriano’s done better than he did two years ago

For Adriano, Stacey and Jo, we’ve all discussed a training plan moving forwards. They all have more in the locker and are keen to progress.

And for Jamie – my wife and second time around the Amazing 12 – she succeeded in her goal to get stronger, fitter and leaner.

She comes from the US, where a life of fast food, type-2 diabetes and meds is now becoming the norm. Jamie is living proof that it doesn’t have to be.

AT LAST: the elusive chin-up is finally conquered…many times over

A vegan, mum of two and yoga teacher, she’s the only one doing the program on a plant-based diet.

Yet her strength has increased quite dramatically. This week Jamie, as well as Ben and Stacey, hit a goal of getting her first chin-up. None of them could do one before we started. All of them were able to do multiple chin-ups and with reasonable ease, too.

That’s just one example of the strength improvements accomplished in the past 12 weeks. I’ll go into more detail in future blogs.

But it underlines that this program is not just about ‘the look’. Even Jo, who found it hard to change her diet, achieved tremendous strength and fitness results.

I will then be planning ahead how to help some of them continue to improve through personal training sessions. And I shall be focusing on my next wave, which will be over EIGHT WEEKS and starting in May. It is hard work and requires devotion and commitment, but the rewards are exceptional for those who stick to it. The most challenging paths are always the ones which teach and improve us the most.

Do you want results? Are you prepared to challenge yourself to get them? Are you ready to make a commitment? Contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for more information and details or any questions you may have.

Week 9: Adversity is our teacher

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.

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.

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

Week 7: Hormones, fat loss and cholesterol

I’VE heard it said by women hundreds of times in relation to lifting weights that they don’t want to get “too bulky” or “develop big muscles”.

In my week 2 blog update I went into some detail about the importance – for women and men – of having muscles.

And when you consider that from the age of 30, when testosterone levels begin to drop, most of us will find it more difficult to retain muscle mass (on average we lose about 10% every 10 years as we age) and the importance of lifting weights as part of our lifestyle becomes even more critical.

The fact is – no matter what you’ve been led to believe – that for women to become “too bulky” or “develop big muscles” is incredibly difficult and, in many cases, impossible unless they take growth hormone or are genetically advantaged.

Resistance training, for men and women, is essential for healthy muscles and bones

Why that is so comes down to one hormone in particular, testosterone. This hormone not only determines, pre-birth, whether we are female or male (we all start out as females, hence the nipples), but it’s the hormone which boosts metabolism and keeps us leaner.

Adult males have about seven-eight times as much testosterone as adult females. It’s a steroid hormone that in men is naturally secreted from the testicles and in women the ovaries. A small quantity comes from the adrenal glands.

Ben, one of my crew on the Amazing 12 Chichester program out of Core Results Gym, asked me the other week what testosterone does and so I’ve put together a chart (above) highlighting its many functions.

I’ve also created a second diagram (below) which shows what can cause our testosterone levels to fall, what are the possible consequences of low testosterone and the many natural ways in which we can increase testosterone.

What causes low testosterone and ways to boost it

I wouldn’t recommend taking testosterone (steroid) supplements unless medically advised to do so. It can cause health complications and a list of side-effects. Testosterone is one of many hormones in our bodies and these hormones – estrogen, insulin, cortisol, leptin, testosterone, thyroid and growth hormone – all work together.

If one set of hormones is unbalanced it will affect all the others.

Take even more seriously that everything – from how we perform physically, our moods, our strength, our thinking, our health, our digestion – comes from optimal, balanced hormonal function.

So if you think hormones don’t matter, think again. They are in charge!

For those of us who overeat or have weight and excessive body fat issues, it is not because we can’t stop ourselves eating, but more a case of the hormones which regulate that decision-making being out of balance.

As doctor Mark Hyman says, “Our hormones have been hijacked by Big Food – the giant food corporations.”

Hormone expert Sara Gottfried, a doctor and author who overcame her own weight issues and is an expert on the subject, adds, “hormones dictate what your body does with food.”

So if you can’t get leaner or crave sugar or lack sleep or have fluctuating moods or often feel overwhelmed, the chances are that your hormones are out of whack.

Stacey has a sweet tooth and for years has struggled with sleep

Extra belly fat can be an indication that one or more of hormones is out of balance. These hormones regulate our metabolism. When the metabolism is broken, our bodies go into fat-storage mode as the food we eat is stored instead of used for energy.

Sleep plays an important role here, too, because when we sleep well it influences positively the hormones which control our appetites and increase metabolism. No hormone is more adversely affected by poor sleep than testosterone.

