Optimal Life Fitness, for health, fitness and a new lifestyle outdoors.

My alarm sounded at 3.30am this morning and thankfully after an early night i actually felt quite fresh. So I hopped into the car and headed up to Stansted airport to catch my easy jet flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia. I checked in, got on the plane and shut my eyes (after watching the safety notices of course!!). I woke up as we were descending into Ljubljana airport with great surprise, as to my left was the most impressive mountain range I'd seen for a long time. Pardon my naivety but I had no idea what to expect of Slovenia and when I saw such an amazing landscape, it took me back slightly. As I came out of the airport, which by the way took me 3 minutes to get through, I jumped in a cab and sat back to take in the scenery. Trust me when you wake up most mornings to a dirty river, cement works and a car park, this view was like gold dust! 20 minutes later I was checked into my hotel and Gregor was on his way to pick me. Well that was the easy bit over and done with, what came next was a slight shock!

Last night I spent 2 hours at the Balance Physio Clinic in Clapham training with over 20 others under the guidance of Steve Cotter. It was the third time I've met Steve and he is still as enthusiastic, passionate and informative as ever. It was 2 hours well spent!

When I heard Steve was putting on a training session I jumped at the chance. The Trojans have our Kettlebell Lifting Comp this weekend and the opportunity to pick up tips that could help me out was too great to miss.

My own training has suffered, due mainly to me thinking too much! Only last week one of the Trojans, Kat told me quite frankly that my snatch was terrible. She's right! Technical elements that are crucial to the snatch were just not happening. Unless Kat was able to spot what I was doing I would have continued.

Watching Steve last night reinforced where I was going wrong. So thanks Kat and thanks Steve.

Steve also had a whole heap of other tips to help Kettlebell Sport. We also used interval and pyramid protocols to increase volume in the Jerk and Snatch respectively.

I don't know if what I picked up will be able to help me this weekend, it may be too soon to utilise what I picked up, but it will definitely help inthe coming months and my pursuit of Master of Sport numbers!

All in all it was a great session! I'll definitley be training under Steve again in the future. Thanks goes out to Jon Lewis and CJ Swaby of Balance.

The Optimal Life Fitness Group Limited Require a Full Time Sales, Administration and Operations Assistant

About The Company
The Optimal Life Fitness Group is Europe's largest providers of Continuing Educational Development in the Fitness Industry. With our huge success in this area, our portfolio of courses has expanded and we now require a full time member of staff to support us in our growth. We work with a client base across 6 European countries and have a strong presence across the UK. Your role will be varied and challenging with opportunity for growth within the company.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Working closely with the Directors the role encompasses a range of commercial activities including but not limited to management of:

• The customer service and client database,
• The administration function,
• Daily operations,
• Stock control, product sales and distribution,
• Information technology
• Sales, Marketing & Advertising
• Training

Why should you work for Optimal Life Fitness?

We are a fast growing, exciting health and fitness company with a drive to grow and develop. You will work alongside a young, enthusiastic and focused team; who believe that investment and caring for fellow colleagues, breeds a successful profitable company.
Expect to be involved in business learning and training, health and fitness seminars and conferences and many more beneficial developmental schemes.

Who Are We Looking For?

A professional, honest individual to help develop a growing company and become an integral part of our business. It is essential that candidates have the ability to adapt and change with the various functions of this placement

• Ability to work flexibly & efficiently to maintain & manage various areas within the company.
• Excellent communication & interpersonal skills with an ability to obtain commitment and interest over the telephone.
• Motivation & ability to work within a target driven environment & show initiative and forward thinking.
• Enthusiastic & personable.
• Attention to detail.
• Highly motivated to achieve success within an organisation
• Highly organised and work from own initiative.

