Secrets

to Their
Succes

Learn the Training Secrets Other Everyday Athletes

Over 30 Have Used That Propelled Their Fitness Success...
and How You Can Apply Them Too!
Training
secrets for
people over
thirty.
1
Secrets
to Their
Success
Learn the Training Secrets Other
Everyday Athletes Over 30 Have Used
That Propelled Their Fitness Success...
and How You Can Apply Them Too!

© Strength Matters Ltd 2021

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning,
or other - except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles,
without prior written permission of the publisher.

Strength Matters editor in chief: James Breese

Strength Matters editor: Stephanie Panting
Strength Matters guide editor: Josh Kennedy

Designed by Strength Matters & aplusagency.eu

Proofreading by Strength Matters
Typeset in Gentona & Helvetica Neue Lt Std

Made in Wales

Published by Strength Matters, Cardiff 2021

Strength Matters, trademark of Strength Matters Ltd

www.strengthmatters.com

2
 Table of Contents
12 Interview: Jeroen Westra
Jeroen Westra talks about his long journey back to good health
and how he lost 25kg (55lbs) in just six months.

16 How to Improve Your 2000m

Row Time Without Even Rowing
The 2000m row test is not just for elite athletes. We share with you
the story of Terry Moore and her amazing 2000m row journey.

20 How to Run Pain-Free

Running pain-free is a pipe dream for some everyday athletes.
Read about the story of Zianne Lemke and her 12-month path to recovery.

26 How to Train with Insomnia

Being able to sleep more than three hours was just a dream for Geni Ligday.
Discover how her training helped cure her insomnia in just six months.

34 Interview: Terry Moore

Terry is a true Strength Matters success story, a person who has overcome much
adversity and whose journey should serve as an inspiration to others. This is her story.

38 Why Mobility Comes First for Weight Loss

Discover how mobility was the missing factor in Jeroen Westra’s weight loss journey.

Why Anaerobic Threshold Training

46 is Not for the Faint of Heart
Want to train like an advanced everyday athlete? Discover the strategy the Strength
Matters team took working with John Withinshaw and the Concept 2 Rower.

54 Interview: Teresa Warren

We interview Teresa who talks about her journey to running success. Rather than a
story of overcoming illness or adversity, hers is one of discovery, of finding ways to
stay fit and active despite the pressures of a busy life.

60 How to Lose the Last Few Pounds

The last few pounds have been scientifically proven to be the hardest to lose.
We show you how we helped Holly Chapman do just that—at 58 years young.

66 How to Prepare for a Winter Ski Season

James Breese shares with you the challenges he faced returning to the mountains,
and exactly what he did to thrive during a winter ski season.

3
 74 Interview: Rebecca Wilson
When a person makes a commitment to exercise and weight loss, what is it that
helps them stay motivated? Rebecca’s journey sheds light on this elusive factor.

78 How to Come Back from a Lower Back

Injury Stronger Than Ever
We share with you what we look for in the initial assessments and our three phase
system we apply to help people get on the road to recovery.

86 Couch to 5k for Everyday Athletes: A Better Way

Katherine Edwards came to us wanting to run her first 5K race. A rather unique case,
as she had already followed an amazingly successful weight loss program all by herself.
Here’s how we approached her 5K training plan by building her up to 10km with slow
and steady effort.

94 Interview: Tom Green

Describing himself as “that small but strong bloke you see at the gym,” Tom has always
had a passion for powerlifting and strength training. As his life changed over the years,
so too did his fitness priorities. Here’s his story.

98 How to Build Your Strength Battery from Scratch

Dave Rogers came to us wanting to improve his overall athletic performance and
competing in local CrossFit events. An accountant by day and full-time husband and
father of two little girls, here’s how we approached his training.

107 How to Snatch Heavier Kettlebells

There are lots of people out there who want to snatch heavier kettlebells and
attempt the gruelling five minute snatch test. Here’s how we helped Peter Willow
achieve this goal.

114 Interview: Mike Simmons

Mike is a semi-retired emergency room doctor in Massachusetts. He’s also a fitness
coach and a former Strength Matters member. Mike was kind enough to share his
story and his qualified views on fitness with us.

118 How Everyday Athletes Can Improve Cycling Performance

Sick of being dropped by your friends and the rest of the peloton on the hills and
long flats? So was Andrew Davies. Andrew is a good example of thousands of other
cyclists around the world who know this feeling. Here’s how we approached his
training to make him faster.

128 How to Get Your Health and Best Body Back

It wasn’t the type 2 diabetes or the mini heart attack that forced Mark Chapman to
reach out for help. It was the embarrassment he caused his children. Mark came to us
not wanting to be the fat dad anymore, and to have the confidence to take his shirt off
on the beach in front of his kids.

136 Interview: Zianne Lemke

Zianne Lemke has been a member of Strength Matters for over two years. A fitness
coach in her own right, Zianne joined the program to see if she could overcome long-
standing knee pain. This is her fitness story. 4
140 How to Train for Your Very First Ironman
Tom Miller came to us wanting to complete an Ironman in memory of his late father.
Tom’s father was an avid triathlete and competed in several Ironman’s over the years.
When he suddenly passed away following a short but intense battle with cancer, Tom
decided to enter an Ironman in memory of his father and raise money for charity.
Here’s how we helped him.

150 Interview: Charles Nelson

Charles Nelson and his family just moved from one side of the United States to the
other for Charles to complete his goal of becoming a US Marine, but his journey has
had a few bumps along the way. Here’s his Strength Matters story.

154 How to Fight Against Type 2 Diabetes

A personal story about James’ father, Ellis Breese. A good example of thousands of
other people who suffer from type 2 diabetes around the world. James wanted to share
exactly what we have done so far to help his father, in the hope that we can inspire
others to make the necessary changes to get their diabetes under control.

164 Interview: Rob Richardson

Rob Richardson is a personal trainer and actor who needed some help rebuilding his
fitness after a series of injuries that required surgery. We caught up with Rob to see
how he’s getting on and to learn more about his perspective when it comes to fitness.

168 Interview: Kelly Isfan

We interview Kelly Isfan who talks about life as an everyday athlete.

172 Case Study

Discover how we helped Lucy improve her tennis game, without even hitting a ball.

180 Interview: Dr. Perry Nickelston

We interview the man himself, Dr. Perry Nickelston, who talks about
his recovery from sickness.

184 Case Study

Discover how Strength Matters helped Ben Davies improve his rugby performance.

190 Interview: Amit Sharma

We interview member of the year Amit Sharma about his year long journey of strength.

194 Case Study

Discover how Strength Matters helped police officer Ian Johnston get fit for duty.

204 Interview: Michelle Grocock

We interview Michelle Grocock who tells us about finding motivation, accountability,
and seeing a return for her hard work since joining Strength Matters.

208 Case Study

Discover how Strength Matters helped 2021 Member of the Year Amit Sharm pack on
lean muscle mass.

5
Our Mission:
To help people
over thirty lose
weight, get
stronger, and
live better.
At Strength Matters, we believe there is a better way for people
over thirty to do health and fitness - a more intelligent, more
sustainable, long-term approach that allows us to live life to the
fullest means, well into our senior years.

We’re obsessively passionate about fitness, and our mission is to

help people over thirty achieve their maximum athletic potential
without sacrificing their health.

We specialize in helping people over thirty live a fulfilling and

athletic lifestyle. We believe that health and fitness for these
everyday athletes is one of the least understood and least
transparent aspects of the fitness industry.

We see that as an opportunity, and our gift to you.

We’re excited to share our passion and simplify fitness for everyone
over thirty through our education, resources, and community.

Life’s better as an everyday athlete. Welcome to Strength Matters.

James Breese
Strength Matters Founder
Everyday Athlete
Life’s better as an
everyday athlete.
James Breese, Strength Matters Founder.
Secrets
to their
Success
Words: James Breese

10
I want to take the opportunity to thank you for
downloading Secrets to their Success. Our system of
training is designed to help everyday athletes over
thirty lose weight, get stronger, and live better. It is
a tried and true system that’s been rigorously tested
over the past decade to take our training clients from
complete novices to advanced levels of everyday
athleticism, sometimes even elite levels of athleticism.
Our system will improve your strength levels and
work capacity while simultaneously building a strong
aerobic engine and ninja-like movement qualities.
We combine strength training, aerobic training, and
mobility training without sacrificing your health. For
us, health comes first. Health is the cornerstone of
our system. It’s what separates us from everyone else.
Your health is non-negotiable in our eyes. By the end
of the training process, you will be in the best physical
condition of your life, provided you stick to the plan.
This system does
not guarantee you
success.
For that, you need grit, an iron will, and a lot of
determination – I can’t help you with them but, if
you bring these qualities to the table, the results will
take care of themselves. Strength training is a skill.
Aerobic training is a skill. Mobility training is a skill.
Health is a skill. Combining all four in a workable
plan is an art form.
This book will give you an insight into how we train
people at Strength Matters, told by our clients
themselves as they share with you everything they
have learned in the process.
We’ve even included in-depth case studies so that
you can follow our logic and even apply it to your
training immediately.
You’ll finish with a better, more practical
understanding of the Strength Matters System, our
unique training philosophy, and what it means to be
an everyday athlete. We want to help you break the
mold and unleash your inner athlete – and it starts
with understanding how we operate.
So why does our system work so well? Four clear
reasons:
Built for The Real World.
The Strength Matters System is made up of simple
concepts and practical tools that can be easily
applied to a fast-paced lifestyle. There’s no theory,
no convoluted language, just basic tools and
resources that help people get more of the right
stuff done every week, whilst working towards
long-term health and fitness goals.
Holistic Model and Approach.
At Strength Matters, we don’t treat symptoms –
we go beyond the gym by strengthening the four
key areas of fitness: Health, movement, strength
and cardio - whilst simultaneously attacking your
weaknesses using the ten components of complete
athleticism in your workouts.
Designed to Solve Issues Once and For All.
By helping you focus on the root cause of
your issues, training using the results of your
assessments takes you below the surface to
produce real, permanent change.
Brings Focus, Discipline, and Accountability.
The Strength Matters System provides a simple
framework for defining what’s important to you,
what you need to do to achieve it, and exactly what
success looks like. By holding you accountable
for a handful of goals and numbers, you’ll get
consistently better results.
Understand the theory, stick to the system, trust
the process, and I promise the results will follow—
Just like the success stories we share in this book
I wish you the best of luck in your training.
Yours in health,
James Breese,
Strength Matters Founder
Everyday Athlete
11
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to
Their Success
– An Athlete’s
Journey Back
to Good Health
12
Jeroen Westra had been a naturally gifted
athlete since childhood. But when life
took an unexpected and difficult turn, his
health and general well-being suffered as
a result. Discover the inspirational story
of how Jeroen got back on track – and
how he’s helping others do the same.

A gym owner and coach himself, Jeroen Westra

knows how important it is to maintain one’s fitness
levels after thirty. For years he’s helped others
improve their health through exercise, but his own
challenges with weight gain risked damaging his
livelihood – and not for the first time.

Before opening his gym and offering coaching

services, Jeroen was in the armed forces, a job that
allowed him to maintain his fitness through regular
drills and an exercise regime. Over time, he started
prioritizing martial arts and other workouts he
enjoyed over strength training and general fitness.
“Since being a kid, I always wanted to join
the forces. I knew that martial arts would
improve my skills and I enjoyed it. But let
me tell you, they call it the light infantry, but
there’s nothing light about it.”
While on an excursion with his unit, Jeroen
noticed a slight pain in his back. He ignored it at
first, thinking it was just something mild, but the
problem only worsened. In time the pain became
so debilitating that Jeroen was forced to leave the
armed forces after ten years of service.
“It was heart-breaking. I had been in the
best shape of my life, but I neglected certain
aspects of my fitness. Ring fitness and actual
fitness are different. It didn’t prepare me for
long marches carrying heavy equipment.
This took a toll on my back.”
After acclimatizing to civilian life, Jeroen opened
a gym and became a fitness coach, but his back
still caused him discomfort.
“I couldn’t get out of bed some days and it
made me cranky. But when I kept up with
overall fitness and strength, my back injury
became less of a problem.”
Jeroen was able to keep his back pain at bay for a
while by focusing on specific exercises, strength
training, and taking care of his general well-
being. But, eventually, new challenges forced
him to neglect his fitness once again.
“This time it was more the stress of running a
business. I’m not a natural entrepreneur; I’m
just a guy who loves training and helping others
do it. But now I needed to be the trainer, the
owner, the cleaner, the accountant. Things soon
got on top of me.”
“When you’re running a team and have a family,
you think less about yourself. You concern
yourself with your customer’s well-being, so
your own takes a back seat. I’m a stress eater
too, so as my stress levels increased, so did my
weight. This made my back pain worse than
ever. I had fallen back into old habits.”
“I felt less in control than ever and was in a
bad place. Stress is normal, but too much
is really bad for our mental health, which
causes problems to snowball. I felt things were
spiralling out of control. I couldn’t adequately
do the training demos I needed for clients either
which was embarrassing. I put so much into
building my business but my weight and back
pain were putting that in jeopardy.”

13
Jeroen told us about what led to his decision
to take control of his fitness:
“It was my wife mentioning my weight,
that was the wake-up call I needed. I knew
something was wrong, but I couldn’t see it at
first. This was the moment I decided to take
charge and fix what was wrong.”
After looking for support online, Jeroen
discovered the Strength Matters website and
decided to reach out. “What the guys at Strength
Matters were doing really resonated with me.
I discovered them online and felt compelled to
send James an e-mail. From there, we had a chat.
He didn’t pitch or pressure me in any way, just
shared his philosophy, and we put a plan in place.”
Jeroen was assigned a Strength Matters coach
and began his road to recovery. In only six
months, he lost 25 kilograms, improved his diet,
started a new exercise regime, and generally feels
well for the first time in months. His back pain has
also become less of an issue. While he will always
have this injury, he now knows how to minimalize
the pain and disruption it can cause.
“My coach, Josh, really puts me to work! It
was hard at first. We started slowly, doing
simple, boring exercises. But you need to
get through the dull stuff to get to the fun
stuff. You really need to want it to keep
your motivation. For me, I felt I had hit rock
bottom. The only way was up.”
“Once you start seeing improvements, that’s
when you know it’s working. This is what then
keeps you motivated. I suppose it’s what
makes people like me love training so much,
seeing the good it’s doing and feeling that
benefit too. You have to get to that point.
For me, it was around a month and a half in.”
Today, Jeroen looks and feels like his old self. It’s
impossible to tell that he ever suffered weight or
poor health issues. We asked Jeroen how other
people could follow in his footsteps. How they
could get to where he’s been to where he is now.
14
He told us,
“Wow, it’s hard to say. I mean we’re all
different; I know this from helping my own
clients. But in my experience, I think the best
thing to do is to find your why. That’s where
your motivation comes from. It’s the most
important thing. So, do that, find your why.”
Jeroen also told us how his exercise philosophy
changed and how others could benefit from a
similar approach.
“People think it’s all about that high-intensity
stuff, but it’s not. My wife and I just go on
lots of long walks now. It’s probably the most
important thing I do for my fitness. It also
allows me to exercise without putting any
strain on my back. I’m determined not to let
my injury hold me back again.”
“James and Josh inspired me to change my
own approach to being a fitness coach. I
love their take, so I’m stealing it for my own
business! My clients used to be people like
me, who were already involved in fitness. Now
I’m looking for a new audience: People over
thirty who need some help getting involved.
These are the people who really need our
support.”
“When it comes to getting involved with
Strength Matters, my advice is go for it. They
are so approachable, and they’ve changed my
life. A basic chat about my challenges ultimately
led to all the solutions. Give them a chance,
send them an email, and see where it goes.”
15
Case Study
How to Improve
Your 2000m Row
Time Without
Even Rowing
Words: James Breese
When it comes to developing the fitness of
everyday athletes, we always address four
main areas: Health, movement, strength, and
cardio. Each of these areas are broken down into
specific testing elements by our Strength Matters
Assessments. In total, we analyse scores from
252 data points. The tests are easy to administer,
some challenging to complete, and they provide
a plethora of information for us to make better,
more informed decisions concerning the needs of
each everyday athlete. The 2000m row test falls
under part one of the cardiovascular assessment
process. It’s what we refer to as a “work capacity
snapshot.” In this issue, I want to share with you
the story of Terry Moore and her amazing 2000m
row journey.
Case Study:
Name: Terry Moore
Age: 56
Country: USA
Occupation: Health Care
Original 2km Row Time: 14:12
New 2km Row Time: 8:29
Time to Achieve: 18 Months
You will find a lot of information online on how
to achieve elite rowing times, but there is little
or no information to be found on how take
novice rowers to intermediate levels and beyond
whilst overcoming the myth that cardiovascular
training is brutally hard and can never be
16
enjoyable. I will always argue that most people
perform cardiovascular training way beyond
their capabilities – it’s like asking someone
who’s never deadlifted 3 x bodyweight to keep
trying to do it having never even deadlifted
half their bodyweight before. We don’t do it
in strength training so why do we default to
this type of methodology when it comes to the
cardiovascular system?
Now in Terry’s case, it’s important to understand
the bigger picture of her overall cardiovascular
assessments so I would like to share with you
three other data points we collected right at the
start of her journey:
• Average Daily Step Count:
2,432 steps per day
• 20 Min Walk Test: 1.04 Miles
If we would have only looked at her row time at
the start, we would have automatically assumed
that Terry has a rowing problem therefore she
must do more rowing. However, taking these
other data points into account we approached
her training plan with the understanding that
Terry had no aerobic base to support cardio. We
needed to start at ground zero and build her
tolerance levels to cardio training up – which
starts with good old walking.
At the minimum, we look for an average step score
count of 7,000 steps per day for healthy
12.5k
individuals, though ideally it would be closer to
the 10,000-step mark. For the walk test (how far 10k
can you walk in 20 minutes) we looking for a score
7.5k
of above 1.5 miles. Terry was somewhat off these
benchmarks. As simple as the metrics are, they 5k

are so key for the enjoyment of cardiovascular

exercise. If there’s no aerobic base, a workout like
the 2000m row test is going to become a symbol
of fear, loathing, and dread. To alleviate the pain
she already associated with the test, here’s how
we approached improving Terry’s 2000m row
without prescribing any rowing.
2.5k
0k
Jan ‘19 May ‘19 Sep ‘19 Jan ‘20 May ‘20
In just over a month, we increased her daily step
count from 2,432 to 3,335 per day. A minimal
change to some, but it kick-started something
inside of Terry because in the period between
months two and three it skyrocketed to an
average daily step count of 12400 steps per day.
Here is where it stayed for another 14 months,
until recently in May 2020 it increased again
to 13,342 after a month of attempting to reach
15,000 steps per day. Consistency has been
Terry’s friend throughout this period of transition
and shows how the simple act of walking more
can quickly become a habit if practiced regularly.

Stage 2: Walking for Speed

After a period of consistency in her volume and
frequency of steps, we then went about tackling
the speed at which she was walking. The thought
process was let’s start to rev that engine of hers
up. Once a week, Terry performed the 20 minute
walk test. Just as the number of steps she walked
daily increased, so did her speed over time. From
a humbling 1.04 miles at the start to achieving
1.64 miles in May 2020.

miles

1.6

Stage 1: Walking for Volume 1.4

The first thing we instilled in Terry was

better walking habits. Like so many working 1.2

professionals, her daily step count was below

3,000 steps per day on average. We set out to 1.0

gradually increase this over time. The graph

0.8
below shows these changes: Jan ‘19 Sep ‘19 Jan ‘20 May ‘20

17
Stage 3: Hello Rower (Again)
After the initial testing of her 2000m row in
October 2018, I asked Terry to re-test in April
2019, six months later. She scored an amazing
11:42, over two minutes faster than her previous
best effort. All whilst having not rowed since.
It was only then that we started to reintroduce
the row erg as part of her workouts. She had
a better base and we wanted to continue her
cardio development. The workouts on the row
erg we prescribed were “easy” in nature. We
focused on volume first, often pairing it with
other strength training exercises two to three
times per week. Not once did we push her out
of her comfort zone, though we were able to
expand that comfort zone over time. We kept it
this way for over a year until she tested again,
and she achieved a remarkable 8:29.5, nearly six
minutes faster than her original time. Terry went
from a novice to an intermediate rower. She has
a yearlong base of aerobic development behind
her and is now ready to embark on those elite
training programs you read about online.
time
13:20
Apr 1: 11:42
11:40
10:00
08:20
06:40
Jan ‘19 Jul ‘19 Jan ‘20
Lessons You Can Learn from Terry
A lot of everyday athletes chasing faster 2000m
row times often miss the biggest parts of the
cardiovascular training puzzle – the addition of
more sustainable volume and spending more
time building their aerobic base. They tend to
attack the 2000m row by training faster,
harder, and for longer. That’s a short-
term approach that leads to unsupportive
foundations. As everyday athletes, we look at
the long-term approach to health and fitness,
which means not just being able to perform
18
great athletic feats but to also be able to
recover faster from them.
If you’re reading this and wondering about your
aerobic base, here’s something to ask yourself:
• Men: Can I currently row 2000m on a
Concept 2 faster than 7:10 minutes?
• Women: Can I currently row 2000m on a
Concept 2 faster than 8:10 minutes?
If the answer is no, you need a bigger aerobic
engine. It’s that simple.
Don’t underestimate the power of walking.
Walking activates the small aerobic muscle fibers
which are not usually stimulated by higher-
intensity aerobic workouts and can help circulate
blood and improve lymph drainage (important
to the body’s waste-removal system). It benefits
everyone, from beginners to competitive athletes
alike, by building their aerobic base and assisting
withworkout recovery and even some injuries. It
should always be a part of your training.
Cardiovascular development should be an
enjoyable journey, yet too many people are
fearful of it and equate it with pain, suffering,
and misery. Understand your limits, adapt
accordingly, and build from there. Who knows?
Your 2000m row time could drop by six minutes
too, just by walking more.
Terry’s Thoughts
“I am the typical workaholic who sits at a desk all
day. When I met James Breese I was obese and
had sore knees which made it difficult to walk. I
did not enjoy life. And I was angry at myself for
becoming this way AGAIN. I dug myself out of
this hole before but as soon as life happened, I
quickly went back to my old habits. I was aging
well beyond my years.
“The journey has been methodical, and I have
been steadily making progress. At first I was hard
on myself. I read so many posts of people doing
these fantastic feats and workouts that I knew I
would never be able to do. But as I continued with
James, we started to fix my mobility and I got
more active. I was stunned. My body and mindset
changed. I started to look forward to being able
to do more. And the fun part is that the journey is
I now consider
’painless.’ Yes, I work hard but it is smart. As I have myself an everyday
learned, I have to earn the right to do the next
level. I now consider myself an everyday athlete.
athlete. Life is fun
Life is fun again. The best part is, life has happened
again big time. And yet I’ve not gone back to
again.
my old ways.” Terry Moore, everyday athlete.

19
Case Study
How to Run
Pain-Free
Words: James Breese
Research has shown that as many as 79% of
runners get injured at least once each year.
Think about that number for a moment. Nearly
eight out of every 10 runners will be injured
once every 365 days. Trainers typically focus on
biomechanical aspects such as foot strike and
running gait, but that’s not the first place we
should look to prevent injury. In my coaching
experience, there’s often a much easier solution:
Better training. Runners who progress their
training volume and running speeds at a pace
that their body is not ready to handle, are at a
much higher risk for injury than those who take
their time with a well-thought-out program.
In this issue, I want to share the story of Zianne
Lemke and how we took her from being unable
to run across the street without pain to running
continuously for nearly 60 minutes, in just over
12 months. A slightly different approach than
most but one that will enable Zianne to run with
a smile on her face for many years to come.
Case Study:
Name: Zianne Lemke
Age: 53
Country: USA
Occupation:
Running Capability Prior: Not Possible
Due to Knee Pain.
Running Capability Now: 60 Minutes Pain Free.
Time to Achieve: 13 Months
20
As Zianne started her coaching program in May
2019, one of her goals was to get back into
running, which she had been unable to do for
many years. The only thing we promised was to
let her assessments do the talking It’s important
to assess prior to starting a running programs to
get the overall picture of your four main areas of
fitness: Health, movement, strength and cardio.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to return to running
pain-free because of underlying issues, so please
don’t think of this as a miracle cure. What we’ll
outline below is an approach that worked for
Zianne, that might possibly work for you or
someone you know.
Average Daily Steps: 15,012
Waist-to-Height Ratio: 0.53
Single Leg Balance: Left = 1 Minute |
Right = 20 Seconds
Standing Toe Touch: No
Sitting Toe Touch: No
Straight Arm Plank: 2 Minutes = Yes
Glute Bridge: 2 Minutes = Yes
Let’s discuss her strength tests first. Zianne could
easily complete the plank and glute bridge tests,
which showed good basic muscular endurance
in the core and glutes. Strength in these areas
is an absolute requirement for us. A strong core
increases stabilization in the torso, improves
balance, and helps the body work together to
prevent any excess energy expendature.
In terms of the glutes, “Strong glutes make
everything better,” as my good friend Perry
Nickelston says. Weak glutes are often a major
cause of knee pain, something that Zianne was
suffering from, even though she was able to
complete the glute bridge test successfully. We
see so many people start running who struggle
in these areas. We need this foundational
strength work.
Moving along, Zianne was walking a lot each
day and had been doing so consistently for
many years thanks in part to her job. We were
more than happy with this number. A lot of new
runners have extremely low daily step counts
and taking the time to walk more often and
for longer durations is so important. You can’t
run before you walk! However, Zianne scored
poorly on the waist-to-height ratio, single leg
balance, and our basic mobility clearance tests.
Addressing these areas was where Zianne’s
journey really began.
Stage 1: Weight Loss
Every time your foot hits the ground when
running, you experience a force of 1.5 to
3.5 times your body weight, increasing to
a staggering 5.5 times your body weight
when sprinting. Waist-to-height ratio is a
litmus test to see if it is safe for your body
to support that force. For those unfamiliar
with this measurement, your waist-to-height
ratio is calculated by dividing waist size by
height, in either inches or meters. If your waist
measurement is less than half your height, or
under 0.5, you’re likely not at risk for obesity-
related disease and it’s likely safe to run. If you
have a waist/height ratio over 0.5, we see this as
a significant risk factor to long term health and
performance. It does not mean we don’t see you
running ever; it is merely a safety measure to
ensure that when you do start, you’ll enjoy years
of pain-free running ahead.
Because Zianne’s score was above 0.5, our first
goal was to help her lose weight through
21
a mixture of strength training, good eating
practices, and alternate aerobic activities.
We wanted to build strength in her joints and
ligaments so that she could better withstand
the force when she returned to running and
also increase her aerobic capacity so that when
it was time to run again, she had an enjoyable
experience not an arduous one.
0.54
0.52
score
0.50
0.48
0.46
Jul ‘19 Oct ‘19 Jan ‘20
Stage 2: Addressing Single Leg Balance
The single leg balance test tells us a lot about
your proprioceptive awareness underfoot.
Proprioception is the sense that lets us perceive
the location, movement, and action of parts of
the body. It enables us to judge limb movements
and positions, force, heaviness, stiffness, and
viscosity. It combines with other senses to
locate external objects relative to the body and
is closely tied to the control of movement. How
many people do you know that have sprained,
rolled, or broken their ankle during running?
If the foot cannot feel or sense danger while
running, you are considerably more likely to
roll and injure your ankle.
A single leg balance test score of less than 30
seconds is a considerable red flag, especially
if there is a large asymmetry between the two
legs, as it was with Zianne. The test is relatively
straight forward to perform: Can you balance on
one leg, barefoot, with your eyes closed for at
least 30 seconds? (Both legs must be a yes.)
We spent of time working on Zianne’s balance
in her warm-ups and activation exercises,
compounding it with core work. We had her on
the ground rolling, rocking, and crawling whilst
22
crossing the mid-line. Training balance means
we must regress a lot of the movements we
perform, almost like being a child all over again.
We consider balance work the cornerstone
to running performance. As you can see in
the graph below, after initially regressing in
her balance, it jumped to over one minute on
each side in a matter of months. Zianne now
maintains a healthy 45 seconds on each side
even after significantly reducing her basic
balance work.
01:20 Sep 2, 01:15
01:00
00:40
00:20
00:00
Jul ‘19 Oct ‘19 Jan ‘20 Apr ‘20
Stage 3: Improving Thoracic Mobility
The standing and sitting toe touch tests give us
a quick idea whether you have either a stability
problem or a mobility problem. If you’re unable
to touch your toes in both positions, it’s a
mobility problem, as was the case with Zianne.
On further investigation, we discovered she had
significant restrictions in her thoracic spine.
When you walk or run, your thoracic spine is
supposed to rotate. Most people who don’t
rotate in the thoracic spine end up with too much
motion up in the neck or down in the lumbar
spine and hips. The thoracic spine is designed for
rotation. It’s supposed to rotate more than your
lumbar spine but in most people it’s the opposite.
Our modern lifestyles often lead to posture that
feeds thoracic spine dysfunction, like hunching
over your cell phone or rounding your shoulders
at a desk. These movements increase your
thoracic curve which makes efficient rotation
damn near impossible.
Good running technique depends on good
posture and good posture depends on the
thoracic spine. A healthy thoracic spine allows
just the right amount of rotation through the
entire spine to promote efficiency. When the
thoracic spine is immobile, this area of the back
and spine—and all of the associated muscles—
will not function efficiently, or at all in some
cases. This has a trickle-down effect through the
entire body, leading to poor biomechanics and
increased injury risk.
With Zianne, even though she passed the
2-minute plank test, good core function is a
primary contributor to thoracic spine rotation.
The two go hand-in-hand. We assigned her core
work that integrated with other parts of the body
We see running
as key to a
lifelong pursuit
of happiness.
to improve her posture and thoracic mobility. We
didn’t focus specifically on hamstring flexibility
or strengthening. That isn’t what we’re looking
for in the toe touch tests; we’re trying to see if
the hamstrings let the abs do the work they’re
supposed to. As soon as her core started to fire
the way it supposed to and her thoracic rotation
improved, so did her toe touch tests. In a matter
of months, they went from being a no to both
being an easy yes.
Lessons You Can Learn from Zianne
We see running as key to a lifelong pursuit
of happiness. Therefore, we want to prepare
our bodies accordingly so that we can keep
running well into old age. We didn’t begin any
running protocols with Zianne until we fixed
the issues listed above, and we only began with
a simple walk/run workout of one minute on,
four minutes off for a period of 20 minutes,
gradually increasing this to 60 minutes over a
four month period. Her body needed to adapt to
its newfound changes and also learn to cope with
the force of running.
As everyday athletes, we understand the need
to be mobile, strong, and resilient. Before we
start running, we need to have a good sense of
balance and we need to be aware of how running
impacts each area of the body. Seventy-nine
percent of recreational and competitive runners
sustain overuse injuries during any 12 month
period. That is a frightening statistic. Jogging
should be an enjoyable pastime, not something
that has you living in fear of being injured. All of
us should ask ourselves, “Am I truly ready and
prepared to run?”
Zianne’s Thoughts
“I have been working out with Josh Kennedy and
Strength Matters for about a year. I decided to
try the program because I was feeling uninspired
in fitness and was also feeling just plain old. I’m
53 and I’ve always enjoyed moving. I’ve had
issues with knee pain for years, but it was trouble
with back pain that lead me to seek help with my
workouts. My goals were not huge. I just really
never wanted to feel my back go out ever again.
I wanted to be able to run but I didn’t think it
would ever be possible for me because of the
knee pain. Over the years I had seen doctors and
had rounds of physical therapy with no help for
the pain I experienced in my knees. I decided
running wasn’t going to work for me. I could
walk and that was good enough for me. 
“To my surprise I saw quick results in how I felt
and moved at the beginning of my programming.
I love the testing part of the programming
where you can see and measure improvements.
With the combination of strength and mobility
workouts I was feeling so much better and more
importantly to me, moving without pain. After
a few months of training I decided to just try
a little one minute jog with my walk and to my
great surprise, I was able to do it without pain. I
am currently at a point in my life now where I can
say I am a runner again. I can do it and I can do it
without pain. I really am so very excited about it.
When I first started, I didn’t think it was possible.
I couldn’t run across the street without hobbling.
I was wrong. It is possible and I am so excited
about it. I can run again! Strength Matters has
given back to me something I enjoyed very
much as a younger person. I never thought at
53 I’d start running again.” Zianne Lemke,
everyday athlete.
23
Breathing Space

Igor Amorelli © Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

24
Knowing is not
enough; we must
apply. Willing is not
enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

25
Case Study

How to
Train with
Insomnia
Words: James Breese

26
Two-thirds of adults throughout all developed
nations fail to obtain the eight hours of nightly
sleep recommended by the World Health
Organization. This fact may not surprise you, but
maybe some of the consequences might. Did
you know that sleeping less than seven hours
a night demolishes your immune system and
more than doubles your risk of cancer? What
about insufficient sleep being a key lifestyle
factor determining whether you will develop
Alzheimer’s disease or that it contributes to
all major psychiatric conditions, including
depression, anxiety, and suicidality?
In terms of health and fitness, just one week
of poor sleep disrupts blood sugar levels so
profoundly that you would be classified as pre-
diabetic. Looking to lose fat on less than seven
hours? Forget about it. Ever wondered why you
want to eat more when you’re tired? Insufficient
sleep swells concentrations of a hormone
that makes you feel hungry while suppressing
a companion hormone that signals food
satisfaction. So, despite being full, you still want
to eat more – a proven recipe for weight gain in
adults. Even worse, attempting to diet on lack of
sleep is futile, since most of the weight you lose
will come from lean body mass and not fat.
The list could go on and on... To sum it up in just
a few words: The shorter you sleep, the shorter
your life span. Such is the importance of sleep
that it forms the foundation of any exercise
and nutritional programming we do because,
without it, success in reaching any fitness goal
is inconsistent, slow, and temporary. It’s why we
put so much emphasis on the WWS (Walk, Water,
Sleep) formula. If any of these three things are
off, we see problems across the board, be it
with weight loss, athletic performance, or just
the ability to cope with daily life. WWS is the
foundation of the Strength Matters System of
Athletic Development and like any foundation, if
there are cracks, performance will suffer.
This leads me to this month’s case study,
Geni Ligday, who suffered from insomnia for
over 15 years and came to us with athletic
and performance goals and to help her get
her training back on track. Here’s how we
approached her training and the surprising
results that occurred.
Case Study:
Name: Geni Ligday
Age: 45
Country: USA
Occupation: Manufacturing General
Manager + Wife + Mother of Four
Average Daily Sleep Prior: 3 Hours
Average Daily Now: 7 Hours
Time to Achieve: 8 Months
When Geni first started the coaching program
in November 2018, she had a few hip and
shoulder restrictions. General strength was an
important goal as was a desire to improve her
overall cardio having been an endurance athlete
for many years – that had ultimately led to burn
out (not surprising with her lack of sleep). We
discussed briefly the sleep issue, but it became
apparent that this was quite a touchy subject
so we didn’t press the issue or even attempt to
address it. Taking her overall lifestyle factors into
consideration (sleep, family, work), the workouts
needed to be easy to moderate in nature. Not
that we ever told Geni that. She was highly
stressed, and her body would have imploded
had we added any more stress to it. Here’s the
approach we took with Geni.
27

Deep Squat Sit Test: 2 Minutes
Flexed Arm Hang (Overhand Grip): 12 Seconds
2000m Row: 8:59
Let’s discuss the key tests that stood out for
us after Geni took the assessments. General
strength, health, and movement were all in
good shape. She was dialed in with her nutrition
(a rarity), weight and body fat were all in
healthy athletic ranges. Daily steps and water
consumption were all on point. It was just her
sleep and the three tests highlighted above that
stood out for us at the beginning of this journey,
which also prevented her from progressing
further with the assessments.
The Deep Squat Sit Test challenges total body
mechanics and neuromuscular control when
performed properly. We use it to look at the
functional mobility and stability of the hips,
knees, and ankles. There are two benchmarks
we like to hit: Five minutes, which means, in our
28
opinion, it’s safe to load somebody with weight,
and 10 minutes, which is our golden marker for
optimal health. From other testing, it was all
pointing towards her hips in this case (not the
ankles or t-spine) so hip mobility was the area
of concern here.
For the shoulder joints to stay mobile and
healthy, they rely almost entirely on the proper
function of the scapula. The true key to shoulder
mobility is scapular stability. You need to have
strong shoulder blades. There are many ways to
test the health of your scapula; however, over
the years, in fit and healthy everyday athletes,
the flexed arm hang test is one of the simplest
scapular health tests that we do. The standard
we like to see for women is 30 seconds. Geni
fell short of this benchmark and we knew her
scapula needed some TLC.
Her 2000m row test, a challenge for many
people, also stood out. With 8:10 being the
benchmark for good cardio capacity by our
standards, we knew we had a lot to work on here
too. Taking these three tests into consideration,
this is where Geni’s journey began.
Stage 1: Mobility 
We had a very honest and open conversation at
the start about the importance of mobility that
Geni took to heart. We spoke about setting a
foundation for the long haul. Without her buy-
in and understanding, I think we would have
struggled to achieve the results that we did.
Most people understand that better mobility
improves performance and helps prevent injury,
but very few understand the role it plays in
speeding up recovery and reducing tension
and stress. I used this period to help regulate
her parasympathetic nervous system. Geni was
constantly wired, not that she knew it. Less was
more in her case, and I used mobility training to
get her to essentially slow down.
Her workouts centered around hip and shoulder
health. We dedicated three full days a week just
to mobility, and her strength days and cardio
days were interspersed with mobility. For the
shoulders, we did a lot of scapular rolls – both
in a hang and plank position. The hips involved
a lot of time spent in the deep squat position
coupled with external and internal rotation work.
Check out how this method improved her testing
in the charts below. We took Geni’s deep squat
from two minutes to 10 minutes in just under
three months and her flexed arm hang from 12
seconds to 21 seconds in the same period – and
eventually to 31 seconds four months later, but
more on that soon.
The Deep Squat Sit Test
13:20
10:00
06:40
03:20
00:00
Jan ‘19 Mar ‘19 May ‘19
Flexed Arm Hang
00:35
00:30
00:25
time
00:20
00:15
00:10
Jan ‘19 Apr ‘19
Stage 2: Modified Strength Work
After addressing Geni’s mobility sticking points
in her hips and shoulders, we turned to develop
strength in these areas to augment their newfound
freedom. Coincidently, she also had her heart set
on completing the Tactical Strength Challenge,
which is comprised of three exercises: A max
powerlifting deadlift, pull ups for max reps, and
kettlebell snatches for max reps in five minutes.
This was a great event to work towards for Geni
as it would require strength training the newfound
movement in her hips and shoulders – something
you should always do after focused mobility
training is strengthen the areas with improved
range of motion. The challenge I had though was
to ensure I didn’t overload her nervous system
with the training volume or the weights lifted.
Sleep was still a major factor at this stage and she
wasn’t yet sleeping more than four hours a night.
In one of her workouts that she completed two
times a week, I decided to take a volume-based
approach in the form of mixed modal training
with Geni. Repeatability and sustainability of
the workout was key, as was essentially turning
the strength workout into an aerobic workout.
Recovery was a big issue here. Geni had a poor
aerobic base and a lack of sleep so she needed
to train below 70% of her capacity so it didn’t
overfatigue her. Working out at the expense
of her day-to-day life was not an option and,
in my opinion, neither were heavy workouts at
this stage.
Here’s what this aerobic strength workout
looked like:
Jul ‘19
• 20 Min AMRAP *for form not for time*
• Deadlift Bodyweight x 6 reps
• Kettlebell Snatch x 6/6 reps
• Flexed Arm Hang: 7 seconds
• Repeat.
As the weeks went by, we increased the time
to a period of 45 minutes. This time-lapse was
more about developing the volume by building
up capacity slowly and keeping her from
Jul ‘19 overloading her system to save her for some
slightly heavier workouts in the week.
Geni’s other aerobic strength workout was a
density-based model with EMOM (every minute
on the minute) work that included deadlifts,
pull ups and kettlebell snatches. We never went
above 70% of the total weight she could lift or
the number she could do, and again built up the
volume during a given time frame. Here’s what
this deadlift and pull up workout looked like:
Deadlift: 10 minutes EMOM, 2 reps @70% max
(eventually progressed to 7 reps)
Pull-Up: 10 minutes EMOM, 1 rep (eventually
progressed to 4 reps)
Geni was always in her comfort zone. As her
29
work capacity improved, so too did her ability
to recover faster. The results? Her deadlift
went from a max effort of 235lbs to 270lbs (her
bodyweight was 127lb!) and she went from ZERO
pull ups to seven in just under 12 weeks. These
aren’t even the highlight. For the first time in
15 years, Geni was able to increase her average
sleep to over six hours a night in the process.
Volume work lead to fundamental changes in her
sleeping behavior.
06:40
05:50
time
hard yards in here and stuck to the task at hand.
Alongside regular strength work, she put in four
runs per week all below aerobic threshold.
The simplest way to determine your aerobic
threshold is to use the MAF method of 180 minus
your age, then always run with your heart rate
below this figure. We began with short runs 20
to 30 minutes in length and, over 12 weeks, we
increased this to running at MAF for up to two
hours. It was easy, repeatable, and sustainable
work that NEVER left Geni tired or unable to
continue about her day. She became faster at
running but it also became effortless. As the
trend of improved aerobic capacity continued, so
too did her sleep, until finally we hit an average
of seven hours of sleep per night. Something
that was, in Geni’s mind, unfathomable just a

few months prior.

