Training for structural balance and a healthy body composition are great goals however to really take your health and fitness to the next level we need to start looking at having some performance targets.

Once you have started to lay the foundations of robust good health through implementing good basic habits you will have the resilience to start training your body in a more focused manner. This should start with a physical assessment to establish where you are starting from.

The clue is in the name – everything we do here at CoActive Health is underpinned by us striving for and maintaining robust good health.

With the end of lockdown in sight and the reopening of gyms around the corner there is plenty to look forward to. We are all very excited to have you back. In the meantime, here are some helpful tips on how to prepare for your comeback and what to expect upon return.

In this article we explain the benefits of mobility training as well as sharing our favourite tools and techniques to help you achieve better mobility.

In this article we take a look at recovery and why it’s important as well as discuss some strategies on how to measure and maximise your recovery.

I recently took myself out of my comfort zone and went through the process of training for a gym photo shoot. Having based my training around strength for the past year it served as a good change up to go after a body composition goal.

For those new to us here at CoActive Health one of the most common questions we get is ‘where are your treadmills’? It’s a fair question seeing as the majority of gyms are saturated with cardiovascular equipment wheres we have a nice big open turfed space with a single assault bike and concept 2 rower in the corner.

Strength is the mother of all fitness qualities so it is very important to build a good foundation of strength regardless of your fitness goals. This phase consists of 2 workouts done alternately. Ideally this program should be performed 4 x a week.

Strength is the mother of all fitness qualities so let’s take a look at phase 2. This phase consists of 2 workouts done alternately and ideally performed x4 a week.

Following on from structural balance we introduce phase one of strength training. This phase consists of 2 workouts done alternately. Ideally this program should be performed 4 x a week.

I recently spent the weekend in the company of Wolfgang Unsöld, he is currently one of the most successful Personal Trainers and Strength Coaches in the world and is the founder of the Your Personal Strength Institute (YPSI) in Stuttgart, Germany.

This is a full body workout designed to be performed twice a week for 3 weeks. We will often start personal training clients on a program like this as it addresses potential weak areas and provides great preparation for the more demanding sessions to come.

This is a full body workout designed to be performed twice a week for 3 weeks. We will often start personal training clients on a program like this as it addresses potential weak areas and provides great preparation for the more demanding sessions to come.

Applied knowledge is power! Before looking ahead to 2018 we thought it would be a good idea to consolidate some of the lessons learnt over the course of 2017.

We recently had the pleasure of hosting world renowned Functional Medicine Practitioner and body transformation expert Christian Maurice for his 3 day Level one seminar. Needless to say, it was a fascinating 3 days packed full of cutting edge information and practical advice on how best to transform your body.

Ageing and getting older is a fact of life that we all must accept. However, the way in which we age and how healthy we stay can be manipulated. As science advances, we are learning more about the process of ageing and in doing so developing insights into how to stave off decline and stay youthful.

Here at CoActive we are a huge fan of chin ups, no other upper body exercise gives as much bang for your buck when it comes to building strength. A chin up with perfect technique is a full body movement requiring excellent core stability, great shoulder mobility and of course great elbow flexor and back strength.

To stay healthy and get the most out of your body every time you train it is important that you warm up correctly. Here at CoActive Health we divide the warm up into two categories – general and specific.

Romanian deadlift targets the lower back, glutes and hamstrings. It is a great compound lift that builds strength in the posterior chain and has awesome carryover to the full deadlift. We are a big fan of using this lift with personal training clients to really groove the hip hinge which is fundamental to lifting in the gym.

The program template that the personal trainers use here at CoActive Health is a little more detailed than the industry standard so we thought it would be beneficial to break it down and explain it.

We recently had the pleasure of hosting strength coach Tom Hibbert for a great seminar on ‘How to fix your clients squat’. The personal trainers at CoActive we’ve always been a big fan of squatting so any information on how we can improve our clients squat was always going to be of great interest to us. In this article we’ve outlined some of the key take home lessons that can help you to fix your squat too!

If you want to build more muscle, get leaner and of course, move better, mobility and flexibility training is essential.

If you want to build strong back and shoulders, develop muscle and improve your shoulder/elbow health, you better be thinking about hand positions when you train. Particularly on pulling exercises such as seated rows, Lat pulldowns and chin ups.

Modified Strongman training or MST consists of intense physical conditioning carried out in a group setting. Encompassing a huge variety of functional equipment, no other group exercise class comes close to matching the strength and anaerobic demands placed on its participants.

Last week world renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin taught his advanced program design course in Marbella Spain, here are a few of the lessons I learnt whilst there.

Semi private personal training entails one trainer looking after up to four members in a session. Members are given a bespoke programme to follow with the coach on hand to guide, motivate and record.

Not all personal trainers are equal! In this article we outline 4 points on what makes a great personal trainer.

Here at CoActive we are often asked why we have so many Thick Grip bars and Dumbells, there are many reasons for this but in this article we’ll share why thick grip training is so awesome.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting world renowned strength coach Andre Benoit for 3 days here at CoActive Health. The weekend was a great learning experience for all personal trainers that attended and here are just a few of the gems of knowledge picked up by the CoActive team.