Thank you to Jack Moseley who helped me write this article.
This is my observation, analysis and memoir of one of my long terms clients.
2016 marked a decade in the ‘sport of fitness’.
Born out of a humble garage to now boasting million dollar facilities and TV contracts the Sport has become a force in the industry.
As a coach to hundreds of athletes I witness the sport absorb many people.
Whether you’re a middle aged corporate worker or a fitness-lifestyler the Sport of Fitness can quickly pull you into its net.
The path to the top unlike many sports is clearly laid out.
Enter Jack Moseley.
12 months ago… deep into the 2016 season Jack had hit a wall.
Jack came to Creature with almost 3 years of competing and training under his belt.
He was good.
He had the tools and experience...
But something was not right.
Jack is the first to admit he is a full time ‘frother’.
He loves everything about the sport.
But his passion for training is what drove him to burnout.
When Jack started with us he did all the weekly training and more.
I don’t think knew what a ‘rest day’ was.
If I had asked him for his formula for success he would have told me…
Work harder, do more and sacrifice the most.
Come the 2016 season and nearly 2 years of beating a dead horse Jack had plateaued.
In fact he had even gone backwards in his progress.
“Last year the open took a lot out of me... it was pretty stressful and I just needed to take time off and revaluate”.
So he did.
What happened over the last 12 months saw Jack improve at a rate I would equal to that of the best in our sport.
So how is it possible…
With a busy 9-5 job, a mortgage and a partner who needs his time did he make so much progress?
Jack and I sat down and spoke.
From what we discussed and what I observed here is what I believe led to his success…
1. Consistently Training mornings
Jack became a 6am regular.
No meetings, deadlines or traffic could interfere with his training.
All he had to do was wake up, slam coffee and head to the gym.
Having to be at work also forced him out of the gym by a certain time everyday.
2. One session per day
In the past a second session for Jack often involved a lot of his own programming. This often led to him overtraining.
Training once a day allowed him to focus undistracted in the gym.
Finishing earlier in the day also allowed him to focus on other areas of life outside the gym.
His career, relationships and recovery got more attention and this made him a better athlete.
3. Better life balance
More holidays and time at the beach.
Yep.
Jack had the best tan ever this season because he allowed himself to train once and then go relax.
Allowing himself the downtime his body needs led to better adaptation. Mentally it also allowed him to enjoy his time in the gym more.
The gym was no longer dominating his life.
4. Applying the right advice
The fitness industries misinformation can really f**k with your training.
Jack put his faith in a very select few resources (Guests on The Mind Muscle Project & the Creature Coaches) trusting the information if applied correctly would benefit him the most.
5. Sticking to a program
The Creature program is very carefully progressed and laid out. Jack like the other Creature members has access to the 5-week cycle structures.
This allowed him to carefully lay out and plan any additional training he would do.
He took a much more intelligent approach.
He assessed the weekly structure of the Creature program to see what elements of his individual weaknesses were missing.
‘Extras’ were never just aimless metcons. Each week included its own purpose and progressions.
Not hours of random conditioning but instead quality doses of what he needed.
6. Being Coachable
How coachable are you?
This is what I ask new clients who want to train with us everyday. I believe it is the most foundational quality for any athlete to have.
This was not always the case with Jack.
But over time we built trust and he allowed himself to be more coachable. The last 12 months more so than ever before.
Movement quality and mechanics became the number one focus.
We rebuilt his squat mechanics.
We change from an ‘external torque knees out’ approach to a ‘knees aligned internal torque’ approach.
We also used different tools in classes to address positional weaknesses.
I can’t possibly describe to you the progress in the 12 months. Weights which used to bury him he could now do for 5 reps.
It really paid off.
When I asked Jack what his goal was for this 2017 season he said this...
“I never really liked goals. I don't write things on the board, I don't have open place goals (can't control what other people do) and I don't have strength numbers to chase. Instead I like to just focus on consistency in my training and progressing on things like movement quality and mobility.”
I honestly was surprised to hear this from Jack.
Coming from someone who used to attempt back squat maxes weekly it has been a transformational process.
His progress is because of a change in attitude not some miracle program he found.
This year it will be exciting to see him make his debut on Team Creature at regionals and have his hard work pay off.