Stages Pulse Ox Respiration

05:00

8h

6h

04:10 4h
Jul ‘19 Oct ‘19 Jan ‘20

2h
Stage 3: Aerobic Capacity
With Geni’s mobility still holding strong and a
0h
new solid base of strength behind us, it was time
to address her aerobic capacity. For the first 7/17 7/23
time in our coaching relationship, we were able Deep Light REM Awake
to have the sleep conversation. It was no longer
a touchy subject for Geni as her new average
sleep hours were something to be celebrated. 1h 7m 4h 16m
Avg Deep Avg Light
We wanted to continue to explore this trend.
Over the years, I read in numerous research
papers that aerobic exercise was proven to 1h 2m 2m
improve sleep quality. Geni needed a new Avg REM Avg Awake
challenge so we decided to focus on running
to build a strong aerobic threshold base. 1h7m
Avg Total Sleep
For those who have read my book Maximum
Aerobic Power, you’ll know that the key to Lessons You Can Learn from Geni
building aerobic threshold is volume, volume, and Sleep is the cornerstone of health and well-
more volume of sub-aerobic threshold training being. You can’t hide from it and one day it’ll bite
to improve your efficiency. There’s no easy way you on the ass if you don’t address it, or even
around this. In all credit to Geni, she put the acknowledge there’s an issue surrounding

30
it in the first place. We certainly didn’t set out to
“cure” Geni of her insomnia; we’re not experts or
doctors in this field. We simply learned that her
body was under immense stress and more stress
from training was the last thing that she needed
in our expert opinion. Most people over thirty are
highly stressed and chronically sleep-deprived.
High intensity, hard workouts can provide results
for a short period but they are not sustainable.
If you’re starting an exercise program but don’t
have the fundamentals of sleep nailed down,
you will not be able to maximize your results or
improve long-term health. All the research I’ve
done over the years indicates that aerobic fitness
is a great way to improve sleep quality, but most
people misinterpret the meaning of aerobic
work. It doesn’t mean hard, all-out workouts.
It means long, slow efforts that build gradually
over time. If you’re highly stressed or struggle
to sleep more than seven hours a night, maybe
it’s time to re-evaluate the training you’re doing
currently? Maybe it’s time to dial it back a notch
and focus on regulating your parasympathetic
nervous system too, just like Geni.
Geni’s Thoughts:
“Prior to working with Strength Matters,
I couldn’t train or even move well. My days
were driven by stress and a frantic rush just to
keep up with my work, life, and kids. I was in
a constant state of deficit and overwhelmed.
Everyone knows you can only run on empty
for so long. I remember thinking I can’t do this
anymore. I just need someone else to tell me
what to do.
“And so it began, the slow progression out
of pain and exhaustion. Subtle changes every
single week that confirmed we were on the
right track. Stress became manageable which
allowed me to better organize my thoughts
and day which then became more productive.
My intensity was winding down, my energy was
increasing and my sleep was starting to improve.
THIS was life-changing. THIS is how life should
feel. What an amazing difference. Seriously, my
life was crushing me. And now it just feels like MY
life. Like I own it. Who on earth would have ever
guessed all this would come from one email and
a phone call!”  Geni Ligday, everyday athlete.
31
Breathing Space

The earth has

music for those
who listen
William Shakespeare

32 Pool
Guenther Oka © Robert Snow/Red Bull Content
33
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets
to Their
Success:
Terry
Moore

34
Terry Moore is a true Strength Matters
success story, a person who has overcome
much adversity and whose journey should
serve as an inspiration to others. This is
her story.
Terry and her husband Joe always led an active
lifestyle. From windsurfing and martial arts
to teaching others how to scuba dive, they
supported and encouraged each other to do
more of what they loved.
“I’ve always been first in line to try new things.
My husband too. While he was absolutely an
influence on me, I was always this way. So
when it came to getting out there and being
active, we complimented each other.”
As a Director of Operations in the medical field,
Terry also has a busy professional life. Initially, the
nature of her work often kept Terry on her feet
and moving around. But as her seniority grew,
her role became increasingly confined to a desk.
Coupled with Terry’s workaholic tendency, this
led to a more sedentary existence compared
to her previously more dynamic life. Terry also
returned to education in an evening, something
that consumed a lot of her free time.
Within two years, Terry was diagnosed with
cancer. Although Terry discovered the cancer
early and is currently in remission, it still
impacted her fitness and overall health. Terry
continued working a 50 hour week throughout
her treatment, which left little time for exercise.
“I bought a rower and was proud when I
achieved my first 10k. But I was disheartened
when I saw other people did this so easily.
My knees also started to hurt which made
mobility [exercises] more difficult. I was told
I might need surgery but they were wrong;
I just needed to lose weight and regain my
strength.”
“My mom fell and broke her humorous.
When I tried to lift her back up, I could barely
manage it. I started lifting weights to improve
my strength but it didn’t last.”
“This became a pattern: I’d try something
new or get back into something I used to do,
only for it to fall by the wayside. If I struggled
with something, I’d give up on it. If it wasn’t
fun, then I didn’t want to do it. My lack of
mobility meant that nothing was fun.”

“The more hours I put into my career and

education, the less time I spent in the gym or
other things that helped keep me in shape. As
responsibility increases, free time is harder to
come by. I think a lot of people can relate to life
getting in the way when it comes to fitness.”

Then Terry’s life took a tragic turn when her

husband Joe sadly passed away.

“Losing Joe seemed to put things

backwards. We did things together so,
without someone to be active with, my
overall health started to deteriorate. Joe
was my husband, but he was also the
person I did everything with. This was the
turning point for me.”

35
Her increasingly sedentary life caused a
downward spiral when it came to Terry’s health.
“As my physical health suffered, so did my
mental health. My mood was always low and
I didn’t realize how glum I had become.
I needed to do something about it.”
Terry had been aware of Strength Matters for
several years before reaching out to us. She
had used personal trainers all her life but online
training was new to her.
“I signed up and spoke to James who asked
me what my goals were. I just wanted to
improve my mobility, and do little things like
carrying groceries again. My goals weren’t
anything grand; I just wanted to be able to
move and carry the cat litter!”
“But it was my improvement exercise that
allowed me to move forward and find
myself again. We started small, just little
exercises and walking. In time we increased
36
the distance of the walks and how quickly I
completed them.”
“James encouraged me to purchase a
fitness tracker and aim for 10,000 steps a
day. I can’t say I always achieve my 10,000
steps - I still have a demanding job that
does occasionally get in the way - but I do
frequently get there.
“I need little nudges and challenges when I
work out, a carrot to chase so to speak. It
makes it fun for me. I’ll always want to beat
my personal best so I picked up the pace of
my walks as I got lighter and faster. I now
frequently shoot for 12,000 steps.”
Terry started training with us at 200lbs. Today,
Terry has lost over 30lbs. She’s come a long way
at the gym and is now seen as a leader in her
fitness classes.
“I was quiet and tried to be ignored. I stayed
at the back of the class and hoped I wouldn’t
get noticed. I saw people doing sets of
exercises while I struggled to achieve one rep
or, if I did, it was with considerable effort.”
“I realized the benefits of socialization when
it comes to exercise. I remembered I was a
martial artist and how important the social
aspect was there. This helped me overcome
the feeling of shyness and made exercise a
social event once again.”
“A lady in one of my classes awarded me with
a trophy that read ‘World’s Best Role Model.’
She’s 24 and struggled at first, but now she’s
making real progress.”
“This gives me added motivation. I need to be
my best and try my hardest because I have
people looking to me for encouragement. If
I lose my momentum and start to flag, they
may do so too. I now have that added layer of
responsibility.”
“I keep going so they keep going. I can’t just give
up and go back to how things were. If I fail, it’s
not just me that does. Failure is not an option.”
We asked Terry what advice she’d give to other
people who are suffering from loss or illness,
especially those who’ve found themselves in
similar situations when it comes to getting back
into fitness.
“My advice is to start small, stick to the
basics. I needed to simply move before I
could walk again. Small mobility exercises
gave me the confidence to start. Take baby
steps and trust the process. I’ve worked with
a lot of trainers and none have failed me. But
only Strength Matters put the whole picture
together for me and made it sustainable
so I could incorporate it into my life so
seamlessly.”
“Each phase was initially a challenge as you
adapt to getting the body engaged. After you
break through, then it becomes exciting and
fun. Each phase of this journey made me a
different person. I became happier and am
loving life again. As my friend and I remind
ourselves: We have lived longer than we have
left to live. That helps me keep things
in perspective.”
37
Case Study

Why Mobility
Comes First for
Weight Loss
Words: James Breese

38
If you type “weight loss” into Google, over one
billion search results will come back in just under 0.7
seconds sharing with you the best kept secrets to
losing weight – fast! The modern world is obsessed
with weight loss, or at least the idea of losing weight.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Weight loss can
be empowering, rewarding, and healthy, of course.
However, my problem with the weight loss industry
doesn’t have to do with physical health. I’m not
discouraging people who have fat to lose from
pursuing weight loss plans and good nutritional
habits in a safe way. My issue with our society’s
obsession deals with the invisible effects of body
weight struggles: the mental and emotional aspects.
Weight loss is directly associated with success.
Fitness. Happiness. Beauty. Power. I’m horrified
that things such as fat shaming and body
shaming still exist nowadays, and are accepted.
Perfectly normal men and women are labeled
as “plus-size” and “unhealthy” simply because
they don’t match society’s perfect definition of
ripped abs and bikini bridges. For a long time,
and especially in my early 20s, I was blinded by
the tempting headlines and ripped ab articles too.
So why are we bombarded daily with so many weight
loss stories, aggressive ab workouts, and so forth?
To put it bluntly, the global weight management
market was worth $189.8 billion USD in 2018 and
is projected to reach $269.2 billion USD by 2024.
Mainstream media wants to portray the perfect
image of the human body so they can keep selling
you the perfect solutions. It’s in this desire to sell the
public a perfect solution – which, by the way, doesn’t
exist – that leaves people more dazed and confused
than ever before.
People seeking only to lose weight can often
lose sight of everything else around them. They
can’t see the forest for the trees, and they keep
program and diet hopping in hope of that miracle
cure. The reality is, weight loss success stories
often share common elements but every story is
unique to every body involved. The crux of this
journey is weight loss is hard. Period.
This leads me to this month’s case study, Jeroen
Westra, who came to us with a weight loss goal
in mind and wanting to get back on track with
his performance-related goals. Here’s how we
approached his training, and why weight loss
had to wait.
Case Study:
Name: Jeroen Westra
Age: 36
Country: The Netherlands
Occupation: CrossFit Box Owner
Foundation Work: 5 Months
Weight loss Program: 1 Month
Weight Before: 94.4kg
Weight After: 82.8kg
Total Weight Loss: 11.6kg (25.52 lbs)
When Jeroen first started the coaching program
in March 2020, he wasn’t in the best of places,
and he’d be the first to admit it too. He was
suffering from mood swings, binge eating,
weight fluctuations, and ever creeping old
injuries – particularly his back, which he hurt
whilst in the military. After putting Jeroen
through the Strength Matters Assessments,
the following results really stood out:
39

Zenith Twist Test: No (Both Sides)
Standing Twist Test: No (Both Sides)
Rotary Stability: No (Both Sides)
10 Min Assault Bike Test: 124 calories
Jeroen was strong and moved well in most
areas but his thoracic spine was completely
locked down. He couldn’t rotate left or right.
He had the turning radius of an oil tanker. Your
thoracic spine is the middle section of your
vertebra between your neck and lower back.
Thoracic mobility involves available movement
of this portion of the spine and is essential to
remain pain-free for sports and most modern
lifestyles. Poor movement in this area can lead to
complications elsewhere in the back, neck, hips,
and knees. This was certainly a priority for us
moving forwards.
In addition to his lack of thoracic mobility,
Jeroen had no rotary stability. Rotary stability
is the ability to control rotational forces during
40
activities like throwing, swinging, striking,
kicking, and sprinting. It is needed to resist
rotation through the torso during arm and leg
movements. Rotary stability works the soft,
inner core and is what allows for proper motor
control during complex movement patterns.
When you throw poor thoracic mobility and poor
rotary stability together, it equals huge injury
potential, as Jeroen had been experiencing.
The last piece of Jeroen’s puzzle was his assault
bike test. We use a specific algorithm, based on
sex, age, and weight to calculate this, so don’t
read too much into his score. Just be aware for
a 92kg (202lb) male, a score of 124 calories puts
you in the bottom 5%. On the flip side, a 59kg
(130lb) female with the same score would be in
the top 85%. His cardiovascular capacity was
non-existent.
Phase 1: Thoracic Mobility and Rotary Stability
We had a very honest and open conversation at
the start about the importance of mobility and
rotary stability with Jeroen. Without his buy-in
and understanding, we would have struggled
to achieve the results that we did. Most people
understand that better mobility improves
performance and helps prevent injury, but very
few understand the role it plays in managing
weight. We used this period to help create
foundations for the training that lay ahead.
Without establishing sufficient thoracic mobility
and rotary stability, Jeroen was a walking injury
waiting to happen.
Most people are not physically prepared for a
weight loss program. These types of training
programs are hard – very hard. When people
jump straight into them with two feet blind,
more often than not they end up injured within a
few weeks, setting them even further back from
their weight loss goals. This was something we
wanted to avoid with Jeroen and it’s why our first
goal was improved thoracic mobility and rotary
stability.
During this first phase, Jeroen’s workouts
centered around these two areas. We dedicated
three full days a week to strength training
focused on single limb movements and super
setting these movements with the mobility
and rotary stability work he needed. We then
prescribed extra mobility days involving a lot of
thoracic spine extension and rotation work.
Sample Routine:
• Diaphragm Self Release
• Foam Roll Shoulders and Lats
• Shoulder Broomstick Dislocates
• Deep Squat Shoulder Wall Circles
• Zenith Twists
• Broomstick Windmill Rotations
• Thread the Needle
• PNF Shoulder Internal Rotation Work
In just under one month, and with a lot of work
and dedication from Jeroen, he managed to pass
all the original mobility tests he struggled to
achieve initially. This set him up for phase two –
improving cardiovascular capacity.
Phase 2: Cardiovascular Capacity
After improving his mobility and stability
issues, the next step was to address his poor
cardiovascular capacity. Jeroen was already
strong but his work capacity was completely
out of proportion to his levels of strength.
When you’re following a weight loss training
plan, it’s all about the effort and intensity you
put in. A good weight loss plan will include:
• Heavy Lifting
• Lactate-inducing Lifting
• Aerobic Work
• Anaerobic Alactic Work
If you don’t have basic cardiovascular capacity
(which enables you to recover quickly), you
will not be able to lift as much weight. When
you’re not recovering fast enough, your risk
of injury goes up and you will feel like utter
crap the entire time. Working out will not be
fun, and your results will suffer. In our view,
you need to be strong and have good levels of
cardiovascular capacity before you commit to
this type of training.
There are two facets of cardiovascular capacity
– aerobic and anaerobic. If you’ve seen our
Hierarchy of Athletic Development, then
you’ll know that anaerobic work is a Layer
3 component and Jeroen was not ready for
that type of training yet as he lacked aerobic
capacity. When designing this phase of his
training, we focused on aerobic development so
the vast majority of his training was aerobic in
nature, including his strength workouts.
With his love of Crossfit in mind, we put
together a series of mixed modal aerobic
workouts for Jeroen. Here’s a sample of what
one workout looked like:
• 30 Min AMRAP *for form not for time*
• Row: 250m
• TRX row: 10 reps
• Assault bike: 60 seconds
• Offset Kettlebell farmers walk:
20-25 metres
As the weeks went by, we increased the time to
a period of 60 minutes. This ensured we built
up his capacity slowly with volume. When we
hit the 60 minute mark, we dropped back down
to 30 minutes and increased the pace of his
row and assault bike sessions. For those who
have read my book Maximum Aerobic Power,
you’ll know that the key to building aerobic
capacity is volume, volume, and more volume
of sub-aerobic threshold training to improve your
efficiency. There’s no easy way around this. In all
credit to Jeroen, he put the hard yards in here and
stuck to the task at hand. It was easy, repeatable,
and sustainable work that NEVER left him tired or
unable to continue about his day.
This phase lasted approximately four months.
When we re-tested his assault bike test, Jeroen
progressed from 125 calories to 150 calories,
taking him from the bottom 5% of people
testing into the top 65% for the first time.
41
 Notice how it remained constant between March
160
and July then, due to stress and a COVID-19
lockdown, it went up a little due to emotional
binge eating, as Jeroen put it. He weighed in at
150 Jun 10:
150 cal
91.3kg (201.2lbs) when we began the weight
loss plan on 3 August. By 11 September, he was
down to 82.8kg (182.5lbs). That’s a drop of 8.5kg
Calories

(18.7lbs) in just over a month, and he’s not even

140
halfway through the plan yet! This is sustainable
and responsible weight loss programming. No
fad diets, just a combination of a well-thought-
130 out training plan, adequate rest, and good food
hygiene.

120 After phase one and two, Jeroen’s body was

Apr ‘20
Phase 3: Weight Loss
This is where we put all of Jeroen’s hard work
to the test. He trusted us the entire time and
had been exceptionally patient. His mobility
and stability were on point and significantly
improved, his work capacity had increased, and,
more importantly, he was feeling better about
himself. A good mix to have when starting a
weight loss program.
ready to handle the pain and suffering of a
weight loss training plan. He could move well and
he was able to recover fast enough to do it again
the next day and the day after and the day after.
And his body responded. Nutrition does play an
important role in any weight loss diary, but all
Jeroen did was focus on eating mainly minimally
processed whole foods, such as meat, fish, dairy,
fruits and vegetables. That’s it. His training was
made up of the combination of heavy lifting,
lactate-inducing lifting, aerobic work, and
anaerobic alactic work.

Before I share what we did, I think it’s important Lessons You Can Learn from Jeroen
to visualize how the entire plan impacted his When starting a weight loss plan, most people
weight loss journey: want to jump straight in before they’re ready,
often influenced by the mainstream media and
society’s desire to look good at all costs. One
Weight thing we ask everyday athletes looking to lose
82.8kg weight to do is to ask themselves, “Am I really
ready to take on such a task?”

Jul 13:
95
94.4 kgs If you’re starting a weight loss program but
don’t have the fundamentals of walk, water, and
sleep (WWS) nailed down, you will not be able
to maximize your results or improve long-term
90
Weight [kg]

health. After nailing these basics down, if you

don’t have the fundamentals of good mobility
and flexibility, your body will not be able to stand
85
up to the true demands of training for fat loss.
Like so many who have tried before you, you will
likely end up injured and even further from your
80
Apr ‘20 May ‘20 Jun ‘20 Jul ‘20 Aug ‘20 Sep ‘20 goals. After all the years of work we’ve done
helping people over thirty lose weight,

42
get stronger, and live better, the one lesson we
have learned is that it pays to take your time in
the beginning. It’s better to be the tortoise than
the hare in this race. If you’re about to embark
on your own weight loss journey, ask yourself:
Are you really ready for this? Are you mobile
enough? Are you strong enough? Do you have
good cardiovascular capacity? If you answer no
to any of these questions, you will want to follow
the type of plan Jeroen did. It may actually work
out faster for you in the long run – and help keep
the weight off.
Jeroen’s Thoughts:
“I started doing CrossFit 10+ years ago. I got
hooked and the next logical step at the time was
opening my own box. I’ve been running a CrossFit
box for 7 years now but last year I got burnt out
and both my box and I suffered as a result. I would
get mood swings and began binge eating when I
was stressed. My weight was all over the place,
I was exercising less exercise - I went from an
extremely active to an almost sedentary lifestyle.
When I gained weight I switched from CrossFit to
powerlifting. I got crazy strong until old injuries
began to pop up. I was hurting from something
all the time and my sleep suffered as a result.
I needed help - a real structure, a routine, and
accountability to get me out of this rut. I reached
out to James and Josh became my coach.  Athlete
The rest is history. I’m down 15kg (35lbs), almost
pain-free, and more mobile than I’ve ever
been before. I feel great. It’s like I regained my
freedom. Before, I dreaded going to bed because
I knew I would wake up sweating and in pain.
I love my sleep and my naps now. Workouts
were a chore. This was mostly because of the
burnout. I hated getting beat up all the time and
feeling gassed out after every workout. Now I
feel refreshed and energized and ready to take
on the rest of the day. I could go on for a while.
Why does the Strength Matters system work
so well for me? For starters, the assessments.
After going through the assessments you have a
clear image where you’re at and what you need
to work on. The route ahead is also very clear
because Josh patiently explained it to me. It was
not like he just told me “do this” and slapped
down a workout. No, he made me feel involved in
the entire process.
There’s a clear structure. You have to EARN
every step in the process. This was a bit
frustrating for me at the beginning, but I
completely understand the logic now. Josh and
the Strength Matters team made me realize I’m
not 25 anymore and there’s a reason I was in the
state I was in. Thank you, Strength Matters, for
giving my life back.”  Jeroen Westra, Everyday
43
Breathing Space

Movement
never lies. It is a
barometer telling
the state of the
soul’s weather to
all who can read it.
Martha Graham

44 Pauw, Red Bull Content Pool

Robert Meeuwsen, Alexander Brouwer, © Rutger
45
Case Study

Why Anaerobic
Threshold Training
is Not for the Faint
of Heart
Words: James Breese

46
Strength and power is the focus this month,
but we can’t not talk about the importance of
cardiovascular health too because what use is
a powerful chassis if you haven’t got the engine
to match? It’s like putting the engine of a Toyota
Prius into a Ferrari. To be a true performance car,
you need to have a strong powerful heart.
When it comes to training the cardiovascular
system, we have one golden rule:
If you don’t maximally develop your aerobic
energy system first, and have sufficient levels
of strength, you will never truly maximize your
anaerobic threshold.
From a cardiovascular endurance standpoint,
the ability to make use of lactate in the muscles
as fuel is one of the most important training
adaptations you can make as an athlete. This is
why having a strong, robust anaerobic system
is important to maximizing your cardiovascular
potential. Once you maximize your aerobic
threshold, which focuses on reducing the rate
at which lactate is produced, and develop
sufficient levels of strength, you can then focus
on improving the body’s ability to remove lactate
by training the anaerobic threshold.
The best way to view your cardiovascular system
is to think of it as a vacuum which sucks up all
the lactate. The greater the aerobic threshold,
the bigger the vacuum. The bigger the capacity
of the vacuum, the more the anaerobic system
can contribute to the overall energy production
within the body. The more robust and trained
the anaerobic system, the more powerful the
vacuum becomes, sucking up lactate at a much
faster rate and allowing you to perform faster
and for longer.
This is why you can never fully maximize your
cardiovascular potential, no matter how high
the intensity of the exercise you do, if you don’t
fully develop your aerobic threshold FIRST.
Your vacuum simply won’t be big enough to
hold all the lactate the body produces. The
key to maximal cardiovascular development is
combining both aerobic threshold development
and anaerobic threshold development.
This leads me to this month’s case study, John
Withinshaw. John was already a well-rounded
bad ass ultra-runner, strength enthusiast, and
personal trainer himself, but he came to us with
specific performance goals. To help him unlock
his true potential, we had to play detective to
find his weaknesses. Here’s what we found, and
how he progressed.
Case Study:
Name: John Withinshaw
Age: 46
Country: United Kingdom
Occupation: Gym Owner
20 Second Row Test Before:
12 Calories x 8 Rounds
20 Second Row Test After:
14 Calories x 10 Rounds
Time to Achieve: 8 Weeks
47
Now, I want to put a few things in perspective
so you can understand how hard this 20 second
row test is. Next time you’re in the gym near
a Concept 2 rower, I want you to set the timer
to 20 seconds of work and 2 minutes of rest.
Row as hard as you can for those 20 seconds,
record the number of calories you hit, rest a full
2 minutes, and repeat. Keep repeating until you
can no longer hit the same number of calories.
Remember your time cap is 2 minutes. If you get
close to 14 calories in the first 20 seconds, great
work. But, if you can hit 14 calories 10 times in a
row, hats off to you!
Some of you may attempt this and hit a far lower
number of calories and find this extremely easy
to do. If that is the case, it means you are not
strong enough or aerobically powerful enough
to do anaerobic threshold work. This type
of work will want to leave you half dying on
the floor, curled up in the fetal position by
the end of it. You’ll be watching your restful
48
2 minute countdown in fear, not standing
around wanting it to hurry up. On the surface,
it may not seem like much, going from 12 to
14 calories, but for someone of John’s ability
and experience, this shows huge progress
and a significant improvement in his alactic
anaerobic endurance ability.
To elicit the correct response from anaerobic
training, you need to dig deep into your central
nervous system. This only comes with significant
pre-requisite strength and aerobic capacity,
which we assess in full prior to beginning any
training program. I share these standards so that
you have an idea of what John could do prior to
training his anaerobic threshold:
Baseline Strength Standards
• 1.5 x bodyweight deadlift x 5 reps
• Bodyweight back squat x 5 reps
• 5 x pull-ups
• 5 x dips
• 75% bodyweight farmers carry - 90 seconds
Cardio Assessment Results
• 1 mile run: 5:31
• 2 km row: 6:56
Phase 1: Aerobic Threshold Development
There’s no easy way around this: The key to
building your aerobic threshold is volume.
Volume, volume, and more volume of sub-
aerobic threshold training allows you to build up
your aerobic speed and make your movement
economy more efficient in terms of technique
and metabolism. We have to re-train the body
to prioritize using fat as the primary fuel source
for endurance-based activities, and that means
spending hours and hours working out below
your aerobic threshold. Having a robust aerobic
system is paramount before we dive into
developing your anaerobic threshold.
When we talk about volume, the question we
always get asked is “How much is enough?”If you
want to build a truly robust aerobic threshold,
you understand that volume and consistency
is key to development. Let’s look at it from an
annual perspective: As a novice, you want to
build to a minimum of 400 hours of training time
each year specifically working the cardiovascular
system, not including strength or movement-
based workouts. That’s roughly seven to eight
hours a week dedicated to cardiovascular work.
For the more experienced, you’re looking to build
to 800+ hours of cardiovascular work each year.
This is what elite men and women do, and it gives
you an idea of what it takes to get to that level.
You may be thinking, “I have no chance of hitting
400+ hours of training, let alone 800.” I’m sorry
to be the bearer of bad news but this is what it
takes to become a serious everyday athlete. Your
results are directly proportional to the amount
of work you put in. Building the cardiovascular
engine and developing your aerobic threshold
takes time, effort, and dedication but, I promise
you, it’s worth it in the long run.
Prior to John starting his eight week program,
he spent six months working on strength and
aerobic capacity. He was training six days a
week with one rest day. His training was an even
split of strength, mobility work, and running.
John was putting in mile after mile of running,
sometimes more than 50 miles a week, alongside
his strength work.
His goal was to train for a 100km race, therefore
his run volume needed to be thought of
accordingly. In phase 1, we focused on volume
building and getting his body to adapt to
recovering faster.
Our philosophy is quite simple when it comes to
running great distances: Get used to running for
volume. Volume building is key. We accumulated
a lot of miles in his legs on back-to-back days
preparing for his race. A sample training week
for John during this phase looked like:
Monday: Strength
Tuesday: Mobility
Wednesday: Strength
Thursday: 12 Mile Run
Friday: 18 Mile Run
Saturday: 20 Mile Run
Sunday: Rest
Phase 2: Alactic Anaerobic Development
The basic principles of anaerobic threshold
training are:
1. Train intervals to exhaustion
2. Rest completely
3. Repeat
There is one caveat: All intervals must be
identical in nature. This means that what you
do should be repeatable until it is not. It is when
these intervals are no longer sustainable that
you stop for the day and, in the next session, you
progress your workload. The anaerobic system
needs to be fully restored after each interval
so that you can train to the same maximum
intensity. Work periods tend to be short,
sometimes as little as eight seconds, separated
by long recovery times. If the rest period is
too short, the workout will shift to endurance
training. The energy system you are training
needs to fully recover to elicit the correct
response. As a general rule of thumb, our resting
protocols tend to be around 10:1 (rest ten times
the amount of work that you put in).
Anaerobic and endurance. Maybe you’re thinking
these two words shouldn’t go together. How can
anaerobic work, which is unsustainable in nature,
be considered endurance? Well, they do go
together. This type of training is hard, very hard,
and it hurts. Improving your anaerobic threshold
requires maximum training at the maximum
intensity and then extending the time at which
you perform it over a longer period.
49

For example, progressing 10 second sprints for
ten sets (identical) to 14 seconds sprints for
ten sets (identical). Unlike aerobic threshold
work, anaerobic training requires us to produce
as much lactate as possible and to maintain
that high level for as long as possible before
giving ample rest to allow the body to remove
the lactate. This is how we train the body to get
better at removing lactate from the body. It’s
exhausting work, and it is why you need years
and years of training behind you before even
attempting it. The key to training the anaerobic
threshold is less volume, higher intensity, and
progression from power to endurance. There
are no shortcuts, and there is no easy way out.
With John, when we identified that we needed
to enter an anaerobic development phase
with him, we began by testing his 20 second
row test. This was performed on a day with
no other workouts planned. John achieved
12 calories and this was his starting point
for phase 2. Then two times per week he
performed the following workout, after at l
east a full 48 hours rest in between:
50
Sample Workout:
• Warmup
• Activation
• Light Strength Session at
less than 70% max effort
• Alactic Work:
• Set the rowing display to 20
seconds work, 2 minutes rest.
• Ensure calories are clearly
displayed on the screen.
• Row as hard as possible and record
the total number of calories.
• Rest 2 minutes. Repeat effort.
Aim to repeat the total number of calories
on each working set. Keep adding another set
until the final set can no longer match the total
calories of the previous sets.
The Progression
On his third attempt at this workout after two
weeks, John hit all ten rounds pulling 12 calories.
We then increased the time of the row to 25
seconds, the rest to 2:30, and asked him to
repeat the process. He achieved 15 calories at
this intensity, and it took another two weeks
before he completed all ten rounds. We then
increased the time to 30 seconds of work and
three minutes of rest for the final few weeks of
this progression which resulted in him pulling 17
calories in 30 seconds. His first attempt at the
30 second mark only lasted four rounds; it took
four more weeks for him to adapt to the full ten
rounds. In total, John performed eight weeks
of alactic anaerobic training, which is the upper
limit of time we allow for these types of plans.
At the end of the eight weeks we asked John to
re-test his 20 second benchmark test, and he
pulled 14 calories. Compared to his original 12
calorie test, this is a significant improvement in
his power production and ability to recover from
alactic work.
51
52
 This is the
first time
I’ve really
felt part of
a fitness
tribe.
John Withinshaw,
Everyday Athlete.

Train Anywhere.
Achieve More.

We remove the shackles of

working out in one location.
Train any time with the
equipment that’s available
to you. Your coach goes
with you in your pocket and
adapts accordingly, 24/7.

You’ll be amazed at how

much more you can achieve
when working with a Strength
Matters coach. Start your
coaching journey today.Visit
www.strengthmatters.com.

53
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets
to Their
Success:
Teresa
Warren

54
Teresa’s story is different compared to our
previous Secrets to Their Success features.
Rather than a story of overcoming illness
or adversity, hers is one of discovery, of
finding ways to stay fit and active despite
the pressures of a busy life. Teresa’s story
is also one about keeping an open mind
and being willing to step out of one’s
comfort zone to make a meaningful and
positive change.
Within the first few minutes of talking with her,
it was clear Teresa had a passion for running.
Consistently active throughout her adult life,
Teresa frequently took part in aerobics, step
classes, and horse riding. She discovered the
thrills of running 12 years ago after being invited
to take part in a half-marathon for charity, and
has since dedicated herself to the hobby.
“I’ve always been an outdoorsy person. So,
when I was approached at work by some
of the younger guys in the office who were
doing a half-marathon, I thought, ‘if they can
do it, then I can do it.’ Within a few years, I
was taking part in full marathons, running
clubs, you name it.”
This half-marathon was the start of Teresa’s
running journey. ## years ago, she found
Strength Matters. We asked her about what,
if anything, motivated her to join.
“I honestly had no defining moments, ones
where you decide to take control and make
a commitment to change. I’ve always been
this way. I honestly just stumbled on Strength
Matters one day while I was researching
running information online. It caught my
attention and I’m glad it did. It’s unique;
there really is nothing else like it.”
We asked Teresa about what’s kept her
motivated and if there have been any challenges
during the program. For example, how has a
regimented, balanced training protocol impacted
her love of running?
“When I joined the Strength Matters program,
I was told I needed to stop running for several
weeks by James. I was shocked by this as it’s
such a big part of my life. It was hard to do
and to understand. But now when I look back,
I can see the sense to it. You’ve got to put
your faith in the process and keep it there.”
“There were times in the beginning when I
questioned things. I was slapping my knee
and thinking, I wonder what the science
behind this is? But there always is! You’ve got
to trust the process. It becomes a way of life
in time, and you do see the benefits. Building
that foundation is important, and getting the
right mindset is a huge part of that.”
Before Teresa discovered Strength Matters, her
exercise regime consisted mostly of running
random speeds/distances rather than following
any established plan or set of goals. While fitness
was always important to her, Teresa accidentally
neglected other important aspects of her health,
such as her mobility.
“It was more about fitness for me than
health. I think my exercise plan wasn’t doing
me much good. I’m in my 50s and started
to notice that my mobility got worse and I
hadn’t done much about it. I needed to do
things differently. After a while, I was able to
make the progress I needed.”
“I noticed changes one day when I was in the
car and turned round to fasten my seat belt.
All of a sudden, I realized I had the mobility
to do so without exerting as much effort as I
usually do. This was the moment I knew why
mobility exercises were working. Things like
this needed just as much of my attention as
running.”
“My focus is now on health and well-being. A
lot of my exercise remains focused on mobility
but I’m allowed to go running again too.”
55

Teresa told us her philosophy on exercise and
why she feels so many people fail to make the
improvements she has made, as well as what can
be done to remedy this.
“It’s not about quick wins; it’s about making
fundamental and lasting changes. You’ve
got to be in it for the long term. Really get
involved, then you’ll start seeing progress.
But it takes commitment.”
“I think this is why so many people give up
on exercise and fitness. They want to see
short term results and get frustrated when
they don’t. So it’s helpful just to have the
knowledge to inform your expectations and
keep them realistic.”
Teresa believes that many people don’t
understand the true benefit of exercise and how it
affects more aspects of health and well-being than
fitness. The trick to helping people get to where
she is is education and the right information
from trustworthy, science-based sources.
“Personally, I benefitted from the education
side of things when joining Strength Matters.
I now know information about health and
56
fitness that has helped me in other areas of
my life. I understand the correlation between
stress, sleep, and illness.”
“How sometimes you’ve got to take a step
back for the sake of your well-being. You
need to know that stress has a knock-on
effect. This has helped me in my
professional life too.”
Teresa told us that the structure she gets from
her training helps her stay focused and organized,
and advised this is what many people need when
it comes to staying committed – a coach or
someone to keep them focused stops them from
giving up. Then in time, they witness the results for
themselves and provide their own motivation.
“It’s nice to have someone lay out the plan for
you, then monitor and encourage you. You don’t
want to let them down or face the awkward
questions if you skip a day. This will help keep
a lot of people on the right path, holding their
hand as they navigate through the process.
When they see the results, they’ll get it.”
Finally, we asked Teresa what her long-term
goals were and what health, fitness and well-
being mean to her as a member of the Strength
Matters community.
“I know people in their 70s who still run
several times a week. I aim to be one of those
people. I don’t think I could handle not being
able to go running anymore. The good news
is I can do the exercise I enjoy and still follow
the advice my trainers give me.”

“There are things I still need to do to get to

where I want to be. I need to keep working on
my mobility and track my food, among other
things. We’ve not really tackled nutrition so
far on my journey. But it’s about baby steps.
I know I’ll get where I want to be.”

“This is now part of my everyday life; I can’t

imagine a time when I won’t be part of the
Strength Matters community. For me, being
part of this healthy living world helps me do
what I want to do without getting tired and
feeling like rubbish. This will be the thing
that enables me to live the way I want in the
coming years.” break through, then it becomes
exciting and fun. Each phase of this journey
made me a different person. I became happier
and am loving life again. As my friend and I
remind ourselves: We have lived longer than
we have left to live. That helps me keep things
in perspective.”