Experience is not necessarily required, just a willingness to learn and work hard

Operating Systems used:

• ACT
• SAGE Line 50
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Outlook

Last week was the fitness industries annual trade convention at Leisure Industry Week. It's a chance for companies to showcase new products and services, close deals and generate new business. It's also a good chance to catch up with a few old friends that I usually only see once a year at LIW.
As a company we've not had a stand at LIW since 2006, mainly because our target market isn't always there. But this year was slightly different. We have now partnered with Escape Fitness and offer educational training for their customers. So LIW 2009 was a chance for us to help out Escape on their stand and introduce this extra service to their already exemplary package. Escape Fitness are now offering gyms a complete solution; equipment; flooring; education and design. They have introduced the concept of 'Moving It' and in conjunction with Optimal Life Fitness have created the Move It space. The Move It space is an exciting new area within a gym that allows for group sessions and PT use, incorporating kettlebells; power bags; TRX; boxing; SAQ and much more.
So now you know why I was there, here's what happened!
Monday evening I drove up to Birmingham and checked into the hotel next to the NEC. Wendy from Escape was eagerly awaiting my arrival and I knew why! If you've seen the guys from Escape at a convention then you'll know they like to spice things up a little. This convention was no different to any other! Wendy met me at the hotel with a bag, in which I found my foot wear for the next 3 days. A bright, 80's style pair of Reebok boots, oh yes people, 80's boots! Off course I was more than happy to stick them on and embrace the whole visual marketing method.
After a very large breakfast on Tuesday morning we made our way over to the stand in the NEC hall. The location was perfect, right at the front of the hall as everyone walked in. So this was a great chance to capture people straight away. After a quick briefing of the days plan, the doors were opened and in came the people. With the music booming from the stand it was time for me to do some exercise and this was pretty much what I did for the next 3 days! In between drinking too many energy drinks, not eating enough and sweating a lot that is. At one stage I couldn’t believe that my t-shirt was as wet, if not wetter than it would be if I had jumped into a bath fully clothed! I blame it on the lights and the lack of air.
Day 1 moved swiftly into Day 2 and possibly the busiest day of the show. Thankfully I had another t-shirt to wear! Day 2 went very well and we were always surrounded by customers. By the end of the day everyone was knackered but we had a Champagne reception on the stand before heading back to the hotel. There is usually a big drinks do on the Wednesday night and this time it was the turn of the Independent Operators Union to host it. So we all jumped into taxis and went into Birmingham to make the most of the free bar, boy did we make the most of it!
Day 3 as you can imagine started with a few yawns, but surprisingly I wasn't feeling too bad, good times! So I carried on with what I'd been doing for the last 2 days.... Exercise! I wish I had one of those sky sports analysts measuring how much exercise I had done across the 3 days like they do for footballers. I’m sure it must have been a lot, because by the end of day 3 I could barely do a power bag clean and press without feeling knackered. 4pm came round eventually and the siren for the end of the show was music to the ears! We packed up the stand and I jumped in the truck and headed back to London, hoping that I would be able to keep my eyes open for the entire journey.
Arriving back in London eventually, I went straight home and hit the sack, hoping that I would wake up in the morning feeling fresh. No chance, Friday morning and I could barely get out of bed. But I guess that is the sign of a successful LIW and what a success it was. We all had a great 3 days and were really happy with the outcome.
So what now? Well basically the Move It Space, Boxing Area and TRX Area are available to gyms and health clubs, all of which include education as part of the package. We believe that this will increase usage and success of the areas instantly. In fact we know it will as DW Fitness have reported 300 members using the Move It space in 3 days last week and that was only a week after the install and education.
For more information on Educational Training please contact info@optimallifefitness.com
For more information on the Move It space or the other training areas offered by Escape Fitness please contact sales@escapefitness.com

In this weeks issue we have a review of last weeks EKI in Cardiff and the Performance Boxing course in London, we have an overview of a Kettlebell Sport beginners programme as well as a closer look at the Swing plus links to all of our upcoming courses and news.

EKI at Dave's Place.
Tommy was in Cardiff last weekend teaching the EKI (Extreme Kettlebell Instructor) Course. To read the review and to see pics please visit the Blog.

Going Barefoot and how to commence training for Kettlebell Sport
Imagine walking around with boxing gloves your whole life… Well you spend most of your life with pretty much the same things on your feet- why? To find out about being barefoot read this article.

You've been contemplating training or maybe even competing at Kettlebell Sport but just don't know where or how to start. Well have a look at this for where to begin.

