Benjamin Thornton - Functional Training Specialist

Benjamin Thornton - Functional Training Specialist Redefining movement training to be restorative and performance enhancing. Guiding individuals out of pain and back to what they want to do.

Japan so far. What a treat.
12/05/2025

Japan so far. What a treat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DIzFGqbzlop/?igsh=b2dkOTg0NXhzNmF1Paul reached out after struggling to get much improvement ...
10/17/2025

https://www.instagram.com/p/DIzFGqbzlop/?igsh=b2dkOTg0NXhzNmF1

Paul reached out after struggling to get much improvement with his frozen shoulder and subscap tear. That combo is tricky as the rotator cuff had been quite guarding so there was lots of pain when trying to improve range. That said 8 months in training a few times a month together we’ve made significant progress.

We emphasized isometric strength in his comfortable ranges first in a variety of ways ( drills were great for this), performed gentle manipulations first focused on relaxation with movement, then we progressively added more load and challenge.

Our focus wasn’t solely on the shoulder as facilitating spine and rib movement has helped support the shoulder greatly.

Paul teaches so he’s gets alot of light club swinging in as well which has helped.

Still lots of room for improvement but Paul’s re-introducing sport and his shoulder isn’t constantly ringing the alarm in his body. Slow and steady was the name of the game here.

.genov03 making big changes from June 2022 to April 2023I’ll talk more about this process in the future, but to see this...
04/24/2023

.genov03 making big changes from June 2022 to April 2023

I’ll talk more about this process in the future, but to see this guy go from severe back pain and fear of movement to playfully moving his body with joy and curiosity has been incredible.

We went deep into work, helping improve his sense of his body, his tolerance for stress, and as you can see creating structural changes, but honestly alot of the time we just talked about what was going on with him as he self-reflected with new understanding on his behaviours and relationship to himself and others. For while they were far from upbeat conversations, but I believe giving him the space to process was huge for his progress.

A couple months ago I also got to connect him with .equilibrium which has been an amazing compliment to what we were doing.

And funnily enough, he’s gotten back the ability to run and sprint with very little gait-specific drilling 🧐

Here’s his testimonial below.

“Where to start… training with Ben I got more than a trainer. I got a friend who helped me out of a very bad place. Ben is a person who has a passion for helping others and that really came across in all of my sessions with him. He is an attentive listener, paying attention to every minute detail, physical or mental, however he also helped me push myself to do things that I 100% thought I couldn’t do. He has a lot of outta the box ideas and methods for training, and that is exactly what I needed. He has helped me get stronger, stabler, more flexible, straighter, and access new movements or old ones if you count being able to jump around like a kid. Ben has shown and inspired ideas in me that I can take into my everyday life, to keep working on even when we are not training. As someone who has been through the medical system and done every test possible and countless treatments that didn’t work, I can say without a doubt everybody could use someone like Ben! He is a great trainer, person in general, and friend!, truly a rare and amazing person. And I look forward to continuing to train with him!”

05/24/2022

More thoughts about crutches and how the way you position your shoulder and wrist can create more comfort.

Even if you’re not using crutches these concepts can apply to various exercises and movements.

05/13/2022

Information that I hope you don’t need, but could be useful if you find yourself on crutches for some time, including how to use a crutch hands free when you need to carry something.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a formal introduction on here, so for those who are interested, here’s some of my story.My ...
04/22/2022

I don’t think I’ve ever done a formal introduction on here, so for those who are interested, here’s some of my story.

My name is Ben, and I’m 29 years old. I was raised close to Vancouver, BC, and have now lived in Calgary, Alberta for over 4 years. I’ve spent the last 6ish years trying to find the most effective ways to improve how my body feels and functions, and help others do the same. I’ve joined to help develop what will be one of the most inclusive methods of training and stress management out there.

Early on, I was lucky that I knew how to be successful in school from a young age. Math and physics were my favourite subjects. I think what I liked about it was the fact that I didn’t have to memorize any facts, I just had to understand the principles of how the calculations worked to get the answer. That said, I didn’t feel a strong pull to a career in those fields, as I was unsure how those skills could be used in the real world.

I played basketball from grade 4, but I never got as good as I wanted to, partially due to injury. I sprained both ankles many times, strained my groin and hamstring, and even before high school I was dealing with back issues. I could only sleep on my side, and my back would tighten up during games. Ankylosing Spondylitis runs in my family, with my dads side having a lot of spine and hip mobility issues.

I was a gym rat at this time, utilizing traditional lifting to try to gain more athleticism and prevent injury, but I think during that time I exacerbated the imbalances I already had.

Finishing high school, I wasn’t close to continuing a basketball career anywhere, but I enjoyed the culture, and decided to pursue a Kinesiology degree from SFU with the goal of being a trainer for athletic teams.

University was a transformative experience in many ways, but I was still dealing with chronic back and hip issues and I wasn’t getting answers from my degree on what to do about it.

(continued in comments)

04/09/2022

Your eyes could probably use some rest and relaxation. Here’s some useful things to think about either as a recovery tool or a warmup for your workout.

I wish I was nicer to my eyes growing up. I work contact lenses for over a month at a time without taking them out. Eventually this caught up with me and I switched to mostly wearing glasses to prevent my eyes from feeling as dry and irritated.

Doing vision work with has improved how often I feel my eyes get moist and relaxed. I’ll still feel some issue with too much screen time and not enough time outdoors, but much better than it used to be.

is also a great resource for understanding different ways to train the eyes and how that can have a downstream effect on your body.

This clip is from our Foundations Class series. Over 8 hours of content to help you go from

03/23/2022

Taking a look at Barry’s structure to see the foundation of the great mover he was.

His nervous system clearly was elite in many facets, and the housing around it protected it well enough to enable that full function.

This is why so much of MovMed involves awareness around the head, neck, and spine as a priority.

We often spend time coordinating load with our arms and legs from an unstable base. We can get quite good at this, but if we want to maximize the effectiveness of our training, building the frame that supports our midline and our spinal cord first is the way to go.

What else do you notice about Barry in these pictures?

Our final foundations class is happening March 30th. We’ll be mapping crucial interactions at various joints and tying t...
03/23/2022

Our final foundations class is happening March 30th. We’ll be mapping crucial interactions at various joints and tying them into full body motion.

This 8-class series has covered many key concepts for both structural integration and movement. It’s been awesome to get to share this information with so many people at once.

The series will remain available for purchase for now, and if you buy right away you’ll get live access to tomorrows class and this final class, as well as all the recordings. Movmed.net to sign up!

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Ranchlands Boulevard NW
Calgary, AB

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