57
Refeeds should not be confused with cheat days.
What we’re really doing is controlled gluttony.
We calculated Holly’s phase three calorie intake
to be the following:
Total Calories: 1,747
Carbohydrate: 173g
Protein: 149g
Fat: 51g
Fiber: 26g
What was supposed to be only one week of
refeed, turned into three full weeks. Holly’s
body responded exceptionally well to this new
breakdown of calories and macronutrients.
So much so that in the first week she dropped
to 129.4 pounds from 131.8 pounds and, by
the end of week three, she was down to 128.2
pounds. Quite remarkable if you ask me. And
this included Thanksgiving week!
After the holiday, we reduced her calories again
to the following:
Total Calories: 1,325
Carbohydrate: 95g
Protein: 174g
Fat: 28g
Fiber: 20g
58
In one week, she dropped another to 127 pounds.
That’s a full 10 pounds from where she first started!
Lessons You Can Learn from Holly
Dieting is a complex art. What works for one
person won’t necessarily work for another. With
Holly, it took a lot of educated guess work to
help her get it right. Her eating and tracking was
exemplary, as was her compliance with working
out. She did everything that was asked of her
and more. That’s the battle with this: Staying
consistent with both the nutrition and the
exercise portions.
This type of diet manipulation is not for
beginners. This level of tracking and meticulous
planning is beyond the skills of most people, but
not impossible to achieve.
If there’s one lesson you can learn from Holly’s
journey, it is this: Spend time understanding
what your maintenance calories are right at
the start. Don’t guess. Be accurate. Track it
and monitor it. It pays to take your time in the
beginning. It’s better to be the tortoise than the
hare in this race. And if you’re about to embark
on your own last 10lb weight loss journey, ask
yourself: Are you really ready for this? Because it
takes and unbelievable amount of commitment.
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59
Case Study

How to
Lose the
Last Few
Pounds
Words: James Breese

60
The last few pounds have been scientifically
proven to be the hardest to lose. The start of
your weight loss journey couldn’t have gone
better — you made some great food choices at
meal time and developed a kick-ass exercise
routine. You’ve had some success and your goal
weight is in sight but the last few pounds just
won’t budge, no matter what you do.
Thanks to a process called adaptive
thermogenesis, your body learned to function
efficiently on fewer calories meaning your
metabolism has slowed. Studies, including one
conducted at Laval University in Quebec, found
that when your body loses weight and goes
through adaptive thermogenesis, it develops
a resistance to fat loss.
You’ll know when you hit this phase: The
scale doesn’t consistently get lower and
measurements don’t seem to change like they
did before. In fact, some weeks there’s no
change at all or your measurements or body
weight may even increase for a day or two.
You’re confused because you’ve been doing
everything by the book. Your nutrition and
exercise has been completely on point. You’re
doing exactly what got you results in the
beginning, and now you don’t understand why
your progress has come to a screeching halt.
Here’s the harsh reality: The process that helped
you lose the first 10 pounds isn’t the same one
that’ll help you lose the last 10 pounds. Indeed,
it usually takes a different strategy and lot more
work as you get leaner. And if you aspire to be
fitness model or elite athlete lean, achieving
that look comes at a high cost, one most people
aren’t willing to pay.
This leads me to this month’s case study. Holly
Chapman came to us with a weight loss goal in
mind and wanted to get her training back on
track. Here’s how we approached her training,
and how we approached her last 10 pounds.
Case Study:
Name: Holly Chapman
Age: 58
Country: United States
Weight Before: 137lbs
Body Fat % Before: 21%
Body Fat % After: 14%
Weight After: 126.4lbs
Time Taken: 3 months
Holly first started a Strength Matters coaching
program in September 2020, right in the middle
of the COVID pandemic. She didn’t reach out
for help because she didn’t know what she was
doing, far from it. She was looking for motivation
and accountability to keep her sane, like many
of us during these crazy times. The results of her
Strength Matters Assessments identified some
minor balance and thoracic rotation issues. Nothing
of major concern but we immediately addressed
these prior to implementing a weight loss strategy.
We did an intensive one week mobility training
plan to address her issues, then re-tested what
she struggled with. She passed with flying
colours, leaving her ready to start the weight
loss program. Remember, a solid foundation of
mobility always comes first before starting our
training system.
Holly had the experience of participating in
multiple figure competitions. She was well-skilled
in the weight room and equally skilled with her
diet. In fact, she’s probably one of the most
advanced clients I’ve ever had the privilege of
working with when it comes to nutrition. She had
the mindset, the discipline, and the experience
of having dieted down several times before. She
knew the cost of getting lean and losing that last
10 pounds, something that is rare to find these
days. If you’ve never done it before, trust me;
most people give up at this stage, it is that hard.
Holly managed to complete all of our assessments
up to Layer 2.2. She was strong and could move
well. For us, these are the absolute must-have
qualities prior to starting a serious fat loss or
61
weight loss program. It tells us she is able to handle your current weight, how will you work out what
the demands of the training load required of her. your ideal calorie deficit will be?

Her training plan consisted of lifting heavy,
metabolic conditioning, anaerobic alactic work,
and aerobic activities. But none of this matters to
those last 10 pounds if you don’t apply advanced
nutrition tactics, and that’s the story I want
to share with you today – how we approached
nutrition with Holly and the ups and downs she
went through.
For Holly, determining her maintenance calorie
intake took two weeks as her weight stayed
stable. For some people, however, this could last
weeks or even months, particularly if they’re
already eating less than their maintenance level
of calories.
Using some clever math and the Muller equation,
we best guessed Holly’s total calorie level to be
1,970 and split her macronutrients up as follows:

Total Calories: 1,970

Carbohydrate: 195g
Protein: 142g
Fat: 70g
Fiber: 30g

She tracked meticulously. Over the course of

the two weeks, here’s what her average daily
consumption was:

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.

Calories Carbs Protein Fat Fiber

1834 / 177 / 144 / 57 / 37 /

1970 195g 142g 70g 30g
(-136) (-18) (+2) (-13) (-7)

Phase 1: Determining Maintenance Calories
Getting lean boils down to one thing: Losing
the maximum amount of body fat. Because of
this, your nutrition strategy becomes absolutely
paramount. You need to lose body fat, but not at
the expense of your muscle mass.
Her weight remained steady between 136
pounds and 137 pounds during this time, which
gave me confidence in knowing that 1,900
calories was roughly her maintenance starting
level. We were ready now to start phase two –
the calorie deficit phase.

What will determine overall weight loss is Phase 2: Calorie Deficit

something we call energy balance, basically
calories in vs calories out. In order to lose
weight, the amount of energy you expend each
day will need to exceed the amount of energy
- the calories - you consume. That means, first,
you need to determine what your approximate
maintenance calorie intake is. This is the step
most people ignore completely. If you don’t
know how many calories you need to stay at
Determining an individual’s calorie deficit
requires a lot of complex math that goes beyond
the scope of this article. What I will say is that in
order to determine where we should start, we
need to know:
• Maintenance calories
• Current bodyweight
• Current body fat percentage

62
 She held this steady for three weeks, with her
average looking as follows:

Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.

Calories Carbs Protein Fat Fiber

1249 / 68 / 171 / 32 / 20 /
1223 68g 178g 26g 24g
(+26) (-7) (+6) (+4g)

Once again, highly accurate. Her tracking was

exceptional.

And that difference led to her weight dropping

down to 131.2 pounds and taking off a whole
inch from her waist. The new plan was working,
but it was an extremely aggressive cut. A cut
this dramatic is not for the faint of heart and
We started Holly on the following: credit should go to Holly for sticking with it.
However, in week 4 of this plan, she saw her
Total Calories: 1,331 weight increase by 0.8 pounds. Her body was
Carbohydrate: 90g already beginning to adapt to this new level of
Protein: 170g calories so it was time to change things again.
Fat: 35g
Fiber: 20g Enter the refeed.

And here’s what she averaged over the course Phase 3: The Importance of Refeed Weeks
of two weeks: The concept of refeed during a dieting phase
is that you engage in a controlled overfeed in
Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. an attempt to raise the hormone leptin and
Calories Carbs Protein Fat Fiber your metabolic rate. This will hopefully have a
slingshot” effect on metabolism to help reduce
1418 / 104 / 152 / 41 / 18 /
1331 90g 170g 35g 20g some of the metabolic adaptation induced by
(+87) (+14) (-18) (+6) (-2g) dieting. There is not much scientific evidence to
support this though, anecdotally, I’ve seen great
results doing it this way. I also find that most
Pretty accurate if you ask me, all things considered. people prefer to diet this way to break up the
But here’s what happened. She only lost .9 monotony of dieting and allow for more flexibility
pounds and half an inch off her waist, so we when eating out with friends or family.
changed things up to the following:
Bodies react differently to this tactic. Some
Total Calories: 1,223 respond very poorly by soaking up and retaining
Carbohydrate: 68g every extra calorie. Others who are at a standstill
Protein: 178g with their fat loss follow this process and suddenly
Fat: 26g start losing again whilst eating more calories.
Fiber: 20g

63
Breathing Space

Paul Guschlbauer & Aaron Durogati ©Ulrich64

Grill / Red Bull Content Pool
Success is no
accident. It is hard
work, perseverance,
learning, studying,
sacrifice and, most
of all, LOVE of what
you are doing.
– Pele

65
Case Study

How to Prepare
for a Winter Ski
Season
Words: James Breese

66

When I returned to Austria in 2018, I went
snowboarding for the first time in several years.
Between work, life, travel, living in Australia,
you name it, the time to board never quite
materialized. This was kind of a big deal for me,
having skied and snowboarded regularly from
the age of 14 for multiple ski seasons. Maybe
it’s because I never truly prioritized it, but those
years away from the slopes made me feel like a
big part of me was missing. I didn’t know what
it was until I moved back to the snowy Alps of
Ischgl, Austria.
Snowboarding is my jam. Nothing makes me
feel more alive than standing at the top of a
snow-capped alpine mountain. I love everything
about it, from waking up at the crack of dawn
to walking empty streets to my local bakery for
a Nusschnecke (Austrian pastry) and a cup of
coffee to hitting the first lifts and making fresh
tracks. Powder days are my favorite, and in the
Silvretta region of Austria we get plenty of them.
From 8am until gone past 4pm you will find me
tearing up the backcountry, attacking every inch
of powder snow I can find.
During the 2019/2020 season, before it got
called short by COVID-19, I recorded 51 days
of snowboarding. This included covering 911.1
miles in distance and amassing over 857,000
vertical feet. In comparison my previous
2018/2019 season, I road the mountains for 41
daysbut covered a mere 624 miles and 601,000
vertical feet. I learned a lot of lessons during
my first season back as an aging 30+ years old
snowboarder and what I did during the summer
that allowed me to take on the winter season
with such intensity. It was one of the most intense
snowboarding years of my life, far exceeding
anything I did during the seasons of my early 20s.
My sincere hope is that you can take the lessons
I learned and apply them to your own winter
season or holiday. Nothing gives me more joy than
sharing these mountain moments with friends and
family and introducing snow adventures to people
who’ve never done it before.
This month’s case study is, well, yours truly,
James Breese. I’m going to share with you the
challenges I faced returning to the mountains,
how I identified my weaknesses, and what I did
to really thrive during the following season.
Case Study:
Name: James Breese
Age: 38
Country: Wales, U.K.
Occupation: Strength Matters Founder
2018/2019 Season Miles: 624
*2019/2020 Season Miles: 911
*Cut two months short due to Covid-19
Before I begin, I think it’s important I put
things in perspective – being active is my
lifestyle. It’s the everyday athlete lifestyle I
keep talking about. Having the freedom and
ability to spend a significant amount of time
snowboarding and balance that with work and
family life is extremely important to me. I’m
aware that this isn’t possible for many people;
however, the lessons I share with you now can
be applied to your own snow holiday or helping
others prepare for their big winter adventure.
I identified three key areas from the 2018/2019
season that needed to be addressed in my
training for the following season:
• I needed a bigger aerobic base and improved
muscular endurance in my legs;
• I needed to train for high intensity three
minute pieces and do this at volume;
• I needed more body armor (quite literally).
My needs were very different from the needs of
most other snowboarders – many amateur skiers
and snowboarders just need to get stronger, a
lot stronger, improve mobility, and have some
baseline aerobic capacity. That was not the case
for me. For one, I can hit all the Strength Matters
baseline strength standards which, if you’re not
familiar, are:
67
• 1.5 x bodyweight deadlift x 5 reps
• Bodyweight back squat x 5 reps
• 5 x pull-ups
• 5 x bodyweight dips
• 75% bodyweight farmers carry - 90 seconds
• 75% bodyweight split squats
And in terms of aerobic capacity, before this
training plan, I could already run:
• A sub six minute mile
• A sub 55 minute 10km
The need for a bigger aerobic base is relatively
straight forward: I’m spending all day at high
altitude and often walking up and down alpine
ridges. A bigger aerobic capacity and improved
muscular endurance in my legs lets me keep
going for longer and recover faster when
I’m out riding – thus improving my overall
enjoyment for the day.
Training for three minute high intensity pieces
is sport-specific to snowboarding. When I
calculated the average time it took me to finish
each line/run I took, it took me about three
minutes to go from the top of the run to the
bottom. I would then get back on the chair lift
for about 10 to 15 minutes of rest, then I would
repeat. All day. Those three minutes would often
be hard and intense and, if it wasn’t powder
snow, I’d be jibbing, jumping, and playing on my
board. I was performing a mini-HIIT session each
time and for hours on end. I definitely needed to
focus on building my aerobic threshold and my
ability to recover.
As for the body armor, for those who ride with
me, you know I fall over a lot! I’m always trying
something out and I need protection from myself.
My body needed to be more robust to handle the
falls, the bumps, and the knocks. It’s surprising
how much it takes out of you. Taking the time to
train my body’s resilience saved my shoulders
quite a few times over the course of the season.
To address these three areas, the one and only
Josh Kennedy put me through the wringer in
three phases:
68
Phase 1: Post Season Hypertrophy
and Max Strength
During a regular ski season, which lasts from
December until early April, I am rarely found
in the gym. Instead, I train on the mountain
seven days out of seven, weather permitting.
If only there were always powder and blue bird
days, right? On the days when the mountains
are closed due to storms, I do try to complete
one session. These sessions are purely strength
maintenance, not size and power development,
and designed to offset the negative effects of me
not being in the weight room consistently.
At the end of the season, I always take a couple
of weeks to slowly transition back into regular
training, giving me time to rest, recuperate, and
address any specific imbalances that may have
developed. Mostly these involved mobility and
flexibility so focus on movement-based strength
exercises and targeted mobility work. This
prepares me for the first phase of training in my
cycle – hypertrophy.
During the season, any strength training sessions
work in the higher hypertrophy rep range of
eight to twelve to focus on maintaining lean
muscle mass. Off season, I can push my body
a little harder and not get worried about it
affecting my performance on the mountain. This
is where I tend to work on max power with reps
in the range of three to five.
The way Josh plans this out is that we factor
in six weeks of specific hypertrophy training
followed by six weeks of max strength work for
a total of 12 weeks dedicated strength work.
This allows me to train all the other areas of
fitness I need in the time frame I have available.
Remember, it takes a while to build aerobic
capacity and I only have approximately six
months to fit it all in.
A hypertrophy phase will nearly always be based
on a German body composition framework where
an upper body exercise is quickly followed by a
lower body exercise, or non-competing muscle
groups. Working between opposing movements
allows lactate levels to rise but not to do so locally,
 meaning an individual muscle group does not
become overwhelmed and the exercises do not
impede the execution of the other.

The hypertrophy workouts themselves should

be performed four times a week, covering all the
fundamental human movements (locomotion,
hinge, squat, push, pull, rotate, and anti-rotate)
and working the entire body from top to toe.
Here’s a sample workout:

Sample Hypertrophy Workout

Exercise Sets Reps Rest

A1 Trapbar Deadlift 3–4 12 30-60 sec

A2 Turkish Get Up 3–4 1/1 30-60 sec

B1 Chin Up 3–4 12 30-60 sec Sample Explosive Power Workout

B2 Front Elevated 3–4 12/12 30-60 sec Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Split Squats
A1 Trapbar Deadlift 3–4 12 30-60 sec

C1 Bicep Curls 3–4 12 30-60 sec

A2 Turkish Get Up 3–4 1/1 30-60 sec

C2 Triceps Skull 3–4 12 30-60 sec

Crushers
B1 Chin Up 3–4 12 30-60 sec

D1 Battle Ropes 8 rounds 10 sec 20 sec

B2 Front Elevated 3–4 12/12 30-60 sec
Split Squats

Maximum power development is a very different

C1 Bicep Curls 3–4 12 30-60 sec
kettle of fish. I need to build explosive power,
not raw strength like that of a powerlifter.
I have to be able to explode from my C2 Triceps Skull 3–4 12 30-60 sec
snowboard in all directions. Out and out Crushers
strength on one plane of motion simply isn’t
good enough in the mountains so my training D1 Battle Ropes 8 rounds 10 sec 20 sec
plan combines compound strength movements
with plyometrics. Here’s a sample workout:
There’s nothing fancy here. Simple, compound
exercises paired with explosive movements using
all planes of motion. Depth jumps are performed
at the start of the workout, like in any good
plyometric program, as neurologically they are
the most taxing.

69
Phase 2: Aerobic Base Building
& Muscular Endurance
Your success in the mountains is highly reliant
on two key factors, aerobic base and muscular
endurance, and here’s why: The body is highly
dependent on the aerobic system because it
allows the muscles to make maximal use of the
available oxygen supplied. Equally important is
the heart’s ability to deliver sufficient oxygen
to the muscles. This is the difference between
people who can keep going for hours in the
mountains and those who struggle in the
first hour.
Mountain athletes are almost totally reliant on
their aerobic engines at higher altitudes. They
must also carry substantial weight for hours,
making improving muscular endurance very
important for those looking to move faster on
steep terrain. The ability of working muscles to
use the oxygen delivered to them by the heart
is the only limitation when hiking/climbing
steeply. This is of particular importance to me
as I like to hike to find the perfect runs back
country. Forty thousand steps a day is the
norm for me at altitude.
As I’ve covered extensively in my book Maximum
Aerobic Power and previous articles in this
magazine, the true secret to aerobic base
building is volume, volume, volume. There is no
shortcut and it all needs to be done below your
aerobic threshold. This is hours and hours of
training in some cases. For others just starting,
it’s slowly building the volume necessary to
achieve the numbers required for true success.
This article focuses on how I approached my
training for muscular endurance and shares with
you a weekly timetable of how this looked.
We’ve tried many, many variants and to arrive
at some simple solutions we now use with all our
everyday athletes. This stuff really works—and
it works fast. The higher your aerobic capacity
is, the bigger the gains will be from this training.
This is why I continue to beat the aerobic
threshold drum so hard and so often.
70
The best way to increase the muscular training
effect of your workouts is to add resistance
while doing some of your long aerobic workouts,
which can take them from a Zone 2 workout to a
Zone 3. Typically, this involves using a weighted
vest or rucksack but, in my case, it involved
hiking and incline running. The point of adding
the extra weight is to increase the recruitment of
the working muscle’s motor units. Your brain will
increase the mass of muscle recruited as needed
to get the job done, up to the point of maximal
strength. The extra weight causes motor units
that are not well-trained to be called upon to
assist in getting the job done.
During these workouts, you want the limitation
to be your muscles and not your lungs. A great
gauge we use is that you should be able to carry
on a conversation while your legs are burning.
The effort should feel sustainable but just barely
so, as in if you went any harder your legs would
give out in a few seconds.
The intensity of this type of workout requires
that you adjust the steepness of the hill and the
weight on your back. It will take some doing and
everyone is different, how much weight depends
on your level of fitness. In general terms, I start
with five to ten percent of your bodyweight and
slowly progress to up to 30 percent over time.
Here’s what a sample training week looks like
when combining strength with a heavy emphasis
on aerobic capacity and muscular endurance:
Day 1: Aerobic Trail Run: 1 to 2 hours
Day 2: Gym, Strength Focus
Day 3: Weighted Trail Run: 1 hour
Day 4: Gym, Strength Focus
Day 5: Aerobic Trail Run: 1 to 2 hours
Day 6: Weighted Hike/Run: 2 hours
Day 7: Aerobic Trail Run: 2 to 3 hours
Phase 3: Aerobic Power and Armour Building
Out of all three phases, the most intense takes
place leading up to the season, stopping a couple
of weeks short to allow me to recover before I
hit the season hard. Training the aerobic power
zone is an incredibly important aspect of training
the cardiovascular system. It bridges the gap
between the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds,
and is the gateway to anaerobic training
performance. This is the three minute aerobic
power zone needed for my snowboarding runs.

Aerobic power work needs to take place after

aerobic base work. You need to have the base
and volume behind you to allow you to recover
fast enough for these types of workouts. It’s
about flirting with your anaerobic threshold and
making sure the work that you do is repeatable
in nature. This is why I love the Concept 2 rower
for these types of workouts, as the numbers on
the machine hold you accountable.

Over the years, and again through trial and

error, I found this phase is a great time for
skiers and snowboarders to incorporate
armor building exercises, a phrase I first
learned from Dan John who uses it with his
American footballers. You see, I put skiing
and snowboarding very much in the collision
sport categories. One of the hardest things to
do is prepare for the collisions you’re going to
experience during a ski season or holiday. Trust
me, you’ll fall a lot, and sometimes hard.
Basically, there are some exercises that
can make you feel like you have armor with
movements that gear you up for collisions. I
put burpees, Turkish get ups, Zercher squats,
and double kettlebell cleans and front squats
heavily in this category.
There are many moving parts in this phase but
there is one workout that gets repeated two or
three times each week for volume that gets me
battle ready:
• Row 250m
• Double Kettlebell Clean x 15 reps
• Burpee x 25
• Double Kettlebell Clean x 15 reps
• Row 250m
It can be brutal but the important part is to start
off slow and gradually get faster and increase the
volume over the weeks leading up to the season.
I performed the workout above, resting the
same amount of time it took me to complete
it after each round (1:1 work rest ratio), and
repeated for three to five rounds. The plan is
to gradually increase for six to ten rounds over
the coming weeks, making sure to get faster
and faster each time.
Lessons You Can Learn from Me
Mountain athletes need a big aerobic base and
solid platform of muscular endurance, and it’s
critical to have the pre-requisite strength and
movement capacity beforehand. If you’re not
strong enough or aerobically fit enough, you
simply will not make the most out of your winter
season. This phased plan allows me to develop a
foundation of strength and a good aerobic base
full of muscular endurance. As I get closer to the
season, I transition to shorter, sharper armor-
building pieces. This makes me bullet proof on
the mountain. I can’t wait to get back out there
this season to try for 1,000 miles.

71
Breathing Space

The fight is won

or lost far away
from witnesses,
behind the lines, in
the gym, and out
there on the road,
long before I dance
under those lights.
– Muhammad Ali

Mike Whiddett © Graemme Murray, Red Bull72

Content Pool
73
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets
to Their
Success:
Rebecca
Wilson

74
When a person makes a commitment to
exercise and weight loss, what is it that
helps them stay motivated? Rebecca’s
journey sheds light on this elusive factor.
We asked Rebecca about her athletic
background and what initially drew her to
Strength Matters. “I was from a family of
active people, particularly my father. He was
a softball coach and a runner. So, I dabbled in
softball, hiking, and track when I was younger,
but I can’t say I came from a sustained athletic
background.”
“When I turned thirty, I noticed some
changes. I had become heavier, especially
since having a baby at 29. I think I’ve always
feared becoming that heavy-set older mom,
so I wanted to take steps to prevent that from
becoming a reality.”
Rebecca gradually became more conscious of
her weight and how it could impact her health
over time. “I would look at family photos and
worry. I think it took taking a bad picture for
me to want to make a change. I remember
the picture; it was taken soon after I gave
birth. I looked a bit chunky and it was quite
unflattering.”
“I remember feeling generally uncomfortable
with my body image. I also needed to get my
eating habits under control.”
“After reading a magazine article about
Ben Philip’s Body for Life program, I decided
to give it a try with my husband. We both
finished, which gave us a taste for fitness.”
While Rebecca now understood the value of
exercise, the struggle was staying motivated and
finding workouts that fit her lifestyle. They also
needed to hold her attention.
“Over time I tried all sorts of crazy things.
I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted
on fitness equipment I’ve never really used.
I tried precision nutrition to dial in my eating
habits. I lifted weights. I tried other online
consultation services. But I always went up
and down on the scale. I needed something
I felt motivated to stick to.”
“I became aware of Strength Matters in 2018
and reached out to James. Before that, I had
been a bit lost and unsure. He asked all the
right questions, and I knew that this was what
I had been looking for. I was assigned Josh as
my trainer and he’s been so patient. I’ve now
been training with him for three years.”
“We went back to basics, and focused on
flexibility and movement. I’m not a very
flexible person. I confess I’m quite tightly
wound, but I like to stay active. I’ve worked
on my shoulders, hips, and other areas that
impact overall mobility.”
Rebecca told us about her motivation and what
it is that keeps her focused on fitness. “I don’t
think I know what the magic bullet was for me or
what it could be for anyone else. It still amazes
me that I’ve stuck with it. For me, the small wins
are big wins, and reminding myself of this helps
keep me motivated.”
“Another thing that helps my motivation is
doing it alongside my husband. It adds that
layer of support and some competitiveness.
We help each other, but I also want to catch
up to him and be better! I’m still carrying a
bit of fat but I’m now in the best shape of
my life.”
While Rebecca’s story is one of success, it
hasn’t been without its challenges, especially
when it comes to balancing her fitness with her
professional life. Rebecca often finds it difficult
to fit her workout sessions into the day without
compromising on sleep or other important
aspects of the day.
“Blending the two together has been hard.
It still is, if I’m being honest. I think this
is what causes a lot of people to give up
on fitness. I’d get up at 4am to exercise
because I’m too tired to do it in the evening
after work.”
75

“This got old quickly, and I got burned out.
I was fitting in my exercise time but it was
detrimental to my sleep. I need around eight
and a half hours each night to be well-rested,
so this wasn’t sustainable.”
“The lack of sleep also made me stressed at
work. Or if I missed a workout to get enough
sleep, I’d be stressed all day trying to find a
way to fit in that missed workout session.
I needed to find a balance. My compromise
was fitting in workouts during my lunch
breaks but it isn’t always possible in a job
like mine.”
Rebecca went on to tell us about how her life
has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
And how, despite the challenges, she was able
to take control of her exercise regimen.
“Working from home has helped me find time
for my fitness obligations. I have a home gym
which I’ve been able to use much more often
than before. I also leave the house on nice
days and exercise outside.”
76
“I used to travel a lot before the pandemic,
which inevitably led me to eat out quite
frequently. Being at home more has reduced
not only the temptation but the need. You see,
you can’t always control what food is on
offer when you’re away from home. You’re
tired from work and travel, so it’s sometimes
easier to eat whatever is convenient. But now,
this is no longer an issue.”
Another way Rebecca has kept herself active
during lockdown is by walking her dogs. This has
enabled her to combine fitness with leisure on
her rest days.
“I have a Labrador retriever and, more
recently, a Great Pyrenees. Both need lots
of exercise; when you have large dogs, you
really don’t get a choice. I have to walk them
on days when I’m not planning a workout.
My daughter sometimes joins us on walks.
It’s great to find new and enjoyable ways
to stay active.”
Finally, we asked Rebecca if she would
recommend Strength Matters and what she
values most about the program. “I’ve learned
that there are lots of ways to be active. Far more
than I thought. The guys keep it interesting too
and focused on the things you enjoy most. This
way, you’ll want to do it again. In time you’ll see
the results, and this is so rewarding.”
“There are many creative ways to be healthy
and Strength Matters will help you find them.
Sometimes it’s just the simple things. For
example, I wasn’t aware that walking was
such a valuable form of exercise, especially
as a way to move and burn calories. I’ve
honestly found a new respect for walking.”
“But you can be as ambitious or as cautious
as you need to be. I think Strength Matters
are really good at meeting people where they
are. They aren’t going to throw you right into
CrossFit! Well, they will get you there if you
want, but they help you get back to basics,
which is great for those who may be intimidated
at first. I certainly was, but not for long.”
77
Case Study

How to Come
Back from a
Lower Back
Injury Stronger
Than Ever
Words: James Breese

78
Lower back pain sucks. No better word describes
it. For those who have suffered from it in the past,
or are suffering from it today, you know. Nothing
strikes the fear of God into everyday athletes quite
like a twinge in their lower back. I know only too
well. Constant lower back pain in my mid-twenties
was what led me to become a fitness professional.
It took me five years (five years too long!) to
discover what was the root cause of my issues.
It’s estimated that up to 80 percent of the
world’s population will experience back pain
at some point in their lives. What’s even
scarier is that back pain is the single leading
cause of disability, preventing many people
from engaging in work as well as simple daily
activities. In the United States, it accounts for
more than 264 million lost work days in a single
year—that’s two work days for every full-time
worker. It’s the third most common reason for
visits to the doctor’s office, behind skin issues
and osteoarthritis/joint disorders. And the
health care cost to Americans alone is at least
$50 billion each year —add in lost wages and
decreased productivity and that figure easily
rises to more than $100 billion. Now imagine
what the cost is on a global scale.
Back pain is not going away anytime soon.
The chronic pain treatment market globally is
expected to reach a staggering value of $151.7
billion by 2030, up from $77.8 billion in 2019. And
you can bet more companies are going to jump
on the bandwagon to sell you the latest hocus
pocus cure. You’re probably targeted on social
media by companies every single day if you
suffer from it. As I was researching this article,
Google and Facebook knew what I was doing –
I’m still being bombarded with advertisements
on my timeline!
People seeking solutions for back pain can often
lose sight of everything else around them. They
can’t see the forest for the trees, and they keep
jumping from device to device or pill to pill in
hopes of a miracle. The reality is, back pain
success stories share common elements but
every story is unique to each body involved.
Getting out of back pain is hard. Period.
This leads me to this month’s case study,
or studies really. We’re doing things a little
differently this month because, over the years,
we’ve worked with so many people suffering
from back pain. I’m going to share what we look
for in the initial assessments and the three phase
system we apply to help them get on the road to
recovery.
Now, it’s important to reiterate that we’re not
medical professionals. Anyone who suffers from
back pain needs to speak to and get checked
out by a medical professional before attempting
anything I mention here. The advice below is
for people who have been told by their medical
professional that it is safe to resume training.
When people come to us with a history of back
pain, we always put them through the Strength
Matters Assessments. More often than not, the
issues are muscular, not skeletal. Because of this,
there are certain scores we looking out for:
The Breath Step Test: Less than 20 steps
Zenith Twist Test: No (both sides)
Rotary Stability: No (both sides)
External Hip Rotation: No (both sides)
Internal Hip Rotation: No (both sides)
Glute Bridge Test (2 minutes): No
Straight Arm Plank (2 minutes): No
Why do we use these particular assessments?
Because breathing, rotational ability throughout
the body, and strength are key to keeping your
lower back supported.
First, most people have dysfunctional breathing
patterns where the lungs and chest work too
much, and the diaphragm not enough, leaving
your core weak and underused. This leads to
poor performance, health, and back pain. It’s
that important!
Second, rotational ability and stability are key
to injury prevention. Due to our more sedentary
modern lifestyles, humans tend to have a
thoracic spine that is completely locked down.
They can’t rotate left or right. They have the
turning radius of an oil tanker. Your thoracic
79

spine is the middle section of your vertebra
between your neck and lower back. Thoracic
mobility is essential to remain pain-free not
only for sports but also in day-to-day life. Poor
movement in this area can lead to complications
in the back, neck, hips, and knees.
When your thoracic spine is stiff, you will
not have rotary stability. Rotary stability is
the ability to control rotational forces during
activities like throwing, swinging, striking,
kicking, and sprinting. Stability is needed to
resist rotation through the torso during arm and
leg movements. Rotary stability works the soft,
inner core and is what allows for proper motor
control during complex movement patterns.
When you put poor thoracic mobility and poor
rotary stability together, they equal huge lower
back injury potential.
Then there’s hip rotation. Evidence supports
the relation of deficits in hip rotation to both
lower back pain and SI joint pain. The loss of
this internal rotation leads to an increased risk
of injury. And finally, we have good old basic
strength. People are simply not strong enough
in their abs and glutes to ensure their backs are
protected. Throw all these things together and
it’s a recipe for disaster. It’s the perfect storm for
back pain.
80
So how do we go about addressing these
deficiencies? We usually attack it in three phases.
Phase 1: Dysfunctional Breathing
Better breathing is the gateway to a whole
new level of health and wellness. With better
breathing comes improved oxygenation of the
heart, brain, and other working muscles of the
body. It helps your body work more efficiently,
helping to set up the right conditions for
successful fat loss and weight maintenance.
Most people in Western society are terrible
breathers, also known as mouth breathers.
Mouth breathing can reduce the amount of
oxygen that reaches vital organs and muscles,
thus decreasing your quality of life and ability to
perform physically and lose body fat.
Mouth breathing is also a strong indicator that
your diaphragm isn’t functioning as Mother
Nature intended it to. Numerous research articles
note that patients with low back pain also display
faulty breathing patterns. Labored breathing tells
us you very likely have an underlying stability
problem and compromised intraabdominal
pressure. This leads to the inner core becoming
dysfunctional. As the stabilizers in your lower
back and core become inhibited, you increase
the risk of injury to your lower back.
As Perry Nickelston advises, stop respiring
from your neck and your chest because it’s
killing your back. Respiration and breathing
are not the same thing. Respiration everybody
does or you would be dead. Breathing takes
conscious attention and effort. Mindful
breathing helps with spinal stabilization. The
diaphragm, pelvic floor, transverse abdominis,
and multifidi keep you braced and safe.
They form what’s known as the intrinsic core. If
you don’t own this support cylinder, you don’t own
stability. If you have a back pain issue, you can
guarantee that this system needs work. Start to
learn to breathe through your nose and from your
belly, your back, and the ribs. Imagine inflating a
balloon 360 degrees. Don’t just inflate the front of
the balloon (the belly), inflate the whole thing.
Breathing is the first area we address as it’s
the area that can have the greatest carry over
to other parts of your body. You’ll be amazed
at how thoracic mobility and hip mobility
improves as a result, not to mention your overall
endurance capacity. If you have a bad back, look
at your breathing patterns.
Phase 2: Thoracic Mobility and Rotary Stability
When the thoracic spine is operating optimally,
it allows you to move in basically all directions.
It’s what allows you to safely execute all the
movements you use in everyday activities. A
lack of thoracic spine mobility means that the
lumbar spine, pelvis, shoulders, and surrounding
muscles all have to compensate to allow you to
move how you want to move.
If you’re lacking thoracic spine mobility, the
injury risk for the lumbar spine, the part of your
spine in your lower back, is especially high. The
lumbar spine is meant to keep us stable and is
not meant to move much at all. When the lumbar
spine is forced to become mobile, it places a
ton of pressure on the discs in your lower back.
The possible consequences are inflammation,
degeneration, or herniation of the discs;
generalized low-back pain; compression fractures;
muscle spasms; and spinal nerve injuries.
When the hips or thoracic spine lose mobility
– excessive movement occurs at the low back. 
While the thoracic spine and hips are built for
mobility, the low back needs stability. Address
both these needs and you set yourself up for
long-term success.
Phase 3: Getting Your Abs and Glutes Stronger
After we’ve addressed poor breathing
mechanics, thoracic mobility, and rotary stability,
we start to look at ab and glute strength. Dr.
Stuart McGill notes that when referring to
low back stability, one needs to emphasize
endurance rather than strength training. As
counterintuitive as it may sound, most people
with chronic lower back pain do, in fact, have
strong lower backs. The reason why they’re
so jacked up all the time is that they use their
lumbar spine too much and lack the proper spinal
stability to control the end range of motion.

All in all, it’s pretty darn important. So, after

addressing dysfunctional breathing patterns, we
go after thoracic mobility and combine it with
improving rotary stability.

The purpose of rotary stability work is to train

the body to stabilize the spine and rotate
the hips and trunk together as one segment
rather than allow for unwanted, uncontrolled
movement. Most people with lower back pain
will need to enhance their rotary stability. If
they can’t perform simple exercises like bird
dogs, they have no business performing more
advanced exercises.

For example, runners need to prevent rotation

during forward movement and golfers need
to rotate through the thoracic spine while
stabilizing the low back (preventing rotation).

81

This is why so many people with low back fail
the two minute plank test. They lack the basic
core endurance needed to support their lumbar
spine. This doesn’t mean we start doing endless
amounts of planks. We need to do core training
that encourages abdominal muscle contraction
and bracing functionally, such as dead bugs and
side planks.
Whilst we’re getting the core back online, we
also look at the backside of the body – the
glutes. Potential strength is always there, but the
brain won’t give it to you if it feels vulnerable. It
inhibits muscular power and activation to protect
the body. We see this time after time with lower
back pain clients. When the glutes don’t fire up,
the entire body suffers.
Inhibited glutes decrease hip mobility. When
you lose hip mobility, you force your lower back
to move. Your back then hurts because it’s
overworking. Hips don’t stop moving unless they
are trying to make you stable. If the glutes are
82
inhibited, you don’t own stability. The hips lock
up to provide you with that stability. Further,
hip mobility without activated glutes won’t do
anything for you because your body won’t be
able to control that range of motion.
Then you have the psoas muscles. The psoas is
the functional opposite of the glutes; it flexes the
hip and the glutes extend it. The psoas anterior
tilts your pelvis and the glutes posterior tilt it.
If the glutes are inhibited, the psoas kicks in
to stabilize the lower back. If you have a tight
psoas, deactivated glutes are always a player.
It’s a complex process, but a strong core and
fully firing glutes make everything better and
help to bulletproof your back long-term. My
back pain was “cured” when I discovered I had
tight psoas muscles, weak glutes, and a terrible
core. The rest is history.
Closing Thoughts
When coming back from lower back pain, most
people want to jump straight in before they’re
ready. One thing we ask everyday athletes
looking to return to training after lower back
pain is to ask themselves, “Am I ready for this?”
If you start training again but don’t have the
fundamentals of breathing, thoracic mobility,
hip mobility, rotary stability, and abs and glutes
strength nailed down, you will not be able to
maximize your results or stay out of pain long-term.
Without strength and mobility, you will likely end
up re-injured and even further from your goals.
After all the years of work we’ve done helping
people over thirty lose weight, get stronger, and
live better, the main lesson we have learned is
that it pays to take your time in the beginning.
It’s better to be the tortoise than the hare in the
race against back pain.
Living with back pain is debilitating. I know from
personal experience. I wish you all the very
best on your journey of recovery but please
remember: Always, always speak to a medical
professional first before returning to training.
Dr. Google can only take you so far.
83
Breathing Space

grit
[gr-it]noun
to have the drive,
stamina and
determination to
push through any
challenge or obstacle
thrown your way until
you succeed.