If you like the above articles why not subscribe to the Trojans website?

Performance Boxing at the Fitrooms
We had a great PB course last Saturday to read the review please visit our blog.


Coming up
We're doing a bit of travelling in the next couple of months.. We're now also coming back to Dublin for a 2day EKI on the 12th and 13th October.

Official T-Shirts
Our new Trojan T-Shirts have arrived. If you are an EKI and you want the new EKI T-Shirt with the Trojan logo on it you will need to call the office on 020 7731 3133.
If you aren’t an EKI you can purchase one of the Trojan Kettlebell T-Shirts online here
To check out the T-Shirts please click here


To book any of our final Educational Courses for 2009 please contact us on 0207 731 3133 or email info@optimallifefitness.com
Upcoming Courses

Upcoming Extreme Kettlebell Instructor Course's
Click on the links to book now!

The Next EKI Course is:
17.10.09- 18.10.09
London


The Next Advanced Kettlebell Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
14.011.09
London

The Next Olympic Weight Lifting Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
10.10.09 - 11.10.09
London
Hurry there is only one place remaining!

Upcoming Performance Boxing Courses
Click on the links to book now!
26.09.09
Manchester
10.10.09
Dublin

Keep lifting and stay strong,
BJ & Tommy

Last Saturday we (Optimal Life Fitness) hosted another Performance Boxing for the Fitness Professional Course at the Fitrooms in London.

Off at gwrymiau at addysga kettlebells
The alarm sounded at 4.30am on Saturday and after grabbing s protein shake I jumped into the truck and off I went to Cardiff. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive down the M4 and as I passed over the Severn Bridge and approached the toll booth I thought "This has been a nice easy drive". However, as I pulled up to the gentleman at the toll booth I got a nasty shock when I handed over my credit card and instead of him taking my £11.90 to drive over a bridge! He took one look at me and said "No cards Sir", to which I replied "Oh Boll*cks". So I had to scratch around the car looking for any spare change I could find. God must have been looking out for me that morning as I found exactly £11.90! So I handed over the shrapnel and carried on my way to Cardiff.
I arrived in Cardiff and met Dave from 'Dave's Gym'. It was a bit of a blast from the past, about 3 years ago we did one of our first national tour dates at Dave's Gym in Cardiff. The course on the weekend was a private course organised by Jeff Webb at Outdoor Fitness Ltd and Dave. They had 10 trainers coming on the course, all of them I'd been told were fit and well trained. So I was looking forward to a hard course and hopefully getting to challenge the guys as much as possible!
After a quick coffee down the road in the local cafe we set up for the course and cracked on with the intros. As Dave's Gym is a very sporty place which specialises in Martial Arts all of the trainers were either rugby lads or martial artists. As it was a private course, the guys had a few early requests to make sure we touched on some specific outdoor training and group session options, this got me thinking that we would probably have some fun on Sunday afternoon!
After getting the guys up to speed on the principles of lifting and the moving body we started with the practical and taught the swing. As all of the lads had used bells before, I was confident that we'd be able to move through the lifts quite quickly and introduce some more challenging options. We ended up spending a long time on the swing and looking at lots of different ways to improve movement patterns and we did a similar thing with all of the other lifts throughout the day. At the end of day 1 I the group had worked really well and were very competent, so at 5pm I packed up my stuff and headed over to a local guest house to relax and sleep!
Day 2 and after a continental breakfast I headed over to the gym to meet the lads who were thankfully all feeling fresh and not hung over! We went straight into the assessments and ploughed through the theory. We managed to get some good in-depth discussions about implementing kettlebells going and also spent some time going over the best ways to teach the lifts. 11am came round and it was time to get back to the training! I had promised the lads a few extra sessions to make sure they didn't feel under worked! So instead of our usual 3 sessions, I added an extra 3 sessions! 2 of which were outdoors, what a great sight it was to see 10 lads farmers walking down the local high street to the park. There were some interesting looks and some more interesting comments! As 4 O'clock came round it was clear to see that everyone was completely done in, which meant that my job was done! With a bit of team work the lads took the bells back to the gym and we said our goodbyes.
I'd just like to say thank you to the whole group for making a great course a fantastic course! It's always a pleasure to work with a group who just want to train and learn as much as possible. Also, thank you to Jeff and Dave for organising the course, I'm looking forward to getting back down to do the advanced course at some point next year.
Great to be back at Dave's Gym in Cardiff, if you are ever down there, go check it out.
http://www.daves-gym.co.uk/
For more information on Outdoor Fitness Ltd, 'group fitness training outdoors' go to http://www.outdoorfitnessltd.com/
For more information on the Extreme Kettlebell Instructor Course, please go to: http://www.optimallifefitness.com/optimal_life_fitness/olf_kettlebell_instructor_course.php
Check out photos from the course:

We have a lot for you this week. We have new clips and pieces on the Trojans web site, we have a review of last weeks course in Manchester, we have some new barbell complexes for you tot try on the resource centre, plus lots of news regarding where we're getting to with our courses over the next couple of months.

Olympic Weightlifting and King Kong
This week I've had a couple of phone conversations with David Morgan. If you don't know who he is, well you should definitely have a look at this article with clips of David in action.

I'm looking forward to meeting David quite soon in person and learning plenty. He is passionate about strength, exercise and training and he certainly knows his stuff, not only has he been there and one it, he's still doing it and he's learnt all the theory in between!

Hill Sprints
The benefits of running up hills are numerous. This revisited piece delves into how, why and where. If you're not running up hills you probably should be, to find out more follow this link and have a read.

How to Improve Kettlebell Lifting Time
If you just can't increase your time under the bells no matter how hard you try maybe you should try the approach I've outlined in this article.

To check out how a few of us are training at the moment chcek out the forum.

Manchester EKI Review
To read a review of last weeks EKI in Manchester follow this link, and then check out the pics on facebook

Olympic Lifting for the Fitness Professional
We only have one remaining Olympic Lifting for the Fitness Professional. This is in London on the 10th and 11th of October.
Everybody is aware of the benefits of the Olympic Lifts, if you aren't you should be

To find out more please follow this link.

Coming Up
We're doing a bit of travelling in the next couple of months. This weekend Tommy is off to Cardiff and there a couple places remaining contact the office if you wnat to get on it. We''e now also coming back to Dublin for a 2day EKI on the 12th and 13th October.

Official T-Shirts
Our new Trojan T-Shirts have arrived. If you are an EKI and you want the new EKI T-Shirt with the Trojan logo on it you will need to call the office on 020 7731 3133.
If you aren't an EKI you can purchase one of the Trojan Kettlebell T-Shirts online here
To check out the T-Shirts please click here


To book any of our final Educational Courses for 2009 please contact us on 0207 731 3133 or email info@optimallifefitness.com

Upcoming Courses

Upcoming Extreme Kettlebell Instructor Course's
Click on the links to book now!

The Next EKI Course is:
17.10.09- 18.10.09
London

The Next Advanced Kettlebell Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
14.011.09
London

The Next Olympic Weight Lifting Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
10.10.09 - 11.10.09
London

Upcoming Performance Boxing Courses
Click on the links to book now!
26.09.09
Manchester

10.10.09
Dublin

Keep lifting and stay strong,
BJ & Tommy


The Optimal Life Fitness Group
Unit CW2, The Cranewell, 2 Michael Road, Fulham, London, SW6 2AD
National Office: 0870 950 7315 / London Office: 020 7731 3133 / Fax: 0207 384 9510- info@optimallifefitness.com / http://www.optimallifefitness.com/

After a shocking drive up to Manchester on Friday night I checked into my hotel in Trafford Park at about 11.30 pm and jumped straight into bed! I woke up the next morning feeling fresh and ready to go, happy in the knowledge that the gym was literally round the corner. So I arrived at David Lloyd a minute later and had a wonder around the place. This took some time as it was massive, there are 3 swimming pools, 5 indoor tennis courts, squash courts and the list goes on! It's always nice turning up to a gym like that, but it kind of makes me want to go and play tennis or something!