Another reason for lowered testosterone is the massive exposure in today’s world to estrogenic compounds. Many of these comes from plastics and pesticides and chemicals found in our food sources (particularly meat and non-fermented, genetically modified soya), the water we drink and pollution.

The trouble with meat that isn’t from grass-fed animals or animals consuming a natural diet is that the toxins in their diets enter ours. Our livers don’t know what to do with these toxins and put it aside as fat.

The more abdominal fat we have the faster we are likely to age and the greater we are at risk of heart disease and diabetes. Tummy fat can indicate that we have either high estrogen or low testosterone or low DHEA (adrenal gland hormone) or high insulin or high cortisol (the stress-induced hormone).

Estrogen dominance makes overweight women store more fat instead of burning it. It does this because our microbiome, the collective DNA of the microbes living in our gut, begins to extract energy for storage instead of fuel.

Also, the higher our insulin levels, the more fat we store and the more inflammation in our body.

Cooking and then consuming industrial seed oils, for example, is incredibly inflammatory. What this means in relation to testosterone is that we end up producing more of what are called aromatase enzymes that in men cause testosterone to be upgraded to estrogen and the opposite in women.

What’s also interesting is that testosterone is produced from cholesterol, which is manufactured naturally in the body but also derived from eating healthy fats (like coconut oil, avocados, unheated olive oil, ghee, nuts and seeds etc. As said already, avoid vegetable oils like soy, canola, safflower, cottonseed and corn).

The real enemy is inflammation although there is still mass contention in the science and nutrition world on the subject of what causes it.

Interesting story in this week’s edition

For example, the cover story on this week’s New Scientist magazine is all about cholesterol and whether the war on cholesterol has been in vain.

The article talks about how for “30 years, cholesterol-reducing statins have become some of the most widely prescribed drugs” after the connection between cholesterol and heart disease became widely accepted in 1984.

However, one independent Danish researcher claims, “the cholesterol campaign is the greatest medical scandal in modern time.”

What’s clear is IF cholesterol is associated with heart disease, it’s not the sole contributor. Half of all heart attacks and strokes occur amongst apparently healthy people with normal or low levels of ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.”

Studies have also shown that the side effects of taking statins have caused patients to become more sedentary and adopt less healthy diets, mainly because, thinking they are cured, they become complacent.

Complacency can, of course, affect us all. It’s the beginning of the slippery slope.

There is no way around it. Mistreat or neglect your body and, eventually, it will hit you back.

Practice makes perfect…Adriano is hyper-extending here, whereas Jo’s form is solid

Adriano is determined to not allow that to happen when he finishes the Amazing 12 this time (he did it first in 2015). He’s driven towards staying fit so he can keep up with his young son. So we’ve been devising a plan for a continued training and nutritional program after the A12 has finished.

Ben, too, is eager not to see his hard work go to waste. He has aspirations to take up boxing. But Ben’s biggest challenge is getting to grips with eating and diet. So far he’s struggled with the A12 guidelines and preparing food as it is not something he has ever had to do.

A lack of understanding of what foods do, where they come from and what to do with them is at the root of why we make poor food choices.

This week has been Ben’s toughest by far. He’s felt tired and that’s most likely down to (a) not eating enough and (b) not eating enough of the right foods. Ben also struggles with sleep.

Don’t try this at home…Ben showing his strength

Unquestionably, he’s getting stronger, but not eating according to the A12 guidelines will not only limit the effectiveness of the program and losing fat, but he’ll end up burning muscle, too, and his recovery between sessions will suffer.

“I’m just not feeling it,” he said earlier this week. “I feel weak.”

As off-colour as he felt, Ben still performed well. The reality is that the Amazing 12 program doesn’t get easier as it goes on, but you get stronger. That’s how most good training programs work.

To cap his week, Ben ended up pulling a muscle in his chest, which I am hoping is not serious. I prescribed rest until it was assessed. He missed his first session and was gutted.

Jo, too, had an up-and-down week. At the end of week six, however, she had lost 11lbs in weight, 4% body fat and told me she could fit into a pair of jeans she hadn’t been able to wear in ages.

Stacey had lost another 3lbs and was only 2lbs short of having lost a stone from the start of the program. “I’m one happy lady,” she told me.

To stay happy and healthy, we need to be like our hormones and work together on all fronts and not just those we prefer. It means, for starters, consuming the right foods and in the right proportions and quantities, moving our bodies often, doing some form of resistance training and drinking lots of clean water.

The Amazing 12 Chichester offers more than just a training program to enable you to uncover your true self and physical potential. It’s a journey of learning not only what you are made of, but also about the importance of progressive resistance training and a healthy lifestyle. The next Amazing 12 Chichester wave will be in April/May. Want to know more or book your place, contact me at Claude@Intelligentstrength.co.uk

Week 5: It’s all a confidence trick

BESIDES muscles, strength, stability, flexibility, mobility, cardiovascular fitness and health (and I could go on), there’s something incredibly important that the right type of training offers: confidence.