84
Finn Iles © Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
85
Case Study

Couch to 5k
for Everyday
Athletes: A
Better Way
Words: James Breese

86
The infamous “Couch to 5K” is a free running
program that takes millions of people each year
from their couch to running a five kilometer
(5km) race in nine weeks. First proposed by
Josh Clark back in the mid 90s, it has since been
written about by every running blog out there. It
was even adopted by the National Health Service
(NHS) in the United Kingdom as a free and easy
way to get fitter and healthier. It is still one of the
most downloaded podcasts every week.
The original Couch to 5K plan used interval
training as its primary training method. The
argument being that by varying your pacing,
your body is forced to adapt to different speeds
and your heart and lungs have to adapt to
various levels of strenuous activity all of which
get stronger/healthier as a consequence. Clark’s
idea was that this would better prepare people
for a race than training at a constant speed.
Over the weeks, Couch to 5K slowly increases
the amount of time you spend running and cuts
back the time you spend walking until you’re
at the point where you can run 5km without
stopping.
But why is this program so popular? Well, for
starters, it’s simple, clear, and free. Listen to a
podcast, download a pdf, lace up your shoes,
follow the instructions, and step out the door.
Repeat. There’s no barrier to entry.
Beginners equate running with weight loss, even
though it usually isn’t the best or fastest path
to weight loss success. Most people who are
new to fitness are overwhelmed at where they
should start and how they should train. It’s so
much easier to lace up your shoes and step out
the door than joining a gym or hiring a fancy
new trainer.
I think Couch to 5K appeals to people who
are overwhelmed at the idea of doing P90X,
that insanely popular HIIT workout series, or
mustering up the courage to go to a Crossfit
gym. It makes people think “maybe I can actually
do this…” which is the most important part of any
fitness journey – just starting.
I’m all for people running; I love running myself.
For the right person at the right time, there are
5km runs every weekend which offers a fun
activity to do as a group with friends. Humans
are hard-wired for achievements, progress, and
gratification – 5km races are perfectly designed
for that. By completing Couch to 5K, you train
and see yourself progress weekly, you finish a
race and feel a sense of accomplishment, and
you go home with a medal you can hang on your
wall reminding you of the proud moment.
However, as good as the concept of Couch
to 5K is, over the years I have seen so many
everyday athletes attempt this challenge and
fail to complete it due to injury or burnout.
For every success story I see, I guarantee there
are another ten people who’ve attempted and
failed to reach the goal.
Moreover, I see beginners who complete this
challenge and, by the end of it, decide to hang up
their running shoes for good. They have so much
disdain towards running that they never want to
do it again. They equate running and weight loss
with pain and misery and that’s the last thing we
want beginners to feel when working towards a
health or weight loss goal.
The original plan was written in the 1990s –
that’s almost 30 years ago. Times change, and
fitness has moved on. I believe we need to
adopt a better, smarter approach to the Couch
to 5K challenge.
Just because you want to run doesn’t mean
you should start running just yet. It could put
you on the fast track to injury, disappointment,
and misery.
Ask yourself, “Am I physically ready to run?”
If you are obese or very overweight, I think
walking 5km is a great goal for the immediate
future. Running prematurely without
addressing your weight might cause damage
to your joints and ligaments. Instead, focus
on healthy eating, building the habit of daily
walks, and follow a beginner strength training
routine.
87

This will give you a solid foundation of strength
and endurance. As you begin to drop weight, a
lot of the stress on your joints, organs, bones,
etc., will decrease. As you strength train, the
ligaments that hold your body together will
become stronger and more adequately prepared
for the rigors of running.
This leads me to this month’s case study,
Katherine Edwards, who came to us wanting to
run her first 5K race. A rather unique case, as she
had already followed an amazingly successful
weight loss program all by herself. Here’s how we
approached her 5K training plan by building her up
to 10km with slow and steady effort.
Case Study:
Name: Katherine Edwards
Age: 32
Country: Wales
Running Program: 5 months
Best Run Before: 3km with an average
heart rate of 164bpm over 30 minutes
Best Run After: 10km with an average heart
rate of 153bpm over 1 hour 20 minutes
What makes Katherine’s story so unique is that
before working with us she had lost an incredible
28kg (62lbs). She started at over 88kg (194lbs)
and now weighs a cool 60kg (132lbs).
88
An impressive feat which she managed through
a self-guided nutrition plan, walking more, and
following some online workouts sporadically.
What makes her even more unique is, when she
took the Strength Matters assessments, she
passed all the mobility tests with ease and was
quite literally a balance ninja. Her weight was
within a healthy range and her waist-to-height
ratio came in at a comfortable 0.44. Healthy, but
not necessarily fit.
In terms of fitness, Katherine was a complete
beginner. She had never done a specific
strength training or targeted mobility plan in
the past, but she could pass all the basic core
grip, hanging, and glute strength tests in the
Layer 2.1 assessments. So, in addition to the
running strategy I’m going to outline below, we
introduced a three day a week strength training
plan that covered all the fundamental human
movements and had a muscular endurance focus
(ideal for beginners).
Phase 1: A Change of Mindset
Right at the start, we had an honest conversation
about her running and what she was doing at
present. She was already running two to three
times a week trying to complete a 3km running
route as fast as she possibly could every time
she ran. As a former high performing musician,
she was adopting the typical “must try harder”
approach, common amongst the vast majority of
newbies to the world of health and fitness.
In the vocabulary of a runner, patience is a dirty
word. Runners, in particular new runners, always
want to go faster for more miles, and crush their
personal bests every time they run. To be frank:
They want it yesterday.
Unfortunately, their mindset couldn’t be more
wrong. Not only does this way of thinking impact
any short-term goals, thanks to all too frequent
injuries and bouts of overtraining, but it affects
long-term progress as well.
Running newbies need to appreciate and value
the art of patience. This shift in mindset isn’t
easy and it won’t happen overnight. We have to
help convince them that they shouldn’t finish
a workout and feel like they need to puke in a
bucket. Instead, we need to turn them on to
the idea of finishing a workout feeling like they
could have kept going. Which is exactly what we
needed to do with Katherine.
This is a phrase you’ll hear from all coaches
worth his or her salt:
“You should be able to say, after every one of
your workouts, that you could have done one
more rep, one more segment, or one more mile.”
Phase 1 was all about patience with Katherine
and changing her approach to fitness. What
we did was increase her 3km run to 5km, and
adopt a simple walk-run method. She ran for
two minutes then walked for three minutes until
she completed the 5km. By doing this, she felt a
sense of accomplishment by completing more,
whilst at the same time we introduced her to the
idea of patience and slowing down her runs.
and novices with high-end terminology or
technology. In all my years of coaching, using the
KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) is always
best to gradually introduce these concepts.
Fancy terms like the Aerobic Threshold and
Anaerobic Threshold were new to Katherine. It
takes a significant amount of trust on the part
of clients when it comes to heart rate training,
particularly when developing an aerobic base as
we’re essentially introducing the idea of slowing
down at first to run faster in the long run. This
isn’t widely documented, and can be alien to
most, therefore it’s important to introduce it
slowly.
Katherine had a heart rate monitor and so began
her journey of aerobic base building. Building a
great aerobic base is accomplished by training
exclusively aerobically. During this period,

Phase 2: Introducing Heart Rate Training

and the Aerobic Base
Training slow can be considered a sign of
weakness or laziness. However, a successful and
intelligent approach to running as a beginner is
to slow down. Along the way, you’ll get healthier,
prevent injury, and potentially burn more body
fat too.

Traditionally, it is thought that only anaerobic

training—hard, high-intensity work—builds
speed and gets you, fitter, faster. However,
developing the aerobic system first, before
attempting hard work, is a far better way to
go. You get faster without the wear and tear
that often accompanies anaerobic training.
You’re able to recover much faster and, more
importantly, the enjoyment factor goes up
tenfold.

After earning the trust of Katherine, who was

now regularly completing 5km walk-runs, it was
time to introduce her to the benefits of heart
rate training. You can’t bombard beginners

89
anaerobic running workouts should be avoided. distance, we only did it for one training session
Anaerobic activity can impair the aerobic per week and increased it by a very modest 1km.
system; therefore, each workout during aerobic Her path to 10km looked like this:
base training should be only aerobic.
Week 1 Week 6
To keep Katherine’s runs below her aerobic Run 1: 5km @ MAF Run 1: 5km @ MAF
threshold, we used the maximum aerobic Run 2: 5km @ MAF Run 2: 7km @ MAF
function (MAF) formula. To calculate your Run 3: 6km @ MAF Run 3: 8km @ MAF
aerobic threshold, subtract your age from 180
(180 minus age). For Katherine, who is 32 years Week 2 Week 7
old, it was 180 minus 32 = 148. A unique feature Run 1: 5km @ MAF Run 1: 5km @ MAF
of the MAF formula is individualization and Run 2: 6km @ MAF Run 2: 6km @ MAF
simplicity, and that’s why it is our go-to method Run 3: 6km @ MAF Run 3: 9km @ MAF
for training the aerobic threshold.
Week 3 Week 8
The only change we made to Katherine’s running Run 1: 5km @ MAF Run 1: 5km @ MAF
workouts during this phase was to substitute Run 2: 6km @ MAF Run 2: 7km @ MAF
the walk-run with running by heart rate. Her one Run 3: 7km @ MAF Run 3: 9km @ MAF
goal was to run those 5 km runs with her heart
rate below 148, and ideally above 138, ALWAYS. Week 4 Week 9
If it exceeded 148, she was instructed to walk Run 1: 5km @ MAF Run 1: 5km @ MAF
until it was back inside this range. Run 2: 7km @ MAF Run 2: 7km @ MAF
Run 3: 7km @ MAF Run 3: 10km @ MAF
As frustratingly slow as these workouts were for
Katherine, she stuck to the task at hand. As the Week 5
weeks progressed, her 14 minute miles became Run 1: 5km @ MAF
12 minute miles. She was getting faster, and the Run 2: 6km @ MAF
runs continued to get easier. Run 3: 8km @ MAF

Phase 3: Increasing the Distance Safely

After changing Katherine’s mindset on running
and starting to build her aerobic base, we then
slowly increased her weekly volume whilst
continuing to build her aerobic base. There
are many ways to do this. Several experts
recommend the “10% Rule.” The 10% Rule simply
states that you should only increase distance in
increments of 10 percent. So, if you are running
20km this week and want to increase distance
next week, you should only run an additional
2km to stay safe.

It’s a great starting point for more intermediate

everyday athletes but we tend to err on the side
of caution with beginners. For Katherine, we felt
it was more important for her to run consistently
three times a week at a much easier pace than
what she had been used to and just spend time
doing this. When we did decide to increase her

90
In Katherine’s own words, when she finally ran
those 10km, she said, “I felt like I could keep on
running.” In just under five months, Katherine
progressed from feeling like she could never run
5km to running well over 5km multiple times a
week and then finally hitting 10km.
Lessons We Can Learn from Katherine
As a beginner, it’s important to adopt a different
mindset to running. Harder and faster isn’t
better. Slow and steady over the long haul works
every time, as well as understanding it’s ok to
walk. After establishing a good foundation of
movement, balance, and basic strength, the key
to Katherine’s success was running consistently
and building her aerobic base. From there it
was just a simple case of slowly adding volume
without breaking her to set her up for a lifetime
of running success.
Katherine’s Thoughts
“Trying to change my mindset from being faster to
slower was hard for me at the start. I’m naturally
stubborn and I felt the team was holding me back
unnecessarily. It was going against everything
I had ever read or believed in when it came to
training. I felt so slow whilst running, and felt
inferior to others and got frustrated when I saw
people less fit looking than I was pass me as I
stuck to my slow heart rate. But, before Strength
Matters, running felt like a chore; even though
I wanted to do it, I felt I was doing it just for the
sake of it and I didn’t really enjoy running.
That has now completely changed. It took a
while, but it has. I get so much more enjoyment
from running. I’m relaxed and feel at ease with
it. I look forward to my runs and feel refreshed
at the end of each of them, not beat down. I
even feel slightly smug because, even though I’m
going slower, I can see constant improvement.
It’s not every workout (more like every month)
but I see my times getting faster, and the runs
are feeling easier.
In my mind, running 10km at the start was
impossible. I thought I would never get there but,
when I did, I did it with a smile on my face feeling
I could keep running. That feeling was amazing.
It was like I had just run a marathon. It was great.
I can’t thank the team enough for their help and
it’s amazing the progress I’ve made. With a bit of
patience, maybe one day I will run that marathon!”
Katherine Edwards, everyday athlete.
91
Breathing Space

Feel the mountain

and let it show you
how you’re going
to ski it. Relax and
cruise. This isn’t a
fight, it’s a dance,
and the mountain
always leads.
– Jim Bowden

92
Markus Keller © Thomas Stöckli / Red Bull Content Pool
93
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets
to Their
Success –
Tom Green
94
Describing himself as “that small but
strong bloke you see at the gym,” Tom
Green has always had a passion for
powerlifting and strength training. As his
life changed over the years, so too did his
fitness priorities.
We started by asking Tom about his athletic
background and how his interest in lifting
weights started. His answer takes us way back.
Tom took part in football and karate when he was
younger, but he enjoyed rugby the most.
“I played rugby to a half-decent level until I
was about 30. I played both Rugby League
and Rugby Union throughout university. But
I needed to stop when work commitments
required me to spend Saturday nights on the
railways.”
of age, that gradual degradation of tissue
we all get, I knew this could become a bigger
concern.”
Tom realized he needed to make some changes
to his fitness regimen, so he started looking
online for something that worked for him.
“I can’t remember exactly how I found
Strength Matters. I think I was just Googling,
looking for a solution as to why I felt so
bad. I remembered that quote about the
definition of insanity. You know, doing the
same thing over and over and expecting
different results. So I knew I had to find
something different.”
Tom eventually reached out to Strength Matters
and started his four-week trial. He told us:

“Playing rugby then going to do a night shift
meant I soon started feeling it. I chose to
knock rugby on the head. After that, the
only thing that kept me interested in staying
active was powerlifting.”
After letting go of rugby, Tom focused his efforts
on strength training in the gym, becoming
incredibly proficient at it. But he also gradually
neglected his mobility.
“The speed at which my conditioning
dropped amazed me. I only took three to four
months off, but it was hard to get back into.
James and Josh asked if I’d consider running.”
Tom’s history with running was troubled, mainly
because it wasn’t something he drew much
enjoyment or benefit from in the past.

“It became lift more, lift more, lift more for

the next seven years. I stayed relatively
mobile because I knew it was important.
But really, power training was my go-to; it
helped keep my training consistent.”

“By the time my wife and I had our second

child, I took a step back from the gym and
just did some basic kettlebell work at home
instead. I continued lifting and moving pretty
well, but I was feeling bad while doing it. This
got progressively worse. In time my entire
body felt terrible.”

“I’ve had a problem with my spine since I was

young. I got it playing rugby when a bigger
boy hit me really hard. It’s been a reoccurring
issue ever since. Couple this with the effects

95
 “To me, running was something you did hard
and fast. Headphones in, music loud; anything
to distract you from the thud of the pavement.
I never liked it and I never considered myself a
runner. A 5k was the longest training run I ever
did and, after it, I felt like my heart was going
to beat out of my chest.”

“I did run a half marathon for charity. Of

course, I was happy to support the charity but,
on a personal level, that run was the worst
thing I ever did in terms of exercise. At the time
I was around thirteen stone, and I didn’t train
that well for it. I promised myself, never again,
always remember you don’t like running.”

“I had bought into the view that we’re only

supposed to sprint and lift heavy things. And
these things I could do. I didn’t want to run for
extended periods but being a dad changed my
outlook on this.”

Tom went on to tell us about how his philosophy
towards fitness changed, mainly due to his desire
to keep up with his children as they got older. It
was essential to find cardio that worked for him.
“Both my kids are going to want to play with
me as they get older. Be it down the park, a
sport, or something that’s going to involve
me cantering around with them. I’m going to
need to keep up with them. I was afraid that,
though I may look the part from all my heavy
lifting, I’d keel over if I ran for an extended
period of time!”
“I’ll be 50 when they’re teenagers, so I need
to put the work in now. I’m very conscious of
the example I set for my children. I’m a big
believer in ‘actions speak louder than words.’
I want my kids to see me do something, not
just hear it from me.”
“I’m proud of myself for being able to deadlift
220 kilos. Some of the bigger guys in the gym
aren’t lifting that much. But what’s it actually
giving me? What’s the tangible benefit? As
I started asking myself this question, I also
stumbled upon Strength Matters, so the stars
kind of aligned.”
“After my first month with Strength Matters,
that first 20 minute run felt lovely. I still had
a few mobility issues, but I felt good. After a
few runs, my body was shouting at me again.
So we did a few recovery techniques, which
was a nice change of pace. In time, I worked
up to an hour long run. Now, a light morning
run helps set my positive mental state for the
day. I actually enjoy it.”
We asked Tom about where he is now and his
plans going forward. He said:

Tom also questioned his lifting habits and what “I’m still not interested in being a ‘runner’;
the health benefits were without enough mobility that’s never going to be my thing. But I want
exercise. to be able to run. I want to be strong, but I’m

96
 not bothered about being a ‘lifter.’ I no longer
have any interest in these labels. I just want
an all-round level of fitness and conditioning,
and one I can maintain. This became my
focus with Josh, and I’m in better shape now
than I was 12 months ago.”

“The work with Strength Matters has been

about helping me become a more functional
human and a more competent animal. The
tricky bit for me has always been working on
my weaknesses, so I focused on the things
I was good at. But that’s where Strength
Matters comes in, to help fill in those gaps.”

“I’ve not got time to be devising my own

training programs. Working with Josh takes
some of the thinking away from me, which
is good. I still get feedback like I’m with a
personal trainer, but he’s also helped me
understand my own body more.”

Finally, we asked Tom his thoughts on Strength

Matters and what he’d say to anyone else
considering joining the program.

“It’s not a magic bullet, but I’ve kept the faith

because of Josh’s reaction to my changing
needs. If I reflect on where I was, then I can
see the progress. It’s subtle, but it’s evident.
I’ve developed a lot of tools through the
program that help me.”

“It’s not about an instant result. All of a

sudden you think, wow that was easy, I can’t
believe I did that without it bothering me. It’s
about those little incremental improvements.
Helps you to progress without the wheels
falling off.”

“I’m 18 months in, and I don’t necessarily

see an end to it. We’ll see what happens.
We’re going with a long-term approach. My
program can alter as my life does. It works
well for me, and I’m enjoying it.”

97
Case Study

How to Build
Your Strength
Battery from
Scratch
Words: James Breese

98
We’ve talked a lot this month about the
importance of the strength battery, so how
do you go about building it? I’ll be honest, it’s
something I hadn’t considered or even thought
of for a good portion of my training but the
more I dived into the world of elite CrossFit,
yes, CrossFit, the more I realized it’s something
that will not just have a huge carry over to elite
athletes, but everyday athletes too. Improving
your strength battery will have significant carry
over to everything you do in life.
Who doesn’t want to have more energy
throughout the day? Who doesn’t want to be able
to fit in fun activities and still have enough energy
to hang out with family and friends and do all
the tasks life requires of you? You see, improving
your strength battery will have a direct impact
on everything that you do. It’s not just for elite
athletes. The problem is, it takes time and patience
to get there and to do it well. Not something most
of us are blessed with, unfortunately.
The goal with battery work is maximum physical
expression for as long as possible, and for it to be
as repeatable as possible. The only way to achieve
this is through a layered approach to training, and
not by approaching it with a survivalist mentality.
By layered we mean good, solid metabolic work
in conjunction with foundational strength and
aerobic training that leads to long-term positive
adaptations. Survivalist means you feel like you
barely survive each workout. The survivalist
approach does not lead to long-term growth; it
becomes adrenaline work.
Adrenaline work is a term used to describe
training that resembles taxing cardio or strength
work but actually engages your stress response
(adrenaline) to get through each workout. When
we use this approach over and over, the result is
longer recovery times between training sessions
and a sort of addiction to this type of training—
this hit of adrenaline and stress becomes what
they need to function day-to-day.
I often hear people say, ”I have to get my
workout in, or it’s like the day never happened.”
Their basically saying they need a hit of
adrenaline to keep them mentally acute; very
much like that of a junkie taking their daily shot
of heroin. From this poor base of support, you
see these individuals searching for harder and
longer workouts, louder music, extreme pre-
workout supplements, better equipment, etc.
In short, anything that gives them that hit of
adrenaline to survive the workout and the rest of
their day.
Common signs that people are doing adrenaline
work over metabolic work include poor skin tone
and drawn eyes and, in repeatable workouts,
they’ll suffer and perform poorly towards the end.
Drawing upon adrenaline for a workout cannot be
sustained and that’s why it’s imperative to follow
a set process that leads to metabolic work when
developing the strength battery.
This leads me to this month’s case study: Dave
Rogers, who came to us wanting to improve his
overall athletic performance and, in particular,
competing in local CrossFit events. Dave was
already strong and had been training for several
years. The issue was he felt he was stuck in a
rut and needed help to get to the next level.
Dave is a great example of a weekend warrior
and everyday athlete who came to us looking
for help. An accountant by day and full-time
husband and father of two little girls, he was, by
his admission, nowhere near elite but certainly
aspired to improve. Here’s how we approached
his training.
99
Case Study:
Name: Dave Rogers
Age: 39
Country: Wales
Training Program: 9 months
Weight Before: 84kg
Weight After: 75kg
Body Fat % Before: 21%
Body Fat % After: 12%
2000m Row Test Before: 8:52
2000m Row Test After: 7:17
Row 500m x 2 Test Before: 1:51 and 2:49
Row 500m x 2 Test After: 1:31 and 1:52
60-Minute Turkish Get Up Test Before (24kg):
12 Reps
60-Minute Turkish Get Up Test After (24kg):
104 Reps
What made Dave so successful over the nine
months we’ve been working together is his
remarkable consistency. He has never missed a
workout whilst juggling his busy work and family
life, training five sessions per week.
When Dave took the Strength Matters
assessments, he passed all the strength and
mobility tests but what stood out for us more
than anything was his body fat percentage and
100
his 2000m row times. Because of the nature of
his chosen sport (CrossFit), we tested further and
put him through the 500m row test twice, which
is very CrossFit specific. The 500m x 2 has the
athlete performing two max effort 500m rows
with 90 seconds rest between each while staying
on the erg.
For the sport of CrossFit, Dave had an extremely
high body fat percentage. Research indicates
that, when it comes to ideal measurements for
CrossFit athletes, skin caliper measurements
for males should be around eight percent and
10 percent for females. For an athletic sport like
CrossFit, a high body fat percentage equates to
poor performance. This needed to be addressed
and we spoke to Dave about it right at the start.
Additionally, his 2000m row test and 500m row
x 2 test indicated poor aerobic capability. You
can have all the strength in the world, but if you
haven’t got the engine to support it and recover,
you’re not going to get very far in CrossFit.
Contrary to popular belief, aerobic training
does make you stronger. Armed with this
knowledge from the assessments, here’s how we
approached his training.
Phase 1: Fat Loss and Nutrition
Getting lean is paramount to competing in most
athletic endeavors so, starting out, training plans
boil down to one thing: Losing the maximum
amount of body fat. Because of this, your
nutrition strategy becomes paramount. You need
to lose body fat, but not at the expense of your
muscle mass.
What will determine overall weight loss is
something we call energy balance, basically
calories in vs calories out. To lose weight, the
amount of energy you expend each
day will need to exceed the amount of energy
(calories) you consume. That means, first, you
need to determine what your approximate
maintenance calorie intake is. This is the step
most people ignore completely. If you don’t
know how many calories you need to stay at
your current weight, how will you work out what
your ideal calorie deficit will be?
For Dave, determining his maintenance calorie
intake took six weeks, and he dropped a lot of
weight during this time. Tracking calories was
new to him but, as an accountant with a keen
eye for numbers, he enjoyed the challenge.
What we discovered was that Dave was severely
overeating and not consuming enough protein
but way too many carbohydrates. He was
consuming on average 3,100 calories a day with
only 90g of protein. Using some clever math and
the Müller equation, we best guessed Dave’s
maintenance calorie level to be 2,492 and split
his macronutrients up as follows:
Total Calories: 2,492
Carbohydrate: 259g
Protein: 153g
Fat: 94g
Fiber: 37g
While Dave tracked meticulously over six weeks,
he dropped from 84kg to 76kg. Just by going
down to maintenance calories and cutting out
those 600 calories extra a day (2,800 calories a
week) that his body didn’t need, he lost weight
effortlessly. Significant and rapid weight loss like
this isn’t normal, but he had been overeating
for years. He maintained a steady 76kg for
another three weeks after that, which gave me
confidence in knowing that 2,492 calories were
roughly his maintenance level.
For those who have read my book Maximum
Aerobic Power, you’ll know that the key to
building aerobic capacity is volume, volume, and
more volume of sub-aerobic threshold training
to improve your efficiency. There’s no easy way
around this. In all credit to Dave, he put the hard
yards in here and stuck to the task at hand, even
though he was a little skeptical at first.
Dave had ACL surgery a few years ago, so we
decided running was not the best option for him
here. Instead, we approached his training with a
mixed modal mindset, combining regular strength
work with sub aerobic threshold work. The rower,
eventually, become Dave’s best friend (he hated
it at first), even after taking into consideration all
the equipment he had available to him
He trained five days a week and his weekly
volume on the rower increased from 5,000m to
20,000m over 12 weeks. We calculated his

His workouts were fat loss based at this stage

too but we didn’t need to focus on calorie
deficit at any stage. The key was determining
his maintenance level after discovering he was
vastly over-consuming, like most men over
thirty do.

Phase 2: Aerobic Capacity

Dave had great mobility and a solid base of
strength behind him. After addressing his
body fat percentage, it was time to address his
aerobic capacity. Dave had never done much
cardio; he thought cardio was the devil and
that it was going to destroy his hard-earned
work in the gym. We had to have an honest
conversation and explain to him that wasn’t
the case.

101
aerobic pace for 500m to be 2:25 (we took it
from his 2,000m row test) and we asked him
to do lots of 500m and 1000m repeats at this
pace. Volume at low intensity is key. It was easy,
repeatable, and sustainable work that NEVER
left Dave tired or unable to continue his day. He
became more efficient on the rower and, as his
aerobic capacity improved, we increased his
pace to 2:15 per 500m.
Here is an example of one of the workouts Dave
performed during this time:
45 Minute Workout:
1. Row 1000m @ 2:15/500m Pace
2. 8 x Trapbar Deadlift @ 60% 1RM
3. 1/1 Turkish Get Up @ 16k
Repeat. No Rest.
Phase 3: Strength Battery Work
After a lot of hard work building up his aerobic
capacity and dialing down his calorie intake, we
finally got to a stage where we could work on
CrossFit-specific training for Dave. One of the
best ways we have found to train the strength
battery is through every minute-on-the-minute
(EMOM) sessions.
The challenge I had though was to ensure I didn’t
overload his nervous system with the training
volume or the weights lifted. Repeatability and
sustainability of the workout were key, so I was
essentially turning the strength workout into an
aerobic workout.
We never went above 70 percent of the total
weight he could lift or the number of reps he
could do, and again built up the volume during
a given time frame. Here’s what his deadlift
workout looked like:
Deadlift: 10 minutes EMOM, 2 reps @70% max
(eventually progressed to 7 reps)
After hitting seven reps, we dropped the volume
back down to two reps, but increased the time
to 15 minutes. We repeated the whole process,
and then bumped the duration up to 20 minutes.
By the end of this training block, Dave was
102
performing 140 deadlifts in 20 minutes that were
easy, sustainable, and repeatable.
Dave was always in his comfort zone. As his work
capacity improved, so too did his ability
to recover faster. The results? Not only was he
deadlifting for longer and recovering faster, but
his deadlift went from a max effort of 380lbs to
420lbs in just under 12 weeks. And he didn’t even
pull more than 70 percent during that entire time.
Another EMOM favorite for Dave included the
Turkish Get Up. We started with the following:
Turkish Get Up: 10 minutes EMOM, 1 rep @ 24kg
As the weeks went by, we increased the time to a
period of 45 minutes. This time-lapse was
about building capacity slowly and keeping him
from overloading his system to support some
slightly heavier workouts in the week. Once
we hit the 45 minute mark, we dropped back
down to 10 minutes and repeated the effort with
two reps on the minute. Volume first, then we
increase density.
Lessons You Can Learn from Dave
Aerobic capacity and low body fat percentage
are key to performing well at athletic events.
They also happen to be cornerstones of health
and well-being. High intensity, hard workouts
can provide results for a short period but they
are not sustainable. If you’re starting an exercise
program but don’t have fundamental nutrition
and aerobic capacity nailed down, you will not
be able to maximize your results or improve
long-term health. All the research I’ve done
over the years indicates that aerobic fitness is a
great way to improve your CrossFit training and
improve your strength battery, but most people
misinterpret the meaning of aerobic work.
CrossFit isn’t always about hard, all-out
workouts—it means long, slow effort that builds
gradually over time. If you’re struggling with
your high intensity workouts, it might be time
to re-evaluate your current training plan. Maybe
you need to dial it back a notch and focus on
long, slow work to build your capacity and
tolerance. You’ll be amazed where it gets you.
103
104
 This is the
first time
I’ve really
felt part of
a fitness
tribe.
John Withinshaw,
Everyday Athlete.

Train Anywhere.
Achieve More.

We remove the shackles of

working out in one location.
Train any time with the
equipment that’s available
to you. Your coach goes
with you in your pocket and
adapts accordingly, 24/7.

You’ll be amazed at how

much more you can achieve
when working with a Strength
Matters coach. Start your
coaching journey today.Visit
www.strengthmatters.com.

105
Case Study

Client Case
Study: How to
Snatch Heavier
Kettlebells
Words: James Breese

106
Heavy snatches are the ultimate expression of
power in the world of kettlebells. To snatch a
heavy kettlebell, you first need to have a base
of thousands of heavy swings under your belt.
Unlike a swing, a snatch requires a greater
emphasis on technique, grip strength, and grip
endurance because your hand must be able to
decelerate and change the trajectory of a large
chunk of metal that is moving at freefall velocity.
A lot of people gravitate towards wanting to
perform kettlebell snatches before mastering
the kettlebell swing. I see it time and time again:
People want to fast track their way to snatching
heavy kettlebells as they pursue the elusive
five minute kettlebell snatch test. Or, having
completed it with their testing kettlebell, they
want to go up in weight immediately. But this is a
recipe for disaster.
Trust me on this when I say I have seen more
people blow their shoulders and ruin their
elbows permanently in the pursuit of training
heavy kettlebell snatches than any other training
exercise in my professional career.
It is very rare, if ever, that I program heavy
kettlebell snatches for people over thirty. It
doesn’t mean it’s not an option, or that for the
right person it’s a bad training choice. I’ve found
that the cost-to-injury ratio is extremely high,
meaning more people are likely to get injured
performing than not, which means I default to
heavy kettlebell swings instead.
People often debate which is better, the
kettlebell swing or the kettlebell snatch. The
reality for athletes is, it’s a tie:
• Both exercises are equally effective
in building power.
• Both are equally effective in upper
back development.
• Per rep, the snatch burns more fat
than the swing.
• The snatch has an advantage over
the swing in grip development.
• The snatch demands great thoracic
and shoulder mobility.
• The swing is superior for the posterior chain,
midsection development, and strength.
But for everyday athletes over thirty, the winner
is the swing, hands down, for the last fact alone:
Posterior chain, midsection development, and
strength. As aging everyday athletes, we need all
three and for that to come with a reduced risk of
injury. Life happens as we age. There aren’t many
people over thirty that don’t carry some form of
lower back, elbow, or shoulder pain, and the last
thing we need to do is exacerbate those issues.
That’s why I rarely program heavy snatches.
There are lots of people out there who want
to snatch heavier and attempt the five minute
snatch test, which leads me to this month’s case
study: Peter Willow, who came to us wanting to
pass a kettlebell certification course at the ripe
old age of 46. Peter had only recently discovered
kettlebells and had gone through a remarkable
weight loss transformation before coming to us,
losing over 24kg (53lbs). Coincidentally, 24kg
was also the weight of his testing kettlebell.
For him to pass the course would be like a right
of passage and a remarkable milestone in his
training career. Peter is a good example of
thousands of people around the world who want
to attempt this feat–lawyer by day, father and
husband by night, and a weekend warrior who
discovered fitness in his early 40s. Here’s how
we approached his training:
Case Study:
Name: Peter Willow
Age: 46
Country: United States
Training Program: 18 months
Weight Before: 102kg
Weight After: 78kg
Waist to Height Ratio Before: 0.61
Waist to Height Ratio After: 0.49
Body Fat % Before: 32%
Body Fat % After: 15%
2000m Row Test Before: 10:32
2000m Row Test After: 07:34
Snatch Test Before: 16kg
Snatch Test After: 24kg
107

What made Peter so successful was his
remarkable hard-working nature. It wasn’t easy
for him and he had to learn so many new skills
during this time, not just with kettlebells but with
nutrition and food habits too. He hardly missed a
workout whilst juggling his busy work and family
life, and stuck relentlessly to his nutrition plan.
When Peter took the Strength Matters
assessments, he struggled with some of the
strength and mobility tests but, overall, he was
in a good place with basic strength and mobility.
What stood out for us more than anything was
his body fat percentage, his waist-to-height
ratio, and his 2000m row times.
As always at Strength Matters, health comes
first. It’s non-negotiable. With these health
markers staring us in the face, we needed to
address them ASAP. Peter had an extremely high
body fat percentage. Research indicates that
a high body fat percentage and a high waist to
height ratio over 0.5 equates to reduced lifespan
and a significant increase in the likelihood of
metabolic diseases. Not to mention that for any
108
athletic endeavor, like attempting a kettlebell
certification, a high body fat percentage equates
to poor performance. We spoke to Peter about it
right at the start.
Additionally, his 2000m row test indicated poor
aerobic capability. You can have all the strength
in the world, but if you haven’t got the engine to
support it and recover, you’re not going to get
very far in performing the kettlebell snatch test.
Contrary to popular belief, aerobic training does
make you stronger. Combine that with high body
fat and you have a recipe for disaster in terms of
your health. You’re essentially a walking, talking,
ticking time bomb.
Armed with this knowledge from the
assessments, here’s how we approached his
training:
Phase 1: Fat Loss, Nutrition, and Lots
of Kettlebell Swings
Losing body fat is paramount to good health
so, starting out, training plans boil down to one
thing: Losing the maximum amount of body fat.
Because of this, your nutrition strategy becomes
paramount. You need to lose body fat but not at
the expense of your muscle mass.
What will determine overall weight loss is
something we call energy balance, basically
calories in versus calories out. To lose weight, the
amount of energy you expend each
day will need to exceed the amount of energy
(calories) you consume. That means, first, you
need to determine what your approximate
maintenance calorie intake is. This is the step
most people ignore completely. If you don’t
know how many calories you need to stay at
your current weight, how will you work out what
your ideal calorie deficit will be?
Some people fair well with counting and tracking
calories, while others do not. Peter was new to
nutrition and, at first, calorie counting wasn’t
best suited for him. Instead, we focussed on the
basics of WWS (walk, water, sleep) and taking
pictures of everything he ate to upload to his
coaching account.
This is what we uncovered with Peter:
• Walking: 5,244 steps per day on average
• Water: 3 glasses per day on average
• Sleep: 6 hours a night on average
• Food: Mostly processed and microwave meals
Right out the gate, we focussed on WWS. After
three months of daily tasks, he averaged over
9,000 steps a day, six glasses of water, and
seven hours of sleep a night. A significant
improvement.
In terms of nutrition, we tasked Peter with
eating mostly fresh produce daily, and he was
required to snap a photo of specific meals each
day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). He enjoyed
this challenge. We started to see a significant
change from packaged goods to a wonderful
array of colors on his plate. We still weren’t
tracking calories at this point, but the quality of
his meals had significantly improved. As a result,
his weight dropped from 102kg to 93kg in these
first three months.
he hit 20 minutes, we cycled back down to 10
minutes, increased the weight, and repeated
(e.g. 20kg to 24kg or 12kg to 16kg). This type
of workout will quickly progress you from 200
swings to 400 swings in no time.
With Peter, we started him at 20kg. In 16
weeks, he completed 20 minutes with the 28kg
kettlebell. A significant improvement from where
we first started, and a clear indicator we were
ready for the next phase.
Phase 2: Aerobic Capacity and Heavy Swings
Peter was building a solid base of strength.
After starting to address his weight and body
fat percentage and increasing his kettlebell
swing volume, it was time to address his aerobic
capacity. Peter had never done much cardio. He
was another member who thought cardio was
the devil and that it was going to destroy his
chances of passing the snatch test. We had to
have an honest conversation and explain to him
that wasn’t the case.

In terms of training, Peter could comfortably

swing up 20kg kettlebells, but to achieve the
coveted 24kg five minute snatch test, he would
need to be swinging much heavier bells than this.
We have set standards: For men before they start
snatching 24kg kettlebells, they need to be able
to do the famous 10 minute Strength Matters
swing test–200 swings in 10 minutes with a 32kg
kettlebell. Peter was a long way away from this at
this point.

At the end of his four strength workouts each

week, he would complete a kettlebell swing
finisher:

Swing Finisher: 10 minutes one handed swings,

swing test style (10 swings one handed every 30
seconds, place bell down, repeat other side)

The only variable we changed here was

increasing the working set by one minute for
each workout (e.g. Workout 1 = 10 minutes,
Workout 2 = 11 minutes, Workout 3 = 12 minutes,
and so forth until you reach 20 minutes). Once

109

The key to building aerobic capacity is volume,
volume, and more volume of sub-aerobic
threshold training to improve your efficiency.
There’s no easy way around this. In all credit to
Peter, he put the hard yards in here and stuck
to the task at hand, even though he was a little
skeptical at first.
He didn’t know it at the time but we started
cardio on day one with his daily habit of walking
30 minutes to get his 10,000 steps in. This is key
to improving aerobic capacity, yet it’s so often
overlooked. It’s the foundation of the work that
is to come.
Running was out of the equation because of
Peter’s weight. Fortunately, he had a rowing
machine so we set to work with that. We
approached his training with a mixed modal
mindset, combining regular kettlebell swings
with sub-aerobic threshold work.
110
He trained four days a week and his weekly
volume on the rower increased from 4,000m
to 16,000m over 12 weeks. We calculated his
aerobic pace for 500m to be 2:32 (we took it
from his 2,000m row test) and we asked him
to do lots of 500m and 1000m repeats at this
pace. Volume at low intensity is key. It was easy,
repeatable, and sustainable work that NEVER
left Peter tired or unable to continue his day.
He became more efficient on the rower and, as
his aerobic capacity improved, we increased his
pace to 2:17 per 500m.
Here is an example of one of the workouts Peter
performed during this time:
45 Minute Workout:
Row 500m @ 2:32/500m Pace
10/10 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings @ 24kg
5 Goblet Squats @ 24kg
Repeat. No Rest.
In addition to this aerobic portion of his
workouts, we incorporated heavier kettlebell
swings into his plan. At the end of his strength
workouts, we would perform the following
workout:
Heavy one-handed swings:
20 Minutes, @ 32kg, 5 left, 5 right.
Repeat on the minute every minute for 20 minutes.
Every week we increased the reps by one
on each arm and decreased the time by two
minutes until Peter was eventually performing
10/10 for 10 minutes with a 32kg kettlebell. Once
he hit this milestone, we deloaded for a week,
then repeated this with a 36kg kettlebell. At the
end of six months, Peter performed the swing
test with a 40kg kettlebell, and we still hadn’t
snatched any kettlebells.
Phase 3: Heavy Kettlebell Snatches and
Lactic Work
As we entered this phase, Peter had dropped
down to 83kg and was at 19 percent body fat. His
health markers were so much better, he had so
much more energy, and his kettlebell work was
going from strong to stronger. We were eight
months out from his kettlebell certification and it
was only now that we introduced snatching and
heavy snatching (after a significant amount of
base work). His body was finally ready for it.
His first snatch workout was with a 16kg
kettlebell. We went for volume first and he
performed this twice a week:
Viking Warrior Workout: 16kg bell, 15 seconds
snatching 15 seconds rest, 7 reps per snatch set.
• Week 1: 20 sets of 7 (140 reps)
• Week 2: 25 sets of 7 (175 reps)
• Week 3: 30 sets of 7 (210 reps)
• Week 4: 35 sets of 7 (245 reps)
• Week 5: 40 sets of 7 (280 reps) GOAL
• Week 6: 20 sets of 7 (140 reps)
This workout is all about technique and refining
the movement. It’s also a lot more forgiving on
the hands and enables you to prepare them well
for the heavier bells ahead. After this six week
base work period, we progressed to the following
workouts once a week:
Week 1 10 Min EMOM 3/3 @ 24kg
10 Min EMOM, Odd Minutes
Week 2
3/3, Even Minutes 4/4 @24kg
Week 3 10 Min EMOM 4/4 @ 24kg
10 Min EMOM, Odd Minutes
Week 4
4/4, Even Minutes 5/5 @24kg
Week 5 10 Min EMOM 5/5 @ 24kg
10 Min EMOM, Odd Minutes
Week 6
5/5, Even Minutes 6/6 @24kg
Week 7 10 Min EMOM 6/6 @ 24kg
Once again, at the end of week 7, we did a
deload week. When we returned, we repeated
this whole process with a 28kg kettlebell. Yes,
a 28kg kettlebell; 4kg above his testing weight.
He completed all seven weeks with it. Peter was
feeling strong and he had a significant base of
strength and aerobic capacity behind him.
The last thing we focused on was his conditioning
for the actual event and his lactic energy system.
The reason for this was we wanted to replicate
what it would be like on testing day and help him
improve his recovery.
So we set him up with some aerobic power
repeats on specific days each week:
Workout:
Row 250m @ 56 seconds.
No rest.
Snatch 10/10 @24kg.
Rest 1 minute. Repeat x 5.
At the end of all this training, you’ll be pleased
to know, Peter passed, and he completed the
snatch test with ease. Not bad considering he
also dropped 24kg in bodyweight and was down
to 17 percent body fat.
Lessons You Can Learn from Peter
There are so many lessons you can learn from
Peter. First, health comes first. Address your
bodyweight, your body fat, and your waist-to-
height ratio. It has such a carry-over effect on
everything you do in life, not just health. Second,
snatching heavy kettlebells, particularly when
you’re over thirty, takes time to build up to and
you need to ask yourself if it is necessary. If you
already have elbow and shoulder problems, just
ask yourself, do I really need to do this? If you
do, swing more, swing heavier, and snatch way
less than you think to begin with.
111
Breathing Space

A lack of play
should be treated
like malnutrition—
it’s a health risk to
your body and mind.
– Stuart Brown

112Pool
Tiger Huaang © Garret Clarke, Red Bull Content
113
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to
Their Success –
Mike Simmons

114
Mike Simmons is a semi-retired
emergency room doctor in Massachusetts.
He’s also a fitness coach and a former
Strength Matters member. Mike was kind
enough to share his story and his qualified
views on fitness with us.
We started by asking Mike about his athletic
background. Mike has been passionate about
mountain biking for many years, something that
was immediately evident when we first met.
“I’ve had experience with a variety of
sports. I’ve been an active person my
whole life. I started mountain biking back in
1983 before most people even knew what
a mountain bike was. I continued to do it
through medical school and started weight
training around this time too. But all people
knew about was bodybuilding at that point
in time. We know so much more now.”
for a while after they split with CrossFit. I
liked how Strength Matters seem to have a
similar blueprint.”
We asked Mike about how he discovered
Strength Matters and what prompted him to
reach out to us for help with his fitness goals.
“I discovered Strength Matters online
during the pandemic. I had some time
on my hands and was struggling to find
the motivation to work out consistently. I
continued to hike, ski, and mountain bike,
but I had quit any form of lifting.”
“Things had deteriorated a bit. Strength
Matters did a thorough assessment which
I found interesting and useful. It helped me
work on my areas of weakness. My primary
purpose for working out is to continue
mountain biking as long as I possibly can!”

