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.
TYPICAL MEAL: vegetables and greens
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.
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.
FEELING IT: Jade’s getting stronger
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.
I’VE seen it happen again and again on this program. Changes. Physical and mental.
Take Reg – all 25st of him. When he first walked through the door, he moved uneasily. He was carrying a heavy load – a load he had got tired of lugging around and needed to ditch. His movement was laboured.
So where do I often start? I get my clients crawling. Some like it and some do not. But I have them do it, because it’s basic and effective. It resets the body. It boosts the brain. It’s good for co-ordination, core stability etc. That’s why children first learn to crawl before walking and running. It develops their motor skills, strength and balance.
Seriously, Reg could hardly crawl more than five paces forwards. In reverse, he couldn’t move – at all!
BENCHMARK: Reg is lifting and moving so much better than when he started
But now, at the end of seven weeks on an eight-week version of the Amazing 12 Chichester at Core Results Gym, he can cover 30ft in one go without stopping. It’s a clear, measurable display of progress.
I use the prowler a lot as well. For those unfamiliar with this bit of kit, it’s a type of metal, weighted sled. You push it. It taxes you. You feel it and sometimes hard. But it can work wonders – IF you get the dose right.
So I had Reg cover 10 lengths of the gym with the prowler in the first week, his instructions being to give it his best and not stop. But he did stop…several times. It took him 4 mins 32 seconds. His legs hurt. He was breathing hard, a reminder of how lacking in condition he was. “My God,” he said repeatedly.
Roll on seven weeks and at about 7am with the sun shining. “Let’s do it again, Reg,” I said to him. “I’m curious to see how long it takes.”
FEEL THE FORCE: working hard under the dusk sky
Reg had been moving so much better that I felt he and I both needed to know the difference.
Here’s the outcome: Reg marched that thing up and down. He could probably have gone quicker were he able to run. But he paced it evenly and didn’t stop. His time: 2 mins 51 secs!
The same day, but in the evening, I did the same to Jemma. She was dreading it. It was steamy and, of course, Jemma hates sweating. We’d done a full workout. She said she was feeling tired, that her legs ached as she’d done some sprints that morning. I’ve heard it all before.
THREE PEAKS: coming to the top of the deadlift
I tried to encourage her to believe in herself. Then I walked over to the prowler and uttered those words: “Let’s do it.”
Filled with nervousness, Jemma’s head spiralled into the usual chaos and doubt. Once she realised it was happening, she had to focus. “Just do your best,” I said. “I’m just curious to see how you do.” Then I added, “You know it’s going to be better. You’re fitter, stronger, lighter and faster. Just pace yourself.” She did.
First time she did it, Jemma bombed. She stopped frequently, utterly spent, hands hurting, legs burning, mind racing. You name it, she had it. Her untrained body got it done in 4 mins 16 secs.
GOT IT: Jemma nails her technique with the sledgehammer
So how did she do in the re-run – and bear in mind this was only five weeks later? Her time was 2 mins 30 secs!
Jemma almost burst into tears. She was that delighted and shocked and emotional and surprised and thrilled.
What’s even better is that she could – and will – go faster before we finish the program in another seven weeks.
FINDING HER SPEED: Jemma goes into another gear
In five weeks Jemma has lost a stone in weight, but much more has gone on.
“My muscle tone has improved,” she said. “I feel better in my clothes. I don’t feel hungry hardly at all. I feel less stressed and have had only one anxiety attack since I started [compared to what used to be at least weekly].
“I’m more aware of the choices I am now making and how organised I have been. I feel more cheerful and don’t feel the need to drink alcohol. My mental block on my pain barrier has improved and I’m more able to deal with pushing through for more reps.”
TWIST AND LUNGE: The blonde doctor blazing through the circuits
Like Reg, Catriona is entering the final week. I took her through a tough circuit session this week and thought, at 50 and all bronzed, that she looked like some sports bikini athlete. Catriona didn’t stop.
I asked her later that day what changes she had noticed and, still too tired to elaborate, she texted me, “I have abs.” This was followed by, “not a very deep answer, but I’ve been striving to find them for years!!”
HEATING AND HITTING: Banging the tyre in the sun
Catriona was fit and lean before she started the program. Now she’s fitter, leaner, stronger and has muscles she didn’t know existed.
I gave her the prowler challenge, too. At the finish, as she was lying on the floor, I asked, “how do you think you did?”
“Slower,” came her reply.
GRAND SLAM: Great way to finish the early-morning session
In fact, she’d reduced her best time from 3 mins 30 on day 2 to 2 mins 50 seconds – an improvement of 40 seconds!