Anyway, all the group arrived and after doing the usual intros and form signing we cracked on with the day. The theory came up first and this is always a good chance for the group to get to know each other, all that touching a feeling!! After a couple of hours we got straight into the Swings and spent a good couple of hours working on the techniques and tools to improve the swing. They were a good group of swingers by the end of it! Lunch time and a chance for me to re-fuel at the David Lloyd Cafe and then back to the studio to learn the Snatch, I also squeezed in a small set of jerks for my comp training. We got through all of the afternoons exercises with great detail and quality, spending plenty of time improving performance and ROM.

As the day came to an end, I said good bye to the group and then got some of my own training in, 3 sets of jerks, 3 sets of jump squats and some pull ups. After all of that it was time to go back over the road and relax in the hotel.

Day 2 and a beautiful sunny morning, checked out of the hotel and I headed over to the gym. As I sat in the cafe with Costa’s finest Americano, my eyes glanced up at the first of yesterday victims. Slowly walking down the corridor appeared a few more all with that tell tale John Wayne swagger! Thankfully they all had beaming smiles and not grimacing grins!

After dragging them all into the studio, I gave a little demo on the assessment exercises and then the group got warmed up and ready to go. The assessments started well and with some good swings from all and some not too shabby snatches either, we flew through the assessments and started day two's theory component. Some decent discussions arose over training methods and when to use kettlebells, all though I do feel I talked a little bit too much, sorry guys, I get carried away sometimes! We wrapped up the theory after the group assured me that on Monday morning they were going to straight out and start teaching clients with kettlebells and went for lunch.

In the afternoon we were joined by Joe Oliver, one of our old EKIs and Trojan Lifters, some one that I'm sure a lot of you have come across on you tube, over head squatting a couple of 40kgs, or bouncing around on the floor like a lizard! Joe came in to do a kettlebell jerk demo, I did a kettlebell sport snatch demo and then Joe did some circus tricks for us; sots press; over head squats, bent press etc.

To finish the afternoon off, we went over all of the lifts from day one and finished the group off with the 3 Extreme Kettlebell Workouts. After wrapping the course up, the group helped me to the car with all of the KBs (thanks guys) and after a quick goodbye, I was back on the road and off to Newcastle. Which is where I am now, writing this Blog. I've got a day up here and then tomorrow I'm in Bolton with DW fitness running their first Escape Move It Space Training Course.

Here's just a few words from the trainers on the course, about what they thought of the Extreme Kettlebell Course

The course was better than expected with good teaching method and style. I had used kettlebells before completing the course but still learned so much and more importantly corrected my bad habits. Would definitely recommend the course to other fitness professionals. Thank you
Marcel James

Tommy's obviously a very experienced kettlebell trainer and competition regular but he taught in a manner which was not only simplistic but he was extremely patient and approachable. I would recommend the EKI course to anyone.
James Jones

I have learned a lot during the EKI course and look forward to passing this on and beasting the Marines in work with kettlebells. An intense value for money course.
John Wilson

Going to report Tommy for physical and psychological abuse, haha! He’s a fantastic tutor, great personality and made the course enjoyable. The knowledge he knew was very high and I have definitely learnt a hell of a lot during the 2 days. Highly recommend this course!
Tom Sherrington

The whole course structure was excellent. Tommy took time out to explain things so everybody had a good understanding of what was supposed to be happening.
Damian Fowles

The course was brilliant! The perfect mix of theory and practical work interspersed together made it easy to pick up things a lot quicker. Fantastic information on correctional/rehab exercises with great explanations behind it. Overall a very enjoyable course where a lot was learnt in a very short space of time.
Peter Ramtuhul

As a personal trainer I am always looking for variety for my clients. Kettlebell training adds a new and interesting element.
Maz Bedson

The EKI course is great, not only from a functional point of view but also from a training point of view. I have learnt a great deal about muscular imbalance and posture from this course.
OLF are the best at what they do and anyone considering this course shouldn’t hesitate.
Jonathan Kaminski

Absolutely knackered but feel I have been well educated in the subject of kettlebell training. Good training, good teacher and good fun.
Peter Blacklock