Mike told us that, as he got older, he needed to “I’m 65 now and when you get to this age,
change certain habits as well as include more if you’re not doing some form of strength
exercise into his routine to keep weight gain and training, it all just goes away so fast.
poor health at bay. Walking or riding a bike is great but without
strength your muscle mass just fades away.
“By the time I reached my early 50s, I was
still eating like a 25 year old—and drank
beer like one too. I started to gain weight
and had a few episodes of having an
irregular heartbeat. I also couldn’t handle
my bike like I wanted anymore, so I realized
I had to do something.”

“I did CrossFit for several years. In time,

I became a coach myself. I did a lot of
research and still do some coaching to this
day, although the virus has made coaching
in the gym impossible. But I started a
program at the gym I used to go to before
the pandemic.”

“The program was group/semi-personal

training for people over 40. Everyone
was in the gym at once but all doing their
individual program. I still do it, just without
the gym. I do my coaching online now. I
did a stint with OPEX who coached me

115
 To ride a mountain bike well, you need full
body strength. If you want to ride a road
bike, that’s one thing, but for mountain
biking you really need full body fitness.”
“I live in the country in Massachusetts. This
time of year there’s a whole lot of farming
chores for me to be getting on with. I also
have construction jobs around the house.
These help keep me active. Before Strength
Matters, climbing up and down scaffolding
was getting noticeably harder, so was lifting
boards and other heavy objects. I noticed
things were getting heavier.”
“I really lost a lot of strength since not
going to the gym. Then there’s all the
aches and pains that come from age which
started creeping in. Mountain biking also
beats you up so that made things worse.
Today, those issues have disappeared.”
Mike told us more about his experience with
Strength Matters and how joining the program
helped him get his fitness back on track.
“I worked with Josh from January to April
2021. He helped me get back to where I
116
needed to be. Before this, I had a spell of
not being able to find the motivation.”
We asked Mike about his cardio since working
with Strength Matters. We assumed he’d
get most of his cardiovascular exercise from
mountain biking, but Mike also gets his steps
in thanks to his dogs.
“I’ve literally built over eight miles of trails
that lead from my back door, and these are
not just from mountain biking. I have two
German Shepherds and they are not happy
if they don’t exercise on a daily basis. So,
subsequently, I’m not happy if we don’t
exercise on a daily basis! I’m out hiking out
in nature for up to an hour every day with
the dogs. They are a great gift.”
We asked Mike what he’d say to someone
considering signing up for the Strength Matters
program.
“Do it. I didn’t stop because I was unhappy
or tired of it, I only did because I have so
many physical demands taking up my time
now that achieve the same goal. I just have
too much going on to consistently follow
 the program. I know that the obsessive
compulsive in me would make me fully
commit if I was still doing it. I’d find it
upsetting if I missed a day.”

“There are very few people that I’ve

encountered that seem to have no
trouble exercising, and those people are
extraordinary. Not being motivated to
exercise is totally normal but the solution
to the problem, and I can’t emphasize this
enough, is having your own coach.”
“It totally changes everything. It keeps
you from fixating on what you want to do.
When left to their own devices, people will
only do what they like or enjoy rather than
what they need to do. So get a coach!”

Finally, Mike shared more of his insight as a doctor

and his philosophy when it comes to fitness.

“Figure out why you’re exercising. It’s never

just because you should. There’s got to be
a reason. My reason is I could either crawl
into the hole of being an old man or I could
continue to do the things that I love. The
only way I do that is to consciously exercise.
If I don’t, then I’m going to be relegated to
exercise that’s just going for a walk down
the road.”

“I’ve seen people in a nursing home

well before their time, sometimes in
their 50s, and it’s due to them being so
deconditioned. There comes a point when
it’s impossible to come back from that.”

“When I’m working in the emergency room,

I can save a life or help heal an injury. But
sometimes there’s nothing I can do. They’re
there because of choices they’ve made over
the years. It’s frustrating.”

“That’s why I started coaching. It gives me

the opportunity to help people outside of
the emergency room. Physicians can tell
people they need to lose weight, but some
people need guidance on how to do it.
That’s the value of having a coach.”

117
Case Study

Client Case
Study: How
Everyday
Athletes Can
Improve Cycling
Performance
Words: James Breese

118
Picture this: An alarm goes off on a Saturday
morning. The sun is starting to shine through
into a bedroom and a man exits his bed,
stumbling towards the wardrobe. He doesn’t
reach for his golfing breaches or his gardening
attire. He grabs his shiniest, tightest, and
sometimes (unfortunately) whitest lycra and
pulls it on without hesitation.
He grabs his helmet and bike shoes, heading
towards the garage to carefully retrieves his
newest and most prized $10,000 possession—his
bike. After hopping on, he resets his watch and
bike computer settings, and adjusts the all-
important setting of the padded pants. The MAMIL
emerges and sets out on the road to his freedom.
The Middle-Aged Man in Lycra. These people
are everywhere, and they’re not going away
anytime soon.
I’d like to point out I think this is a wonderful thing
to see, so many people in their middle years taking
up a healthy past time. Cycling has taken off in a
big way in recent years.
What exactly is this attraction to a sport
that makes most middle-aged men look so,
well, unflattering? No longer is the golf club
membership essential for networking or male
bonding sessions. Green fees are being spent
on expensive bikes and the 19th hole has been
replaced by a coffee and scone at a country cafe.
Some of the most appealing things about
cycling is you can ride pretty much anywhere
and get around relatively quickly, for training,
enjoyment, or both. It also helps that it’s free,
after your initial outlay that is.
Now, one of my biggest bug bears with the
human race, particularly in the world of health
and fitness, is that if something’s broke, rather
than fix it, we’d rather stick a band aid on the
problem and move onto something else hoping
it will just go away.
Due to its low impact on the joints, cycling can
be appealing to those who want to keep active
while recovering from an injury. The number
of times I’ve heard people tell me that they’ve
totally given up the gym or running to pursue
cycling because it doesn’t aggravate a recurring
injury is incredible. Not once have I heard from
these people that they’ve tried to figure out the
issue and address it. No, they’d rather move on
to something else.
Newsflash! That problem won’t go away by
ignoring it. It will eventually rear its ugly head
on the bike too. You just don’t know when.
I shared earlier in this issue that, most cyclists over
thirty, particularly men, need to do the following to
improve cycling performance:
1. They need to lose body fat.
2. They need to improve hip and
thoracic spine mobility.
3. They need to get stronger.
4. They need to spend more time on the bike.
This is quite a familiar situation for lots of
everyday athletes, not just cyclists. There are
so many cyclists out there who want to get
better and want to keep up with their friends
and think that buying new equipment is the
answer. Sadly, it isn’t, which leads me to this
month’s case study: Andrew Davies, who came
to us wanting to perform better on his bike.
Andrew had been an amateur cyclist for five years,
having taken it up as a hobby after a ride-to-work
scheme. He’d always enjoyed fitness but never
considered himself an athlete or somebody who
was interested in competing. He just found cycling
a great escape from the pressures of his job as a
high-flying lawyer. What he said to us when he
first joined was this:
“I’m sick of being dropped by my mates on the
hills and long flats and knowing that they have
to wait for me to catch up. I just want to be able
to stick with them.”
Andrew is a good example of thousands of
other cyclists around the world who know this
feeling. Here’s how we approached his training:
119

Case Study:
Name: Andrew Davies
Age: 38
Country: Scotland
Training Program: 12 months
Weight Before: 92kg
Weight After: 83kg
Body Fat % Before: 25%
Body Fat % After: 14%
Deep Squat Sit Test Before: 22 seconds
Deep Squat Sit Test After: 10 minutes
10 Min Assault Bike Test Before: 110 calories
10 Min Assault Bike Test After: 152 calories
When Andrew came to us, he had never set foot
inside a gym before. It wasn’t easy for him and
he had to learn many new skills during this time,
not just with weight training but mobility, cardio
training plans, and nutrition too. All he had ever
done was listen to friends, or jump on a bike to go
for a ride. He had never once journeyed through a
real exercise and nutrition plan.
During his initial phase, he hardly missed a
workout whilst juggling his busy work and
family life, and stuck relentlessly to his nutrition
plan. When Andrew took the Strength Matters
assessments, he struggled with nearly all the
120
strength and mobility tests. Overall, he was not in
a good place. Even his cardio wasn’t as good as he
thought. Out of all the tests, what stood out for us
more than anything was his body fat percentage,
his deep squat sit time, and his Assault bike test.
Andrew asked us right after the assessments, what
was the one thing that could make the biggest
difference to his riding, and we answered honestly.
He was overweight and specifically overfat.
Research indicates that a high body fat percentage
equates to poor performance. Healthy ranges of
body fat for men lie between 10 and 20 percent.
For high performers, it should sit between 10 and
12 percent. We spoke to Andrew about it right
at the start and said that this would lead to the
biggest performance improvement.
Additionally, his 10 minute Assault Bike test
indicated poor aerobic and power capability. You
can bike as much as you want but if you haven’t
got the power and the engine to support your
rides and recover quickly, you’re always going to
be at the back of the peloton.
Contrary to popular belief, strength training can
indeed make you faster on the bike. However,
you can’t build a base layer of strength on rocky
foundations, and Andrew’s mobility was extremely
poor. I’m only highlighting his deep squat sit test
here but I could have chosen a myriad of other
tests: His problem areas were the hips, thoracic
spine, and ankles, which are all nicely highlighted
by the deep squat sit.
Surprised by the results of his assessments,
Andrew prepared to dive in with both feet. Armed
with this knowledge, here’s how we approached
his training:
Phase 1: Fat Loss
Getting lean is paramount to cycling as it’s all
about power-to-weight ratio. Fat loss training
plans boil down to one key component: Losing
the maximum amount of body fat. Because of
this, the nutrition strategy becomes paramount.
You need to lose body fat, but not at the expense
of muscle mass.
What will determine overall weight loss is
something we call energy balance, basically
calories in vs calories out. To lose body fat, the
amount of energy you expend each
day will need to exceed the amount of energy
(calories) you consume. That means, first, you
need to determine what your approximate
maintenance calorie intake is. This is the step most
people ignore completely. If you don’t know how
many calories you need to stay at your current
weight, how will you work out what your ideal
calorie deficit will be?
For Andrew, determining his maintenance calories
was a much harder process than we imagined.
Most men tend to overeat. This usually explains
why they’re overweight. But in Andrew’s case, he
was significantly undereating. Tracking calories
was new to him but, as a self-proclaimed data
geek (particularly when it came to Strava), he
enjoyed the challenge. What we discovered
when Andrew started tracking was that he was
severely undereating, not consuming enough
protein but way too many carbohydrates. He was
consuming on average 1,900 calories a day with
only 45g of protein. Using some clever math and
the Müller equation, we best guessed Andrew’s
maintenance calorie level to be 2,989 and split his
macronutrients up as follows:
weight gain plateaued during week five and six,
so on week seven we increased by a further 10
percent to 2,299 calories. This is where things got
interesting. In week seven, Andrew lost 0.7kg,
so we increased his caloric intact by another 10
percent to 2,529. The following week, he dropped
a further 0.5kg. We increased again to 2,781
calories and he dropped another 0.9kg. By week
10, we had Andrew up to eating at his calculated
maintenance of 2,989 calories and he continued
to lose weight. It wasn’t until we hit 3,327 calories
that he began to maintain his weight, a whopping
1,400 calories above where he first started.
During this time, Andrew dropped from 92kg to
88kg, just by increasing his calories and trying
to determine his maintenance level. His body
adapted accordingly and, in all honesty, was
probably extremely grateful for this increase.
He also dropped from 25 percent to 21 percent
body fat. We often see this with men, and
sometimes women, who have been severely
undereating for years.

Total Calories: 2,989

Carbohydrate: 263g
Protein: 162g
Fat: 143g
Fiber: 45g

There was no way we could make the jump from

1,900 to 2,989 straight away so what we did was
reverse diet Andrew up to 2,989 calories. We
started him off at 2,090 calories, and Andrew
tracked meticulously. The first week, he put on
1.5kg with this change in calories, so we held fast
on this number for six weeks as we didn’t want to
increase too quickly and cause too much weight
gain.

One thing was for sure: He needed to increase

his calories as over the years his body and
metabolism had adapted to this low level. His

121
His strength workouts were fat loss based at this
stage too, but we didn’t need to focus on calorie
deficit at any stage. The key was determining his
true maintenance level after discovering he was
vastly under-consuming, and getting his body
used to eating this amount of food per day. This
gave him more energy and he was able exercise
and move more each day.
Phase 2: Mobility Work
In the nicest possible way, Andrew was a
mobility mess. He couldn’t touch his knees,
let alone touch his toes. Further testing
showed Andrew had poor thoracic spine and
hip mobility, and zero core strength. He was
an injury waiting to happen. Right from the
start, we had to have a very honest and open
conversation about the importance of mobility.
Most people understand that better mobility
improves performance and helps prevent injury,
but very few understand the role it plays in
managing weight. We used this period to help
Andrew create foundations for the training that lay
ahead—both for performance and fat loss.
Most people are not physically prepared for a
performance program. These types of training
programs are hard, very hard. When people jump
straight into them, more often than not they end
up injured within a few weeks, setting them even
further back from their performance goals. This
was something we wanted to avoid with Andrew,
122
and it’s why our first goal was improved thoracic
spine and hip mobility.
During this phase, Andrews’ workouts centered
around these two areas. Even during his fat
loss workouts, he was doing mobility work
between sets. We dedicated four full days a
week to strength training focused on single limb
movements and super setting these movements
with the mobility work he needed. We then
prescribed extra mobility days involving a lot of
thoracic spine extension and rotation work.
Sample Routine:
• Diaphragm Self Release
• Foam Roll Shoulders and Lats
• Wall Assisted Scapular Rolls
• Deep Squat Shoulder Wall Circles
• Zenith Twists
• Plank Scapular Rolls
• Thread the Needle
• PNF Shoulder Internal Rotation Work
• Deep Squat Sit for Time
As Andrew himself said, on several occasions,
mobility work was the hardest part of his plan.
In just under six months, and with a lot of work
and dedication, he managed to pass most of the
original mobility tests he struggled to achieve
initially and took his deep squat sit time from 22
seconds to 10 minutes! This set Andrew up for
phase two: Improving cardiovascular capacity and
power output on the bike.
 13:20 He completed this workout three times a week. We
increased the calorie count by one minute each
workout which ended up looking like this:
10:00
Workout 1: 10 calories
Workout 2: 11 calories
Workout 3: 12 calories
06:40
Workout 4: 11 calories
Workout 5: 12 calories
Workout 6: 13 calories
03:20 Workout 7: 12 calories etc.

We repeated this until we hit 15 calories per

00:00
Jan ‘20 Mar ‘20 May ‘20 Jul ‘20
Phase 3: Aerobic Capacity and Power Output
Andrew started working with us in January 2020,
but we didn’t do any aerobic or power output
work on the bike until after the summer when
biking season was long over in the UK. With
the amount of strength and mobility work he
was doing, plus the group rides he wanted to
get in each week, there wasn’t time to really
invest in performance. He was already seeing
improvements on those rides, but with family
and other life commitments there wasn’t room
to fit it all in.
minute for 10 sets. Then we increased the time
to two minutes and scaled right back down to 10
calories. Andrew was then doing:
10 Sets: 20 calories in exactly 2 minutes. Rest 2
minutes. Repeat.
We repeated the whole process again, except
doubled the time on the bike and doubled the
calories from his starting point. Eventually, we
got Andrew to three minute pieces before finally
getting him to re-test his Assault bike test, the
results of which took him from the bottom five
percent into the top 50 percent of people we test.
A remarkable jump in cardio and power output!

Once September came, we tasked Andrew to do

some work on the Assault bike. It’s a great tool for
many different reasons but for power output and
aerobic capacity building, it’s brilliant. We needed
to train Andrew to bring the power for sustained
periods of time. Now that it was his off season, it
was the perfect time to add some more fatigue-
inducing workouts to his plan, without affecting
his enjoyment rides.

With his initial Assault Bike test, the 110 calories

he score for his weight and sex put him in the
bottom five percent of people we tested. So
here’s what we did with him: We took 90 percent
of his 110 calories and divided them by 10, giving
us 9.9 (10, as we rounded up). We then asked
Andrew to complete the following workout:

10 sets, 10 calories in exactly 1 minute. Rest 1

minute. Repeat.

123
Lessons You Can Learn from Andrew
The goal for almost all competitive cyclists is to be
as light and strong as possible. After all, cycling
weight comes down to simple physics–the more
or less you weigh, the more or less energy it
takes to pedal your bike. Power-to-weight ratio
is the formula used to determine your strength
compared to your weight, and it’s the great
equalizer when comparing riders of different sizes.

The higher your power-to-weight ratio, the faster

you will go. What this means for any cyclist is
that the greater your strength compared to your
weight, the faster you are going to be on the bike.
Two important aspects of this equation are the
loss of body fat while maintaining or increasing
lean muscle mass and strength.

Losing a few pounds in body fat can lead to a big

difference in your strength on the bike. Likewise,
cyclists can’t neglect the importance of mobility
training and strength training, before learning to
apply their newly found strength to power output
on the bike.

When it comes down to it, to get good at cycling,

once you have the basics of strength and
mobility nailed down, you simply just need to
bike more. Throughout all of Andrew’s training,
he still found time to spend three to five hours a
week on his bike.
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 As long as
I breathe,
I attack
– Bernard Hinault

Colin Strickland © Philip Edsel / Red Bulletin 126

127
Case Study

Client Case
Study: How to
Get Your Health
and Best Body
Back
Words: James Breese

128
Positive change is often planted with seeds that
feel more uncertain, fearful, and anxious than
anything else. This isn’t because life is unfair
and good must be balanced out by bad but
because we often don’t think to change our lives
until change is the only option we have. We are
hardwired for homeostasis. We are designed to
remain in comfort, which is just familiarity.
It isn’t always what’s best for us. Deep down,
we know that at some level. So, when our every
effort to move forward fails, circumstances
that make change the only option tend to arise.
Instead of fearing these moments, we should
learn to honor them, because something greater
is often on the other side.
Right before your life changes for the better, two
things tend to happen:
#1 - A catalytic event occurs.
The catalyst that prompts them to begin a
process of positive disintegration is often health
related. Sometimes it’s massive, sometimes
it’s subtle. One way or another, something that
you expected to be around for the foreseeable
future was taken, as was your sense of safety. Life
rarely changes for the better unless a disruptor is
present—something that makes us question, and
dare to change, our own status quo.
#2 – You’re forced out of denial.
The thing about catalytic health events is that
whatever went wrong probably wasn’t working
for a very long time, we just didn’t realize it.
These events were often foreshadowed but we
weren’t ready to accept the reality. Sometimes
it takes a catalytic event or two plus a more
deep and meaningful interaction to happen
to force somebody to act and make lasting
changes to their health. That’s exactly what
happened to Mark Chapman, who has kindly
permitted us to share his story.
When we first met, Mark was a 44 year old
father of two who made a living as a financial
manager working more than 60 hours a week.
He burned the candle at both ends, starting work
at 7am and often finishing past 10pm most days,
including weekends. He rarely spent time with
his family or at home, drinking and socializing
after work to close those deals.
On select weekends, he would try to make up
for lost time with his family. He rarely, if ever, ate
anything cooked at home, and Saturday night was
always pizza and a bottle of wine with his wife.
There was no activity, no prescribed exercise,
and his daily steps were less than 5,000 a day.
This had been going on for several years, five long
years to be exact. Mark’s fatigue grew more and
more each day. He could no longer keep up with
this lifestyle or concentrate at work. He stopped
being present with his family. He found himself
drinking more and more coffee and Red Bull to get
him through the day until not even these had the
desired effect. It got to the point where he decided
to visit the doctor to see if there was something
else going on that he hadn’t concidered.
Mark’s blood results came back. He was
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Six months later,
he suffered from a mild heart attack whilst on
the train commute home. As he put it, he was
just plain lucky: “I suffered a heart attack and
emerged none the worse for the experience.”
Despite being told he had type 2 diabetes
AND having a mild heart attack, Mark made
absolutely zero changes to his lifestyle. It wasn’t
until 12 months later, whilst he was on holiday
with friends and family in Greece that the penny
finally dropped.
They went on a day trip to an adventure park
with a zip line and they all lined up to take part.
When it came to Mark’s turn, they didn’t have
a harness big enough for him to wear. With
a strong Greek accent, the zip line attendant
told him in no uncertain terms, “You are too fat
to ride. Move away so others can go.” Despite
protesting and arguing his case, they would not
allow Mark to do it and repeated the phrase,
“You are too fat.”
When Mark tells this story, he says it’s not the
words that affected him or the fact that he
129

couldn’t ride the zip line, it was the look on his
children’s faces, the sheer embarrassment he
had caused them. And it didn’t end there: Tor the
rest of the holiday, he was known by other kids
at the resort as “the fat dad,” and that’s what his
kids took away from that holiday. Not the fact
they had a great time, but that they were teased
because their dad was fat.
It wasn’t the type 2 diabetes or the mini heart
attack that forced Mark to reach out for help. It
was the embarrassment he caused his children.
Mark came to us not wanting to be the fat dad
anymore, to have the confidence to take his shirt
off on the beach in front of his kids and ride any
zip line he wanted.
Case Study:
Name: Mark Chapman
Age: 44
Country: England
Training Program: 2+ years
Weight Before: 126kg (278lbs)
Weight After: 92kg
Total Weight Loss: 34kg (75lbs)
Body Fat % Before: 41%
Body Fat % After: 15%
130
When Mark came to us, he was a complete novice
in terms of fitness, gym training, and nutrition. He
had never been into sports and the closest thing
he had done for exercise was walking to the office
on the days he went to work.
Under most circumstances, we would ask people
to complete the Strength Matters Assessments.
Mark’s was one of the few cases where, other
than to step on a scale to get some baseline
numbers, we didn’t ask him to take them. We
didn’t deem them to be appropriate for a man of
his size and experience in fitness. He wasn’t in a
good place, and the last thing he needed was to
be told he sucked even more.
We had a real honest conversation with Mark
about his health issues and we agreed that fat
loss was his biggest priority. Research indicates
that a high body fat percentage equates to
metabolic disease, and we couldn’t ignore that
fact. Slightly overwhelmed and worried, Mark
started his training with us. Here’s how we
approached it:
Phase 1: Fat Loss and Quick Wins
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, but
we knew we had to help Mark lose some fat
quickly and give him some quick wins to keep
him motivated due to his personality type. Our
philosophy is always to start with WWS (walk,
water, sleep), and that’s exactly where we started
with Mark. Mark was walking, on average, less
than 5,000 steps a day. Some days it would
be as low as 2,500, so we needed to get some
consistency in his life and make walking a habit.
Habits are the small decisions we make and
actions we perform every day. Research into
better habits shows time and time again that
you need to start with an incredibly small habit.
Once we start with an incredibly small habit, we
maintain that habit for a period of time. Once we
have a period of consistency, we increase that
habit in a very small way. A habit that’s so easy,
you can’t say no to it.
People will go to great lengths to ensure
that they have a smart exercise program and
nutritional plan, but they often forget about or
abandon their walking, drinking, and sleeping
habits. We see it time and time again: People
who are overweight all have one thing in
common: They walk less than 5,000 steps a
day. At its core, walking helps build a strong
cardiovascular engine by improving our aerobic
capacity. Improved aerobic capacity improves
our ability to perform better at cardiovascular
exercise and exercise in general. Walking sets the
foundation for cardiovascular capacity as well as
for strength training. A stronger, more efficient
heart leads to improved strength performance.
It’s science. You can do more volume in less time
and recover faster.
In terms of fat loss, increasing your daily step count
will increase total daily energy expenditure through
both conscious and unconscious movement (i.e.
non-exercise activity thermogenesis and physical
activity). As we should all know by now, when
caloric output exceeds input, weight loss is
achieved. So, in this phase, it was all about
priming Mark to be ready for the gym and
increasing his total daily expenditure to aid in the
assistance in fat loss. Nothing more, nothing less.
He was a novice in terms of fitness and we had to
take his heart health into account too.
What we prescribed for Mark was the following:
11pm and hitting seven hours of sleep became
more regular. It wasn’t consistent but was
certainly becoming more regular.
All in all, in the first eight weeks, Mark lost a
remarkable 12.5kg (27lbs). He was down to
113.5kg (250lbs). No magic bullets, no magic
workouts, just consistent walking, drinking
water, and trying to get to bed earlier. It was
a fantastic effort on his part and built the
foundations for his next phase of training. He
went from averaging less than 5,000 steps a day
to over 12,000!
Phase 2: Gym Work and Walking Faster
As we moved into phase 2 of his training, we
were conscious of the fact we didn’t want to
upset Mark’s new walking routine. We felt this
was going to be a key driver for his weight loss
success moving forwards, so we came up with
the following training plan:
Mon: Gym
Tues: Walk, 45 minutes
Wed: Walk test
Thurs: Gym
Fri: Walk, 45 minutes
Sat: Walk test
Sun: Walk, 45 minutes

Week 1 - 2: Daily walk, 30 minutes

Week 2 - 4: Daily walk, 40 minutes
Week 5 - 8: Daily walk, 45 minutes

In six weeks, Mark didn’t miss a single walk.

During this time, we also asked him to strive
for seven glasses of water a day. This had a
remarkable knock-on effect in terms of other
drinks he was consuming. Gone were the energy
drinks he was consuming to get through the
day, along with the two to five vanilla lattes. He
probably cut out an extra 600 to 800 calories a
day by doing this one tip alone.

Sleep was another key issue for Mark; however,

with his line of work, it was always going to be
hard to manage this one. That being said, he
began to make a conscious effort to bed before

131

On days he went to the gym, we asked Mark to
walk further to work that way he continued his
high step count alongside his training. In his case,
it was getting off the tube in London two stops
earlier and then walking to and back from work
in the same way. We also introduced the Strength
Matters Walk Test (How far can you walk in 20
minutes?) twice a week. His only target here was
to try and beat his previous effort each time.
For this test, we like to see people hitting
1.5 miles in 20 minutes. That’s the golden
benchmark and surprisingly harder than it looks.
On Mark’s first attempt, he achieved 1.02 miles,
quite some distance off where we wanted to
see it. Therefore, twice a week, we held him
accountable to this test. As the weeks went by,
in fact more like eight months, Mark got faster
and faster until he was able to hit the 1.5 mile
benchmark. It was a great effort and he worked
extremely hard for this. It wasn’t easy for him,
but he stuck to the task at hand.
132
In terms of workouts, Mark was a beginner, and
we introduced him to the gym slowly. Twice
a week he would go to the gym during his
lunch hour. It wasn’t anything crazy in terms
of workouts, it was just full body movements
encompassing our seven human movements:
Locomotion, push, pull, hinge, squat, rotation,
and anti-rotation. Two workouts were plenty for
Mark to begin with but, as the months went by,
we increased to four workouts per week. Mark
was also walking more steps daily, partly because
he chose to get off the tube earlier everyday
which gave us more time to play with during his
lunch hours. At the end of the first 12 months of
training with us, Mark’s routine looked like this:
Mon: Gym
Tues: Gym
Wed: Walk, 45 minutes
Thurs: Gym
Fri: Gym
Sat: Walk test
Sun: Walk, 45 minutes
After 12 months, Mark was now sitting at 105kg
(231lbs), down 21kg (46lbs). He built up some
great habits of walking daily, drinking more
water, and going to the gym consistently four
times a week. We knew his sleep was not where
it needed to be but, going into the second year
of his training, we knew nutrition would be the
next step in his journey.
Phase 3: Nutrition
Most nutritionists and diet gurus talk about what
to eat, how to eat, and when to eat. “Abs are only
made in the kitchen” is something we often hear.
As a result, people put a huge emphasis on the
food component of weight loss first.
It is without doubt extremely important, and
please don’t think we’re saying diet is not
important for weight loss, or to health and
longevity. But, if there are so many good reasons
for healthy eating, why is it so difficult to do so?
Diets only work if and when you follow them.
If you revert to your old habits, you’ll revert
to your old body weight, and nothing is easier
than falling back into old habits. If you haven’t
exercised in a long time, trying to create a
new exercise habit is hard. In fact, it can be
demoralizing and downright impossible in
certain situations. Trying to implement exercise
and nutrition programming at the same time can
overwhelm even the most willing individuals. Is
it any wonder that so many people over thirty
struggle with their weight?
In our mind, the key to long-term weight loss
success is to create a system that allows people
to develop new habits for the long haul, and keep
stacking new habits onto the old habits without
falling off the wagon. This is exactly what we did
with Mark in this case and we waited over 12
months to have the nutrition conversion with him.
First, we determined his maintenance calories.
Most men tend to overeat. This usually explains
why they’re overweight, and this was true for
Mark. Tracking calories was new to him but, as
a man who loved numbers, Mark was up for the
challenge.
What we discovered when Mark started
tracking was that he was overeating by some
500 calories a day and not consuming enough
protein (only 60g). Using some clever maths and
the Müller equation, we best guessed Mark’s
maintenance calorie level to be 2,786 and split
his macronutrients up as follows:
Total Calories: 2,786
Carbohydrate: 227g
Protein: 191g
Fat: 124g
Fiber: 42g
Immediately, we asked him to monitor his food
intake, and to try his best to up his protein
intake. That was it. We didn’t give lengthy details
or instructions. We kept it short sharp and
simple. It took some time getting used to but
Mark’s average daily calories came down from
approximately 3,200 per day to 2,700 over the
course of eight weeks, and his protein intake
went from 60g per day to 120g per day. Not
perfect but a lot better than where we started.
His weight dropped too: By the end of eight
weeks, Mark hit below 100kg for the first time in
a very long time. No diet, just more awareness
about food and calorie intake and control.
After another eight weeks, his weight
plateaued and hovered around the 99kg mark.
We held firm with his maintenance calories
and just worked on getting the macro numbers
a bit closer, in particular his protein levels.
He finally reached the milestone of 190g of
protein daily. As the year progressed, we got
Mark down to a cool 92kg and 15 percent
body fat (two years earlier he was 126kg and
41 percent body fat). At no point did we take
him into a calorie deficit or strict diet. We just
manipulated his caloric intake to bring him
down to a healthier amount and played with
his macro levels. The key was determining his
true maintenance level after discovering he was
vastly over-consuming, and getting his body
used to eating this new amount of food per
day. This combined with solid habits of walking
more, exercising more, and drinking more water
eventually lead to him sleeping more.
Lessons You Can Learn from Mark
While it was the impact he had on his kids
that led Mark to make these profound lifestyle
changes, he had two major health issues to
overcome: Type 2 diabetes and the fact he had a
heart attack. We know that fat loss and improved
cardiovascular capacity will make a difference
to both these types of conditions, but we had to
proceed with caution right at the start and focus
on the long haul, which is why walking was a
major factor in everything we did.
Losing a few pounds can lead to a big
difference in your overhaul health but, it’s not
about losing it quickly, it’s about long-term
sustainable weight loss. When it comes down
to it, to lose weight, you have to master the
basics of human life–walk, water, and sleep–
which is why Mark focused on them and stuck
to them religiously. Like anything in life, when
the basics get away from us, everything else
falls apart. Fantastic efforts, Mark! We can’t
wait to see where the next chapter in our
training gets us.
133
Breathing Space

134 Pool
Scott Blum ©Christian Pondella / Red Bull Content
The goal of training
is not to change
how the body looks,
but to improve how
the body moves.
– Gray Cook

135
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to
Their Success -
Zianne Lemke

136
Zianne Lemke has been a member of
Strength Matters for over two years.
A fitness coach in her own right, Zianne
joined the program to see if she could
overcome long-standing knee pain.
This is her fitness story.

Zianne grew up in California but now lives

with her family in Illinois. An active person
since childhood, Zianne taught her own fitness
classes for over 12 years but reoccurring knee
pain was making that difficult to maintain. The
pressures of parenthood also caused her fitness
to decline as it became harder to make time for
the gym.

“At that point in our lives, a gym membership

wasn’t feasible. It was expensive, not kid-
friendly, and my husband was working a lot
of hours. Also, I didn’t have anyone to watch
my child while I went to the gym, so I looked
for other ways to work on my fitness.”

“I had been following Strength Matters for
several years before I joined. I had a gut
feeling it would be good for me. I was feeling
fragile as I started to age and felt like I
needed a bit of help. Today I’m glad I did.”
“When I started with Strength Matters, I had
a job in retail where I was on my feet most
of the day. It was easy for me to get a lot of
walking in but I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even
run across the street. My knee hurt pretty
bad. I had this knee problem for about 20
years, and I couldn’t find anyone to help me
figure out what was going on.”
Zianne went into more detail about her knee and
the medical advice she received, focusing on
how it held back her fitness ambitions.
“I have total respect for doctors, but I don’t
think I received the best advice when it came
to my knee. I told the doctors it only hurts
when I run, so they just told me not to run.
I had physical therapy and took ibuprofen
three times a day, but nothing ever resolved
or got to the root of the problem. I wanted
to be able to run. Not doing so wasn’t a
solution.”
“I knew that if someone could just help me
figure out what was wrong with my knee,
things would be different.”
“For a while, I gave up on the idea of running.
I thought there must be something about
my body that means I won’t ever be able to
run. That must just be the way it is. Luckily, I
found Strength Matters and got it fixed. It’s
unfortunate it took so long.”
“When I discovered Strength Matters, I
thought, ‘I don’t know if these guys can help
me with my knee. I don’t know if it’s possible,
but I’m just going to try.’ But they did. It took
maybe three months of strength training
and mobility exercises, but they helped me
overcome it.”
By going back to basics when it came to mobility
and strength training, Zianne started to notice
slight improvements to her fitness and her knee
pain gradually faded over time.

137

“It was like magic. All of a sudden I could
run a little bit. It took about a year for me
to get to where I am now. We took it slow,
running for a minute then walking for five,
slowly worked up to a 20 minute continuous
run. Now I can run for about an hour without
stopping.”
We asked Zianne about which aspects of the
Strength Matters program (apart from an end
to her knee pain) had been most rewarding and
how she’s finding it now.
“I had fun when I joined Strength Matters.
I’m the sort of person who loves to learn new
things related to fitness. It had just enough
challenge to be fun and rewarding. I found it
easy at first but it got more challenging later–
and even more rewarding.”
“I like how their assessments find out what
your strengths and weaknesses are, so
it’s personalized to you. I could see my
improvement and it felt good. I have a lot
of trust in them, and I still enjoy it.”
“I previously had the mindset that harder
is better, which isn’t always true. It’s often
better to start with basics and get those
down first, then build on that. I think lots of
athletes have this mentality and it often does
138
more harm than good. I was teaching spin
classes before this, and I was hitting it way
too hard. Eventually, my back went out and it
took some time to recover.”
“I’ve been in the program two years now.
I feel stronger than I’ve ever been. I run a
couple of days a week, along with strength
training and mobility exercises a couple of
days a week too. It’s a good mixture of work
that makes me feel really good.”
“I don’t feel fragile anymore. I no longer need
to be careful about my knee or my back. It
feels good to feel strong and able to do more
than before. I used to be scared to approach
a flight of stairs. I don’t have those feelings
anymore. I’m no longer afraid of hurting
myself like I used to be.”
Finally, we asked Zianne if she has faced any
challenges since entering the program and what
she’d say to someone who was considering
signing up.
“Last year’s quarantine posed a challenge. I was
in lockdown at home with the family and we did
a lot of cooking so I gained some weight. I also
discovered that I have arthritis. Now I need to
be more careful about what I eat.”
“I’m getting back to eating healthier, avoiding
sugar and salt. Since eating better, I don’t
have as much pain.”
“When it comes to recommending Strength
Matters, I see people in my life who are
having problems with their back or anywhere
else. They have to take time off from their
fitness because they’re hurting. I wish
everyone could do it and see what a good
program it is, their combination of cardio,
strength, and mobility. For me? I’ve never felt
better.”
“If I met someone in a similar situation to me,
I’d tell them to check it out and try it because
it worked wonders for me. I don’t ever want
the program to end.”
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139
Case Study

Case Study:
How to Train
for Your Very
First Ironman
Words: James Breese

140
If only counting the two main event organizers,
there are 45 Ironman and five Challenge triathlon
races worldwide. With an average of 2,000
participants per event, that means there are some
100,000 Ironmens walking the streets each year.
Whether you have participated several times
before or if you’re only just considering trying
for the Ironman distance, you are undoubtedly
thinking about how to best prepare yourself.

If you’ve already signed up for a full distance

race, or are about to do so, congratulations!
Sometimes the hardest thing is pulling the
trigger and paying for the event in the first place.

