The Everyday Athlete

Listen up, mum: 👩‍👧

Here’s my #1 tip for new mums getting back into fitness ⬇️

Now, I’m not a new or expecting mother…

But I am a new dad, and my wife gave birth to our Lyra 10 short weeks ago 🐣

As a coach, I’ve taken a number of incredible women through pregnancy, as well as helped them return to full fitness thereafter.

My wife is the latest candidate.

Ceri hit her first post-birth workout yesterday (a round of applause in the comments, please ⬇️)

The first thing she did afterwards was have a little cry, and say:

“I felt like myself again” 🥲

Now, this resonated with me big time, for one reason:

I’ve worked a huge amount with people with injuries, as well as working through my own…

And straight away I saw the similarities.

- You love being active.
- Injury can stop you exercising and so can later pregnancy, then postpartum recovery.
- You feel as though you’ve lost a part of who you are.

On top of that, every second of your time is spent on your baby!

‘Me time’? Never heard of it.

The answer is obvious - we’ve got to get you back into it somehow!

So, here’s my tip:

Your life is different now, you can’t treat fitness the way you did before.

You might try getting back into an amount of exercise and find it’s unachievable.

Before baby you might have downloaded the first template programme Google offered you and absolutely crushed it.

Try that now and it might not go so well!

DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF FOR THIS.

If it doesn’t and you can’t complete all the work it asks for, that’s the fault of the plan, not the mum.

You’re the same as anyone else - your plan must fit your life.

Rigidity must be replaced by flexibility.

Not you fitting around a programme, a programme fitting around you.

No, you’re probably not going to be doing as much as you’d like…

But you’ve got to make a slow mindset shift towards doing what you’re able to and making the most of it.

Hope this helps!

Coach Tom ✌️

What an awesome few months from Katie.

When she started with the EA, surgery was something we spoke about.

Namely, delaying the decision on whether or not to go under the knife.

To find out what we can achieve without it.

Can we train and get stronger?

Can we manage the pain?

Can we return to running?

Surgery to fix injury or pain can be a tempting option…

But, for me, being able to avoid it is a gold standard outcome.

Obviously sometimes having surgery is essential, and my god is it impressive stuff, but it can also be a serious pain in the arse.

Now, whilst being totally in control of her pain, Katie is:

- Strength training 3x per week 🏋🏻‍♀️
- Running 1-2x per week 🏃🏻‍♀️
- Pole 1x per week 💃🏻

Stronger than ever and on a running comeback.

What are we crediting? A whole bunch of stuff, probably!

- Her general effort.
- Her training consistency.
- Her faith and confidence in the process.
- Her shift in mindset around pain and training.
- Her knowledge of how to adapt when needed.

If you’re ready to gain these things for yourself and implement the absolute hell out of them, it’s time you got in touch.

Drop me a DM with the word UNLOCK today, let’s have a chat about your potential 👊

Coach Tom ✌️

The secret to beating back pain… ⬇️

This was the stand out quote from a call with a client this week ↗️

“The pain is so much better that I’m finally sleeping properly”

And I’m going to share with you exactly what’s going on…

Nothing hyped up, no fluff or magic, just facts.

Nate is 3 weeks into working with me and we’re seeing honestly amazing progress.

One of two things could get credit here… ⬇️

1. Strength training, making him stronger.

“You can’t go wrong, getting strong” - A. Meakins.

Giving Nate’s tissues improved capacity to tolerate tension will undoubtably help...

But is it really the act of getting stronger that’s improved his pain?

How much stronger can we really get in 3 weeks?

I’m going to be honest with you: it’s no stronger at all.

Long term strength will be invaluable, but 3 weeks isn’t long enough to see physical adaptation.

What the hell has helped then?

2. Moving.

Vanti et al (2019) showed that walking has similar effectiveness for reducing low back pain when compared to exercise.

Moving is beyond powerful, and I believe that is enabling Nate to move and experience different positions and intensities is one of the biggest factors in his improvement so far.

Other things worth mentioning?