Well designed informative course with plenty of opportunity to improve technique. Would recommend to others.
Mohammed Yacoobali

To get more information about the Extreme Kettlebell Course or any of our other courses please go to www.optimallifefitness.com
To see more pictures go to our Facebook Group
To get more information on the Trojan Lifting club click here
To read more Testimonials from the trainers who have done the Extreme Kettlebell Course click here
For all enquiries please contact info@optimallifefitness.com or call 0207 731 3133

In this weeks Issue we have feedback from last weekends EKI course in London, links to an article on how to put on some muscle and where you could be going wrong plus we have information and reminders regarding all our final courses for 2009.

2 Remaining London EKI Courses
The EKI last weekend in London was a resounding success. Don't just take my word for it; hear what some of the participants had to say:

"The course was fantastic it really helped getting me off with a solid base using kettlebells."
Ricky Gamble

"I was a bit apprehensive about doing the course as I had no previous experience of working with kettlebells. BJ & Andy are excellent & very informative instructors who are always willing to offer advice or to answer questions look forward to doing further courses with O.L.F."
Fernando Pedigao

"Great setup and instruction in kettlebell, BJ and Andy lead by example in their training and coaching throughout the course. The group was inspired by the ease and competency in which you performed the exercises."
Ian Rushbury

"A very enjoyable and informative course. Both BJ and Any were very clear. Concise and knowledgeable. I would recommend the course to anyone, whether interested in strength and conditioning or just general fitness."
Paul Millard

There aren't many EKI courses left in 2009. To get yourself on one follow this link.


An Old but Still Effective Means of Packing on Muscle
If you are struggling to pack on some muscle maybe your whole approach is wrong. Follow this link to find out how to get bigger and stronger.

If you like what you see on this website why not subscribe?

The Mill Hill Combat and Conditioning Academy
Andy Marshall EKI and one of our instructors on both our EKI and Advanced EKI courses has fulfilled a dream and opened up his own Combat and Conditioning Academy. To read more about what Andy has been up to follow this link.

Kettlebell Lifting Competition.
Less than 4 weeks people. If you are interested please apply now. Let me know even if you would like to come down and watch. We now have international lifters competing and it will definitely be worth coming down to have a look.

If you are thinking about competing you’ll need to download the registration forms here.


Performance Boxing for the Fitness Professional Course
Our Performance Boxing for the Fitness Professional Course is exactly what it says. If you are a fitness professional who wants to learn real padding and punching techniques to better train your clients than this is the course for you. We only have one remaining London Performance Boxing Course, this will be your last chance for 2009.

Follow this link to read more.

Olympic Lifting for the Fitness Professional
We only have one remaining Olympic Lifting for the Fitness Professional. This is in London on the 10th and 11th of October.
Everybody is aware of the benefits of the Olympic Lifts, if you aren’t you should be

To find out more please follow this link.



Official T-Shirts
Our new Trojan T-Shirts have arrived. If you are an EKI and you want the new EKI T-Shirt with the Trojan logo on it you will need to call the office on 020 7731 3133.
If you aren’t an EKI you can purchase one of the Trojan Kettlebell T-Shirts online here
To check out the T-Shirts please click here


To book any of our final Educational Courses for 2009 please contact us on 0207 731 3133 or email info@optimallifefitness.com
Upcoming Courses

Upcoming Extreme Kettlebell Instructor Course's
Click on the links to book now!
12.09.09 - 13.09.09
Manchester

The Next Advanced Kettlebell Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
14.011.09
London

The Next Olympic Weight Lifting Course is:
Click on the link to book now!
10.10.09 - 11.10.09
London

Upcoming Performance Boxing Courses
Click on the links to book now!
19.09.09
London
26.09.09
Manchester
10.10.09
Dublin

Keep lifting and stay strong,
BJ & Tommy


The Optimal Life Fitness Group
Unit CW2, The Cranewell, 2 Michael Road, Fulham, London, SW6 2AD
National Office: 0870 950 7315 / London Office: 020 7731 3133 / Fax: 0207 384 9510- info@optimallifefitness.com / www.optimallifefitness.com