Before you start training, you need to define

what your ambition for race day is going to be
as this is going to impact your approach. I find it
helps if you consider success in threeways:

• Accomplish: You will finish the race,

hopefully with a smile and a good feeling.
• Personal best: If this is not your first time,
you probably want to do better than
last time.
• Podium: As a seasoned triathlete, you
might aim for winning your age group.
A lot of people often get ahead of themselves
and think about setting a personal best or even
finishing on the podium in their first race. If this
is your first event, your main target is to simply
accomplish the race, and feel strong at the end.
Many of your competitors are also doing their very
first race, will be busting a gut to get a personal
best and in the process will leave themselves
broken and beat up at the end of the race. In fact,
many will not even make it to race day.
Your goal is to finish strong and feel like you
could do it all over again the next day. Only after
your first six to 10 races would I advise you to
go for a personal best, and only seasoned pros
should consider podium training. Whichever you
are, just be realistic with what you’re going to
achieve for your first effort. When you set your
level of ambition, please do it for yourself, not
for or because of someone else.
When it comes to the Ironman distance, there is
no quick fix. Think about it: The event is 226.3km
(104.6 miles) long and yields an average finish
time of almost 13 hours. However, for your
first event, you’ll likely end up needing every
second of the 17 hour maximum. It is, therefore,
useful to understand that an Ironman is not just
an extended version of a sprint triathlon. It is
extremely physically and mentally demanding
so, to prepare for such a task, the secret sauce
(if there is any!?) is consecutive work over a long
period. If you are new to long course racing, your
training may stretch over several years. Think
about that for a second. Your training may, and
in fact should in most cases, last several years.
One thing for certain is this, you’ll need more
time than you think to prepare.
To make it less abstract, plan at least for 12 to 24
months before the competition where:
• The first three months get you into
structured training.
• Months three to 12 helps you build your
skills and base fitness in swimming, cycling,
and running.

141

• Over the next six to nine months, you
continue to improve your skills and aerobic
endurance, with more time will be spent on
your muscular endurance.
• Months 18 to 24 take you through an ever-
increasing training intensity, which will
eventually mimic the conditions and stress
of racing.
No matter how experienced you are, the only
three variables you can change during the
season to improve your fitness are frequency,
duration, and intensity. As a long-distance
triathlete, you need to practice swimming,
cycling, and running regularly to develop your
capacity. Your training frequency will likely
be high, ending up in the range of eight to 12
sessions per week. Most people benefit more
from a higher frequency with less duration per
session than the other way around.
So how many hours a week should you train
for an Ironman? Well, a rough guideline, for
the Ironman distance, of how much you should
142
allocate to your training on average per week is
between 10 and 15 hours. When you combine
frequency and duration, you get training volume.
If you divide it over the three disciplines, you
should spend around 50 percent on your least
preferred and skilled disciple then split the rest
equally between the other two.
If you are like most aspiring long-course
triathletes, you are highly motivated.
Unfortunately, we meet too many triathletes that
assume that if they are not completely exhausted
after each training session, then it was a waste
of time. Attempting to train with a high volume
(frequency or duration) and a high intensity will
only lead to overtraining, burnout, or injury.
How hard should you go when training for an
Ironman? Well, the short answer is not hard at
all. This is by far the hardest thing to grasp as an
ambitious and motivated triathlete. Every week
we get questions like, “Shouldn’t it be harder?!”
With this in mind let’s discuss this month’s case
study: Tom Miller, who came to us wanting to
complete an Ironman in memory of his late
father. Tom’s father was an avid triathlete and
competed in several Ironman’s over the years.
Tom was always more into baseball and track &
field and never followed in his father’s footsteps;
however, when he suddenly passed away
following a short but intense battle with cancer,
Tom decided to enter an Ironman in memory of
his father and raise money for charity. Quite a
brave and bold move by Tom.
Tom had experience running marathons and, in
college, he had a track & field scholarship for
middle-distance races. He was no beginner to
running but with cycling, he only rode for fun on
weekends with friends and family and had never
taken it seriously. The main issue he had was that
he hadn’t swam since high school.
Tom is a good example of thousands of other
Ironman novices around the world who have
experience in one or two of the disciplines, but
not all three. Here’s how we approached his
training:
Case Study:
Name: Tom Miller
Age: 34
Country: Canada
Training Program: 24 months
Weight Before: 75kg
Weight After: 69kg
Body Fat % Before: 16%
Body Fat % After: 10%
Ironman Time: 14 hours, 56 minutes
When Tom came to us, he had not set foot in an
Olympic swimming pool in over 15 years. He had
a history of running and cycling but swimming
stood out to be his number one priority when it
came to the three disciplines.
During his initial training phase, we had to find
ways to juggle his busy work and family life to fit
in all the training hours he needed. It wasn’t easy
but early mornings quickly became the norm.
When Tom took the Strength Matters
assessments, he struggled with the more
advanced strength tests but scored well on the
mobility and cardio tests. Overall, he was in a
good place to begin training.
Monday: Swimming lessons
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: Swimming lessons
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: Swimming lessons
Saturday: Swim practice and bike ride
Sunday: Long run
Early mornings were the only time Tom could
realistically train, because of family and work
commitments. He was a busy marketing
consultant and had two kids aged six and eight.
Luckily enough, he had a supportive wife who
managed the kids in the morning whilst he
managed them in the evenings.
He signed up with a swim coach who worked
with him Mon/Wed/Fri for one hour each
day purely on technique. This was physically
demanding on Tom. Learning a new skill is not
easy, and swimming seemed like HIIT to him at
first. We had to keep that in mind for the rest
of his training to ensure he didn’t burn out over
the course.

We asked Tom to do an additional 1,000m

swim test, to give us an idea of where his
swimming capability was. Let’s just say, it didn’t
go well; he barely completed 200m. In terms
of triathlon training, that told us everything
we needed to know. Tom had great overall
aerobic capacity, so it wasn’t lack of fitness
that hindered him in the pool. It was technique.
Movement economy is one of the most
important things you can do to improve your
timings on the bike, run, and swim. Tom needed
swimming lessons first and foremost and that’s
where his training plan began.

Phase 1: Strength + Swimming (Six Months)

Our first goal was to get Tom to swim 1,000m
with ease. Until we could do that, everything
else was kind of irrelevant. The Ironman swim is
2.4 miles long (3.8km) so, we came up with the
following plan:

143

Strength training was done at a moderate
intensity (around 70 to 80 percent of max
capability) and focussed on single limb
movements not compound exercises. His long
run and bike ride were always done within Zone
2 heart rate intensity. We decided to do some
early brickwork with Tom on a Saturday, as he
had a high aerobic capacity. He would practice
his swimming for 20 to 30 minutes (never
leaving the pool tired) and then jump on his bike
for a 60 to 90 minute ride, quite simply keeping
within Zone 1 – 2 on the ride. It was just all about
volume building here.
After three months of working with his coach, we
decided to re-test his 1,000m time in the pool.
He got a cool 31 minutes but that was a long way
off the 20 minute time considered respectable
for triathletes. Significant progress nonetheless,
and it was here that he decided to part ways with
his coach so he could go out and practice what
he had learned.
We adapted his training accordingly. Instead
of the three swimming lessons per week, we
split these swims into easy, moderate, and
hard sessions in terms of distance. Mondays
144
were always easy: 100m x 10 with full recovery
between sets. Wednesdays were 100m x 12
to 15 sets. Friday was always 100m x 15 to 20
sets. All are designed to be as easy as possible,
with volume being the only changing factor. His
Saturday training became the following until he
progressed to a 1,000m swim and 60 minute
bike ride:
Week 1: 200m swim + 60 minute bike
Week 2: 250m swim + 60 minute bike
Week 3: 300m swim + 60 minute bike
Etc.
It didn’t matter how long it took him to do
the swim. Training was all about volume and
solidifying a strong aerobic capacity whilst
introducing him to the idea of swimming and
biking on the same day. We never pushed hard.
We built volume slowly and, as the distances
show, his swimming significantly improved. So
much so that he was comfortable swimming
1,000m in less than 30 minutes. Now we knew it
was time to progress his training.
Phase 2: Aerobic Base Building + Brick Work (12
months)
Yup, you read that right. Twelve solid months of
aerobic base work. When we asked Tom how he
wanted to feel at the end of the race, he said he
wanted to finish it with a smile on his face with a
time that would make his father proud. When we
told him that would take 24 months at least, Tom
was all in.
After six months with a strong swimming
focus, we changed things up to keep things
interesting and ensure he didn’t burn out from
the swimming. Here’s what his new weekly plan
looked like:
Block 1:
Monday: 90 minute run
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: 90 minute run
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: Swimming practice
Saturday: Bike + run
Sunday: Swim practice + long run
Block 2:
Monday: 90 minute swim
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: 90 minute swim
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: Moderate run
Saturday: Bike + run
Sunday: Swim practice + long bike
Block 3:
Monday: 90 minute bike
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: 90 minute bike
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: Swim + run
Saturday: Bike + run
Sunday: Swim practice + bike
As simple as this seems, it was exactly what Tom
did, consistently. We changed from specific heart
rate zones to using the MAF method (180 minus
age), which for Tom was 180 - 33 (+5 for having a
strong aerobic base) = 152 bpm. He still needed to
feel refreshed and full of energy for work and his
family, so we agreed to zero anaerobic work. He felt
good, strong, and his mobility wasn’t regressing. He
was now swimming between 2,000m and 3,000m
in each session a lot more efficiently; pool sessions
now left him feeling energized, not burnt out as
they did during his lessons. He still checked in with
his swim coach once a quarter for technique work,
but he was progressing nicely.
In terms of running, Tom’s easy training runs were
essentially half marathons or close enough, plus or
minus two miles. He was a good runner who could
run for hours. We knew moving forward to the next
phase we would need to increase volume but, for
now, his workouts held a great balance.
Tom was in a really good place and that’s where
we decided to start his race prep, six months out.
Phase 3: Race Prep
Because we had such a long time to prepare,
Tom was in great shape and fitter than he had
ever been before (his own words). Together
we decided on entering the following races to
prepare him for the main event:
April: Sprint triathlon:
750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
May: Sprint triathlon:
750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
June: Olympic distance:
1500m (swim), 40km (bike), 10km (run)
August: Half-Ironman:
1.9km (swim), 90km (bike), 21km (run)
September: Sprint triathlon:
750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
October: Full Ironman:
3.8km (swim), 180km (bike), 42km (run)
Remember, we had done no anaerobic work with
him before these events because of the way
he wanted to feel, so these events became his
race day prep. He had never entered a triathlon
before in his life, let alone an Ironman, so by
entering these events he was going to have lots
of experience before the Ironman, gradually
increasing his racing distance and experience
along the way.
We kept his weekday training almost identical
during this phase, we just included a lot more
brick work which looked like this:
Monday: 60 minute bike + 60 minute run
Tuesday: 60 minute swim
Wednesday: 60 minute bike + 60 minute run
Thursday: 60 minute swim
Friday: Swim + run
Saturday: Bike + run
Sunday: Race day or practice day
145
It wasn’t rocket science. Tom performed simple
volume, sub-aerobic threshold work that left
him energized and not overly fatigued. In
addition, we did some nutrition work with him,
nothing too crazy, just increased the number
of calories he was consuming. By now he had
already dropped six percent body fat to around
10 percent which was an ideal racing weight. We
attempted some fat adaptation work with him;
however, he didn’t feel good on this during the
base building phase, so we kept him consuming
a good mix of carbs and fats and lots of protein.

We subbed out all strength work during this

phase because there wasn’t enough time.
Instead, we prioritized lots of short mobility
sessions daily in the evenings whilst he was
looking after the kids with hips, thoracic spine,
and lower back being the key target areas.

Lessons You Can Learn from Tom

There are so many ways you can approach
training for an Ironman, and you’ll find lots of
great articles on the Internet. In my experience,
you always need more time than you think.
Most everyday athletes over thirty who enter a
triathlon approach it with the wrong mindset.
They go too hard, too fast, too soon, and training
becomes all consuming.

What Tom did exceptionally well was give himself

two years to work towards his goal, falling in love
more with the process than the race itself. He
knew that he wouldn’t be able to cope with all
the troubles/stresses of family and work life if he
didn’t pace it out. Exercise and events like this
should be a celebration of your training. When
Tom crossed the finish line in 14 hours and 56
minutes, he didn’t collapse. He walked calmly
over to his family, hugged them all, and finally
understood WHY his father loved triathlons and
Ironman so much. He’s currently training for
Ironman number four and can’t believe he didn’t
start doing them sooner. Enjoy the process, and
the race will take care of itself.
 This is the
first time
I’ve really
felt part of
a fitness
tribe.
John Withinshaw,
Everyday Athlete.

Train Anywhere.
Achieve More.

We remove the shackles of

working out in one location.
Train any time with the
equipment that’s available
to you. Your coach goes
with you in your pocket and
adapts accordingly, 24/7.

You’ll be amazed at how

much more you can achieve
when working with a Strength
Matters coach. Start your
coaching journey today.Visit
www.strengthmatters.com.

147
148
For me, life is
continuously
being hungry.
The meaning of
life is not simply to
exist, to survive, but
to move ahead, to
go up, to achieve,
to conquer.
– Arnold Schwarzenegger

149
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to
their Success –
Charles Nelson

150
Charles Nelson and his family just moved
from one side of the United States to the
other for Charles to complete his goal of
becoming a US Marine, but his journey has
had a few bumps along the way. Here’s his
fitness story:

We started by asking Charles about his athletic

background before he enlisted.

“My background was normal kid’s stuff:

Playing outside, taking part in sports. As I
got older, I played baseball for some time
as well as some football. Nothing too crazy
or competitive. I was never super into
weightlifting.”

“I was told I needed to be a certain weight for

my height before I could enlist. I had to lose
somewhere between 20 and 30 pounds just
to be able to sign up, then I needed to lose
another eight or nine to ship off to recruit
training.”

We asked Charles about his response to this

requirement and if the challenge of so much
weight loss ever impacted his decision.
“It’s on you. It’s your buy-in, I guess. You
show up a couple of times a week for PT
[physical training] which, for me, was
extremely difficult. I remember questioning
my choice and having second thoughts. But I
kept going.”
a kid, but not like I do now. It was a shock to
the system. I think I didn’t have the specific
background that most Marines have, such as
weightlifting and things like that. I had some
athletic ability, but not the strength. I had to
find a new level of strength and cardio fitness
to get through it. I was 207 pounds when I
started; when I graduated, I was 181.”

Charles went on to tell us about the training
itself and what he needed to do to lose the
weight.
“It doesn’t seem so crazy now but, back
then, it really felt like it. It was a one mile
run followed by a circuit featuring various
exercises and we’d finish off by running that
mile back again. I found it hard. I struggled
pretty badly. But I worked hard to lose the
weight, I stuck with it, and here I am today.”
“I’ve become more of an athlete since
becoming a Marine. I did like being active as
We asked Charles the all-important question of
why he wanted to become a Marine and what
kept him motivated during his challenging
journey.
“My grandfather was a Marine in World War
II. He was stationed on the USS Enterprise.
That was always in my mind. I always thought
about it. I thought if I’m doing this, I want
to join the best. Also, if I’m honest, the
foundation of my decision was that I needed
to do something different. I felt I had no
direction, going from job to job. I didn’t know
where I was going and I needed a purpose.”

151
 “Then I became overweight and needed
to make a change. I was unhealthy and
dissatisfied. I was not in a good place.
Becoming a Marine gave me that purpose
and direction. It was scary at first but to this
day I’m like, ‘wow, I’m still here.’”
Charles elaborated about his struggles. We were
keen to know if there was a cause and how he found
the motivation to make the change he needed.
“I felt depressed and had anxiety. My friends
all had jobs they were comfortable in or
had a direction they were going. I wanted
to see what I was made of. I think that’s the
bottom line. I wanted to see if I had what it
took. As hard as it could be, I had to know
if would I get past it and over to the other
side. Everyone has their struggles; we all face
adversity in life. For me, I wanted to see if I
could earn the title of US Marine, to become
more than what I was.”
We asked Charles about how he discovered
Strength Matters and what attracted him to the
program. Also, how it connects to his journey
towards becoming a Marine.
152
“I can’t fully remember how I came across
Strength Matters. It was something online
and, once I saw it, I knew that was it. My
interest was piqued straight away. To keep
up with my job and the other recruits, I knew
I had to do something different when it came
to my health and fitness. I had to get stronger
and faster to combat the signs of getting
older. The Marine Corps is not easy on the
body. I saw the writing on the wall. I needed
help or I’d end up injured or on desk work.”
Charles also wants to make sure he stays fit and
healthy for his family, especially as his children get
older and more active.
“I want to do PT with my kids and keep up with
them. I want them to say, ‘Wow, dad’s old but he can
still smoke us when it comes to fitness.’ That’s my
goal, so being a dad is also part of my motivation
to keep with Strength Matters. Joining wasn’t in the
budget at first but the more I kept looking into it,
the more interested I became. I emailed James and
he offered me an initial call to see if it was right for
me. Then we figured something out. My wife was
on board, and we agreed together that it was a
worthwhile investment in so many ways.”
To conclude, we asked Charles to describe his
time with Strength Matters and what he’d say
to anyone else tempted to join the program.

“It’s terms of improving my health, fitness,

and strength, it’s everything I was looking for.
Not just in terms of being able to maintain
those things but also to improve and get
better as I get older. I’ve only been with
Strength Matters for nine months so far. This
has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done
physically, next to Marine Corps training, of
course. It’s been a rollercoaster of ups and
downs but I’m always improving.”

“I think I still have a long way to go, not just

for my health but for my personal goals and
where I want to be. But it’s so worth it. When
I think about where I was and what I can do
now, it’s honestly night and day. There is no
magic bullet when it comes to fitness, only
challenge. But in difficulty, in that tough
grind, eventually we get to that awesome
sweet flavor when the work pays off.”

Finally, we’d like to thank Charles and everyone

else in the Armed Forces for their service.

153
Case Study

Case Study:
How to Fight
Against Type 2
Diabetes
Words: James Breese

154
According to the International Diabetes
Federation (IDF), more than 371 million people
across the globe have diabetes and this figure
is predicted to rise to over 550 million by 2030.
Of the total global diabetes rate, 90 percent are
living with type 2 diabetes but it is estimated
that up to half of these people are unaware of
their condition.

Type 2 diabetes used to be known as “adult-

onset diabetes” because it was primarily seen in
middle-aged adults over the age of 40. However,
in recent years, cases of type 2 diabetes have
become more common in young adults, teens,
and children. This increase has been connected
to climbing levels of obesity. The sad reality
is, diabetes is not going away anytime soon; it
affects more people than you can imagine, even
the people closest to you.

For those who are unsure what type 2 diabetes

is, it is a metabolic disorder that results in high
blood glucose levels due to the body:
• Being ineffective at using the insulin it has
produced, also known as insulin resistance,
and/or
• Being unable to produce enough insulin
It’s characterized by the body being unable to
metabolize glucose (a simple sugar) which leads
to high levels of blood glucose that, over time,
may damage the organs of the body. Something
that is food for ordinary people can become
a sort of metabolic poison for someone with
diabetes. This is why people with diabetes are
advised to avoid most sources of dietary sugar.
Type 2 occurs when the hormone insulin is
not used effectively by the cells in your body.
Insulin is needed for cells to take in glucose
(sugar) from the bloodstream and convert it into
energy. Ineffective use of insulin results in the
body becoming resistant to insulin, also known
as insulin resistance, which causes blood sugar
levels to rise. In advanced stages, type 2 diabetes
may cause damage to insulin producing cells
in the pancreas, leading to insufficient insulin
production for your body’s needs.
Several factors can increase the risk of
developing type 2 diabetes. These include:
• Being overweight or obese
• A waist size of 31.5 inches or more (women)
or more than 37 inches (men)
• Eating an unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Having a first-degree relative with type 2
diabetes
• High blood pressure or raised cholesterol
levels
• Smoking
The good news is that, in recent years, it has
become apparent that many people with type 2
diabetes can reverse diabetes through living and
maintaining a healthy lifestyle of cleaner eating
and exercise.
With this in mind, let’s discuss this month’s case
study: My father, Ellis Breese. In late April this
year, Dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It
didn’t come as a complete shock because he had
struggled with his weight for the past 14 years,
but it was the wake-up call he needed to get

155

motivated to do something about his weight and
take control of his health.
Dad identifies as a proud farmer. He grew up
being extremely active, though not in the sense
of going to the gym, going running, or lifting
weights. Far from it, in fact. His life was based on
farm work and hard labor. His work outs mostly
consisted of lifting bales of hay every day. Never
once did he think about his weight or worry
about what he ate or drank. He was so physically
active, he burned it all off daily.
That is until he was diagnosed with bowel cancer
in the mid-2000s, which left him fighting for
his life, not once, but every year for 10 years.
His first operation resulted in another 14 major
operations to get him back on the path to good
health. From an extremely active routine and
lifestyle, Dad became sedentary overnight. At six
feet tall, Dad before cancer weighed in at 80kg
(176lbs). In May this year, he tipped the scale at
111kg (244lbs), the heaviest he had ever been
(or so we think, as he hadn’t weighed himself in
many years).
156
I’d tried to approach the conversation of diet
and exercise with him in the past, but it always
fell on deaf ears. He wasn’t in a good headspace
to consider what I was trying to say or advise.
Dad had never exercised officially before in his
life. He never really had to cook for himself (he
was always fed on the farm). He was extremely
stubborn and liked to do things his way after
figuring it out for himself.
What happened this year was, for the first time,
Dad approached me to ask for advice; it was not
me dishing out unsolicited advice. He was ready
and willing to make a change. His words were,
“James, I got to do something about this. I don’t
want to end up like your Aunty [who died three
months earlier and suffered from type 1 diabetes].”
Dad is a good example of thousands of other
people who suffer from type 2 diabetes around
the world. I want to share exactly what we have
done so far, in the hope that we can inspire
others to make the necessary changes to get
their diabetes under control. Here’s how we
approached Dad’s training:
Case Study:
Name: Ellis Breese
Age: 63
Country: Wales
Training Program: 3 months
Weight Before: 111kg (244lbs)
Weight After: 89kg (196lbs)
Body Fat % Before: 38%
Body Fat % After: 32%
When Dad came to me, he had never set foot in
a gym in his life and had no history of running,
cycling, or swimming. He was a complete novice
in terms of health and exercise. During his initial
training phase, we had to find ways to juggle his
busy work life and find some quick wins for him
along the way to keep him motivated and feeling
good. It wasn’t going to be easy, but simplicity
was the key here.
Normally, we ask everyone to do the Strength
Matters Assessments; however, in this case,
it made no sense, as training wasn’t an option
for my father, not yet anyway. I bought him a
digital bathroom scale and we based everything
on weight loss for the sake of simplicity. Why?
Because it was a quick and easy thing for him to
do. Here’s how we went about helping him lose
close to 50lbs in three months.
Phase 1: Headspace + WWS
My first goal with Dad was to get him into a
good frame of mind. I was lucky because I’ve
known him my whole life and understood he was
battling depression because of his weight gain
and newly sedentary lifestyle. I knew he loved to
be outside and, as a result, I gave him one simple
task: Take a walk daily outside for 20 minutes.
That was it. I gave him onething to think about.
He started asking me, well what about my food?
What should I eat? Should I go to the gym? I
knew he was reading up everything he could
about diabetes and the more I spoke to him,
the more confused he sounded. So rather than
confuse him even more, I focussed his mind on
walking. Why? It was the start of spring/summer
and I wanted to get him outside, moving, and
absorbing some good old vitamin D. I wanted
him to start feeling good about himself.
with her better, which motivated him, even more,
to keep up the daily walks, for the sake of little
Phoebe.
At the end of the first two weeks, dad lost a
couple of pounds. Nothing remarkable, but it was
a start. The main takeaway from this was that his
mood changed. He was no longer sleeping on the
couch after work and, according to my mother,
he was a much more pleasant person around the
house. I’ll take her word on that.
If you’ve been following our work for some time,
you’ll know that everything starts with WWS
(walk, water, sleep). It’s the foundation of our
training system, and the basics that every human
needs to master if they’re truly looking to make
lasting change. WWS comes before training and
nutrition in our opinion. It’s that important.
We already started on the walking habit with
Dad, and he was walking more than 15k steps
per day. The next step was to look at his water
intake. Dad told me he started drinking more

Dad had fallen into the habit of finishing work,

then immediately coming home, reaching for
a bag of potato chips or two, and falling asleep
on the couch in front of the TV every evening.
I wanted to break that cycle, so his 20 minute
walk becomes a daily afterwork habit.

Every day for the first two weeks, he did a 20

minute walk, which turned out to be more like 30
to 40 minutes because of the route he chose to
walk by the side of the river. What was remarkable
was that, when I asked him why he walked longer
than 20 minutes, he said to me, “I don’t know why
I didn’t do this sooner. I find the sound of the river
relaxing and it gives me peace of mind, so I keep
on walking. That’s why I go over.”

Even cooler, my dad used to take my niece for

a walk outside the back of our house, and he
struggled to keep up with the four year old. But
after two short weeks, he felt he could keep up

157
since he started walking, but I wanted to get a
good idea of what he was drinking on a day-
to-day basis, so I asked him to write everything
down for a few days. I couldn’t quite believe my
eyes when I saw what he wrote. He averaged the
following drinks per day:
• 3 glasses of water
• 8 – 10 cups of coffee and tea
”Eight to 10 cups of coffee and tea?” I asked him.
He said, “Yes.” “Is that with milk?” He said, “Yes…
and sugar, two tablespoons.” My mouth dropped
to the floor.
He was having two tablespoons of sugar with
each cup everyday, which totaled about 100
calories per cup and approximately 1,000
calories per day. That’s 7,000 calories a week
on sugar alone. I half laughed and told him, “No
bloody wonder you have type 2 diabetes.”
Dad had been drinking his hot coffee and tea
like this his whole life, but it was only after his
operation that the number of cups increased
to over eight. He said he did it out of boredom
158
sometimes and to help get him through the day
other times, as he was often low on energy. We both
laughed about it, but after a while, Dad said to me,
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize this was an issue.”
The next day, he called me up and told me he
tried drinking tea and coffee without sugar and
hated the taste so he was going to cut them out
altogether. To this day, he still has, and replaced
them with water and electrolyte tablets to add
some taste and improve water absorption. In a
week, he dropped seven pounds.
Since the cancer operations, sleep has been an
issue with Dad, and it’s something ongoing that
we’re trying to work on. The difference currently
is that instead of waking up three or four times
a night, it’s down to once or twice. A definite
improvement, but a long way to go.
In just one month, by changing the behaviors
above, Dad achieved the following:
1. Daily Steps Before: 4,967
After: 12,823
2. Water Consumption Before: 0.5l
After: 2.5l
3. Total Weight Loss: 21lbs
A remarkable start!
Phase 2: Small Dietary Changes
Dad was a nutritional novice. He had never once
been interested in diet or nutritional advice, in
fact, he didn’t even like cooking. He was so used
to being fed morning, noon, and night as one of
the farm workers, he never really worried about
it. After those first operations, he continued
his normal eating habits of breakfast, lunch,
and dinner, interspersed with mid-morning
snacks and afternoon tea. He began to fend
for himself and, like most people, he opted for
more convenient, microwavable foods when
my mother wasn’t around. He would also snack
regularly, potato chips and biscuits being his
kryptonite. So, combining these habits with
boredom and a deflated mindset because of his
new sedentary lifestyle was a recipe for disaster
when it came to weight gain.
Dad displayed several symptoms that I had
before being allergy tested. He regularly showed
signs of IBS and was always nasally congested,
symptoms that I suffered from when eating
various types of foods. I’ve been allergy tested
so many times in my life, and it always comes up
with similar things:
• dairy
• wheat/gluten
• night shades
After we built up some initial momentum, I
suggested we try something different with his
diet by taking certain foods out completely, and
then slowly re-introduce them.
I suggested we start by taking dairy out of his
diet. I had been diagnosed with an allergy to
dairy when I was four years old. Dairy ruins me—
it makes me violently ill and gives me all the IBS
symptoms you can imagine. I thought this might
be a great place to start because dairy can cause
blood glucose levels to rise. Dad agreed to try
this for 30 days.
In all fairness to Dad, he didn’t find this too
hard to do. He had already stopped drinking
tea and coffee because he didn’t like the taste
of it without sugar, and he wasn’t a big lover of
cheese. He liked ice cream but choose not to eat
it throughout the experiment.
About 21 days in, he went to a friend’s house
to catch up, and they offered him a cup of tea
with milk. He didn’t like to say no, and ended up
having two cups. The following 48 hours were a
complete disaster for Dad–all his IBS symptoms
came back. He spent the entire 48 hours almost
entirely on the toilet and, in the words of my
mother, he stunk the house out. He hasn’t
touched dairy since.
Before the incident above, in those 21 days,
he dropped another 17lbs, which meant in
just under two months, he had lost 38lbs. A
substantial amount of weight and, in most
normal circumstances, weight loss that was too
fast. But Dad was still eating well. I guesstimate
around 2,500 to 3,000 calories per day based on
the simple food diaries he shared with me.
The next step after dairy was to reduce the
amount of bread he was eating, just to see if that
made a difference too. We approached it in the
same way as we did with dairy: Take it out for 21
to 30 days, then slowly re-introduce it. Dad loves
his sandwiches. They are a quick, go to meal for
him, so he found this one hard. I had to
159
make alternative meal suggestions for lunches
and snacks, specifically more soups and chicken
salads. He rigidly stuck to this except for one or
two occasions.
Again, when we re-introduced bread at the end,
many IBS symptoms came back, in particular
flatulence, burping, and a flaky scalp and
beard, which surprisingly had vanished over
this short period. Strange too, as those were
similar symptoms I got when consuming bread.
Coincidence? Maybe. But one thing was for sure,
Dad said he didn’t feel great after eating bread
and wasn’t interested in re-introducing it back
into his diet anytime soon.
In just three short months by making small
changes to Dad’s daily habits, we had now
achieved the following:
1. Daily Steps Before: 4,967
After 3 Months: 17,823
2. Water Consumption Before: 0.5l
After: 2.5l
3. Total Weight Loss: 48lbs
160
Lessons You Can Learn From My Father
There are so many ways you can approach
helping somebody with type 2 diabetes, and
you’ll find lots of great articles on the Internet.
In my experience, you always need to take into
consideration the human element involved and
make small, simple changes to daily habits, as
opposed to making large dramatic changes by
introducing complex diet and fitness plans. From
what I’ve seen, most everyday people over thirty
approach it with the wrong mindset and they go
too hard, too fast, too soon and end up being
worse off than when they started.
Please don’t take from this article that you need
to cut sugar, dairy, and bread from your diet to
lose weight and make dramatic changes. These
were just three food items that didn’t agree with
me that I assumed, correctly, didn’t agree with
my father, based on my experience.
Dad has a long way to go but over the past three
months he has changed significantly. Not just by
being slimmer, but his overall outlook on life is
now more positive. I’ve got my old dad back. This
month is all about mental resilience, and I don’t
know many people who would have survived
what my dad has gone through over the past
15 years without it. I hope his story can inspire
others to make similar changes too.
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161
Pamela Forster © Sebastian Marko / Red Bull Content
162 Pool
Everyone has a little
madness on the
inside. The skill is in
understanding the
madness, and then
being at ease with it.

163
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to their
Success: Rob
Richardson
164
Rob Richardson is a personal trainer and
actor who needed some help rebuilding
his fitness after a series of injuries that
required surgery. Fit Over Thirty caught up
with Rob to see how he’s getting on and to
learn more about his perspective when it
comes to fitness.
As Rob recently had surgery on his ankle, we
asked him how his recovery was going:
“I had ankle surgery just before the
pandemic. I had the choice not to have it
but, if I hadn’t, then I was likely looking at an
ankle fusion in my sixties, which isn’t that far
away considering I just turned fifty.”
“So I had the surgery and was told I’d be off
my feet for two or three months. I thought
that’s not so terrible, I can manage. But I
underestimated what ‘off your feet’ actually
meant. I could walk, but walking isn’t running
or jumping or lifting weights. This is one of
the things that led me to Strength Matters.”
“What I like about the program is the
emphasis on health. So many people get
into training looking for a physical aesthetic.
Of course, there are those looking to rehab
major injuries, but we all want that Captain
America physique, be it realistic or not. But
if you’re not healthy, you’re not going to get
there. You just won’t. You’ll perhaps achieve
some form of temporary satisfaction but
if your systems aren’t functioning well, it’s
just not going to happen. This isn’t stressed
enough in the wider industry.”
As well as ankle surgery, Rob also recently
had surgery on his shoulder after it stopped
functioning correctly. We asked him to
elaborate on the circumstances surrounding
this injury, his recovery, and if it impacted his
time with Strength Matters.
“My shoulder injury was just general wear
and tear. There was no ‘event’ that triggered
it, but it became clear that my shoulder had
done the last thing it was going to do for a

We asked Rob to tell us more about his path

to Strength Matters and what drew him to the
program.

“I already knew about Strength Matters for

several years due to my background as a
personal trainer. I’m on all the mailing lists,
so I have been following them for a long
time. My surgery, rehab, and the pandemic
led me to a place of mild depression. I was
unsure how to get out of it. Then one day, I
saw an email from Strength Matters. At that
moment I knew this was the right path. I
knew I needed help, even though I’m a trainer
myself. Even Tom Brady has a coach.”

As Rob is a personal trainer, we were keen

to learn more about his philosophy towards
fitness and if the program complimented this.
When working with his own clients, Rob does
his best to improve their overall health, asking
them to place less importance on superficial or
aesthetic factors. His view is those will come in
time, and the best way to look good is to feel
good first.

165
 while. I would reach for a cup of coffee and
feel a blinding pain go right through me.
During the surgery, the doctors took some
debris out of my shoulder that had built up
over the years. After this, I thought, ‘Do I
need to stop with Strength Matters and just
recover? Should I stop trying to push the
envelope?’ But I only had that thought for
about 30 seconds before I realized I need a
coach now more than ever.”
“I’m very tall. I’m 6’ 5”. Everyone assumed
I’d be an excellent basketball player when I
was younger but I’m terribly uncoordinated.
Because of this and my height, I’ve sprained
both my ankles multiple times. So now, after
turning fifty, I have an enormous amount of
arthritis in them and my shoulder.”
“The universe will often tell you what to do.
Sometimes it’s a loud screaming neon sign
saying your shoulder doesn’t work, you need
to stop and fix those things. That’s where my
head was at. It’s helped me apply the same
lessons when working with my own clients,
looking at their health overall as well as helping
them reach the goal they came to me with.”
We asked Rob about his other health concerns,
particularly his heart and lungs. He’s currently
undergoing tests to find out if there’s a problem
after experiencing some shortness of breath.
This was especially concerning during the
pandemic, with COVID being a respiratory
illness.
“My heart is fine but I’m not breathing well
because I’m asthmatic. It’s all connected.
My heart muscle is okay, it’s just not being
supplied with enough oxygen. I can’t rule
out COVID but these issues pre-date the
pandemic. I’m now fully vaccinated against
COVID, so I can safely take the tests to
determine what’s wrong with me.”
Rob told us about his time with Strength
Matters and how beneficial the program has
been so far, despite the challenges he’s faced
with his ankle, shoulder, and lungs.
166
“It’s been a struggle but things are getting
better. The onboarding was incredibly
easy, and I do like the True Coach app very
much. For the first two weeks, I didn’t do
much working out; instead, I focused on my
breathing and vestibular system. We started
with mobility and lowering my resting heart
rate. Everything clicked right away. This was
beneficial for me as tall people like myself
don’t always have a lot of balance.”
After discussing his time with Strength Matters,
his injuries, and his own experience as a
personal trainer, we wanted to learn more about
what drives Rob as an everyday athlete. Like
many people, Rob’s motivation comes from
being there for his family, as well as his desire to
help other people struggling with their fitness.
“I remember playing softball with my father.
He could hit the ball for a mile but he’d walk
the bases rather than run. He was very
strong but not healthy. Now I’m that age
and, though I’m not where he was, I can see
it. Being able to exercise and maintain my
health has helped me keep it that away.”
“My kids watched me go through two
surgeries in fifteen months. I don’t have a
superman complex but it does hit me a little
that I let them worry about me. I can’t let
them think that I’m not going to be here,
because I am. I don’t have to look like Captain
America but I cannot have them think they
 will lose me early. I’m not planning on going
anywhere. I’m doing everything I’m doing to
stay as long as I can for them. The number
50 means nothing to me. I’m optimistic. It’s
never too late for many things but there is a
finite amount of time. The secret is making
sure it’s time well spent.”

Finally, we asked Rob what he’d say to anyone

else considering the Strength Matters program.
He said,

“There’s a famous Broadway actor who once

said, ‘The fastest way to get where you’re
going is slowly.’ But that’s not the world of
fitness. Fitness is often things like ‘12 Weeks
to He-Man Muscles’ and other marketing
slogans. But the key word in personal training
is personal. That’s what Strength Matter’s
deliver so well.”

“There was an immediate sense of trust with

James. I just said yes, even to the things I
didn’t understand. He was always able to
point me towards the source of information
and explain why we were doing something. I
honestly think that their style is the next big
thing in fitness. This style could even replace
corporate gyms; I mean, even during the
pandemic people found other ways to work
out without them. It’s not going to be for
everyone but it might be for you.”

167
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to
their Success:
Kelly Isfan
168
Kelly Isfan leads a busy life as the CEO of
two hospitals. After feeling like her fitness
was suffering, Kelly decided to reach out
to Strength Matters for help getting back
on track. We caught up with her to discuss
her journey so far.
Kelly started by telling us about her early life
and how she didn’t get involved in fitness until
university. Once Kelly discovered the gym, fitness
became an important part of her life.
“I fell in love with the gym while at
university, be it lifting weights, swimming, or
just spending time there. In my twenties, I was
a beast! I worked hard and I looked good! But
that’s because I was living in that gym culture
at the time. I was there every day, and it was
fantastic.”
“Today my life is different. If I had three spare
hours each day, I could probably just head
down to the gym and become that person
again. But that’s not my life now. My career
often consumes my life from 8 am to 8 pm.”
We asked Kelly to tell us more about how her life
has evolved and the challenges she’s faced.
“Over the years, as you progress in your
career, I think there’s an ebb and flow when it
comes to fitness. There are times when you’re
very engaged and times when work or just life
in general takes over.”
a relaxed run later, but I no longer have time
for the ten hours of training a week that these
things require.”
“Fitting that in is just more stress.
And that puts you at risk of losing the joy
exercise brings. Taking part in these events
is something you need to enjoy and look
forward to. In my case, it was that I got to do
it rather than I had to do it. I was stubbornly
trying to fit it all in, and that’s when I realized
that I wasn’t getting much psychological
benefit from it anymore. I was dreading it
rather than being excited by it.”
Kelly raises an excellent point. Stress is not
conducive to good health, and many athletes
put themselves through unnecessary amounts
of it not realizing that they may be doing more
harm than good. It’s easy for athletes to become
so focused on their goals that they lose sight of
other essential aspects of their wellbeing, such
as their mental health or the importance of sleep
and relaxation.
Kelly told us about how she incorporated fitness
into her daily life before joining Strength Matters
and what led her to seek help getting her fitness
back on track.

“When I turned forty, I felt like it was a good

time to get serious. For several years, I did
marathons, triathlons, and lake swims, and
that went well. But then you hit an age when
your body’s wearing down a little bit. This is
when you realize that instead of giving up
completely, it’s time to work a little smarter.”

“This is why I’ve stopped doing marathons.