Naturally, she was delighted.
Jade, on the other hand, is tougher to please. She’s one of the fittest people I’ve had start the program. Having trained and played sport for years, getting her results was always going to be more challenging.
LITTLE AND LARGE: Jade may be smaller, but packs a punch
She wants to be lean above all else. She’d sacrifice strength gains for being leaner. I notice changes already. It’s obvious to me she is becoming leaner and stronger and fitter. But Jade’s a little fixated with the scales – the scales of doom that send out a false representation of what’s really happening to our bodies and yet we still rely on them as a marker for progress.
“I’ve not seen too much physically yet,” she said. “I haven’t noticed it apart from a few inches off my waist.”
HITTING THE MARK: Jade’s on course to reaching high standards
She said she felt tired and heavy in the legs all the time. On the plus side, she was happy with making more time for herself and enjoying being able to train every day.
“I’ve enjoyed being a bit more selfish in regards to doing things for me, making sure I have time to train and putting myself first more often than I usually do.”
I’m still super-confident Jade will take a different view of her results come the end and that she’ll be doing pull-ups and plenty of them (which is what she also wants). She’s missing her comfort foods, but sticking to the nutrition. If she keeps it up, she’ll get impressive results. She’s just impatient and shining her attention on what she feels is missing without noticing the wonders of what is going on with her body. Sound familiar?
PUMMELLING: the tyre gets a bashing
Her strength is already at a level where few women I’ve coached on the program have reached in 12 weeks. And while she maintains she’s not got much endurance or bothered too greatly about becoming strong, Jade’s working harder now during the longer workouts and keeping up a good pace.
When I had Jade re-take the prowler test, she knew she had to approach it differently and she did. Her time went from 2 mins 28 in week 1 (when she shot off too quickly) to 2 mins 3 seconds at the end of week 5.
And remember, the better the athlete the smaller the changes are likely to be. For Usain Bolt, a difference of 0.01 seconds to his sprint time is as significant as, say, two seconds over the same distance for a sprinter in school.
MIX AND MATCH: Four individuals with different starting points, body types and technical abilities
You can’t argue with the the times and other feats of strength I have logged and will write about later. The ‘after’ photos always reveal the extent of composition changes.
But in terms of satisfaction, regardless of what I say or the evidence I provide or how the photos look, the individual has the choice where to cast their attention.
The formula for happiness and contentment is fairly straightforward: be grateful for and appreciate what you have rather than yearn for what you do not. By the same token, appreciate what you have achieved more than what you failed to achieve. The decision is yours.
The next wave of the Amazing 12 Chichester will begin at Core Results on September 18, 2017. I’m taking applications. If you want to see results and are committed, drop me a line at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk for more information.
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.
DETAILS: Catriona the perfectionist
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 isno 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.
HIGH STANDARDS: Jade likes to be pushed
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?
SET-UP: Jade’s strong in the deadlift
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
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.
STRENGTH: Jade’s developing fast
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.
BUSY NIGHT: all four come together
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.
NATURAL: Jade’s always been sporty
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
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.
CHUFFED: Jemma’s confidence is rising
“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.”
RETURN: It’s been a while since Reg has deadlifted
WHEN things seem impossible or insurmountable, what do you do? How do you respond?
For some the reaction is to dig in deeper and fight. For others it’s to abandon ship.
It’s easy to quit or not get started. The only guaranteed way to fail at anything is to give up. And the best way to not achieve anything is to not attempt it in the first place.
If you stay in or enter the race, you always have a chance, so to speak. When people quit at something, quite often it’s at a critical time – when they are about to reach an important turning point. They just don’t know it. So always hang in there.
The next time things feel or get hard, ask yourself why you started in the first place.
A great example is David Goggins, an ultra distance runner I have mentioned in previous blogs. He posted a story on his Instagram feed this week that made me think about Reg and Catriona, now at the end of week 2 of an 8-week Amazing 12 Chichester program at Core Results.
FOCUSED: Catriona slamming it
Goggins used to be a huge, heavy guy and was recalling the day when he decided he was going to become a Navy Seal. But first he had to lose the extra weight he was carrying (106lbs in two months).
With all the will in the world, he stepped out of his house to go for a three-mile run at 6am. He made it a quarter of a mile down the road and then, with his head hung low, lungs aching and feeling like a failure, walked back home.
If you know anything about Goggins, he’s a man who embraces every challenge in life and uses it to create a stronger version of himself. He’s one of the greatest competitors on the planet. He doesn’t quit at anything. But he wasn’t born that way.
