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Calibre Performance A modern personal training studio where the focus is on you, a warm, intimate environment, with no d

01/10/2026

I threw a dynamic movement, big lift & isolation exercise at James last night & he reveled in the grind.

The toe to bar raises are one of my favourites to hit the core (the stabilisation required on both the concentric & especially eccentric parts of the movement are huge). The goal here is control & height. Especially in the last couple of reps.

Trying to keep a consistent slow build up on the Front Squats literally starting from the bar, adding 10kg on each set, finishing up on 60kg. If your out of the way of Front Squats or haven't done them at all it takes a while to get back into the swing of them.

Last of the 3 are Dumbbell Triceps Press which I love as a way to isolate the triceps. You have the element of each side working independently with its own weight, if the left side is weak the right side can't help it in the way it would using a rope doing a tricep pushdown.

Ricky & Ethan off camera put in another shift. The most impressive feat of the night is still Ethan's single leg Nordic Curls....

Total Eclipse Of The Heart in West Street, Carrickfergus.
12/08/2026

Total Eclipse Of The Heart in West Street, Carrickfergus.

20/07/2026

This was a superset I went through with Monika last week. Two big hitters:

1. The Turkish Get Up, it's very coordination based & multiplanar (sagittal, frontal, transverse), it also leans into that longevity marker of being able to get up off the floor efficiently.

2. Barbell Romanian Deadlift, the big hamstring, hips & grip based lift that is a staple in most gym environments (although not always done right). I like pairing this with the get ups because they challenge the body in completely different ways & although there's an overlap your getting a lot more shoulder & hip flexion/quad work with the get ups Vs the very posterior heavy RDL's.

One thing I do like to do is have an exercise that requires holding onto a bar, dumbbell etc then pair it up with an exercise where the bar or dumbbell presses into the hands to give your grip a bit of a rest.

This combination is killer, try it out. Monika adapted to both very quickly & did a great job.

08/06/2026

Working through some high step ups with hovering the foot at the top position in the class this morning with Heather.

We were chatting & talking about the fundamental movements you want to be strong in as you age. For me this is right up there, keeping the moving foot hovering at the top being the essential element.

Heather is 68, to have a step platform that is somewhere around the height of 3-4 stairs & being able to surmount that is one hell of an achievement. Only in the last set or two did she need that one hand supporting the movement.

I would love to put this to the test on 10-20 people in this age bracket as I think 90%+ would struggle even at the lower heights.

Here's why this exercise should absolutely be a part of your training:

1. Because of the height of the box your already pre stretching your primary movers. To overcome the deficit the glute max & deep hip flexors really have to work hard to get you through to the top position with the leg locked out.

2. With hovering the foot at the top position (not tapping or setting it down) you are keeping maximal tension on the muscle. The quads & glutes have to work extra hard to stabilise you at the peak position.

3. The pelvis has to work hard to stabilise that single leg stance thus the glute medius & minimus fire up to keep the pelvis in a stable position. This can help people with issues like knees caving inwards during squats or even running.

4. Proprioception of the foot. The nervous system has to make rapid micro adjustments to keep you in balance & upright. Add to this the muscles in the arch of the foot firing up & the ankle stabilisers working hard.

You can see why this exercise is stacked with benefits across strength, posture, balance, flexibility & motor control.

24/05/2026

The little bull himself Matt pulling off a PB on his back squats of 170kg - 6 reps then on the last set bettering that again with 180kg - 5 reps. Bravo!

15/05/2026

Training Thomas this morning & worked through some adductor rockers after his box squats. You can pair these up as the gradual loosening of the adductor muscles can make your squat feel more comfortable at the bottom position.

I'd say over the near 20 years I've been personal training the groin is one of the trickiest areas to improve when it's tight. It can be a really tender, reactive area, that can't quite be pushed to the level of other muscle groups that are more tolerant to deep range stretching or movement.

I've been working a lot on my own flexibility of late (groin is definitely my crux) so I personally know how hard this is to start seeing meaningful improvement over the long term unless you make it a daily routine.

The thing is from drills like this you will gain flexibility over time, you just need to get down on the floor multiple times a week & put the work in. Focus on long breaths when you're in that end range & let the body & nervous system adapt to these stressful positions.

The cool thing about the adductor rockers is the hips, ankle & knee all benefit as a direct result of the movement. Be sure to push your weight down on the inside of the foot of the lengthened leg too!


First post in a while as my One Plus 9 Pro was on its last legs so I've upgraded my phone & now I can take photos & vide...
23/04/2026

First post in a while as my One Plus 9 Pro was on its last legs so I've upgraded my phone & now I can take photos & videos again.

I've been training Monika for about 3 months or so now & one thing she's absolutely nailed recently is daily food choices.

Upon returning from holiday in India Monika has been on good sources of carbs + fibre (Quinoa, Buckwheat, Oats etc) paired with protein (Salmon, Chicken, Eggs, Beans etc) plus getting as much veg in with every meal as she can (Spinach, Carrots, Broccoli, Onions, Garlic etc). She's dropped 4kg in the last few weeks.

I love seeing this ultra focus onto daily food habits as that's where the key to weight, longevity & true health really lies.

It helps that Monika is pushing herself in the training sessions at Calibre too, here is just a snippet of upper body exercises we went through last Saturday.

Pairing strength training with eating whole natural foods can bring about really positive changes & much more than just weight loss. It's' something that every single person should be encouraged to do, no matter their age, no matter their ability level. If that means getting a few weights for the garage, copying along workouts from YouTube or going out to a class then your on the right track.

18/03/2026

One of my old clients Alex who trained with me in my old place Strength N.I had started up again with me in Calibre.

We met for lunch a couple of weeks back & caught up with each other's lives. Alex has prostate cancer, half a heart, neuropathy of the lower legs & still wants to get in to see if he can strengthen his legs & upper body. He's 74 years old.

His words to me were that he doesn't want to be a burden on his wife Helen, which is very admirable considering the health challenges he's up against. I also love people with that fight in them to make tough situations better for themselves. The cards might be stacked against you but there's always positive steps you can take forward.

I'd like to think if I was under the same set of circumstances as Alex I'd be doing the same as he is right now. The more attractive option is just to do nothing because of the tingling nerve pain in his lower legs, the tiredness, not sleeping to 5am & getting up at 3pm.

Alex is an absolute inspiration to all of us.

19/02/2026

The second attempt at the 1000m row, ended up shaving about 13 seconds off my original time & got a final time of 3.24.

I've had to edit the video but I'll post the screenshot of my time in my story.

Post training wise this is in the top 3 for the worst I've ever felt. Sore throat, stingy chest like I had a bad cold, legs buggered, sucking air like it was going out of fashion, I felt ill.

It's the last time I'll be doing the challenge as it's probably not worth it to feel like that in the aftermath.

Fair play to Phil Clapp who holds the world record at the 1000m indoor row with a ridiculous time of 2.38.2. Seriously impressive.

To all my clients who have put in a shift doing this challenge, keep trying to beat your own time, you'll know if you have more left in the tank to better yourself in future attempts.

I've started it, the 1000m row challenge in Calibre. My last time was 3.54 & now my official (put it on the whiteboard) ...
10/02/2026

I've started it, the 1000m row challenge in Calibre. My last time was 3.54 & now my official (put it on the whiteboard) time is 3.36.8! It's a lung buster. I think I can still get it down under 3.30 though.

Now everyone can look forward to initially setting a time then trying to beat it in consequent attempts. Good luck!

Oh yeah the pic of myself only has an empty screen because the screen turned off after I took the initial pic of the display.

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