After a busy week at work, if I were to get
up and go running at 6 am on a Saturday
morning I’d give myself a nervous breakdown.
Sometimes on a Saturday morning, I just
want to have a second cup of coffee, sit on
my deck, and watch the birds. Maybe go for

169
 “By the time I was in my fifties, I had invested
in excellent home equipment, but it’s not
the same without that gym culture I used to
be part of. Years, even decades later, you
still know what to do, you just don’t do it.
Motivation and time become factors that can
easily hold you back. I had the equipment, but
I was just messing around. I was trying to fit it
into my busy life but needed some help to get
on a focused plan which could get me going.”
“I think I just suck at training by myself.
I was a little willy-nilly, so I didn’t get a ton
of results. I needed a plan that someone
else designed and tailored to me. Someone
asking me how I want to get from A to B, then
showing me what I need to do. I don’t think
I ever had clear ideas of what I wanted to
achieve while working out on my own.”
“I read lots of articles in magazines and
books and did a lot of research but I thought,
rather than muddling around with all of that, I
should just find people who know what they’re
talking about. Although all my muddling led
me to the Strength Matters website.”
Kelly describes how she came to her decision to
reach out to Strength Matters and that she was
confident it was right for her.
“I’m the type of person who sees something,
thinks this could work, and just goes bang!
James and I had a conversation and that
really helped me. I don’t need a lot of
handholding but I do need someone to check
in on me, keep me motivated, and give me
enough variety to stay invested.”
Now that Kelly has been on the program for some
time, we asked if there was anything that surprised
her and if her faith in the program was rewarded.
“A lot of the initial mobility tests surprised me.
At first, I was like what the hell? This is weird.
But then it was humbling. At first, I just wanted
to skip this stuff and get on with some training,
but in time you realize these guys are very
smart and know exactly what they’re doing.”
We asked Kelly if she feels the mobility exercises
have made an impact on her workouts or overall
fitness.
“Yes, if I try to skip it or take short-cuts, I
can feel it. It’s tempting, and you sometimes
think that this isn’t really working out, but it’s
important to get it in. Even if it’s while you’re
doing something else like watching TV. I can
see the difference.”
“Since coaching with Josh, we’ve started
doing some work around nutrition. After
turning fifty, you start to realize your
metabolism isn’t what it once was. We’re
looking at ways to work with this. He’s got
such a nice approach. There are no ‘Thou
Shall Nots,’ so I’m pretty engaged though
it can be an uphill battle at times.”
Finally, we asked Kelly to sum up her time with
Strength Matters and what she thinks of the
program as a whole.
“The Strength Matters guys do pay attention
to you as an individual. Since joining the
program, I can see the results. I enjoy the
feedback and look forward to my workouts.”
“I enjoy seeing the progression and feel like
it’s been really good value. I think both James
and Josh are so supportive, and I believe
everybody would benefit from the program.
Their approach is low-key but, at the same
time, very personalized and tailored. I’ve
always felt they genuinely care.”
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Case Study

Off-Season
Training
for Tennis
Players
Words: James Breese

172
Ask any elite athlete or successful coach, and
they will tell you that we are at an exciting time
in the history of sports performance. Athletes
can no longer expect to be successful based
on talent alone. Cricket will never see another
Ian Botham with his swashbuckling cavalier
attitude to life on and off the field. Soccer will
never have a George Best known for his love of
booze, women, and fast cars. The speed at which
professional rugby is now played is nothing short
of incredible. Just being skillful on the field won’t
cut it. You’ve got to be fast, strong, agile, mobile,
durable, and metabolically conditioned. And
tennis has rapidly seen the disappearance of the
technically superior serve-and-volley players With that in mind, let’s discuss this month’s case
like Stefan Edberg and John McEnroe, as more study: Lucy Goodwin. Lucy came to us looking
powerful baseline players and huge servers have to get stronger and fitter to enhance her tennis
taken over the sport. playing, as she felt she was starting to slow down
on the court. She is a good example of thousands
Strength and conditioning have revolutionized of other amateur tennis players who lose that
sports—and this isn’t just confined to the half a yard of pace on the court each year. Here’s
professional ranks. It’s even more pronounced how we approached her training:
at the amateur level where athletes don’t have
as much talent to “make up the difference” Case Study:
when they’re less physically prepared than their Name: Lucy Goodwin
opponents. It’s safe to assume that we aren’t Age: 42
going to see any miraculous coaching revolution Country: Australia
that takes athletes’ technical proficiency to all new Training Program: 6 months
levels. As such, it’s safe to assume that the fastest Weight Before: 61kg (244lbs)
way to effect favorable changes in an athlete’s Weight After: 54kg (196lbs)
performance is to physically prepare them more Body Fat % Before: 31%
for the challenges they face on the field or court. Body Fat % After: 22%
Push Ups Before: 0
Anyone who has been an athlete knows that the Push Ups After: 10
in-season period will never be an ideal time to 5km Run Before: 40:12
enhance performance. Competition takes a huge 5km Run After: 29:46
toll on the body, both physically and mentally,
so training will always take a back seat. It’s also Lucy has been playing tennis her whole life. She
not uncommon for athletes to put on weight and was a great amateur tennis player who competed
body fat during that time of the year. regularly. She would often win her local club
championship and even dominate most men
It should go without saying that the off-season is she played against. However, as life, work, and
of paramount importance to building you up as family (mother of 2) kicked in, she found her
an athlete. If you don’t make use of this critical
period, you will always be behind the curve going
into the subsequent season.

173

fitness was falling behind. As a result, so did her
performance on the court. She was no longer
winning matches and even dropped outside the
top 10 women in her club. This infuriated Lucy
to no end. She is extremely competitive and
approached us with the specific goal of winning
the club championship again.
In terms of training experience, Lucy used to
run a lot, do plenty of yoga, and, of course,
play tennis. She never once lifted weights. She
thought weights would make you bulky and
slower on the court. The great thing about when
she did her assessments was that she moved
extremely well and had ninja-like qualities of
balance and coordination. The three aspects that
stood out to us more than anything were her
body fat, strength, and aerobic capacity.
Phase 1: Strength Training
The benefits of strength training are well-
documented; however, there still seems to be
a hesitation amongst women when it comes to
lifting heavy weight. These benefits can
be summarized into two main goals:
1. Injury prevention
2. Performance enhancement
174
The older we get, the more susceptible to
injury we become. You can’t continue to play or
perform when you’re injured. Just think about
how many people have had to give up playing
the sport they love because of an injury. The
less you get injured, the longer your career.
So simple, yet so true.
I know this all too well from my cricketing career
because at 39 I’m still playing competitively,
whereas so many of my friends have given up.
In most cases, they wouldn’t have had to if they
had taken better care of their bodies. The older
you get, the more important strength training
becomes as part of your injury prevention
strategy, and it’s vital if you want to continue
playing sports into your later years.
In terms of performance enhancement,
remember how I said that the more powerful
baseline players and servers have taken over
the game of tennis? That’s strength right there–
power only comes from being stronger. With this
knowledge in mind and the fact that Lucy was a
beginner, we had a good idea where to start with
her training plan.
There’s an art and a science to strength program
design. The more advanced an individual is, the
harder it is to create and write a program. This
is because as an advanced trainee your ability
to adapt to change is that much harder. As a
beginner, your ability to develop, adapt, and
improve will be far better, and you’ll see and
notice results that much faster. The graph below
illustrates this point nicely:
Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Physical Potential
Time
As a beginner, almost every workout works for
you. At the same time, you must be aware that
these quick and easy changes will only occur for
the first six to 10 weeks. After this time frame, it
is common to see many people hit a plateau. The
results don’t happen as fast and sometimes they
can even go backward.

What separates the people who continue to

succeed and the people who give up is their
ability to recognize this and adapt and change
their plans accordingly. That doesn’t mean
you should change everything up once you hit
the six week mark. Far from it, that’s a rookie
mistake. It just means we have to slightly
modify the approach, but we’ll save that
topic for another time. a beginner, the default number of repetitions is
12 reps and the default rest period is 30 seconds
Since Lucy was a true beginner, we kicked off between working sets. Then there is always a
her training with one of our most popular and two minute rest between the next superset. This
results-driven frameworks for both strength and is because the primary focus of a beginner is to
fat loss. It’s an ideal combination for beginners build muscular endurance before doing strength
just starting their journey. endurance and maximum strength work.

Strength Training Framework When you google strength training tips for tennis
for Strength and Fat Loss players, what you will find is advanced power
A1 Upper Body and strength development strategies for elite
A2 Lower Body/Full Body Movement players. That’s great if you’re in your twenties
B1 Upper Body but if you’re in your forties and new to strength
B2 Lower Body/Full Body Movement training, this type of work is a recipe for disaster.
C1 Upper Body Whatever you do, avoid depth jumps and box
C2 Lower Body/Full Body Movement jumps. Stick to the basics and, I assure you,
your game will improve.
In a single workout, we’ll do the following:
Here’s a sample training day for what we did with
1. Perform exercise A1 Lucy using this framework:
2. Rest 30 seconds
3. Perform exercise A2 A1: TRX row, 12 reps
4. Rest 30 seconds A2: Sandbag hug hinge, 6 reps + walking
5. Perform exercise A1 again sandbag hug carry 30 seconds + sandbag
6. Rest 30 seconds hug hinge, 6 reps
7. Perform exercise A2 again B1: Half-kneeling kettlebell press, 12 reps
8. Rest 2 minutes left/12 reps right
9. Perform B1 and B2 B2: Goblet squat, 12 reps
10. Rest 2 minutes C1: Renegade row, 12 reps left/12 reps right
11. Perform C1 and C2 C2: Turkish get up, 1/1 with shoe

For this workout, we perform two supersets with Simple but highly effective for the novice
A1 and A2 with 30 seconds of rest in between. As strength athlete over thirty.

175

Phase 2: Aerobic Base Building
When Lucy said to me she’d lost half a yard of
pace around the court, I knew instantly we had
to assess her aerobic capacity. The older we get,
the more people tend to blame old age as the
main culprit for lack of speed. For elite athletes,
I wholeheartedly agree, and it is true at the
amateur level to a point. Experience dictates
that, more often than not, older athletes are
more sedentary and generally not as fit as
they used to be.
Like most sports, tennis involves explosive bursts
of effort, followed by (incomplete) recovery.
Points are relatively short and even longer ones
typically don’t extend beyond 15 seconds, which
means that tennis can be categorized as highly
anaerobic. Siff (2003) highlights that tennis
relies on the anaerobic alactic energy system 70
percent of the time, the lactic energy system 20
percent of the time, and the aerobic system 10
percent of the time. Whether this is true or not
isn’t relevant. What you need to know is this:
Improving anaerobic power and capacity will
allow players to compete well at lower relative
intensities.
176
Before you start doing sprint repeats and all
out efforts on the assault bike, if you’ve read
my book Maximum Aerobic Power, you know
that strength training and the aerobic energy
system are key to developing anaerobic power.
Remember:
If you don’t maximally develop your aerobic
energy system first, and have sufficient levels
of strength, you will never truly maximize your
anaerobic threshold.
We already started Lucy’s strength training, now
we needed to include some aerobic training.
Thankfully, she enjoyed running and this became
her staple, though she was used to running
without a set routine. What we did was assign
her to run three times a week at an easy pace. In
total, she was lifting weights three times a week
as well as running three times a week.
The key to building your aerobic threshold is
volume. Volume, volume, and more volume of
sub-aerobic threshold training allows us to build
up our aerobic speed and make our movement
economy more efficient in terms of technique
and metabolism. We have to re-train the body
to prioritize using fat as the primary fuel source
for endurance-based activities, and that means
spending hours and hours working out at below
your aerobic threshold.
At the start, Lucy completed three 30 minute
runs per week which we gradually increased to
60 minute runs over six months. Using a heart
rate monitor, we had her run at MAF (maximum
aerobic function) the entire time, which is
calculated as 180 minus age. In Lucy’s case, she
had to run with her heart rate constantly below
138. She found it incredibly frustrating because
this was a lot slower than she was used to. The
point here was to get her aerobically fitter, there
was nothing more to it than that. With some basic
strength training and more miles in her legs, we
took her 5km run time down by over 10 minutes.
Just simple training and consistent progress.
Phase 3: Core and Rotational Work
For tennis players, hip and thoracic range of
motion combined with hip and trunk strength
translates to increased power capacity for your
shots. Most injuries in the shoulder and lower back
can be prevented by strengthening your core and
utilizing your hips and trunk for power, rather than
relying on your shoulder and lumbar spine.
The abdominal muscles, obliques, and lower back
muscles are used extensively for the three basic
and most important shots in tennis: The serve,
forehand, and backhand strokes. Strengthening
your core provides crucial stability for times when
you are knocked off balance or pressed by an
opponent on the baseline. A strong core can be
the difference between a good shot and a bad one.
Research has shown that elite tennis players have
significantly greater trunk rotational strength than
novice players. More importantly, elite players
have symmetrical rotational strength, meaning
there is no difference from side to side. This
indicates that you should be training both sides
for rotational strength at the same intensity to
decrease muscular imbalances.
After nearly five months of beginner strength
training, we transitioned Lucy to some sport-
specific core exercises and drills. She created a
good foundation of strength, specifically going
from zero to 10 pushups—which is no mean feat—
so she was now ready to handle a new phase. A lot
of these exercises were unilateral and essentially
core exercises. Additionally, whenever possible,
she was placed in the half-kneeling position.
Then we added two rotational exercises:
• Half-kneeling kettlebell chop and lift
• Lateral medicine ball toss
The half-kneeling cable chop is a great anti-
rotational core stability exercise for strengthening
the musculature of the anterior core. It also
develops hip mobility and stability. It’s one of my
go-to moves for racquet sports. Combine this with
the lateral medicine ball toss and you have two very
powerful exercises to improve racquet speed
and power.
As a beginner, it’s important to use a lighter
weight than you think and strive for eight to 12
reps per side to practice the movement then
gradually increase the weight over time.
Lessons You Can Learn from Lucy
Interestingly, the entire time we worked with
Lucy, we never discussed nutrition with her. She
didn’t feel comfortable addressing it so early in
the process, but she dropped 7kg and nine percent
body fat in six short months. That alone should
make a huge difference on her tennis game.
Strength training the older you get is vital to
prolonging your career in sports. If you lose that
half yard of pace, don’t just blame old age; take a
good look at your training. In terms of winning the
club championship, well, that’s a story for another
time as Lucy is just about to start the season.
What we do know is this: She’s fitter, stronger,
and more powerful than ever. Let’s just hope
this translates to the court.
177
Shaikha Al Qassemi © Ali Bharmal / Red Bull Content
178 Pool
The difference
between a successful
person and others
is not a lack of
strength, not a lack
of knowledge, but
rather a lack of will.
- Vince Lombardi

179
Secrets to Their Success

Perry Nickelston –
Movement, Play,
and Helping the
Body to Get the
Nutrients it Needs
180
Perry Nickelston is a longtime friend of
Strength Matters and one who shares
many of our philosophies when it comes
to movement and strength. Perry is
a chiropractor who also studies the
lymphatic system to help people lead
healthier lives.
We started by asking Perry about his connection
to Strength Matters and his views on concepts
like strength and movement. He said,
“I want people to just be aware of movement
because a lot of people don’t move...But
movement and exercise are not the same.
Exercise is a form of movement but it’s a
manmade construct. The term ‘exercise’ is a
trigger to some people for a lot of different
reasons. There’s no pleasure associated with it.”
“Most people have been taught to fear the
word exercise. I teach people to focus on
movement instead. For them to just get out
and do what human beings were designed to
do, which is move yourself across different
terrain. That means go outside the gym,
climb stuff, lift stuff. I don’t believe that there
is such thing as right or wrong movement.”
“It’s about taking the anxiety away from
movement. So many people are scared to
move in case they get hurt or don’t move the
right way. People need to unlearn all the stuff
they associate with exercise and get back to
movement.”
Perry told us about the dangers of constant,
never-ending stress and why adults forget how
to play. Something we inherently know how to
do but, as adults, we don’t. Perry told us how
embracing play can lead adults to lead happier
and healthier lives.
“It’s about taking the constraints off and
letting people be kids again. I mean, human
beings innately know how to play. It’s just
that we shut that down now because play
isn’t considered serious. Play is something
that we lose track of the older we get
because we tend to think that it has no place
in adult life or rehabilitation. And I think that
that’s one of the reasons why we as human
beings are losing ourselves and our ability to
handle stress. And it turns out that stress is
the number one cause of chronic disease.”
When it comes to play, Perry says,
“We’re crying out for it. People need
permission to do it or an outlet that lets them
engage in play. Sometimes it’s going back to
things that you already know. I’ll ask people
when was the last time you just skipped?”
“Most people are going to say, ‘Skipping? I
don’t know, maybe when I was five?’ But I
promise you, that if you skip again, you’ll see
what I’m talking about. Skipping is not easy
to do, you have to get that coordination back.
It’s like jumping up and down while moving
forward. It’s very physiologically powerful,
and it will tire you out quickly. It’s great
cardio. In the beginning, you’re going to feel
ridiculous but, after a while, you’re going to
catch yourself smiling.”
“When it comes to skipping, those playful
movements are the foundation for building a
resilient body. As an adult, play is the number
one way that nature has programmed us to
learn about our bodies, explore the world,
and how to interact with others. When you
take that away, you isolate human interaction
which makes them weaker and less resilient.
Nature built in the number one mechanism
for stress reduction, and it’s play. Play is
movement without judgment.”
Perry has also done a lot of research about
nutrients and the best way to get them into our
bodies, just like he’s done with exercise and
movement. His philosophy regarding food has
helped people re-think their relationship with it,
and how nutrients reach their cells.
“You have trillions of cells in your body that
are making energy all the time. And you have
billions that die every day and need to be
181
 replaced. We eat food to put nutrients into
our bodies to fuel these new cells. But what
do you get if you put in crappy nutrients?
You get crappy cells. Crappy input results in
crappy output. Now imagine living like that
every day so clean up what you eat. Stop
eating like a five year old and you’ll be off
to a good start. People already know what
they’re supposed to eat, they just don’t do it.”
Perry explains why else it’s so important to think
about our cells and what we feed them, and how
this is something most people aren’t aware of.
“Cells also produce waste and if you can’t
get rid of that waste, then all that stuff stays
inside of you. It pollutes and you become
toxic to yourself. When your cells live in a
polluted environment, they lose the ability to
absorb nutrients–even if you’re putting the
right ones into your body.”
“Even if you’re eating well and getting the
right nutrients, it’s not going to make a
difference. Your cells need to be able to
absorb the nutrients, that’s the key. The
problem is the food that we eat today is not
really food anymore. Even ‘healthy’ food
doesn’t have the nutrient density that it used
to. And we’re all under incessant, chronic,
toxic stress which makes the situation worse.”
“I try not to focus on the supply side but
on the waste management removal side
because, if you don’t get that working right,
you’re only going to get so far. Let’s say you
have excess weight and you start training,
this is going to break down cells when you
burn body fat. When you burn body fat, you
release toxins. So you’re releasing more
toxicity into an already toxic system. Then
you change your diet, and most people will
restrict their calories too much, starving their
cells of nutrients.”
“The issue is they didn’t take care of the
waste removal side first. Everything they’re
doing is focused on the front end, and that’s
great, but if they don’t take care of the
182
waste removal side, it’s just going to lead to
more problems. These people will struggle to
lose body fat, no matter what they do. And
when they can’t, they either quit and spiral
down further or they go harder and make
themselves worse, which also increases their
stress.”
Perry tells us that there is a solution to this cycle,
and it’s simpler than most people think. He says,
“So what do we do? How do we reverse this
and get back on the right path? We take care
of fundamentals. We focus on hydration and
basic movement patterns, such as walking
rather than jumping into heavy exercise
too fast and overloading the system. This
is what I like about Strength Matters; they
teach people to walk, drink water, and sleep.
People don’t realize how important these
fundamental things are.”
“Just make sure you hydrate and walk more
than you do now. Strive for 10,000 steps
a day. If you do those two things you’re
automatically going to sleep better. These
are the basics and it’s where people need to
start when it comes to rebuilding themselves.
But add to it gradually. One of the biggest
reasons people fail is they try to do too many
things at once. Health is a journey, not a
destination. And it’s a lifelong journey.”
“Look at it this way, come January, gym
memberships spike as everybody wants to
stop all their bad habits at once. I love that
but it’s not how the body works, and it’s not
how behavior works. Going this hard all in
one go isn’t going to last. They either quit
or beat themselves up when they can’t keep
that pace. They don’t need to go from nothing
to everything overnight. It’s okay to start
slow and get the fundamentals right first. The
system works best when it’s not overloaded.”
Perry’s personal story is what’s helped him
understand the human body. His recovery from
chronic illness has allowed him to help others do
the same thing. He said,
 “People ask me how I got to this mindset. I got
here because of a lot of suffering and pain and
having to rescue myself. I needed to figure out
a different pathway because what I was doing
was not working. So, I decided to wake up
from the matrix and do things differently.”

“My story is similar to many other people’s.

It wasn’t a sudden injury or trauma. It was
a slow onset year after year. I knew how to
train and eat well. I was doing everything
I was supposed to do but I just didn’t feel
good. I was tired, fatigued, and lethargic. I
was never really given a reason for this. My
doctors said I was idiopathic, which is a fancy
way of saying they had no idea. Your body
doesn’t turn on you for no reason. There’s
always an explanation.”

“This led me down the road of studying what

I do today and focusing on my cells. What do
cells need to heal? That was the fundamental
question that I asked myself. Well, they need
energy and they need nutrients. Then I realized
cells need to get rid of their waste and toxins.
So I just explored that in more detail.”

“If your cells are swimming in waste then

the nutrients aren’t going to get to them. I
started to pay more attention to blood flow,
arterial flow, venous flow, and lip flow fluids,
and study the lymphatic system. This brings
us back to movement. Movement stimulates
the lymphatic system, which enables the
waste to be flushed out so nutrients can
reach the cells.”

Finally, Perry told us his feelings about Strength

Matters, the team, and what we teach.

“I love James and the Strength Matters crew.

I feel like they’ve been a part of my life, my
whole life, if that makes sense. You know how
you just kind of click with some people on an
energy level? We share a love of movement
and strength, which is what allows us to
make ourselves and other people better. So
professionally and personally, they’re some
of my favorite people on the planet.”

183
Case Study

How to
Increase
Strength and
Power for
Rugby
Words: James Breese

184
As a proud Welshman, it’s often said we are
born with a rugby ball in our hands for it is the
national sport of Wales. I can’t separate my
Welsh identity from 15 red shirts and an oval
ball, even if other sports fly the flag for Wales
on a global stage with similar pride. I would
argue that the way rugby is wrapped up in Welsh
nationhood is unlike any other sport. If anything,
rugby helped create Welsh nationhood. When
the game took hold in the last years of the 19th
century and thrived in the first years of the
20th, Wales embraced this relatively new sport
because it gave a small nation the chance to
be on top of the world. A game that came from
English public schools became an obsession of
the Welsh working class.
Rugby Union is relatively new in terms
of professional sport; it only became
professionalized in 1995. Since then, progress
in technology, training programs, and coaching
have all contributed to the development of
athletes at the top levels of rugby.
Modern international rugby players have grown
significantly since their counterparts played
25 years ago. A study published in the BMJ
Open Sport & Exercise Medicine revealed that
the mean body mass of international players
increased from 84.8kg in 1995 to 105.4kg in
2015. This is an increase of 24.3 percent, nearly a
quarter of a person.
A study conducted by CNN in 2014 looked into the
physique evolution of rugby players, presenting
a snapshot of three New Zealand backs viewed in
10 year intervals. Over four decades, the research
revealed the average height and weight of players
increased by four inches and 14kg. The average
weight of an England player in 1994 was 92.4kg.
In 2014, the average weight was 105.1kg. This
theme is common across all the major test playing
nations.
So why have players grown?
There have been many changes since 1995:
Players’ diets are now meticulously planned
and changed when needed. Pre-match meals
are carbohydrate heavy to ensure the players
will be running on a full tank of fuel for the full
80 minutes. Developments in GPS tracking
technology have helped coaches understand the
physical demands of the game better, meaning
they can develop training programs designed
for player improvement and the improvements
in data, as well as improved strength and
conditioning programs. All of this ended up
producing much bigger players.
How does this affect everyday athletes like us?
Well, amateur players are getting bigger too. We
haven’t got the data to show this, but just look
at the photos in rugby clubhouses around the
world over the past 30 years and you will see a
significant difference.
This is important because, if you want to prolong
your amateur playing career, you must take your
training seriously to withstand the shear stress
and impact it has on your body.
Understanding this leads us nicely into this
month’s case study: Ben Davies. Ben came to us
looking to get more powerful for the upcoming
rugby season. Solidly in his 30s, he noticed he
wasn’t recovering as quickly, he was a lot stiffer,
and had more aches and pains than usual. He
was struggling to keep up with the young pups
pushing for his spot on the team and wanted
to crush them. Here’s how we approached his
training:
Case Study:
Name: Ben Davies
Age: 36
Country: United Kingdom
Training Program: 18 months
Weight Before: 110kg (244lbs)
Weight After: 99kg (196lbs)
Body Fat % Before: 24%
Body Fat % After: 15%
Deep Squat Sit Test Before: 12 seconds
Deep Squat Sit Test After: 5 minutes 2 seconds
Standing Toe Touch Before: No
Standing Toe Touch After: Yes
2,000m Row Test Before: 8:02
2,000m Row Test After: 6:57
185
Ben has played rugby his whole life and
maintained a good standard of amateur rugby
into his 30s. He is a number 8. This is not a
position for the faint-hearted. The modern
number 8 has the physical strength of a forward
along with the speed and skill of a back. The
number 8 is the player who controls the ball at
the back of the scrum. They are also a potential
target for the hooker in the line-out. And, if that
wasn’t enough, they are always in the middle of a
ruck or maul. This is a very demanding position.
The work rate and stamina of a number 8 is key.
Given the number of times they are often required
to carry the ball per game, in addition to their
contributions at the breakdown and defence, it
is a physically taxing position to play. To keep on
top of that workload and still execute their skills
effectively in the latter stages of games, they must
boast incredible levels of stamina.
After putting Ben through his paces with our
assessments, the three areas of priority were as
following:
1. Body Fat Percentage
2. Basic Mobility
3. Cardiovascular Performance
high-intensity activities, training for strength and
power can be a problem for older rugby players.
Aging joints, scar tissue leftover from old injuries,
and rugby and age-related posture problems,
combined with a depleted recovery ability, can
mean that strength workouts leave a lot of older
players with even more aches and pains.
Strength and power training do not need to
stop just because you are no longer in your 20s
or 30s. They become even more important as
you age. However, you must realize, you’re not
going to increase your strength and power by
much at all at this stage of your training career.
The focus should be on how to maintain them
and slow their decline. It’s more about workout
quality, not quantity or duration, at this stage
of your career.
Phase 1: Mobility and Flexibility
As an aging player, Ben’s body has a lot of miles
on the odometer. Training for and playing rugby
has taken its toll. The aging process is hard
enough, but he had chosen to accelerate that
process at least partially by exposing his muscles
and joints to stresses that can leave you feeling
old before your time. He had a lot of fun doing it
too, but there is a price to pay with this sport.

“But what about the strength and power

components?,” I hear you ask. After all, that’s
what Ben asked us to help him improve upon.
After assessing him from top to toe, it turned
out strength and power weren’t Ben’s biggest
priorities. You can often think something is but,
until you assess, you’re just guessing. If Ben was
to prolong his career, especially as a number 8,
he had to address and focus on these three areas
first, which, ultimately, would lead to improved
strength and power.

Strength and power are cornerstones of rugby

fitness and these muscular fitness components
are crucial for successful rugby. While naturally
powerful players are drawn to playing rugby,
these aspects of muscular fitness need to be
nurtured and trained.

Unfortunately, because these are high load and

186
If he wanted to keep playing, Ben needed to start
paying more attention to the holy trinity of injury
prevention: Nutrition, flexibility, and mobility. To
keep your car on the road, you need to service
it regularly. This preventative maintenance will
stop a lot of mechanical problems before they
start. Breakdowns will still happen, but at least
you’ve taken some reasonable precautions.

Paying more attention to nutrition, flexibility, and

mobility is the equivalent of servicing your motor
vehicle. It should prevent a lot of the problems that
could otherwise cut your rugby career short. Your
rugby body is like a high-mileage car, and you can
keep it running if you look after it properly.

Ben couldn’t squat. And if you asked him to

touch toes, he couldn’t touch his knees. These
issues were due to his hips, ankles, and thoracic
spine.
Most people are not physically prepared for
a weight loss program, let alone a strength
and power program. These types of training
programs are hard, very hard. Combine this with
rugby and it’s a car crash waiting to happen.
When people jump straight into these types of
programs with two feet blind, more often than
not they end up injured within a few weeks,
setting them even further back from their weight
loss goals. This was something we wanted to
avoid with Ben and it’s why our first goal was to
improve mobility.
During this first phase, Ben’s workouts centered
around these three areas. We dedicated three
full days a week to strength training focused on
single limb movements and super setting these
movements with the mobility work he needed.
We then prescribed extra mobility days involving
a lot of thoracic spine extension, hip, and
rotation work.
Sample Mobility Routine:
• Deep Squat Shoulder Wall Circles
• Seiza Sit
• Zenith Twists
• Broomstick Windmill Rotations
• Thread the Needle
• PNF Shoulder Internal Rotation Work
Alongside this mobility work, we got Ben to
stretch consistently too, focussing on the lower
back, hamstrings, and calf areas. It was a mixture
of active and passive stretching, combined with
some targeted core work too.
Sample Stretching Routine:
• Seated Hamstring Stretch
• Butterfly Fold Stretch
• Deadbugs
• Leopard Crawl
• Deep Squat Sit to Stand Holding Toes
• Hip Flexor to Hamstring Stretch
In just under three months, and with a lot of
work and dedication from Ben, he managed to
pass all the original mobility tests he struggled
to achieve initially. This set him up for phase two:
Improving cardiovascular capacity.

• Diaphragm Self Release Phase 2: Cardio and Fat Loss

• Foam Roll Shoulders and Lats After three months of solid work with Ben, who
• Shoulder Broomstick Dislocates started to feel and move better, we approached
• Deep Squat Sit Hold the fat loss conversation. He understood what

187

was required and he went about it like a true
professional; once he knew what he needed to
do, he just did it. Calorie counting worked for
Ben. We uncovered his maintenance calories,
set his diet calories to 75 percent of his
maintenance, and followed a three week diet,
one week re-feed protocol.
That was it. We left the rest up to Ben to make
conscious decisions with his eating habits. We
used the flexible diet approach. If it fitted his
macros, we were happy. And it worked. Very little
input was required from us here, just a nudge in
the right direction and a bit of accountability.
Now, in terms of cardio, rugby is a sport built
around running. From jogging back to a scrum to
sprinting to score a try, rugby players can clock
up as much as 10k of running per game. Because
of this, most rugby players do a lot of running as
part of their training. However, for Ben, running
had the potential to be very damaging.
He’s a big man; 6’3 and over 100kg and his
body was already creaking from the sport itself.
When you run, your feet hit the ground with
about three to five times the force of your body’s
weight. That’s a lot of force. And, if you are built
like a rugby player, like Ben who tips the scales
188
at over 100kg/225 lbs, that’s enough force to
cause serious pain.
There are precautions you can take to make
running easier on your aging body. Of course,
you’ll still need to run during rugby practices
and games, that’s unavoidable, but there are
other ways to improve cardiovascular capacity.
For Ben, our weapon of choice was the rowing
machine.
Rugby players tend to make good rowers
because of their size and strength, which made
Ben’s initial 2,000m row time even worse when
you consider all the variables. He had time in his
schedule to train four times a week, so his cardio
program at one stage looked like this:
Day 1: Row 5,000m at a sustainable pace. Every
3 minutes, perform 12 push-ups.
Day 2: Row 2,000 meters at a sustainable pace,
rest two minutes. Row 1500 meters slightly
faster, rest 1.5 minutes. Row 1000 meters faster
still, rest 60 seconds. Row 500 meters as quickly
as possible.
Day 3: Row 5,000m at a sustainable pace. Every
3 minutes, perform 1/1 Turkish get-ups.
Day 4: Row 10,000m @ MAF Heart Rate (180
minus age).
Ben was strong enough, he just needed to
develop his aerobic capacity to match his
strength and power.
Phase 3: Strength and Power
By the time we got to phase 3 of Ben’s program,
he had dropped 11kg in bodyweight and 9
percent body fat and taken his 2,000m row time
down to 7:05, not quite below 7 minutes but
close. He was recovering faster and his body
was aching less. He was most certainly ready for
more dedicated strength and power workouts.
The older we get, the more inclined I am to use
kettlebells as the tool of choice for this type
of work. Why? Because the kettlebell is more
forgiving on the body than the barbell itself (in
most cases). Ben was a confident kettlebell lifter,
and we incorporated a lot of kettlebell complexes
into his strength training.
Rugby is a physical game. It’s hard to mimic this
type of training when you’re not playing, but
there’s a term I stole from Dan John called “armor
building.” Dan explains it as not hypertrophy, per
se, but rather a hardening and toughening of
the flesh with the expected accompaniment of
strength. Kettlebell complexes are a wonderful
tool for this type of work.
A kettlebell complex is a set of kettlebell
exercises performed back-to-back, one right
after the other. A complex is sometimes also
referred to as a flow because each exercise
should flow seamlessly into the next. You’ll
be stringing different exercises together and
executing them without pause in between.
I incorporated two different complexes with Ben.
The first, the classic Dan John armor building
complex:
• Double Kettlebell Clean x 2 reps
• Double Kettlebell Strict Press x 1 rep
• Double Kettlebell Front Squat x 3 reps
We used this in an EMOM format, starting at
10 minutes then scaling up to a whopping
30 minute session. Simple and effective, but
brutal! Ben started with 2 x 20kg as a rough
guideline.
The second complex was a more metabolic type of
complex, something I have used personally for years:
• Double Kettlebell Clean x 5 reps
• Double Kettlebell Snatch x 5 rep
• Double Kettlebell Swing x 5 reps
• Double Kettlebell Front Squat x 5 reps
• Double Kettlebell Swing x 5 reps
We used a 1:2 work to rest ratio here, with most
people taking about 1 minute, 10 seconds to
complete a set. Ben started on two sets of this
complex and we scaled it up to five eventually,
going from 2 x 16kg kettlebells to 2 x 20kg after
a few months.
This was a tough training phase that Ben only did
two times a week in conjunction with playing,
training, and doing other cardio and mobility
workouts, but he had worked hard for this and
his aerobic capacity was allowing him to recover
fast enough to handle this volume. I’ve said it
before, and I’ll say it again, cardio does make
you stronger long term. It allows you to recover
faster, lift more weight in less time, and have
clarity of thought to make those big decisions
when you need on the rugby field.
Lessons You Can Learn from Ben
When starting a strength and power training
plan, most people want to jump straight in
before they’re ready, often influenced by the
mainstream media and society’s desire to look
lean and lift heavy at all costs. One thing we ask
everyday athletes looking to get stronger and
more powerful to do is to ask themselves, “Am I
really ready to take on such a task?”
If you don’t have the fundamentals of good
mobility and flexibility, your body will not be able
to stand up to the true demands of training for
strength and power. Like so many who have tried
before you, you will likely end up injured and
even further from your goals.
After nailing these basics down, if you’re starting
a strength and power program but don’t have
a relatively low body fat percentage (under 18
percent in Ben’s case) and a strong cardiovascular
system, you will not be able to maximize your
results or improve long-term health.
After all the years of work we’ve done helping
people over thirty lose weight, get stronger, and
live better, the one lesson we have learned is that
it pays to take your time in the beginning. It’s
better to be the tortoise than the hare in this race.
If you’re about to embark on your own strength
and power journey, ask yourself: Are you
really ready for this? Are you mobile enough?
Are you strong enough? Do you have good
cardiovascular capacity? If you answer no to any
of these questions, you will want to follow the
type of plan Ben did. It may work out faster for
you in the long run, and help keep you on the
playing field.
189
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to their
Success – Amit
Sharma
190
Amit Sharma spent many years looking for
an exercise regimen that not only worked
for him but that he knew was created
using the best available science. We sat
down with him to learn more.
“I didn’t want it to be just weights. I wanted
it to be a combination of weights, mobility,
cardio, but also other things like yoga. I was
looking for a more holistic approach than
what I had tried before.”

Amit started by telling us about his athletic
background. While he was always enthusiastic
about sport, he didn’t consider himself an athlete
until later in life. He said,
“I’ve only been working out regularly for
about twelve years. I think my journey began
when I started being coached by a variety
of personal different trainers. All had their
strengths and weaknesses, but I felt I needed
to take more control of my workout.”
“I started to look online, and I came across
a Strength Matters article that resonated
with me. It was about an approach I was
looking for and who Strength Matters would
recommend. I looked into those guys but
then realized that Strength Matters does it all
themselves. I discovered their philosophy was
what I had been looking for.”
Amit told us about his first impressions after
joining Strength Matters.

“Once I had developed a good understanding “I was getting injured a lot before joining
of my body, I wanted to have more of a say Strength Matters. One was reoccurring in my
in how I trained it. I felt the personal training left hamstring. So, one of the first things we
I received was all a bit ad hoc. They weren’t did was put me through some assessments.
great at tracking what I was doing. I also We found that my mobility was quite poor,
didn’t feel like it was always very scientific.” which explained my frequent injuries. My
mobility improved as Josh came up with
Amit’s concerns are quite common in those some specific exercises to help me. This is
who’ve used personal trainers for a while. The when I started to really see the value of the
advantage of personal training is having the program. I was happy with that.”
expert analysis provided. People like not having
to think about their workouts themselves,
instead of paying someone qualified to think
about it for them and advise accordingly. But this
approach diminishes in value the more people
learn about exercise and their own bodies. Amit
continued,

“I don’t think I was getting that much out of

it in the end, so I needed to make a change.
Each of them was coming from their own
point of view, it could have been scientific or
it may not have been. I feel like James and
Josh at Strength Matters have spent much
more time studying the science than some
coaches do.”

He went on to tell us about how his personal

training sessions weren’t covering the other
aspects of fitness he wanted to explore.

191
 “I’m now much more comfortable being in the
gym. Before that, even with over 10 years of
experience working out, I’d be alone in the
weights room and not know what the right
thing was to do. I’ve also not been injured
since joining.”
Amit also told us he owes much of his success to
the mobility exercise the Zenith Twist.
After discussing his successes, we were keen
to learn if Amit had faced any challenges since
joining Strength Matters.
“I saw improvements with mobility and
cardio—-these were things I hadn’t done with
my personal trainers—but my next big plus
came from the dietary side of my time with
Strength Matters. I’ve fallen off my diet plan
a few times, so holding onto that is something
I still need to work on. I’d say that’s my
biggest challenge, although I recognize it’s
a personal challenge.”
“My other challenge is mastering the
kettlebell exercises. That’s where I miss the
personal trainer style. Having said that, I
can get feedback from Josh when I need it.
If I start to do something new or something
different and I’m not sure, I’ll video myself.
I’ll set up my phone stand and record myself.
I can always send these to Josh for his
feedback, although the more I do it, the more
I can serve as my own coach. Now when I
watch these videos back, I can see where I’m
going wrong myself.
“I can send the video to Josh and tell him
what I’m doing wrong from my point of view.
192
He might say, yes, you’re right, and offer a
few pointers. On other occasions, Josh will
tell me exactly where I’m going wrong and
what I need to do to get it right. So not having
him right there like a personal trainer is a
challenge, but I think it’s actually better in the
long run because it’s teaching me and getting
me more involved in my own progress.”
“Josh also sends me a video to watch that
he recommends, and I can watch those and
compare them with mine. This gives me a
better understanding. This was a challenge
in the short term but worked out well in the
long term.”
We asked Amit to summarize his time with
Strength Matters.
“I’m incredibly happy that I moved to this. I
wanted to take some more control, feel what
I was doing a little bit more, and know why
someone was making that plan. I think I now
have that aspect. It’s also comforting to know
that I am on the right plan.”
“I think it takes away that mental doubt. You
know, when you’re unsure if you’re doing the
right thing? It’s nice to know you are. I even
pushed my wife to join Strength Matters,
which she did eventually and is also finding it
very helpful.”
“What I love about Strength Matters is it’s a
complete plan, and you know that that plan is
well researched. It works, and it’s worked for
me. This is exactly what I told my wife before
she joined Strength Matters. It’s worked for
her too.”

“I do have some personal goals still to fulfill.