SLOWLY DOES IT: Reg back under the bar squatting
When I see Reg walk into the gym each day, he’s practically shuffling. Part of the reason for that this week was down to the soreness in his legs from our first squat and deadlift workout (pretty common response when you’ve not worked a particular body part for a while).
But it’s also because Reg is carrying a lot of baggage he needs to lose. The extra bodyweight tires him out quickly, especially with any kind of aerobic activity. Even walking upstairs. But it will get better.
What’s great to see in Reg is that he shows up every day (well, nearly, as he had to skip a session this week to play in a golf tournament), gives his best and, little by little, is making improvements in a very short time.
It’s when you see someone perform an action or movement more easily, with better form and a greater load that you know they are making progress.
CARDIO QUEEN: Catriona’s strength is endurance
I’m seeing the changes in Catriona, too. She’s someone who once never believed she’d be able to run far. Until she was 30, she did no training at all. And when she first started running, she, like Goggins, only made it halfway down the road before being out of puff.
In eight weeks, she lost 2st.
She went from a deconditioned starter to someone who (before the Amazing 12) was training every day and sometimes twice daily. She has energy to burn.
Taking that step into the world of lifting weights, though, was also a scary proposition, particularly for someone who generally avoided what she’s not good at.
ALL OUT: working hard with the battle ropes
“I’m loving the training,” she told me. “I can’t believe we’re already at the end of two weeks. I still get frustrated with myself [Catriona is impatient and a perfectionist], but I’m seeing and feeling the progress, which is nice.”
When working with Catriona, I’m often reminded of a film clip of a guy I once saw who used to be a paratrooper and badly damaged his legs following a jump. He was told he’d never walk again because he was wheelchair-bound.
BUILDING: one rep at a time
But he refused to accept defeat. Every day, mostly through yoga to begin with, he tried to get moving. Every day, he would fail and fall flat on his face, literally. But he kept going. And then, as he began to lose the weight he had gained through inactivity, he regained strength and defied what all the experts had said.
His mantra was: “Just because you can’t do it today doesn’t mean you can’t do it tomorrow.”
That phrase has always stuck with me and I’m reminded of it when I see Catriona getting frustrated at her inability to nail a particular movement first time and Reg gasping for breath or straining to bend down to pick something off the ground.
I know the breakthrough is down the road. It’s a matter of time. Experience gives you patience.
LOOKING UP: Reg is improving with every workout
I know if Reg keeps showing up, working hard and following the eating advice I have given him, he will see results.
Reg and Catriona are already getting stronger and fitter. They are both determined and successful people. Next week they will be joined by two new starters doing a 12-week program.
What was hard for Reg in the first week is less difficult now. But they are at opposite ends of the spectrum: Catriona is aerobically super-charged and Reg isn’t…yet; Catriona is discovering her strength, while Reg, who used to play lots of sports when he was younger, is uncovering his.
The message for the week is…give it time and cultivate patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a strong, healthy body.
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
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.
NEXT UP: Stacey nails her chin-ups, 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.
Jo and Stacey on the bench press, one spotting and one lifting
YOU spend years in the gym and don’t get results. You ask yourself why and reach a conclusion: exercise doesn’t work.
You go on a diet, fail to lose weight and determine that diets aren’t effective.
Or you take up weight-lifting, pull a muscle and decide that weight-lifting causes injuries.
Those are real life situations and common reactions. But there’s some missing data. How many people regularly visit the gym and don’t actually follow or stick to a progressive resistance program?
Or how many people go on diets, but either adopt a diet that is fundamentally flawed (in the long term) or cheat on the details?
Pressed for time, Adriano working hard to make the most of the final weeks
And when it comes to getting injured lifting weights, how many of us have failed to listen to instructions or ‘switched off’ at that all-important moment? To then say weight-lifting is dangerous is as illogical as a parent who hurts their back picking up their children saying they will never lift their children again.
In each of these real examples – and there are thousands more – I’m highlighting how we, as people, outsource responsibility for our mishaps or lack of success. I’m as guilty of it as anyone else.
There is an often uncomfortable truth we are trying to avoid: we are where we are largely because of choices WE have made.
Unleashing strength through deadlifts
The day when we start to reverse this trend is when we take ownership of the problem. It means to admit the only way to achieve lasting results is to recognise fully we are the ones in charge.
One of the greatest powers we have as human beings is knowing we can change things and that we have choice, because in the absence of choice we have hopelessness. The moment we blame others or circumstances we relinquish our power.
