My training history stretches back 25 years where upon reading a Bodybuilding magazine and being an impressionable teenager I got hooked on lifting weights and training via isolating the muscle in bodyparts splits which was then, and still is today, the norm in the commercial gym scene.
Over the next 15 years I continued to use variations of bodypart splits whilst training for my sporting pursuits of rugby league and boxing as well as for my employment as a Firefighter, believing that the injuries I was sustaining along the way were purely part and parcel of many years of hard training.
On top of traditional weight room training methods I had also Followed a traditional bodybuilding diet consuming, at times, over 350 grams of protein daily and being a self admitted supplement junkie, spending thousands of dollars a year on products that, looking back, were essentially useless. I believed at the time I was the epitome of health but in hindsight I was anything but!
In 2004 after suffering a back injury along with carrying a nagging knee injury for many years I had to change the way I approached my training as I was in varying degrees of pain 24 hours a day. This became stage one in my life changing transformation as I stumbled across kettlebells which over the next 5 years would be a key tool in the training of myself and my clients.
Forward on a few years with my bodyweight dropping by 10-15 kg and my injuries, whilst manageable would still flare up if I stepped up my training intensity. Upon turning primarily to bodyweight training to give my joints a rest I set myself a goal of walking on my hands which at 225lb seemed a tough ask. After doing a search online for handstand walking I came across Jon Hinds (the founder of the Monkeybar Gym) in a video clip walking down Wisconsin Capital building stairs on his hands, which at 220lb and 6’ 1” at an age of 44 was, and still is, super impressive. This was my entrance into stage 2 of my life changing transformation where the Monkey Bar gymnasium entered my life.
After following the MBG workouts and associated Yoga sequences off their main website over the next couple of years and purchasing a whole array of their training products to use in my group PT classes, I decided that, with my wife Despina, would fly to Wisconsin USA to learn more about the MBG and certify ourselves in their concepts. During the 6 months prior to the course I had turned my diet on its head consuming a 90% raw plant based diet, with it now being 100% and dropping my protein levels down to around 125 gms per day. The plant based diet, combined with the MBG yoga sequences has to be the biggest revelations of my training journey so far with my recovery, joint health, wellbeing and even my strength levels the best they have been since my youth.
April 20, 2010 Stage 3 and what I believe is the final stage in my life changing transformation. After completing the MBG Intensive training course and seeing the culture within their gym, Despina and I were left in no doubt that we wanted to bring the MBG to Australia. The MBG is not just a training style it’s a lifestyle that caters to any age or ability level.
Certified Natural Trainer (CNT 1 & 2)
Diploma in Fitness
Cert IV in Fitness (Personal Tarining)
Certified Kettlebell Instructor
Level 1 Power/weightlifting Coach
Level 1 Strength & Conditioning
Cert IV Workplace Training & Assessing
Advanced First Aid
JGXT Suspension Master Trainer
I have always been active and involved in sport from a very young age.