For example, I know where I want my body
comp to be. I’ve fallen off the wagon when it
comes to cardio a bit due to a longstanding
ankle injury from years ago, but I’m working
my way back. That’s another important goal
for me. I feel like with every passing year it
gets harder to improve your performance, so
I need to hold to that and stay on top of it.”
Case Study

How to Train
for Advanced
Police Fitness
Tests
Words: James Breese

194
When I look back at my time as a police officer
in the Metropolitan Police Service in London, I
do so with sadness, frustration, excitement, and
immense pride. It’s a real mixture of emotions.
If you’ve served, you know what I mean. London
is a fantastic city, and in terms of policing, you
get everything. Expect the unexpected. I can
tell you stories of squirrels terrorizing passers-
by (because they stole and swallowed the local
dealer’s heroin), riots, and people convinced
their Henry the hoover was a snake. No matter
what they teach you at Hendon, you are never
truly prepared until you step foot on the streets
and learn from on-the-job experience.
The one thing I wish they taught you at Hendon
was the reality of how to stay healthy and
prepare your body to handle the stresses and
rigors of day-to-day life as a police officer. What
to eat. The importance of hydration. How to cope
on night shifts. How carrying the kit every day on
your back takes its toll on mobility. And so forth.
They don’t teach you how to stay healthy, and
there is little to no awareness around it. Officers
with 10 to 15 years of experience aren’t even
aware of the impact this type of work has on
their overall health.
I was lucky to serve on some of the highest
performing units in the Met and have experience
and insights into the physical testing at the
highest levels. If only I knew back then what I
know now.
My life as a coach began in the police because
I had to fix myself. My back was in pieces, not
because of a severe injury but because my
hips had become immobile, my abs were non-
existent, and sitting for hours in the cars with a
kit load of 10 to 15kg was taking its toll on my
body.
As my back fell apart, my weight increased.
I couldn’t train as hard or as often, and I fell into
the coffee and donut trap that every officer falls
into. There’s never a day without cake in the office.
I hate to talk ill of any of my serving colleagues,
but there’s one stat that continues to frighten
me: More than 40 percent of police officers are
obese. There are many reasons for this which
include:
• Stress
• Poor eating habits
• Long periods of sitting
• Shift work
Police officers have a dangerous job. They are
regularly exposed to domestic violence, death
notifications, suicides, homicides, and many
other serious crimes. When responding to calls
for service, officers must always be prepared
to encounter life-threatening situations. Such
situations cause immense levels of stress which,
over the years, can take a significant toll on an
officer’s physical and mental well-being.
Another contributor to police officer obesity,
stress, and fatigue is shift work. Officers often
work rotating shifts, double shifts, and overtime
which leads to poor sleep patterns. If you’ve
been following us for any length of time, you
know what happens when you don’t sleep: Extra
calories and poor food choices. Many officers
also choose to work overtime and off-duty
assignments for the extra financial benefits,
which compounds all of the above.
In the end, it is up to every officer to oversee
their own health. It is hard but there’s always a
solution. I’m always happy to help friends and
serving colleagues, however, as hard as it is, it’s
the individual that needs to take responsibility
for their own health.
I know the obesity issue in serving police officers
is complex but one thing I can say with near
certainty is that in the most elite units, you will
not come across many obese officers. Training
and fitness are at the core of what they do and
how they need to perform.
I have frustrations towards the general standards
of police fitness that are lowered each year to
help accommodate the poor levels of general
fitness in society. On the other hand, whenever
I hear of the rise of standards at the elite levels,
I am quick to praise the people in charge.
195
This leads us nicely into the month’s case study:
Ian Johnston. This is not his real name; Ian’s real
name must be hidden for privacy and security
reasons, but the training and his stats are real.
When he came to us, Ian was in his late 30s and
he had been selected to become a specialist
firearms officer (SFO). This is the most advanced
firearms training you can do in the Met. All he
had to do was pass the six month training course.
The common roles of an SFO are to assault
premises involved in a siege situation, affect
high-risk firearms-related arrests, and respond
to terrorist threats. Training includes:
• Safe use of specialist firearms
• Method of entry techniques to gain
access to premises quickly
• Abseiling and fast rope skills
• Scenario training, such as being instructed
to search a specially adapted training area of
an aircraft
• Hostage rescue and handling techniques
It’s the British police equivalent of special
forces and the training is long and rigorous. The
difference here is that most police officers going
for this role are over the age of 30. It’s hard
physical work, and Ian didn’t just want to pass,
he wanted to excel at every level. Here’s how we
approached his training:
Ian had been a police officer for over 10 years,
regularly played sport (soccer and cricket), and
trained at the gym. He always had a passion for
fitness, however, he never took it seriously. Until
his mid-30s, he never had to worry about his
weight or body fat percentage but his body fat
slowly began to pile on, without any big change
in habits or routine. Or so he thought.
In terms of Ian’s training for the SFO course,
we had to treat it like he was about to apply for
the Special Forces. It’s not quite the same, but
very similar in nature. Whenever I help or assist
someone in this type of training, I always refer
to the data on the Navy Seals. Why? Because
there is lots of it available. The US military invests
heavily in the research and there are more
studies out there than any other.
Authors of one study identified physical fitness,
personality and psychological skills, and cerebral
and neurophysiologic characteristics as the
most important traits to successfully pass SEAL
selection. It takes more than just physical skills to
pass these types of tests. Not only do they have
to perform extremely stressful physical tests, but
they also have to pass mental and highly skilled
weapons training too. Repeatedly.

Case Study:
Name: Ian Johnston
Age: 39
Country: United Kingdom
Training Program: 9 months
Weight Before: 80kg (172lbs)
Weight After: 74kg (159lbs)
Body Fat % Before: 18%
Body Fat % After: 12%
3-Mile Run Before: 24 minutes 38 seconds
3-Mile Run After: 19 minutes 11 seconds
Push-Up Test (1 every 3 seconds) Before: 24
Push-Up Test (1 every 3 seconds) After: 62
Pull-Up Test (1 every 3 seconds) Before: 6
Pull-Up Test (1 every 3 seconds) After: 15

196
Running performance is the best predictor of
Hell Week success for potential Navy Seals. It’s
even greater than for any other fitness variable
measured, including swimming, calisthenics
(such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups), and
measures of strength like bench press and
deadlift.
During BUD/S, it’s important to be able to
recover quickly and completely between several
high-intensity evolutions. Those who are faster
on timed runs tend to have a more developed
capacity to recover. Further, research from
various military selection/training programs
shows that performance on timed runs is also
the best predictor of injury: Slower runners get
injured more frequently during the program.
For sports like soccer, there is a correlation
between aerobic fitness and injury. It makes
sense—when people get fatigued, technique
tends to break down and they are more likely
to make mistakes. People with more endurance
are more resistant to fatigue and less likely
to make injury-prone technical mistakes, no
matter the sport or standardized military
training program.
Running quantifies aerobic fitness, which
impacts your ability to sustain work output
and recover quickly after physically demanding
evolutions. As run times get faster, the odds of
completing Hell Week improve, though benefits
seem to plateau when runners can finish the
three mile run in less than 19 minutes.
So, what research shows is that we needed to
aim for a three mile run in 18 to 19 minutes to
increase Ian’s likelihood of success.
After putting Ian through his paces with our
assessments, the three areas of priority were as
follows:
1. Body Fat Percentage
2. Bodyweight Strength Endurance
3. Cardiovascular Performance
Phase 1: Body Fat Reduction
I must sound like a broken record when it comes
to body fat percentage and performance. The
correlation between cardiovascular performance
and body fat is significant. Healthy ranges of body
fat for men lie between 10 and 20 percent. What
we know from the research within the Navy Seals
is that the leanest students completed Hell Week
at a higher rate than students with more body fat.
Students with 11 percent body fat had a 22 percent
chance of completing Hell Week, compared to
students who averaged 20 percent body fat, who
only had a 12 percent chance of success.
Even though Ian was in healthy ranges, he wasn’t
at an elite level of body fat. He was applying
for the Special Forces of the Police. We had to
get this down to below 11 percent to give him
the best possible chance, which would in turn
improve his cardiovascular performance.
Fat loss training plans boil down to one key
component: Losing the maximum amount of
body fat. Because of this, the nutrition strategy
becomes paramount. You need to lose body fat
but not at the expense of muscle mass. What
will determine overall weight loss is something
we call energy balance, basically calories in vs
calories out. To lose body fat, the amount of
energy you expend each day will need to exceed
the amount of energy (calories) you consume.
197

In most cases, with a high performing student
like Ian, we would want to go down the calorie
tracking route but this was not an option with
him. Whilst at work, Ian was not allowed to have
his cell phone, an issue we see time and time
again with certain law enforcement agencies
because of the phone’s Bluetooth capabilities.
He was also not keen on the idea of tracking,
so we had to do some very old school methods
involving a notebook and pencil. Ian tracked his
food in a notebook for a week and shared the
pictures with us.
Like a typical police officer, his food
consumption was sporadic, eating at different
hours and at different locations. Overall, we only
found the following concerns:
1. Frequent trips to Starbucks. Often daily,
sometimes twice daily. Drink of choice:
Venti vanilla whole milk latte (441 calories).
2. Fast food. A mixture of Kebab houses and
Chinese takeaways, every night shift.
3. Soda and Chocolate candy on night shifts
The rest of the time Ian ate good quality whole
foods. His wife was a former chef, so they ate
well at home. The issue was his habits with
198
work, in particular night shifts. Armed with this
knowledge, we made the following adjustments:
1. Switch to black coffee,
with the occasional latte.
2. Meal prep.
3. Switch to diet soda and try
to hold off on the candy.
Key to this was Ian started taking food to work.
These were the only dietary interventions we had
to do with Ian. As he began the training, we started
to see instant results which continued right down
to 12 percent body fat from 18 percent.
Phase 2: Running Performance
This was the big one. Ian had to improve his
running capacity and his aerobic fitness to stand
a chance at passing the selection course. His five
minute increase in performance time came down
to several factors:
1. Weight loss
2. Volume
3. The right intensity at the right time
The weight loss started to happen because
of the dietary and lifestyle changes he was
implementing. This continued as he increased his
training volume. We also significantly increased
his NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)
by getting him to walk significantly more. Police
officers, unless patrolling on foot, sit down a
lot. Ian’s daily step average was just 4,500. This
had to change; we know from experience when
we increase this number, it does wonders for
aerobic capacity, recovery, and weight loss.
With any cardio plan, we started by increasing
volume, which we introduced t Ian on his
commute to work. Ian worked a split shift
pattern of two days/two nights in 12 hour shifts,
common for a lot of police officers in the U.K.
These are long days, and even at the end of each
shift you are not guaranteed to leave on time.
The biggest opportunity we saw for change was
his route into work. We encouraged Ian to stop
taking the Tube and introduced a very simple
walk/run protocol. He had a four mile journey to
work and trains took approximately 45 minutes.
We figured we could eventually run it quicker so
that’s what we worked toward.
It was important to build up the intensity slowly.
We didn’t want to tire Ian out before work so
we started with a one minute run/four minute
walk protocol. He did this every time he went to
work. After a couple of weeks, we encouraged
him to do it when he left work too, depending on
how tired he felt. He never missed a journey in,
and he had about 50 percent compliance for the
way home, including after a 12 hour night shift.
He admitted it stopped him falling asleep on the
carriage and ending up in Brighton, as he had
done on several occasions.
After a couple of weeks, we changed the
progression of the walk/run. Over 12weeks, this
is what the protocol looked like:
Weeks 1 – 3: Run 1 minute, Walk 4 minutes.
Weeks 4 – 6: Run 2 minutes, Walk 3 minutes.
Weeks 7 – 9: Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 minutes.
Weeks 10 – 12: Run 4 minutes, Walk 1 minute.
Ian wore his heart rate monitor and he always
ran at MAF (maximum aerobic function: 180
minus age). We were working on his aerobic
base and his ability to get fitter, go longer, and
recover faster. This was going to be key for his
performance during selection.
During his working days/nights, Ian would run
either four or eight miles. He averaged 25 miles a
week worth of running by doing this.
Something else we had to balance out was the
impact night shifts had on his days off. After
his second night shift, we always planned a
complete day of rest with maybe some light
mobility. We would then do some light strength
work the day after, but always follow it with
some hard interval work the day before he
returned to work.
With anyone on night shifts, we cannot put too
much stress on their body, particularly if they
are sleep-deprived. That would be a recipe for
disaster, so volume and easy work are always
featured. But we needed to include interval work
for Ian’s goals. The compromise here was the
hardest workouts came after he had three days
of recovery from night shifts and were only once
per week.
At one point, Ian was able to take a full month off
because of time owed to him in lieu. We used this
to increase the intensity of his aerobic training and
supplement the base work he had been doing.
He regularly performed the following running
intervals:
1. Run 1 mile @MAF. 10 Sets of 30 seconds
hard/30 seconds recovery. Run 1 mile @
MAF.
2. Run 1 mile @MAF. 5 Sets of 1 minute hard/1
minute recovery. Run 1 mile @MAF.
3. Run 1 mile @MAF. 5 Sets of 2 minutes
hard/2 minutes recovery. Run 1 mile @MAF.
Additionally, this month off was the perfect
opportunity to work on aerobic power and
introduce him to some longer lactic pieces.
As soon as he went back to work, we stopped
this type of work. Fortunately, during our nine
months of training, he had two opportunities to
take a full month off which suited his training
perfectly and helped with his overall success.
Phase 3: Strength Endurance
During selection and training, there would be
a lot of carrying, a lot of push-ups, and a lot of
running under load. Good bodyweight strength
endurance requirements are an absolute
necessity. The dreaded three man fire carry still
haunts me to this day (in teams of three, you
carry each other up and down a tower twice
for time).
As he progressed and the walk/runs into work
became runs, we upped the ante, but still worked
well in his comfort zone ensuring not to fatigue
him too much. Running became commando
runs (running with push-ups) and the occasional
weighted backpack run.
199
Why this change? During a non-stop cardio
training session, regularly obstructing the
blood flow back to the heart with the use of
muscular tension dramatically accelerates the
improvement of cardio capacity. Muscular
contraction and tension prevent the blood from
flowing back to the heart and instead demands
blood flow to other parts of the body.
For example, splicing push-ups into a run
demands vasodilation and vasoconstriction of
the blood vessels sending blood to the arms,
chest, and shoulders, while maintaining tension
throughout the torso and legs. The amount of
blood entering the heart, therefore, reduces,
causing the heart rate to dramatically increase
because the same amount of oxygenated blood
is still required to be pumped to the rest of
the body. When one stands back up and starts
running again, vasodilation and vasocontraction
occur, taking the blood away from the superficial
upper body muscles and back to the heart.
Regular blood flow restriction cardio training
increases the ability to move blood around from
one area of the body to another by vasodilation
and vasoconstriction. The cardiovascular
improvements are substantial if essential
components such as hydration, rest, nutrition,
and daily locomotion are in place.
A commando run is one of the best running
recovery exercises I’ve ever come across.
It’s also incredible for fat loss.
Ian’s run to work now looked like this:
200
Run @ MAF. Perform 10 push-ups every 5 minutes.
That was it. In the space of an hour on his way
to work, he would complete 120 push-ups.
Sometimes twice a day. Not only was he doing
the push-ups, but over time his MAF run became
faster and faster with less intensity. Our plan was
working. The volume was still approximately 25
miles a week, this time with about 500 push-ups
a week too.
Building pull-up ccapacity washard to program
this into his plan because of everything else that
was getting in the way. He could only manage
one day a week in the gym, which needed to
cover the human movements and deadlifting.
It was very basic, military-style programming.
Exactly what he needed to do in the grand
scheme of things. But Ian had a pull-up bar at
home, so his prescription was to complete a
few sets of five to seven pull-ups every time he
walked past it. That was it.
Lessons You Can Learn from Ian
If you want to apply for elite military or law
enforcement units, you must improve your
ability to run and recover quickly. This will help
you make better decisions in stressful situations
and perform your core skills more competently.
This is not the only way you’re going to pass
these courses or selections but, as the research
shows time and time again, running fitness
correlates to pass rate and injury rate.
Shift work is hard on the body so you must
control the intensity of the workouts when
you’re on shift, especially when you are coming
off a night shift. High intensity is not the
solution; volume and below threshold work is.
You have to choose wisely when to push hard.
It’s not a case of never doing it, but about when
you apply it.
If you are a shift worker, law enforcement officer,
or in the military but not applying for any elite
units, my advice is simple: Focus on your eating
habits. Once you get that right, you’ll discover
a whole new world of energy you never thought
you had, and you may lose a few pounds too.
Thank you to all those that serve.
201
202
Forget failure. Forget
mistakes. And, forget
everything, except
what you’re going to
do now. And do it.
- Lou Ferrigno

203
Secrets to Their Success

Secrets to their
Success – Michelle
Grocock
204
Michelle tells us about finding motivation,
accountability, and seeing a return for her
hard work since joining Strength Matters
18 months ago.
Michelle had always been a keen tennis player in
her youth, enjoying both the sport and the social
aspects it brought. However, when Michelle left
London and moved to Australia, she needed to
find new ways to stay active.
“I don’t know if it was turning 30, or if going
to Australia was the trigger, but I suddenly
decided I was overweight. I had spent my 20s
just eating, drinking, and having fun, and that
doesn’t help you stay fit.”
Michelle told us about how the social aspect of
sports like tennis kept her motivated when living
in London. However, things were different upon
arriving in Australia.
“The lifestyle in Australia is different. I
eventually signed up for one of those 5k fun
runs. You know, the one you do, it kills you, and
you swear you’ll never do it again, but you then
do it again. You find yourself setting more and
more goals, and you’ve then done a 10k. Ten
years later, you find yourself doing an Ironman
triathlon and wondering how that happened.”
continue because there are so many other
benefits to being healthy, fit, and feeling good.
You don’t go to a gym to be social and talk to
other people. You almost want the opposite. You
don’t want anyone looking at you. Many people
just want to do their own thing and leave.”
Eventually, Michelle needed guidance when it
came to the structure of her workout sessions
and help with strength training. This led her
to Strength Matters. Here’s what she told us
about finding Strength Matters and her early
impressions:
“I was now focusing much more on running
and endurance running, but I knew I needed to
have more mobility and flexibility as I get older.
I don’t want to be one of those people who
can’t move or get out of a chair when they’re
70 or 80. For me, it was two things: In the short
term I wanted to be a better runner, but I also
wanted to age well.”
“I think I was just doing a general Google
search when I saw an article about the best
five or six online strength training companies
and Strength Matters was one of those. When
I read about them all, Strength Matters was
the one that resonated with me the most.
I didn’t feel like I was the target audience

“When I moved to Australia, it was hard to

make friendships. My tennis club in London
was where all my friends were. It didn’t quite
work that way out here. A couple of my UK
friends suggested I join them on a trip to
France cycling through the Alps. While we
were there, they suggested I join the triathlon
club back in Australia. I joined that very night
from my hotel room in France.”

In time, Michelle saw fitness as more of a

personal endeavor than a social one, despite
making new friends through her various
activities in Australia.

“I think community makes such a difference

when getting people involved. Although
now, even if the social aspect didn’t exist, I’d

205
 for the others. I knew I needed a coach but I
needed something that was tailored to me,
that was very important. I signed up and it
was exactly what I wanted. It was perfect.”

Michelle went on to tell us about the benefits of

joining Strength Matters, how it’s worked for her,
and what she gets out of it. Michelle responded
well to the early mobility exercises, something that
often confuses new athletes when they join the
program, though they do see the value in time.

“Josh gives me three days of strength stuff

and three days of mobility stuff. He says I’m
not the normal athlete because I love the
mobility sessions. Usually, he has to drag
people kicking and screaming to do the
mobility work. But that’s the stuff I love and
joined up for! It’s what I needed the most.”

“Strength Matters gives me accountability.

As we have the app, Josh tracks and notices
when I’m doing my sessions or if I’m not
reporting in. He’ll follow up and keep me on
track. So, accountability is the number one
benefit for me.”
“Number two would be tailoring the workout
to me so I don’t have to think. I don’t have to
spend my week planning what I’m going to do
and wondering if it’s right, it’s already sitting
there ready for me. I just have to follow the
instructions which, when you have a busy job,
makes it so much better. It removes another
excuse. Then Josh being willing to adjust it,
which is incredibly helpful. This has resulted
in me training more consistently. And is that
making a difference? Absolutely.”

“Fairly soon after I started with Strength

Matters, I went cycling and beat my personal
best. To do this when you’re almost 50 is
quite the feeling. I’d been so focused on
my running, I hadn’t cycled for a year, so
I decided that I needed to get back into
cycling. This was completely down to my
mobility and strength training.”

Michelle then told us about how she stays

motivated, her goals, and how to lead a busy life
and still fit exercise in when you’re able to. Many
athletes panic and stress over fitting in their
workouts, unaware that this is detrimental to
their success.

206
 “You always go through motivation wobbles.
Do I do every single session every week?
Of course not. That’s probably one of the
mistakes people make, and the reasons why
they give up. We all try to be perfectionists
so when you miss a session, it’s like the sky is
falling. But we’ve all got lives. This took me a
while to understand.”

“My job is so varied that I can’t even predict

what time of day I’m going to do my training.
I can’t commit to a regular weekly time with
a personal trainer face-to-face, it would be
impossible. But with Strength Matters, I can
work it around me.”

“The next goal I want to achieve is a 100km

ultra-run in New Zealand at some point next
year. I also plan to do another in Tasmania.
Another big goal of mine is to return to the
UK to do the Coast to Coast in summer. These
are all provided COVID doesn’t delay them.”

Finally, we asked Michelle what she’d say to

someone considering the Strength Matters
program and if she could summarize her
experience so far:

“Strength Matters is not just another

strength program targeted towards young
20 year olds. It’s about you and tailored to
you. It’s also not a short-term thing. It’s not
for those looking for a quick win in the next
two, three weeks. The course is designed for
commitment. I get so many people saying
they could never do what I do, but it’s an
excuse, quite frankly. Anyone could if they
really wanted to. If it’s that important, you
find a way to do it. You find the time.”

“Josh feels like a good friend that wants me

to achieve my goals. He is there along with
me, nudging, prodding, and coaching me to
achieve those goals, which is pretty cool.
Also, I’m in Australia, but the fact that Josh
is based in the UK doesn’t matter. It makes
no difference whatsoever. I think the days of
you needing your training to be face-to-face
are gone.”

207
Case Study

The Over 30
Skinny Guy’s
Guide to
Building Lean
Muscle Mass
Words: James Breese

208
Scientists have made some outstanding
discoveries in our lifetime—the Higgs boson,
gravitational waves, quantum supremacy—but
skinny people everywhere are still waiting
for one important finding: The perfect (drug-
free) formula for turning an ectomorph into a
mesomorph so that they can build lean muscle
mass.
There are millions of people all over the world
looking for a simple solution for fat loss. It’s
all over the media, and we’re all aware of the
obesity epidemic. But for every overweight
person, you will find a skinny person desperately
wanting to pack on the pounds.
Both body types are separate issues that need to
be addressed differently; there is no one size fits
all approach. Just like fat loss, there is no magic
pill for skinny people to pack on muscle without
taking drugs. It comes down to hard work, grit,
and perseverance whilst obeying the basic rules
of physiology and nutrition.
Whenever we work with skinny people, we often
find the following common issues:
1. They’re not eating enough
(of the right foods)
2. They’re not training enough
3. They’re not strong enough to withstand
a muscle building program
This is across the board. There is a fourth factor
that comes into play often too, and that is a lot
of skinny people are what we call “skinny fat.”
If you’re a little unclear on what exactly skinny
fat means, it’s a phrase that refers to someone
who has a weight and BMI that is normal for that
person’s height but has much more body fat
and not enough muscle mass recommended for
optimal health.
Many people assume that if their weight and/or
BMI is normal, they have nothing to worry about.
This has a lot to do with misconceptions about
BMI’s usefulness in assessing weight and health.
For example, according to the World Health
Organization (WHO), if your BMI is between
18.5 and 24.99, you are in the normal range for
sufficient health. So, if you have a BMI of 22,
you’re automatically in the clear, right?
Not so fast.
Although the WHO has set these ranges, they are
quick to qualify them with the following:
BMI should be considered a rough guide
because it may not correspond to the same
body fat percentage in different individuals.
The bottom line: Looking skinny doesn’t mean
you’re healthy. Because of the way fat can be
stored, skinny fat people risk having serious
health problems.
Not all fat gets stored under the skin. The fat that
people can see is referred to as subcutaneous
but there’s a second type—visceral—and it’s the
worse of the two. If you’re skinny fat, you likely
have a lot of this second type.
Visceral fat is internal fat that develops in the
abdominal cavity, gets stored around the organs,
and wraps around your kidneys, intestines,
stomach, and liver. Having large amounts of
visceral fat can spell a heap of trouble, according
to Harvard Medical School.
Visceral fat has been linked with:
• Increased risk of heart disease
• High cholesterol
• Insulin resistance, leading to type 2 diabetes
• Lower bone mineral density
• Loss of cognitive function
While on the exterior, skinny fat people might
look healthy, on the inside, their bodies may
be at high risk for several health problems and
syndromes. So how can you tell if you’re skinny
fat? It’s not as easy as looking in the mirror or
standing on a scale. You need to know your
body fat percentage. Therefore, even for skinny
people, it’s important to determine not just your
weight but your body fat percentage so we can
make better, more informed decisions about
your health.
209
This is our approach with all people who want
to put on lean muscle mass, not just skinny
people. Irrespective of body type, we strongly
recommend you focus on losing body fat first
before attempting to add some bulk to your
body. For men and women, this means aiming for
10 to 12 percent for men and 18 to 25 percent
for women.
There are three compelling reasons to do this:
This leads us nicely into the month’s case study
and 2021 Member of the Year Amit Sharma. Amit
is a shining example of this exact process. He
has had to work extremely hard, consistently, to
achieve his results. People are always amazed by
great fat loss stories, whilst the lean-to-muscular
stories get lost in the ether. Not this one, not
today. I’ve seen how hard he worked with his
coach Josh Kennedy, who also deserves some
credit here.

#1: Gaining More Fat Is a Slippery Slope

Case Study:
Gaining muscle without gaining fat is very
difficult, even if you count every calorie you eat
Name Amit Sharma
meticulously. To gain muscle, our bodies need to
be in an anabolic state, which is fed by an ample Age 42
amount of protein, carbs, and calories. If you are
attempting to build muscle, it is expected that Country United Kingdom
you will add some fat. This is keenly understood
by bodybuilders who bulk up with both muscle Training Program 14 months
and fat during the off-season.
BMI Before 22.8
Let’s say you are a 5’11” male who weighs 185lbs
with 15 percent body fat. You put on 15lbs during BMI After 21.3
your bulk phase, 8lbs being muscle and 7lbs being
fat. Your new body fat is 19 percent, which is close Weight Before 70kg (154lbs)
to the 20 percent level you don’t want. This means
Weight Halfway 66kg (145lbs)
you will need to lose around 18lbs to get down to
10 percent body fat for that rippling six-pack.
Weight After 68kg (150lbs)

#2: You Look Bigger When You Are Lean Body Fat % Before 6.7%
If you are not lean, then you have body fat that
is hiding your hard-earned muscle mass. The fat Body Fat % Halfway 11.6%
is hiding the shape of your muscles. A chiseled
physique generally will look bigger, fuller, and Body Fat % After 12.6%
more impressive than a soft physique of a similar
size. This is important if you are trying to build Waist Before 32.7 inches
muscle; you may find when you lean out that you
already have the muscle mass you want, you just Waist After 29.7 inches
couldn’t see it before.
The numbers don’t tell the true story of
#3: You Will Know How Much Bigger You Want Amit’s transformation. You must look at the
to Get corresponding pictures as his training program
Let’s say you want to add 10lbs of muscle to your progressed. Amit’s goals were to get stronger
frame. Do you have any idea of what those 10lbs and put on muscle size; however, there were
will look like on you? You may not need to put several key issues that we had to address before
on nearly as much muscle weight as you think we could do that. Let’s dive into each of the
you do. three phases.

210
Phase 1: Laying the Foundations
After putting Amit through the Strength Matters
Assessments, the following results stood out:
Body Fat % 16.7%
Zenith Twist Test No (Both Sides)
Standing Twist Test No (Both Sides)
2,000m Row Test 08:53
Amit moved well in most areas, but his thoracic
spine was completely locked down. He couldn’t
rotate left or right. Your thoracic spine is the
middle section of your vertebra between your
neck and lower back. Thoracic mobility involves
available movement of this portion of the spine
and is essential to remain pain-free for sports
and most modern lifestyles. Poor movement in
this area can lead to complications elsewhere
in the back, neck, hips, and knees. This was
certainly a priority for us moving forwards.
Particularly because his goal was to build muscle.
The last thing you want to do is lift heavy with
rocky foundations.
understand the role it plays in muscle gain.
We used this period to create foundations for
the training that lay ahead. Without establishing
sufficient thoracic mobility and aerobic capacity,
Amit was an injury waiting to happen if he was to
load heavy weight onto his frame.
Most people are not physically prepared for a
muscle bulking program. These types of training
programs are hard, very hard. When people jump
straight into them with two feet blind, often
they end up injured within a few weeks, setting
them even further back from their bulking goals.
This was something we wanted to avoid with
Amit, and it’s why our first goal was to improve
thoracic mobility and aerobic capacity.
In terms of his body fat percentage, we were
happy that Amit wasn’t skinny fat; however,
by doing this assessment, it meant our priority
was going to be fat loss whilst preserving lean
muscle mass, before attempting a muscle
building phase.

There were two other things we were concerned

about: One was an ongoing elbow issue he had and
the second was his time in the 2,000m row test.

Many people have elbow issues because

of instability, weakness, and poor neural-
sequencing patterns in the core. Lack of bracing
and support from the inner core cylinder during
coronal and transverse movements makes the
body vulnerable to compensation injuries. We
needed to rebuild his core from the ground up
whilst simultaneously building up his aerobic
capacity. It’s a myth that cardio makes you weak.
A strong powerful heart allows you to lift more,
more often, and in less time—a prerequisite for
anyone looking to add muscle mass.

Most people understand that better mobility and

cardiovascular capacity improve performance
and helps prevent injury, but very few

211

*Image 1: Initial Assessment
Phase 2: Strength and Fat Loss
After improving his mobility and aerobic
capacity issues, the next step was to address
his body fat percentage whilst building a
solid foundation of strength and muscular
endurance. Amit was already strong, but his
work capacity was completely out of proportion
to his levels of strength. When you’re following
a fat loss training plan, it’s all about the effort
and intensity you put in. A good fat loss plan
will include:
• Heavy Lifting
• Lactate-inducing Lifting
• Aerobic Work
• Anaerobic Alactic Work
Amit was now training five to six times per week
consistently with four strength-based training
sessions and two aerobic recovery sessions per
week. His assessments showed more weakness
in his pulling movements than his pushing
movements, so we worked on a 2:1 ratio of
pulling to pushing throughout. He also showed
some weakness in his single leg squatting
pattern, so we made him squat a lot on one leg.
212
In terms of his strength program, each workout
covered the fundamental human movements
(locomotion, push, pull, hinge, squat, rotate, and
anti-rotate) and rep ranges were either between
five to eight or 10 to 12. People often think that
to get stronger and more athletic you need to
perform lower reps. That is true, up to a point.
What most people don’t realize is developing quality,
lean muscle mass that performs well requires you
to work all the ranges of strength which include
muscular endurance, strength endurance, and max
power. You need to own all three. What you tend to
see is people get good at one of these ranges, mostly
max strength, and forget the rest. Our system takes
you from muscular endurance to max power work
via strength endurance. Therefore, there were no
maximal effort lifts in this phase.
The key to Amit leaning out in this phase was
not just down to his training plan, it was his diet.
Amit followed a flexible diet plan and centered
around calories and macronutrients. As with any
good diet plan, you need to establish a baseline
of maintenance calories. This was Amit’s, as well
as his macros:
Maintenance Calories: 2,547 calories
Carbs = 270g, Protein = 150g, Fat = 95g, Fiber = 40g
After a few weeks at maintenance, he began his
calorie deficit in line with the following calories
and macronutrients:
Calorie Deficit #1: 2,100 calories
Carbs = 192g, Protein = 177g, Fat = 70g, Fiber = 32g
However, in the first two weeks, he lost weight
too fast (the joys of being an ectomorph) so we
had to increase his calories accordingly:
Calorie Deficit #2: 2,276 calories
Carbs = 228g, Protein = 167g, Fat = 77g, Fiber = 35g
We approached his diet using a three week
deficit, one week maintenance cycle that he
continued until he reached a solid 66kg in
bodyweight and 11.6 percent body fat. You can
see on the graph below how quickly he lost
weight and why we had to increase his calories
accordingly.
The fastest way to achieve your body
composition goals is through nutrition. As simple
as it seems, it is not easy, and Amit did incredibly
well here to stick to the plan and achieve these
results setting him up perfectly for the final
phase: Muscle gain.
71
70
Weight (kgs)
Phase 3: Muscle Building
There is an art and a science to building lean
muscle mass and it comes down to a mixture of
both heavy lifting and nutrition. Let’s start with
nutrition.
If you’re lifting heavy weights consistently and
you are not getting bigger, you are not eating
enough. This one detail will help 95 percent of
most skinny men and women who are looking
to get bigger. If you don’t eat enough calories,
you won’t get any bigger. It’s science. Over the
years, I’ve come to realize it’s not just about
eating whatever the hell you want—that’s a sure-
fire way to make you fat. You’ve got to follow a

69 calculated, meticulous plan.

68 Why? Because we want to put on as much lean

muscle mass as possible whilst reducing the
amount of fat you put on. Increases in fat are
67
normal during a bulking phase, but you can
control how much fat you put on by gradually
66 increasing the number of calories you eat.
Oct ‘20 Jan ‘21 Apr ‘21

Amit had the following maintenance level:

Maintenance Calories: 2,547 calories

Carbs = 270g, Protein = 150g, Fat = 95g, Fiber = 40g

We only increased his calories by five percent to

begin with, along with his macros, which looked
like this:

Bulking Phase #1: 2,646 calories @ 5% Increase

Carbs = 307g, Protein = 148g, Fat = 91g, Fiber = 35g

Amit stayed at this phase for a couple of weeks.

When we didn’t see any increase in body fat
or body weight, we upped his calories to the
following:

Bulking Phase #2: 2,718 calories @ 10% Increase

Carbs = 318g, Protein = 149g, Fat = 94g, Fiber = 41g

Again, just another five percent increase, but

this is where the changes started to happen.
We started to see his bodyweight rise with
minimal fat increases. The plan was starting
*Image 2: Post Fat Loss to work!

213
If there’s one thing you can learn from this
phase, it’s that you need to spend time figuring
out your maintenance calories irrespective of if
you want to lose weight or bulk up. If you do, all
this math becomes a lot simpler and the process
of losing or gaining weight becomes a lot easier.
During a bulking phase, you should only add
modest increases of five percent to your caloric
intake. That way you can hopefully minimize
the amount of fat you put on whilst maximizing
building lean muscle mass. There’s no guarantee
but it’s a plan that works often for us.
In terms of strength training during this phase,
it was all about compound movements (hinge,
push, pull, and squat movements) using a
mixture of low rep sets paired with supersets and
high-volume muscular endurance sets of 10+
reps. Amit was training five days a week.
Here’s an example of one of his workouts:
A | Deadlift: 3 sets x 10 reps. Rest 2-3 minutes.
B | Kettlebell Swing: Heavy 5 sets x 5 reps.
Rest 60 seconds.
C | Superset:
a. Bench Press: 5 sets x 10 reps.
Rest 60 seconds.
b. Pendaly Row: 5 sets x 10 reps.
Rest 60 seconds.
D | Heavy Biceps Curl: 5 sets x 5 reps. Rest 3
minutes.
When it comes to bulking, everyone looks to
their workouts but the real secret lies in the
nutrition. That’s the hard part, and Amit did
exceptionally well sticking to that throughout.
214
Lessons You Can Learn from Amit
When starting a bulking or muscle building
plan, most people want to jump straight in
before they’re ready, often influenced by the
mainstream media and society’s desire to look
good at all costs.
If you’re starting a bulking program but don’t
have the fundamentals of good mobility and
flexibility, your body will not be able to stand
up to the true demands of training for muscle
building.
Like so many who have tried before you, you
will likely end up injured and even further from
your goals. After all the years of work we’ve
done helping people over 30 lose weight, get
stronger, and live better, the one lesson we
have learned is that it pays to take your time
in the beginning. It’s better to be the tortoise
than the hare in this race.
If you’re about to embark on your own muscle
building journey, ask yourself: Are you ready for
this? Are you mobile enough? Are you strong
enough? Do you have good cardiovascular
capacity? If you answer no to any of these
questions, you will want to follow the type of
plan Amit did. It may work out faster for you in
the long run.
Congratulations Amit on being our 2021
Member of the Year! It’s a fantastic
achievement and we’re extremely proud of
what you have achieved. Here’s to an even
stronger 2022.
*Image 3: Post Hypertrophy

215
The Next Steps:
Strength Matters
Coaching

216
Even the most seasoned trainers and successful
everyday athletes need coaching to continually
improve their game. Strength Matters offers
programs tailored to the various needs of
everyday athletes over thirty. Get coaching,
get results.
Stop Wasting Valuable Time Trying
to Figure Everything Out on Your Own
Get the answers you need to move forward
quickly by speaking with an experienced
Strength Matters coach that will help fast-track
your health and fitness journey and help you lead
the life you want.
When you claim your free discovery call with a
Strength Matters coach, we will:
• Review your current situation,
training plan, and nutrition.
• ​Talk about what success looks
like for you in the future.
• Get clear about the REAL problems
holding you back from success.
• Come away with the insight to improve your
training and find a path to success using a
Strength Matters program.
The Discovery Call is Perfect for You if:
• You are over thirty and believe in the
value of investing in your own health
and well-being.
• You are eager to discover new strategies that
could help you achieve your goals faster.
• You are a generally positive person and
see every challenge as an opportunity.
• ​You are easily coachable and recognize
you don’t have all the answers.
To schedule your complimentary call, click below
and choose the best time for you. We have a
limited number of appointments available and
request that only applicants who are hungry and
ready to succeed apply.
www.strengthmatters.com/free-consultation
This Complimentary Discovery Call
Will Allow You To…
Clarify Your Vision
What does success look like to you? Your
Strength Matters coach will help you get clarity
on your vision of health and fitness. This will help
govern any strategic decisions you make in the
future and lay the groundwork for helping you
evolve from aspiring everyday athlete to elite
everyday athlete.
Create Success Criteria
You’ve created a compelling vision, now how
are you going to make that vision a reality? Your
Strength Matters coach will help you identify the
systems and processes you need to reach your
wildest fitness goals.
Identify Common Roadblocks
No fitness journey is devoid of roadblocks that
could sabotage your goals but your Strength
Matters coach will help you identify current and
potential roadblocks that might be holding you
back from achieving your fitness dreams. This
way, you can anticipate obstacles and formulate
strategies to leapfrog them so you can achieve
the life you want.
Get Clarity and Confidence
You’ll leave your discovery call excited to take
your health and fitness to the next level with the
confidence to reach your goals. You’ll gain a solid
plan of attack for solving what’s holding you back
or discover a breakthrough that’ll help get you to
the next level through a Strength Matters program. 
217
Braden Currie © Graeme Murray / Red Bull Content
218 Pool
If you set a goal for
yourself and are
able to achieve it,
you have won your
race. Your goal can
be to come in first,
to improve your
performance, or just
finish the race; its
up to you.
– Dave Scott