I’m Sam

I've spent years learning that the body responds best when you work with it rather than against it.

I've found that most fitness approaches ask you to fit the programme but I like to work the other way around, I start with what your body is already telling you and work from there.

My story

For four years I had torn ligaments in both wrists, undiagnosed.

Even driving hurt, carrying bags and folders through a school day hurt. And for a long time, the specialist didn't quite believe me, which made me feel worse. Knowing something is wrong with your body and not being believed is a very difficult thing to carry, your brain starts almost believing them, that its in your head!

It wasn't until I pushed hard enough for an MRI that I started to feel like I was having my back, it had been so long that I wasn't believed it was a kind of desperation in the end that got me beleiving in myself again.

And what they found, I had a tear! I'd been right. And when I said the other wrist felt worse and was told again that it probably wasn't, I had enough fuel by then to keep going. That MRI came back with a worse tear than the first.

Getting my wrists strong again was a long and painful journey. But the wrists were only part of it. My whole upper body had spent years compensating, and my posture had suffered a lot as well. I had nerve pain on my left side for years after. But I had learnt to push myself regardless. I think the energy I was putting into my training wasn't very healthy, I was almost beating my body back into shape again. It wasn't until I stopped pushing the way I thought I was supposed to, and started actually listening, that my body started to feel like mine again.

But even then, I wasn't actually being very nice to myself. I kept hearing a voice that said: "you're fixed now, so why are you still finding this so hard?"

What I eventually understood is that my body had been sending signals for a long time that I wasn't paying attention to, because I'd spent so long in an environment where those signals weren't believed. Learning to listen again, and to trust what I heard, was the real work.

That's the work I do now.

Why This Matters

I like to spend time with my clients getting to know what relationship they have with their bodies, how they move, and what their habits are. Things they might not have considered before or take for granted.

We then spend time working on that, getting them to move with awareness and a sense of curiosity. The aim is that you understand your own movement, so you don't end up dependent on mine.

People come to work with me because they want to get fitter and stronger, and that's exactly what they get. The difference is how we get there.

Not sure where to start?

Take the quiz

Or send me a message if you'd rather ask something first, or book a call when you're ready to talk it through.