Personal background
2
The start of my journey.
Having been a sports-mad youngster, it was almost inevitable that I would seek out an academic degree course that would reflect this obsessive interest. My sport science degree was intense and highly scientific, but it delivered a comprehensive knowledge of the internal and external workings of the human body. The initial euphoria of gaining my Bachelor of Science degree was quickly tempered by the sobering realisation that no one in the outside world had ever heard of sport science, let alone understood what it meant.
This was daunting and frustrating. I believed that the scientific knowledge I had accumulated over the years would be very beneficial to the multitudes involved in sports, health and exercise, and I was determined after years of blood, sweat, toil and tears to change the world and introduce science into the world of exercise and fitness.
I had learned how the body is put together: its anatomy, its highly complex musculoskeletal system, how it moved, the immense forces it absorbs, the compensatory capabilities, the intricate millisecond timings of complex motor skills, the unbelievably efficient cardiovascular network, delivering blood flow with mind-blowing precision, the incredible cardiorespiratory system, exchanging gases automatically with computerised timing. And then there was the human brain, the control tower that orders and orchestrates the symphony of every psychological, every neurological and every physiological command.
I had gained a true understanding of how we stand, walk, jog, run, sprint, jump, twist, rotate, lift, bend and push. I understood the physical and physiological demands of every golf swing, every tennis serve, every rugby tackle, every slam dunk, every somersault, every press-up and every squat. More importantly, I was a specialist in exercise prescription.
As a newly fledged sport scientist, I moved to London to confront the fitness industry head-on. In the mid-1980s, the fitness industry barely existed, and I quickly learned that exercise, activities and sports were controlled, organised, managed and coached by people who were out of date, in a time warp and blinkered, using methodologies and training principles that hadn't been updated for decades. They were using hand-me-down knowledge from past generations of ex-players, professionals and coaches. There was no real scientific or medical understanding of the human body; there was even a real resistance to any new exercise science.
I knew this had to change. I knew I had to break down these stubborn barriers to change. I knew I had to find a way to educate and prove that I had something different and special to offer.
An understanding of the history of exercise demonstrated that any new exercise ideas were mainly 'one size fits all', group-based training like high- or low-impact aerobics, jazzercise, step aerobics or circuit training. It was clear that despite the growing number of exercise methods, programmes and principles and the existing trend for group training, the general population had never been so physically sedentary.
Computers and mobile phones were just starting to have their effect. Everyone was out of shape, full of back pain, lacking in motivation and interest. Exercising regularly had become a chore not a pleasure, and the abundant exercise choices were confusing. Nobody really knew what the best routines or regimes would be for them. Should they walk, jog, run, lift weights, cycle, swim or sign up for group classes?
It was quite clear to me that the whole exercising world was guessing. It had lost clarity and simplicity. We had been searching for the perfect one-system-fitsall approach but it was getting too complex and simply wasn't working. We had lost sight of who and what we are - human beings with amazing human bodies that were out of kilter. We were individuals needing individual approaches and different mindsets. Now was the time for me to strike.
By chance, the wife of a very famous person rang me and suggested that I become a personal trainer for her husband. I had never before heard those two very simple words placed together, and the request gave me the lightbulb moment I was searching for - my vehicle for incorporating not only science but also a much-needed personal element into every individual's training.
The individual in question had significant back pain. I set about remodelling his exercise programme and, steadily but surely, he responded. He was delighted, and I was exuberant, as this was the true start of my personal training career.
Personal training really fed the need for service and personal attention; it was something different, progressive and unique. I was able to use my sport science knowledge to create something that was utterly individual and uniquely personal.
I understood how and why the human body could move with grace, fluidity and symmetry, but more importantly, I could recognise acutely the signs and symptoms that resulted when this human chain of actions and reactions faltered; when it deviated from its slick, well-oiled, majestic flow.
Throughout the next 37 years I worked tirelessly with thousands of individuals, completing my apprenticeship and earning my stripes. Moulding my methods, experimenting and trying all options, ideas, routines and regimes old and new, I monitored closely how different clients reacted physically and mentally to the various strategies I employed. The whole world of fitness was starting to boom.
I fully understand that during a boom in any industry there will be a bombardment of ideas, advice, suggestions and opinions that flood the market and come from a variety of sources - some good, some bad, some considered, some not and some completely ridiculous. The exercise/fitness world has certainly succumbed to this phenomenon.
Since the explosion in interest in exercise from the 1980s onwards, many voices have put forward their mantras for consumption by the masses as everybody strives to find their way, searching for the best advice, experimenting and testing out each theory along the way.
This inevitably leads to vastly different and conflicting opinions, confusion of ideas and advice and misinterpretation and misrepresentation of information and advice. This state of play can often snowball and mutate, producing habits and beliefs that unfortunately become deep-rooted in people's minds. They are then translated into the next exercise philosophy, routine or regime.
Exercising and the relentless pursuit for the perfect module have succumbed to this process and many past and present protocols contain absolutely no scientific basis. The vast majority of exercise advice has come, and continues to come, from individuals who are simply not qualified to give such advice.
The exercise industry has, it seems, evolved into an industry where the accepted norm allows, even promotes, advice from self-proclaimed experts, social media stars, celebrities and exercise gurus.
With all their diversity and substantial volume, the 100,000 one-to-one personal training sessions that I have conducted have enabled me to judge, analyse and conclude countless common themes and patterns of response to exercise that I simply could not ignore. Scientific, psychological, medical and mechanical understanding of the human body have all developed immeasurably over my 37 years' experience.
Exercise is about using and enhancing the whole body's natural, organic, fluid, rhythmical movement patterns, allowing and achieving efficiency, symmetry, proportion and muscle, bone, and joint stability.
But despite all these advances, THE WHOLE WORLD IS GETTING IT WRONG. YES, THE WHOLE WORLD IS GETTING IT WRONG.
We've established that there really aren't any exercise specialists who specialise in you. In 2023, in my opinion, this is simply unacceptable. You have been forgotten, you have been confused and you have even been misled.
How do you choose whether to run or cycle, row, or use the stepper, lift heavy or lift light, do Pilates or yoga or boxing, or take part in classes? Can you be sure that you are choosing the right regime for you? Are you progressing or are you missing out on many elements that could be vital for your body, health and fitness?
In summary, despite the exercise and fitness boom of the last 35 to 40 years and the concurrent explosion in the number of personal trainers, the scientific understanding of human movement patterns is still neither being taught nor understood by the exercising masses.
To this day I come across people, clients, so-called professionals and even personal trainers who have absolutely no understanding of an individual's unique movement patterns and their vital importance, or of the compensatory forces that ravage the human skeleton, muscles and joints. They cannot therefore understand the critical need for exercise programmes that address these issues and are bespoke to each and every individual.
The last 40 years haven't seen any change in this state of affairs. We are still blinkered, still searching for the next miraculous must-try, one-size-fits-all regime. This simply must change, and must change now. The understanding of human movement has to be addressed and new methods,...
