Wild Geese
Fitness Training

Baltic Fitness and Physio is a great little gym that aims to bridge the gap between the treatment table and the gym. Many of their clients are in the “older” category. So as part of the workshop over the weekend, we looked at various ways to use the squat safely with those clients. How can we get them sitting back into their posterior chain? How can we have them move with confidence, safe that they won’t lose balance? The Landmine Squat ticks all those boxes. The bar itself

It’s been a long time since we had a Monday mobility post. So we have a nice one for you today. Thoracic extension is a bug bear for many. Without good T-spine movement we can say good bye to a good overhead position, we may experience tightness in the musculature on the front and upper sections of the shoulder, we may even have pain in the back. We may not. But with the modern lifestyle of sitting, as I am right now tapping this out on the computer, we are on the whole, in

It’s been a while since we had a Monday Mobility post. This is a commonly seen exercises, one that carries a great many benefits. But to get those benefits proper form must be followed. Which if you’re on the tight side, can very tricky to accomplish. This video shows the two most common methods we employ to get the most out of this drill If you get stuck at a particular level that you simply can’t seem to get past, you may need to investigate why. It could be old injuries,

Guest Post Alert!!! I finally managed to coax Maria into putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and write a blog about her experience of using Indian Clubs. So, without further ado, over to Maria….. In April last year I attended my first Indian Clubs workshop in Limerick, with Mike Simpson and Cillin Cleere. I used some 2lb clubs that day and loved them straight away. After enjoying my introduction so much, I vowed to make clubs part of my training regime. So I drove

With Wild Geese being situated so close the the Irish Financial Services Centre in Dublin many of my clients are away on regular trips to their international offices. Which means I’m often getting questions on what sort of training they can do if they get the opportunity. Of course, I recommend bodyweight exercise most of the time, as there’s never any guarantee that there will be any gym facilities at their location. In fact, back in my travelling days, this exactly how I tr

“It’s all about movement isn’t it!” exclaimed my client yesterday morning. I looked at him a little perplexed thinking maybe I’d missed something. He sees this and expands, “I’m probably the weakest I’ve ever been, but the power I’m putting through the pedals is the best I’ve ever done” You see, he rides mountain bikes like a mad man. Races them. He’s always trained, always been strong but never been “strong enough” to ride like he knew he could. He continues, “I used to war

“Dave, when can I start training properly?” Asked a new client as he came in and started warming up, “I mean, I definitely feel stronger, and I don’t get out of breath so easily, even though all I’m doing is a bit of stretching” As he said this to me, it was clear that he was missing the irony in his question. “When can i start training properly?” Followed by: “I’m stronger and fitter” I guess the problem was that when he looked around the room, everyone else was lifting kett

The other day I posted a video clip on instagram. It got a huge response. I was taken aback by the conversation that has ensued on the back of something so simple. So what was it? Well it was a simple demonstration of an exercise which we’d regressed to make it suitable to the man performing it. A demonstration of fitting an exercises to the person, not fitting the person to the exercise. Which is one of my central guiding rules of training people. Many instructors simply giv

“Hi Dave, really like the Hip Mobility book. Have to say I completely agree with the simplistic way you describe mobility and the program looks awesome for increasing strength while increasing mobility. For people who need to greatly increase their mobility what would be your thoughts on self myofascial release before this type of workout and assisted passive and active stretching. As this will bring stretch muscle/ move joint into positions that the body will not allow it s

Warming up is a critical piece of any workout. Any performance. Yet there’s so much misinformation, so much dogma, so much nonsense surrounding the subject. Over the years I may even have been part of the problem in propagating some of the nonsense. Thankfully, these days I know better. So what is a warm up all about? – Raising the body temperature – Improving muscle function – Focussing the mind – Rehab and Prehab – Doing the things that are important. So a 5 minute jog foll

So yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday, so the gym was closed except for a few dedicated members who have their own keys to get in. I spent the day with my family. Which, as you can imagine, as a full time gym owner and coach, is time that is precious. On Sunday son no 1 made his 1st communion, which here is Ireland is pretty much mandatory if one wants to stand a chance of getting into the better schools. Part of the tradition is that the kids are given gifts of cash. So yes

Stretching is far from my favourite topic, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do it or teach it. Usually I like people to move with their stretches, I’m not a fan of pure static work. I find the body responds better to movement. The reasons for why the body responds better to movement seem to change every few years depending on whichever study is currently at the forefront, so I’ve stopped thinking too much about it. It works. It always has done. I reckon it always will do. This

I know I talk a lot about the competitive athletes that train with me, the fighters, the mountain bikers, the Kettlebell sports guys etc But if I’m fair, most of my guys are simply in to train for life. Which if we think about it, is the only competition really worth entering as it’s one that we ultimately all lose. But as the saying goes, it’s about the taking part, not about the winning. So when one of my older clients, a man named Shay who has had more struggles than most

I was just asked a very interesting question. One of my members just won a silver medal in the Irish Nationals for Kettlebell sport. Three medal winning Kettleheads taking events oh so seriously Today we were discussing future training goals now that this event is over. She listed out a few things, including further participation in Kettlebell Sport, but then went on to try to justify her unwillingless to specialise in the sport, as that may not be a healthy way to progress.

Movement is a word that’s gaining a huge amount of momentum. get it? Momentum…..movement……? No? Ok, less puns, more blogging….. Yesterday I had a lad in for an Assessment. He told me that his goal was to move better. And that he knows that martial arts people know how to move. Here’s a young Jet Li putting us all to shame: Yesterdays client’s own training, while having gotten him very strong, has also left him immobile, muscle bound. Which is all too common. And this is somet