1. We’ve set realistic expectations for recovery.

2. We’re wildly positive about the process and the direction we’re heading in. It’s exciting.

It’s not all biomechanics, but…

Got pain? Step 1: Find a way to move.

Coach Tom ✌️

I can not stress this enough…

Post-injury, you need structure.

Nate is on the right path, having found a great starting point for returning to movement…

And with the help of our trainings…

- Rehab: How Hard Should We Push?™️

And…

- The Rule of 10: Managing Training Around Pain™️

…he’s learning how to organise his training around the less ideal aspects of back injury.

I can’t wait to see this guy become a dad and set an amazing example for his daughter.

Watch this space 👊

Coach Tom ✌️

How different would your life look if you pulled off what Tom has?

He regained his confidence in the gym.

He built a tonne of strength.

And he grew his training knowledge.

Now, he has everything he needs to keep doing that for himself.

Want to know how to do it?

For Tom, it came down to a few things…

1 - Finding what drove him.
2 - Finding what he enjoyed.
3 - Finding the right environment for him.

If you put those things in place, I promise you’re going to have a much smoother time of it.

Actually sticking with a plan will no longer be an issue for you.

Now Tom has those things, he’s got two bits of homework…

Two trainings within the EA Lab:

- Everything You Need to Know About Strength Training™️
- Simplifying Exercise Programming™️

All the knowledge gains he needs to crack on 🧠

Coaching with the EA can help you do the same…

Gain all the tools and support you need to do it for yourself.

DM me the word UNLOCK today to learn more and start seeing real results!�
Coach Tom ✌️

Final call..!

With one of the 3-4 spaces gone, we’re down to 2-3 left…

If you didn’t see my post the other day, here’s the deal:

Our baby girl is nearly here 👶🏻

Whilst this won’t affect my coaching one bit…

It will affect my client intake, at least for a while.

Just to make sure I’m giving my guys everything they need.

So, before she enters the world, I’m taking a last few Everyday Athletes into the team.

Want in? Now is the time.

Drop me a DM with the word UNLOCK…

I’ll know that means you’d like a bit more info ✌️

You’re more than an aesthetic…

So why should aesthetics be a training priority?

I get it, it’s nice to look nice.

And looking “better” is probably why most people get into training in the first place…

But, IMO, far too much of the sport of bodybuilding has bled into the world of health and fitness.

The industry-standard image of health isn’t actually what health looks like.

Bodybuilding uses some awesome principles as tools for progress that we can take advantage of...

But that doesn’t mean us normals need to go full ‘bulk and cut’, stage-prep mode.

For the majority of people, I think that a hyper-focus on image is unhealthy in the long run.

So, which of the following do you think would give you more satisfaction..?

#1 Setting yourself a physical challenge in 12 weeks time, committing to a training regime and smashing it out of the park...

#2 Booking a photoshoot in 12 weeks time and dieting down, looking lean and getting a sweet new profile pic.

Many people will answer that with #2, and that’s fine!

But I’m only offering #1.

Strength, fitness, physical ability, confidence, achievement, mindset, health.

Maybe you should reject weekly weigh-ins.

Measuring food to the gram.

Exactly 10,000 steps per day.

Because choosing to chase performance will get you what you want anyway.

Remember:

Chasing an image won’t make you healthier...

But getting healthier will make you happier.

Tom ✌️

Minor announcement…

The arrival of our baby girl is imminent… 👶🏻

Inevitably, this is a spanner in the works in terms of my potential work load in the short term! 🔧

(Maybe we’ll call her ‘Spanner’ Ceri? No?)

Basically, client intake will be limited for a while post-baby!

But, before Ceri pops, I’m looking to take on 3-4 new members to the EA.

I’ll post some more info later in the week but, if you’re interested…

You can send me a DM, or find a link in my bio to apply.

You must:

- Be driven to achieve something (even if you don’t know what that something is yet, you’ll want something to work towards and crush).

- Be willing to commit some time and effort to your training.

- Have access to a gym!

- Be ready to invest in YOURSELF.

Ready to figure out if this is a good route for you?

Let’s chat ✌️

P.S. if you correctly guess the name of our daughter-to-be in the comments I’ll coach you for free 👀