I see it with my four Amazing 12 Chichester candidates every day as we train at Core Results and I notice it each Sunday when I work with the ladies in my two morning weight-lifting groups.

In conversation, I hear it expressed a lot how “when I was younger I never thought twice about…but now…”

As adults, we overthink things and, consequently, feel fearful and doubtful, all of which leads to a lack of confidence. As children, we just got on with it.

But it’s seldom a case of ‘I can’t’. More often, especially when fear kicks in, the reality is ‘I won’t’.

The Amazing 12 is about delivering confidence, enabling you to achieve what you thought you could not.

Sue Saunders, who graduated with me last year, is a classic example. Hindered by a shoulder injury, she had surgery and then wasn’t sure it would withstand the type of training that the Amazing 12 demands. Guess what? It did – for 12 weeks – and she became impressively strong and looked every ounce of it.

Last workout of the week, Adriano is stepping on the gas

When you reach the end of the Amazing 12, which is an accomplishment in itself, there should be a sense of pride from the discipline, motivation and consistency it takes to apply oneself towards a goal and stick with it.

But it requires confidence, too, because along the way there are going to be doubts and you need to find the ‘yes I can’ inside of you…over and over again. Overcoming doubt requires courage. From courage we become stronger.

Our limits often reside in our heads and not our bodies. Paul McIlroy’s philosophy is NOT to keep testing your limits.

Push your limits too frequently and you will find them. Avoid your limits intelligently and you can continue to grow. Most of the great minds in strength training understand this.

Hence the saying, ‘the body achieves what the mind believes’. I know each of my quartet has inside them much more strength than they believe they possess. I can only convince them by enabling them. The Amazing 12 program slowly reveals to them to what they are capable of.

Take Jo, for example. I’ve worked with her on and off for several years. During that time she’s always struggled with push-ups. It’s actually one of her least favourite movements.

Last weekend she was out on the town in Brighton with friends – on a night off from training, of course. A few drinks were shared (and allowed) and, being a little more relaxed I suspect, Jo ended up in a push-up challenge with some guy and, for want of a better expression, whipped his behind.

So there’s an example of when thinking doesn’t interfere with doing. I’m not suggesting we fuel ourselves with alcohol to remove any fears and hit our PRs (much to the disappointment of many, I am sure). But you get the point, I hope.

The reality is we each have within us untapped strength. We just haven’t learned how to skilfully and easefully release it. The Amazing 12 does that.

Stacey (above) is someone else I have worked with for several years. But even in her prime she was unable to do an unassisted pull-up. I’ve set myself the challenge of changing that.

Ben, too, can’t do a pull-up or chin-up but wants to – desperately. He’s never trained before doing the Amazing 12. But I’m confident he will achieve it.

The Amazing 12 has a method. It’s to get you from point A, where you start, to point B, your goal, in the most effective and smartest manner.

Adriano getting stronger in the back squat

What I really enjoy about the Amazing 12 is how strength and confidence creeps up on you. My clients become stronger without even realising by how much (and, in truth, I give away only as much as I need to). Patience is required.

Jo, who has both strength and technique, practising the deadlift

Week after week they are making progress. Ben’s not yet missed a session. Jo’s got more bounce in her step though had to miss one class this week through illness, Adriano’s on par with where he was when he first did it two years ago (in spite of a week off in Africa for work a few weeks back) and in Stacey I can see improvements to her form and overall strength and conditioning as she bids to regain her swagger after having a baby six months ago.

Prior to starting five weeks ago, Stacey hadn’t lifted a weight (in the gym) for more than a year and felt as unfit as she’d ever been.

Jo and Stacey focusing on the task at hand

Confidence is crucial for someone like Jo, who’s had issues with low self-esteem. But I know she likes lifting weights and she’s good at it. Getting her to be consistent – because that will make the most difference – is the challenge.

Back when she was 16, Jo gained a black belt in Kyokushinkai karate, where she had to take a five-hour test that included 60 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.

“I can’t imagine how I did it,” she told me. “But I did. I liked the routine of it.”

I like to think Jo will look back on the Amazing 12 in the same way and use it – and a stronger body and mind – to propel her forwards to take on new challenges.

Need a boost to your training or a lifestyle overhaul? Want to learn about diet and combine it with safe and effective training in order to get the results you’ve always wanted? Why not consider or sign up for the next wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester? Send me a message to Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for more details

Week 1: If you don’t use it, you lose it

TWO days into the first week of another wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester and Stacey Satta turned to me after I had her do a series of lifts and said, “I’m shocked. I can’t believe how much strength I have lost!”