An artistic (10 and 5-year-old) impression of transformation
If you keep blaming and looking outwards instead of inwards, you are developing a practice – the practice of becoming better at blaming and squandering your powers.
“The body becomes what you teach it.”
Simply put, if you don’t own the problem, you can’t change the problem.
Who is in control when you pick up your phone at bedtime and start scrolling through messages or social media? Does the phone control you?
Who buys the food that goes into your fridge and cupboards that, when consumed, cause your health issues?
Taking a walk, farmer’s carry-style
The Amazing 12 is a unique program that offers the opportunity for change and, as you will know if you have been following my blogs, food and sleep should play an integral part of any healthy physical transformation.
You have to follow the program. That’s not a catch. It’s a requirement for it to work.
A reason people come to me or have personal training is because they want/need to be held accountable. They pay me to take them through the program, show and instruct them how to perform the movements, organise what weights to lift, how long to recover, watch their form etc.
Paying for my services and having me pull the strings helps motivate them to turn up when they don’t feel like it and do the exercise even if they dislike it.
So here we are, 10 weeks into the Amazing 12 Chichester at the Core Results Gym. The ‘end’ is in sight and some will be satisfied and some will not.
Whether the group are content or not at the end largely comes down to three things: mindset, expectations and honesty.
Are they a glass-is-half-empty or half-full type of person? How honest are they with themselves about what they have put into the program? How realistic were their expectations?
Adriano putting everything into the heavy battle ropes
Irrespective of the results, here’s the truth as I see it: this is just the beginning. Here’s another truth: what they do next and how successful they are going to be moving forwards is ALL down to them. We need to own that reality.
Stacey told me, “I don’t think I’d have got back into shape had I not done this [the Amazing 12].” She’s lost over a stone in weight and returned to her pre-pregnancy bodyweight.
I’d like to think, however, that Stacey is also much better equipped and informed now than when she started.
Still, Stacey feels disappointed whenever her scale weight hasn’t budged even if her strength and fitness has increased, which raises the question of what means of testing we are attached to for determining how well we are doing. Again, this is something we need to take ownership of by understanding it is a choice.
Finishing the week strongly with the prowler and kettlebells
Jo’s admitted she hasn’t been following the diet for weeks and that she’s really been struggling at times. But she was committed this week and, when she puts the work in and eats correctly, I’ve noticed big changes.
I can’t fault Adriano for commitment. Some days he gets stranded in London coming back from work yet busts a gut to make it to the gym on time. Occasionally, we’ve had to reschedule his sessions and started super-early.
The bottom line is he’s made his training a priority. If we can do the same with sleep and diet we have the winning ticket!
Ben, who is almost back to full fitness after a recent injury, has been working practically two jobs in recent weeks and after training in the evening has had to then do a night shift. Therefore his sleep has been massively disrupted and, as I’ve written about previously, it’s through quality sleep that the body does its restorative work, growth and majority of fat-burning. That’s a biological process that can’t be short-circuited.
At least Ben’s been following more rigidly the diet I gave him last week and has noticed almost immediately the difference (and I’ve seen it) which has made him – and me – wonder just what his results would have been had he nailed it from the beginning.
However, what these past 10 weeks has taught me (and I’m always learning from the people I coach) is that motivation only goes so far for some and that over the longer duration you need to have a plan for when the wheels come off.
Plans are systems or frameworks that help keep you on track with your goals. “Fail to plan, plan to fail” is how the saying goes.
Upping the stakes, Adriano, Ben and Jo going through a conditioning workout
Plans don’t magically appear. You have to create them. You have to foresee where you have gone wrong previously and determine what is necessary or helpful to avoid that bump if it comes up again.
If you don’t plan, you’ll wind up repeating the same actions and you know what Albert Einstein said about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome?
Stacey showing her deep back squat
So the big lesson for this week is to recognise you – and no-one else – are in charge. Stop blaming anyone or anything. Take command. Make a plan. Stick with it. If you don’t like it, know that you can change it.
It requires discipline and discipline can be learned and practiced. As Aristotle once wrote, “Through discipline we find freedom.”
My next wave – an eight-week version – starts on May 8. If you’d like to be considered and think you have what it takes to commit to training, following a healthy nutritional plan, want to dramatically improve your strength and fitness, change your physical composition and learn how to lift and train efficiently and effectively, contact me at Claude@intelligentstrength.co.uk
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?
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 
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 
To participate, you need to be willing to train with me five days a week on consecutive days for eight weeks. That’s all.
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. 