In fairness to Stacey, she’s spent the best part of the last 18 months in pregnancy and, after a C-section, focusing on being mother to her child, now just seven months.

Therefore, the journey back to regaining fitness can be a long one. But the most important part is that Stacey is doing something about it, realising fully that when you stop using your body fully or become less active, those parts of the body will adapt to a more sedentary lifestyle.

The road back isn’t an easy one.

Stacey’s husband, Adriano, who graduated on the Amazing 12 nearly two years ago, is also on this wave. They are supporting each other through the experience.

Adriano, 41, continued to train after his graduation, working out a couple of times each week in London. He’s moved around to a few different gyms, but admits his diet hasn’t been strict and he’s lost some strength. He’s aiming to shed some weight, get fitter and regain the look he had in 2015. He knows, from experience, that the Amazing 12 works.

For Stacey, 37, it’s less about the aesthetics and more to do with regaining strength. She’s someone who not too long ago, when training regularly, was able to deadlift close to 90kgs for reps, power clean around 60kgs and always had a good squat.

It can be a tough mental space to be in at (what feels like) ground zero. But, on the positive side, there is only one direction to go – up.

“I’m not that bothered by my appearance,” said Stacey before she started the program. “I’m not happy about my physical fitness. I want it back. It’s a bonus if I look good at the end. I’m more unfit now than ever.”

Stacey and Jo Walsh, the third member of the group, used to train together in their CrossFit days. They were also part of a women’s lifting group. That’s what they each enjoy most.

I’ve worked with them both previously. Jo, a physio who specialises in older persons, has always been tenacious when training, but somewhat erratic in attendance – and she would be the first to admit it. Jo’s an all-or-nothing type.

“There’s two parts to me,” she explained. “There’s the very motivated and the one that hates myself and says, ‘why did I do that?’

“In the past I’d lose motivation and one day then goes to another.”

Jo’s not a morning person either and what I’ve prescribed her has meant rising while it’s dark. It will be a true test in developing her fortitude and discipline.

“As long as I’m up I’m fine, but it’s getting up that’s hard,” she said. I’m sure a lot of people can identify with that.

Having fun with battle ropes, though they won’t admit it

Jo, 32, hasn’t done any training for over a year, but she was always a good lifter. She’s 5st overweight according to the BMI (although I’m not a big fan of the BMI).

Jo wants to shed 2st as her goal. She also knows the benefits of training regularly.

“My mood becomes more regulated and I have more energy,” she said.

Diet is also a critical factor in achieving results. I don’t prescribe anything radical – it’s mostly about eating whole foods – but if your diet isn’t great and crammed with processed junk it can feel extreme.

“I’ll miss chocolate, pizza, ice cream, cookies and baked food,” admitted Jo before we started.

For me, as the coach, I want my group to experience and see for themselves how eating a healthier diet and combining it with training regularly, smartly and progressively can impact their lives.

So it’s vital on the Amazing 12 to stick to the script – not only for the best results, but to give themselves a fighting chance of succeeding and attaining the best possible results and getting value for their investment.

Unlike the others, Ben Brundle, a digger driver, has practically never set foot inside a gym in his life. He also loves his sugar, like Stacey loves her cakes.

But the results he’s achieved in a week are quite startling.

I gave Ben a few extra sessions the week before we started, to ensure his technique was where it needed to be and to allow his body to adjust to the sheer shock of training. Sure enough, he was sore. That was going to be unavoidable. But he now understands more how the process of adaptation works. Ben’s ability to learn and process new movements has been admirable and remarkable.

“My fitness was always letting me down,” said Ben, 31. “I was feeling a bit self-conscious about my belly, unhealthy and lacking stamina.

“I didn’t want to get to an age where I said, ‘I’m past it’ or say ‘I should have done that’, but didn’t.”

Since turning 30, Ben said he’s noticed himself standing out in the crowd as ‘the unfit one’. He does motocross and want to get fitter and stronger for that.

“Motocross made me realise just how unfit I am,” he admitted.

Ben’s been a revelation so far in the gym. He’s focused, turns up on time every day and is good at paying attention and understanding movements. The test week he couldn’t deadlift at all or perform a push-up. This week he’s nailed it.

The advantage Ben had as a complete novice was there were no poor habits to change.

So that’s my introduction to this current wave: four starters, all here in different circumstances but shooting for a goal and using programmed training and healthy eating to achieve it.

Check in next week to see how they’re getting on.

And if the Amazing 12 is something you’d be interested in signing up for, drop me a line at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk. I am aiming to run another wave in April or May.